Fees must fall

Yesterday I spent a great deal reading into why Students around the country have been protesting against high fees and against increases my main focus has been on UCT. I'm sure we all have seen the videos circulating Facebook but the only issue with these videos is that they were bias one way or the other and so I decided to call up a few mates who are actually at UCT to find out the magnitude of the situation.

Let me start off by saying that I'm one of those people who is not swayed by anything I don't believe or agree with. To put it in laymen’s terms the students are rightfully protesting the increase of tuition fees. I say rightfully because it's a right afforded to them by the constitution and the institutions they attend.  I am all for people utilizing their rights... if they so choose.

I am aware of the fact that I will never fully understand what they are going through because I'm not nor have I ever been in their situation. So perhaps my privileged situation bars me from fully empathizing with the students. However I understand their frustration a bit more now after speaking to s few of the students.   

My only problem with the protest action is how some of it was done. I saw videos of students attacking other students for not sympathizing with their cause. And this is not all the students involved in fact its probably a handful of “revolutionaries” who have taken full advantage of the situation by seeing this as an opportunity to show their anger through violence and terror. I know there are a lot of deep routed issues.

I say protest. Voice your concerns and issues, but don't lose focus on why you are protesting in the first place. More so your right to protest is not any greater or important than other's right not to protest.