''I am more than just a coloured women''- Narrating undergraduate experiences at a historically white South African univerisity / created by D Daniels

Transformation of South Africa's HWIs is evidenced by a diversification of their student and staff populations. The transition from exclusion to inclusion of black minority student populations and their cultures on to these university campuses has not been without challenge for those accessing these institutions. This article reports on a study that was conducted at Stellenbosch University about the experiences of five black women undergraduate students at this still predominantly white Afrikaans university. The findings show that despite legislated pressure and institutional policy initiatives to transform, these “Coloured” undergraduate students do not experience the university environment as inclusive. What emerged were a prevailing awareness of otherness and an acute awareness of their minority status. The small numbers of minority students, together with a lack of symbols or icons that reflect and acknowledge the presence of diverse cultures exacerbate the feeling of being in the minority or a ‘tolerated otherness”. They experience SU as a university typified by a culture and practices that cling to traditions that are not always sensitive to the impact of history or diversity. This type of organisational culture in which covert and overt resistance to transformation is the norm, hampers the political will to move from policy to practice, and entrench the experience of marginalization.