TransformUCT: Drop punitive policy, give students space

The Black Academic Caucus, also known as TransformUCT, stands against the university's decision to pursue punitive disciplinary action against those involved in the Rhodes Must Fall movement. We ask the university to think about its place in this moment in history. Let it not be remembered as a roadblock to change and rebuilding itself, higher education in our country and our larger society. A policy of criminalisation, of bearing down with punitive power on students, staff and faculty associated with the Rhodes Must Fall movement might find the university management on the wrong side of history and its best possibilities.

The Black Academic Caucus also recognises the need for a vibrant student space where students come together, organise themselves, passionately iterate their concerns, thoughtfully reflect on them and enliven the issue of transformation in a transparent manner at the heart of UCT.

It calls upon the university to deliver and provide the students such a space. The legitimacy of the university's transformation agenda are contingent on these two critical things – desisting from a policy of criminalisation, and delivery of a space where students can organise and enliven the possibilities of decolonisation at UCT.