Monday 4 June 2007- Day Three

Today was the tour of the Wits campus. The campus itself is beautiful and it reminds me of campuses in the South (it is similar to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa). The architecture is very ‘collegiate classical’ (a term I just made up). I do like how the campus is secluded and provides many choices for the students in terms of provision of services.

A group of began talking to one of the Wits architecture students about transportation around the city and he echoed a sentiment that I have heard from many others that I have talked to. The statement is always the same: you can take the mini-taxi but none of them ever have and often claim they would not. I wonder if this is a racial or economic factor. Certainly everyone I have asked is in the upper classes and the only people I have seen taking the mini-taxis are black. I have been reading the Huchzermeyer article for the presentation and I think the interplay between race and economic position in South Africa is very interesting. I think it would be fascinating to see where the poor whites live.

This evening we also had a meeting to determine the itinerary for the rest of the week along with a presentation about the history of Joburg. One of the New School students (P.) made a comment that the current trend of moving the poor from the CBD to the periphery is reminiscent of the movement of blacks from the CBD to the periphery. The panel responded that this was not the case and that apartheid had more than just a racial component (certainly true). It seems to me that despite the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, there is still a reluctance to admit the racial segregation that existed within this country. Again, the end of the Huchzermeyer article highlights this dynamic. She claims that “political engagement around class issues may more effectively influence policy making than that centered on race” (Huchzermeyer 2002, 97).