#RhodesMustFall reaches Oxford University

The #RhodesMustFall protests at the University of Cape Town have just jumped borders. A group of students at Oxford University in the United Kingdom have begun to demonstrate against the Rhodes statue in solidarity with students at UCT.

Students in Rhodes’ home nation aren’t too impressed with the colonialist hovering over their university. Ntokozo Sboh Qwabe, a student from South Africa studying at Oxford, took to Facebook to show that Rhodes isn’t just a problem in South Africa – his legacy is contested all over the world.

“Despite public order police being called to remove us prematurely, nothing could stop us from conveying the message! Rhodes Must Fall everywhere!” Qwabe wrote on Facebook.

Oriel College, which is home to 450 students from “all kinds of schools, backgrounds and countries”, is one of the oldest colleges at Oxford University, which is made up of 38 colleges.

But with Rhodes standing above the doors to Oriel’s entrance, evidently the prestigious college isn’t as welcoming as it likes to think.

“There is no space for symbols of oppression and domination within the gates of learning,” Qwabe wrote on Facebook. “We are in solidarity with students at the University of Cape Town in the struggle against institutional violence.”

– Featured image via Wikimedia Commons