A privately owned student residence at the University of Pretoria (UP), Sonop, has been banned from taking part in any of the university's traditional events this year because of its a lack of transformation.
According to IOL, the supposed "whites-only" residence has been dealt a blow and has subsequently been banned from events that include 1nSync and Rag.
Sonop failed to meet UP's transformation quota which states one-third of the residence should house black students. Out of the 160 residents at Sonop, only six were black.
The sanction was imposed by the university's management and the SRC, but university spokesperson Rikus Delport told IOL that there had been challenges of transformation at privately owned residences.
We are committed to assisting in the drafting and implementation of a transformation plan that would see Sonop become a residence that truly reflects our diverse student population." UP SRC president, Kwena Moloto
"The university is sympathetic to the challenges facing Sonop in this regard", he said. Management and the Sonop residence [have] been involved in processes to arrive at a new memorandum.
In a statement released by UP SRC president Kwena Moloto on Wednesday, he said: "To my knowledge, a third of the residence should house black people, in accordance with the quota.
"As such, the SRC will continue to engage with Sonop management to avoid situations like this in the future. We are committed to assisting in the drafting and implementation of a transformation plan that would see Sonop become a residence that truly reflects our diverse student population."
Moloto said the banning was not a new phenomenon and had been done before. De Goede Hoop, in Sunnyside, was also banned from participating in varsity events for being predominantly white.
The "whites-and-Christians-only" residence, which houses UP students, came under fire by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities after a complaint was laid by Yusuf Abramjee, a community activist.
Abramjee argued that the residence's policy was unconstitutional and was "apartheid in disguise" after it was found that students were expected to write an essay in Afrikaans to motivate their application.
Abramjee said he couldn't believe that, after two decades of democracy, institutions like these still existed.
When the CRL Rights visited the residence, it found that only white students had been admitted. There were no black residents.
The commission has since recommended that the writing of the Afrikaans essay be scrapped.
