13 August 2018 Issue 12 Year 80

Perdeby

Official independent student newspaper of the University of Pretoria 13 August 2018

Hatmed Medical and Dental Centre 454 Hilda Street, Hatfield

Tel: 012 362 7180

Memorial service held for Teyise Mdluli

80

year 80 issue12

Pg. 3

NSFAS applications for 2019 suspended Pg. 4

If it’s too good to be true, it’s a scam

Pg. 6

Olympus victorious at UP A Capella 2018 Pg. 8

From left clockwise: Sho Madjozi, Van Pletzen, Oliver Mtukudzi, Crimson House. Photos: Sam Mukwamu

round-up Pg. 10

The importance of African literature Pg. 8

2

Editorial | 13 August 2018

Count your blessings

Editorial

W

hat. A. Week. I know that I have started some editorials like this in the past, but this last week was definitely one for the books.

I would be lying if I said I had a good week. The events of the week made me almost make the decision not to go to Oppi.

I ended up going, but that maybe wasn’t the best idea either. I ended up hurting myself, having my tent broken into, and I was part of a pickpocketing-turned-mugging that saw me without a cellphone (and all my OppiKoppi coverage content). I was bleak to say the least. However, while we were making our way back to Pretoria we reached an accident where there appeared to be a head-on collision. Some people were air lifted to hospital as Oppi-goers watched from a long line of cars. This made me think about my week and how things had played out and really made me count my blessings. I am blessed to be where I am, having a support structure, people who care for me, and a long list of opportunities that others might not get.

Always keep these in mind when you have a bad day or week.

Part of those blessings that I am lucky to have are the people who work at Perdeby.

Correction: “Law House installs sanitary dispensers in bathrooms” Issue 11, Year 80, 30 July 2018 The article incorrectly claimed that sanitary pad dispensers had already been installed in the ladies bathrooms of the law faculty.

The following statement was sent to Perdeby on behalf of the Law House EC: Law House has not installed sanitary dispensers in the law building. Sanitary dispensers have, however been ordered as part of Law House’s pad drive and Law House is eagerly awaiting their delivery. Pending their delivery, Law House is dispensing pads in the female bathrooms from baskets as part of the pad drive reported on in the article. Initially condom dispensers installed in the law building bathrooms by the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender were utilised for this purpose. Law House apologises for the confusion caused by using these dispensers to dispense pads instead of condoms, but remains committed to and enthusiastic about its pad drive. Pads are being collected as part of the Law Faculty Festival later this week, and all participating students are encouraged to support this initiative.

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With most of the editorial off to Oppi, the paper was finished off by a team of volunteers from the general staff. They did a fantastic job having only received a few short minutes of training from the editorial members that had to leave. I am very grateful and very proud of them.

I was sadly also unable to attend UP A Capella last week, but I would also like to congratulate Stuku on the event. I have heard that they faced many challenges getting the event together, but even though there were some obstacles, I have been told by many that it was a fantastic event. I know from the other events they have organised this year that the quality has must have been top notch.

Finally, I would like to offer my condolences to the ladies of Magrietjie, and the friends and family of Teyise Mdluli. Becoming a student leader takes a lot of courage, commitment, and hard work. I only hope that her memory lives on in the lives of those she gave her time, energy and love to.

Have a happy week.

Shaun Sproule

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13 August 2018 | News

3

Memorial service held for Teyise Mdluli

Mdluli’s friends paid tribute to her on social media. On Facebook, Nomhlekhabo Msiza wrote, “You will always be remembered. Your presence, love and kindness will forever be with us. Rest for now until we meet again baby girl.” Khetho Mayisela wrote, “We will miss you Teyise. You are with [the] angels for now and I know for a fact that you are part of them now. You will always be in our hearts angel.

We love you.”

UP SRC President, Kwena Moloto, said, “The death of Teyise Mdluli has left the entire student governance structure and all those who knew her with heavy hearts. Our condolences go out to the girls of Magrietjie where Teyise served as a HK member. May her soul rest in peace and may her memory live on in those whose lives she touched.”

Mdluli was buried on 11 August in her homecountry, Swaziland.

Tribute from Magrietjie residence:

Image provided by Magrietjie

Henri Uys

T

eyise Mdluli, a BSc Actuarial Sciences student at UP and resident of Magrietjie, died on 4 August after being involved in a motor vehicle accident.

On 8 August, a memorial service was held at the Magrietjie residence. The dining hall, where the service was held, was decorated with white roses and sunflowers, which were Mdluli’s favourite flowers. Magrietjie’s House Mother, Prof. Yolanda Jordaan, welcomed the guests. Afterwards, Prof. Themba Mosia, VicePrincipal of Student Affairs and Residence Affairs and Accommodation, addressed the guests on behalf of UP. Prof. Mosia said, “All of us here are shattered by the loss of Teyise Mdluli. It was truly unexpected. On behalf of the University of Pretoria, I would like to express our deepest condolences.” Kgomotso

Legari, Deputy Director of Student Support, also expressed his condolences. A close friend of Mdluli, Ayabonga Sithole, shared stories and memories of Mdluli and ended with a poem titled, Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye. Pastor Elzaan Pretorius from the Christian Revival Church, who knew Mdluli shared, a spiritual message with the guests.

Mdluli’s father, Senior Magistrate Phathaphatha Mdluli, shared personal memories and stories of his daughter. Mdluli Snr. said, “It is okay to grieve, it is okay to mourn, it is okay to cry, it is okay to feel all sorts of pain because that is the darkness. Definitely, after darkness, the light will come. I have grieved, I have cried, I still cry but I feel better because the light is coming.” Mdluli Snr. encouraged his daughter’s friends not to “grieve continuously”.

He said, “At one point, life must carry on.”

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Teyise Mdluli, one of our Magrietjie sisters and House Committee members. Teyise was a BSc Actuarial Sciences student and a resident in Magrietjie since 2016.

We will miss her dearly, but will remember her caring nature, lovely smile and her love to take photos with her friends.

As a pescatarian (a person who does not eat meat but does eat fish), she loved fish and also had a love for mushrooms, which she added to any meal where possible.

Teyise’s favourite flower was a sunflower which is known to be the happiest of flowers. She was like a sunflower to many, bringing happiness to their lives.

Teyise lived her life joyfully, touching the hearts of many. We will remember her by the words of Ally Donaldson: “A butterfly lives for a very short time, but still it flies joyfully capturing many hearts. It does not matter how long we live, but how we live the time we have.

Each moment in life is indeed precious.

Live it fully, be a joy, be a blessing.”

Our collective hearts go out to her family and friends, and we trust that God will grant all her loved ones the strength and fortitude to get through this difficult time.

May she rest in peace.

We will miss you, but your memory will go on forever!

From the Magrietjies

UP SRC hosts Transformation event Resego Molele

O

n 30 and 31 July, the SRC hosted a series of events with the aim of creating a safe environment in the university.

The events were centred around transformation and were hosted by SRC representative for transformation, Lihle Ngubane. The theme for Monday 30 July was Problemactivism and featured award-winning poet, Xabiso Vili, as a keynote speaker.

On 31 July, the theme was #AREWESAFEYET? and was in collaboration with UP Security services and Johannesburgbased Transform education about rape and sexual abuse also known as the TEARS foundation. The event was opened by SRC Deputy Secretary, Kutlwano Mositi, who explained that the purpose of the event is to have a dialogue on gender-based violence and introduced Sarah Matseke, acting manager for Transformation and Strategic Projects for the university and Matshepo Nthane, senior investigator for UP Security services. Nthane shared the procedure to be followed when reporting gender-based violence before reaching the police station. The procedure in place was formulated together with the safety committee of the university.

Students can go to the student centre and

report cases and will receive counselling. The student centre will refer the case to Nthane who will then open a case with SAPS and contact the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offence (FCS) on behalf of the student. The FCS will then escort the student to their crisis centre for prophylaxis treatment to prevent contraction of HIV. The Investigation unit is available to assist with any safety compromising incident even is the accused is not a student of the university. Nthane emphasized the importance of reporting a rape within 72 hours which would allow a victim to receive prophylaxis treatment, testing and allow the police to gather DNA evidence which can be used in court.

Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Tribunal, Rethabile Tshabalala, asked how the university deals with cases where the accused is a student of the university and the victim and accused must co-exist in the same environment during the investigation process. Matseke replied that it is a concern facing the safety committee as well. “Everybody is innocent until proven guilty. So, when you come to the office must I assume he is guilty just by your word of mouth? The student might be suspended or arrested sometimes but the investigation will continue so remember that you are [a] student and the other person is a student,” answered

Matseke. “If you are sharing the same dorm, they might move him or you so that the conflict cannot occur every day. But what if we suspend him and the investigation takes sometime time and then we find out that the case is not one that must go to a disciplinary action but must follow mediation. Did we not do the guy an injustice? So, we do not know who is guilty and who is not. While the investigation is going on he deserves the benefit of the doubt,” she explained.

Students asked which measures are put in place to ensure student safety on campus.

Rowan Watson, Head of Investigations for UP security services, explained that there is the green route service which is available daily from 6:00 and 18:00. “If any of you stay east of the campus between Lynwood and the main street you can ask the security to escort you anywhere right through to the main campus,” said Watson to the students.

TEARS elaborated on the various kinds of abuse that exists and the importance of believing someone when they come forward.

The foundation helps with crisis intervention, advocacy, counselling, and prevention education services for those impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and child sexual abuse.

These confidential services are provided free of charge. They can be contacted on *120*7355#.

Image: Elmarie Kruger

Let’s SpeakOut Refilwe Mofokeng

O

n 21 July, #SpeakOut held their first training session. Executive committee for community engagement, Stephanie Cookson & transformation officer, Mmathabo Lekalakala and chairperson of House Humanities, David Kabwa gathered a group of students that are passionate about the campaign. The training was facilitated by the Deputy Director of the Centre for Sexualities AIDS & Gender, Pierre Brouard. The training aimed to orientate the volunteers about UP’s approach to addressing sexual harassment, including awareness campaigns, and prevention work that informs participants about the UP sexual harassment policy and procedures including why sexual harassment has been incorporated into an omnibus discrimination policy. The training also aimed to develop a clearer understanding of what sexual harassment is, to unpack gender stereotypes and their intersections with sexual orientation. #SpeakOut hopes to equip participants with skills to challenge sexual harassment when they experience it and/or observe it and/or hear of it, as well as to equip participants with skills to assist someone who comes to talk about sexual harassment.

On 23 August, the #SpeakOut office will be launched. “We invite all students to be a part of this initiative on the day.

Many students have come forward seeking to be a part of #SpeakOut. Our objective remains the same. We must never accept a culture of silence. Speaking out against sexual harassment in all forms should be a norm and not a suggestion. In the workshop, volunteers were taught that sexual harassment can operate in a continuum.

Occurrences may begin as an annoyance, escalate to harassment and deteriorate into far worse. If one is being harassed, their first objective should be to get out of harm’s way.

In the beginning it is difficult to identify whether the person that may be harassing you may have harmful intentions. Therefore, it is important to avoid such situations.

The second objective is to try and stop the harassment before it worsens and causes damage. Thirdly, one must try and prevent these occurrences from happening again.

Fourthly, one must try to avoid harmful repercussions,” said Kabwa.

In all instances it is important to get assistance. The volunteers at the #SpeakOut office will be available for consultations with students that experience sexual harassment. They will also be able to direct students to relevant expertise should more help than a consultation be required. Kabwa went on to say, “I encourage students to speak out and engage with the #SpeakOut volunteers and orientate themselves with the various workshops and programs that CSA&G are currently running. We need to build and promote a culture where sexual harassment is not normalised. It is an issue that is to be taken seriously. If we can orientate ourselves then we will better be equipped to educate our fellow students and break a culture of silence.”

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News | 13 August 2018

What to expect from this year’s SRC elections Refilwe Mofokeng

W

ith the UP SRC elections around the corner, there are still a few students who are unsure about whether they will be participating in the voting or not. Perdeby sat down with SRC Deputy secretary, Kutlwano Mositi and he had the following to say: “I think the problem in the past was the waiting period that the students were subjected to at voting stations. However according to the 2017 election stats, the voter turned out increased from 7200 votes to 10 000+, and this was owed to the e-voting that the University introduced. I think the e-voting system is quite efficient, quick and user friendly, which is why the voter turnout increased.” When asked what the cause of students voting less and less each year could be he said. “I think what could lead to a decrease of voter turnout, could be informed by perceptions going around, things like ‘the SRC is a useless structure’ etc. The SRC in my view is a key body to voice out student concerns at all management levels of the University, and I think, the SRC as an organization must attempt by all means to remain on the ground and constantly engage with students and obtain a mandate from them. I am quite aware that this did not occur at all this year, but it is my belief that the SRC, as a body that has been mandated by students, should always be on the ground. The SRC should also try by all means to diversify its operations, so that they can also assist students on external campuses, this will get rid of the narrative that the SRC only exists on the Hatfield Campus. Only then, can the student’s confidence in the SRC will be restored,” explained Mositi.

The IEC provided the following statistics. The UP SRC election turnout was as follows: 2015 - 7455 2016 - No results (elections disrupted) 2017 - 10744

Photo: Elmarie Kruger

Image: Kayla Thomas

Perdeby asked Mositi if there is anything that the SRC is doing to ensure that there is a greater turnout of students who vote.

“The SRC is quite excited for the upcoming elections and have attempted to assist the IEC with promoting elections through our official social media platforms, as well as the website, other than that, it would require all members to stay on the ground, alongside the IEC and election candidates and convince students to participate in the upcoming elections. I am also aware that the DSA and IEC have made use of freebies to encourage voter participation, the rest unfortunately will fall on all candidates contesting in the upcoming elections.”

Marketing manager & brand ambassador of EnactusUP, Dean Manyengawana, posed a question regarding whether the SRC considered international students when they draft their mandates. Perdeby asked Mositi how the SRC attempts to ensure that they express the views of international students. He said that they formulate their mandate based on what students say to them. Due to the SRC being mainly EFF and DASO led, they come together and look

MANIFESTO PRESENTATIONS LISTEN. SHARE. THEN DECIDE.

PIAAZA

Hatfield Campus 13 - 23 AUG 2018 @ 12:30

PORTFOLIOS President, SRC Secretary, SRC Treasurer, Facilities, Safety & Security, Marketing, Media & Communications, Study Finance, Postgraduate & International Student Affairs, Day Student & External Campus Affairs,Societies, Transformation and Student Success

at what each constituency says. During their campaigning they go to external campuses and ask students what issues they are facing and what they think the SRC can do to assist.

Charisa Mujuru, a third year LLB student commented on what she would like to see the SRC doing differently and she said, “I would like the SRC to provide more protection for students who do not live on-campus residences as their security is now becoming increasingly at risk because of criminals lurking around especially in the evenings after a semester test or after studying in the library.”

Munozovepi Gwata, a third year LLB student said that she would like the SRC to be accessible to the students throughout the semester. Each SRC representative has allocated consultation hours, in which students should be able to consult with them. “I personally felt that throughout my years at Tuks, I have never found the SRC to be in their offices. If they cannot be at their offices every week then they should have set dates in which they can be available, and students know that they can find the representative in their office,” said Gwata.

DEBATES LISTEN. SHARE. THEN DECIDE. VENUES:

Noordsaal/North hall (13\08\18), Eeufees/Centenary 6 (14\08\18), IT/Lecture hall 2-26 (15\08\18), JJ Theron lecture hall (16\08\18), IT/Lecture hall 2-27 (21&23\08\18).

13 - 23 AUG 2018. 15:00 - 17:00

PORTFOLIOS: President, SRC Secretary, SRC Treasurer, Facilities, Safety & Security, Marketing, Media & Communications, Study Finance, Postgraduate & International Student Affairs, Day Student & External Campus Affairs,Societies, Transformation and Student Success

#UPSRCELECTIONS

NSFAS applications for 2019 suspended Henri Uys

A

pplications for NSFAS funding for 2019 have been suspended until further notice. The decision was taken by Minister of Higher Education and Training, Naledi Pandor. Applications would have opened on 1 August.

Pandor wrote a letter to the board of NSFAS. In the letter, Pandor said, “The department will investigate all business processes at NSFAS, and this will commence in August. However, in the interim, I am directing NSFAS not to open the applications process for 2019 on 1 August 2018. This cannot be done until 2018 processes are properly concluded. Once outstanding matters are addressed, I must be informed by the board.”

According to the Department of Higher Education and Training, some students did not receive their funding for either 2017 or 2018. Lunga Ngqengelele from the DHET said, “Starting 2019, when we have not finalised the issues of 2018 and 2017 is just compounding the problem. So this is why NSFAS wanted to make sure that we clear all the backlog in terms of the funding for the students between 2017 and 2018 and then we can begin with 2019.”

NSFAS released a statement that reads, “On 16 December 2017, The Government announced that it would be phasing in fully subsidised free higher education and training for students who come from poor and working-class households. To implement the new policy, this meant that, in a very short space of time before the start of the 2018 academic year, NSFAS had to change its initial plans, systems and processes for 2018 to accommodate the implementation of the new policy, while address[ing] the outstanding challenges inherent in the previous policy for the provision of loans and bursaries.” NSFAS explained that they acknowledged the challenges in the implementation of the new policy, and that the 2018 funding decisions for the applications received have been completed and communicated to higher education institutions for over 400 000 universities and TVETs students, including returning students.

According to the statement, NSFAS said that more than 20 000 applications have not been finalised because of outstanding supporting documents. They added that 70 338 students who are receiving funding from NSFAS for the first time have not yet signed their NSFAS Bursary Agreements or Schedule of Particulars. Students have to sign these agreements otherwise they will not receive allowances from NSFAS. It is unclear when applications will reopen.

13 August 2018 | News

5

The revised CSG addresses quota issue Mbali Mkhithi

O

n 27 June, the revised Constitution for Student Governance (CSG) was released. The most notable change was on the quota requirement in section 12 of Annexure A of the former CSG. Before these changes, on 27 March, during a meeting that was held at the Sanlam Auditorium, issues regarding the amendment of the CSG were raised which ultimately led to the collapse of the meeting. The members of the house requested that the amendments of the CSG, which were scheduled for later in the forum, be heard first. After a first voting, no majority vote was reached. Students raised more questions and arguments regarding changes to the agenda, this continued until the meeting collapsed The latest amendments do not require a specific percentage of quota but places an obligation on the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) to ensure that the newly elected SRC is representative of the study body, in line with the University of Pretoria Statute. The issue of the amendments to the CSG come after section 12 of the CSG created a contention of UP’s Constitutional function in 2017. This section provided that if the SRC profile is not at least 40% black, white, male or female, then the relevant sub-councils and committee “must aim to elect ex officio SRC members to address the race and gender profile”. As a result of this, the 2017/2018 SRC was caught in a constitutional clause chaos where elected

members had to give up their positions to students who had not been elected. They had to do this because they were of a certain race, which did not meet the requirement of the quota. Additionally, more information was added on the duties of specific portfolios which were previously vague.

With regard to the revised CSG, Mositi said, “Changes can be seen on the preamble, addition of definitions, adding more roles for SRC ex officio members, reinforcing student forum procedures, the introduction of a transformation and post grad sub-councils, and errors that needed to be fixed in the election procedures.” These changes to the CSG follow a referendum was held in terms of section 50 of the CSG which provides that at least every five years after the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, a valid referendum must be held on whether the Constitution should be reviewed. Three questions were asked through the referendum; whether students voted in the previous SRC elections, whether students thought the current student governance model in the CSG and its election process should be retained, and whether the current CSG should be changed. For a valid referendum to be constituted the condition was that, the number of UP students who participated in the referendum must have been equivalent to the number of voters of the immediate past SRC poll preceding the election and this requirement was reached, which meant that amendments were to be made on the current CSG. On 14 April 2018, the SRC took to social

UP buildings catch fire Henri Uys

O

n 31 July, a fire broke out in the Basic Sciences Building on UP’s Prinshof campus.

Tiaan Strydom, a BSc Chemistry student, said, “Everything happened really quickly.

We were busy in a pre-practical briefing on the 8th floor when a student noticed smoke pouring from the lab next door. No fire alarms had gone off. When the smoke started to fill our room, we all had to react immediately. The emergency exit doors at the back of the hall were shut and couldn’t be used so we had to go out to the corridor which was already filled with smoke. The smoke had a strong, almost rubber-like smell and people were really struggling to breathe.

There was no rendezvous point or roll-call taken outside and there was no medical attention given to anyone and students were complaining about feeling dizzy and burning lungs afterwards. It was scary and chaotic and should’ve been handled better.” Jayme Simelane said, “We didn’t take it seriously because there were no fire alarms on our floor and we only realised the severity of the situation when the amount of smoke made it difficult to breathe and see. We would have reacted a lot quicker had we heard any alarms and realised what situation we were in.”

Rikus Delport, UP spokesperson said, “On

Tuesday, 31 July at approximately 14:32, a fire broke out in the Basic Medical Sciences building on the Prinshof campus. The fire brigade was activated by the Operational Management Centre at 14:34 and arrived on the scene at approximately 14:53 together with three ambulances. The staff, students and contractors were evacuated and gathered at the emergency assembly point outside the building. This point was known to staff and students as an evacuation exercise was done on 9 May 2018 at 09:15 (as is done on an annual basis). Lecturers attempted to do roll call which was made difficult because some students had left the scene as the incident occurred. The fire brigade deployed a petroldriven fan to disperse the remaining smoke in the building and re-opened the building at 16:30, allowing personnel, students and contractors back into the building.”

Delport confirmed that two students and a contractor were treated for smoke inhalation.

One student was taken to Eugene Marais Hospital for additional treatment.

Delport reacted to eyewitnesses’ statements that the fire alarms did not go off inside the building. Delport said, “A forensic investigation is underway to the cause of the fire and why the fire alarm was not heard on the eighth and ninth floors of the building. However, the health and safety representatives of the building did use their whistles to indicate an alarm and to evacuate

Hatfield Engen heist Mbali Mkhithi

O

n 28 July, a group of armed men attacked a van delivering cash to an Engen filling station at Koeksister Crossing in Hatfield. During this incident, a security guard was shot and wounded. The perpetrators are reported to have escaped with an undisclosed amount of money. However, according to The Citizen the police said, “We’re winning the war on CIT heists”.

They explained that, “The SAPS say its stats suggest there were 61% fewer successful

heists last month than the month before.”

They are currently still trying to piece together what happened and will keep the public informed as new information arises.

Rekord Centurion reported on 27 July that according to AllCash Technologies chief executive Graeme King, there have been nearly 180 attacks on cash-in-transit vehicles and their crew in the first seven months of the year. This comes to an average of at least one attack a day. In a recent statement, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said they have drastically reduced incidences of

media and extended an invitation for students to submit suggestions of how they would like for the CSG to be amended. After the suggestions were sent to the SRC, the amendments were passed by the SRC in consultation with the Constitutional Tribunal and submitted to the Director of Student Affairs and Vice Principle for Student Affairs and Residences, Prof. Themba Mosia. Those were the two parties that submitted the proposed amendments to the Secretary of the University Council before the 10 May 2018 deadline. SRC Deputy Secretary Kutlwano Mositi told Perdeby earlier this year that, “Management has been very receptive of the amendments as they encouraged us to identify all issues with CSG and address them as soon as possible”. According to the SRC Deputy President, Mamello Molotsi, the amendment process was very long because it required the SRC to go through the entire CSG and find appropriate ways of amending it to the benefit of the students. Furthermore, it was important for them to note that they could not make structural changes. This meant that they could only tweak what already existed.

Molotsi said that, “The main idea behind the CSG amendments was to ensure that students actively participate in the process.

The CSG states that we can only present our amendments to Council in March every year, to ensure that it becomes effective in the same year. However, due to the high volumes of student cases we had during the first quarter, it became impossible to meet that deadline.

We became aware of this problem early in March 2018 while we were busy with the first stage of amendments as the SRC. Thus, we immediately communicated with the Vice Principal of Student Affairs and Residences, Prof. Mosia, regarding this matter. Prof. Mosia informed us of that the last opportunity to submit proposed CSG amendments would be early May 2018 as Council was scheduled to sit in June 2018.” Together with the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Tribunal, Antonie Klopper, they formulated a plan of action for the CSG amendments. It was in this plan of action that Mamello ensured to include student participation. The discussion around the CSG amendments and the submission of proposed amendments was scheduled to be opened to students at the first Student Forum on 27 March. However, the Student Forum collapsed and immediately thereafter was the university recess. According to Molotsi, during the first week of recess the SRC sat and realized that they had run out of time, thus they only advertised the deadline for the submission of CSG amendments to be within five days.

Molotsi said, “It was short notice, but it was all we could do at that point if we had wanted the amendments to be approved by council this year and take effect the same year.”

The amended CSG can be found on the UP Website and the SRC website. Mositi concluded, “Rome was not built in one day, and so we are of the view that the aim was reached, but much more still needs to be done, and that can only happen after five years when students would have to participate in the referendum procedure that is stipulated in the SRC.”

staff and students. We are currently looking into ways we can improve our response in the event of future incidents.

On 6 August, a fire alarm was triggered inside the Humanities Building on the Hatfield campus. Smoke could be seen coming from one of the lecture halls on the fourth floor. A portion of the building was evacuated. A few minutes later, the building reopened. Delport confirmed that “the fire alarm in the Humanities building was triggered and the building was evacuated but, on investigation, it appeared to be a false alarm”. Perdeby spoke to security staff at the Humanities Building who said that the smoke came from air-conditioning units.

Still image from video: Twitter user @Yuesie

cash-in-transit heist crime since implementing a nationwide operation at the beginning of June. According to The Citizen, police say that their 72-hour activation plan is beginning to yield results in their efforts to fight the recent spate of cash-in-transit heists in the country. The plan includes a multidisciplinary team of the Hawks investigators and forensics who are tasked with tracking down the criminals. One of South Africa’s most wanted cash-in-transit alleged kingpin, Wellington Cenenda, was arrested towards the end of July. He is believed to be linked to at least 23 heists in several parts of the country.

Gauteng police are searching for suspects behind that day’s cash-in-transit heist in Hatfield. Hatfield CID COO Security and

cleaning head, Danie Basson, told Perdeby that the CID boundaries ends at Grosvenor with nothing further east except for the I-Parioili Office Park. He explained that, “The Engen that was mentioned is the one at the Koeksister Crossing in Pretorius and Richard street. It does however form part of Hatfield. Since it is far outside our area I do not have details about the case. It is also part of the Sunnyside SAPS and not Brooklyn SAPS.” Basson concluded by saying, “We do have several safety measures in place to monitor and prevent such crimes, however, I cannot divulge detail. All our efforts and the co-ordination with several role players do make it more difficult to commit crime in our part of Hatfield.”

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Features | 13 August 2018

If it’s too good to be true, it’s a scam Inge Beukes

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he Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) were hard at work negotiating with Chinese authorities to bring back 51 young South Africans who were stranded on Chinese soils after being scammed into a teaching job. According to Times Live, a year-long teaching opportunity with a R16 000 monthly salary was sold to young South Africans by Owen Wong. Wong has since been arrested due to failing to provide work permits to the teachers upon arrival. This left the young South Africans stranded in a foreign country with their passports confiscated. The efforts of Dirco finally paid off as Chinese authorities returned the passports of the young South Africans, which saw a safe arrival back home for the 51 teachers. This incident has been tallied and added to the long list of infamous scams faced by South Africans daily.

Security Supervisor defines a scam as a quick-profit scheme where a person cheats another individual or group out of money by presenting them with false information during a deal or offer. According to PCI Security Standards Council General Manager,

Stephen Orfei, South Africa’s flourishing entrepreneurial landscape has seen it become “one of the top ten markets targeted for cyber security weakness”. In other words, South Africa has become the ideal playground for scamming.

Dave Miller, Captain at the Lyttelton Police Station, discusses the frequency of scamming incidents reported at police stations. “The amount of scamming [and] fraud cases opened at a police station will vary from area to area, but it is quite safe to say that it is a frequent occurrence”.

According to Live Mag, “phishing” lies at the top of the list for popular scams conducted in South Africa. This scam usually comes from an “official” source such as the financial institution you bank with, a social network representative or a delivery company. Phishing scams usually appear in e-mail form and contain links to supposedly authentic websites, such as those containing a bank login form or a credit card company.

When clicked, viruses and other malware can enter your system and access passwords and other information processed through your computer. Along with phishing, fake antivirus software and lottery scams have also gained

Visual: Katherine Atkinson

popularity in SA. Captain Miller points out that the common aim amongst all these scams is to get the individual to part with money. He goes on to highlight the vulnerability of students in these scams, “the prophet who wants to bless you [with] good fortune is rather common, and students usually end up losing laptops, cell phones and more to these tricksters. There are also housing scams where […] students from outside of the province will be promised accommodation and pay deposits only to find that the accommodation is in fact not available.”

Scamming in society is rife and is concealed with “good intentions” and “pureness”. The question arises how one can avoid stepping in the wrong direction.

Captain Miller sheds lights on this matter, “Never give out your personal banking details to anyone who you don’t trust, a banking institute will not send you a mail or message asking for your personal details and security pins.” Captain Miller emphasises that an individual should “try to avoid doing banking on open or free WiFi spots as these networks are not secure and hackers will be able to obtain your details”.

Lastly, Captain Miller reiterates that if a deal seams too good to be true then it usually is. He draws attention to the fact that suspects who commit these crimes are extremely sophisticated and are willing to build up trust with you. It is important to do your homework and make sure that the person you are dealing with is legitimate.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships and the fight against hunger

Photo: Katherine Atkinson

Katherine Atkinson

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n 2015 the United Nations set out to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Some of these goals, such as SDG2, were carried over from the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were meant to be achieved by 2015. SDG2 aims to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”, says the UN website. The plight of hunger resonates deeply with Africa where nearly one in five people live hungry, according to New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Following the shortcomings of the MDGs, SDG17 has encouraged multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) to take part in financing and implementing these goals. MSPs are a collaboration of stakeholders from different spheres including business, government and civil society. The involvement of MSPs to achieve the 2030 agenda, therefore, ensures collective action which pools together complementary resources. The High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on World Food security has created a report on how MSPs

can finance and improve food security and nutrition. The report was released in June 2018. One of the team leaders of this project is the University of Pretoria’s Dr Moraka Makhura, a senior lecturer in Agricultural Economics and Co-Director for the Collaborative Centre on Economics of Agricultural Research & Development.

Dr Makhura says that MSPs are “a way to complement the efforts of national governments and international organisations to [achieve] SDG2.” Dr Makhura adds that MSPs have the potential to close the estimated US$ 2,5 trillion gap that is necessary to achieve the SDGs. “MSP have potential to generate additional financial resources and also redirect existing resourc[es] more towards reducing hunger,” says Dr Makhura.

The involvement of MSPs seems essential when considering the findings of the HLPE 2018 report. The report says that after “years of decline, hunger is on the rise again and 815 million people are still undernourished worldwide”. Should this trend continue, one in two people could be malnourished by 2030.

When asked about this sudden rise in hunger, Dr Makhura said that “there is a growing

disengagement of states at [a] national level, which has resulted in reduced [...] public funding for development and addressing food and hunger”.

Dr Makhura said that each country is responsible in eradicating hunger and malnutrition. This requires a “renewed commitment of states and a strengthened public investment for food security and hunger”. Dr Makhura notes that other contributing factors to the rise in hunger include population pressure, demographic changes and urbanisation, conflicts and climate change.

East Africa is impacted by many of these issues and approximately half of Africa’s undernourished population come from this region, says NEPAD. “East Africa has been experiencing more prolonged and intensive prevalence of conflicts and humanitarian crises”, says Dr Makhura. Political tension and conflict within countries, or from neighbouring countries, make a nation vulnerable to food insecurity.

Intermittent droughts also drastically affect food security as this directly impacts production. Countries like Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan have been devastatingly affected by droughts in the past, says Dr Makhura. In 2015 to 2016 a strong El Niño caused food insecurity for “more than 50 million people” in East and Southern Africa, says World Vision. Dr Makhura notes that there are, however, “efforts being made to mitigate such challenges”.

Dr Makhura says that South Africa boasts a “more stable food availability at national level” compared to other African countries.

South Africa is also able to import with relative ease, as shown by our importation of maize during the 2015 to 2016 droughts which affected maize production. Despite this, “there are still households that are still facing food insecurity,” says Dr Makhura. On the opposite end of the spectrum, South Africa is facing rising obesity rates.

It is important to acknowledge that mass hunger means that thousands of people are malnourished, and affected for life by this.

Malnourishment affects the brain, which uses 20% of the body’s energy. This energy comes directly from food, therefore malnourished people do not reach their full mental capacity, says World Vision. Further, malnourishment effects almost every vital organ, makes skin more vulnerable to disease and causes a weakened immune system. In severe cases, malnourishment leads to death.

To prevent mass hunger, there has to be food security and nutrition (FSN). The HLPE 2018 report describes four main pillars of FSN. These include food availability, food access, utilisation and stability. While utilisation means utilising food through “adequate diet, clean water, sanitation and health care to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met”, stability means that “a population, household or individual must have access to adequate food at all times”. Dr Makhura says that there “is a great need to rethink the position of agriculture”. He says it should be thought of as not only the backbone, but also the “belly” of the economy. Dr Makhura says that “agriculture should be positioned with the food system transformation [and] should be nutrition supportive.”

To ensure that Africa’s population is adequately nourished, “calorie consumption per capita per day would need to be about 18 percent higher than it was in 2015”, says NEPAD. For context, China increased “calories per capita per day by 17 percent” between 1980 and 1990. To meet this calorie consumption demand, Africa will need to produce 47% more food than the amount that was produced in 2015.

South Africa plays a role in supporting Africa’s nutrition goals. Dr Makhura says that South Africa’s “advanced institutional network and capacity of the commercial food sector can provide complementary support in developing food value chains”. However, because other African countries have “better agricultural production potential […] South Africa should not present herself as a panacea of African food insecurity problem, but a partner adding value to the potential that the continent has,” says Dr Makhura.

13 August 2018 | Features

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Artificial Intelligence: will myth become reality?

Image: Elmarie Kruger

Alison Massey

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rtificial Intelligence (AI) is a concept that has been around since 1956, and has long fascinated scientists and science fiction writers alike.

Recently, however, there has been talk of an international “4th industrial revolution”, which is speculated to see AI introduced into our lives in a much bigger way than at present. But what implications might this have for us as students and for the already-sparse job market? Perdeby attended Professor Nelishia Pillay’s 1 August presentation, “Artificial Intelligence: Myth or reality for the 4th industrial revolution?”, to find out more.

Techtarget.com defines AI as “the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems”.

Prof. Pillay adds that AI helps machines learn from their mistakes and become more independent. The question that has for decades been on everyone’s mind is whether machines can think like a human. There is still no definite answer to this question as people’s perceptions on what it means to be intelligent differ, with some accepting things like the Turing Test a proof while others find this unconvincing. Prof. Pillay places emphasis on whether a machine’s recognition capabilities are “human competitive”. In other words, can a machine convincingly perform a task as well as a human?

Fun and Games Top Ten Top 10 reasons to skip a lecture 1. It’s a 7:30 Lecture. No excuse needed.

2. You’re three minutes late, no point in going in now.

3. You “thought” the lecture was at 11:30, not 10:30.

4. You can be there in spirit if not physically. I mean, if you went you would be there physically, but not in spirit and then what’s the point?

5. The first month (of each semester) doesn’t count anyway. The first years still haven’t gotten the idea of university life and take up all the parking, so who even gets on to campus in the first month?

6. The module is basically self-study so you’ll “study” in the library. Don’t forget to pack some earphones if you want to do this. Then listen to music very loud so that the grumpy postgrad student busy actually reading a library book can get some exercise when their heart rate and blood pressure sky-rockets.

7. You friend has your clicker. Also, if you are this friend, we thank you for your generous service. May the Jacarandas bless you upon your head and may your every hope and dream come true. Your service will not go forgotten.

8. You can get your attendance marks from the tutorials. Also, the tutors are way more chill.

9. You went to the 16:30 lecture last Friday. The lecturer just likes the sound of their own voice anyways, it will probably be a repeat of the last leacture.

10. Combine the excuses. Theres nothing more believable than being three minutes late for your 7:30 that you thought was at 8:30 because it was in Thuto 3-2 and not HB 4-3 so you just stopped by the library anyways since you were already close by so that you can self-study the work that was meant to be covered in the lecture you missed.

Machine learning is not, however, only a thing of the future and there are plenty of examples where AI is already being used to make jobs easier. Prof. Pillay outlines that in industries we use intelligent software for design, diagnostics, planning, systems and the maintenance of facilities, as well as in solving vehicle routing problems for logistics companies and aiding in airplane landings.

Some of the most ground-breaking strides in the uses of AI take place in the computer science field, particularly regarding data classification, software engineering and automating programmes. Machines are even taught to teach other machines how to learn.

As Techemergence.com explains, an area in which AI is already used extensively is the agricultural sector, which includes the use of autonomous robots to perform basic tasks as well as analysing trends and predicting patterns and forecasting.

There are infinite possible uses for AI, but arguably the most relevant possibility in our lives as students is in education. Georgia Tech, a “technology focused college” in America, created and implemented an online teaching assistant known as “Jill Watson” in 2016. Jill is capable of answering students’ questions in a chat-forum setting and has proved very successful. Thetechadvocate. org, Forbes.com and Prof. Pillay list the following as areas where AI can and, in some places already does, help both educators and students: intelligent tutoring systems that cater to specific student needs, automated assessments and automated grading for complex tasks such as essays. Also included, is the provision of in-classroom support to teachers and students and identifying problems in the classroom by analysing data and developing strategies to combat such problems.

When asked whether these applications for AI might become a reality for students

Soduku

at UP, Prof. Pillay answered that the tools are already there and have already been implemented abroad and that UP is already looking into it. We just need to establish an interest and find the man-power and funding necessary to do it at UP. As far as what the future holds for AI, there is still a lot of uncertainty. One of the biggest concerns is that it will result in people being made redundant and losing their jobs to machines and software. Prof.

Pillay’s view is mainly that although AI will undoubtedly result in a decrease in certain jobs for certain industries, the job creation that will result from maintenance needs and other aspects of AI implementation should compensate for this. She explains that AI can be used to teach workers new skills to be used in their respective industries, which the Stanford Social Innovation Review underlines with regard to web-based AI training and how it can be used to empower workers. In an interview with Businesstech. co.za, Ralph Hamann, a business professor at UCT, explained that AI has tended to create more jobs than it has eliminated, but also that businesses and government in South Africa may not yet be prepared for the way that AI can cause entire industries to restructure, like how Uber has changed the taxi industry.

Whether or not we are ready for it, AI is coming to Africa, with initiatives like Google opening a new AI research centre in Ghana, according to Quartz Africa. There are also many AI start-up businesses right here in South Africa, like Aerobotics in Cape Town which IT News Africa reports is innovating disease control, irrigation and trend prediction for crops. Although there is still much to be done in the way of the regulations and ethics surrounding AI technology, it is likely that South Africa will need to get ready for the 4th industrial revolution to reach our industries.

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Entertainment | 13 August 2018

Olympus victorious at UP A Capella 2018 Claudine Noppe

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n Thursday 9 August the finals of the UP A Capella singing competition took place in the Musion. The preliminary rounds were held on 6, 7, and 8 August where multiple houses performed to earn a spot in the 2018 finals. Four houses in each category, female, male and mixed were chosen to perform at the finals. Stuku EC member Siwakhile Maseko praised the transformation in the performances, as every group that performed met the Stuku internal suggestion of 80/20, with some groups even exceeding the suggestion.

House Olympus delivered a flawless performance with the theme ‘Sidewalk dreamers’. They gave the audience renditions of much loved songs such as “River”

by Eminem and Ed Sheeran as well as mesmerizing the crowd with an old-school Broadway inspired own composition. The men’s residence walked away with first place in the male category as well as the prize for overall winners. Everything from their song choices down to their matching shoes was brilliantly planned and executed.

The female medical residence Curlitzia

celebrated their uniqueness with a ‘Memoirs of an untold story’ theme which strongly advocated self-love and feminism. The ladies performed in shirts with encouraging words printed on them to further convey their theme.

Their performance was packed with emotion and strong vocal performances from soloists.

Tuks Bophelong was crowned as the mixed house winners of the evening. They told an African love story through an amazing set list, wonderful use of the stage and utterly spellbinding vocals. The performance had emotion and captured the hearts of the audience. Their magnificent display of African pride ended with a goose bump inducing rendition of the National Anthem. A standing ovation from the crowd solidified their welldeserved win.

In the male category second place went to House Boekenhout. They had a proudly South African Tshwane Food Truck Wars theme.

The performance was light hearted and very enjoyable. Day house Drageana walked away with third place after their Romantically Hopeless, Hopeless Romantic performance.

They started strong with a haunting interpretation of Rihanna’s “We Found Love”.

Drageana’s soloists stood out as some of the

best vocalists of the night.

Vividus Ladies walked away with second place in the female category with their ‘Yoga’ themed performance. The ladies tackled relevant issues such as body image and selfconfidence with their performance. Third place in the female category went to Klaradyn. Their theme of ‘Soccer Moms’ dealt with the abuse of women making the very loud statement: “We will not be silenced.”

Tuks Bophelong

Photos: Henri Uys

Olympus

Klaradyn

Love overflows at Liefde by die Dam 2018 Carina Kloppers

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n Sunday 5 August the crowds gathered at the Emmarentia Dam in Johannesburg for the third annual Liefde by die Dam. The daylong music event aims to showcase local talent and celebrate youth all in the name of love. This year the event’s popularity grew exponentially in size having sold out the Wednesday before the event took place. The organisers expanded the food court this year easing the time spent in queues. It is clear that a lot of thought went into the planning of the event. With local funny man, Schalk Bezuidenhout as the MC it truly made for a fun, carefree day.

Jacaranda FM’s very own Martin Bester providedsmooth tunes as the day’s first act while people made their way through the security gate to look for the ideal place to lay out their picnic blankets. Acclaimed actor and singer Bouwer Bosch followed. When speaking to Perdeby Bosch described the day awesome and added that “the vibe is epic”. “I like shows that are for the whole family, where everyone can come out and have fun. This time of year, is perfect. It’s not too cold, it’s not too warm.”

After Afro-Folk artist Bongeziwe Mabandla impressed with his quiet set and solid guitar skills, Afrikaans legend Koos Kombuis got the crowd stirring. However, the real highlight of his performance was whenhe aided a man in the audience with proposing to his unsuspecting girlfriend..

The impassioned crowd then got treated to the classic “Lisa se Klavier”. This moment truly encapsulated the essence of Liefde by die Dam .

Both Karlien van Jaarsveld and Elvis Blue strutted their stuff in their respective sets. Elvis Blue roused the crowds as he invited everyone to sing along, whether they know his music or not. Die Heuwels Fantasties took the stage next.

Even though not everyone in the audience was familiar with some of the newer songs they performed, the crowd still sang along to fan favourites like ”Leja” and “Pille vir Kersfees”.

Francios van Coke was just the man to close such a spectacular event. He was at his best, doing some handstands and surfing the crowd during his performance. The majority of his set was well known songs that everyone could sing along to. He did however tease his upcoming event, Francios van Coke en Vriende, by performing a new song ‘Ek Lewe, Ek Belowe’ with Die Heauwels Fantasties.

Photo: Elmarie Kruger

The importance of African literature Naomi-Lisa Kobbie

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he growth of African literature across the world has not only been of importance to education and entertainment, but has played a crucial role in allowing Africans to construct their own identity. The emergence of African literature, as well as post-colonial English writers has shifted story-telling, changing the way the African identity is explored. Western writing about Africa has been limited in that it could tell stories of Africa, which were often very critical of its people, only from the outside.

A new world of African writers offers insight into the culture and ideas of a people writing their own stories.

It is still unclear what makes an African writer. According to Dr Nedine Moonsamy of the English department, it is not enough for a work to be authored by an African writer (including those affected by the African diaspora). She says she prefers to engage with stories written on the continent and argues that “African novels need to depict African realities … [telling] our stories from our perspective”. Others argue that African literature is only limited to those works written in the continent’s indigenous languages. Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o chose, later in his career, to write only in his home language of Gikuyu. Prominent literature from the continent in indigenous languages include the Yoruba works of Nigeria, as well as Zulu and Sotho works from South Africa.

Poet, novelist and educator Benedict Wallet Vilakazi, was one writer instrumental in the development of Zulu literature in South Africa. In 1933, Vilakazi released his first novel Nje nempela (“Really and Truly”) and in 1935 he released Inkondlo kaZulu, the first publication of Western-influenced Zulu poetry. He became the first black South African to receive a Ph.D in 1946.

However, the African continent has a history of storytelling that existed long before the introduction of written text. Oral traditions made it possible for people to share and pass on knowledge, history and life experiences. African texts were first written in the 20th century’s colonial period by Africans exposed to European missionary education. In 1911 Joseph Ephraim Casely of Ghana published what is probably the first African novel written in English.

African works written in English have grown considerably in the last century. The development of these writers took place in three waves, African Literature of testimony, African Literature of revolt and African Literature of post revolt writers. The Literature of testimony responds to derogatory western views of Africa and myths about African culture. According to Dr Moonsamy, these works are important because they shift the power balance and allow African stories to be told without an imposing western voice. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart marks the beginning of this period in African writing. Written in 1959, it tells the story of pre-colonial Nigeria and the consequences of the arrival of Europeans. The protagonanist Okonkwo struggles to deal with loss of Igbo culture and tradition at the hands of western modernity.

The second wave of African writers deals with the literature of revolt. These writers responded to themes of colonialism, neocolonialism and corruption on the African continent. South African writer Peter Abrahams’ novel Tell Freedom is an autobiography which explores these issues. Set in the 1920s, he tells the story of his youth in the coloured-dominated suburbs of Johannesburg. He describes his work as a teacher and an activist in the anti-apartheid struggle, as well as his near fatal accounts with apartheid police.

The final wave of post revolt African writers aimed to develop a new discourse and more complex literary styles for their work.

The works are satirical and critical of oppressive African regimes that replaced colonial rulers. Such works include Ayi Kwei Armah’s debut novel The Beautyful Ones Are Not yet Born. The novel tells the story of post-independence Ghana and a nameless man who struggles to come to terms with its realities.

Dr Moonsamy says she is optimistic about the growth of African Literature. Previously, much “ideological baggage” was placed on African authors to tell political stories. She explains that contemporary African writers are more willing to embrace popular fiction and engage with global genres. Other notable African writers include Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche whose novels have strong themes of post-colonial feminism, South African’s Bessie Head and Athol Fugard, and Nigerian-American author and doctor Uzodinma Iweala .

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13 August 2018 | Entertainment

Born to Kwaito: Reflections on the kwaito generation

Image: mentorfeed.com

Nthabeleng Vilakazi

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he country is now bearing witness to the release of a long over-due book about the genre of music that provided a soundtrack to the 1990s. Born to Kwaito: Reflections on the Kwaito Generation, written by award-winning filmmaker and journalist Sihle Mthembu and blogger Esinako Ndabeni, provides not only a dissection of the music genre, but also dives deep into the relationships between kwaito, its stars and the countless fans. The book allows the reader to celebrate the genre and think back to the good old days when kwaito served as

a soundtrack to post-apartheid South Africa, while also making the reader review the bad that came with the music genre. Born to Kwaito is a collection of essays that analyze the history of kwaito.

The book is written in such a way that it is able to highlight to the reader that kwaito was not only a music genre but a movement that was a direct result of the liberation of black South Africans. It tackles the political language used in the music as it ushered South Africans into a new era.

The coauthors of the book manage to reveal to the reader the dark side of kwaito as it speaks of issues that preyed on the kwaito industry. These issues, unfortunately, still exist in the South African music industry today. However, there is much to learn as the book speaks about drugs, alcohol abuse, as well gender-based violence.

Ndabeni writes a compelling piece in which she goes into detail about how kwaito and the history of violence, particularly in the black communities, could be tied together. It goes into detail about the troublesome relationships that one of kwaito’s biggest names, Arthur Mafokate, had with his girlfriends and female artists. His story in the book highlights how the general public can become part of the problem by supporting artists or choosing to ignore the bigger issues that artists face. This urges the reader to ask the question of whether or not kwaito was just part of the bigger question in the feminist movement in South Africa.

Background is given as the book includes interviews from not only the musicians and faces of the genre such as Arthur Mafokate and Mandla Spikiri, but also includes insightful conversations from people who witnessed the height of kwaito .

The collection of essays also shows the influence kwaito had on pop culture in general. It indicates that although the relevance of kwaito in today’s culture is a much-debated topic, an entire new world has opened up for the genre as it lives on through current local hip-hop artists.

The book is well written, informative and engaging. It is not just for the kwaito generation but for a new generation that still witnesses the legacy of kwaito in South African pop culture.

Content: Carina Kloppers Infographic: Tayisiya Rozova

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Entertainment | 13 August 2018

Ricardo Teixeira

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ppiKoppi 24: Nomakanjani took place from 9 to 11 August, with the dust bowl being awoken once more with the sound of music, and continuous festival goers chanting “Oppi!”, waiting for someone to reply with “Koppi!”

Many of the artists arrived ahead of time to set up camp on Wednesday, with Thursday seeing the population of Mordor, the general camping grounds, expand across the dustbowl. The turnout was not as large as previous years, with Mordor being roughly half its usual size. However, the bare-knuckle rock duo Hellcats felt that this created a more intimate atmosphere among the festival goers.

One of OppiKoppi’s best aspects was the food stalls. The various vendors were lined up beside the James Philips stage, satisfying the hunger festival goers with a diverse selection of food. Griekse boertjie selling breakfast shwarmas to The Flip Side Café offering vegan and gluten free food, and Oh So Peachy having a selection of smoothies.

When it came to music, this year OppiKoppi and its organisers took another step away from the traditional rock lineup and catered to a wider array of music interests. The

lineup featured some great performances across several stages around the festival grounds. However, some acts were inaccessible due to venues not being able to hold large audiences. Some memorable performances include Satanic Dagga Orgy’s classic “More Zol” prayer, Crimson House and their saxophone battle, Sho Madjozi, Urban Village, Hellcats’ Warwick Rautenbach’s crowd surfing and of course, Fokofspolisiekar.

Unfortunately, OppiKoppi festival goers were vulnerable to petty theft. A member of the Perdeby editorial had their bag stolen from their tent, while they were asleep. The following day their phone was stolen in a mugging in the general camping grounds.

True to this year’s theme, Nomakanjani, Oppikoppi went on “No matter what”. The weather had festival goers applying thick layers of sunblock during the day and wearing multiple layers at night. The frost and heat stopped nothing, as the longstanding tradition of the infamous Naked Run was held once again.

At the end of it all, Oppikoppi 24: Nomakanjani was a memorable experience. No matter what, it happened, and another bites the dust.

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Sho Madjozi

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13 August 2018 | Sport

11

Keeping up with Thalea Keegan Sullivan

W

ith Varsity Football currently taking campus by storm, Perdeby sat down with the captain of UPTuks women’s varsity cup side, Thalea Smidt, to talk football. Smidt is currently doing her honours in plant sciences after completing her undergrad at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Although academics are essential to the young football star, her true passion can be found on the football pitch.

Smidt plies her trade in the heart of the UP midfield, saying her strengths lie in “passing and dictating the tempo of the game.” The central midfielder has the technical ability to control

the game and pick a pass from anywhere on the pitch, enabling her team to find a creative spark at the top end of the pitch.

Having been runners-up twice with UWC, Smidt has set herself the goal “to win varsity football” in her first season with the Pretoria side.

Smidt noted that there are disparities in the treatment of women’s and men’s football. However, she went on to acknowledge the effort being put into fixing such inequalities at university level. “In Varsity Football, they are trying to close the gap between men’s and women’s football,” she said. She went on to show her satisfaction, saying that “men’s and women’s Varsity Football is now televised”. The women’s Varsity

Football is played over three days, with the final being played on a separate day, hosted at one venue. Potchefstroom is this year’s hosting city. Smidt suggested changing the format of the competition, saying “it should [be] structured the same [way] the men’s [competition] is”, which is comprised of weekly fixtures played all around the country, leading up to the semifinals and final.

Through football, Smidt has garnered life lessons. “Nothing comes easy in life, and whatever you want in life, you have to work for it”, she said. When asked about her plans after university, Smidt said, “My passion is football, so I would really like to play professional football one day.” With Smidt having played for South Africa’s u/20s team in 2015 and the South African university team in 2015 and 2017, it can be said that the TuksFootball captain is capable of fulfilling her passion to go pro.

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Sport Perdeby

TuksRowing athletes head to Student World Championships

Photo: Mariesa Potgieter

Mariesa Potgieter

T

uksRowing athletes competed in the Student World Championships in Shanghai, and Perdeby had the opportunity to interview the head coach, Mpumi Geza, and a few of the athletes before

they competed at the World Championships.

Teammates Ryan Delaney and Christopher Mittendorf had high hopes for the championships, and Mittendorf said that they “definitely would like to win gold, but a podium finish is also great”.

Mpumi Geza prepares his team for big

competitions by training seven days a week.

“Mostly [from] Tuesday to Saturday we are on the water [for the first session], and then the second session of the day we do on campus whether it is on the rowing machines, in the gym, or running on the land,” he said.

Describing his athletes’ training routine before they row on the water, he said, “They run for about ten minutes and then they have a stretch session for five to ten minutes before [they] talk about what [they] are going to do on the water.”

Explaining that since the rowing team is “process driven”, Geza said, “they do not really have specific goals other than performing when [they] have the chance.” He added that TuksRowing does not need much motivation.

“Mostly they are motivated because rowing is quite a difficult sport to do, and it is also quite physically demanding,” he said.

Teamwork is important for rowing teammates Ryan Delaney, a BA General student, and Christopher Mittendorf, a BSc Geography student. When Perdeby asked how Delaney and Mittendorf consistently work well with each other, Delaney replied by saying, “I think specifically for me and Chris it’s been

quite easy because we are both best mates off the water, so on the water we find it easy communicating with each other.” On the water they “put their friendship aside and focus on the sport”, and back on the land they are “best mates again”.

It is hard to balance studies with training, but Delaney said it is possible with “a lot of discipline and time management”. Perdeby asked how they mentally prepare themselves for a competition, and Mittendorf said that “most of the time you just try and keep as calm as possible”. He and his teammate Delaney try to “replicate” their performances, regardless [whether they] are going overseas or [competing here]”. They try to see other competitors as “nothing special”, and they try not to “worry too much about [their] competition”.

When Perdeby asked Geza why rowing is a sport that many should consider, he said, “Once you learn the basic skills, you are your [own] limit, so you can either get better at it if you are committed, or you can leave it.” Geza said the motto for TuksRowing is to “Row together and work together as one team”.

TuksDance discuss the InterVarsity Dance Competition

Louis Albertse. Image Provided

Louis Albertse: A TuksGolf Pro Marren Mckay

F

or Louis Albertse, a 21 year-old TuksGolf player, winning two open amateur victories, three IGT tour wins and getting his sunshine tour card are just a few achievements the golfer has under his belt.

Albertse got into golf at a young age through his father and has been playing ever since. However, he only started playing competitively post high school after he matriculated in 2014. Albertse, who was asked about his sporting idols, quickly jumped to Tiger Woods whom he believed to have changed golf. “I used to watch him all the time and try [to] learn as much as I could.

His passion and livelihood are what makes him amazing,” he said. He added Ernie Els, a professional South African Golfer, as a sport inspiration, who he says is “an obvious South African sport inspiration.”

Albertse commented on the Royal Swazi competition, saying, “I wouldn’t say Royal

Swazi and I are on the best of terms, haven’t played my best golf over there, but the year has started well and I hope I can build each and every week.” Albertse, who is currently training for The Winter Tour and Vodacom Origins tournaments which are held in October, says that he’s looking forward to the events and to getting to play again.

To anyone starting out in golf, Albertse advises to try and have as much fun as you can and plan where you want to go with your golfing career. The golfer also stated that hard work can get you anywhere in life. He further said “what you put in is what you get out of it. I believe in hard work and determination, and following your dreams.” Albertse, whose life motto is “always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you”, said that since he was given a chance in golfing, he will not let anything get in the way of that. “I feel you need to give it your all, and that’s what I try and do, because not everyone gets a second chance,” he said.

Robyn Van Zyl. Photo: Caitlyn Walsh

Caitlyn Walsh

T

uksDance has been a running dance programme at UP for 21 years and offers multiple diverse styles of dancing such as ballroom, Latin, Ballet, contemporary and Hip-Hop dancing. Several types of dances fall under these styles which are also used to compete within the InterVarsity Dance Competition that takes place every year.

The InterVarsity Dance Competition usually takes place around mid-August with numerous universities taking part. This year, the competition kicked off on 11 August.

Apart from UP, the universities taking part are the Nelson Mandela University (NMU), the University of Cape Town (UCT), Stellenbosch University (SU), and Rhodes University

(Rhodes).

The types of dances performed in the InterVarsity Dance Competition vary between each style. In Ballroom dancing, there are five types of dances being the Waltz, Tango, Rhythm/ Slow Foxtrot, the Viennese Waltz and the Quickstep. In Latin dancing, there are also five types being the Cha Cha, the Rumba, The Samba, Paso Doble and the Jive. The open dances are the Mambo, Boogie, Sokkie, the Viennese Waltz and the Paso Doble.

These dances occur throughout the day at the competition according to the level of dancers.

There are ten levels of dance which go from beginner level all the way to the highest level being champ. “Minimum practice is twice a week at TuksDance and then three to five hours of own practice is needed to prepare for the competition” said Robyn van Zyl, TuksDance Chairperson of 2017.

Due to it being Women’s month, Perdeby also asked a few female TuksDancers what piece of advice they would give to women who wished to join TuksDance. Rhodeen Davies, a TuksDancer who has been dancing for almost 15 years, said, “Anyone can dance.

The people in the classes range from literally the first time they have ever seen a ballet shoe, to ultra-professionals. Being able to take an hour off your day just to dance and not care about what anyone thinks is so rewarding.”

According to another TuksDancer, Katya Vlahopoulos, who has also been dancing for 15 years, “dancing is an incredibly empowering sport because it teaches you to be confident in yourself, takes you out of your comfort zone and conquers your fears.”

“TuksDance is always open to anyone interested irrelevant of your competing level and there are many dancing styles. Don’t care about what others think of you, if you enjoy dancing then dance” said van Zyl.

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