On-campus outrage in South Africa due to online video

A video circulated online depicting white students exploiting black workers at a South African University has elicited national outrage and near riots today.

Filmed at South Africa's University of the Free State, the video features a group of white students going through Jackass-esque events with members of the maintenance staff, who all appear to be willingly participating, chugging beer, engaging in sports, and ultimately consuming what appears to be chili in which one of the students urinated.

When the video was made in the university's Reitz Residence hall, on-campus housing facilities were racially segregated, and the university's plan to integrate allegedly inspired the group to film their opinion of the upcoming change.

The inner title at the end of the clip says "This, at the end of the day, is what we think of integration," while in the background, the cameraman's voice prompts a member of the cleaning staff to repeat what the word "sefebe" means in Afrikaans.

Today, classes on campus have been cancelled, as large protest groups amassed outside of the residence hall where the video was filmed. South Africa's News24 reported that riot police had to be dispatched, using stun grenades to scud protesters.

Further illustrating the power of online sharing, the video was made last year, but only surfaced yesterday. Today, it has shut down the campus, police have put up roadblocks, and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union as well as other groups have established picket lines across the university's grounds.