“I strongly condemn any behaviour that is contrary not only to upholding basic human rights but also our values as an institution. We can’t shy away from these issues,” said Stellenbosch University rector and vice-chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers while addressing recent incidents that have unfolded on campus.
De Villiers was one of the dignitaries speaking at the official launch of the Nobel in Africa – Nobel Symposia Series in Stellenbosch on Tuesday morning.
“As a community, we have to engage in open conversation with each other and use all the resources at our disposal to combat destructive behaviour,” he added.
It was reported on Sunday the university suspended a student from his residence after reports that he urinated in the room of a fellow student in the early hours of Saturday.
News24 reported last month a student was also suspended for allegedly urinating on his roommate’s chair at Helshoogte men’s residence.
In May, Theuns du Toit was caught on camera urinating on first-year student Babalo Ndwayana’s desk, laptop and books at Huis Marais men’s residence.
He was later expelled after being found guilty of contravening several clauses of the university’s disciplinary code for students.
“We must acknowledge that as a university, we also face challenges in our quest for knowledge and, indeed, in our quest for transformation.
“Our university’s campus is not immune to societal problems, and we recently experienced student behaviour where our values, excellence, compassion, accountability, respect, and equity were woefully lacking,” De Villiers said.
The Nobel in Africa is a Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) initiative in partnership with Stellenbosch University, the Nobel Foundation, and Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
It will see the launch of the Nobel Symposia on the African continent for the first time since it was first initiated in 1965.
Through the Nobel in Africa initiative, STIAS will become the first institution outside of Scandinavia to host the Nobel Symposia on behalf of the Nobel Foundation with funding from the Knut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
De Villiers called Tuesday’s event a “momentous occasion” for the university.
“Despite these challenging incidents and issues we face, we’re also able, and we’re so happy to welcome the world’s foremost scientific minds to our shores and to share research from the African continent.
“The Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka, the first black African to win a Nobel Prize for Literature, said; ‘No one is rich enough to buy yesterday, but if you hustle hard tomorrow could be yours’, and Africa has been hustling for years.
“In the academic world, researchers and thought leaders from our continent have been fighting tooth and nail to take up spaces in the world and to make their voices heard.
“With the Nobel in Africa Symposia Series coming to Stellenbosch, to Africa, our voices are being amplified loud and clear.”
The vice-chancellor said the STIAS Stellenbosch University Physics Symposium included an outreach element that saw participants delivering public lectures at universities and research institutes countrywide.
“This is a true way of taking science to a wider audience. It aligns so beautifully with Stellenbosch University’s vision to be inclusive and to advance knowledge in service of society.”
News24
