The Bellville campus of the University of the Western Cape was eerily quiet and tense yesterday amid empty cartridges, fire-scarred remains and heightened security - stark reminders of events of the previous day. Sixteen students appeared in court for the role they allegedly played in the violence. Bail was set at R3000 each and when they couldn't afford it, a quick fund-raising drive collected the R48000 in a matter of hours.After their appearance in the Bellville Magistrate's Court, a news conference was hosted by the National Union of Mineworkers South Africa, which was attended by parents of some students.One parent, Marcus Solomon, said he worried about his child, and called for an independent inquiry into who started the violence."Most students have parents who are not here [in Cape Town]. The rector should have been here," he said to loud applause.Pastor Xola Skosana, who has acted as a mediator on campus - he was there during Wednesday's flare-up - said: "South Africa is held hostage by white power." He called for students to continue their fight for quality free education."The students have said: 'This is the way'. We must be humble enough to follow them," he said.The university said exams would resume on Monday.The Eduardo Dos Santos, Chris Hani and Basil February residences were worst hit by Wednesday's unrest. Abandoned hosepipes lay next to charred furniture and equipment yesterday while hundreds of doors and windows were broken.Students said police drove them into their residences and continued to bombard them with teargas, stun grenades and rubber bullets until 2am yesterday."We sat with the lights off and kept quiet, waiting until it was safe to come out," one said.Most students would not give names for fear of victimisation, but they had to present IDs to police and security while moving around.Rector and vice-chancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, said a "large majority of students agree with fees being lowered because of their financial circumstances"."But they do not think the university should come to a standstill and they want to prepare for exams. Many come from home environments in which they can't study; but they can on campus."He said he was "horrified" by the level of intimidation by those wanting to disrupt exams.Constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos said while he supported the goals of the #FeesMustFall movement, the situation at UWC seemed separate from this."It looks complicated. I think it is strategically unwise to act in a way that will alienate people. It seems to me no one acted well in the UWC matter - students were out of control and so were council members," he said.Additional reporting Aarti J Narsee..