Therefore, it is important for us to investigate the state of Student Activism in the University. This investigation is largely influenced by the looming Constitutional Summit which could make or break Student Activism. This Constitutional Summit will be a site of struggle between forces loyal to the cause of the capitalist backed university management epitomized by the slogan 'Decade of Renewal', and the independent revolutionary student activists that still hold the belief that student activism can be saved. Therefore, it is important for us to go on this journey and assess the path up until this point which we have reached.
ISP & CSP Sittings October/November 2021
The process of consolidating the reactionary stance of rendering the institutions of Student Governance and Democracy useless started unfolding in this sitting. This process seemed like a process of student activists opportunistically using the management to settle certain scores and consolidate their own power in this particular space. The constitutionality of the sitting was questionable due to the sitting being called and convened by the Student Affairs division. This stands in clear contrast to what the Student Governance Constitution says regarding where the power lies to call and convene a sitting of the Institutional Student Parliament (ISP) and who must call and convene such a sitting.
However, this didn't sway those who were front, back, and centre in this process of consolidating the reactionary stance of rendering the institutions of Student Governance and Democracy useless and outrightly reformist. The sitting was convened and elected an ISP Secretariat. This Secretariat subsequently convened Campus Student Parliaments (CSP), and continued this process, ableit in an aggressive manner (especially in East London Campus where two Delegates were kicked out). These machinations seemed like Student on Student politicking, however this politicking divided the Student Activist space even further. This became evident when it was clear that factional disputes were abound in all the major political organisations, and some of those differences went public.
Mass Resignations & Recallments
It was bound to be that after such developments resignations and recallments would follow. These disputes were ultimately carried over into the space of organisational politics due to the inherent connections between the two spaces (governance politics and branch politics are heavily intertwined at the University due to the Proportional Representation system when electing SRC members and deploying delegates to the ISP or CSP). This wave wreaked havoc and instability in the Faculty Council of Management and Commerce in Alice, Institutional SRC, and Campus SRC. The reasons for these resignations and recallments varied. Most organisations cited interference of Upper Stuctures, which varies in character and form. Those unaffected by the wave simply fell back, and watched the drama unfold.
This wave led to bitter struggles internally in these respective organisations. SASCO and the EFFSC were affected by such, and as a result this had a huge impact in the overall attitude of Student Leaders and other Student Activists. This wave of instability has led to new but familiar faces occupying new but familiar positions of power. One common tendency that epitomized those that were victors in this situation is the desire to occupy high positions without a thorough, and proper understanding of what they seek to achieve in some cases. I do not wish to delve deep into the specific content of these disputes in this article, as this is just a general investigation across the politcal spectrum of student activism in Fort Hare.
Suppression of a Democratic Shutdown
The point where many Student Activists realised that the Management had firmly entrenched its power came mid-February. This was in the midst of a registration and accommodation crisis. This crisis gripped the Institution to a point whereby the only alternative was to convene the masses. This is after it was realized the SRC had no courage to convene the mass meeting. Needless to say, it was unanimously resolved that a Shutdown was necessary in the East London Campus.
This resolution was echoed, and it was to be implemented on a strategic day of First Years Orientation. Unfortunately for the forthright Student Leaders that had taken it upon themselves to ensure that the resolution was implemented, the Management flexed its muscles, and begun following these Leaders through typical quasi-apartheid tactics and threatening these leaders with suspensions. It was clear that among the leaders the process of selling out had unfolded.
When the day came, and the Student Leaders resolved to abort the Shutdown due to the risk of mass suspensions; it was met with mixed opinion by the Student populace. Some felt the Student Leaders were weak kneed and therefore were not worthy to lead students. Some understood and appreciated the reality of the situation. They subsequently understood that the decision was a tactical retreat.
Where to?
Given that the Student Politics space has been littered with sell outs and opportunists, it is important for us to chart a new path forward. This path forward will require us to draw lessons from the defeats suffered by Students, and ultimately the activist space. We must understand these defeats for what they are; that is consolidating the reactionary stance of rendering the institutions of Student Governance and Democracy useless.
The Constitutional Summit is a site of struggle which will either conclude the defeat of the Students or revive the fight and begin an upward swing of Student Activism. It must be noted that Students at the University of Fort Hare are showing signs of apathy due to the never changing conditions at the University. These never changing conditions have led Students to conclude that all organisations are the same in terms of performance, and ultimately voting is useless. The reformist character of the SRC has been laid bare, and it is only a fool or a reformist that can not see such, or see nothing wrong with the character of the SRC as an organ of power.
When the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks were defeated by the Tsarist regime in the 1905 Revolution, they realised the necessity to draw lessons from the defeats. To the Mensheviks this was obviously a farcical process, while the Bolsheviks ultimately proved to be the biggest learners from the errors of 1905. It was in 1905 that Lenin realised that the Soviets were the embryonic form of the Socialist society they espoused, with Trotsky (then a Menshevik) being the face of the Soviet movement. In April 1917, Lenin fully endorsed the Soviets (Soviet means Council in English, and these Councils were the most democratic organs of power in Russia in 1905 and 1917), and outrightly so in his April Theses. Lenin & Trotsky had fully realised the potential of the Soviets after trying to expose the hypocrisy of the Duma (which was a Russian interpretation of the Liberal Bourgeois organ of power, Parliament) by contesting the space in these organs. They saw the Soviets as an alternate to the existing system that benefited the ruling class.
Much like Lenin & Trotsky, we will also be potentially faced with this reality if the Summit doesn't produce revolutionary outcomes. We will be faced with the reality of forming new organs of power and democracy because these existing ones would have failed in their purpose. The Constitutional Summit will determine whether we break from the system, or we remain docile instruments of the system. We must forge a revolutionary path by building a Revolutionary Bloc of Student Activists for Student Power. This Revolutionary Bloc is the only bloc that can take the fight to its necessary conclusion of either resounding defeat, or an inspiring victory. We have the potential to steal victory from the jaws of defeat!
To quote Marx, "But the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes." This summit will force us to either fight for the system to work in our favour, or for us to define ourselves out of the system. The revolutionary Student populace cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made machinery, and wield it for its own purposes; it must build an alternative machinery. This is just me borrowing from Marx and adapting this idea to the current context which will shape student activism for the next 5 - 10 years.
I make this call to every Revolutionary Activist to come to the People's Table, and begin shaping the discourse around the Summit.
