Students at the University of Cape Town protest on March 20, 2015, against the statue of Cecil John Rhodes, a colonialist who donated the land for the institution and is widely seen as an icon of the oppression and exploitation of the country by whites. Rodger Bosch / AFP / Getty Images

Ramaru, one of the protest leaders, said that white students had joined the protest for racial transformation at UCT. However, their role was limited to one of solidarity and support.

“Their presence should be a form of solidarity rather than trying to dictate the direction of this process,” said Ramaru. “The main thing is they take directives from black students whose struggle this is.”

For more than a week, students occupied the Bremner Building, a modern, somewhat stately administrative structure on campus. On the top floor, where a conference room is adorned with large oil paintings of the university’s previous vice chancellors, an observer could see bedrolls, empty drinking glasses and a waste basket stuffed with cups and used paper plates.

On a sign outside, students taped a poster board over the building’s nameplate, re-christening it “Azania House.” Azania is a reference used by some liberation organizations as a rejection of what they consider the colonial nomenclature “South Africa.”

During their time there, the students held nightly meetings where they watched documentaries about apartheid and the killing of South African mineworkers.

Outside the building, Thandeka said that she wasn’t politically active before the protest but has found a new voice now. As she explained what the protest has meant to her, cheering and acclaim could be heard from inside.

“You hear that?” Thandeka asked. “That is the first [time] that is happening. Black acknowledgement. Applause.”

At a recent meeting at UCT about the protests, the university’s president of convocation, Barney Pityana, a former anti-apartheid activist who had allegedly criticized the protest, was heckled. Maxwele said young people are tired of being led.

“It’s a rejection of our fathers. We are saying to our fathers, with respect, sit down and we will deal with white power ourselves,” Maxwele said.

Kessi said that UCT students are not alone in their frustration with the slow pace of change. “This kind of thing signifies the beginning of a rainbow nation, imagining a transformed nation where those oppressed by the system are making demands that can have real changes in their lives. It’s not the end, it’s the beginning."

The protests at UCT have set off similar demonstrations at other South African universities. Students at Rhodes University have demanded that the name of their school be changed. Last week at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Howard College campus, a statue of King George V was vandalized with white paint. A sign was hung reading: “End White Privilege”.

When the statue was boxed more than a week ago, the students at Azania House celebrated, albeit in a subdued way, while preparing for a barbecue. A DJ had set up a mixing board and speakers and music was already starting to pump.

Ramaru said that while the students had won a victory on a statue, they would continue to occupy the building until their demands for racial transformation were met. “This movement is not just about a statue, it’s about decolonizing the colonial structure, the curriculum and everything it stands for.”