Thirty-six Rhodes University academics signed a petition on Saturday urging the university to withdraw a court interdict against protests and protest figures.
The interdict was served on Wednesday and was followed by a political stand-off between management and protesters on Saturday.
Rhodes management was locked in a meeting all day yesterday and the campus is reported to be tense.
The petition requested that the interdict be withdrawn “at the utmost urgency”.
“This would be an act of good faith on the part of senior management and would be an important step in ensuring grounds for negotiation in resolving the current crisis at the university,” the petition stated.
It is signed by academics from a string of departments including sociology, history, political studies, journalism, economics, drama, English, psychology, computer science, environmental science and education.
The university is expecting academics to proceed as normal today, and students were sent an SMS stating that classes would continue.
Rhodes called a halt to all academic activities last week in the midst of ongoing protests against what students labelled as a “rape culture at the university”.
Numerous students have stated that they will continue the protest until Rhodes University takes a stand against rape culture.
Rhodes University psychology lecturer Natalie Donaldson said on her Facebook page she supported the protesters and she condemned the “force and intimidation” used by police.
“As a higher education institution, we can and should be the ones pushing for transformation. We cannot simply sit back and have faith that the law is on our side: it is not. The law protects perpetrators, not those who report .”
Students have threatened to continue protesting until the university meets the demands and removes the interdict placed on the protest, with many showing their support for the decision.
Nehawu has vowed to shut the university down in support of the anti-rape protest.
Rhodes University has responded, saying that it was unable to grant the request for the 11 men named on the list that went viral to be suspended.
The university said this was because there were no actual accuser complaints, just a list of names.
Academics petition Rhodes to withdraw protest interdict
The interdict was served on Wednesday and was followed by a political stand-off between management and protesters on Saturday.
Rhodes management was locked in a meeting all day yesterday and the campus is reported to be tense.
The petition requested that the interdict be withdrawn “at the utmost urgency”.
“This would be an act of good faith on the part of senior management and would be an important step in ensuring grounds for negotiation in resolving the current crisis at the university,” the petition stated.
It is signed by academics from a string of departments including sociology, history, political studies, journalism, economics, drama, English, psychology, computer science, environmental science and education.
The university is expecting academics to proceed as normal today, and students were sent an SMS stating that classes would continue.
Rhodes called a halt to all academic activities last week in the midst of ongoing protests against what students labelled as a “rape culture at the university”.
Numerous students have stated that they will continue the protest until Rhodes University takes a stand against rape culture.
Rhodes University psychology lecturer Natalie Donaldson said on her Facebook page she supported the protesters and she condemned the “force and intimidation” used by police.
“As a higher education institution, we can and should be the ones pushing for transformation. We cannot simply sit back and have faith that the law is on our side: it is not. The law protects perpetrators, not those who report .”
Students have threatened to continue protesting until the university meets the demands and removes the interdict placed on the protest, with many showing their support for the decision.
Nehawu has vowed to shut the university down in support of the anti-rape protest.
Rhodes University has responded, saying that it was unable to grant the request for the 11 men named on the list that went viral to be suspended.
The university said this was because there were no actual accuser complaints, just a list of names.
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