By Proffesor Ndawonde
A meeting held at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday to discuss safety degenerated into chaos, with people insulting each other and fights breaking out among students.
The meeting was called after an American student was raped in the shower at her university residence.
The row erupted when Student Representative Council President Sanele Shabalala said that the university community should stop racialising the issue of crime at the institution.
"People must stop taking things serious only when crime affects a white person. There are a number of black students who have been victims of crime, but few people cared about those incidents," he said.
White students and staff were exasperated by Shabalala's comments, leading to the meeting becoming racially divided.
A fight broke out between two black students, one of whom sided with the white students. Security guards intervened to prevent more fights.
An American student slammed the SRC, saying that it should stop hiding behind racial issues because it was incompetent.
Howard College Campus SRC President Siqiniseko Shezi condemned some academics who, he said, took advantage of the safety issue to push their political agendas.
The Executive Dean of Students, Professor Trevor Wills, asked the students and staff to unite and combat crime at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.