Rhodes University During the Segregation and Apartheid Eras
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) RHODES UNIVERSITY DURING THE SEGREGATION AND APARTHEID ERAS, 1933 TO 1990. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS of RHODES UNIVERSITY by SEAN ANDREW GREYLING December 2007 ABSTRACT In 2004 Rhodes University celebrated its centenary. At a Critical Tradition Colloquium opportunity was given to explore the university’s past. In particular, its liberal image was questioned and its role during apartheid brought under scrutiny. This thesis investigates the questions raised at the Colloquium. It aims to cover the whole apartheid era in one coherent narrative by addressing the history of Rhodes during that era and how it handled issues of race and politics. It begins in 1933, when the first black student applied to Rhodes, and ends in 1990, when apartheid was drawing to a close. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam – To the Greater Glory of God In putting this thesis together I would like to thank the following people. First and foremost is my supervisor, Professor Paul Maylam, for whom I have the greatest respect. Thank you for your patience and understanding, for your constructive criticism and guidance, for challenging and developing my thinking and writing, and for your good nature. It is a pleasure working with you. Secondly is my family, who provided me with a variety of much needed support. Special thanks to my Mom and Dad for pushing me when I needed a push. Thirdly is the staff at the Cory Library for Historical Research, where much of this thesis was researched and written, and especially to Messrs ZJ Vena and VV Gacula. Thank you for your dedication and hard work. Fourthly is the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Scholarship for the financial assistance awarded to me for two consecutive years (2005 and 2006), and administered by the Dean of Research’s office, at which I would like to thank Mr John Gillam for his kind and efficient assistance. Fifthly is the Department of History, my home at Rhodes, whose staff has moulded me in my training in history, especially Professors Paul Maylam, Julie Wells and Gary Baines, and Ms Carla Tsampiras. A very special thank you goes to Mrs Cherry Charteris, the superb secretary who keeps the department running and intact, and is always willing to help. Last, but by no means least, are those who provided a willing ear to listen to my ideas and discuss my thesis with me. These include Professor Paul Walters, Mr Warren Snowball, Ms Nomalanga Mkhize, Mrs Anne Knott, Mr Richard Marshall and the late Mr Mike Berning. To all my friends at Rhodes, past and present, and those in Grahamstown, thank you for your support and understanding, and most of all your companionship. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANC African National Congress CP Conservative Party Natal University of Natal NP National Party PAC Pan African Congress PFP Progressive Federal Party PP Progressive Party RAU Rand Afrikaans University RU Rhodes University RUC Rhodes University College RU-C RU Council RUC-C RUC Council RUC-S RUC Senate RU-S RU Senate UCT University of Cape Town UP United Party UPE University of Port Elizabeth Wits University of the Witwatersrand iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ii List of Abbreviations iii Chapter One: Introduction 5 Chapter Two: Rhodes University (College) before apartheid 23 Chapter Three: “In the best educational interests of Rhodes.” The Alty Era, 1948-1963 39 Chapter Four: An apolitical university? The Hyslop Era, 1963-1975 82 Chapter Five: “I’m not on anyone’s side.” The Henderson Era, 1975-1990 123 Chapter Six: Conclusion 172 Appendix 178 Bibliography 180 iv CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Over the years the liberal image of Rhodes University has been called into question, and its role during the apartheid era brought under scrutiny. In August 2004, as part of the centenary celebrations of Rhodes University, a Critical Tradition Colloquium was held at which Rhodes alumni, past and present staff and students, sought to hear alternative voices in a discussion about the university’s past, present and future. Reflection on the past often focused on the struggle of those at Rhodes who had opposed apartheid, and lauded those who had taken a stand against it. A special edition of the African Sociological Review published some of the papers presented at the colloquium. In the introductory article guest editors Fred Hendricks and Peter Vale1 state that “one of the untold stories of South Africa’s dark past [is] the role of its universities” and that “Grahamstown and Rhodes University are central to the unfolding understanding of the linkages between universities and apartheid.”2 Most of the subsequent articles go on to highlight and consider instances in the history of Rhodes where such links occurred. However, while very resourceful, and though bound together as a journal, they fail to cover the whole apartheid era in one coherent narrative. This thesis aims to do that. It is from this colloquium, and this questioning of the role that Rhodes, as a university, played during apartheid, that this thesis arose. It seeks to address the history of Rhodes University in the apartheid era. However, as the origins of apartheid can be traced back to the practices of segregation in the decades prior to 1948, when the National Party came to power, so too with Rhodes. This has necessitated this thesis beginning in 1933, when Rhodes received its first application from a black student, and ending in 1990, when the apartheid era was drawing to a close. 1 Both were members of staff at Rhodes during the 1980s. Today Hendricks is Dean of Humanities and Vale is Head and Professor of Political Science. 2 F. Hendricks and P. Vale, “The Critical Tradition at Rhodes University: Retrospect and Prospect”, African Sociological Review, 9, 1, 2005, p. 1. 5 The role of the university during apartheid, and in particular Rhodes, deserves some consideration. Firstly, what has been written about Rhodes prior to the colloquium is inadequate in addressing this need. In his acknowledgements for Rhodes University 1904-1970: A Chronicle (1970), RF Currey states that “this book makes no claim to be ‘History’…[to] call it simply ‘a chronicle’ would seem more fitting – and may prove safer.”3 Currey recognised that he was no historian and had no desire to claim to have done a better job than a trained historian from the university’s own department of history. Instead his book is a retelling of the minutes of the Rhodes Senate, with anecdotal commentary and limited insight offered. The key episodes and issues are glanced over. It is by no means critical or analytical, as expected of a history, but it does not claim to be one. In 2004 A Story of Rhodes: Rhodes University 1904-2004 by Richard Buckland and Thelma Neville, both former public relations officers of the university, was released to commemorate Rhodes’ centenary.4 While updated, it is, like Currey’s book, not a history and is of a celebratory nature with its glossy pages, colour photos and simple text. There exists a need then for a critical academic history of Rhodes. While this thesis does not attempt to fulfil a need of that magnitude, it hopes to bring that need closer to reality. Secondly, the questions about the role of Rhodes during apartheid need to be clarified. It is necessary to investigate the epithets attributed to Rhodes – such as ‘a colonial institution’, ‘a segregationist institution’, ‘an apartheid institution’, ‘an ivory tower’, ‘a racist institution’, ‘a liberal university’ and so on – to ascertain why and what they are based on. This includes looking at the relationship between Rhodes and successive apartheid governments, what Rhodes’ attitude was towards activists, and what its ‘official’ stance towards apartheid was, if any. One of the ways to do this is to analyse how key episodes and critical issues were dealt with in the history of Rhodes and by 3 RF Currey, Rhodes University 1904-1970: A Chronicle (Grahamstown, 1970), p. ix. 4 Richard Buckland and Thelma Neville, A Story of Rhodes: Rhodes University 1904-2004 (Johannesburg, 2004). 6 whom. This process forms part of this thesis. Here it is necessary to define what is meant by the term ‘Rhodes’. While generally by ‘Rhodes’ is meant the university as a corporate body, often in this thesis reference to ‘Rhodes’ will infer reference to the university administration, in the sense that it would have been the ‘official’ voice. However, every care will be taken to avoid any ambiguity by stating quite clearly what constituency is being referred to when referring to Rhodes University. Thirdly, questioning the role of any university in any context brings into the process questions about the university itself, such as what the purpose of a university is and if a university can be neutral, which further encompasses questions about academic freedom and university autonomy. A university’s function is two-fold: to find out things about the world, that is, to research, and to pass on knowledge, that is, to teach. It is generally understood that the purpose of a university is to find, or serve, the truth; although this has been contested by the neo-liberal view that a university is a training ground for future professionals. For a student’s or academic’s research to be authentic he or she needs the freedom to enquire and investigate as many options as possible without any hindrances so as to find the truth or come as close to it as possible.