DASO Rhodes racially slandered by PASMA
On the evening of the 2nd of March, the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (DASO) at Rhodes University was attacked with accusations of racism and actual racial attacks just before the Rhodes University hosted their annual society sign ups.
The racial attacks and accusations were written on paper signs posted outside the Great Hall where signs ups for societies were held.
Signs with the phrases such as "BLACK STUDENTS DO NOT JOIN DA/DASO!!!" were put up by the Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (PASMA), the student organisation associated with the political party, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. It is suspected that a few other societies may have also been involved.
The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania is, of course, a collectivist and racialist party built around pseudo-historicism and collective hatred. Its student wing is by no means any more reasonable. The slander campaign was no doubted fueled by simple partisan hate and racism.
Such collectivist slurs and slander are no doubt disgraceful.
The notion that one's political or economic views should somehow be defined by their skin colour is the hallmark of the racist and the collectivist. The actions of PASMA need to be condemned for bringing a hateful ideology onto campus, diluting the political discourse, slandering a society and violating campus policy. This policy is that all posters must be ratified by the Student Council (SRC). These posters were not, and the culprits must be given the appropriate punishment for violating campus policy.
If PASMA were afraid of losing students to DASO, they should rather have examined their own policies. Individuals - contrary to what the collectivist left might like to think - have individual opinions and views, which are not defined by one's physical appearance. PASMA must realise this, rather than blaming their unpopularity on race.