It would be fair to say that Max Price is under the pump at present, and Friday afternoon saw another ugly coming together between the UCT Vice-Chancellor and student protesters.
According to UCT spokesperson Gerda Kruger, Price had to be escorted to safety by police after being on the receiving end of some physical abuse.
This below comes from TimesLive:
He and two members of his executive met students outside the Bremner building but when he tried to leave to attend another meeting all hell broke loose.
“Unfortunately‚ some of the protesters encircled him and started pushing and pulling him. Dr Price attempted to walk away when he received two punches to the body. A colleague attempted to protect the Vice-Chancellor‚” said Kruger in a statement.
“Members of the South African Police Service stepped into the group to escort Dr Price away. Unfortunately‚ the scuffles and pushing escalated and police officers used stun grenades to disperse the group.” She said the group later disrupted a soccer match on a ”field nearby”.
Kruger described the behaviour of the protesters as ”utterly unacceptable and unlawful”.
Here’s some video of how that all played out:
[WATCH] #UCT #Fees2017 A peaceful talk between Price and students turns violent as police try to intervene. @MoniqueMortlock pic.twitter.com/IlbnGf8NSn
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 14, 2016
It seems Price’s willingness to engage with student protesters has angered some UCT staff, with this from another TimesLive story:
Academic Imraan Coovadia said that UCT “in its endless deference to fanatical groups” had turned its back “on its own faculty and community”.
A support-staff member, who did not want to be named, described Price as “a coward for not standing up to outrageous actions and demands” and said protestors were “stringing him along”.
“That he even still talks to them shows naivety .”
Another staff member was angry that “there has been no statement from management on the hate speech”, after “Kill all whites” was written on university notice boards.
A parent of a student criticised Price’s “softly softly” approach.
“His continuing engagements with the protesters will invite similar action next year,” the parent said, and added that “the domino effect” could lead to the complete closure of the institution.
The only thing that seems certain is that there is no end in sight to this continuously escalating situation.
Be safe out there, good people.
