*Divestiture would harden attitudes among whites;

*If it affected the economy at all, it would undercut economic growth, which has permitted the promotion of Africans; and,

*South African laws require the transfer of divested holdings to other investors.

In the past, de Villiers adds, U.S. industry has "tended to adopt the color of local industry; it hasn't been very innovative." She suggests that instead of pulling out, U.S. multinationals might train Africans for skilled and managerial positions.

Countering charges that new Nationalist employment policies intend to create a manageable African middle class as a buffer to working-class unrest, she says, "You can't very well create a middle class and not give them any rights, can you? And you can't go around and say [to the Blacks], 'Look you can have rights, and you can't.'"

In South Africa, she says, "There is no limit on the freedom of the journalist to criticize, only on his freedom to report." Journalists are subject to numerous laws restricting reporting, including the Prisons Act, the Defense Act, and the Suppression of Communism Act. But such limitations have not stopped the South African press from being a progressive force, she says.

"In some ways, South Africa is a small society," de Villiers says, explaining that as a journalist she knows all the leading political figures as well as many artists. As a Nieman Fellow, she appreciates "the overwhelming richness of intellectual resources at Harvard." While here, she is studying government, taking courses on nationalism, political social change, and U.S. foreign affairs. Her goal: "to amplify my understanding of the U.S. and world politics" de Villiers believes her Nieman Fellowship provides a beneficial change. "The mid-career break is necessary to give one time for reflection," she says, adding, "As a journalist in South Africa you're constantly on the sharp edge of things."