“You are fantastic people, you need to say to yourself, the sky is the limit, nothing is going to stop me from becoming the best that I can be. And so I say to you, please be the best that you can be, and that could include being a Nobel laureate.”
“You are fantastic people, you need to say to yourself, the sky is the limit, nothing is going to stop me from becoming the best that I can be. And so I say to you, please be the best that you can be, and that could include being a Nobel laureate.”
The words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was guest of honour at the Rhodes University naming ceremony on Wednesday. Tutu and three other struggle activists had new residences and halls named after them.
Speaking at the newly named Desmond Tutu Hall, the retired archbishop said he felt privileged and grateful that the students had voted to have the hall named after him.
Tutu, a Nobel Peace Laureate and a key figure in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, has continued to be voice of moral activism in contemporary South Africa. Political activists Aminah Cachalia, James and Fort Calata and Ellen Khuzwayo were also honoured.
“Great people leave behind a legacy that lasts a lifetime,” said Khuzwayo’s grandson. Khuzwayo was a political activist and a campaigner for women's rights. Speaking at the same ceremony, Cachalia thanked the university for honouring her.
“I wish the University strength in its journey as it seeks to remake and reimagine the University as a South African University, based on values of non-racialism, non-sexism and democracy that are enshrined in our constitution”.
She said the naming process enabled students to not only learn the meaning of democracy in practice, but also to grapple with finding solutions to the social conflicts and contradictions that continued to divide South African society.
The gathering of students and dignitaries met at Calata residence for men, now named after James Calata and his son, Fort. The Calatas were political activists. The father was former Secretary General for the ANC and his son was an organiser in the United Democratic Front (UDF), and was one of the Cradock Four killed by apartheid security forces.
These four buildings now contribute to the rich naming history at Rhodes University, as most residences and halls honour struggle activists here and abroad.
