Wilgenhof residents & parents set to fight res closure in court….

Residents of Wilgenhof at Stellenbosch University are in “despair” following the decision to close down the residence following an investigation into two rooms used by an internal disciplinary committee. In this interview with BizNews, Nicola Theron, a spokesperson of the Association for the Advancement of Wilgenhof Residents, speaks about the ultimatum given to the SU Council to not implement the decision of 16 September to close Wilgenhof in 2025. Should no such undertaking be given, the Association will turn to the Western Cape High Court to obtain an urgent interdict to keep the residence open. She says: “…this can't be a rational decision either if one thinks about the psychological and the trauma impact on these, what are essentially children really; they are young adults, but they are children.” Theron describes how the current Wilgenhoffers celebrated Heritage Day “amidst this feeling of gloom and disappointment...it's really despair...a deep disillusionment with the university environment, which I think they expected to be nurturing in terms of education, nurturing in terms of their duty of care. And I think they feel abandoned really by the university."