Staffrider Vol.6 No.2 1985 - DISA

By Jan Esmondrand UIllustrated by Percy Sedumedi'Unfortunately there is still a commonbelief that the main thing one should dofor someone having a fit is to forcesomething between their teeth so as tokeep them from biting or choking onthe tongue. This manoeuvre shouldnever be attempted as it may damagethe sufferer's mouth. I'll finish off thelecture by reminding you that the mostimportant contribution you can make ifsomeone has an epileptic fit in yourpresence is to ensure that the person isnot in any physical danger during thefit. Thank you. That is all.'Downing always finished his lectureswith a formal 'that is all', as if theinformation imparted would be incompletewithout it. Many a student,eager to get down his every word (afterall he did make it clear that the examswould be based on his notes) would findthe rushing pen taking down thosecompleting words. This session however,books were closing as he said 'you'.News had come down from the maincampus that a protest meeting hadbeen called. It was always a mysteryhow these rumours circulated, like nervecells in the brain communicating bysending tiny electrical signals back andforth.I wonder ifthere will be anythingmore than just talkthis time.We drove out of the now worldfamous Groote Schuur hospital whereChris Barnard had recently performedhis first heart transplant, passing througha number of stop streets, only yielding,over the bridge and onto the highwayleading to the main campus a mile away.Above the busy highway, looking downonto the hospital, lie hundreds of acresof sloping lush fields and forest wheredeer graze contentedly at the feet ofCecil Rhodes, his vision cast northwards,all the way to Cairo. A view taking inwealth and poverty, rolling hills anddesolate flatness, neatly laid out suburbsand sprawling shanty towns whose tinwalls reverberate to the sound of jetengines passing so low overhead thatmakeshift holes in the ground latrinescan be seen from the aircraft windows.T wonder if there will be anythingmore than just talk this time.' John'sfather had recently been arrested andwas being held in detention with nofixed trial date. 'All they seem to do atthe meetings is pass resolutions. Fancywords and no action. We need to get outinto the streets and take our proteststo the people.' His father was a wellknown commercial attorney, who, tothe surprise of his contemporaries, hadstarted taking on more and morepolitical work. 'We are so cut off hereon the campus what's the point ofmeetings and sit-ins. Look at it,' he saidpointing. 'Sure it is the most beautifulcampus in the world, but it must be theepitome of the isolated ivory tower. Itlooks supercilious sitting there on theside of the mountain way above themain road, like an observer, watching,disapproving, criticising but not gettingoff its bum to change anything.' He wassilent a moment. 'Look how JamesonHall juts out from the side of themountain like a chin waiting to take ablow. Maybe it is freedom that is goingto get a beating,' he said almost tohimself. continued on page 26STAFFRIDER, VOL. 6 NO. 2, 1985 23