By Jana Burger
Female students had already voiced their dissatisfaction with the rules within female residences during a debate of the Stellenbosch University (SU) Debating Society in 1950. The motion regarding women’s freedom in residences was ultimately won by the opposing team, concluding that female students enjoy enough freedom on campus (Die Matie, 20 April 1950).
Die Matie interviewed alumni, who studied at SU between 1963 and 1976, to hear more about the rules that restricted students’ freedom on campus and in residences.
Curfews in female residences
Female residences had very strict curfews up until 1995. Seniors had two days of late leave per term. Alumna, Dr Cornelia de Kock, a former resident of Harmonie and Heemstede from 1968 to 1972, said that these late leaves were usually spent attending house dances. She said that first years had to be back at res by 19:30 during the week (this changed to 20:00 in the 1960s). Students could stay out until 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays and until 22:00 on Sundays. Late leave allowed students to stay out until midnight and, later in the 1970’s, until 00:30.
De Kock said that the consequences for staying out past curfew were fines, phone duty and door duty. She said, “A few girls that slipped out once and went drinking were grounded for six weeks. They had to stay in the residence on Friday and Saturday evenings and were also not allowed to go home.”
De Kock also confirmed that male students never had curfews.
Dresscodes on campus
Pannie Mostert, who studied from 1971 to 1974 and stayed in Heemstede and Huis ten Bosch, said that the rules for women on campus and in classes were no trousers and no open shoulders. However, SU had forgotten to specify the length of the dresses they were allowed to wear “and the dresses were SHORT!” said Mostert.
Mariana van Rensburg studied BEd (Life Orientation) from 1966 to 1969, and said that her class could get away with wearing Physical Education (PE) skirts and having wet hair after swimming lessons. She said that the men got away with wearing flip flops to class.
The alumni interviewed said that men still had to wear ties and blazers to class in the 1960s. By the 1970s, they only had to wear a tie inside of Admin A.
The male engineering students were not allowed to wear flip flops to class and in their cafeteria, which led to the cafeteria ironically adopting the name “Plakkies”, said De Kock. In the 80s, male theology students and students on the Tygerberg campus still had to wear a tie, long trousers (denim was not appropriate) and closed shoes to class (Die Matie, 10 September 1980).
Many of the alumni interviewed also highlighted the strict dress codes for women inside of the residences. Mostert said that stockings and dresses were compulsory during Sunday lunch in the dining halls.
Amanda de Stadtler, who studied from 1972 to 1976 and stayed in Irene, said that they were not allowed to wear pajamas on the ground floor of the residence and were not allowed to wear trousers outside, unless their shirts covered their hips.
The fight against curfews
As seen in Die Matie archives, the Prims conducted surveys in the female residences in 1975, which highlighted the women’s dissatisfaction with the curfew system. New curfews and more late leave for students were proposed by the female residents. Curfews were not heavily reported on in Die Matie for the next ten years, but became a hot topic on campus from 1985.
The women felt like their adulthood was being brought into question, especially since the male residents did not face the same kind of discrimination. One student said, “We are old enough to marry, but still have to be back [at our residences] by 20:00.” (Die Matie, 9 May 1985)
As explained in multiple Die Matie articles between 1994 and 1995, SU started discussing the removal of curfews and the implementation of double doors for security in 1994. In 1995, residences started to get double security doors and were left to vote on keeping curfews or not, as long as they had door monitors from midnight until 06:30.
Despite these new rules that female students had voted on, pro-curfew pamphlets circulated on campus, reading: “Stop die bevolkingsontploffing nou! Help om inkomtye te behou!” (“Stop the population explosion now! Help to keep curfews!”) (Die Matie, 9 March 1995)
