Voice of the Voiceless

Denham Place, Glenwood: A Cul-de-Sac for Disgruntled Souls?

By Nosipho Funeka

The prominent Glenwood community situated in the vibrant Durban suburbs, is an ideal sphere for those who enjoy their fair share of serenity. At the heart of the Denham Place cul-de-sac, you will find Camden Res- the minor version of a legendary Kofifi, home to the young and active minds of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College. At first one admires the beauty of the residential site which these students live and the cleanliness that hovers around the streets. But looking closely at the faces of the youthful inhabitants and those of their neighbouring friends, it can be said that tension is at its peak. Instead of boasting the supposed propaganda of unity amongst all residences, the invaders of the community, often not given a chance to air their part of the saga, univocally sing songs of discomfort and heart-felt mistreatment by their neighbours and school. Thuthukani Nkosi, a student residing in the res and former secretary of the student leadership at the res claims “They just don’t want us here, they want us to move, to relocate from here!”.

Asked about the current relationship between the students and neighbours, appointed neighbourhood representative, Marshall Lambert, living in Elstree Court next to the student accommodation states, “The relationship is not a very good one. The community is pretty fed up with the whole situation,”. He also emphasises on the elevated noise levels since the res opened and notes that the students are not entirely at fault in the issue, as it is also a matter of incompatible land use. “Students don’t belong in res in the middle of a residential area, it’s just too many different things working on because students keep different hours, and priorities than everyone else,”. Views from neighbours differ, as Zama Shangase, employee of local business Clout Media says “It’s not rowdy, except for the occasional chasing of robbers,” bringing rise to questions on the safety of these students.

The appointed chairman of the student leadership at Camden Res, Mkhuseli Momoza shares similar views with a female student (anonymous) who has been living in the residence since 2012, who says there is no relationship. In an interview, the Chairman said “We don’t work together. Students feel neglected and unaccepted as they want students to adopt to the conditions of this place, and if students can do that, maybe there will be unity”.

Some reasons brought to the table concerning the roots of the dilemma, by students, include complaints about washing machines which are not in concealed spaces, the television on a passage way and the bus noise some which are beyond students’ control. An anonymous staff member of the student accommodation says if there happens to be any noise on the road, it’s always pointed to the students and emails are sent to the university or RA who tries to calm students who refute accusations. Anonymous couple which has lived in the community since 2006 comment on the issue of transportation. “Students are a third party to this, they aren’t to blame. The university has an obligation and commitment to them,”. Residents complain about its disturbance in the late hours of the evening when dropping students off on Clark road for safety, convenience on rainy days or during the 23:00 shuttle, which is against the by-laws. However, neighbours share their concerns regarding escalating crime. “I don’t think it’s safe. We’ve had incidents here of students being mugged, it’s not a great neighbourhood to walk around at night. The university has to think about being part of the community, the students are part of the community. How about improving lighting in the area? That will be great for improving safety, try pro-investing and putting up cameras with the municipality to try and stop crime.”

Despite concerns by neighbours, students remain unappeased. Msizi Mkhize, a student who was also in the frontlines of protests says that “The tension is caused by minor issues which shouldn’t be issues and the cause of this is because of racial issues”. Current secretary and vocal Nompilo Mkhize says “We are a black student residence in a predominantly white suburban area. Students are loud, up and down at all times of the night and that doesn’t comply with the so-called environment we find ourselves in. When black people are in spaces that white people feel belongs to them, they feel the need to police the actions of black children.” Asked if students play a role in the issue, she said “No - black people can’t be racist, it’s a power thing. There aren’t many derogatory terms that cause emotional or psychological trauma to white people when referring to them”. Hearing these allegations by students, Lambert says “Honestly, race isn’t an issue. I don’t care if it’s a white, Indian or coloured person-if you’re making a noise you’re keeping me up, you’re a problem and I believe that the rest of the community views it that way”. Elaborating on this, Thamsanqa Sixholo, an employee at Clout Media warns that students need to be careful not to make it racial when it really isn’t, hence there remains no basis to the allegations.

The issue has been reported in the past by local print-media, and Thuthukani Nkosi states, “The way that the whole thing is presented is biased. I don’t even bother to look at it,”. A female student who has lived in the res for a year shares similar views, saying “As a reporter, you can’t look at one perspective, you need to understand both perspectives to come up with a conclusion-they never get to the problem because they are looking at it from one perspective”. Samkelisiwe Gumede says, “Reckless, rebellious. You’d read articles about us which are mostly opinionated,”.

In finding solutions towards a better state of relations, students feel that they should be in negotiating terms with their neighbours instead of being dictated through the university. Neighbours stand firm in wanting to establish healthy relations with the young minds as they express that they would like more of a relationship with the students by saying, “It’s quite nice to see what new students are like and what they’re doing-it would be nice if we could talk to each other more”. When asked for comment, the university was not available for comment.

[Sunday Tribute Youth Edition Contribution]