Reflections of South African Student Leaders 1994 to 2017

Reflections of South African Student Leaders 1994-2017 brings together the reflections of twelve former SRC leaders from across the landscape of South African universities. Each student leader’s reflections are presented in a dedicated chapter that draws closely on an interview conducted in the course of 2018/19 which was followed by an interactive process of co-editing, correcting, and approving the chapter between the researchers and the student leaders.

Key topics covered in the chapters are:

• Personal background and context of getting involved in student leadership
• Role as member of the SRC and the role of the SRC in the university
• Support received from the university and student affairs
• Student governance model, SRC electoral system, and induction
• The involvement of partisan student organisations and political parties in the SRC
• Relationship with the student body, communication, conscientisation and mobilisation
• Student representation in university governance structures (‘co-operative governance’)
• Main challenges, student issues and demands
• Strategies and tactics of student politics, representation and activism
• Reflections on the 2015/16 student movement: #RhodesMustFall, #FeesMustFall, #EndOutsourcing, etc.
• Lessons for current and future student leaders
• The biographical impact of the student leadership experience