This dissertation examines the important role students at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape of South Africa played in the destruction of apartheid in South Africa from 1970-1994. The culture of student activism that has been firmly entrenched at Fort Hare can be traced as far back as the mid-twentieth century with former students such as Oliver Tambo, Robert Sobukwe, and Nelson Mandela, to name only a few. This thesis shall trace student activism at Fort Hare during the last two decades leading up to the 1994 elections.

The dissertation contends that students at Fort Hare during this era made substantial contributions to the South African liberation struggle and the dismantling of the apartheid government-backed Bantustan "Homeland" structures and educational system. The thesis highlights several factors that influenced student activism, such as: quality of food, housing, and institutional racism. The thesis asserts that from 1970-1994, students at the University of Fort Hare played leading roles in organized resistance to racial oppression and helped to ensure victory against the apartheid regime.

The dissertation addresses three fundamental issues: the Bantu Education System and its impact on African university students, student-led resistance to apartheid, and the growth of student activism in South Africa. Since its inception in 1916, Fort Hare students have had an enormous impact on South Africa, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa. The role that students played in bringing about social change in South Africa in the twentieth century cannot be underestimated and is intricately woven within the fabric of South Africa's history.