Stellenbosch University (SU) Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Wim de Villiers has allocated R500 000 to boost Die Vlakte Bursary Fund, which was established at his inauguration last year.
On Monday (18 April 2016), he met with the first five bursary recipients at a small ceremony held in SU's Memory Room in the University Archives in the Wilcocks Building on the Stellenbosch campus.
Prof De Villiers announced in April 2015 that the University would be establishing the Vlakte Bursary Fund as a form of redress and development for descendants of people who suffered forced removals in the 1960s and '70s from Die Vlakte, a neighbourhood that used to adjoin the town centre and partially overlapped SU.
He received the contribution that he allocated to the Fund from the Harry Crossley Foundation as an award for exceptional leadership in 2015. The Foundation is one of SU's biggest donors and has contributed to postgraduate bursary programmes and research at the University for the past 22 years.
"Announcing the establishment of the Vlakte Bursary Fund was one of my first acts as Rector, so it's close to my heart. I have decided to allocate the money awarded to me by the Harry Crossley Foundation to this Fund in an effort to bolster it and put us in a financial position to award even more bursaries in future," Prof De Villiers said.
Several other donors have also contributed generously to the Vlakte Bursary Fund since its establishment in 2015.
"Higher education is a potent form of empowerment, and thus creating opportunities for students in financial need is a priority for me," De Villiers said.
According to Mr Arrie Hanekom, Head of SU's Undergraduate Bursaries and Loans Division, five candidates earlier this year received the Vlakte Bursary. The bursary covers basic class fees for the minimum length of the student's chosen programme. The recipients' fields of study range from education and engineering to medicine and social sciences.
"A community committee was convened to help with the verification of the applicants' association with Die Vlakte, and the allocation criteria were applied by the Bursary Committee," Hanekom said.
A maximum of five bursaries are awarded each year to applicants who lived in the area – or their children and grandchildren – who meet the criteria. Current and prospective undergraduate students may apply, as well as applicants registering for a first postgraduate programme. Applicants who are no longer living in the Stellenbosch area but who can give proof of their parents or grandparents being affected by the forced removals are also considered. Successful academic progress is a prerequisite to retain the bursary.
History of Die Vlakte
Die Vlakte was a neighbourhood in the area between Muller, Bird and Joubert Streets and Merriman Avenue. The residents were mostly coloured people, and they were forcibly removed in the 1960s under the Group Areas Act. At the time, the University did not protest, and also later built on expropriated land.
For decades, the removals from Die Vlakte and the Battle of Andringa Street were not part of the official history of Stellenbosch and were only placed on record with the publication of In ons Bloed (2006) and Nog altyd hier gewees: Die storie van ʼn Stellenbosse gemeenskap (2007) – publications on the history of the area, supported by the University.
Memory Room
In 2013, the University opened a Memory Room in the University Archives in the Wilcocks Building as a gesture of reconciliation between it and the town's coloured community. The Memory Room is a permanent contemporary exhibition space depicting the suppressed history of people of Die Vlakte, which is open to the public.
Battle of Andringa Street
The brainchild of the late Prof Russel Botman, the then Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU, the creation of the Memory Room was preceded by an apology in 2012 by student leaders of Dagbreek for the role the residence played in the Battle of Andringa Street in 1940, when white students attacked coloured residents of the adjacent Vlakte and damaged their homes. There was also a meeting between students and former residents of Andringa Street at Prof Botman's house.
Lückhoff School
Forced removals from Die Vlakte under the Group Areas Act resulted in the Lückhoff School in Banghoek Road being given to the University. In 2007, the school building was rededicated to the local community. It now houses various community organisations in addition to the University's Division for Social Impact. In 2008 and 2009, a permanent photo exhibition was installed in the building to give recognition to old boys and girls of the school who had become prominent role-players in South African society.
Installation in Arts and Social Sciences Building
Last year, an exhibition focusing on forced removals in Stellenbosch was installed on the 2nd floor of the Arts and Social Sciences Building. It was inaugurated on 12 November 2015, and is open to the public. The installation consists of panels (with text, photographs, maps and narratives) telling the story of what happened when Die Vlakte was declared a White Group Area in 1964 and people classified as coloured were removed.
- Photo: Prof Wim de Villiers, middle, congratulates Grizelda Stuurman, a recipient of the Vlakte bursary. The other recipients are, from left, Wesley Gabriels, Cleo Laurence, Brad Poole and Melissa Hector (photographer: Anton Jordaan).
