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Maties students protest for halal food

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Paarl police were called into the University of Stellenbosch campus on Tuesday where about 30 students marched through the campus in order to hand over a memorandum of grievances to representatives of the university’s management.  The protest was called by the Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (DASO) in Stellenbosch and most of the picketers could be seen wearing the political party’s iconic blue.

Protesting students gather on the Rooiplein [Credit: MSA]
Protesting students gather on the Rooiplein
[Credit: MSA]
Students handed over their memorandum demanding SU Management address the following:

– Full parallel medium education in Afrikaans and English, and the development of isiXhosa as an academic language.
– Halal food in all residences
– Universal access on campus for all disabled students and personnel.

Availability of halal food has long been an issue at SU [Credit: MSA]
Availability of halal food has long been an issue at SU
[Credit: MSA]
According to one student, the university feels that a police presence is necessary at all student demonstrations due to violent protests that have been occurring nationwide where university property, worth millions, has been destroyed.

“This is a peaceful protest. We as the MSA support peaceful protests because we feel that this is a better way to get the message across,” said Tashriq Pandy, chairperson of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at the university.

Tashriq Pandy, the MSA chairperson at SU [Credit: MSA]
Tashriq Pandy, the MSA chairperson at SU
[Credit: MSA]
Pandy says the MSA joined the protest due to the grievances raised in the memorandum.

“DASO is protesting the lack of halal meals in residences and the lack of universal access and general issues experienced by disabled students,” Pandy explained.

MSA Stellenbosch has no affiliation to DASO as it remains a “non-political society”.

The university accepted the memorandum and said that they will look into the matter in due time. VOC


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