15 Ocotber 2018 Issue 17 Year 80

Perdeby Official independent student newspaper of the University of Pretoria 15 October 2018

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year 80 issue 17

Open letter to the university about mental health Hatmed Medical and Dental Centre

Smokers A sit down beware: the with The law is coming Steezies Pg. 9

Pg. 11

TuksRugby win USSA plate final

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Pg. 15

A new era for UP residences Pg. 4

Oom Gert to close down

Pg. 4

Perdeby to get a new name

Pg. 3

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Why@UP

Editorial

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Editorial | 15 October 2018

years of Perdeby A look back at South Africa’s oldest student newspaper

Oom Gert’s great adventures

M Perdeby’s editorial of 2018 and 2019 Photo: Connor Borchers

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he recent spike in student suicides is something that is hard to talk about. The media has been tied to something called cluster suicides or point suicides, where reporting in the media can have the effect of accelerating and worsening the problem. As a result, people need to be very careful when addressing the topic. But at the same time, there is the responsibility to inform people about what is going on. Staying silent on these issues can also have a negative effect of leaving the stigma around depression and suicide unaddressed, something that is no longer an option.

The stigma around mental illness is broad and deep.

Many people don’t know how to speak about their feelings, when to get help, and how to get help. For me, this is what needs to be addressed. A recent Men’s Health article spoke about the stigma that men face.

Depression can present itself in different ways, and this is often true for men. Men are often expected to “suck it up” and be “manly” about it. But this stigma is not only confined to men. On the other side of the stigma that men face, women’s mental health issues are often brushed off as unimportant, bringing to mind the outdated and problematic history of Hysteria. In general, mental health is just not something that falls at the top of the priorities list of many people.

The Why@UP silent march on Thursday 18 October is a call by students to get this problem noticed. The march starts at Oom Gert at 12:30.

Don’t become a victim of the stigma, approach someone close to you in your life and get help if you are struggling. You can also contact SADAG at 0800 12 13 14 or 0800 567 567, UP Careline at 0800 747 747, or the 24-hour crisis service line at 0800 0064 28 or 012 420 2310. Look out for those around you as well. If someone you know is giving you reason for concern, speak to them about it. There is a lot of information online about dealing with it, so do some reading and help save someone’s life.

This edition is a historic one. This is the last ever Perdeby, and to say that it is not something that is scary is an understatement. We have worked on this name change since our first meeting this year, and it is something that the past Perdeby editorials have spoken about regularly for many years now. Finally having made the decision to change the name was a start, but the responsibility in choosing a new name was one that was complex and time-consuming. We discussed it at the beginning of the year and decided that the new name would be something chosen internally. That way we maintain our independence by not letting anyone else control when and how we change our name.

I am happy with our decision and I hope that many of you will support us in our new venture. The editorial of 2019 have already started planning, bringing you the same quality news in better and easier ways so that you are entertained and informed by South Africa’s oldest and largest student newspaper.

Go wild Shaun Sproule

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any of us know of Oom Gert se Plek, on Hatfield campus, but not too many people know who Oom Gert really is. Oom Gert is an 89-year-old Tuks mascot who has a history of being stolen and hidden by students from different residences or universities.

If you frequent the Roosmaryn building, you may have seen a very convincing replica in the quad. A bronze Oom Gert statue with SRC values behind him.

The real Oom Gert is a big, heavy statue of a bearded man standing on a square pedestal.

In the 1920’s, he was used to advertise ‘Springboktabak’ at Van Erkoms Tobacco-shop in Pretorious street, where he held tobacco pipe in one hand and a tobacco pouch in the other.

Back then, he was known as Oom Paul, but he was later renamed Oom Gert in 1932.

The disappearances of Oom Gert began in 1929 when he was ‘kidnapped’ by four Kollege residents, Barry Kok, ‘Fire’ van Vuuren, Ark Gardner and George Randall. He was hidden in a room in the Agricultural building and Van Erkoms Tobacco-shop owner, Mr van Erkoms allowed to keep the statue. Over time,

Letter Policy Perdeby appreciates that freedom of speech is an inalienable right enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic South Africa. We encourage our readers to engage in discussion and debate on issues that affect them through letters to the Editor, comments on our website, tweets, or posts on Facebook. We ask our readers to keep the following in mind: 1. Perdeby will not edit letters, comments, tweets, or Facebook posts in any way.

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‘kidnapping’ Oom Gert became a favourite pastime and later a tradition. Originally, a Kollege mascot Oom Gert became the whole University’s mascot.

Soon, campaigns were launched by residences to get their hands on Oom Gert. Voortrekker, Vergeet-my-nie and other ladies’ residences took turns stealing and hiding the statue. During many carefully planned heists, Oom Gert acquired many injuries including a cracked skull and missing arm, which were later replaced and repaired. In 1945, it was decided that Oom Gert should be given to the residence that collects the most money during RAG week. However, the raids still continued and only after they were banned, did Oom Gert find a permanent home in Sonop mens’ residence.

10 years ago Oom Gert would only appear at special events such as Tuks/RAU (Now UJ) intervarsity, but would be heavily guarded by students. To Perdeby’s knowledge, Oom Gert has still been living somewhere in the Sonop residence for the past 60 years. If you know where exactly in Sonop he might be, Pssst is itching to find out…

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15 October 2018 | News

UP mourns Suicides by UP students a cause for concern

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Perdeby to get new name

Earnest Nyamutsamba and Kayla Thomas

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ver the past several weeks, the university has experienced the loss of at least three students to suicide.

A number of UP students took to social media to express their grief and shock following the news of each suicide.

On 26 September, a first year electrical engineering student died by suicide at Olienhout residence. The student was buried at in his hometown, Springs, on 9 October.

A memorial service was held at Olienhout residence on Saturday, 13 September. The university’s spokesperson Rikus Delport told Perdeby, “I can confirm that a student committed suicide on 26 September in one of the university’s residences. Our thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family and friends. A private service will be held for the family and friends after the recess.”

The student’s friends said about him, “He was a guy we could always go to if we wanted to talk, he was always very open and would listen and give you good advice, even with everything that was going on in his life”. On 30 September, another UP student died by suicide at Akademia private residence in Hatfield. The third student died in Sunnyside on 1 October.

Delport said to Perdeby, “Our students’ well-being is a priority for the university, and we are doing everything we can to provide students with support and care. UP currently has 16 psychologists across our campuses who are available to help and support students. The psychologist can also refer students to the necessary psychiatric and related services, if required.”

“In addition, students can call the 24hour UP crisis line as well as the Care line.

The Student Counselling Unit regularly updates its web page on the university web site, placing messages of assistance and encouragement. Tips for enhancing resilience and coping [methods] are also appearing on [the] page. UP also has an agreement with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group to provide students with 24-hour counselling support”, he said.

On 10 October a seminar was held at Grad Centre, the seminar was titled “Your Mental Health Matters”. It was hosted

by House Humanities, UNASA and other stakeholders from the university.

Image: Tayisiya Rozova and Shaun Sproule

Marko Svicevic

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his year marks Perdeby’s 80 birthday and after nearly two decades of maintaining its current name, the campus newspaper has begun a process in which it will be changing its name.

Since it was first established in 1939, the newspaper has undergone several name changes incorporating the word Perdeby (the Afrikaans word for wasp). It was first published under the name Die Perdeby from 1939 until 1941. Owing to a lack of finances and a paper shortage caused by the second world war, the paper temporarily closed down, opening again only in 1944 under a new name – Die Nuwe Perdeby. From the 1980s, Die Nuwe Perdeby simply became known as Die Perdeby, a name it held until 1999 when, changing campus demographics and a need for inclusion lead to the change of the name to Perdeby.

The process to change the newspaper’s name began on 27 January this year, during the publication’s first editorial meeting.

A unanimous decision was made by the Perdeby editorial to change the name and a plan of action was drawn up. Later in the year, the proposal to change the paper’s name was communicated to its general staff at its annual training camp. According to the 2018 Perdeby editor, Shaun Sproule,

Open letter to the university about mental health Lorinda Marrian

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the editorial had decided in its name changing process to keep the change internal to maintain independence on campus. “Only the staff and editorial were involved in the decision-making process,” he said. The discussion at the training camp involved discussion both in favour for the name change and against it. Some objections included that the newspaper had a long history and brand that was familiar with students, staff and advertisers. Other suggestions included not giving in to external pressure in changing the name, or politicising the name by changing it. Even so, some editorial members suggested that keeping the current name could be considered politicising the paper.

According to Sproule, it was at the Perdeby training camp during which the name PDBY was first suggested. Other suggestions included “UPdate” and “Campus News”.

Sproule explained that despite the name change, the editorial felt it was necessary to keep the 80-year long history of the paper.

“We wanted to keep as much of our original identity and history as possible but at the same time we recognised that a name change was needed,” Sproule explained. “At this meeting we discussed the different languages that the name could be changed to; it was however decided that it would be best to go with a name that didn’t include any language, hence the acronym doesn’t alienate anyone on campus,” added Sproule.

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n 10 October, a group of students and staff penned an open letter to the university in response to the recent student suicides and attempted suicides. The letter, which was distributed on various social media platforms, focused on the growing mental health crisis on campus. What the letter addressed is the issue of “bureaucratic hinderance and apparent lack of concern on the part of the university”, with regard to the fact that the university has only addressed one of the suicides.

The letter was penned by both former and present staff and students, who have called themselves Why@UP. The group speaking to Perdeby said that they wanted to “ensure that the university acknowledges the ongoing mental crisis and to implement strategies properly address it.”

The letter broadly speaks about

inefficiencies in the university’s support structures through making use of a variety of testimonies from students.

Many of the testimonies overall speak about the long waiting times to see Student Support councillors, the lack of help offered by the councillors, and the lack of empathy and understanding by the councillors, academic and residence staff. The letter also states that mental health has not been a priority in UP’s 2025 strategic plan.

The group also released six demands in the letter, which they believe can be reasonably met by the institutions.

The letter was also emailed to the ViceChancellor, the registrar, the director of the Department of Student Affairs, the director of TuksRes and to the Deans of all nine faculties. However, the letter was not physically delivered as the group said that they feared victimisation from the university which they say is “ the practice at the university”.

Following the camp, a process of engagement was initiated to include comment from previous editorial members and editorsin-chief. This is where the suggestion “Sting” first came from. Sproule explained that the reasoning behind this suggestion was that the newspaper’s slogan used to be “jou steek vir die week” (your sting for the week), as news stings or hurts sometimes. A committee was then established to head the process of designing the new name and masthead, in which Perdeby staff could submit different designs or ideas for designs. A finalised design incorporating the acronym PDBY was eventually chosen and feedback was then received. The acronym PDBY stands for Print, Digital and Broadcast Youth media.

Sproule explained that one of the reasons behind the acronym included the fact that the newspaper planned on producing more broadcast media in future, with the aim of one day establishing a broadcast wing for the publication.

Once the design process was finalised, a new front-page design with the new name was proposed at the publications annual general meeting (AGM). No objections to the new name or design were presented. “Following the AGM, a final editorial meeting was held in which the new design and name was approved unanimously,” Sproule added.

When asked if the newspaper would have eventually been forced to change its name, Sproule said that there was a call for transformation on campus. “As a news provider for students on campus we are accountable to students and there’s a drive from students for transformation and I think definitely the name change would have come from the outside,” said Sproule. He added that “Our 80th year also marks a milestone in our future to move forward with a more progressive and more inclusionary future-looking publication.”

Sproule also explained that the editorial had noticed students had sometimes not picked up the paper because they assumed that due to its name, the publication only published in Afrikaans, which was not the case. “We stopped publishing articles in Afrikaans already in 2012,” said Sproule. He added that “we didn’t want to first change the name without changing the content of the newspaper” adding that “the name is not being changed with an empty promise of transformation.”

The new name change and design is set to be unveiled for this year’s final edition, and will continue through the publication’s 81st year next year.

Since the release of the letter, the group has published the full twelve testimonies that were used to write the letter.

The group says that their motivation for releasing the letter at this time, was a result of a combination of the quick succession of the recent attempted and completed suicides, and the university’s silence, which “had many students saying enough is enough”. The group says that the university “has become a stifling environment which continues to suffocate its staff and students”.

The group says that the main message that management should take from the letter is that students have had enough of the university’s “silence and inaction”. The group says that students are constantly suffering and dying and the university “ has to stop hiding behind superficial solutions and broad statements and unequivocally commit to solving this issue, which is well within their power to do”.

Lastly, saying that the university “must stop prioritising the university’s good name over the lives of its students”.

Students who wish to contribute their testimony to the group can email them at whyatup@gmail.com. All testimonies will remain anonymous. You can also find the group on their Facebook page.

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News | 15 October 2018

UP wins at Space Law moot competition Neo Dibote

Conceptual artwork. Image provided: UP

Oom Gert to close down to make way for study centre Fortunate Matenji

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n a recent interview with Perdeby, Oom Gert owner Zender Schoeman has confirmed it’s officially closing down, after operating on the Hatfield campus for over 40 years.

Schoeman explained to Perdeby that, in the past, the University had a three-year contract with Oom Gert with the option to renew it after each period. Oom Gert and the Institution were recently however, operating under the conditions of an informal contract, renewed automatically each year.The contract for the year 2018 was to be concluded at the end of September. However, in September the university communicated to Schoeman that it wished to transform the premises into a study area for students and that he therefore had to evacuate the premises.

Schoeman requested that the time stipulation be extended to the end of the year, to allow him and his staff a contingency plan. He also requested that Oom Gert be moved to another location within the Institution The University Spokesperson Rikus Delport confirmed to Perdeby that Oom Gert is indeed

closing down. Delport explained, “The spaces currently occupied by Oom Gert and the adjacent kiosk were identified for renewal some time ago.” “Two new spaces have been designed – a social learning space which will have some limited catering offering and a refurbished kiosk. The current operator of these spaces has been aware of this for some time. He has also been made aware of other opportunities on the Hatfield Campus that have become available should he be interested in submitting tenders for these spaces. Once the refurbishment of the spaces has been concluded, a tender for operating the new spaces will be advertised as part of the public tender process consistently followed by UP in awarding business opportunities on its campuses. The current operator is free to participate in the process.

He will continue to operate until 15 December 2018. The project will commence in January 2019”, he added.

During the interview with Perdeby, Schoeman gave a brief history of Oom Gert and the intentions he had with the establishment. He explained, “Oom Gert was a tobacconist in

town during the time the place was established, and it was his statue that inspired the name of the establishment which started off as a bar”. Schoeman states that in all his time at the institution, Oom Gert has always been a household name among students. “Since the establishment started off as a bar and alcohol being the main product being served, I wanted this to change. My intention with the establishment was to accommodate all students absolutely”, he continued. “I wanted this to be a place where you could enjoy not only a drink but a good meal as well”, he added. Over the years, the alcohol serving times have been altered according to university preference with the interest of the students in mind.

According to Schoeman, Oom Gert has always been a welcoming atmosphere for all who have ever set foot in it. He concluded that he had an amazing 17 years as the owner of Oom Gert and will always appreciate the support from students and lectures alike. “I would like to thank all our loyal customers and I hope the reputation and spirit of Oom Gert will continue to live and be recognized”, he added.

A new era for UP residences O respective house committees. Delport explained, “New signage will be phased in over time and the University will ultimately pay for the changes”. n 29 September 2018, new residence Earlier, in March 2018, house committees of the names were announced with only residences were asked to hold discussions in their ten residences retaining their names. respective residences and make suggestions for According to UP Spokesperson Rikus Delport, alternative residence names. Each residence then had the process of changing residence names started to submit three names to Vice-Principal: Residence in September 2017 as part of the university’s Affairs and Accommodation, Prof. Themba Mosia. broader transformation project. “The aim of “In view of the unique environment in each residence, changing residence names was to provide for a every residence was responsible for determining more multilingual, multicultural, inclusive living their own processes in this regard,” Delport told environment for students,” Delport told Perdeby.

Perdeby. “Residences made use of house meetings, Asterhof, Zinnia, and TuksVillage are amongst the10 residences that were left to keep their original transformation committee discussions, surveys, e-voting and even consultation with alumni. The processes were names, while Kollege, the oldest residence of the interactive, consultative and inclusive,” he said. university did not get to share the same fate. The The Student Representative Council (SRC) and the residence, which received its first residents in 1915, has been renamed to an English derivative, College. Residence Advisory Board were consulted by Prof.

Mosia to discuss the issue of changing residence names.

Kollege chairperson, Sibo Chamane told Perdeby According to Delport, once feedback had been received, that contrary to the expectation that they would be the Vice-Principal consolidated the unhappy to change the name, when he received the proposals and motivations in a single submission to the letter from the Vice-Principal’s office containing Executive Management the new name, he was relieved. They have not of the University for consideration. The Vice-Chancellor formally introduced the new name to the house and Principal had requested that the issue be presented yet. Chamane expressed, “Their [the house] social to the University Council before the new names were media expression seems to suggest that everyone communicated to the individual residences and then is glad we didn’t get changed to House Hope. This the broader university community. “Accordingly, on 18 is why it’s hard for us to gauge their reaction at the September 2018, Council took note of the processes and moment, but we had already made peace with the outcome,” said Delport. fact that Kollege had negative perceptions in the According to information kept in the UP Archives, public and a change would be inevitable.”

Chamane continued to explain that he personally evidence shows that residence name changes and transformation are not a new aspect to the University as does not see how Kollege is problematic.

“Especially when you look to diversify TuksRes and they have been subjected to name changes in the past as keep some Afrikaans res names. But with the name well. The oldest female residence, 92-year-old Asterhof, started off with the name ‘Ladies residence’ and then it change, I see it as an opportunity to detach my res from all of the negative baggage it has been carrying was referred to as Vergeet-my-nie, Die Fant and then for 100 years. It allows us to continue to say we live Aanhou Wen. It was only in 1957 when the 7-stroreyed in (K)College whist giving us room to redefine what building, Forever Yours, was built that the residence it means to be the best res on Hilcrest campus,” said was renamed to House Asterhof. The original Asterhof building is still referred to as Vergeet-my-nie.

Chamane.

The information continues to show that Kollege Each residence will bear the responsibility of was initially an on-campus residence. It was moved implementing the new names at residence level, to Hilcrest in 1959 when the university built men’s in consultation with the Department of Residence residences on the experimental farm. Kollege was Affairs and Accommodation as well as the

Resego Molele

the first residence built on the farm and was followed by Taaibos, Olienhout, Maroela, Mopanie, Katjiepiering and TuksVillage. Of these experimental farm residences, only TuksVillage was left to keep its name. Delport told Perdeby that, “The Executive made the final decision based on the objectives to foster inclusivity and diversity”.

Name changes are as follows: Curlitzia — Curelitzia Erika —Erica Inca —Ikageng Jasmyn — House Khutso Katjiepiering — Azalea Klaradyn — House Nala Lilium — Hayani Magrietjie — House Mags Boekenhout — House TAU Kiaat —Tirisano Kollege — College Maroela — Morula Legae Mopanie — Mopane Olienhout — Tuks Ekhaya Olympus — House Ukuthula Taaibos —The Tower Onderstepoort — OP Village Protea — Protea Mbalenhle Tuks Naledi — Khanyisa Naledi These residences will not change: Asterhof Madelief Nerina Zinnia Xayata Jakaranda Hippokrates Tuksdorp Tuks Bophelong Tuks Village

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n 4 October, UP space mooters won the Moot Court Competition of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) which took place in Bremen, Germany.

The team represented the university in a moot court competition at international level after winning all categories against the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Western Cape in February this year. The team excelled themselves before the International Court of Justice judges in a mock case on the internal outer space law. This year’s team was made up of second year LLB student Simon Motshweni and third year BA Law student Simon Botha who were coached by former participant Ruvimbo Samanga.

The team beat students from India’s Symbiosis International University and walked away with first prize, winning more than R10 000. The team departed on 29 September for the competition which took place from 1-5 October. Samanga told Perdeby, “We usually hold trials every year which are open for first year to final year students, anyone else is also welcome to try out. The best individuals are then selected for the team.”

Samanga continued to tell Perdeby that, “Our biggest challenges are funding as anyone can understand it is quite expensive to travel to some of these countries. Another challenge of course is difference in mooting styles, advocates have different ways of arguing so in the same way mooting also has different styles of arguing so its always about finding a balance between different styles. And team dynamic as well, so getting a team that can work well together especially when you have a long moot like ours we spent 11 months working on it so you really need a team that can jell together.”

According to Africa news, the competition is internationally arranged by the IISL on an annual basis in four regions of the world, namely Africa, North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. It presents an opportunity for university students in the areas of law and science fields to engage on legal policy and regulatory aspects in the highly specialised area of space law and related fields such as aerospace and telecommunications.

Samanga added, “one thing I would like to see improve yearly is skills transfer so once someone has gone through the process of moot I would like to see them also pass down that knowledge so that the knowledge remains and you know Tuks can build on this reputation that they already building in the moot as you have heard so Tuks has been dominating mostly in the competition this year, and I think that’s just identifying of how effectively skills are being transferred in the same I participated in the competition last year and use that to coach this year I hope that another participant does so too and carries on the process.”

UP Moot has out-performed a lot of teams during 2018. Earlier this year, they were placed fifth in the 59th Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, in Wash-ington DC. The team, under the guidance of Gift Kgomosotho, was made up of Rohula Bilankulu (LLB III), Mary-Ann Gettliffe (LLM), Sohela Surajpal (LLB II) and Thomas White (LLB IV). The competition is the largest and most prestigious in the world where law faculties measure their strength against each other, according to senior communications practi-tioner at the Faculty of Law, Elzet Hurter.

15 October 2018 | Advertorial

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News | 15 October 2018

UP close to appointing a new Vice Chancellor Resego Molele

T Image Provided

UP Ovuwa visit US Refilwe Mofokeng

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n 24 September, Ovuwa, a UP Arts Cultural Ensemble took a tour to Old Lyme in Connecticut, USA. The tour was until 8 October. Every 3 years UP Ovuwa goes on a cultural exchange tour.

Perdeby sat down with the office assistant of Ovuwa, Esther Maphanga. She explained, “The purpose of this tour was to allow the students to teach and showcase the Americans their culture. Since we also have students from other countries, this is also an opportunity to perform music and dance from those countries.

It is also a great experience for the students because they also get insight into US culture.

They are accommodated by host parents from the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme which really gives them a first-hand experience of the day to day lives of Americans. The artistic director, Mxolisi Duda, has relations with people from the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. They invited the choir over for the tour. He also has contacts from various universities and schools which allows for easier access for small performances. At the event, the choir had a very hectic schedule of performances, sometimes even performing 4 times in one day. They performed mainly at Elementary schools and High Schools, as

well as Wesleyan University, Hart School of Music which is where Mr Duda obtained his music qualification and also with the Yale Glee Club.”

Maphanga explained the procedure for students to participate at the event. “In March 2018, auditions were held which afforded every member, whether new or old, an opportunity to be a part of the trip. The audition required the student to sing and dance in front of a panel of four judges. The tour is funded by the University of Pretoria in terms of logistics and funded by the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme when it comes to accommodation and food for the students. The success of these tours means that Ovuwa is able to continue sending students abroad on the exchange tours. The relationships that the manager has forged with different schools and universities means more invitations will be coming our way. It is also an opportunity for us to be known on a global stage since UP Ovuwa is not an ensemble that enters competitions but rather performs for the love of music and art.”

Perdeby asked Maphanga what was some of the challenges that Ovuwa faced when preparing for the tour. “The biggest challenge was probably finance’s otherwise it has been a smooth sail preparing for this tour.”

Tuks FM annual Radio Indaba Nondumiso Mntambo

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uks FM hosted their second annual Radio Indaba on the 02 and 03 October at the Boston Media House (BMH) in Arcadia. The theme of the Indaba was, “The future of local radio.” Various speakers from prominent radio stations and news publications, including Tuks FM alumni, attended the Radio Indaba to speak about various topics ranging from how to build a personal brand to how one can go about finding employment in commercial radio.

Perdeby spoke to Tuks FM’s programme manager, Mike Bouwer, to find out more about the work that went into organising the Radio Indaba amongst other things. Bouwer said, “This event was organised fully by Tuks FM, we approached BMH for a venue and they were able to give us the space for free.”

Bouwer, who was also one of the speakers during the course of the event, described the 012 Radio as, “a conference and series of discussions open to the public, free for anyone to attend.” He went on to say, “The Indaba focuses on empowering young people interested in working in radio, the future of radio and the future of media amongst the youth.” Bouwer said the reception to the event since it was introduced had been “extremely positive.” “We have been very happy with the response as it shows that the radio industry has a strong support in Pretoria,” Bouwer

said. In relation to the improvements from the previous year’s Radio Indaba Bouwer said, “We have expanded on the number of speakers as well as the added full extra day of intensive master classes, we hoping to be very popular amongst the attendees. Last year was a learning experience for us, we now know what works and what doesn’t.” Entry to the Radio Indaba on 02 October was free, attendance of the master classes on 03 October was initially by invitation only - but was later opened to the public due to popular demand.

Bouwer had the following to say to students who are considering joining the broadcasting field, “Radio can be an extremely rewarding form of work, you learn very quickly how to deal with people on a wide variety of levels.

It [the broadcasting industry] teaches you many different skills that are completely unique to the industry as well.” Bouwer said that students who were interested in finding work in commercial radio could make that a possibility by attending the 012 Radio Indaba every year.

In future Mr Bouwer said, “We [the Tuks FM team] would like to eventually reach the stage where we cater for multiple languages, there is no reason why we can’t have various Indaba’s in various cities as well.” In parting Mr Bouwer said that he hoped that both Tuks and Boston Media House (BMH) students had benefitted from the Indaba and the master classes Tuks FM had organised.

he process of appointing a new ViceChancellor and Principal is ending as candidates have been shortlisted for the position. Out of 28 applicants, seven were shortlisted to address a joint meeting of the University Council, Senate and the Institutional Forum. This joint meeting is provided for in the Regulation and Procedure for the Appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal. This appointment follows ViceChancellor Cheryl de la Rey’s resignation and move to University of Canterbury, New Zealand from 2019.

The shortlisted candidates include Prof Zodwa Dlamini who is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Engagements) at Mangosuthu University of Technology, Prof NTF Duncan who currently holds the position of Vice-Principal (Academics) at the University of Pretoria and Prof Tawana Kupe who is currently the VicePrincipal of Wits.

The shortlist also includes University of the Western Cape Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof Vivienne Lawack, who was also shortlisted for the position at the University of Cape Town earlier this year,

University of Pretoria Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and IT (EBIT), Prof BTJ Maharaj and Prof Tinyiko Maluleke who is now the Dean of Theology at the University of Pretoria.

The process for appointing a new ViceChancellor and Principal started on 29 July 2018 and the closing date for applications was on 31 August 2018. The process will end in November 2018 and the successful candidate is expected to report for duty in 2019.

According to an announcement on the university website, the post requires that the applicants have an academic qualification at doctoral level as well as a proven record of academic excellence, proven leadership and management and communication skills on a senior management level. The post also requires an “in-depth knowledge and a strategic understanding of the higher education environment as well as challenges faced in South Africa and internationally” and “experience of and insight into the operational environment within which universities function”.

UP Spokesperson, Rikus Delport told Perdeby that if everything goes according to plan, the new Vice-Chancellor and Principal will be announced by the end of the year.

Capturing the University Social Responsibility photo competition Nondumiso Mntambo

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he beginning of October marked the beginning of University Social Responsibility month. University social responsibility refers to a “university’s partnership with its communities which are achieved through education (transferring knowledge), the provision of services, research, teaching and scholarship.” To commemorate University Social Responsibility month, the University of Pretoria launched a photo competition where students and staff can illustrate their view of what university social responsibility means or what it should mean at the University of Pretoria.

The University of Pretoria is one of the 14 founding universities, and the only African university, affiliated with the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) which was inaugurated in Hong Kong on 09 October 2015.

The formation of the USR Network is based on the belief that universities have the obligation “to work together to address the economic, social, cultural and environmental challenges in the world and to find solutions so as to make our world more just, inclusive, peaceful and sustainable.”

Perdeby spoke to Dr Martina Jordaan, the senior lecturer for the Community-based Project Module (JCP) of the EBIT faculty and one of the decisions–body members in the photo competition, to get more information about University Social Responsibility month and the photo competition. Dr Jordaan described University Social Responsibility as, “a celebration of what the University of Pretoria achieved so far with regards to, University Social Responsibility, as well as to create an awareness of the concept of University Social Responsibility as is indicated in the definition: ‘University social responsibility can be described as university engagement.’” She went on to say, “The competition allows any student or staff member to share their social responsibility involvement which is not celebrated often in a visual format.” At the time of the interview with Perdeby, Dr Jordaan said that there were nearly 60 submissions in the photo competition, she went on to say, “Some of these submissions show excellent examples of students and staff

viewpoints of University social responsibility.”

Community outreach projects at the University of Pretoria include amongst others, the compulsory undergraduate JCP module in the EBIT faculty. The module which has been running for the past 14 years has seen 19 862 students complete 784 480 hours in 5 857 successfully completed community work projects. Perdeby had the opportunity to speak to civil engineering student, Kagisho Leshilo, whose group had made a submission to the University social responsibility photo competition. Leshilo had the following to say about his experience building nest boxes for the National Zoological Gardens (NZG), “This is the biggest project I have worked on thus far. It opened me up to what it takes to build something with a team. I learned that working with a community takes hard work and good communication skills.” Other community projects include the University of Pretoria Department of Occupational Therapy’s collaboration with the Viva Village in the Alaska informal settlement in Mamelodi. As part of their community fieldwork practical final year occupational therapy students provide services to Viva village that include assisting with community development through six-week projects and providing training to the teachers/ community members. The Tuks Student Surgical Society (TSSS) in collaboration with Discovery also recently hosted a Scrub run at the National Biological Gardens. All the race proceeds were donated to the Hospitals of Pretoria Paediatric Fund (HOPP).

Students and staff who submit their photo submissions to the University social responsibility photo competition by the 19th of October at 12:00 (noon) stand to win gift vouchers of up to R1 500 at the UP Shop.

First prize winner receives a gift voucher to the value of R1500 at the UP shop, second prize receives a gift voucher to the value of R1000 and the third prize winner receives a gift voucher at the value of 500. A further five gift vouchers to the value of R100 at the UP shop will be given.

In parting Dr Jordaan informed Perdeby that a link to the photo album of the submissions will be published on Click UP on Monday, 08 October. She also mentioned that the photo album will be updated weekly until 19 October.

15 October 2018 | Features

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Weed prohibition up in smoke Kayla Thomas

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ground-breaking judgement decriminalising marijuana in South Africa was delivered by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) on 18 September. The unanimous ruling was delivered by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The judgement, that has officially allowed private and adult use of marijuana, follows a nine-month deliberation period after the court initially heard the case. The case was spearheaded by leader of the South African Dagga Party, Jeremy Acton, and Garreth Prince. Both Acton and Prince were the plaintiffs in the judgement delivered in 2017 in the Western Cape High Court (WCHC) that ruled that the illegal status of marijuana in South Africa was unconstitutional as it unfairly and unjustly infringed on all citizens’ right to privacy, which is entrenched in section 14 of the Constitution.

The ConCourt case saw the inclusion of three additional parties, namely the “Dagga Couple”, Myrtle Clarke and Jules Stobbs, and Clifford Thorp. The Dagga Couple and Thorp have their own ongoing proceedings in the North Gauteng High Court (NGHC) which has been dubbed the “Trial of the Plant” for the legalisation of recreational and medicinal use of marijuana.

South African cannabis users rejoiced following the ConCourt judgement and Rastafarian activist, Claydon Samson, told Perdeby outside the court that “this is a victory today, the judge has set us free”. He explained that this “judgement will give us freedom, it will give us life. We aren’t criminals but we go to jail for having bags of weed. Today is our freedom.” Users and supporters of marijuana use shared in the celebration on 18 September but the legislation surrounding marijuana use is still ambiguous. DCJ Zondo explained in his judgement that the Drug and Drug Trafficking Act and the Medicines and

Related Substances Control Act have been declared “constitutionally invalid” insofar as they criminalise the private use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by an adult. He expanded the definition of “private” from that of the WCHC ruling which limited their ruling to private dwellings, to include private spaces in general. This has caused ambiguity for law enforcement and marijuana users alike, as private space is not defined clearly to determine whether cars or on someone’s person is considered private for possession of marijuana.

The court also did not specify an amount of marijuana that will be considered suitable for personal use or cultivation, choosing instead to allow parliament to clarify such areas in new legislation.

This leaves marijuana users and growers in a grey area during the 24-month suspension that the court has granted parliament to draft new legislation. Thorp explained to Perdeby that in the interpretation of “use” of marijuana, processing the plant into concentrates such as cannabis oil or hashish, for personal use, is permitted. However, large quantities of the plant are required to produce these concentrates which leaves “personal use” with a broad and undefined quantity. Thorp also clarified that his case for possession and cultivation of marijuana, as well as the Dagga Couple’s and anyone with cases in process prior to 18 September, will still have to proceed as is the laws had not been changed. There is the possibility that the state drops existing charges regarding marijuana but this is not guaranteed and people with on-going cases still face prosecution and a criminal record.

Speaking to the Dagga Couple immediately after the ruling was delivered, Perdeby asked Myrtle Clarke how their trial will proceed after the ConCourt ruling. Clarke said, “we were all at home. The state needs to withdraw their charges, we were all arrested in the privacy of our homes.” Noting, however, that the state is not obligated to withdraw the existing charges, Clarke explained that the “Trial of the Plant” may have to continue but that they are awaiting

Per debate

confirmation from the court.

While existing cases may continue to be pursued by the state, DCJ Zondo did order relief for new matters. His judgement ordered that the definition of “deal in” in the Drug and Drug Trafficking Act be redefined as follows: “‘deal in’ in relation to a drug, includes performing any act in connection with the transhipment, importation, cultivation other than the cultivation cannabis by an adult in a private place for his or her personal consumption in private […]”. Other sections of the Act and the Medicines Act also had words read in to permit the use, possession and consumption of cannabis for adult, personal use in private.

DCJ Zondo ordered that, should the state fail to address the constitutional defects of the legislation within the 24-month suspension, his reading in of the provisions will become final and permanent. These revisions protect marijuana users and growers from arrest and criminal charges until parliament corrects the legislation. Until then, the quantity permitted and the definition of “private” remains ambiguous for cannabis users in South Africa, allowing a fair amount of freedom for cultivation and use of the now decriminalised plant.

Students, however, face less ambiguous policies from the university. The University of Pretoria’s office of the Registrar released a statement explaining that until new legislation is enacted the university’s policies regarding marijuana remain unchanged. Students face disciplinary action should they contravene the policies prohibiting possession, use, cultivation or distribution of marijuana on university campuses, residences or property or if they are in any way representing or associated with the university. Marijuana use is limited to private use off of any university owned or controlled property.

While students still face marijuana prohibition until new legislation is enacted, South Africans face a new era wherein they can light up with relative freedom without fear of arrest or prosecution.

Photos: Kayla Thomas

Omnia Hassan: BA General We already have permission to do it, [on condition of] private use. I feel like residence and everything is private use, we aren’t doing it out in public. So, I feel like that’s too strict if you ask me.

Gustavo van Heerden: BPolSci International Relations I think that even though weed is decriminalised on a national level, it should still be banned on campus because this is a private institution, it’s private from the government.

This is where people are learning and studying, building a future. So, we can’t always be distracted by it, people can do it outside of campus […] but they can’t get high on campus because it’s going to distract other people from doing what they are supposed to do. In res, they could be more lenient because that’s where people sleep, that’s where people relax. […] If you can get drunk at res you can get high at res. That shouldn’t be an issue.

Karabo Rathepe: BASocSci Heritage and Cultural Tourism With an institution like this you would honestly assume they would keep up with what is happening in the country politically. So, if now I’ve been given a right to smoke it and within my private property – as a student, my private residence is res – so if I go and smoke it at res and I still can get [in trouble] for it, it doesn’t make sense to me. […] The smoking of cigarettes is illegal in public, but you can do that on campus, so why can I not smoke something that legally I’m allowed to smoke? Obviously, there hasn’t been a lot of time to change the rules because it just got [decriminalised] but there needs to be an understanding […] If I cannot smoke within the peace of my home, I must find a different place for me to smoke, and those aren’t places that are generally safe. Obviously, we’re not sure if it will happen overnight, but there must be something done and there must be some sort of understanding for this situation […].

Bianca Janse van Vuuren: BA General I get the residence thing, because I understand it’s legal on your own property so obviously it makes sense that if it’s a residence it’s owned by the university, so they can disclose whether or not they would like you, or wouldn’t like you, to use it. On campus I understand it because, it’s the same thing with alcohol, I understand why they are trying to get it out of the university because you don’t have productive students when people are smoking weed and drinking alcohol on campus. That’s not the point of what campus is. For me, campus is to come here to work and study and if I want to have fun I can do that at home. I don’t necessarily have to do that here on campus. So, I agree with them not wanting to have it on campus because it just makes sense, it’s a professional environment, it’s not a holiday resort.

Thabiso Moshiga: Information Science I understand them still prohibiting it since it’s only legal for private use in their own homes, but it would make sense if it were still allowed on campus facilities as although it is a “public” university not everyone has access to it. So, I think moving forward it would really help if we start smaller, with campuses and then it becomes a public, national, you know that everyone can smoke where they want. So, in my opinion I do feel like the policies should change and we should be allowed to smoke.

Especially, for example at LC, people are going to want to smoke at LC when they have their braais and picnics.

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lthough marijuana is decriminalised for personal use nationwide, UP is still enforcing policies that prohibit weed on any university owned facilities, such as residences. Perdeby asked students on Hatfield campus how they feel about this:

Compiled by Katherine Atkinson and Mashudu Madzhiga

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Features | 15 October 2018

Illustration: Jared Casper

TEDx: the worldwide phenomenon hits UP Inge Beukes and Alison Massey

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ost people have heard of “TED Talks” at some point in their life.

TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a non-profit global community devoted to spreading ideas.

This is in the form of short, powerful talks covered in over a hundred languages which can be found online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading”.

On the TED website, they express their mission to use the global community as a means to gain a deeper understanding of the world which transpires into powerful ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the universe. Speakers come from all over the world and topics range from “Underwater astonishments” by David Gallo all the way to “Inside the mind of a master procrastinator”

by Tim Urban.

Before TED became what it is today, its story began in 1984, five years before the birth of the World Wide Web. Richard Saul

Wurman, along with Harry Marks, founded the first once-off conference built on the ideas of technology, entertainment and design.

Despite its astounding line-up, the event lost money. However, this rocky start did not stop Wurman and Marks from trying again in six years’ time. From 1990, TED became an annual conference which has since broadened its repertoire to include talks on many scientific, cultural, and academic topics.

Bentley University’s webpage The Biz attributes the popularity of TED Talks to its easy online availability, the diversity of speakers and topics and lastly, the short length of the talks. “Speeches can only last up to 18 minutes. For critics that say millennials lose interest quickly, TED chose a speech length specifically for fickle viewers,” says The Biz. TED curator, Chris Anderson, enforced this 18-minute maximum length because it was “long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people’s attention.” Forbes explains that the difference between TED and TEDx is that the former

is more globalised while the latter focuses on a local community. Anderson tells Forbes that “officially, the ‘x’ in TEDx stands for independently organized TED event, but it's more of a TED multiplied. It's been the force that has taken TED across the planet and seeded all of these communities.”

19 September saw this “force” in action when the global phenomenon came to our University for the first-ever University of Pretoria TEDx conference. Perdeby attended the talk to get an idea of what to expect from future conferences.

There were six speakers at the conference, from a wide range of disciplines, all speaking on the broad theme of “dare to invent the future”. The first speaker, Mikaela Oosthuizen, spoke about the seemingly contradictory position of being both a model and a feminist and how to reconcile these states of being. Although she only had a short amount of time to cover a large and complex topic, Oosthuizen managed to fit in many aspects of her unique position in society. Her talk culminated with the problematic idea that you can “have your feminist card revoked” for any reason, as she put it.

The speaker that followed came from a completely different career background.

Charles Malanga, a UP Counselling Psychology Masters graduate, works in the sports industry to help prevent and treat conditions like depression and anxiety in South African youth. He started the initiative “For the People, By the People” as a platform that allows people to share their stories, experiences and feelings. He wants to encourage a society where we talk about our issues and “share the load”.

The tone then changed drastically with the next speaker, Siseko Kumalo, a UP Philosophy Masters student, who discussed decolonising education in South Africa.

Kumalo’s talk took a far more academic tone, drawing on his own research and examples from other previously colonial countries, like Canada and Australia. Although his academic language was sometimes difficult to understand, it was an informative talk and provided an interesting take on an extremely

relevant topic. He emphasised a need to address the “epistemic erasure of African knowledge systems” and to “challenge the white male knower”. After these talks, the speakers took questions from the audience, and this opened up an interesting aspect of discussion in the conference, especially for complex topics like Kumalo’s.

The next speakers, Nahungu Lionjanga and Rozina Myoya, offered personal stories with their talk on the state of public transport in South Africa. Their initiative, “Transport Truths”, seeks to gather stories from those who use public transport every day and are affected by the unpleasant and inefficient conditions on these transport systems.

Lionjanga and Myoya pointed out that these problems affect many of UP’s own students, with one example of a student who commutes every day from as far as Hammanskraal.

They believe that “radical empathy drives us to a more inclusive world”, and through telling the stories of real people, they wish to challenge how “we have become so accustomed to consuming information in statistics and graphs”.

The last two speakers, Dr Audrey Verhaeghe and Weza Matomane, each covered how to build yourself and your business. Dr Verhaeghe discussed how she has helped multiple small businesses become global enterprises and explained her seven most important aspects of building a business, which include points like “start with a dream” and “challenge your own mindset everyday”.

Similarly, Matomane, a radio host, voice-over artist, entrepreneur and actor, covered how to develop social traits that help to achieve goals in every situation. His talk, entitled “social genius”, focused on using empathy and understanding to bring people from all backgrounds onto an even playing field in business to give everyone a more equal chance at success, and to give the individual the skills they need to succeed.

TED talks are a global phenomenon that do not seem to be going anywhere. If you would like to experience the talks for yourself, you can find links to the talks on the TEDx University of Pretoria Facebook page.

UP’s Global Young Researcher Awardee Gemma Gatticchi

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n 3 September, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) granted the prestigious Global Young Researcher Award to UP Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM), Dr Taryn Bond-Barnard. The award was presented to Dr Bond-Barnard in Rio de Janeiro for her PhD research on project communication and success.

Perdeby interviewed Dr Bond-Barnard to discuss her journey and latest achievement.

Your PhD research investigates project success. What drew you to this topic?

When I [finished] my undergraduate studies in Industrial Engineering at UP, I joined a company called Advance Call that specialises in business process outsourcing and custom contact centre solutions for the private and public sector. […] I started wondering what impact the contact centre had on the national programme and its projects. I investigated this during my Masters in Project Management mini dissertation titled “An Empirical Study of the Impact of Call Centres on Project Communication Management”.

After completing my Masters, I enrolled for a PhD, part time, to determine the extent to which “human” factors (like quality of communication, level of trust and degree of collaboration) increase the likelihood of project management success. At the end of the day, success is the goal of every project that is undertaken yet the concept of project success is an abstract and complex topic.

You recently won the Global Young Researcher Award. What does this award mean to you?

I am very honoured to receive the award and would like [to] thank IPMA for acknowledging my work, and for their support in promoting research excellence in the field of engineering project management research. The award gives me a lot of motivation to continue doing research and working in academia. It is also encouraging to receive an international award as a South African as it shows that the quality of teaching and research at UP is on par with the top universities in the world. It should also encourage students and staff alike to aim high and continue striving towards academic excellence.

How did your passion for Engineering begin?

I grew up with two science-minded parents. […] From a young age I was exposed to science and engineering and I worked hard at maths and science at school because I knew many STEM careers required good marks for these subjects. I didn’t really know what I wanted to be at school. I thought of studying industrial or [jewellery] design as I also enjoy art and design and had two art subjects until matric at school.

My dad, however, encouraged me to study industrial engineering as industrial engineers can work in various industries. Since becoming an industrial engineer, and even as a lecturer in EBIT, I have realised that engineering requires a lot of creativity and ingenuity, so I am still very glad that I studied engineering.

What does the Project Management

Photo Provided

Professional (PMP) Examination Preparation Workshop which you teach at UP involve?

While in [the] industry I became certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute based in the USA. The PMP is [an] industryrecognized international certification in project management, specifically for experienced project managers. When I joined UP I developed a PMP Exam Preparation Workshop open course and have been presenting it through Enterprises@UP ever since. I also present the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Preparatory Workshop which is the little brother of PMP, for people who are interested in a career in project management, through Enterprises. In 2019 both of these courses will also be offered as fully online courses that can be taken at any point during the year in order to prepare professionals for the international certification exams. The GSTM

is also registered with the PMI USA, as the only Global Education Provider for Project Management research and training in Africa.

This accreditation is specifically for the Masters Programme in Project Management (MPM), which I also teach.

Recently the role of women in STEM careers has come under scrutiny. Do you think there is room for improvement in terms of equality in these fields?

I definitely think we need more women in STEM. This process will take time, it will need to be promoted from pre-school upwards.

I have two sons aged four and two and I see even the STEM toys that are available are targeted more at boys than girls, this will need to change. I think females need to be encouraged more to pursue these careers and be exposed to these career options by means of job shadowing, Scienza type events, [and] attending engineering week.

15 October 2018 | Features

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Will the future be met with minimal meat?

Shanté Kroukamp

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n August 2018, Eyewitness News reported that McDonald’s is to open its first allvegetarian outlet in Amritsar, North India.

After this launch, McDonald’s plans to open the second all-vegetarian outlet in Katra, near the Indian Kashmir. All the McDonalds outlets in India already had a 50% vegetarian menu to begin with.

While vegetarianism and veganism may be more prominent in India due to religious practices, this dietary lifestyle has gained global popularity. Live Kindly, a start-up media company based in the UK, released international statistics about veganism in 2017. Their research shows that veganism and vegetarianism increased by 987% in 2017. Further, Live Kindly claim that demand for vegan food globally spiked by 400% in 2017, and 40% of consumers are trying to include more vegan foods into every meal. With these statistics in mind, not only is the future of the McDonalds’ meat-based menu put into question, but also the future of the meat industry, especially in meatenthusiastic South Africa.

Gerhard Schutte, the chairperson of the Red Meat Producer Organization (RPO), told Perdeby that “[in] Africa the prevalence of vegetarianism is low because most of the traditional food[s] consist of meat. We do however see first world trends like in the US, [where] 4% of men and 7% of women are vegetarians”. However, Schutte states that “the trend in South Africa has always been that we follow the first world trends with a lag time of about ten years.” While South Africa currently has no conclusive statistics available regarding the scope of veganism and vegetarianism, the South African Vegan Society (SAVS) has 864 Twitter followers and approximately 14 300 Facebook followers. There are also various vegan restaurants in the country, especially in major cities, and quite a number of vegan

products, markets and shops that promote this dietary lifestyle. There is, therefore, suggestion that South Africa is starting to follow this trend of vegetarianism and veganism, as Schutte predicts.

Considering this, Perdeby set out on UP’s Hatfield campus to determine whether the restaurants on campus cater to the needs of vegetarian and vegan students. The menus of thirteen restaurants on Hatfield Campus were investigated. Of the thirteen restaurants, two restaurants only have meat-free salads as vegetarian options, one offers no vegetarian options, and the remaining ten restaurants offer at least three vegetarian options, but none of the restaurants cater specifically to vegans.

The options available to vegan students are adaptations of the available vegetarian options, meaning there are no exclusively vegan options on any of the restaurants’ menus. Frik van Niekerk, head chef at Pure Café, says, “the majority of people eat meat and [by] supplying a more vegan-friendly or more vegetarianfriendly menu, you take a lot of your customers who eat meat away from the normal business.

That’s why we only offer a little bit, but if you have a function with us, you are more than welcome to have your vegan or vegetarian options with us if you prefer.” The executive chef at Café Adler, Tyron Wilmot, says that they try to offer more vegetarian and vegan options and are accommodating vegan clients who want to swap out items, such as replacing eggs on toast with mushrooms. When asked why he thinks that there is not an all-vegan or all-vegetarian restaurant on Hatfield Campus, Wilmot’s response echoed van Niekerk’s as he said that demand is minimal. When asked about the rise of vegetarianism and veganism and the future of meat, Wilmot answers “[meat] will always be there, there’s always going to be people who need it. Obviously, it will change a bit, especially in South Africa because of the statistics of how much water the beef [industry]

Illustration: Jan-Dirk Visagie

actually needs. I think the price of meat is definitely going up because of the drought in our land.” This sentiment was also shown by RPO’s project manager of consumer education, Marina Bester, who says that at “this current stage the drought, [that influences supply] and poverty [that influences demand] is a bigger threat to our industry than vegetarianism and veganism.”

While offering more vegetarian or vegan options at campus restaurants may not be profitable because of the high meat demand, Perdeby spoke to six students with a plant-based diet, all of whom agreed that they do not feel catered for on campus. Out of this group, there were five vegans and one vegetarian. Nina-Mari Grobler, the secretary of Hatfield Campus’s Vegan Society says “[she does] not feel catered for here on campus at all. Not only are the vegan options very few, you can have chips and stir-fry, but there are always things you have to substitute.” The six students mentioned they feel less fatigued and more energized since they cut meat out of their diet. One of the students, Raquel Da Encarnação who is currently a thirdyear BA psychology student, concludes that “when [she] switched to a plant-based diet [her] cholesterol and blood pressure went down. [Her] energy levels are amazing. [Her] mental focus is a lot better and it is a lot easier to lose weight.”

Perhaps it is not only these supposed health benefits but also animal rights activism which have contributed to the rise of vegetarianism and veganism. Recently the use, abuse and consumption of animals over various sectors in the economy such as food, fashion, cosmetics, entertainment and scientific research has been brought to light. On Friday 21 September,

the Dominion Movement of South Africa, in conjunction with Students for Sentience, presented the third screening of a featurelength Dominion documentary at UP’s Hatfield campus. The movement, originally a New Zealand based animal rights activist organisation, screens documentaries worldwide which explore the morality and validity of humankind’s dominion over the animal kingdom. During the two-hour screening of the Dominion documentary on Hatfield Campus, the exploitation and abuse of modern agricultural animals were showcased. The Dominion Movement encourages a plant-based diet to stop such exploitation of animals.

Perdeby spoke to Andrew Webster, who is not only involved in the Dominion Movement but also the chairperson of both UP’s Vegan Society and the Students for Sentience movement.

When asked about the scope of veganism and vegetarianism on campus, Webster said “our Vegan Society was founded this year and the main challenge we find is raising awareness that we exist first of all. The scope then, I would say, [is about] 5% to 10%. […] It is a growing rate though […]. Our society currently has 218 registered members and about 150 active members. Not all of them are vegan, but all of them are looking at it.”

Although South Africa’s national diet is still one largely dependent on meat, it is evident that vegetarian and vegan subcultures have emerged within recent years. This questions whether South Africa’s meat-dependent diet will remain, or if we will begin to follow the global trend of plant-based diets.

Smokers beware: the law is coming While lighting a joint is decriminalised, smoking cigarettes in public could be met with serious consequences Inge Beukes

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outh African smokers have been up in arms since Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, released the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill which is aimed at replacing the Tobacco Control Act. The Bill was released for public comment on 9 May and the three-month submissions period produced a large number of unsavoury opinions by disgruntled interest groups.

The Bill aims to tighten the marketing, sale and use of tobacco products via strict regulations. It plans to introduce a zero tolerance policy on indoor smoking and requires that all smoking areas are at least ten meters away from any public entrance. The owner of a restaurant, pub, bar or workplace can be fined up to R50 000 if their premises breach the smoking laws. The financial burden would also be felt by citizens as they could be fined R500 for lighting up in a non-smoking zone.

The Bill also proposes a ban on smoking in a motor vehicle when a child under the age of 18 years is present or if there is more than one person present in the vehicle. This will not only apply to cigarettes but extends to tobacco products and electronic delivery systems such as pipes, water pipes and electronic devices. There will be a ban on smoking in any

enclosed common areas of a multi-unit residence.

The Bill seeks to diminish any cigarette brand advertising or marketing as well as the sale of non-branded cigarette boxes which will only display the smoking warning label and the brand name. Finally, the Bill aims to ban any sweets and toys that look like tobacco products.

The 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health was held in Cape Town in March this year. The American Cancer Society and Vital strategies released the “Tobacco Atlas” which displayed worrying results. It revealed that more than 42 100 South Africans are killed by tobaccorelated diseases each year. The report found that more than 55 000 children (10-14 years old) and 6 321 000 adults (15+ years old) continue to use tobacco daily in South Africa.

According to The Telegraph, a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that worldwide the number of smokers fell by 29 million from 2000 to 2015 as more countries around the world have adopted policies to help their populations kick the habit. Countries such as Malaysia, Costa Rica, Colombia and Uruguay are among the countries with the strictest tobacco laws. The report also reveals, however, that there are stark disparities between countries and regions of various wealth distributions. While 62 million smokers in high-income countries stubbed out their cigarettes between 2000 and 2015, the number of smokers in low- and middleincome countries increased by 33 million.

The impact that the proposed Bill could have on the economy has seen the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa and the Vapour Product Association express their dissatisfaction. They have warned of job losses and a growth in the illicit cigarette trade. According to Business Day, the agriculture industry association AgriSA, the Food and Allied Workers Union and the South African Spaza and Tuckshop Association expressed that the Bill would "devastate [South Africa’s] agriculture and township businesses".

The measures in the Bill would put thousands of law-abiding spaza shop owners and hawkers out of business and drive 80% of tobacco sales into the hands of criminals, they said in a joint statement. They drew attention to the plain packaging provisions and connected this with a boost in the illicit cigarette trade. They boldly stated that the Bill would end the legal production of cigarettes in South Africa, leading to an estimated 7000 job losses, and shut down hundreds of farms.

Perdeby spoke to Professor and Head of the Economics Department, Steven Koch, on the economic impact of the Bill. When asked about the impact of the Bill on job loss, closing of tobacco farms and the falling of informal spaza shops, he notes that the Bill is likely to have some sort of impact. However, “to have this sort of impact, it must be expecting cigarette sales to fall drastically and although I think that there is a fairly long downward trend in sales, I don’t see this being drastic. [...] It all depends at the end of the day on how much it manages to impact sales. So, if sales fall 20%, I think you could see a fairly large impact throughout the retail chain including tobacco farms”. Prof. Koch notes that job losses at tobacco farms, however, do not appear to be a large problem because a lot of those farms can be converted to other agriculture

crops.

When asked if the Bill’s supposed positive impact on the general public will outweigh any negative impact it might have on the economy, Prof. Koch truthfully answered that we just do not know. “I think those opinions tend to also ignore the fact that some people choose to smoke cigarettes and enjoy smoking cigarettes even though it is bad for them and it is not always clear we should be interfering with those decisions.” Lastly, he highlighted that in an economy that is growing, he does not believe that the economic gain from this reduction is outrageously large.

Leon Louw, author, speaker, and executive director and co-founder of the Free Market Foundation, emphatically expressed his disdain towards the Bill in an interview with Perdeby.

He begins by saying “the Bill is insane [...] I do not believe any intelligent person can read it thoughtfully without reaching that conclusion”.

Taking into account the ten metre regulation, Louw says that smoking “will be illegal in high density […] areas like Alex Township or Hillbrow. Such people will have [to] travel great distances where they will still not be free to smoke […]” Louw draws attention to benefits enjoyed by smokers who smoke to combat issues such as stress, excess drinking of alcohol, depression, loneliness and social insecurity. He highlights that the enactment of this Bill would have no regard for human liberty and autonomy over one’s life.

Should the Bill be implemented it would have an impact on smokers at the University of Pretoria. Although it is certain that campus restaurants such as Tribeca and Coffee Buzz will fall within the legal ambits of the proposed Bill, the possible impact of this Bill on campus smoking areas remains a grey area.

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Features | 15 October 2018

South Africa’s technical recession explained

Photo: Connor Borchers

Lorinda Marrian

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n 4 September, South Africa officially entered a technical recession for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis. Stats SA announced that the country had two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth and was, therefore, technically in recession.

Stats SA says that the negative economic growth in the second quarter was largely driven by a decrease in production in the agriculture, transport and trade sector.

Agricultural production was the largest contributor as it decreased by 29.2% due to a decline in the production of field crops and horticultural products. Continuous bad weather conditions, such as drought and hailstorms, further stressed agricultural production. The transport sector slowed down by 4.9% due to a combination of industrial action within the transport industry and a decline of freight transport. Lastly, the trade industry contracted by 1.9% as consumers spent less on transport, food, beverages and clothing.

Although this is South Africa’s first technical recession in ten years, Professor Martin Breitenbach, an economics lecturer at Department of Economics at UP, said that it is possible South Africa has been in a recession long before this announcement. Prof.

Breitenbach said that a recession can also be defined as a time when the economy grows at a lower rate than its potential growth rate which is based on the average long-run performance of the country. Given this view, South Africa has been in a recession for a significant amount of time now.

Nonetheless, the average South African will continue to feel the negative impact of the recession. Prof. Breitenbach said that the biggest cost of the recession will be the loss of employment and income for households. At the same time, government will be forced to decrease some of its expenditure on public goods and services such as education and health, due to the increased debt-service costs as government will be forced to borrow more money because of falling tax revenues.

On 21 September, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a variety of economic reforms and spending plans in order to boost the economy. With regard to the agriculture sector, the president announced a reprioritisation of funds, increased support measures for black commercial farmers, and the establishment of a ten-person advisory panel that will focus on land reform. However, the exact details of the plans still need to be announced.

Beyond this, certain sectors are also expected to perform better in the third quarter and will add to positive economic growth. Prof. Breitenbach said that that the trade and transport sector may see improvement due to salary increases for civil servants and some state-owned enterprise employees along with back pay, based on the latest round of wage negotiations.

However, Prof. Breitenbach says that there is much that can be done for South Africa to rectify its mistakes and improve its economic outlook. Firstly, Prof. Breitenbach mentions that state-owned enterprises and state institutions need to improve governance and competitiveness by focusing on improving the environment for the free market and business to thrive as well as cutting government expenditure.

Further, Prof. Breitenbach said that government need to fix their own finances first. He said that “there is a good correlation between the performance of the economy and that of government finances” and that “repairing the latter, as occurred during the Mandela and Mbeki presidencies, is now urgently needed in South Africa to restore the former”.

Lastly, Professor Breitenbach says that government need to refrain from populist policies and remove all policy-related uncertainties “in order to create an environment in which this economy can create real new wealth for all citizens on a sustainable basis”.

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NSSTuks presents African Day Katherine Atkinson

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n Friday 21 September, UP’s Nigerian Student Society (NSSTuks) celebrated our diverse continent with African Day 2018. The event was held on Hatfield Campus at the Conference Centre and was attended by several UP students, including incoming SRC president David Kabwa.

The theme was “telling the African story” and the event included performances from UP students who celebrated their African heritage through poetry, song, drama and dance. Ambrose Njepu, president of NSSTuks, says that telling the African story means that “we shouldn’t forget where we’re from [and] what actually distinguishes us from the rest of the world”. Afolabi Afeez Olaniyi, Secretary General of NSSTuks, believes that African Day is important to “foster unity and also to remind the average student on campus what we picture which is Africanness, togetherness and also our culture […], it’s a time for us to learn that this is who we are and this is where we are from”.

The event was attended by a number of noteworthy external guests including Nigeria’s Consul General to South Africa, his Excellency, Mr. Godwin Adama. Mr. Adama spoke about Africa’s abundant resources and encouraged unity among its members to achieve the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Other noteworthy speakers included Adetunji Omotola who spoke of his educational journey as an African, and Chigoziem Emereuwa who called for gender equality in Africa.

The main entertainment event was a beauty pageant which saw three male and eight female UP students compete for the title of Mr and Miss Culture. Njepu says that NSSTuks aims to “create a fire in the mist of the youth to start telling our stories out there because our stories are genuine, our stories are from the heart […] that is why African Day is important”.

Image: PlayStation.com

Spider-Man games through the ages

Cassidy Bessa

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he blue and red hero needs no introduction as he is one of Marvel’s most popular characters, however, with the unveiling of the Spider-Man (2018) game, it makes you nostalgic about the past Spider-Man games which gave much enjoyment to so many gamers. Stan Lee’s SpiderMan was first brought out in video game format in 1982, making it the first ever Marvel video game. Succeeding this first game, came 32 more Spider-Man games, all of which were developed in consultation with the comic book creators themselves.

Spider-Man (2018) is the highest selling Marvel game to date and has earned more money than most of the Spider-Man movies thus far. Many people had gripes about the previous games as all the stories were unoriginal and based off of either the comic books or the movies. This is one of the reasons why Spider-Man (2018) has done so well. It created its own storyline with critics calling the storyline better than some previous Spider-Man movies. It has also sold so well because many of the previous games were lacklustre as they did not do justice to the hero, in terms of story, as well as gameplay.

Spider-Man has come a long way in terms of graphics, storytelling and gameplay. The player now feels like Peter Parker himself, instead of the detached side-scrolling controls of the older games. The graphics have evolved in fidelity,

to the point that things seem almost photorealistic, which is a huge leap from the first Spider-Man game which seems archaic now. The newer games no longer have the iconic music as well. Combat has improved drastically with SpiderMan now battling hand-to-hand with some of his biggest enemies such as Venom and Doctor Octopus.

The 90s didn’t bode well for Spider-Man games as SpiderMan became more of a feature in other heroes’ games instead of being a hero in his own game. Spider-Man (2018) seems to be a spiritual successor to the Play Station 2 game, SpiderMan 2, and references it quite often. When Spider-Man 2 was released it was the best game released on console at the time. This was the first Spider-Man game that featured an open world setting and gameplay, in terms of swinging, was greatly improved, albeit, was marred by many glitches and technical issues. Spider-Man Web of Shadows attempted some form of innovation by adding in a morality system which was considered shallow at best. Spider-Man (2018), however, is set in its own universe and it has greater world building. It also features a more mature Peter Parker who now has eight years of experience being Spiderman.

There is clearly a huge demand for Spider-Man games considering the 33 previous titles and hopefully there will be many successors, and one day we shall look back and view Spider-Man (2018) as being as “archaic” as we now view the original games.

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15 October 2018 | Entertainment

Fierce Fairytales Nikita Gill Ammaarah Mookadam

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Image: Goodreads.com

ith the advancements of technology, social media and generational thinking, a new era of poetry has dawned.

Poetry has become less conventional with its different writing structures, narratives and poets behind the words, as well as being easier to share. British-Indian acclaimed writer, Nikita Gill, is one of the pioneers of this recent wave of millennial poetry. Even more so than her American counterpart, Rupi Kuar, Gill has received a plethora of acclaimed reviews, rewards and heartfelt responses for her poetry.

In her third published book, Fierce Fairytales, Gill takes a twist on the classic bedtime stories we’ve come to know and links it to social issues prevalent to women and society today. Like her previous books, Your Soul is a River and Wild Ember; themes of race, sexual assault, self-liberation and emotional empowerment are present in her poems. As a strong voice in the ever-increasing

#MeToo movement and an advocate for women to embrace all that society has made them insecure about, Gill’s writing transcends through fairy tales and assures the power and magic that the reader holds. In what has become a fan favourite, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel”, Gill concludes the poem with spell-binding words of empowerment; “No one is coming to save you, my love. No prince, no savior, no knight in shining armor.

But don’t you worry about a thing. You’ve already got what should save you, hiding inside the marrow inside your own powerful spine, your own bones.” Her words nestle within your thoughts and touch the soft spots of your nostalgia – it’s like reading in front of a glowing fireplace, warm and comforting. Gill has also included her own sketches and paintings alongside the poems, adding a personal touch and reading these reinvented stories in a more intimate level.

In Fierce Fairytales, the princesses we had once aspired to be are fully fleshed out and are more than just pretty faces or beautiful ballgowns, the villains are given a backstory that is more reasonable than just their ugly faces, and the knights in shining armour seem dull compared to the all too perfect traditional, hair-tossing Prince Charming. Gill has a humbling voice behind the rebirth of these characters and the redirection of new morals of these stories. When asked by Marie Claire the most important message from the book, Gill insisted that her readers should “Question everything—question the stories you’re told, question the things you’re reading. It’s almost treated like it’s a bad thing these days, but critical thinking is so important. If you don’t question, you end up with political situations like the one we’re in right now.”

By rewriting the stories, we depended on in our childhood, Fierce Fairytales changes our mindset, and allows better narratives to fit maturely and appropriately in the young adult world. In a life awakening with opportunities and the modern search for a happilyever-after, Nikita Gill delivers words packed with emotional, spiritual and psychological closure and upliftment with whimsical drawings of these characters – without waving her fairy godmother wand to “bippity-boppity-boo.”

Kwesta does it again with ‘Vur Vai’ Kevin Mareletse

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A sit down with The Steezies Caitlyn Walsh

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he Steezies are a South African band that incorporate various styles of music from European to African styles.

Perdeby spoke to George Kirkinis from The Steezies about their music and development in the entertainment industry.

What first inspired you to create the style of music that you do? With the combination of both European and Afro African styled music?

Several things inspired the music, although it was never planned that it would come out sounding exactly like it did. The main source of the sound came from growing up in South Africa and being surrounded by so many cultures and people. A big goal was to make people dance and have fun, and so our music evolved into a form of multi-genre dance.

How do The Steezies create the music that they do?

I usually come up with the main idea and work it with Katie (the other lead vocalist) until it sounds good. We then take it to the rest of the team, and together we sharpen the song until it becomes something that we are all proud to play.

When did The Steezies first come together to form the band?

We started about a year and a half ago, although the band has undergone a couple of evolutions since its first form.

know that’s one of the things that the city desperately needs. We have, of course, met cynics and critics, but they have been few and far between, thankfully.

What has been your best moment together as a band?

Before the band was a band, myself and Katie used to rehearse in front of a mirror and fantasize about playing in front of big audiences, like the ones you find at festivals like Splashy Fen. So, we would shout, “how you doing Splashy Fen?!” at the mirror and pretend the crowd was roaring back. Not even a year later we played a set in front of a huge crowd at Splashy Fen, I asked them how they were doing, and they roared back louder than I could have ever imagined a year prior.

What image would you like to portray to the audience through your debut EP Snorting Lines of Turmeric?

The image of a group of people who don’t take themselves too seriously, and who would like to invite more people to do the same.

What are your plans in moving forward when regarding the entertainment industry and your next step in it?

We plan to commit ourselves fully to our ethos of musical integration. We want to play big shows to multiple people from all walks of life, we want to combine audiences that wouldn’t ordinarily associate, and we’d like to take this musical rocket ship as far as we possibly can.

Your music video for “Mina” is a captivating video for the audience. What were your intentions for the music video in how the public would receive both the song and video?

Thanks for the compliment. In creating the music video, I wanted to enlist the audience’s sense of childlike imagination and wonder. We wanted to create images that would be surreal and bizarre, that may allow a spectator’s mind to temporarily flow into another world and out of the ordinary one they usually occupy.

What types of responses have you received from the public for your styles of music that incorporate diverse styles of genres and languages?

We have been generally well received. We have tried to be as inclusive as possible in the music that we create, attempting to bring together various cultures and audiences in Cape Town, and most people appreciate and embrace that because I think we all

Image Provided

westa recently came out with his latest single “Vur Vai” on 25 September and within a matter of a few hours of release, the song had already reached the top of the South African iTunes chart. With speculations of this song possibly being another song of the summer, this would be the third year in a row the Katlehong rapper has delivered on a feel good hit, following “Ngud” and “Spirit” which both charted in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Kwesta clearly has a knack for finding the perfect formula to topping the charts and after about 18 years of making music he has more than enough experience to do so.

This formula has some sort of evidence backing it especially if you look at “Ngud” and “Spirit” individually, it’s easy to find the similarities. The key to this is to firstly look at the samples. “Ngud” samples “Camino Del Sol (Joakim Remix)” by Antena, which came out in 2006. While “Spirit” samples the song “These Tears” by Spiritchaser, which came out in 2010. Another factor to consider would be the way in which the samples had been used in the two Kwesta songs. Their chord progressions are both slowed down and the pitch is adjusted slightly to suit the more relaxed version of the final Kwesta songs. These changes that were similarly done to songs that had already done well on their own makes it sound like “Ngud” and “Spirit” have some sort of similar melody.

This use of samples to give the artist a stepping stone to guarantee that the audience has their heads bopping before they even realise, has been used by many an artist, locally and internationally. Cassper Nyovest found the same sort of success by making use of many songs from the Kwaito genre to fuel his own hits. One could even look at an artist like Tekashi69 who found himself with 8 songs on the billboard within the span of year, with most sampling Hip-Hop hits from the 90s to the early 2000s, even though he hasn’t sacrificed the sound he came out with.

Kwesta seems to have found a sound that has insured that he can produce another song for the summer with the same slowed down melody and key progression evidenced in “Vur Vai” that he has done with his last two big hits in the last two years.

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Entertainment | 15 October 2018

Images: Jan-Dirk Visagie; Mashudu Madzhiga; Jarred Casper

The creeping of critically acclaimed films Ammaarah Mookadam

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ctober and November are notoriously themed months.

October celebrates Halloween and the season of spookiness, November commemorates our marks and moodswings as we go into the ever-pressurizing final exams However not all of us can bear the fake blood and gore, and some of us need a little procrastination to ease the exam stress.

Unbeknownst to most, October and November are the beginning of releases for potential films for next awards season. From billion-dollar blockbusters to authentic indie films, October welcomes the buzz of soon-to-be award winning films and gives you an escape from the deadly jump-scares, and a break from your studies.

A Star Is Born (released 8 October)

Directed and starring Bradley Cooper, who is no stranger to the film award circuit with multiple nominations and wins for his acting under his name, alongside Lady Gaga, one of the most powerful and influential women in the music industry. This movie has been bitten by the Hollywood reboot bug multiple times, and each time the songs hit deeper and the love shines brighter. It follows the same story from its original 1937 screenplay – an alcoholic and faded male musician makes a comeback when he meets a beautiful young woman with a talented voice. They begin to fall in love through their journey of music and success. It’s the perfect combination of a musical, romance and rags-to-riches story. Seeing the infamous Lady Gaga so stripped down brings a surprising side of raw energy and talent that we’ve never seen from her, especially when she begins to sing songs like “Shallow” that is already climbing the music charts. Although this is merely his directorial debut, Bradley Cooper delivers a heart-warming rendition to a classic film. His intense vocal coaching and careful characterisation to a beloved film draws an intimate connection between people and music.

Rafiki (released 11 October in select Cinema Noveau) The title translates to “friends” in Swahili.

This Kenyan film about teenage girls who fall in love in the bustling city of Nairobi had caused much controversy and uproar.

In Kenya, there are strict laws and bans against homosexuality. However after the history-breaking invitation and outstanding reviews at Cannes Film Festival, and later on the talk of high possibility of being nominated at next season’s Academy Awards, the Kenyan government had lifted the ban to meet the requirements of a foreign film to be

screened in its own country to be eligible for a nomination. It was only a week but Kenyans flocked to the cinemas in support of Rafiki, making it the highest grossing film released in Kenya, even outdoing Black Panther that was released earlier this year. Clearly, African queer love stories deserve to be told and represented on screen. The story revolves around two daughters of rival politicians who put aside their differences and find something much more meaningful in each other. Directed by Wanuri Kahiu and co-written by South African, Jenna Bass, Rafiki brings a blossoming yet unsettling narrative of finding first love within familiar African boarders. The Oscars and African communities share a mutual uncertainty when accepting and celebrating African-orientated LGBT films. But like Moonlight and Inxeba that paved the way, this is only the beginning of receiving true representation through marvellous filmmaking in modern times.

First Man (releases 26 October)

Follow the intense journey and training of Neil Armstrong as he prepares to become the first man to walk on the moon in 1969. Backdropped against the USSR and the USA’s space race, the movie goes behind the scenes at NASA, watching dangerous test fails and calculated precision, and through the famed astronaut’s home life, with his hopeful-eyed children and the strong voice of his supporting wife. Director Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash) delivers an unnerving emotional film surrounding Armstrong’s psyche and obsession as he pursues a mission to the moon. Ryan Gosling, who previously worked with Chazelle in La La Land, shines and delivers yet another Oscar-worthy performance. Claire Foy, better known for her award-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, asserts herself as the strong-minded matriarch and steals almost all the scenes she’s in. This movie is a sure contender to be nominated in all the big categories and with a stellar cast presenting an out of this world story.

Beautiful Boy (releases 2 November)

After Timothee Chalamat’s breakthrough performance in Call Me By Your Name, which earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the 2018 Academy Awards, it seems the actor wasted no time in signing on to another indie movie that’s well on its way to the 2019 Academy Awards.

Beautiful Boy is based on the memoir by David Sheff titled, Beautiful Boy: A father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction, and is a dual-autobiography from their combined experiences following the emotionally-exhausting journeys of a father and his drug-addicted son on the road to rehabilitation. The movie also stars Steve Carrell, who has toned down his jokes over the last few years

as he developed a ruthlessly sombre tone and has taken a more serious approach to his acting, his age showing in his grey hair.

Together they highlight the uneasiness of facing the hardships of life and not losing hope in the people you love.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web (releases 9 November) Based on the highly acclaimed series of novels written by the late Stieg Larsson, this movie is an adaptation of the fourth book in the series, written

by David Lagercrantz.

Continuing from the 2011 adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with a new cast and crew, this film follows computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander, as she returns with even more gothic flare and becomes a vigilante from the secrets she finds within the cyber-world. Claire Foy, The Crown, dons facial piercings as Lisbeth and aims to “hurt men who hurt women.”

However, she soon finds herself tangled in a conspiracy involving her estranged sister, who is seemingly the mastermind behind a series of gruesome crimes.

Widows (releases 16 November)

After the psycho-thriller, Gone Girl, in 2014 and the chillingly disturbing detective drama series, Sharp Objects, that had released its mind-curdling finale episode late-August, author Gillian Flynn has made a place for herself by writing about unnerving women against the world they face. With Widows, Flynn goes totally off the book and writes an original screenplay about four wives coming to terms with the loss of their husbands after a heist gone terribly wrong. The people their husbands had stolen from are after them and are threatening their lives if unable to compensate.

Led by the iconic Viola Davis, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2017, she brings together the wives of her husband’s accomplices to pull one last heist in order to pay back the bad guys, led by Daniel Kaluuya, the breakout star of Get Out. Directed by Steven McQueen, who has been in the awards circuit since the ‘80s, he delivers a masterful film woven with Flynn’s distinctively feminine touch. The team is complex with the wives struggling against the world their husbands had left them in.

There’s a suggestion of intimacy, a hope for action and a question of how far in the psyche of desperate minds will Flynn, McQueen and this stellar cast take us. This film has all the cards in its favour not only to be nominated next year, but to undoubtedly sweep the wins as well. In the trailer for the film, Viola Davis’s character is surrounded by her team of widows, and she beckons a command that should resonate with us as we enter exam season; “We have a lot of work to do, crying isn’t on the list.”

Images: IMDb.com

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15 October 2018 | Entertainment

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Esther Mahlangu: a national treasure designing labels for a limited-edition range of Vodka bottles to raise funds for fighting HIV/ AIDS in Africa. One of her passions is to keep her he year is 1945 and a curious ten-year-old, culture alive and she wants to ensure the survival Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu, begins to paint of the Ndebele arts. To do so, with the money with her mother and grandmother without the she received from commissions and sales, Dr realization that in a few more years, wwhe would Mahlangu established an art school in her backyard become one of South Africa’s most acclaimed in Mabhoko, Mpumalanga. Her students learn the contemporary artists. traditional Ndebele art under her mentorship.

Born 1935 in Mpumalanga, Dr Esther Mahlangu, Her work has graced many collections, locally affectionately known as “Mam’ Esther”, has become and internationally. One of the most notable one of the country’s most treasured artists. Earlier exhibitions she was invited to be a part of was this year, Dr Mahlangu received an honorary the Les Magiciens de la Terre exhibition in doctorate from the University of Johannesburg 1989 which, at the time, was a groundbreaking (UJ). UJ recognised Mam’ Esther and her legacy achievement for a black female artist. One of as a cultural entrepreneur. UJ Vice-chancellor, her latest exhibitions was “A Tribute to Nelson Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, said to News24, “As a Mandela” at the Melrose Gallery in which she visionary individual, she traversed what to others are showcased her 2004 collaboration with Nelson insurmountable political barriers. In the late 1980s, Mandela. The embellished prints of drawings that when KwaNdebele and Moutse regions erupted in Mandela created titled “Struggle, Imprisonment, anti-apartheid violence, she [broke] down barriers in Freedom, Unity and Future”. her own way.”

Now the year is 2018 and a 82-year-old Dr On the topic of breaking down barriers, the Ndebele visual artist joined artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu is considered a South African treasure with her own take on art and Stella and Andy Warhol when she participated in the entrepreneurship. While commenting on her work, BMW Art Car project in 1991, becoming the first Mam’ Esther said to Designboom, “I don’t want my African and non-Western person, as well as the first female to participate when she painted the BMW 525i culture to die out, I want my culture to live on and with patterns of the Ndebele tribe. Joining forces with my children to know how to do this too so they can BMW once again in 2016, Dr Mahlangu designed the teach their children one day, this is the purpose of our art: passing on our tradition from generation to interior of the BMW 7 series. generation so they can see where Ndebele comes Dr Mahlangu is known to use her platform to fight from.” Dr Esther Mahlangu, through precision and for causes close to her. It, therefore, came as no determination, has become a cultural ambassador surprise in 2016 when she partnered with Belvedere for many.

Vodka and award-winning artist John Legend,

Nthabeleng Vilakazi

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Image: Mashudu Madzhiga and Georgina Glass

Tsitsi Chiumya: The next generation of comedy black person in my class so after second year, I would always say something to the other guys and they would laugh because it is so culturally shocking for them but I’d always try [to] make them understand because I really love metaphors. I didn’t know if I wanted to do comedy full-time but as soon as I went on stage like a year ago, l realized that if the money keeps coming in at a slow pace then I’ll do this full time. I still do a bit of game designing but I had to put it on the side. Comedy is in the front now and yeah I love it.

Tsitsi Chiumya. Image Provided

Inge Beukes

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sitsi Chiumya has been dubbed the “next generation of comedy” and evidently the Mail & Guardian young 200 list agrees. The buzz around Chiumya could be attributed to him winning the Savanna Newcomer of the Year Award at the Savanna Comics Choice Awards 2018 or his appearance on Trevor Noah’s 13-part series Nationwild currently airing on Showmax. Perdeby had the pleasure of sitting down with the 25-year-old rising star to get the full scoop.

Born in a small town in Limpopo speaking minimal English, how was the adjustment moving to the big city of Johannesburg at only 14 years old?

It was very interesting because I was very confident as a child as I was an A-student back where I came from.

Then moving here and not knowing the simple language of communication was very difficult. [..] I got so fixated with showing people that I’m not dumb and I still am a little bit today. Its like going from grade seven to grade eight where you’re the boss of the school and then not being the boss anymore but clearly things worked out in the end.

You were the first black South African video game designer to graduate from Wits. When did you realize you wanted to do comedy full time?

I started comedy in my final year at Varsity. I was the only

You’ve grown so accustomed to being on the stage, when was your first time in the audience watching stand-up comedy? What was that experience like?

The first time I watched stand-up comedy was Trevor Noah’s Nationwild. That is so funny because now I am on Nationwild. Emilio [Tobias] was working and I was still a student, so he got us tickets and we went to watch Trevor Noah. That was nice. It was Dusty Rich, Robby Collins, Dillian Oliphant and Trevor Noah. Yeah I don’t remember when it was but I remember we were there for the recording up in the cheap seats.

What are some of the biggest challenges comedians face in the industry that we are often not told about?

For me, a lot of comedians need the money that’s coming out of comedy but the industry is not big enough for them to make a living out of that. Its difficult for people to have a livelihood off the money they get solely from comedy [..] Also, the industry not appreciating you for what you’re really worth. [..] The problem with the industry is that it is so individualized so you have to be a strong individual and a big enough presence for people to not ignore you. I guess it’s like that in the world but here, because of how small comedy is, you have to be intense.

What is one piece of advice you would give young people who want to enter the comedy industry?

Its very simple to be introduced to this industry. You can just talk to someone and boom, you’re on stage, but you need to know why you want to get into comedy. It’s not about just making people laugh, but what does it mean for you to be in this industry? Make sure you know it’s an industry that’s difficult and it takes time, it’s not always laughter and jokes.

Just write a five minute piece and be good at it because if not, the industry will spit you out fast.

Your comedy show, ‘Shapa Boom Boom’, takes place at the Johburg Theatre on the 27th October. What is the inspiration behind it?

What the boom boom show is [...] about is to introduce the crowds who have followed my comedy over the years to the stuff that I have been exposed to in the last year. It is to introduce them to other acts they’ve always wanted to go [and watch, but] now I’m bringing those acts to them. [It is about] introducing them to a whole bigger world [..]I need to be as selfish as I can with my crowd but I think it would be cool if they would trust me enough to introduce them to other people.

Paint us a picture of Tsitsi Chiumya a few years from now?

I don’t know if I should say this but I believe it so much that I will say and then follow through – One of the biggest comedians in the world.

We are going to learn how to cut and paste kids.

We are going to learn how to cut and paste, kids.

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14

Sport | 15 October 2018

Crossweed

Top ten Top ten signs that exams are coming 1. The blossoming of Jacaranda trees not only result in an increase of anxiety, but you will do anything for a flower to fall on your head.

2. When a lecturer mentions the possibility of a revision lecture, attendance spikes to that of a first lecture.

3. Unpacking your belongings over your study area in the library to claim your territory, in fear of losing it to another student.

4. Einstein’s desk was a mess. If my room is a mess, it shows how hard I’m working. Right?

5. Searching frantically through piles of old notes because you wrote something down but cannot remember where.

6. 168 hours in a week? Plenty of time to catch up on a whole semester’s work. I’ll be fine.

7. Big Mouth season two is out? Better treat myself to a quick study break binge.

8. Naps? What are naps? I’m sleepless elite, 3 hours are plenty. Let me set twenty alarms just in case.

9. Different stages of exam season playlist: “Deny, deny, deny” by Brooks & Dunn “10 seconds” by Cutting Jade “Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel “Mercedes Benz” by Janis Joplin “Let it go” from Frozen “I can see clearly now” by Johnny Nash 10. Holding thumbs that you don’t get a sup because you’re ready for holiday and aren’t coming back to campus until February, no matter what.

Sudoku

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15 October 2018 | Sport

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TuksRugby Competitive gaming win USSA made accessible plate final The rise of mobile eSports Oupa Baloyi

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n 25 September, UP-Tuks men’s sevens team locked horns with CPUT in the USSA plate final. UP-Tuks defeated CPUT 21 – 5 to be crowned champions. UP-Tuks won all of their matches before the plate final, winning against the Tshwane University of Technology (26-0), the Namibia University of Science and Technology (50-0), the Vaal University of Technology (40-0) and the University of Free State (38-12).

Perdeby spoke with the head coach of UP-Tuks, Dabeon Draghoender. He said, “I have got a good team at my disposal.

This year we had better preparation. We went to Kenya to play in the Kasi sevens. That gave us a better understanding of our goals.”

The coach went on to say: “Our defense[s] [were] good, no one scored against us. We were chasing the process instead of the results. Other teams were chasing results. As soon as you chase results, guys tend to be negative and they get negative results”.

Tuks’s hopes for a USSA final were thwarted by Northwest Pukke. Pukke beat Tuks 24-7. Coach Draghoender attributed the loss against Northwest Pukke to fatigue that was taking its toll on his players. He explained that the game against Northwest Pukkies took a lot from the players – the winners rested six games and the UP-Tuks team rested for only three games. Draghoender, on the loss at the hands of Northwest Pukke, said, “We understand why we lost in the quarters because, the guys were tired… the other guys were much fresher than us… the turnaround took a lot from us [and] our players were quite fatigued. But we made sure that the next game we played, the one we played for the plate, we dominate the game. That is how the lads kept themselves up.”

The USSA Tournament was won by NWU beating UJ 22-14 in the final.

Image: Marren Mckay

Paul Gray

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aming and eSports as a form of sport and activity, has been elite and appeals to a minority of individuals, mainly due to the cost of getting into the sport. With gaming computers and gaming-capable laptops ranging from a few thousand rand for an entry level build to hundreds of thousands of rand for top of the range custom-built gaming computers, such as the Origin Genesis, the equipment itself causes exclusion. The cost of gaming equipment means that

only those that can afford an expensive computer can play, whereas smartphones are tools used by a majority around the globe, allowing more people who are interested in gaming to be able to play.

The issue with mobile gaming, until recently, has been the standard of graphics and quality of games developed, not attracting enough serious users. The popularity of mobile eSports is increasing in correlation to the quality of games produced, with high quality games being developed and published more. There are over 3 billion smartphones in the world, meaning that access to gaming via a compatible device has exponentially increased, creating a market in which individuals can participate and enjoy various offerings that are available.

According to Statista, at the end of 2017, there were approximately 18 million smartphone users in South Africa, meaning that one in three South Africans has the capability to play eSports titles using a mobile phone.

Worldwide, mobile eSports tournaments are gaining popularity, particularly four titles: Clash Royale, Arena of Valor, VainGlory and King of Glory. According to ESC, a gaming trends website, “[the] Vainglory World Championship 2017 [were] held in December and [it] had 56 000 viewers in the peak,” doubling their viewership since 2016. This shows the rise in popularity of mobile eSports, which is on an upwards trend.

Although there isn’t a competitive mobile eSports scene in South Africa, it is only a matter of time before games such as Clash Royale, VainGlory and Arena of Valor find a place in various different tournaments around the country.

Sport Perdeby

Image: UP website

7s Rugby defend Munich Oktoberfest title Ntokozo Zondo

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he Delta Drone TuksWomen’s 7’s team returned to the Munich Oktoberfest which took place from 22 September to7 October to defend their title as the winners of the tournament last year.

The 7’s team played 5 games on 6 October.

The team won all their games and did not concede a single point and defeated Stutsa (52-0), Michelines (52-0) and Freiburg (700). The team beat Stutsa 56-0 in the semifinal and beat the Tabisuor Angels 40-0 in die final.

Team captain, Libbie Janse van Rensburg, spoke on the challenges facing the team in preparation for the tournament remarking that, “There is always a bit more pressure when you know you have to match the standards set the previous year, but the team kept their composure and we knew what had to be done for us to reclaim the title”.

The team produced impressive results under the guidance of Springbok player Nadine Roos, the acting captain, despite having half of a squad due to funding issues.

Janse van Rensburg further explained that, “We ended up having only 8 players I think everyone was a bit nervous heading into the tournament. I was still unable to play and Liske Lategan tore her ACL. The girls knew that they were going to have to dig deep to

successfully compete with only 8 players, but luckily our team dynamic is of such a nature that we can easily adapt our playing style and adjust to the changes.”

The training that went into preparing for the international tournament was different from the training the team usually does for local competitions. Janse van rensburg explained, “We will generally taper our training slightly by focusing more on game play at trainings leading up to such tournaments instead of other skills training and fitness.”

The team is currently training for their upcoming Dubai 7’s tournament taking place from 29 to 30 November. Janse van Rensburg discussed the team’s training and mental preparation for the Dubai 7’s tournament.

She said, “Training for Dubai is in full force.

We have our usual evening rugby trainings as well as additional fitness and strength training sessions that we do during the days.

We will also be training on Saturdays from now on to get us used to the heat that we will face in Dubai. We are also working hard on the speed of our players as the Dubai 7’s is the most challenging and toughest tournament that we compete in. The biggest challenge will be the mental conditioning when players face big international teams, a lack of confidence results in a lost game before it is played.”

Image provided

UPI and ZIMSOC emerge as winners in Res League finals Oupa Baloyi

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n 17 September, Tuks Res League finals took place at Tuks Stadium.

Tuks Res League is an internal league meant for students to participate in the vast sporting codes facilitated by the university.

This league is not limited to residences only, it does accommodate teams from societies that are comprised of registered UP students only.

Dregeana faced UPI in the Tuks Football internal men’s league top 24 and TAP FC battled it out with ZIMSOC. UPI commenced the match with guns blazing and found the back of the net early in the match. A few minutes after the goal was scored, UPI stretched the lead to make it 2-0 in a very short space of time. Dregeana managed to pull one back, trailing by an odd goal.

The internal men’s league top 24 ended with a 3-2 score line and UPI was crowned 2018 champions.

TAP FC and ZIMSOC were next in line as they squared it off in the internal Tuks Res League final. The two outfits held each other out to a stalemate, although it was only for a couple of minutes. ZIMSOC scored first, however, the celebration from ZIMSOC fans was short-lived as TAP FC were awarded a penalty following a rough challenge by a ZIMSOC player inside the box. TAP FC then levelled matters from the resulting spot kick.

ZIMSOC were not to be out done, as they quickly regrouped and found the lead a few minutes later to make it 2-1. TAP FC kept

TuksNetball reach finals Mariesa Potgieter

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he TuksNetball team had some ups and downs throughout the Varsity Netball tournament. Ultimately, they won five times and reached the finals to play against Kovsies (University of the Free State) on 8 October. Perdeby spoke to the coach, Jenny Van Dyk who helped the team to make it all the way to the finals.

Before the finals, Perdeby asked a few questions to the coach to explain how they are preparing for the finals against Kovsies

in Bloemfontein.

Congratulations on your semi-final win with the TuksNetball team. How will you approach the final that takes place on the 8th October?

The same way I approach all the matches: setup the schedule, analyse the video material of our opponents as well as our own game, setup a game plan with the team, practice it in and make adaptations as we work through the process.

How did your team stay motivated and how did you keep them motivated

throughout the semi-finals?

If you select the right type of player (leaders with a positive attitude, extreme passion for the sport and the willingness to work hard) they pretty much motivate themselves, but an incentive here and there can also do wonders.

How will you prepare the team this week for the final?

We have been preparing for this game the entire year. We never stop preparing to play our best. Clarity is critical, everybody needs to understand what will be expected from

pushing forward, and their resilience and neversay-die attitude paid off when they equalised to make it 2-2. The match proceeded to a penalty shootout, in which ZIMSOC emerged victorious and were crowned champions.

The president of the Student Representative Council, Kwena Moloto, and his deputy president Mamello Molotsi were in attendance.

They extended cordial greetings to the players prior to the match kick-off and were later responsible for handing over the medals and trophies at the end of the match.

Perdeby spoke to Tuks Football Campus League Coordinator, Tsholofelo Bulala, who is a 2nd year BA General Student at UP. Tuks Res League takes place every year. Bulala went on to explain how other student residences can participate. “The best way is to look out for announcements, especially on social media.

Societies are briefed in meetings, so it would be beneficial to attend those. They help us to communicate dates for registrations to the students on campus every year. We had a couple of new entries this year that did very well in the league so this communication channel proves to be effective,” Bulala said.

Perdeby asked Bulala about challenges that she faced during planning and preparation for the Res League Finals. Bulala said, “Fairly so, it is a vast improvement from how [the] league has been running over the years, and hosting the final at Tuks Stadium was the cherry on top of the cake. We will continue to improve the standard of the league as every year is a learning curve,” she explained.

them at what stage it will be expected as well as why and when it will be expected.

What other upcoming competitions are there after the Varsity Netball tournament?

This will be our final game for the season.

After this only the national players still have Fast5 as well as Diamond challenge to go.

After this ... we rest!

What were the highlights of the Varsity Netball tournament for the UP team?

Claiming a home semi-final in our final round robin match - see we didn't even have a semi-finals spot secured before that game.

The players just keep on rising to the occasion, they just don't have an "off" button it seems. They amaze me.

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