“What screams out from these posters is that if you are not Afrikaner, you will not be able to understand and partake in everything,” said Pataki. She went on to explain that Sasco is “on an awareness campaign where we want to conscientise students, because … there is a sense of apathy on campus.” The Twitter hashtag attached to the posters is #TuksSoWhite. Werner Beineke, Afriforum’s chairperson, said that the hashtag is “totally unacceptable, if we said #TuksSoBlack, immediately it would be a racist thing”. Pataki also responded to the claim that the posters are racist, saying, “We are not saying that we are against the white race, we are saying we are against white supremacy that is prevalent on this campus.”
The posters made reference to the SRC’s ladies high tea, there being no black invigilators and residence culture equating to Afrikaner culture, among other things. Pataki explained how residence culture illustrates a lack of transformation because they “don’t accommodate the African child”. From Afriforum’s perspective, Beineke feels that the poster which equates residence culture to Afrikaner culture “is totally misinformed … yes, there may be a little bit of Afrikaner tradition, but every year student traditions should be revised…to make it more applicable for everyone.”
The EFF declined to comment on this campaign. Sean Janse, Daso’s secretary, said that Daso “condemns the posters which were tweeted by Sasco, as we do not believe that racial groups should be targeted on campus.” Currently, Afriforum has called upon the university “to take urgent and firm action against organisations and/or political parties that [incite] racial hatred among students”. Afriforum will also be sending a letter to UP management regarding this issue.
Image: Twitter.com
