Ex-Stellenbosch student loses bid to have expulsion over Nazi posters overturned

A former Stellenbosch University student who wound up being expelled over a series of “Nazi-based” posters promoting a meeting of the “New Right”, has lost his court bid to have the findings against him overturned.

The posters appeared on campus in May 2017 and triggered widespread outcry from the university community.

Two of them invited “Anglo-Afrikaner” students to a meeting of the “New Right” as well as to “fight for Stellenbosch” and were, as the court put it this week, “direct copies of Hitler Youth recruitment posters”. A third depicted a person falling from a helicopter accompanied by the words “Commies deserve free helicopter rides”.

Three students wound up appearing before the university’s central disciplinary committee (CDC) over the posters – among them Dean Dart.

They were all found guilty of having broken the university’s rules – which bar students from acting “in a manner that is racist, unfairly discriminatory, violent, grossly insulting, abusive or intimidating against any other person”; as well as from acting “in a manner so as to disrupt, or potentially disrupt, the maintenance of order and discipline at the university”.

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As punishment, they were all – initially at least – given 100 hours community service and directed to complete a “restorative assignment”.

When Dart tried to take the CDC’s decision on appeal, he got more than he bargained for. Not only did the disciplinary appeal committee (DAC) dismiss the appeal, it also upped his sanction to one of immediate expulsion.

And this prompted Dart to turn to the Western Cape High Court, in the hopes of having the DAC’s decision’s reviewed and set aside by a judge.

This week, however, acting Judge JH Loots dismissed his application.

Part of Dart’s argument was that he had been the victim of bias. In support of this, he pointed to findings that the outcry caused by the posters was undisputed, as well as that they were racially exclusive and associated with the political ideology of apartheid. He also took issue with the description of two of the posters as “Nazi-based”.

But Loots was not persuaded.

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“A perusal of the record of the proceedings before the CDC and the DAC shows that the DAC gave proper consideration to the aspects complained of. These complaints, therefore, do not establish bias,” the judge said.

Loots also pointed to the evidence the DAC had put up.

“As the [DAC chairperson] explained in the answering affidavit she deposed to in this application: ‘These symbols have established meanings or connotations, and /or are used in specific contexts. The applicant cannot invoke these symbols for his own benefit to advance his agenda and that of his associates, and then expect not to be judged against and held to the meaning of those symbols’,” the judge said.

When it came to his sanction, Dart had argued the DAC’s decision to up it had not been a rational one. But Loots was again not with him.

The judge highlighted that the move fell within the appeal committee’s powers.

“To this extent there would be a rational connection between the sanction the DAC imposed and the facts that served before it, including the fact that the sanction imposed by the CDC contemplated expulsion from the university in the event of non-compliance with any of its other terms,” Loots said.

Martin Viljoen, university spokesperson, said: “Stellenbosch University (SU) welcomes the judgement by the Court in favour of the University. The judgment handed down is confirmation of the University’s student disciplinary processes being correct and fair.”

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