Photos: Wouter Pienaar

Protesters marched along the streets on the Bult chanting various phrases and singing songs to create awareness amongst the general public. “We want the NWU to scrap their vaccine policy so that every student (vaxed and un-vaxed) has the same access to the NWU. We don’t want any exemptions as we feel not even exemptions should be mandatory,” stated Hammann.

The pro-choice group also drew up a memorandum with various requests to the NWU regarding the proposed vaccination policy. “We demand that the NWU cancel their vaccination policy which they issued on 4 February 2022. We demand that the NWU cancel the need for exemptions. We also want the NWU to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated students equally with regards to access to all of the NWU’s facilities. We also demand that the NWU do not reinstate policies that are the same as the current vaccination policy,” stated Hamann.

The memorandum of requests was also handed over to Dr. Sibusiso Chalufu, executive director of student life at the NWU. According to the pro-choice group, the NWU has until 1 March to meet the demands in their memorandum.

NWU spokesperson, Bertie Jacobs, stated that the NWU was aware of the protest and approved it.

“The NWU respects the rights of individuals to express their opinions in public and to exercise their right to freedom of speech. We encourage robust discussions on timely topics as part of our goal to deliver well-balanced students,” said Jacobs in an official statement.