South African racism, terrorism and emergency Facebook notifications

South Africa university dorm closes over racist video

The University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa has unanimously ruled to close their Reitz Residence, where white students compelled at least five black housekeepers into tasting stew spiked with urine. The video of the incident was released in February.

“The Reitz video reopened racial wounds and is deeply regretted,” wrote administrator Teuns Verschoor in a public statement, according to CNN. “It was an isolated manifestation of resistance to the impact of the ongoing transformation initiatives at the university.”

The video, which was recorded in September, depicted white students pushing the black housekeepers to eat beef stew, which the students had urinated into beforehand.

“That, at the end of the day, is what we think of integration,” was the message concluding the video.

Two of the students involved in the incident were immediately suspended. The others had already graduated from the university.

To further foster the university’s aspirations of diversity and integration, the UFS announced that it would be creating a new diversity institute.

“The university will transform itself over time into a beacon of hope, combating racism and other forms of discrimination in South Africa and elsewhere in the world,” Verschoor said.

Nottingham University student and staff member arrested under British terrorism laws

Police detained a Muslim student and staff member from Nottingham University in England for nearly a week after they attempted to print an al-Qaeda manual as part of the student’s dissertation research.

Although graduate student Rizwaan Sabir and staff member Hicham Yezza were released after six days without any charges, the arrest has caused controversy over the level of control authorities should have over university work, reports The Canadian Press.

Sabir was writing on the American approach to “al-Qaida in Iraq” and downloaded the manual from the U.S. Department of Justice Web site; he sent the document to Yezza to avoid a printing fee. The police were then alerted and arrested both Yezza and Sabir on May 14.

Nottinghamshire police refused to comment about the arrests, but according to a statement published in The Muslim News and The Times Higher Education Supplement, they did not admit to any wrongdoing.

The arrests were a violation of human rights, said international relations professor Alf Nilsen.

“I do think this particular incident actually illustrates the potentially draconian consequences of anti-terror legislation,” he said.

Florida universities consider using Facebook to alert students of emergencies

The University of Florida (UF) and Florida Atlantic University (FAU) are considering using Facebook to notify students of emergencies, such as hurricanes or shootings, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

“We just conducted a test of all our crisis communication tools, and one of the questions that came up is could we up a Facebook page in the midst of everything else that we’re doing?” said UF spokesman Steve Orlando. “For [young people], that’s where they want to find information.”

Many students at FAU used Facebook to let other students, family and friends know that they were safe when a shooting was reported in April.

Facebook is not the official means of communications at FAU, but focus groups will gather during the summer to discuss if it would be a good idea.

Florida International University, which already has a page with news stories, has not resorted to posting emergency information on the networking site.

Facebook can remove users for sending spam and posting inappropriate information, and those students will not be able view any announcements, said assistant professor of business Patricia Sanchez Abril.

However, sophomore Rolando Herrera is among those who believe that Facebook could be a promising strategy to notify students of emergencies.

“It’s a good way to communicate with people,” he said. “I know every event that happens on campus; if it’s going to be successful, it needs to be on Facebook.”