By: Oriphulusa Nyadzhiwa
Racism is a learned behaviour that spreads like a virus; no one is born with it.
Even after the democracy has come to be in effect, apartheid’s legacy continues to have an impact on how people live on campuses. Some actions and behaviours, that still support the divisions brought about by racial inequalities, serve as evidence that this is still the case.
Some of the students who are encountering and witnessing racism get uncomfortable about being on campus. It thereby violates their right to freedom and education.
The naming of buildings and other amenities that are affiliated or linked to institutions has more influence than one can imagine.
Some university facilities are in possession of the names of individuals who contributed to racism, which serves to encourage the ongoing racism behaviour because the roots of racism are still present on campus.
Racists on campus maintain their bigotry because of this and see nothing wrong with what they are doing.
Another aspect that continues to be emotionally racist is the presence of monuments honouring racists and individuals who supported racism.
People who are part of racial groups that have experienced racism are triggered by it. Moreover, it brings back the hurt that racism has caused them in the past, and cause resentment and isolation on campus.
Some students may find it difficult to move around campus because of the monuments that serve as a constant reminder of injustice and intolerance.
The placement of monuments honouring racist figures on campuses promotes the same kind of racism as the naming of buildings and instructional amenities honours racial groups who have oppressed others. It implies that being racist is rewarded.
A perspective that is tainted by the term “preference” is another action that is not perceived as racist yet nonetheless promotes prejudice. Institutions frequently develop projects that call for cooperation among groups of people.
When groupings are created and occupied by single, identifiable racial groups without racial integration or establishment of non-racial groups, racist culture is being embraced.
It splits academic work such that it appears to be a racial rivalry regarding a task and gives the impression that grades are given based on race rather than achievement.
Employees in tertiary institutions perform duties on campus just as those in other institutions. All employment opportunities should be equally available within all racial groups regardless of the level of skills required for employment.
When there are unequal employment possibilities, low-skilled positions end up being predominately held by racial groups who were oppressed in the past, whereas high-skilled ones are only held by racial groups that have been in favour in the past.
This led to the distribution of employment possibilities based on race, which is a product of racist culture.
The continued use of Afrikaans as an instructional language alongside English when English should be the only one is another concern in several South African public universities that is fostering a racist culture.
Students on campus who do not understand the language are marginalised and lose their sense of belonging as a result.
Being one of South Africa’s 11 official languages, Afrikaans is not a barrier for communication on campus.
However, the use of Afrikaans for formal and informal assessments, as well as for instructions on campus facilities gives the impression that apartheid legacy is still there.
Buildings and other institutional amenities should be named after anti-racism activists and other people who positively contributed to freedom and education to be offered without discrimination.
This creates a sense of peace and acknowledgement of the positive change that was brought by those people, instead of acknowledgement of the oppressors who brought nothing but pain to people who suffered the oppression.
Racial symbols should not be present on campus. The monuments honouring racists and those who supported bigotry ought to be taken down from campuses and placed in museums.
It will be better if those monuments are taken out of the campus and put in museums since people choose to go to museums; it is not something that happens every day.
At least there will not be a constant reminder to everyone, every day on campus. They should not be destroyed since those people served as components of reflecting the history of the country, and because they are the ancestors of other people.
Personal preference should be given priority, but it should not cause divisions and prejudice. It is the responsibility of lecturers to encourage development of any group on campus that is intended to accomplish a certain task without being characterised by race as the primary attribute.
Groups should be evenly populated according to the proportion of different races in the class. This will expose students to other viewpoints and promote unity and peace on campus.
For jobs and employment in tertiary institutions, there should be equal employment opportunities for all races.
There should be no race that is designated just to occupy job opportunities of certain ranks. All job opportunities should evenly be distributed to people, so that no one looks down on others due to racial differences.
All public tertiary institutions that are still using Afrikaans as a medium of instruction must drop the use of it, and only use English for now, before any African language is legally mandated to be a medium of instruction for all institutions in Africa.
It will create a sense of balance when it comes to understanding and inclusivity.
The only race we have is human race, regardless of our differences. Racism is a crime and highly inhumane, and the more we fight with racist culture, the better our campuses will be better environments for everyone.