Free State brawlers won't be suspended

28 April 2016 - 02:19 By Poppy Louw

The University of the Free State will not suspend any of the students involved in a brawl between protesters and rugby supporters in February.This emerged last week as the university started issuing notices to begin a disciplinary process into the incident.Social media erupted in February after a video went viral, showing students protesting over the outsourcing of cleaning jobs at the campus clashing with rugby supporters during a Varsity Cup match.Some of the charges against the students include vandalism of property, inciting violence and bringing the name of the institution into disrepute.UFS spokesman Lacea Loader said the decision not to suspend any of the students was to allow them to continue their studies."The disciplinary hearings will be conducted before an independent panel," Loader said.But not everyone is happy at how the university has handled the recent unrest.Student Representative Council president Lindokuhle Ntuli said many students were angered by university management's disciplinary process.According to Ntuli, only seven rugby supporters were issued with charge sheets, alongside eight protesters."On the footage you can clearly see that there were more than seven supporters assaulting protesters," he said.Police are also investigating other incidents that occurred on campus during the time of unrest, including those involving people who were not UFS students...

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