Tuesday, 13 March 2018

TOO RICH FOR NSFAS, TOO POOR TO PAY FEES!

#FEESMUSTFALL Movement 

The hash tag fees must fall movement was started in the year 2015 by the university students with the aim of getting the government to decrease fees or provide free quality tertiary education https://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/south-africa-fees-must-fall/
But students at poorer institutions like Fort Hare University and Cape Peninsula University of technology have been protesting against rising fees since 1994, but then their protest action was ignored. Was it because social media didn’t exist then? Was it because Twitter, Facebook and Instagram weren’t a norm then?

Let us break it down, social media has changed ways in people interact with current affairs like the basic need of education, it has changed ways in which events are reported to the public or the target audience and it has perceived the ways in which people receive the news; people get to see and hear two sides of the story and they get to give their opinion.https://studentnewsgrid.com/2016/11/fees-must-fall-social-media-instagram/ and  https://twitter.com/search?q=%23FEESMUSTFALL

Advantages of social media for public relations practitioners
The opportunities of social media for the public relations practitioners is that it's cheap for the public relations to communicate their message and that one click can spread and reach the entire world, and that different people in different areas can be a part of the conversation through social media; the message can reach vast audiences.
https://www.business2community.com/social-media/10-key-benefits-social-media-business-01461178


Video of Wits Students singing  https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=1rrLFCmJzT8



Disadvantages of social media for public relations 
The challenges of social media for the public relations practitioners is that, people who participated in the conversation posted pictures and videos that showed violence between the students and police which then created negativity around the campaign, and social media can also promote violence through pictures and videos shared. https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/feesmustfall-tension-violence-in-second-week-of-ufsshutdown-11716570


























video of students singing struggle songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0lktLiBKTg

In conclusion I recommend that future campaigns ensure that they don't promote or condone violent behaviour; by making sure that violent pictures and videos don't make it on social media and they dont spread faster than the positivity of the campaign. Future campaigns need to take control of the converstaions that happen on social media regarding their campaigns, even though people have the right to express their opinions they also need to remember the purpose behind the activism. 



  


13 comments:

  1. Social media does indeed have the power to create or destroy. It played a huge impact during the #FeesMustFall campaign, one would argue if it played a good or bad role though.

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  2. @Hope social media does have a huge impact on spreading information about certain issues that the government need to attend but still ignores, without it we would be still protesting with no impact like the year 1900's

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  3. #FeesMustFall a powerful campaign that took place in 2015 where students voiced out their concerns on Varsity fees. We are all from different financial backgrounds and i support what the students campaigned about #FeesMustFall this is because university expenditure is quite high for most parents as their earnings aren't enough to pay finances required by universities. The student campaign went viral on social media becuase the fees must fall campaign was shared by everyone students and people in our country this shows how powerful social media can be. The strike that took place was similar to the soweto uprising becuase student were fighting for educating rights,so this should create awareness to the government that it is important that he takes the education matter seriously

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    1. @Teboho I disagree because the strike that took place 1976 is totally different from #FEESMUSTFALL because fees must fall is movement about quality free education whereas the Soweto uprising was about the Bantu education, those are two different aspects but with a common goal of getting educated.

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  4. The problem about social media is that one cannot control what is said or posted so it will be difficult for campaigns to control what is being said about them

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    1. @Lethu that's true but some apps have registrations about content that gets posted on it for example sensitive or sexual content

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  5. I agree with the face that voilence should stop being condoned because at the end of the day theu end up ruining things that theu will need in future such as libraries. Campaigns can be based on giving people a voice and actually listening to what they have to say and not just brushing them off.

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  6. I agree with the face that voilence should stop being condoned because at the end of the day theu end up ruining things that theu will need in future such as libraries. Campaigns can be based on giving people a voice and actually listening to what they have to say and not just brushing them off.

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    1. Could have not said any better, violence just brings out another reason as to why our problems won't get solved or attended too.

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  7. I don't think social media will stop showing the violence of these campaigns because its their way of showing the public how other people feel about such issues.

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    1. @Busi, yes it might be a way of showing the public how people feel about the issue but violence has a negative impact on how people view campaigns which results in them losing the whole point of the campaign.

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  8. The students really were brave starting this initiative. It could have just failed and not even go viral but the power of social media is amazing

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  9. @Queen could'nt have said it any better, yes social plays a vital role in terms of communicating messages around the world.

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