The building of a mixed-use development that will enforce the closure of the Drostdy Square has been met with mixed feelings amongst students and recent alumni.
Up until recently, information of the possible closure of the Drostdy Square, which holds a few of the major nightclubs in Stellenbosch, was known by very few.
As written in a previous article, the application for the Abacus Development Company’s mixed-use development is in its final phase. From this, Stellenbosch Municipality’s planning tribunal will have to make the decisive decision to give Abacus the redevelopment go-ahead.
Opponents of the closure argue that Stellenbosch’s nightlife culture will be lost, nightlife safety in numbers will be jeopardised, revenue created by the hordes of students in the square will be sacrificed, and a communal meeting place for students will be taken away.
Proponents for the closure argue that there will be more opportunities for new nightlife ventures and Stellenbosch’s drinking culture will be decreased.
The media liaison of Stellenbosch University (SU) Martin Viljoen said that he believes the possible club closures won’t impact on prospective students’ applications to SU.
“It is doubtful whether the possible closure of Drostdy Square will have any significant effect on the number of students applying to study at the university,” says Viljoen. “Regular surveys amongst students indicate that the number one reason for prospective students choosing the university is for its academic reputation.
“In addition, over the last few years, the university created a number of spaces on campus for students to interact on a social level,” he continued.
Two students, Miaan van der Merwe and Chené Bosch, posing in The Square. Bosch voiced that The Square is a place which brings all types of students together, and without it, students will have to find a new get-together place which will be hard. PHOTO: Mike Wright.
Contrasting SU’s position, SU Just Kidding (SUJK), a popular Instagram account which many SU students follow, relayed a summary of the feedback that some of their 35 800 Instagram followers provided in their online polls.
According to them, “students believe that [the closure] would be a terrible move on which they were not consulted on”.
A poll was created where 6500 students voted, and 4900 said that closure would be a bad idea.
Additionally, a petition which was started to stop The Square from closing saw itself gaining traction quite quickly, building over 3000 signatures.
SUJK continued by saying that “[the closure] is bad for a number of reasons. One reason is that those clubs are part of our Stellies culture.”
But it is this presumably threatened culture which other students argue is a bad thing, detracting from Stellenbosch’s positives.
Cam Corney (27), also a recent SU alumnus who spent nine years at the university said that he agrees that it isn’t a wise decision to close The Square, because “the fact that everything was so central made it far safer”.
“It is also a very big attraction to Stellenbosch, that people will know that they will be safe and that they won’t have to drive or walk far distances for partying.
“If it leads to people not going out as much, perhaps it could be seen as a good thing,” he reflects, opposite to his initial reaction. “In the nine years that I went there, I only witnessed a few scuffles take place [but it isn’t inherently an aggressive environment].”
Alex Immelman (22), a recent SU graduate who frequented The Square and its surroundings while at the university, holds the opinion that “The Square isn’t a positive aspect of Stellenbosch at all.
“I thought it was quite rough, the nightclubs weren’t very good; they were quite dodgy, to be honest. The Square was a place where Stellenbosch students went because there wasn’t much else”.
He did add that while it isn’t a positive factor of Stellenbosch per se, it is a necessary establishment because “every student town needs a common place for [semi-aggressive socialising],” as well as somewhere which can deal with the enormous number of students that pour into town most Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
The Drostdy Square from across the street before the commencement of a Wednesday night bustle. PHOTO: Mike Wright.
Mandla Hlwatika, a final year BCom Management Sciences student, who says that “I’m not a clubber, I don’t get the vibe,” has always seen the square as a dangerous place.
Hlwatika’s views are that The Square primarily generates revenue from students, as is evident by their closure during holidays, while other bars and pubs tend to remain open due to older demographics populating their spaces.
“The university is here and it is a world-class institution with world-class facilities surrounded by great businesses, great wine farms and a multitude of restaurants,” he finished, concluding that the closure won’t affect attractiveness too much.
Jeremy Ryall (22), a recent SU graduate who is now based in Cape Town, feels that an “area such as The Square is a cauldron for drunk students who more often than not end up either fighting, losing personal belongings or getting sick.”
Touching on the potential positives, Ryall imagines that “the closure will firstly entice club owners to produce higher quality venues, in terms of safety, across Stellenbosch and entice students to branch out of their ‘square mould’.”
Ryall’s opinion is somewhat shared by Alex Jankovich (19), a first-year student with disk jockeying experience in Stellenbosch.
“New clubs will open and new nightlife scenes will appear, which will, in turn, attract more students,” starts Jankovich, especially identifying safety and security as something which new, dispersed clubs would have to become more mindful of.
Wax on Wednesday, a small business venture taking place inside the Courtyard Café which will benefit from the square’s closure, according to Alex Jankovich (as mentioned above). PHOTO: Jana Greyling
Cleo Appies (18), also a first-year student at SU studying BCom Industrial Psychology, doesn’t think it is a good idea to close The Square because noise levels in residential areas will increase with the rise of more house parties if no club alternatives are built quickly.
Additionally, she reckons that it will prevent people from going out because “it will be a mission to get from one place to another” and also because of the threat of safety which most people acknowledge.
Let us know your feedback on how you think Stellenbosch will be affected if The Square closes. Send a message to our respective channels of communication on social media.