Meme-orable moments

Contextualising student protests: Campus security and policing

Susanna Anbu

to restrain forward movement of protestors. It is acknowledged in the document that, although the French template has been employed, “no formal approval for the exclusive implementation of the French model by the SAPS has been made by the SAPS management”. The document concludes by articulating that the policies governing the use of force by SAPS during public protest action is a “subject of urgent review to reduce the use of force to a minimum” in order “to reduce the risk of casualties and fatalities associated with the use of firearms issues of student debt and funding as well as during public protests”. the prioritisation of the missing middle bracket Research penned by participants of the FMF movement of students. However, the death of Mthokozisi articulates that the university management in tandem with the South Ntumba, a bystander during the Wits Fee Protests African Police Service (SAPS) “used militarisation and force to in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, once again perpetuate violence on campuses”. It is echoed that the moment brought issues of security, policing and the use a campus undergoes militarisation in the form of interdicts and of force during student protests to the forefront heavy police presence on campus property, early engagement with of national discussion. This incident drew rebuke student stakeholders becomes an impossible phenomenon. This is from Police Minister, Bheki Cele, who deemed substantiated by a statement made back in 2016 by the UP SRC, it as “something that it has no inch, it has no which stated that “[i]n light of the heavy security presence in the grain of explanation. Somebody, for me, went form of bouncers, and in light of the presence of the SAPS, and the crazy”. A statement from the Independent Policing general militarisation of our institution, we believe such a statement Investigative Directorate (IPID) has confirmed the adds to the paranoia of students and the limitation of their freedom of arrest of the four police officers involved in the expression as provided for in the Constitution of South Africa”. incident who have been charged with three counts PDBY reached out to Johan Boonzaaier, Director of Security of attempted murder and defeating the ends of Services at UP, for consensus behind how campus security operates justice. in the midst of looming student protest action. Boonzaaier states that UP’s own microcosm of the nationwide fee “given that the department is tasked with ensuring the safety and protests in March was led by the SRC, who handed security of all students, staff and visitors on campus, we will compile a memorandum of demands to UP vice chancellor, an operational plan to address the challenges that staff and students Professor Tawana Kupe, on 18 March, following a will face with regards to safety on campus as soon as we become week of protest action and sit-ins. As the UP SRC aware of potential protest”. and other students waited for the vice chancellor Boonzaaier ascertains that campus security is only obligated to use Photo: Susanna Anbu at the Engineering entrance, SRC President Lerato force against students “when people’s lives are endangered /threatened Ndlovu stated in an interview with television network and only in severe cases of damage to property”. Boonzaaier explained ENCA that, “We [the students] were told to social distance so [Prof. that student protest action breaks the law in cases where a person’s Kupe] may come, wear our masks, we have done exactly that as you life is in danger or property damage is undertaken. In these instances,

Student protest action in South Africa has garnered national can see behind and all that we have gotten so far is still waiting for Boonzaaier established that “if possible, we will engage with students attention due to its volatile and persistent nature. Over the him and the police are now preparing their weapon and now they have before acting against the offenders and getting the assistance of the SA years, incidents like the Soweto Uprising in 1976 and the Fees pointed this water machine of theirs in our direction so that is all we Police”. Must Fall (FMF) movement of 2015/2016 have effectively cemented have had so far [sic]”. Boonzaaier acknowledged that “by its very nature, protests notable Watergate moments in South African history, and underscored Despite the police articulating that they would leave once the are volatile and anything can trigger violence”. In such instances, the importance of student movements in the South African national students were on campus property, it was understood through Ndlovu’s he stated that campus security “try to engage with students, limit consciousness. Student movements in South Africa are often rooted statements that the police acted beyond their jurisdiction. She states, access to campus and separate groups as far as possible”, explaining in funding crises and institutionalised racism. Through the discourse “they [SAPS] gave us 15 minutes to disperse and we did not do so. that “if initial measures don’t succeed the campus will be vacated and of student protests in the last eight years, UP students have boasted They threatened to shoot and we came running for refuge here, on closed for a period of time. When students prevent access to a building participation in the many movements. By tracing this protest action, university property because they don’t have jurisdiction beyond this in a form of sit in (such as the sit in witnessed at the Enterprises@ we garner a better understanding of protests in the context of tertiary place and they’re still here, still preparing their weapons and they’re UP building during March’s protest action), Boonzaaier mentions that institutions, and at what point student protest action poses the potential still coming on the property, intimidating us”. campus security services ensure the safety of the buildings’occupants to morph into a turbulent nature. Some of the traditional methods employed by SAPS to disperse by closing the building and its perimeter. In instances where student

Through the progression of student protest action over the years, protesters consists of the use of teargas, water cannons, and stun protests disrupt public traffic or block roads, Boonzaaier explained the interplay between student safety and policing is a concern that has grenades. The aforementioned equipment is listed under the SAPS that, “outside the boundaries of the University’s properties, the drawn up wide debate. Former PDBY Editor, Michal-Maré Linden, policy document as minimum equipment required by police during jurisdiction falls within the responsibility of the SAPolice Service and mentions that, during PDBY’s coverage of the FMF movement in protest action. Such equipment enables SAPS to undertake mechanical Metro Police”. 2015, PDBY journalists tasked with covering the protest action were force on demonstrators. It is further stated that the use of “coercive In commenting on the history of campus security deployment supplied with red bandanas on the day. Journalists were encouraged to and deadly force” is only undertaken in rare and exceptional cases as against student protest action at UP, Boonzaaier stated that, “The write their name and contact number on the bandana and tie it around opposed to indiscriminately. Department of Security Services took all protest action, which has their wrist for easy identification in the crowd. Linden ascertains that The policy document on the policing of public protest articulates the potential to endanger the lives and property of the University there were a number of student Whatsapp groups before the march to that “in line with international instruments, many countries do not as serious”, and “will do everything we can to protect UP students the Union Buildings where students shared tips about how to protect subscribe to the use of force [during public protests]”. The policy and staff, visitors and property”. He mentioned that it was for this themselves from the police. She mentions that “these tips were told document discerns that the SAPS policing template stems from a purpose that the Department of Security Services “have added to students by their parents who used them during apartheid”, stating Belgium model that is based on “distant policing of crowds and additional security measures such as the installation of the biometric that, “a popular one was to carry a bottle of water and a bandana. You would include discussions, negotiation and persuasive methods”. The access control system, extensive CCTV coverage, deployment could also use your t-shirt. When the police shoot tear gas, you cover document goes on to explain that limitations of the Belgium approach of security officers to protect students (Green Route Service), your face with the wet t-shirt or cloth”. underpinned the justification for resorting to a French template that cut staff members and UP property”. Boonzaaier stated that

Bringing it to the current context, 2021 saw student protests down the distance between protesters and police, and rather “requires “building relationships with student leaders, such as the SRC has regain national attention due to nationwide protests regarding the that the police should be literally a few meters in front of the crowd” assisted us greatly in ensuring the safety of students”.

Meme-orable Moments event was more absurd than the memes it birthed. In short, amateur traders on Reddit cost hedge funds billions of dollars. GameStop is a chain store group in decline, with mass closures announced last year. The price of stocks was incredibly low and Wall Street bet on Muskaan Singh its closure and shorted the stocks. Over the past year, the news has been dominated by bad news, from devastating updates about the global pandemic, to hate crimes. However, every now and again, a headline is just absurd enough to find itself commemorated as a meme on Twitter timelines, TikTok trends and Tumblr dashboards (and inevitably as screenshots posted on Instagram). In case you missed the memo (or should I say, meme-o), here is a rundown and explanation of the meme highlights of 2021 thus far. In short, shorting is when Person A owns a share of stock that they lend to Person B who is the short seller. Person B then sells this borrowed stock to Person C. If the price of the stock drops, Person B buys back the stock for a lower price and returns it to Person A, keeping the difference. If the price of the stock rises, Person B has to purchase back the stocks at a loss in order to return them to Person A. It is possible for one stock to be borrowed multiple times. Therefore, when Redditors on the r/wallstreetbets forum began buying up GME stocks, it caused the value of those stocks to rise.

Bernie Sanders and his mittens By 27 January, two major short-sellers, Melvin Capital and Citron

After the 2020 US elections that had the world collectively Capital, closed after taking a 100% loss from betting that GameStop holding its breath, President Joe Biden was elected as the 46th stocks would fall, as reported by The Guardian. President of the United States. However, at his inauguration on 20 Essentially, a group of Redditors upended Wall Street and made for January, all eyes were on Senator Bernie Sanders and his mittens. some great memes. With hands and legs crossed, and while wearing oversized mittens, Sen. Sanders was photographed by Brendan Smialowski, a photojournalist at Agence France-Presse. Soon, thousands of renditions of the picture with hilarious captions were being shared on social media. While it was not a headline by itself, the meme was a wholesome takeaway after a tense election. The obstruction of the Suez Canal This meme was hard to miss - a huge ship lodged in the Suez Canal, and a meme often used to represent student struggles. In March, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days by the Ever Given, a 200 000 tonne container ship. On 23 March, the Ever Given encountered a sandstorm and was grounded, lodged sideways in

GameStop short squeeze the Suez Canal. By 28 March, 369 other vessels were lined up and

The social media posts about GameStop stock that appeared waiting to pass through the canal. BBC News reported that around in late January had many people cackling with laughter, and just 12% of global trade passes through the canal each day and data from as many stumped. The memes appeared in various formats and, Lloyd’s List showed that Ever Given was holding up around 9.6 without context, were bizarre. In this instance, however, the actual billion dollars of trade every day.

Josh Fight

This has to be one of the most wholesome things to come from 2021. Josh Fight was a meme, pool noodle fight, and a fundraiser. It had the same energy as the Area 51 Raid, except for the fact that people actually showed up.

Josh Fight began in 2020 when a University of Arizona student, Josh Swain, began a Facebook group with nine other people named Josh Swain, and invited them to meet on 24 April 2021 to fight for the name. The Facebook message was a joke, but Josh Swains and hundreds of others gathered on the specified date at Air Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.

After the initial message was posted on Twitter last year, several Reddit pages were started and countless memes emerged. The hype seemed to have died down, but evidently, Josh Fight was taken seriously by many across America. The original Josh Swain helped organise the event when it became apparent that people were planning on showing up. He set up a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital & Medical Centre Foundation in Omaha and managed to raise $12 000. People who attended the event also donated food to the Lincoln Food Bank.

The Josh Swains faced off in a game of rock-paper-scissors, and the others battled with pool noodles. Ultimately, a four-yearold Josh (Little Josh) emerged victorious.

Some honourable mentions

While these memes stood out because of their real-world bizarreness, this year has shown us so many gems, from the vaccine memes on Twitter— “if you’ve ever dated a Pretoria hun, you don’t need to worry about what’s in the vaccine”, was a big ouch— to the Gorilla Glue meme, and The Weeknd’s iconic Super Bowl halftime show.

Whatever the rest of the year has in store, at least there will always be reason to laugh.

The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, honoring the best films of 2020 and early 2021 was held on 26 April 2021.

Image: Kayla Thomas Reflecting on the 2021 Academy Awards

Disappearing relevance or victim of pandemic fatigue?

Susanna Anbu

Since the inception of the Academy Awards, the ceremony has seen considerable criticism and controversy surrounding its criteria and lack of diversity in award nominees. The 93rd Academy Awards were held on 25 April – marking it as one of the first full-fledged red carpet events since the start of the pandemic. A preliminary post-event analysis showed that only 9.85 million US television viewers tuned into the Oscars this year - compared to the 23.6 million in 2020, showing a 58% reduction in viewership. This year’s fashion theme was a fusion of “aspirational and inspirational”, while the event’s theme according to the organisers was described as “bring your movie love” in an effort to celebrate the art of filmmaking.

Owing to a scaled down size, this year’s Oscars broke tradition by hosting the main ceremony in Union Station, Los Angeles - as opposed to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The motivation to choose an unorthodox location such as a train station for the ceremony stemmed from social distancing regulations required of the attendants. All nominees were required by the Academy to attend in person and were denied the option to attend online. Considering the number of watershed moments that defined 2020, many viewers express dissatisfaction at the lack of statements or tributes encompassed in the organisation of the ceremony.

Eco-Chic fashion, social justice and tributes

Compared to last year’s statement of “eco-chic fashion” at the Oscars, celebrities attending this year’s Oscars did little to reaffirm their support for sustainable fashion. None of the outfits worn by celebrities had a notable story of sustainable fashion tied to them.

Despite such an absence, many fashion statements made by celebrities interweaved touching tributes and pledged solidarity with notable social movements from 2020. Singer and Songwriter, H.E.R. who had been nominated in the Best Original Song Category, wore a cobalt blue hooded fashion wear that mimicked a look worn by Prince when he accepted his Oscar back in 1985 for his song Purple Rain.

Directors Martin Desmond Roe and Travon Free, both won the Best Live action short film for Two Distant Strangers. Roe and Free both paid tribute to the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant by wearing Dolce and Gabbana pins with the numbers 24 and 2 – which were the jersey numbers of the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Their live action short film, Two Distant Strangers, was centred around a black man stuck in an infinite time loop which ultimately saw him dying at the hands of a white cop. In solidarity with the issue of police brutality, Roe and Free opted to have the names of the victims of police brutality stitched into the inner linings of their custom made tuxedos. Allegedly, there were so many names that Roe and Free were forced to choose the names that meant the most to them on the extensive list of victims.

Historical firsts

Chloe Zhao became the first woman of colour to receive the award for best director for her film Nomadland. Zhao’s win marked it as the second time in history where a woman won the Best Director accolade. Nomadland also won the Best Picture Award.

Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson became the first black women to win Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Neal mentioned in her speech that “[…]I know that one day it [the historic win] will not be unusual or ground-breaking; it will just be normal”. 73 year old actress, Youn Yuh-jung, became the first South Korean woman to win an award in an acting category, for her supporting role in Minari. Emerald Fennell won Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman. Her win marked it as the second time a female won the said category since Diablo Cody’s win back in 2008. Riz Ahmed became the first Muslim actor to be nominated for Best Actor for his work in Sound of Metal, while Steven Yeun became the first Asian American to be nominated (for Minari) under the same category.

Controversy surrounding Sir Anthony Hopkins’s win for best actor

This year saw a break in tradition as the recipients of Best Actor and Actress were announced last as opposed to Best Picture. This change was instigated by organisers who thought that the Best Actor Award would undeniably be handed to the late Chadwick Boseman for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which would end the award ceremony on a memorable note. Contrary to this belief, Sir Anthony Hopkins became the recipient of the Best Actor award for his role as a man suffering from dementia in The Father. This led to Hopkins holding the record for the oldest recipient of an Oscar award at age 83. The unexpected moment was compounded by Hopkins’s absence from the show. The organisers of the Academy Awards stipulated it as compulsory for all nominees to attend the ceremony in person, however, Hopkins, who currently resides in Wales, chose against attendance, opting to be on standby for a Zoom call on the night, which was rejected by the Academy.

This led to the absence of his acceptance speech at the end of the show, which led to a very dull finish marking the ending as one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. In Hopkins’ acceptance speech recorded a few hours later from the gravesite of his late father, he paid tribute to Boseman and thanked the film fraternity for his award. Boseman’s family also publicly defended Hopkins as the recipient of the award, congratulating the veteran actor for his performance.

Local talent sweeps up Oscar for best documentary

My Octopus Teacher, a documentary film directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, tracks the journey of filmmaker Craig Foster, as he documents his relationship with an octopus in the wild. The documentary, set in False Bay, off the coast of Cape Town, marked a historic win for South Africans, as it was the first time that a South African nature documentary became a Netflix Original. The documentary explores the relationship between man and animal and the subsequent metaphorical interpretations that one can make from the animals’ lifestyle into one’s own. It took 10 years to film and release, starting in 2010 and was released in 2020.

The ethics of the Oscars’ grandeur in a post pandemic setup

This year’s Oscars saw an overwhelming number of negative reviews which criticised multiple facets of the show. Furthermore, this year’s Oscars saw the absence of live music performances, film clips and a host – which were all aspects that normally punctuated the long programme of celebrity speeches. Owing to the pandemic and subsequent theatre closures, numerous discourses predicted that many members of the audience may not have watched the nominated films - thus the lack of film clips in the event markedly drew sharp criticism. Critics also called out the In Memoriam segment as being overly rushed, mandatory and slightly offensive due to the choice of lively background score.

PDBY Featured Artist: Kwazi Biyela

Thando Dlamini

PDBY recently spoke to final-year International relations student Kwazi Biyela (AKA Azi the Soulster) about her upcoming endyear release and music process.

When did you realise that music is your passion?

Since I was very young. I didn’t realise it myself, it’s more like people told me. I already knew, as a baby I had a huge*** head, and I already knew because I would just sing all the time and my thing wasn’t to get people to tell me ‘oh you can sing’ it was to get people to realise that I can sing. So, from like Grade 3 that’s when it became a huge actual passion thing because in Grade 3, I was already singing with the senior choir so that’s when everything flourished.

Which artists inspire you?

It’s such a variety because I feel like I have inspiration from so many different genres and it literally changes each and every single time but right now I think I have a huge, huge influence from Thandi Ntuli, Cleo Sol, Ami Faku just to name a few of the vibe[s]. But I just have a lot of influence from them but also a lot from local artists even Ayanda Jiya because I like their sound. I like how soulful it is but yet it’s still very South African you know.

What’s your favourite song to sing or perform?

Recently my favourite song to perform, like to cover, has been Thandi Ntuli’s “New Way’’ because that song, I feel like it just speaks to [you]. You know when a butterfly reincarnates and all of that, from moth to butterfly, all that type of stuff. I feel like that song literally describes me and as a person. You’re continuously growing as a person and I feel like that song is the perfect break up song with yourself, you know when you’re breaking away from your old self to your new self and I think it’s the perfect break up song and I think that’s my favourite song to perform recently.

What genre does your sound fall into?

I think afro-soul, neo-soul with a bit of jazz cause you know, I’m a jazz baby but like more around that. I would like to dip into pop but I don’t think I have the persona for pop. Maybe one day in life, God knows. But for now, a more afro-soul and jazz vibe.

What are the biggest hurdles you have had to overcome as a musician?

I think I’m still overcoming them now. I think most importantly my mental health has been my biggest enemy. That’s been like the biggest block. I swear if I could cross that obstacle I would be in the studio right now recording and all that different stuff. Another hurdle is studying. Parents will always want you to chase your passion but will always focus on, you know, getting the degree so, I think right now it’s a matter of completing my studies and having something to fall back on. Once I get over that hurdle and I can fully put my energy and my focus into music without letting stuff like imposter syndrome and anxiety get to me. That will be the pinnacle of everything.

You are set to release some music towards the end of the year, what can listeners expect?

I want to talk to your soul. They must expect someone who is going to talk to their soul. Listen, I am not going to get you into your feels too much so that you’re going to be all sad but I want you to sit and reflect and be like haibo guys. I want it to be relatable. I don’t want it to feel far-fetched, I don’t want to feel far-fetched as an artist and as a musician I want [you] to feel like [I’m] sitting here in the room with [you] talking to [you]. I want it to be a very intimate, soulful connection. It’s going to be a soulful connection because it’s going to be coming from a place of hurt but a place of joy in the hurt as well. So, they can expect a sort of bitter-sweet something.

Looking at the SA music scene local and national, which artist would you like to collaborate with in the future?

Ami Faku, Ayanda Jiya, there are so many, I have a whole list! Ami Faku, oh my God if I could sing with Ami Faku I would be so happy. Ayanda Jiya, Langa Mavuso, Langa Mavuso, Thandi Ntuli, and of course Zoë Modiga. I would love to be on stage with Zoë. Zoë’s voice inspires me so much so if I could ever have a collab with her, I think I’d pass away. I think I would just perish, I would definitely perish. These people are not only killing the game this side, their international recognition for keeping that ethnic sound, I love it, that’s exactly what I want.

What’s next for you after releasing? Where do you see your career in 5 years?

After releasing, because we are focused girls, we are going to get a postgrad. I also want to go back to my music degree, so I’m torn between doing my postgrad or completing my music degree. But knowing the universe, I will probably be completing my music degree while also working on other bodies of work. I want to be more of a live performer than a person who just releases songs. I like being intimate with my audience so if possible after releasing, small performances in like two cities just a little something, that is the plan while tackling school and work.

You can follow Azi on Instagram and Twitter (@azithesoulster).