If intolerance was their driving force, the University of Cape Town students who made a bonfire out of art works this week are in dubious company. Violent expressions of animosity, such as the xenophobic attacks that have disgraced the country or the hate speech that has become such a regrettable part of our social discourse, seldom reflect well on their perpetrators.If the students merely wanted to expunge parts of UCT's history they do not care for, they are on another well-used but disreputable path. It's such a tragic irony that their actions negate the principles of the academic freedom they purport to cherish.story_article_left1The manner in which Tuesday's flames were fuelled by students grabbing paintings off the walls of residences suggests something else: that the protests, which began when a bucket of sewage was hurled at a statue but became a national movement with noble aims and notable successes, have returned to their malodorous roots. It was a bonfire of insanity.In the same way that the EFF's state of the nation address antics riveted South Africa in 2015 but felt like a tired old joke a year later, what we saw on Tuesday was nothing more than a thuggish, attention-seeking stunt.In the past year, protesting students have displayed a limited appreciation of irony, none more than those whose studies are funded by the bequests of Cecil John Rhodes but who still purport to find his legacy distasteful. It will probably have escaped them, therefore, that among the paintings that went up in smoke were at least two by Keresemose Richard Baholo, the first black student to receive a master's degree in fine art at UCT.The university reacted rapidly to this week's unrest, with criminal charges, suspensions, an interdict and a heavy security presence on campus, all of which were necessary and appropriate. But it must also take its share of responsibility for what happened.story_article_right2After the dismantling of the Rhodes statue, its decision - by commission or omission - to leave hundreds of apartheid-era art works in more than 50 buildings frequented by angry students was blinkered. And nearly a year since vice-chancellor Max Price said the renaming of the university's central Jameson Hall and other buildings was "on the agenda", a decision has not been made.The repercussions of this week's unrest have to be dealt with, and as we saw when students laid criminal charges against Price and others on Thursday, further conflict is inevitable. But for the sake of the law-abiding majority it must be minimised.The Orwellian solution would be the rapid removal of potential sources of offence on campuses and in buildings - paintings, statues, names - with the intention of providing breathing space for calm, rational discussions about what African universities should look and feel like in the post-colonial democratic era. The snag is, the small number of students who have resorted to criminality have rejected calm rationality.In October last year, although they were teargassed for their pains, thousands of students gathered peacefully at parliament during then-finance minister Nhlanhla Nene's midterm budget policy statement. In that disciplined demonstration of solidarity, they gave a clear indication of how their rabble-rousing minority can best be dealt with so that what really matters - affordable higher education for all who desire it - can return to the top of the agenda...