By Frederick Philander WINDHOEK Campus violence, or any form of alcohol abuse by any student or staff member at the Polytechnic of Namibia, will not at all be tolerated this year. This warning by the Vice-Rector of administration and finance, dr Gert Gunzel, comes in the wake of a seriously violent incident last year in which a Student Representative Council member almost killed a fellow student with a knife during a drunken brawl. “Last year alone, we had 12 student disciplinary hearings and an expulsion because of a violent stabbing incident in which a fellow student was almost killed by an SRC member. This sort of behaviour is totally unacceptable to the Polytechnic of Namibia, and should be rooted out,” said the Dean of students at the institution, Frieda Shimbuli, yesterday morning during a two-day student leadership workshop on campus. A few years ago, a male student stabbed to death his own brother on campus. “Most of these incidents are alcohol-related, despite the stringent measures and policies in place on campus. Students smuggle alcohol into the hostels, get drunk and involved in unnecessary arguments and violent actions. My recollection of last year’s incident is that the SRC member argued about alcohol during test time, an incident which ended in violence. The student was stabbed four times and was taken to hospital, with the perpetrator being arrested,” said dr Gunzel during a short interview in his office. According to dr Gunzel, this behaviour puts the Polytechnic in a bad light. “The victim of last year’s stabbing incident was suspended from the hostel, but was allowed to continue his studies. The perpetrator of the violence was summarily expelled from the polytechnic and will never again be allowed re-entry to the institution,” said Frieda Shimbuli as a warning to other would-be perpetrators of violence on campus.