Johannesburg – The University of Cape Town (UCT), announced on their website today, that they will be renaming Smuts Hall, the student residence on their upper campus.
Babalwa Ngonyama, Chair of UCT Council, said this decision was taken during a meeting on Saturday and that this was a key decision She said this decision of Council takes immediate effect and that the name Smuts Hall will be removed from the residence and in the interim the name Upper Campus Residence will be used.
Smuts relates to Jan Smuts, dubbed the founder of the oppressive Apartheid system in South Africa.
In his book, ‘Jan Smuts: Son of the Veld, Pilgrim of the World, a reappraisal’, Professor Kobus du Pisani writes that Jan Smuts had a special relationship with the University of Cape Town.
“He received an honorary doctorate from the university, was its chancellor for the last fourteen years of his life and donated his books on botany and part of his plant collection to the Bolus Herbarium. Smuts Hall, founded in 1928, was named after him in acknowledgement of this special relationship,” writes du Pisani.
Ngonyama said Council’s decision will allow UCT to move on from the past while continuing to recognise the significance of their legacy.
“There are many creative possibilities for reimagining the UCT campus in ways that will build inclusivity and look to the future. Over the coming months, UCT will be holding discussions across our community about the new name for the Upper Campus Residence, as well as for other buildings.
“As much as this is part of the ongoing transformation efforts at UCT, any name change process can be emotive for both those calling for the name to be replaced and those wishing for it to be retained. However, if anything, the Smuts Hall renaming should provide a moment through which we view the name changing processes from completely different lenses,” said Ngonyama.
She stated that the changing of names should not be seen as merely replacing what they do not like with what they feel resonates well with them or what they feel they relate better to.
“It should go beyond the view that the name we are changing is a source of discomfort or pain for those advocating for change. Nor should it be viewed as an act of diminishing, discarding or deviating from history by those who would wish that the status quo should remain. It should be seen as an opportunity for us to forge a new path together, towards creating an environment of inclusivity and shared identity on campus. An environment where all members of the campus community feel represented by, and can reflect on and relate to the buildings, spaces and symbols on campus.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
