In his inaugural speech as the 13th rector and vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS)‚ Professor Jonathan Jansen dropped a bombshell. In the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness‚ he invited four students from the Reitz hostel who had made a video of cleaning staff being forced to eat food laced with urine to continue their studies on campus.Jonathan Jansen’s inaugural speech as Vice Chancellor of UFS – full textIt was the start of a turbulent journey at the helm of the conservative‚ Afrikaans-speaking university with 27000 students where he devoted his energy to racial integration and harmony. “Those four students who committed that heinous act are my students. If I may borrow from another leader‚ I cannot deny them‚ any more than I cannot deny my own children. The four Reitz students are children of this country‚ they are youth of the province‚ and they are students of our university. They are‚ I repeat‚ my students‚” he said.Reitz Four found guilty of crimen injuriaThe four former Free State University students known as the Reitz Four were found guilty on a charge of crimen injuria by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court. There was a public outcry over the video and how the university handled the four students.Jansen‚ an award-winning author who also penned controversial newspaper columns‚ has had to deal with several dramas involving race since his appointment in 2009. But he is also credited with bringing sweeping changes and “healing” some of the deep-rooted racial divides to the university and being a passionate educator.He confirmed receiving death threats in February after protesters and students were involved in a brawl during a Varsity Cup match between UFS and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Spectators chased and beat the group of protesters.Critics and student representatives have accused Jansen of putting the interests of some race groups above others and “sweeping racism under the carpet”.The university agreed to raise the minimum wages of its workers from R2500 to R5000 after their plight was highlighted last year during the #FeesMustFall protests.Two white students who attacked a black student on campus were expelled and handed over to police by the university early in 2014.Jansen was the subject of a backlash in 2011 over proposed changes to the university logo. AfriForum conducted a survey claiming that more than 93% of students were against the word God being omitted from the logo and replaced with the word truth.He warned‚ in a 2011 interview with the Daily Maverick: “I don’t see education in South Africa going too far.”“And until we have a government and a political leadership that is prepared to wrest control of the public schooling (in the 75% of schools that are the most damaged)‚ forget it‚ forget economic growth‚ forget public decency‚ forget democracy. Because corruption is not going to kill this country; crime is not going to kill this country; a poor schooling system is going to kill this country‚” he said. - TMG Digital..