By Akhona Ngxikwe
Students, staff, alumni and members of the wider Stellenbosch community gathered on 16 June, Youth Day, for Stellenbosch University’s (SU) annual Social Justice Walk. The occasion commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising and 30 years of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, while raising funds to support students facing student debt.
Around 200 participants walked from the Old Main Building on Ryneveld Street in Stellenbosch to the Pniël Museum about 16 km away.
Key points of interest were the CoCreate Hub, the Old Lückhoff School building (located in the area previously called Die Vlakte), the Idas Valley Community Market, the Idas Valley Dam, the Old Helshoogte Road, Zorgvliet, Kylemore, Languedoc, and the Pniël Museum.
The walk was co-led by Prof. Thuli Madonsela, the Director of the Centre for Social Justice department at Stellenbosch University (SU), and Jeremy Fasser, the Mayor of Stellenbosch. The Centre of Social Justice describes the event as one that “symbolises hope, collaboration, and contribution to levelling the academic playing field through redressing past injustices while building a better future for all”.
According to Madonsela, the event’s connection to the Soweto Uprising is intentional. “The uprising was about equal education,” she said. “It came down to young people asking for a chance at equal education so that their potential could be freed.”
While apartheid’s legal barriers have fallen, Madonsela argued that financial barriers continue to prevent many students from accessing and completing higher education.
The walk forms part of the Centre for Social Justice’s #Action4Inclusion campaign, which assists students who are unable to continue their studies because of outstanding fees. Participants made their way along the route in a show of solidarity with students whose access to higher education remains constrained by financial barriers.
Madonsela explained that the campaign was initially established to help students at risk of dropping out because they could not reregister. Since its inception, more than 200 students have been reregistered and have gone on to graduate. “This year is the 50th anniversary of June 16, and we’re saying from there onwards, no student should be left behind,” she said.
Students’ Representative Council (SRC) Chairperson, Pulane Mtshali, acknowledged that, while fundraising provides immediate assistance, broader solutions are still needed. “Fundraising for a lot of people is a direct solution,” she said while noting that long-term solutions require collaboration between the university and other stakeholders.
The campaign’s impact was evident in the story of Sthobile Zuma, a former beneficiary who now contributes to the initiative. “I benefited from the campaign when I was a student, and now I’ve contributed to it as well,” she said.
Throughout the walk, participants shared experiences, advice and conservations as they reflected on issues of educational access and social justice.
