UJ students feel concern
AUCKLAND PARK – UJ students share their sentiments about life on campus after the fire.
Following the arson attack at University of Johannesburg (UJ) on 15 May, which saw the Sanlam Auditorium gutted, students spoke about their concerns.
The fire which caused an estimated R100 million in damages was started by arsonists. During the aftermath of the fire, students reflected on what they felt and what should have been done.
Buyisiwe Thusi, a student who stays on the campus, said the students no longer feel safe although the security is tight. “I live here on campus. Just the thought that the people who gutted the auditorium, could do the same to our residence, is very unsettling,” said Thusi. She also pointed out that in spite of the fact that the campus always had tight security, bad things like the arson attack still happened. “I do not understand how something as big as the fire could happen right under their noses,” said Thusi.
Fellow student, Nolubabalo Ngogodo was more optimistic and said that she thought the university management would make the necessary plans to fix the auditorium. “The fire is something I cannot change, but I do believe my university has my best interests at heart,” said Ngogodo.
Kagiso Nkosi said the students have not been given more information about the fire. “Rumours among the students do not correlate with what we hear from management. It feels as though UJ does not want to deal with the student’s problems,” said Nkosi. He explained that there are lot of problematic issues and he does not think that the university is engaging with the students effectively enough. “The big problem is that management is oblivious to the students’ problems. They want to handle issues from the boardroom. How they see it from the top, is different from how we see it as students,” said Nkosi.
Shirnice de Wee and Kamogelo Basakwe said that life on campus has become slightly intrusive. “Though their precautions are understandable, it feels as though even the students who had nothing to do with the fire, are being treated like possible criminals,” said De Wee. Basakwe said that he does not feel valued by UJ and he would like to feel safe.
Details: University of Johannesburg, 011 559 4555.
Related Stories: Arsonists burn down the UJ Sanlam Auditorium
