UCT’s approach to COVID-19 and other updates

Dear colleagues and students

While moving closer to a more “normalised” approach to COVID-19 after the recent announcement on the lifting of the national state of disaster, UCT’s focus is to prevent future infections through the “3-V-s”: vaccination, ventilation and vigilance. Read more about UCT’s approach to COVID-19 and other recent developments on campus.

Changes to UCT’s approach to COVID-19

Following the recent announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the lifting of the state of disaster, the UCT executive recognises that COVID-19 still needs to be managed in society and on the university’s campuses. UCT’s approach also recognises that for the most part, life and work must continue under health and safety conditions that protect all members of the campus community as much as possible.

As we move closer to a more “normalised” approach to COVID-19, UCT’s focus is to prevent future infections through the “3-V-s”: vaccination, ventilation and vigilance.

• Read the VC Desk: Changes to UCT’s approach to COVID-19.

Aftermath of #FeesMustFall exhibition, 3-5 May

UCT’s Department of Student Affairs in partnership with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) invites you to the exhibition titled, Aftermath: Violence and wellbeing in the context of the student movement, taking place from Tuesday, 3 May until Thursday, 5 May 2022. The exhibition will take place at the Molly Blackburn foyer on Upper Campus, between 10:00 and 16:00 daily.

The exhibition is a collection of 34 images taken and/or supplied by student leaders, which they reflect on as representations of their experiences of violence during the #FeesMustFall student movement - and their search for wellbeing after these experiences.

The aim of this exhibition is to raise awareness about the levels of violence on university campuses and the impact this has on student wellbeing.

The exhibition will travel to universities across South Africa and neighbouring countries, after already having been shown at the University of Botswana and Stellenbosch University.

For more information on the UCT leg of the exhibition please contact Nadia Wilson.

• View the exhibition programme and poster.
• Read more on the exhibition.

Commemorating the #RhodesMustFall anniversary

This year marks the seventh year since the removal of the Rhodes statue following protest action by students on campus. The protests were sparked by the #RhodesMustFall (RMF) movement after Chumani Maxwele flung human excrement at the Rhodes statue on UCT upper campus on 9 March 2015. A month later, on 9 April 2015, the statue was removed. The RMF movement is globally recognised for its role in accelerating the decolonial project. One legacy of the RMF was the establishment of a scholarship, ushering in new pathways of scholarship, activism, funding support and the student experience.

• Read the VC Desk: Commemorating the #RhodesMustFall anniversary.

Remembering the Table Mountain fire

UCT recently marked 12 months since the disaster of the Table Mountain fire on 18 April 2021 and the damage it caused. The commemoration was marked with the formal opening of a special Jagger Library memorial exhibition. It has been a long journey of recovery for all at UCT and the university remains appreciative of every internal and external role player in response to and post the tragedy. The university is also grateful that no staff member or student was harmed by the fire or the evacuation process.

The exhibition explores the questions posed by the fire, the salvage of the archives and the void of the burnt-out Jagger Library building. Professor Alison Lewis, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, is leading a team that will help us reimagine the future of the Jagger Library and the surviving African Studies archives.

• Read the VC Desk: Commemorating the Table Mountain fire.

Communication and Marketing Department

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements