This post was written by Hatchet reporter James Levinson.
For three GW students studying abroad at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, final exams have been postponed.
A series of weeks-long protests against tuition increases at all public institutions in South Africa halted at the University of Cape Town last week with a tentative deal with the university’s president, though students from the institutions are expected to rally at Parliament Monday.
Students organized using the hashtag #FeesMustFall. The protests, which led to a nationwide shutdown of all public universities, were met with riot police armed with tear gas, but one GW student at the University of Cape Town said he did not feel unsafe.

“Aside from having no class, things have been utterly normal for me,” David Giordano, a junior, said in an email. “The protests were something that needed to be actively sought out; if you wanted no part in them, that was easy to avoid.”
Last week, final exams were cancelled due to the protests. University spokesman Kurtis Hiatt said GW will work with the University of Cape Town program to ensure the three students complete their final exams.
“All are on a provider program and the program and its local staff in Cape Town has been issuing recommendations directly to students,” he said. “In any situation where coursework is disrupted, the university works with the program and/or university to find alternatives to complete assignments and exams and transfer credit to the greatest extent possible.”
The nationwide protests began Oct. 14 at the University of the Witwatersrand, where students organized a protest against an 11 percent increase in tuition and other fees and a 6 percent increase in the cost of registration fees. Protests at the University of the Western Cape continued Monday against the school’s use of private security guards to control the students.
South Africa’s Deputy Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Mañana is expected to address students’ concerns sometime Monday.
