Statement in solidarity with South African student protesters We are South Africans and/or alumni of South African tertiary institutions studying abroad at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), King’s College London, University College London (UCL), Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, New York University (NYU), City University of New York (CUNY), UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Michigan, Georgetown University, Boston University, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Sydney University, University of Toronto, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Zhejiang Normal University, Brown, Australian National University, Columbia, Cornell, London School of Economics (LSE), Leeds University, Leiden University, Maastricht University, Lund, Massey University, New School for Social Research, New South Wales University, Goldsmiths, Princeton, Peking University, Rutgers University, Sciences Po, Seoul National University, Stanford, St Andrews, Trinity College Dublin, Universidade de São Paulo, University of Bologna, University of Barcelona, University of Chicago, University of Edinburgh, University of Amsterdam, University of Glasgow, University of Toronto, University of Vienna, University of Warwick, University of Utrecht, University of York, Yale and many other institutions. Each of us stands in solidarity with the students, staff and workers protesting in South Africa, at parliament, universities and institutions of higher education. They are making history on streets and campuses across the country. We are outraged by the use of violence from police and private security companies against protesting students. Both universities and government have the duty to protect students ­ not to persecute them when they demand justice from the state and its institutions. Our right to protest was won through generations of struggle and must be defended. No unarmed and nonviolent group of students should be dispersed with stun grenades, tear gassed, pepper sprayed, or shot at. All should be equal before the law, and we condemn the targeting of black students by the police. We call for the immediate release of students who have been arrested or detained in the context of peaceful protest action. We are also appalled by the aggression, racism and violence shown towards protesters by some, predominantly white, students, lecturers and members of the public. Across the world, access to affordable higher education is being eroded by governments and universities. In recent years, student movements in Quebec, Amsterdam, Chile, Germany, and the United Kingdom have taken to the streets in response to the imposition of prohibitive tuition fees and the commodification of higher education. It is becoming clearer that funding for education is not a purely economic question, but also a deeply political one. Power concedes nothing without demand. In this global struggle for educational justice, the actions of the students in South Africa are a powerful statement that cannot be ignored. Higher education enables the exploration of the self and the pursuit of freedom, and plays a crucial role in achieving a just and egalitarian society. Unaffordable fees are exclusionary and perpetuate the extreme economic and social inequalities in South Africa. This marginalises precisely those groups for whom higher education is an essential tool to escape poverty. In South Africa, this burden falls disproportionately on black, working­class families, those historically placed in a situation of structural exclusion, particularly from higher education. We all have a stake in the provision of higher education in South Africa. The quality and accessibility of tertiary education will shape the future of the region: either by reproducing historical and systemic inequalities, or by overcoming the legacies of the past and offering future generations the possibility of living in a better society. We endorse the demands made by the protesting students, staff and workers. We call upon the South African government, university management, and society at large to accede to these demands. A luta continua Student union and group endorsements: Cambridge University South African Society (University of Cambridge); Swansea African Caribbean Society (Swansea University); Students Against Israeli Apartheid (University of Toronto); Finding Africa (University of York); Oxford Pan­Afrikan Forum (Oxford); Rhodes Must Fall, Oxford (University of Oxford); Africa Japan Students Alliance (DOSHISHA University); Queensland University of Technology (Queensland University of Technology); The Uprising (Brown University); Students Against Israeli Apartheid ­ University of Toronto (University of Toronto); University of Toronto Graduate Students Union Boycott Divestment Sanction (BDS) Adhoc Committee (University of Toronto); York University Black Graduate Student Collective (York university); University of Toronto Students' Union (University of Toronto); The Students for Social Justice (Cedar House School); SASCO (UWC); UBuntu Bridge (None); Rhodes Must Fall, UCT (University of Cape Town); Young Women's Network (Vaal University of Technology); The African­Caribbean Society of Exeter (University of Exeter, United Kingdom); Student Health And Wellness Community Organisation (UCT); SOAS Students' Union (SOAS); SOAS Student Occupation (SOAS, University of London); ANU Students Union (Australian National University). Further list of institutions to which signatories belong: Aalborg University, Denmark, Aarhus Univeristy, Aberystwyth University, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Art Institute of Washington, Baldwin Wallace University, Bates College, Bethel School of Ministry, Boston City Campus & Business College, Bowdoin College, Bristol University, Butler University, California Southern University, Carleton University, Case Western Reserve University, Catholic University of Lyon, Condé Nast College, Cornell University, Coventry University, Cranfield University, Dalarna University, Sweden, Davidson College, Design Academy Eindhoven, Doshisha University, Eastman School of Music, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Erasmus MC, Exeter University, FH des BFI Wien, Florida State University, Freie Universität Berlin, Furman University, Georgetown University Law Center, Ghent University, Graduate of North Park University, Grenoble Business School, Griffith University, Groupe ESA, FRance, University of Hamburg, Hansung University Seoul South Korea, Heriot­Watt University, Hotel Institute Montreux (HIM), Hunan University, Imperial College London, Indiana University, Indonesian State College of Accountancy, Justus Liebig Universitaet Giessen, Karolinska Institute, King's College London, University of Kent, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Lancaster University, Lehigh University, Linköping University, London Business School, London School of Economics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Macaulay Honors College, University of Vienna, Monash University, National Taiwan Normal University, National University of Ireland Galway, New College of the Humanities, New York Film Academy, Open University, Osgoode Hall Law School, Oxford Brookes University, Paris 13, Paris School of Economics, Parsons The New School for Design, Penn State, Politecnico di Milano, Pomona College, Queen's University, Canada, Queensland University of Technology, Reed College, Regent Business School, RMIT Australia, Roadbed University the Netherlands, Radboud University the Netherlands, Ross University School of Medicine, Royal College of Music, Royal Holloway, School of Legal Practice (LEAD), Shenyang Ligong University, Simon Fraser University, Southern Cross university. Aus, SSR medical college, Mauritius, St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm University, Swansea University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Syd Dansk University, Technical University of Denmark, Tecnologico de Monterrey, The Aleit Academy, The Hague university of Applied Sciences, The New School, The University of Tennessee, Tsinghua University (CN), UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universidad Iberoamericana, Universität der Künste, Berlin, Universität Erfurt, Universität Wien, Université de Montréal, University at Buffalo, University of Alberta, University of Bern, University of Birmingham, University of Bremen, University of Colorado, University of Delaware, University of East Anglia, University of Essex, University of Exeter, University of Hull, University of Keele, University of Kentucky, University of Law, Bloomsbury, University of Leicester, University of Lyon, University of Manchester, University of Manitoba, University of Missouri School of Law, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, University of New Brunswick, University of New Mexico, University of North Carolina, University of Oslo, University of Ottawa, University of Oulu, Finland, University of Pittsburgh, University of Surrey, University of Ulster, University of Utrecht, University of Westminster, University of Wisconsin, University of York, University of Zagreb, University of Zurich, Uppsala University, Villanova University, Victoria University of Wellington, VU University Amsterdam, Washington & Jefferson College, William Paterson University, University of Kentucky. Individual endorsements: Josh Platzky Miller (Cambridge); Tariq Desai (Cambridge); Thandeka Cochrane (Cambridge University); Ayesha Krige (New York University); Seham Areff (University of Oxford);