David Macgregor
RHODES University has warned students that the administration will not tolerate bigotry after "unauthorised posters with an ominous, homophobic message" appeared alongside Gay Pride week posters.
In a campus-wide e-mail, dean of students Dr Vivian de Klerk said no form of bigotry would be tolerated.
"Homophobia, and homophobic abuse in all its forms, have no place here.
"Conduct, relationships and responsibilities at Rhodes are guided by the values of the South African constitution and Bill of Rights, and this means that we must respect human dignity, human rights, equality, non-sexism, non-homophobia and non-racialism," she said.
The e-mail comes after posters were stuck near those raising awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexed issues.
Headlined "The Kingdom of God is near", the poster goes on to say "good news, the Devil is a liare (sic)! You can be saved ... "
University student services officer and gay and lesbian activist Larissa Klazinga confirmed several of the posters had been placed on or near OUTRhodes posters. She said she was investigating the incident.
"The dean of students' office co-sponsored the annual Pride Week as we believe it fulfills a valuable educational and advocacy platform," she said.
Klazinga said homophobic attacks had been a problem in the past in Grahamstown.
If the person responsible for the mystery posters was identified, it would need to be established whether the message constituted hate speech before punishment could be imposed.
