Edition 12: 2008

Life in Liesbeek

page 6

Date rape account

page 8

UCT soccer success

page 15

07 October 2008 · Volume 67, Number 12 · 021 650 3543 · varsitynewspaper@gmail.com

Nicole Jonklass

ON 25 September, the SRC launched the International Students Forum (ISF) aimed at promoting internationalisation at UCT. Speaking at the launch, the VicePresident External of the SRC, Thamasanqha Ledwaba, said the ISF would ensure “that the international student voice is made as audible as possible.”

The ISF was established for international students to discuss international, political and socioeconomic issues.

Ledwaba said that this year the SRC “aimed at laying down a solid foundation” for setting up the ISF by forming strong partnerships with the International Academic Programme Office (IAPO), the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) and other stakeholders, including the chairpersons of international societies on campus. According to Ledwaba, a working group had been set up to establish the terms of reference for the Forum, and it had also sought advice from other higher education institutions with bodies similar to the ISF. Speaking at the launch, international student Mercy Erhiawarien said, “Despite the efforts of IAPO and the recent efforts of the SRC, international students’ needs and concerns have not always been represented in the various UCT organisational bodies.” She said the ISF was “a groundbreaking step for the future of international students here at UCT, especially in entrenching the presence of international students within the greater UCT organisational structure.”

In a question and answer session, Sabelo Mcinziba, Head of Residence Council, said that he

was disappointed at the lack of diversity of international students attending the launch. Most students at the launch were from African countries. Concerns were also raised at the lack of representation from UCT Management at the function.

Outgoing SRC member Faith Chirinda raised concerns about international student societies such as ZimSoc, Easoc and BotSoc, saying that she was ‘very bitter and saddened at the way in which [these] societies operate’ and that they were ‘not being relevant to students’. ‘I don’t believe that students from Zimbabwe should be running to the SRC when ZimSoc is there.’ Chirinda added that ‘BotSoc, Easoc, ZimSoc should be the first port of call that students should run to and then the committee members should address the SRC.’ According to 2006 statistics from IAPO, there are over 4000 international students studying at UCT, making up 20% of the total student body. More than half of these students are from countries in the Southern African Development Community and 538 are from 19 other African countries.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo, delivered the keynote address and spoke about internationalisation at UCT. Nhlapo said that “when you leave a university, you should be an open-minded person... aware that there is a range of ideas in the world because there is a range of human beings in the world and each one is unique. Openmindedness and appreciating the humanity of the person next to you is easier done in a classroom or a residence where you are with international students.”

Heritage or Heresy?

Photo by Simon Page

International students forum launched

See no evil- Cecil John Rhodes looks out over Africa, oblivious to the continuing discord over his legacy, 106 years after his death Kerryn Warren A MESSAGE reading ‘Fuck Your Dream of Empire’ was spraypainted on the Cecil John Rhodes statue overlooking the UCT rugby fields. The message was first noticed by students last week on Heritage Day. The statue was unveiled in 1934 and remains a point of contention amongst students. This is due to the nature of Rhodes’ character as well as the many damaging policies he implemented whilst a politician in Southern Africa.

Yet most students interviewed

by VARSITY were indifferent to the statement. Many believe that the action was extreme. “He was just a man who had a dream.

Whether he was good or not, he is still a part of our history,” says Olwetu Mshaba. She added that “vandalism should not be encouraged.” Mseki Ntsiko, however, feels that the statue itself is a mark of a colonial regime as “it represents inequality. It is like we are embracing his dream, yet we are an institution of equality.”

Workers assessing the damage

Dispute over Archie Mafeje affair Tonbara Ekiyor

THERE is an ongoing disagreement between the Vice Chancellor, Dr Max Price, and Professor of Sociology, Lungisile Ntsebeza as to whether certain documents containing the unedited version of issues concerning relations between Archie Mafeje and UCT should be released. Price says “due to confidentiality issues, the research will be published in 30 years.”

The late Archie Mafeje graduated from UCT in 1965. In 1968 he was hired with merit by the University, only to be told he would not be allowed to take up the position because of pressure from the Apartheid government.

Ntsebeza points out in an interview that “there were no laws prohibiting blacks from teaching at UCT.” Disappointed, but not disillusioned, Mafeje remained overseas at Cambridge University

where he was doing his PhD. Until his death in March 2007, Mafeje was not reconciled with the institution where he began his outstanding academic journey.

On 19 August, at the installation of Dr Price, UCT bestowed a posthumous honorary doctorate on Mafeje in an attempt to redress the wrongs of the institution. Its previous attempt was in 2003 under former VC, Prof. Njabulo Ndebele.

UCT apologised to Mafeje for the University’s failure “to protect his right to work at UCT.” Mafeje did not respond to UCT’s apology because it only dealt with the issues that occurred in 1968 and not any subsequent matters, according to Ntsebeza.

Price claims that “most in the administration did not realise how much their actions [in the 90’s] angered Mafeje.” With the help of Ntsebeza, the University reached out to his family...

Continued on page 2

Varsity, the official student newspaper since 1942, is committed to the principles of equality and democracy

told VARSITY, “It’s a bit frustrating but it happens.” The graffiti will not be easily cleaned.

The statue depicts a thoughtful Cecil John Rhodes. His gaze, directed towards the interior of Africa, symbolises his ambition for Britain to have complete control from Cape to Cairo. Upon his death in 1902, Rhodes bequeathed a large portion of his property to South Africa, part of which is now UCT’s Upper Campus.

Rhodes Memorial and a statue of Rhodes in the Company’s Garden were also vandalised.

Tariq Desai UNREST at the North West University (NWU) last month resulted in the arrest of 49 students. The students were charged on counts of public violence and arson, instigated during three weeks of disruption of academic activity at the University. Residences on campus, housing more than 2000 students, have been closed and students have been temporarily asked to leave.

Police were called in to stop protests after furniture in the Senate Hall, three guard houses, a recreation hall and a University vehicle were set alight. Rubber bullets were fired at protesters.

Students believed to be responsible for the arson and those caught on security cameras were found and arrested. According to NWU spokesperson, Louis Jacobs, damage of campus property totalled in excess of R1 million.

Students whom the University believes instigated the violence are to face disciplinary hearings.

In the past, including earlier this year, the University has suspended and expelled students for damage to property and laid criminal charges against some.

Vice-Chancellor Theuns Eloff alleged in last week’s Mail and Guardian that North West branches of SACP and COSATU have pressured Education Minister, Naledi Pandor, into resorting to the “drastic” formation of a commission of inquiry. The VC also accused the organisations of joining staff in fuelling the unrest on campus. In the same article SASCO general secretary, Magasela Mzobe, condemned the “arrogant” university administration and said government intervention has long been necessary.

Pandor has, in a statement released on the 18 September, called for an evaluation of the implementation of the merger.

In May, students on the Mafikeng campus protested after a proposed tuition fee hike of 13%.

Students also demonstrated against the manner in which the University was run, particularly after a student party had been stopped by campus security. The protests at

the time resulted in the suspension of the SRC president and disciplinary action against a further seven students. This sparked another wave of protest on campus. Subsequently, the University suspended three and then expelled four students. The decision by the Student Disciplinary Appeals Committee on the 25 August was upheld on appeal and this led students to embark on the latest round of protest. Neither the Vaal nor Potchefstroom campuses have been disrupted by the demonstrations, and normal university activity continues on these campuses.

NWU was formed in 2003 through the merger of the Potchefstroom University of Christian Higher Education (Pukke) and the University of Bophuthatswana in Mafikeng. The union was part of a programme of mergers across the country. The Department of Education amalgamated 36 tertiary institutions into 21. The merger of the two historically racially distinct universities was intended to play a reconciling role within higher education in the North West. Students have, however, complained about the isolation of the Mafikeng campus and a favouring of the Vaal and Potchefstroom campuses in supporting students.

The success of the mergers, initiated by the then education minister, Kader Asmal, has been mixed.

Campuses of the same university are often far apart, resources spread unevenly between locations and administrations often operate separate to each other.

Mergers such as the formation of UKZN and UJ have, however, been relatively successful. So far R3 billion has been spent on the programme.

NWU has committed to ensuring that due processes were followed in the action against the seven students, though it is unclear whether underlying tension between students and management will be resolved soon.

The Students’ Council is holding an extraordinary meeting on 16 October after a formal letter of grievances has been submitted by the Campus SRC.

Archie Mafeje affair continued...

From Page 1 ...in an attempt to honour the man they had treated so unfairly.

Despite a student body led “sit-in” of over 600 UCT students for nine days in 1968 over the discrimination against Mafeje, “the University gave in to blackmail,” said Dr Ken Hughes at the Mafeje symposium. However, Fred Hendricks, Dean of Humanities at Rhodes University, commented in the symposium that the Council’s decision to give in was as a result of the “collusion between the Apartheid state and the University of Cape Town.” He goes on to say that the “University relinquished its autonomy with not even a whimper of protest.” Price told VARSITY that “it is not fair to say that the University did not put up a fight as several members of staff joined in on the sit-in.”

In 1993, Mafeje applied for a job advertised by UCT in the newly developed African Studies department. Once again UCT refused Mafeje an interview. According to the apology read by Dr Price at the symposium “there was a perception on Professor Mafeje’s part that he was not treated fairly”.

Ntsebeza reiterates that Mafeje was treated unfairly, citing that the selection committee based its decision not to hire Mafeje on

hearsay, saying that their information about Mafeje’s character came from former colleagues at the University of Namibia, who viewed him as opinionated. Price says “it was based on information from Namibia as well as referees from other universities.”

Price says that a letter was sent to Mafeje, inviting him for an interview. He goes on to say that the University at that time was “not sure if he received the invitation because he had moved from the University of Namibia to the University of Cairo.” Yet Ntsebeza counters that in his research into the correspondence between Mafeje and UCT he “never came across a record indicating that a letter had been sent to Mafeje inviting him to an interview.” Furthermore Ntsebeza says UCT should back their claim up with evidence. Dr Price in his apology concedes that more should have been done “to bring a very significant African scholar home to UCT.” Ntsebeza maintains UCT can only make amends by filling out the loopholes in the story as a means of appeasing the late Mafeje. He told VARSITY that “perhaps one way of dealing with this matter is to call for a public debate.”

Tony Leon on “Mbekiism” nicole jonklass FORMER Democratic Alliance leader and Member of Parliament, Tony Leon, gave a talk at UCT two weeks ago in which he focussed on Thabo Mbeki’s political legacy as President of South Africa and the impact his recall from the presidency would have on national politics.

Leon was originally meant to speak on Liberalism in student politics, but changed the focus of his speech having arrived on Upper Campus an hour after casting his vote in the parliamentary election that saw Kgalema Motlanthe become President of South Africa.

Leon said that he would not underestimate the end of “Mbekiism” as a political ideology in the country. He characterised Mbekiism as “racial nationalism, the over-centralisation of power and the pretensions of a developmental state”.

However, he did credit Mbeki with “reanimat[ing] South African politics” and giving “intellectual respectability to what [Leon had] always regarded a fairly antique form of nationalism.” He also said that Mbeki had replaced Nelson Mandela’s legacy of “Rainbowism” with “the paraphernalia of transformation in which was embedded cronyism and corruption.” He further went on to say that he could not “help but notice that the enormous amount of corruption and cronyism that is feared under Jacob Zuma [should he become president] has actually already happened in South Africa.”

According to Leon, while there “is no guarantee that matters won’t spiral downward under [Mbeki’s] successor,” Mbeki’s removal from the presidency also means that “the dangerous fallacy of presidential infallibility” had been removed. Elaborating on this infallibility, Leon stated that in Parliament, ANC members neither challenged Mbeki’s denialism regarding HIV/AIDS until he lost the ANC presidency at Polokwane nor his policy on Zimbabwe. He said this was because the “mantel of presidential authority had settled so heavily on the ruling party ... [such that] if you challenged the president, you were challenging the majority, you were challenging blacks” and you could be accused of racism by those who didn’t agree with you.

Leon stated that this “overweening arrogance of office”

Photo by Simon Page

Unrest at NWU

Volume 67 Number 12

Leon waxes liberal-Tony Leon of the DA addressed students at UCT following the recalling of Mbeki. His speech focused on the impact this recall would have on national politics. was not only because of Mbeki’s “remarkable personality” but because “so much power was accumulated in his office as president of the country and president of the ANC that at one stage he appointed every premiere, he appointed every minister in every province and certainly the Cabinet. They [the ANC] spoke about collectivised responsibility, [but] there was a singular control mechanism.”

Leon said that although he always criticised Mbeki for having too much power, he thought his two successors, Zuma and Motlanthe, had “far too little power.” He described how it would be difficult for him to define what ‘‘Zumaism’’ or ‘‘Motlantheism’’ stand for. Although he did not doubt that the two ANC leaders are sincere when they say they “are the servants of the collective,” he was unsure of what this meant. “Is it the lowest common denominator of agreement between Cyril Ramaphosa and Julius Malema?” Leon asked of the students present.

Rather than just being the end of Thabo Mbeki’s term as South Africa’s president, Leon said the end of Mbekiism indicated “that politics had changed, that certain assumptions and certainties in the past are being challenged, and [that] the current uncertainty could over time lead to less predictable, but ... more democratic outcomes for the future.” Leon thinks that

this is a “a very healthy thing.”

Interference in student politics?

Leon congratulated DASOUCT Branch Leader, Chris Ryall, and the rest of the organisation on their performance in this year’s SRC election. The provisional election results indicate that 7 DASO-UCT candidates have been elected to the 15-member SRC, which in recent years has been dominated by candidates from SASCO-UCT and the ANC Youth League. “And now you have, apparently, a regime change,” said Leon about the provisional results, adding that “change is a good and great thing.”

In response to a question from an audience member, Leon said that he did not think current DAleader Helen Zille was interfering in student politics at UCT with the statement she released about DASO-UCT’s performance in the SRC elections. Leon said that he did not think Chris Ryall, a possible candidate for the SRC presidency, would be “just a patsy for some high-up leadership in the [DA] party.” According to Leon, there was no desire on the part of the DA to interfere with student governance, but “there certainly was a desire on the student DASO side to give students a choice and to not just carry on with the current de facto one-party state at UCT.”

EMployees Union protest- UCT work-

ers peacefully protested outside Bremner Building last Wednesday before Senate met to discuss the 2009 budget. Andrea Plos, Chairman of the Union, said that the proposed 7% salary increase was “ludicrous”, considering inflation is 13%.

Photos by Simone Millward

2

NEWS

Varsity

SOUTH Africa’s second community TV station was launched recently in Cape Town. The Cape Town Community Television Station (CTV) is a free-to-air channel and available to all. The broadcaster intends to have four hours of original programming daily, repeated on a 24-hour-cycle throughout the day.

Anyone with a TV can search for the station between SABC 3 and eTV. For viewers with DSTV, it is necessary to re-install the old analogue aerial to get the station.

Due to the way the Independent Broadcasting Association of South Africa (ICASA) issues licenses, eTV, M-Net and CTV cannot be viewed at the same time, as they share the same frequency.

Nevertheless, this can be resolved through re-tuning the devices to output on other channels.

The different sectors repre-

senting the community assist in the running of CTV by having seats on the board and ensuring a balance of coverage. These sectors consist of arts and culture, sports and recreation, religion and labour amongst others. Various organisations, societies and NGOs also participate in the running of the station.

CTV has entered into partnership with AFDA Film and Drama School and is looking to extend its network to other tertiary institutions.

The role of community media, from print to broadcast, is critical in contributing to the development of society at large. Members of the community are encouraged to become involved through volunteering and generating content.

Fuller Hall turns 80 Lethiwe Nkosi FULLER Hall Residence celebrated her 80th anniversary last Saturday. The event was hosted at Fuller Hall with a luncheon and the launch of an official alumna chapter for UCT’s oldest female residence.

The purpose of the event was to create an alumna which will hold annual meetings and take on one development project a year within the residence. Tiisetso Mngomezulu, a member of the Fuller 80 Team told VARSITY, “I’m so happy with how well everything turned out, especially since we did this ourselves with little support from UCT. It’s really

shocking that Fuller did not have an alumni, which is why we felt it was really important to establish a relationship with past generations of Fullerites.”

Amongst those in attendance were four octogenarians who lived in Fuller during the 1940s, when it was still known as Women’s Residence. Pat Pope reminisced about the changes over the years and told current Fullerites how they had to dress in formal garments for dinner whilst the House Committee and Warden sat on a platform at the front of the dining hall. The oldest ex-Fullerite present, Gwen Fagan, was given the task of cutting the birthday cake.

Current Fullerites Nolwazi Njwara and Jeska Pike commented

that “it is amazing how people can still be so passionate about Fuller after so many years.” The guest speaker, Phumelele NtombelaNzimande, encouraged the girls to extend themselves beyond the confines of Fuller saying that they should also focus on improving the University and the country.

Fuller Hall was opened in 1928 as UCT’s Women’s Residence with Mrs Tugwell as the first Lady Warden. It was renamed Fuller Hall in the early 1950’s after Mrs M E Barnard Fuller in recognition of her campaign for the establishment of a residence for female students. She was one of the first students admitted to UCT in 1887.

Photos by Tiisetso Mngomezulu

Tune into Cape Town TV Moss Matheolane

3

news

For those interested in joining as contributors, visit the CTV website at www.capetowntv.org

SRC Member Final Student appeals UCT Assembly Zerene Haddad Tribunal Zerene HAddad A MEMBER of the SRC was acquitted by the UCT Student Tribunal after appealing the Tribunal’s original verdict. The SRC member was found guilty of being in possession of stolen goods earlier this semester, with community service as a punishment. The student appealed the ruling and all charges were dropped a fortnight ago.

VARSITY was unable to reach the student in question for comment.

LAST Wednesday the final Student Assembly of 2008 was held. It was one of the most well-attended assembly’s of the year.

The meeting reviewed the SRC Organisational report, the SRC President’s Political report, the Student Assembly Financial Report and the Chairperson’s Report.

A new Student Assembly committee was elected. SASCO candidates were voted into the three positions of Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Co-ordinator amidst much cheering.

Yusuf Mowlana, the incoming 2009 Chairperson, remarked that next year’s focus would be on holding student governance structures accountable.

Fuller celebrates in style- Gwen Fagan, an ex-Fullerite, was one of the few women to study medicine at UCT in the 1940s. The normally drab res dining hall was transformed for the occasion.

De Lille calls for “Justice” Olivia Walton LAST Wednesday, Patricia De Lille gave a disparaging account of the African National Congress’ (ANC) handling of the Arms Deal scandal. She was addressing a group of students and UCT staff at All Africa House on Middle Campus.

This was in response to the reaction in Parliament to the De Lille Dossier. This document exposed the Arms Deal scam, implicating top ANC brass. The Dossier alleged that some prominent politicians had received knock-backs from the Arms Deal. De Lille claims that the failure to investigate her allegations fully was a “violation of the separation of powers” and that the ANC’s denial of any corruption has “plagued” the party for the last ten years.

Mbeki, De Lille claims, was the first “high profile casualty”

of the Arms Deal scandal, having remained in denial and refusing to appoint a Commission of Inquiry.

However, De Lille has hope that Kgalema Motlanthe would do so, calling him a “good negotiator,” a skill which will evidently be useful in the months ahead.

The Independent Democrats leader described some of the current government as “crooks, not freedom fighters.” The calls for an amnesty grant to those implicated in the Arms Deal are a blow to the fight against crime and undermine the justice system, according to De Lille; who also stressed the importance of creating a society that upholds the law.

At the time of the document’s release, De Lille received death threats and was accused of fabrication. She says, however, that her “vindications” came with the sentencing of Schabir Shaik and Tony Yengeni, both of whom were implicated in De Lille’s report.

De Lille believes that such government corruption “steals from the poor” and that it occurs because we are “forgetting the values that informed the struggle.” The struggle vision, she said, was one of “justice, fairness and equality for all.”

Despite her derision for the way in which the Arms Deal and the De Lille Dossier have been treated, De Lille remains hopeful, believing that “we are on the right track with our country.” She stresses the need for education, especially in terms of our Constitution, claiming that we need to make it “a living document” by ensuring that South Africans know and understand its contents. When asked what was needed to restore morality to our politics, De Lille answered that “we need to go back to ubuntu” in order to address the “break down in social fabric” caused by our violent past.

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4

Volume 67 Number 12

Opinions

Letters

Nation of whiners I read Tatenda Goredema’s piece “Think Again, McCain” and noticed, surprise surprise, another story supporting Senator Obama and dreading another four horrible, painful, unfathomable years of George W. Bush and I thought to myself; what exactly is so bad about America and specifically President Bush?

Why do “liberal-minded” students, who boast of being free thinkers who are more open-minded than those ignorant conservatives, conform to the Bush Bashing phenomena caused by the media and celebrities? My fellow American students I’ve talked with down here who bash Bush are all from top American universities: Princeton, University of California, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Emory - the list could go on, yet they speak as if Bush caused them some great, personal pain and personally ruined their lives. This is the socio-political equivalent of a fat lion sitting on the carcasses of a zebra, hippo and elephant crying “I hate the jungle! I don’t know what I’m going to do if we have four more years of the jungle!”

For all President Bush’s faults, and his faults are

more obvious than Devil’s Peak, he has successfully babysat a country of whining brats. Our US economy is “suffering?” We Americans should all whine to the people of Zimbabwe about a suffering economy; I’m sure they’d lend us shoulders to cry on. While Goredema states that “America’s image is poor in the eyes of the rest of the world” due to deteriorating foreign relations, America’s image is poor because we, America, are a country of ungrateful citizens who spend all our time whining about what’s “wrong” with our country and not enough time being thankful for all the good in our country. America is still the world’s superpower and for every fault with the country, there are a hundred positives. If we Americans continue to be ungrateful, our country will continue to look bad in the eyes of the world.

In my opinion, that thought alone is worse than another four years of George W. Bush.

Kyle Gillis UCT Semester Abroad student

Final word from RAG On behalf of the RAG committee of 2007/08, I would like to extend a thank you to all students, staff and UCT management for making it a successful year in fulfilling our fundraising efforts towards SHAWCO. RAG had a groundbreaking year with the execution of 12 projects meeting the expectation of raising over R1 000 000. RAG managed to include patrons of all levels, targeting our first-year market with the O-Week projects, all the way to graduates by selling Graduation Wine and finally showcasing ourselves to members of the greater Cape Town community through the sale of SAX Appeal magazine and hosting our Floats Parade in Adderley Street.

This year RAG gave particular focus to increasing the standard and quality of our events. The transition from Soweto String Quartet at our annual Kirstenbosch Concert proved flawless as the renowned conductor Richard Cock took centre stage with a diversity of acts including the Bala Brothers and the popular SA band Plush. Other improved projects included Big Bash, RAG Olympics, Fashion Show and the RAG student Diary.

Our more corporate and lesser-known event,

Golf Day, was also an accomplishment. Through all our projects we overcame many obstacles and challenges. To highlight two, the RAG committee worked tirelessly to re-create the Big Bash event in less than two weeks with the unanticipated venue cancellation.

We also faced an incident where one of our students who participated in the stair race event during RAG Olympics sustained a serious injury. Both these challenges brought RAG members closer as a team, added to our experience in handling crisis situations and confirmed our ability to foresee and mitigate any risks to the projects.

My final word of thanks is to the RAG staff, steering, executive and general committee. Without their hard work, patience and effortless loyalty to RAG our mission would not have been achieved. The ongoing support of all UCT stakeholders including students and staff is greatly appreciated and we hope the support continues in 2009.

Cameron Arendse RAG Chairman for 2009

Democracy? Politics?

An authentic and legitimate democratic nation would have its real substance and creativity embedded in the informed will of the people, i.e. in an authentic government, “for, by and of its citizens”.

This fundamentally genuine type of peopleinvolved democracy has been subtly sidetracked by our “evolved” fake political processes. A phrase has been introduced to the “for, by and of” which introduces all sorts of evils: “or their elected representatives.”

Once these “representatives” are in power, they regard the country as though it were a national company of which they were the chairmen and managing directors.

This added phrase may seem at first glance innocuous and unobtrusive. But in reality it is far from harmless. It is the Trojan Horse that turns authentic or real democracy into the various guises, such as: modern style democratic communism; shallow socialism; our present form of destructive, warlike and wasteful capitalism; and the like. All of which are accomplished “For The Good Of The People”.

Governments, however, don’t steal most of a nations birthright all on their own. They need a powerful bedfellow. Which is “big business”. They form the tail that wags the national dog of “Wealth”.

Here one has modern capitalistic history in a nutshell: The worker’s ability to grow and make their own whiskey, beer, chutney, clothes, jam, cheeses, jewellery, fashions, houses, furniture, entertainment, etc, has been systematically and craftily “stolen” from the ordinary hard-working man and woman, and then strategically compartmentalized through the clever sounding names of “Productivity and Progress”. A label which hides a multitude of manipulative and wasteful “sins”, whilst at the same time binding a country’s assets—such as oil, diamonds, real estate and labor—under the banner of “Money” in the hands of a privileged few to the tangible detriment of the nation as a whole.

Even if the upper middle income worker should feel immune, secure and satisfied within his present

status quo framework, they will nevertheless still experience the feelings of insecurity and despair that the specter of retrenchments, lay-offs, debt and repossession evoke in times of severe to moderately severe economic recessions and when their families and themselves have to join the “soup queues”, and depressingly “street-walk”, looking for non-existent jobs.

It is generally acknowledged that our world is currently borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. As far as nature goes we are in deficit territory. We are considered by a vast number of rational people to be heading towards a somewhat desolate and impotent world.

Is there an antidote to such a possibility in sight?

Funnily enough the antidote has always been hidden among us. It is “Real Democracy,” where the problem, and not the factions and egos, is “King” …And then to take a free, fair and independent vote on the national matters at hand, i.e. an active role “for, of and by the people”.

People in general recognize “truth and fairness”, when these are presented in an uncomplicated and straightforward manner, divorced from misleading and jingoistic disguises.

Suggestion: An initial debate on “what would be a good and fair national goal that the majority of all a country’s citizens would be prepared to work for, and towards?”

Will the debate end in an amalgamation of what is good in our present form of capitalism, and what is good for the human spirit when it is freed from financial stress? When the drudgery of “washing dishes” as it were, was left to machinery and we are left to arts and crafts; and the journey of personal and collective discovery—free from war and starvation?

Eric Bolt UCT graduate

Editorial “Write what you want to read about,” is the slogan that VARSITY, the official student newspaper of UCT, adheres to. The connotations of the phrase are simple enough – the students of UCT should dictate the content of the paper.

At the recent sitting of Student Assembly (see page 5) there were a number of moments of excitement which led to singing, clapping, shouting and the like. Arguably, the loudest applause of the night came when one of the budding young politicians raised his concerns about the manner in which VARSITY newspaper had represented student governance structures, and the individuals therein, over the past year. Unless I am mistaken, the word “sensationalist” was bantered around by a couple of people in the crowd.

Being a paper that claims to represent the students, we welcome any form of criticism as the credibility of the paper rests on the input given by students. The views presented by the gentleman at Student Assembly are an example of the criticisms that we need to receive if we are to move forward. However, such claims can only be verified when they are given weight by the student body. For this reason, I would like to urge YOU to be more hands-on when it comes to the content of YOUR newspaper. If you don’t like the content or the direction the paper is taking then the only way we can know about it is if you write to us and tell us.

Alternatively, I would encourage students to write what they want to read about. Come to our newsgatherings, listen to our story ideas, give us your own and then write an article. It really is as easy as that.

If you think we are not raising enough issues with regards to social consciousness, then the only way you can change that is by either submitting a letter or by becoming part of the writing process. As the number of students participating in the content-generating process increases, so does the credibility and views represented by the paper.

I can assure you that writing a letter or article will have a far greater impact than standing up and complaining at Student Assembly.

Seeing as this is the last edition of the year, you will have to wait until 2009 to have your thoughts transferred to print, but the summer vac should give you plenty of time to come up with something to add to the quality of the paper.

On another matter entirely, our more astute readers would have noticed that the paper has been restructured: the Humour, Business and Technology, Arts and Entertainment and Focus sections have all been incorporated into the Features section. This was done to streamline the running of the paper and to make it more user-friendly to the readers.

This is also the first edition put together by the 2009 collective and is a taste of what is to come for those readers that will still be here next year.

Until then, good luck with exams and enjoy the vac, Seamus

news gathering next newsgathering See you in 2009

2009 collective editor Seamus Duggan deputy editor Zerene Haddad chief sub editor Maciek Dubla sub editors Asanda Wayi, Cayleigh Bright, Charity Mpofu, David McLennan, Jackie Zvoutete, Louise Ferreira, Nicolette Dlamini dtp editor Wei Mao operations manager Tina Swigelaar images Simone Millward photographers Anita Buramu news Nicole Jonklass opinions Tatenda Goredema features Remy Ngamije & Tara Leverton sports Daniel Freund & William Clerke finance & advertising team Megan Lyons & Nadia Read marketing & brand manager John-Ross Hugo & Celeste Adonis IT manager Irfaan M Imamdin & Michael Dube media school director Joy Waddel staff writers Tariq Desai, Moss Matheolane, Kerryn Warren, Matthew Milne, Sentlenyana Machaba, David Brits, Olivia Walton, Tonbara Ekiyor, Lethiwe Nkosi, Tiffany Mugo, Jaydene Swartz external contributors Mogola Segooa, Tecla Ciolfi, Jackeline Okeyo, Ben Paviour, Yusif Sayigh, Justin Andrews, Duncan O’Regan, Martin Mendelsohn tel 021 650 3543 fax 021 650 2904 email varsitynewspaper@gmail.com location 5th Floor, Steve Biko Student Union Building, Upper Campus advertising email Megan Lyons on megan@meganlyons.co.za or fax her on 021 650 2904. Rates and other information available upon request.

disclaimer The Varsity Opinions section is a vehicle for expression on any topic by members of the University or other interested parties. The opinions within this section are not necessarily those of the Varsity Collective. The Opinions Editor reserves the right to edit or shorten letters. Letters should include the name and telephone number of the writer, and must be received by 5 pm on the Wednesday before publication. They should not exceed 350 words, and will not be published under a pseudonym, or anonymously.

Varsity

THE NEW black generation that has emerged out of the spoils of the political and economic redistribution can be seen in two distinct groups on Jammie: the heirs of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) players and the offspring of high profile government officials.

I initially bought into the perception that Government Kids (GKs) study something in Humanities and are a part of their parents’ political party. The BEE Kids (BKs) are in Commerce and do not have time for politics and tend to extravagantly display their parents’ wealth. The two have very little in common except when their parents greet each other at funerals and they pretend that they don’t know each other even though they were in close proximity to one another in the queue at Velvet last Thursday.

As I mentioned earlier, I initially thought that these two groups had very little in common, but then it dawned on me that they have both digressed to the same culture. It is sorely noted that the predominant culture that I see on Upper is that of regression. A majority of the GKs and BKs have lost their sense of ubuntu, respect for women and unity amongst themselves. One of these issues has been highlighted as a national pandemic when senior ANC member Zola Skweyiya commented on ANC Youth League President, Julius Malema, not having any respect for former President Thabo Mbeki and thus showing a lack of ubuntu and humility.

I, like many other South Africans, was brought up by a single mother who subscribes to the same beliefs as Mr Skweyiya.

Our mothers have instilled moral fibre and character in us, giving selflessly of themselves with

only one request; that we do not turn into our fathers’ generation - a generation that doesn’t support their children or their women but still has enough money and time to drink Johnnie Walker and have another illegitimate child. So when I see my peers constantly drunk and “macking� on various girls on Lower, I see resemblances between our generation and the generation that wine and dine little young things at Sandton and Gateway.

Moreover I see more and more competition among the new guard.

People often advise me to hook up with that girl because it will put those black Smuts guys in their place. It’s less about their personal growth and more about the black heir yard-stick. When someone does badly, it is a joke and not a topic of conversation or intervention as we are happy to see our fellow black man fail. This is exactly what we read about in the world of big business and politics, with the heavy hitters often keeping the political power and riches to themselves and leaving little for others, thus increasing the large disparity between rich and poor.

In 1999, Archbishop Desmond Tutu defined a person who encapsulates ubuntu as “open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.�

It’s clear that most of the big headline-makers today do not subscribe to the values for which our forefathers fought tirelessly. Are we going to shape our own future or let our past shape us?

HERITAGE AND PUBLIC CULTURE 2009 SEES THE LAUNCH OF A NEW POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME IN THE CENTRE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE PROGRAMME CONVENOR TEL +27 21 650 2308 FAX +27 21 686 1505 EMAIL cas-africas@uct.ac.za or VISIT OUR WEBSITE at: www.africanstudies.uct.ac.za

Reasonable Doubt

Order, comrade, order

TATENDA GOREDEMA

LAST week I attended the final Student Assembly of the year. I was there in a private capacity as an observer, with no official mandate. I went to this sitting with great hopes of seeing student governance in action. Needless to say, I was thoroughly disappointed. It seems the Assembly has been reduced to nothing more than a body of pedantic machinating student leaders who are more obsessed with hearing their own voices and getting congratulatory cheers than offering serious and meaningful proposals to further improve the lives of their fellow students at this institution.

One of the issues discussed at the sitting for close to an hour was the issue of the now-infamous “stolen� laptop, in which Thulani Madiginye was implicated as culpable through his careless storage of the laptop in his general baggage (a mentally bankrupt decision) earlier this year.

This issue went back and forth between observers, the Chair and the Vice-President Internal for longer than was necessary. The Chair handled the sitting poorly, failing to keep order on several occasions throughout the sitting and needing instruction from the

assembled people to keep the procedures of the Assembly on track. The nature of the questions asked and the manner in which the crowd responded to pertinent issues raised was reminiscent of the reaction at a parliament sitting a few weeks ago when the DA submitted Joe Seremane’s name for Presidential candidacy: undignified and uncalled for.

If this is the body that is tasked with creating a platform for student leaders to interact constructively with the SRC and have a role in decision-making, then it is no surprise that no one takes student leadership or the SRC seriously. I have stated that it is important for students to play a part in decision-making that affects their lives on campus.

However, equally as important as student participation are leaders who have the capacity to understand what the students care about and what affects them rather than politicising a non-political body.

There were a lot of snide remarks made about VARSITY newspaper and the word “tabloid� was used frequently. I will be the first to admit that some of the excessive coverage of the SRC has been counter-productive and at times unnecessary.

Perhaps part of the negative

image that some have of the SRC is as a result of the negative stories about the Council that have been published this year. It is, however, important to note that public and elected officials are accountable for their actions and, as such, when they step out of line they are susceptible to being reported on and subject to public scrutiny.

If there were factual errors in any of the reporting on the SRC then the problem should have been raised with the paper and relevant authorities, not raised at a sitting that had an agenda that did not include the topic. It seems that some student leaders and people have misunderstood the meaning of transparency and that the SRC’s workings are meant to be transparent. One of the reasons that student politics at this institution is mostly ineffective is because some people have let their lofty positions go to their heads.

Edward Kennedy once said, “It is important to take issues seriously, but never to take ourselves too seriously.� This is perhaps something that should be made clear to some of the people who attend Student Assembly and feel obliged to open their mouths.

A celebration unsung: Heritage Day TIFFANY MUGO HERITAGE Day is a day that was created to identify those aspects of South Africa that are often difficult to pin down: everything from creative expression to food. The events of the day itself, in terms of the social and political context, are a means through which one can create a South African identity and form a bond of reconciliation, discarding conflicts of the past.

Despite this rich historical past and deep modern symbolism, some merely see it as another day off in which one can nurse a hangover, do a tut or lie in bed for extended periods of time. When asking various people what Heritage Day meant to them, one word came up repeatedly: “Nothing.� While sitting at breakfast on the morning of this blessed day I asked a South African Fullerite what exactly Heritage Day was about. Her reply was “Pass the margarine.� Call me fussy, but I felt that this was not an adequate answer.

The youth today seem to have no sense of what the day means.

The significance of the day dates back to a history of everyone in the country, yet this seems irrelevant to the majority of our generation. I guess I am not one to talk, since being Kenyan has been my excuse for the three years I’ve been here (and I am very ashamed to say this): “I’m foreign and this is a South African holiday.� I, like so many of my peers, have never seemed to want to explore what lies behind the holiday. Instead I used it as another free day in which to pursue the simple pleasures that lie behind the doors of Tiger Tiger or Cybar, before stumbling towards the forbidden pleasures behind the doors of Leo Marquard or Kopano.

In my tirade against the disregard of the day there is of course no way I would let the defacing of a part of this university’s heritage - the Cecil John Rhodes statue - go

Photo courtesy of content.answers.com

Photo courtesy of weirfieldcoal.com

Are black diamonds really coals?

MOGOLA SEGOOA

5

OPINIONS

unmentioned. If there was ever a show of disregard for heritage I would say that would be it. I’m all for freedom of expression but there are better ways to spend one’s Heritage Day than defacing a statue that has seen generations of students from all walks of life attempt to get DP. The defacing of the statue was abhorrent, as well as an attack on the heritage we share within the UCT community.

Perhaps I have been too quick to judge and have not given credit where credit was due. On the day an event hosted by Easoc, in conjunction with CafĂŠ Sofia, brought a menagerie of cultural expression to Rondebosch. A friend who went said the poems (and some of the

men) were beautiful; a profound expression of the culture that people hold dear.

The history of this country is rooted in the day. Nelson Mandela said it best when he explained the birth of the celebration: “We know that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation.�

At the end of the day our heritage should hold not only a place of importance within us, but a place of pride as well. Hold it fast dear friends, because in this age of globalisation it may become the only thing that is still truly ours, the only thing that can help us truly identify ourselves.

6

opinions

Reclaiming the Left DANIEL FREUND A FEW weeks ago the title of this column would have been impossible. However, given the quite spectacular financial turbulence witnessed on the world stage in recent weeks, it is now somewhat plausible.

It was against a backdrop of crashing stock-prices and general financial uncertainty that Gordon Brown addressed the Labour Party - his party - at their annual conference in Manchester. The Labour Party in Britain has historically, as its name suggests, been concerned with promoting the plight of the poor and the working-class. This is a party with socialist leanings and a reputation of ensuring financial “fairness” within society.

However, over the last decade a Labour government has presided over an unprecedented boom in the national economy. This boom is owing largely to the promotion of free-market economics and the deregulation of financial services.

And, while well-educated people working in Central London have benefited enormously from these policies, it has left Labour’s core vote disenchanted with the party.

Labour deserted, to some extent, the people it traditionally represented and there have been murmurs of discontent, transforming into audible grumbles as the polls got worse, within party ranks. This perceived desertion by the Left, coupled with the resurgence of the Conservative Party under David Cameron – who has transformed them from the “nasty” party into “compassionate Conservatives”has prompted grim polls for Labour in the past year.

Brown’s popularity sank to such depths prior to the Party conference that one poll published in The Telegraph had him, and his Party, a staggering 20 percentage points behind the Tories. It seemed that all was lost for Labour under Brown and that they had reached the point of no return. That may still be the case. However, the severe turn for the worse that the financial markets have endured recently provided Brown with

Photo courtesy of telegraph.co.uk

What Gordon Brown needs to do to win the election

Volume 67 Number 12

Life in Luxurious Liesbeek Gardens A look at life in the infamous UCT res Ben Paviour

an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the electorate.

Brown is regarded, quite rightly, as an expert on economics. He has a deep understanding of fiscal policy and voters are generally inclined to trust him, rather than his counterpart Cameron, on such matters.

In his widely-anticipated speech Brown slammed the principle that market forces should drive the economy. He called for stricter regulation and likened the relationship between government and markets as a master-servant relationship. Leaving aside the quite blatant hypocrisy here from Brown, this is exactly what he needed to do. Brown tacked quite noticeably to the left. Many middle-to-lower income families are understandably concerned about current financial problems. Brown moved to reassure such families that their lifestyles and standard of living were not immediately under threat.

Brown also tapped into the palpable anger at the greed of the flailing investment banks, hedge funds and the world of finance in general. Overall, he sought to distance himself from the cause of the current crisis and to reposition Labour as the left-wingers they once were.

So where does this leave British politics? Last week the

Tories had their conference in Birmingham. Predictably they continually portrayed Brown as the man who orchestrated the crisis and although it was the right tactic to adopt, it hardly registered with the public.

At the moment the Tories have two distinct disadvantages: firstly, in times of recession voters feel that the government needs to play a more prominent role in the economy to alleviate the worst rather than let the market painfully readjust. The Tories’ reputation as free-marketers will find little sympathy at the moment.

Secondly, they are the opposition party and this, although the idea is somewhat counter-intuitive, puts them at a distinct disadvantage. Times of strife always benefit the ruling party as they are able to rise above mere politics and can actually be seen to do something for the country. Voters usually feel more generous to the incumbent party and give them unwavering backing with a view to assisting the country overall.

This is clearly an interesting time for British politics, as it is in South Africa. Whether Brown will continue to facilitate the revival of Labour is uncertain, but there could be no better time to do it, as the flaws of the capitalist system are painfully played out on the world stage.

My sophomore year dorm room at Wash U had a 38” high-definition TV, two refrigerators, unlimited high speed internet, a comfortable couch, and a Xbox 360. I don’t mean to brag, but my flat at the University of Cape Town—where I am spending my fall semester— has a microwave. All of the other Americans living in the Liesbeek Gardens residence are envious, but we all have our little indulgences. Some of them even have showers; I have no sympathy.

It would be a mistake to dwell on the amenities of Liesbeek— the hourly fire alarm, the bathtub shared with three flatmates, the “natural” heating and cooling system—because these sorts of lists hardly capture the charm of the place. How, for example, to do justice to Mowbray, a neighbourhood shared by college students and the destitute who urinate in the traffic circle across the street? Mowbray, positioned in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs, one mountain and ten minutes removed from City Centre, is a place of beauty salons housed in crumbling architecture, of KFC and a pizza parlor featured in Conde Nast, of homeless dumpster divers and quaint cottages surrounded by palm trees and razor wire.

The res is a fortress, housing some 450 UCT students. Even in its best days, which I can’t imagine lasted longer than the planning phases, Liesbeek must have looked a little bit like a prison. The place hasn’t aged gracefully: there is graffiti, chipped paint, and missing tiles to add to the ambience achieved by creating a seven- storey Howard Johnson, with openair hallways which are centered around a grey, lifeless courtyard that doubles as the roof of the parking lot. Floors are divided into co-ed apartments which are split into four singles. Flatmates share a kitchen, a bathtub, and a

general apprehensiveness for Ms. September, who sometimes goes door to door asking for food.

Though the elevator may not be reliable- a piece of scrap paper adhered to dangling wires instructs: “PLZ USE LIFT FROM 1st FLOOR”- the stairs build thighs and character. Moreover, the res is safe, the rooms are spacious, laundry is free, and every suite has a balcony with sweeping views of the area. And in regard to the semi-annual “squatter raids”: know that I am willing to do battle with anyone who compromises the integrity of this fine residence by illegally housing friends and kin.

“Liesbeek is a special place,” my roommate, Ken, often says with a grin. Ken is from Zimbabwe, where, he says, his internet is faster than it is here. But Ken and the hundreds of other UCT students who live here are what makes living in the res worthwhile. The Americans instantly stand out because no one else living here is white. And because living in Liesbeek is cheap and Cape Town, by African standards, is expensive, many of the residents are from all over the continent including Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

This is not to say that I suddenly have a UN-worthy posse of friends. There are large cultural and even language barriers to overcome and, since I got here during their second semester, breaking into cliques is that much harder.

Then there is the difficulty of not confining oneself to a handful of American friends who immediately understand your fondness for Superbad and Nalgene bottles.

Cultural assimilation takes work, but the rewards often come unexpectedly: evenings may be spent discussing Darfur with PhD. students from Sudan while waiting for laundry. And when all else fails, there is always microwavable comfort food.

Tatenda Goredema I WRITE this piece in light of the tragic crisis at the Horn of Africa that has descended into one the most embarrassing and threatening problems in terms of image-damage faced by the African continent. Somalia is one of the most dangerous and lawless places in the world, it is a country that has not had effective government since 1991, when President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in a coup.

The country is in turmoil and is mostly governed by militia and warlords who have no apparent regard for the lives of their fellow Somalis. The most troubling thing about the crisis is not the mass deaths as a result of starvation and war, it is not the state of anarchy, it is not the dangerous domination of seas by warlords and pirates off the coast of the country, it is not the intense suffering that the people of that country are subjected to. It is the relative passivity and

lack of importance that the crisis and the country has been given on the African and world stage.

While crises in Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan have been given premium focus in the media and at major world leadership conferences, Somalia has only recently been given attention due to the surge in the hijacking of ships off the coast of the country that has seen ships from various countries captured and held to ransom. Thabo Mbeki enjoyed praise across this continent mainly due to his initiation of the African Renaissance, which was founded on the premise of placing more emphasis on Africa helping itself and a broader scope being placed on inter-regional trade and development. Where is that concern with regards to a fellow African state in dire need of assistance? Apart from a failed American humanitarian mission in 1993, there have been no attempts to save Somalia from the tribalism and ethnic factionalism that have

torn the country apart and thrown innocent people into the jaws of starvation and chaos.

There is a disease of dependence that plagues this continent: it is a dependence on Western powers to solve our own issues.

When Kenya went into crisis last year, the strongest criticism came from the West and initial steps to negotiating a settlement were taken by America before Kofi Annan stepped in and helped to reach a settlement. When Zimbabwe began its land invasions and Mugabe stepped up his vitriolic rhetoric campaign against white landowners and people in general, the strongest condemnations and punitive measures came from the West. There is an arcane belief in Africa that the problems experienced by a fellow African state are the affairs of the people in that state. This is a belief that may have been acceptable and prudent years ago but when children and people are dying of starvation and being subjected to

Photo courtesy of nytimes.com

I am my brother’s keeper

heinous acts we must feel a common obligation to do something.

What else is the point of the AU or the African community? Albert Camus once said, “Perhaps this is a world in which children suffer, but we can lessen the number of suffering children; if you do not do this, who will do this?”

There is a Latin saying that goes e pluribus Unum: “out of many, one.” This saying sums up the attitude that African people and states should take towards their fellow continent-dwellers: after all we are one continent, and by implication, one people.

Varsity

7

FEATURES

Vox pops

In a way because whilst doing it you’re telling yourself you don’t want to make a mistake, so your focus & intent moves to not wanting to make a mistake, to make it safe.

Nomusa, 1st year, BSc

No! It’s not worth it making a mistake.

Cameron, year, BA

No, when they design condoms they take into account that there still needs to be some sort of pleasure involved.

by Martin Mendelsohn Does practicing safe sex take the pleasure or essence of sex out of the act?

1 st

I’ve never practiced unsafe sex, and I think its irresponsible to even think about unprotected sex.

Tebago, 1st year, BSocSci

No, I think the love two people share can’t be stopped by a condom.

Kabelo, 1st year, BSc

Mogola, 2nd year, BCom

No, I find it less romantic to get STDs

Kathryn, 1st year, BSc

No, it’s better, at least you’re not worrying… and get to try out all different condoms and stuff.

Christoph, 1st year, BSocSci

I don’t think so, because it’s just a mentality.

Morula, BCom

1st

year,

9 The secret citizens of Pornopolis Varsity

Tiffany Mugo obtains an illicit look into UCT’s porn-scape ... why, when approached, did various women vehemently deny watching porn, whilst males chose to mutter incoherently?

25 users, six were revealed to be women.

It’s clear that although the monkey is being spanked, the kitty is almost as readily being stroked, all done when the sun cannot shine on these acts of self-love.

But then why, when approached, did various women vehemently deny watching porn, whilst males chose to mutter incoherently? Few people were openly talking about Cheer Orgy II the way they would rave about The Dark Knight. Is the general consensus that there is something to hide?

“Why are girls allowed to watch porn but when guys do it we are perverts?” asked a disgruntled male. The idea emerged that girls who watched porn had a sexually liberated, uninhibited

air. Boys were merely fulfilling a raw animal urge that comes ohso-naturally. Girls said that they watched porn out of curiosity and had little interest in utilising porn for the reason for which it is made - to turn you on like Christmas lights.

So are women being let into a club that used to be exclusively male-dominated? With the rise of magazines such as Playgirl and the toys that accompany “playtime” being upgraded as often as the iPod, one would assume so.

Vibrators range from pocket-sized to XXL Rampant Rabbits (they really are frightening).

There is a lot in today’s world that can help a modern mamacita reach her peak. Women are becoming key players on this lubed-up stage, but their presence is not yet fully acknowledged by either gender. Are we to believe that sex tapes with stars such as Ray J and Kim Kardashian and campus porn are watched out of interest and not in an effort to change the weather down below?

Boys prefer to remain silent.

But the issue stands. Porn is being downloaded, vibrators purchased in super-sized form and lube smeared. Everybody is getting off. they’re just not telling.

Exchange students share their views Louise Ferreira MY OWN experience as an exchange student is something I recall with mixed emotions. I was 17 when I went to Spain and at the time I spoke about five words of Spanish. The experience was completely different from what I had expected – and not always in a good way – but I came back much wiser and I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity.

But how do students from abroad experience South Africa and UCT in particular? VARSITY chatted to Camilla Dorment from the USA and Norwegian Maria Styve to get their perspective on things.

Both students decided to come to SA because of an interest in the diverse cultures and the history of the country, particularly in the context of race. Camilla noted that “issues of race are discussed much more [in South Africa] than in the States”. She says that South Africa does not get much news coverage in the US, except for mentions of violence, and that her family was quite anxious about her coming here. She lives in Liesbeeck Gardens in Mowbray, and doesn’t always feel safe there. On the other hand, UCT is “absolutely beautiful” and she is very impressed with the academics. Although not much individual attention is given in classes – UCT is a big university, in contrast to her small college in California – she feels that the courses are excellent and very well-presented.

Maria finds South African history very complex and special, and that it is interesting to see how society has developed since 1994.

However, she was shocked at the extreme poverty still prevalent in the country, and the fact that “absolutely everything is still analysed in terms of race.” Camilla was also surprised to witness the blatant divide between classes. In a more positive light, Maria says that one of her best experiences was meeting a group of artists based in Gugulethu, and to see

Photo by Louise Ferreira

YOU’RE watching it, aren’t you?

At night. Early morning. For the truly brave, in between classes.

Porn. It’s a naughty little indulgence hidden behind wardrobes, under beds and in files labeled “Latin Grammar.” But to look deeper is to see what really lurks there: images that arouse, and demand that you keep the secret of their existence.

It has its own Hall of Fame featuring the likes of Seymore Butts and Jenna Jameson, and its own awards, the Adult Video Network Awards. But does the fact that it masquerades as the Oscars’ promiscuous cousin make it any less dirty?

The outside world is subjected to the expensive and time-consuming act of downloading or buying it, but here at UCT, porn is at your fingertips through the wonderful invention of Peer to Peer networks such as DC++. The movies on the network cater to all tastes. No matter what your poison, there are over a 100 titles from which to choose – ranging from material for those who enjoy watching people take the dirt path to animal aficionados. Few files go without users.

While scouting the selection, the number of downloads increases from three or four users per file to 10 to 15 after midnight. Out of

Photo courtesy of Masterfile

features

FOREIGN STUDENTS - Norwegian Maria Styve and American Camilla Dorment speak of their impressions of UCT. how it is possible to create something beautiful out of squalid circumstances. The merit of the work is also very high in comparison to European art.

I asked both of them whether there was a particular moment or experience that defined for them the difference between South Africa and their respective countries. Camilla recalled crossing the Namibian border, which took “a really long time” and served to illustrate the structure of certain government institutions. She also feels that UCT students are very intelligent but that they “don’t take advantage of all their opportunities.” “I went to a tut one morning and the only students who showed up were three Americans.”

Maria says that a defining moment for her was driving past Khayelitsha, and then meeting some of the people who lived there and “seeing how amazingly

vibrant they are.” She was stunned to meet a 17-year-old girl who told her that “sometimes she wishes she was white”, because of material advantages and opportunities.

Both students are making an effort to experience local culture, with Camilla taking an Afrikaans class and Maria a Xhosa communication course. Although they admit that the pronunciation can be tricky, they find the courses interesting and Maria says that she “loves” her Xhosa class. They also agree that Southern Africa’s natural beauty is spectacular: Camilla spent her September vacation in Namibia, while Maria drove along the Garden Route; the National Parks were a highlight.

It is gratifying to see that Cape Town has so much to offer students from abroad. However, we should keep in mind that they can also offer us something: a fresh perspective.

10

VOLUME 67 NUMBER 12

FEATURES DOLL DOLL DOMINATION-THE DOMINATION -PUSThe Pussycat Dolls SYCAT DOLLS

AFRO SAMURAI (EXTENDED BLURAY EDITION) – Voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu and Ron Pearlman The sword-wielding, cigarette-smoking, afro-headed samurai returns in a longer, visually-clearer and more graphicallyexplicit version of the anime series. Remaining true to the original storyline and dialogue of the popular series, the sharper video quality of the Blu-Ray edition almost seems like a new film. Blood, sweat and magic accompanied by Samuel L. Jackson’s characteristic foul-mouthed dialogue will have fans eagerly pressing the play button. The extra nipple was a cool addition too.

ESCAPE FROM SUBURBIA - Gregory Green This documentary will leave you shaken.

About the imminent end of the world’s oil supply, and the notion that our Western city-suburb civilisation is about to implode, its message will make yout o toss aside your car keys, resurrect your rusty old bike, and start growing some veggies.

MAMMA MIA! - Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan An all-star cast and a rocking soundtrack made Mamma Mia an instant success. This movie is so full of wholesome entertainment that if you are the gory, grim type, you could end up sick from trying not to smile or (heaven forbid!) sing along.

This musical romantic comedy is, quite simply, fun. Meryl Streep is startlingly charming in a quite uncharacteristic role, proving her versatility. If you thought Pierce Brosnan could not sing you were right, yet he pulls it off with flare. The voices are wonderfully average, allowing you to sing along without shame. There is no doubt that Mamma Mia is worth all the attention it has received.

THE QUILT – Gym Class Heroes Following in the wake of As Cruel as School Children, crossover stars Gym Class Heroes deliver another hip-hoppy, punkrocky, lyrically witty album that is just in time for the Cape Town summer (if it ever comes).

Full of catchy tunes and guest star appearances by such stars as Busta Rhymes, Estelle and The Dream, this latest offering is worth having on your iPod while strolling around campus, in boring lectures, or before heading out for a big night.

J E L LY F I S H (MEDUZOT) Hebrew with English subtitles. Sarah Adler, Noa Knoller.

What would you do if you found a little girl on the beach, and the police asked you to look after her for a few days because social services don’t work over weekends? Or if you broke your ankle at your wedding? Or if you had to leave your young child and your country in order to earn a living?

Jellyfish, directed by Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret, is a poignant film telling the stories of three different women living in Tel-Aviv.

The title belies the album. The two-disc offering from Nicole Scherzinger and her back-up vocalists makes you want to complete that tutorial that you do not have to complete. One or two catchy songs with appearances from R. Kelly and Missy Elliot barely save it from being a long-winded ordeal. As mentioned, if you have a spare ECO2004 tutorial lying around, do that instead, or do your readings, or whatever.

RIGHTEOUS KILL – Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson De Niro and Pacino team up in a good cop/bad cop thriller with the two forming a crime-fighting duo on the hunt for a righteous vigilante turned serial killer. The two deliver a toned-down performance with each complementing the other well, only destroyed by the introduction of rap star 50 Cent.

Devoid of acting ability and with no vital function in the storyline, 50 Cent is at best a marketing stunt to entice hip hop lovers to the screen. However, the film manages to deliver some thrills and a twist that will leave audiences not completely dissatisfied.

SOMETHING ELSE - Robin Thicke It’s been a year since Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without You” hit the charts and now his new album Something Else picks up right where the previous one left off. Soul-stirring R&B produced by The Neptunes and Projay and Thicke himself drive the sensual album. Many babies will be made to tracks such as “Cry No More” and “Loverman”. “Tie My Hands” with rapper Lil’ Wayne will definitely stir some emotions for Hurricane Katrina victims. Overall it’s a solid effort and a great listen. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

BUSTIN’ DOOR

DOWN

THE

A documentary, directed

by Jeremy Gosch, which takes a look at the culture of surfing on the island of Hawaii and how a group of outsiders looking for big waves challenged the conventions of the sport during the 1970s.

Exquisitely shot, with a brilliantly constructed soundtrack. You do not have to be a surfing fanatic to appreciate it - it does for surfing what Lords of Dogtown did for skateboarding.

Exclusion is imminent DPR is worth it Plagiarise your tut Do your tutorial Do extra readings Images courtesy of CDuniverse.com

11

FEATURES

UCT art and space must be removed from the school curriculum because his work is “not suitable” for growing young minds.

Even the Law Faculty, of all places, has something to write home about. There is a still image

by Bernie Searle from her series Waiting – the placement of which, I must say, is questionable. You can see it on the right wall as you enter the Law Library. I suspect they needed to fill the space. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate most of Searle’s work, having been subjected to a looped audio-visual piece of hers for almost a month, but I am not too sure I can be impartial on the matter. Speaking of the entrance to the Law Library, there is a rather terrifying vision on the outside wall of LT1. It is a mural that seems to scream violence and can perhaps be seen as an attempt at capturing the inner turmoil that is Law. It is quite simply ugly dear reader; sublime would be too far a stretch and I am sure that that is certainly not what Edmund Burke was going for when he penned A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origins of Our Ideas of Beauty and the Sublime.

Let me suggest that the next time you pass by an artwork on campus, take some time to do a little interpretation and evaluation of your own. You should probably try not to focus too much on the use of paint, colour, lines and angles but instead ponder the subject matter, the “aboutness” of the work and just maybe, you will stumble on something. If you don’t, just keep walking.

Photo by Remy Ngamije

DESPITE what your initial thoughts may be, dear reader, this article has nothing to do with space in the scientific sense of the word. I am referring to space as the visual environment within which we attach meaning to the various objects and subjects around us; the domain through which art manifests and is manifested, from the depths of human imagination.

This article was supposed to be an exposé on the UCT Art collection, but all too often it is very tricky and tedious to get the kind of information that one hopes for. Bear with me dear reader, as I patiently await the assistance that the curator of the University Collection has promised me. The next issue will go into greater detail about the topic at hand.

Until then, I will give you an introduction.

When I first walked through the buildings of UCT, my attention immediately went straight to the artworks on the walls. With my heightened and captivated senses I secretly told myself that if ever things got on the wrong side of chaos, “I am coming for the art.” But please let this not be an invitation for you to try your luck because art has the distinct characteristic of being difficult to hide unless you are part of some cartel or syndicate. To add to this, most artworks are done in a number of editions so it really does not take that much to figure out when something is amiss.

The interesting thing about editions, as I learnt while doing a stint at the Michael Stevenson Gallery,

is that artists keep their originals as a kind of “pension fund.” What this means is that when a particular artist’s work sells well and has the collectors going mad, the price gets driven up by the editions that are in circulation. The original, as you may have guessed, retains a much higher value so that when the time is right the artist can choose to offer it for sale at what is undoubtedly an attractive price.

One can see this when looking at international artists like Damien Hurst and our very own Marlene Dumas.

It is, by the way, best not to get carried away with what you hear about the value of buying or investing in art. It is a great activity in which to participate, but one that requires a bit of understanding rather than just the means.

Otherwise, you are simply wasting your money. This brings me back to the issue of the UCT collection.

I can definitely tell you that this is one of the richest collections I have seen at a tertiary institution.

Pretoria University may have the collection of original Chinese porcelain, the Eduardo Villa sculptures and Mapungubwe Golden Rhinoceros but I certainly do not recall seeing the same number of fine artworks as UCT possesses, especially by successful local artists.

If you walk into the Main Library on Upper Campus, you will see some of these artists’ works: Diane Victor, whose work is directly opposite the ATM machines outside the library, to Norman Catherine, to Steven Cohen, who, it was recently decided by the Education Department,

Diane Victor’s “pasiphanae” - UCT’s art collection covers the campus in “about-

Photo courtesy of Jackeline Okeyo

Moss M. Matheolane

Easoc’s cultural delight

JACKLINE OKEYO THIS year’s Heritage Day saw the UCT East African Society (Easoc) join forces with Poetry Delight to produce an evening rich in cultural experience. Easoc Cultural Delight was hosted by Ian P Productions at the popular Rondebosch hotspot, Café Sofia.

A limited number of tickets went on sale, selling out a day before the show. The event attracted a diverse crowd, who made a notable effort to dress in traditional attire, aligned with the evening’s theme.

The show delivered a host of performances ranging from Rwandan cultural dancing to a special “Cultural Delight Collaboration” that consisted of the various acts grouping together, which had the crowd roaring in excitement. One after the other, the poets dropped philosophical lines that left the audience enchanted as

Book review:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Louise Ferreira MARKUS Zusak’s The Book Thief is, quite frankly, one of the most original novels I have read in some time. Set in Germany during the Second World War, the story is narrated by Death. It is through his eyes that the reader meets the book thief, a young girl called Liesel who is taken in by a foster family. Liesel’s books enable her to cope with the terrible things she witnesses around her.

Zusak’s portrayal of the German people is particularly refreshing. Stories about WWII tend to focus on the cruelty of the Nazis.

Although the brutal treatment of the Jews is vividly rendered in

they sipped on their complimentary glasses of wine and nibbled on their finger foods - the standard at each of Poetry Delight’s sessions.

The guests were comfortably seated with a good view of the stage and popular African beats played during the intervals.

More importantly, there was a deeper significance to the evening as expressed by Moses Karmali, the project’s co-ordinator. The evening was an initiative aimed at embracing the concept of diversity at UCT. Karmali went on to add, “The fact that the show is broadcasted on Channel O provides a great platform for the society to show the rest of the continent that UCT students are very much united despite the recent xenophobic attacks in the country.” IAPO was also a proud partner in the initiative. Proceeds from the evening will be donated to refugees affected by the widespread attacks.

Image courtesy of Reader’s Blogspot.com

Varsity

The Book Thief, Zusak shows the Germans as human beings who also suffered immensely during this war.

The novel is a beautiful depiction of the power of books and words.

Varsity

13

features

Is Manuel worthy of South Africa’s gold? tion in the cabinet is seen as crucial to the country’s economic stability for foreign investors, particularly in the light of the latest transition in government.

However, Manuel shrugged off claims that his resignation had sent shockwaves through the market saying: “I don’t credit myself for that kind of stuff.”

“This is not about moving markets; this is about fighting for principle in politics.”

He says that, “There is and was never a crisis. The rand fell significantly in a short period but we have lived through similar turbulence at different times.”

Jeff Gable who is the head of research at Absa Capital describes the announcement as

Business is cracking

Rémy Ngamije THE UNIVERSITY of Cape Town, arguably Africa’s most prestigious and internationally recognised university offers an academic and social landscape on which the students can prepare for the larger working world of adulthood through employment opportunities, ranging from tutoring, to the monitoring of whole residences. Whether it is becoming a library helper or a computer laboratory assistant, UCT offers more than its fair share of student jobs, always there for the taking, should any student be willing to take on the responsibility of employment. However, what is rarely noticed by students and the larger UCT community as a whole, are the few individual who strike out on their own, launch and run business initiatives, eagerly trying and insidiously honing their entrepreneurial skills. The Nutcracker, a small tuck-shop in Kopano Residence, is such a business venture, managed by four ambitious and uniquely talented men, who despite experiencing a slow start in their enterprise, are fast on the way to becoming miniature tycoons.

Anthenkosi Thembani, Kagiso Thobejane, Siyabonga Mthethwa and Nhlahla Nxumalo, a second year group of friends who at first seem to be unlikely business partners, an engineer, a social science major and two commerce students, launched the first Kopano tuck shop at the beginning of the second semester. Highlighting the diversity of the skills that each student brings into the venture,

they tracked their progress as team participating in the JSE Business Challenge in which they competed in a virtual stock market to the realisation of their first corporeal enterprise.

“We have always had an entrepreneurial vision,” said Athenkosi.

Echoing his statement, the other three stated that the “entrepreneurship is a trait that many UCT students must try to incorporate into their studies.” When asked how the unlikely combination of degrees resulted in their joint venture, they all eagerly attested to the fact that “A degree is merely a piece of paper, what matters is what one does with that particular degree.” Recognising the skills that each possessed, they banded together to form a dynamic group of young business man that could serve as model for the South African business class.

Perhaps the most admirable trait of the quartet is overcoming any entrepreneur’s biggest challenge: starting the business. “It was not easy,” said Siyabonga, “we had to fight bureaucracy and then fight off competitors who wanted to steal our idea.” The barriers to market entry, the gatekeepers of entrepreneurial vision, are all aspects of business that contrive to choke the economic creativity of many of South Africa and Africa’s minds. Overcoming them in a small economy such as a residence is perhaps indicative of the harsher business environment that graduates can expect to enter into. “We persevered through the many hardships at an early age, so we can safely say that later in life we know what to expect.”

As students striving for academic excellence in an institution as competitive as UCT, it is not always easy to pursue alternative goals such as sport and other extra-curricular activities. When asked how they balance the tasks of simultaneously maintaining their business and academic work, Kagiso, stated that “As an individual, it would be really hard, but as a team, we can all take turns at the wheel. That way we do not have to sacrifice too much time.”

The ability to work in a cohesive team as opposed to taxing individualism is perhaps another aspect that the business class of South Africa could learn from the group.

“As a team, we can all diversify our interests and focus and utilise particular talents,” said Nhlahla, “it breaks the monotony of having to do everything yourself and you know that there is always someone to help you. One is too small a number to make it alone.” Another statement that could be practiced in the wider economy of not only South Africa, but Africa a whole.

The four determined entrepreneurs, perhaps indicative of the future South African business class stressed their continued effort to go “onwards and upwards”, to “find a need and feel the need” as the ideals that hold their group together. The uncertain future can at least be partly predicted by the predictable and certain present, and seeing these young men plying their trade behind their counter, I am secure in knowing that when they make the Time, Fortune and Empire magazine covers, I have been promised the first and exclusive interviews.

being “uncoordinated to the point of farce” and could come at a great cost to the South African economy. Global credit markets are in disarray, as a number of the world’s biggest banks and other financial institutions have been forced into bankruptcy, into the hands of competitors or been taken over by their governments.

South Africa escaped the worst of the damage, but local banks found the cost of funding had risen sharply because of a freeze in global liquidity, and offshore investors had been net sellers of local shares and bonds in recent months.

The latest events will make investors more reluctant to invest in the country.

Under Manuel’s financial

stewardship, the country has achieved an investment grade rating from the three major ratings agencies, Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.

Manuel, who has served as finance minister since 1996, has made a major contribution to the economy, systematically eliminating a massive budget deficit. Last year, he achieved a small surplus for the first time in South Africa’s history.

Trevor Manuel is modest about his effect on the economy but if we have a look at what happened to the rand and to the stock market straight after the announcement, that is a lot more telling. Modesty aside Mr Manuel, you are indeed worth gold to South Africa.

Fuller’s sensual seduction REMY NGAMIJE

PEACOCK feathers, pink boas, sex appeal. Suspenders, bracers and pinstriped jackets finished off with a fedora that sang of a bygone era. That is what I was promised by the theme of the Fuller Formal this year. The roaring 1920s, a time characterised by swing music, jazz and ostentatious fashion, defined the era of fast-living and film icons. As the oldest female residence in South Africa, expectations were high but were not completely met as very few people dressed to the theme.

Arriving at the 320-year-old Groot Constantia Estate, the first sense called into action was sight.

Warm colours and a room meticulously decorated in the 1920s style presented a visual stimulus that the body could not ignore. Ushered into a room that enveloped my company and I into a past where dancing was the currency of trade, a minor sitting fiasco was experienced. But after guests finally took up their correct seats, the evning continued without noticeable incident.

After the eyes were satisfied, smell and taste ware teased and taunted by the array of dishes that were served in very modest proportions. The most obvious and noteworthy aspect of the catering was the fact the food did not overwhelm the diner in the portions that were served or the manner in which it was prepared.

A latitudinal approach to catering, in which many tastes and diets can be catered to, was ably displayed by the catering staff. However, the small proportion of the meals were the only shortcoming to an otherwise pleasurable culinery delight.

The last, most eagerly and drawn out sensual pleasures were evoked by touch and sound.

The masterful plucking of guitar strings by the nights hired entertainment set the tone of the evening, dancing was a currency that would be freely traded on the dance floor market. The deep bass relaxed and soothed the nerves and set many feet tapping, waiting for the time when they would swing and jive as they plied their merry trade Seated amongst friends and accommodating guests, it was very hard not to feel at home in a company of strangers. Handshakes were exchanged as revellers were swept up in the merriment of the evening. The chance to make new acquaintances was offered to all and sundry, another aspect that Fuller and its outgoing House Comm. were able to bring to the fore effortlessly.

The meeting of past, present and future was most emphasised by the welcoming of Fuller’s new warden, Mrs Chao Mulenga, who after congratulating the ladies of Fuller on “outdoing themselves”, eagerly accepted the challenge of steering and maintaining the ideals of one of UCT’s most prestigious residences. As the night wore on, forays and sorties onto the dance floor signalled the end of eating and the adavent of the night’s most anticipated evening, dancing.

“It took time and hard work to pull of the evening, but we are Fuller-rites and we are fuller-heart and fuller-talent so you cannot expect anything less than a night of fuller-fun” said my gracious host Aliyah Alie. The statement rung too true as the night ensued.

Old meets new - The ladies of Fuller Hall line up in a parade of beauty at the Groot Constantia Wine Estate.

Photo by Remy Ngamije

THE LAST few weeks have by far been the most chaotic in the history of South African government since the birth of democracy just fourteen years ago. First, there was the recall of President Thabo Mbeki from office, and then his resignation followed by the resignation of 11 cabinet ministers including Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel.

News of Manuel’s resignation sent local financial markets in complete disarray. The rand and the JSE fell sharply on news of his resignation but soon recovered when Manuel’s office said he would be willing to serve under a new presidency and government.

He was retained in his position in the cabinet of Mbeki’s successor Kgalema Motlantle, which was subsequently announced on 25 September this year. However, the uncertainty kept markets haunted and the rand kept plummeting.

Manuel and his deputy, Jabu Moleketi had resigned because “… they were both appointed by the president of the republic to serve the country and are duty-bound to resign, given the resignation of Thabo Mbeki.” They both said they were ready to “…serve the new administration in any capacity deemed fit” but this left markets uncertain of their future and the rand once again lost ground, though the JSE stabilised.

Analysts said Manuel’s posi-

Photo by Remy Ngamije

Jaydene Swartz

14

FEATURES

Volume 67 Number 12

College House - simply the best

Photo by Remy Ngamije

WHEN the oldest male residence in UCT and Southern Africa, throws a party, you know that it is going to be done right. Which is why when the outgoing Head Student of College House, Richard Burge, handed me an invitation, I dropped all and sundry and suited up to attend a lavish affair at the Silvertree Restaurant in Kirstenbosch Gardens.

Walking up to the residence, I was greeted by the sight of suits

arriving, exhausted, rowdy and bit frustrated at the event. After a short trip into Bishop’s Court, we found ourselves in the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens.

With the greenery and warmth of the restaurant as the backdrop, this year’s formal outing was unique in its small and intimate nature. With most formal venues revealing some conflict in decoration, menus and entertainment, the College House Comm knew what they wanted and the invitees will tell you, “they got it.” Food, wine (a shocking amount of it) and what guest speaker Professor Dunne, an ex-warden of College House called “the unfading spirit of youth” drove the event, with laughter, and the myriad of camera flashes marking and capturing each memory.

The organisation of formal events, always riddled with last minute organisation fiascos, such as absent after-party DJ’s, small and unsatifactory portions of food and last minute venue bookings, were particularly absent on the night. Smooth and coordinated, each part of the event, from speeches, to dinner to dance, flowed with practiced precision.

Deputy-Vice Chancellor, Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo, another

College House Comm 2008 - “The unfading spirit of youth.”

Photo by Justin Andrews

Sights and Sounds - The sunny and hazy world of Rockin’ in the Daisies.

Justin Andrews and Yusif Sayigh

THIS weekend, Darling had its foundations rocked out from under it (literally, there was mud in epic proportions). Rocking the Daisies, the eco-friendly three -day music festival treated avid festival attendees to great, chilled rock music. Eagle Eye Cherry and many other star-studded South African/International bands graced the ears of probably the most diverse crowd of people we have ever seen at a music festival.

On entry to the event, a massive queue of cars were there to greet us; most opted to party as hard outside as they did inside. We finally got in, only to be greeted by a scene which would have slotted in perfectly to Mad Max. Cars were sliding around, getting stuck and people were eventually setting up their tents where their cars were embedded in the mud.

On arriving at the stage, dancing hippies in a myriad of colours graced our eyes, this being a very regular event over the course of the festival.

While Eagle Eye Cherry was the headline act, the perfomances Photo by Michal Malek

Photo by Justin Andrews

Rocking in the daisies of his South African counterparts grossly overshadowed him. His global reputation failed to shine through the clouds which were forecast, but never arrived. The weather held out, although it felt like it was sub-zero at night.

For us, the festival started with 7th Son- they ain’t reggae no more friends. Not that we didn’t like the reggae, but with big sound and bright lights, the power-rock came through strongly. “It was a natural evolution,” bandleader Nick Gaud, “we’ve been living together for the past few months and that’s helped us clarify our sound.” They’re tighter and harder than ever certainly, but will the American crowd they’re leaving Cape Town for like it? A distribution deal with the company that set Seether off in states said ‘Yes’.

Later, nauseated by Plush and the subsequent stink of teenage mating hormones, we were inclined to agree with that sentiment. Often the bands that get signed in South Africa are truly talent-less. It seemed whilst we were standing there sucking it up for a well-rounded analysis of the festival (got to take the good with the bad when reporting) that the South African youth have a tendency to idolize bands with lyrics that are easy to remember (theme songs to under-age drinking) far more than they appreciate musical skill or poetic content - that is to say, more than they appreciate music.

Napalma set us up for several hours of dancing with their electro beats and samba rhythms straight from Brazil, and Goldfish rounded it off on the main stage. Mix ‘n Blend brought fresh beats to the electro tent followed up quite nicely by Magnum Hi-Fi & Lapse and DJ Ivan.

As with all rock fests, the alcohol and illegal substances were readily available to any sufferer of sobriety. Aging hippies, students and music lovers were able to rock around in the daisies (read “mud”), without any crowd violence which is usually an ever-present feature of rock fests.

invitee, also highlighted his appreciation for the special event. He cordially expressed his continued support of the residence system, a “place in which characters and long-lasting friendships are forged.” Passing on wise words, Nhlapo thanked the College men for the organisation of the superb event.

Food was eagerly served, wine flowed with no beginning and as the College men will tell you, “no end.” In between snatches of revelry, there was space for formalities to be observed, such as the passing over of the College House wardenship, from Mrs Chao

Malenga to her counterpart Dr Tiri Chinyoka. Recounting the memorable times that they had together.

Mrs Malenga said that she “would always have a sentimental attachment to College House”, a statement that garnered a warm round of applause from the College men.

The new Head Student of College House, Khanya Gwaza was also ushered into formal office. With all protocols observed, DeputyHead Student, Richard Migawlla and the enigmatic Entertainment Rep Sean Fickling, allowed the men of College House to do what they do best: eat, drink and be merry.

Photo by Remy Ngamije

and tuxedos, cut to inch perfect fits and accompanied by the equally seductive dates that the men of College were not shy of showing off. The men of College love their partying, they love their drink, and from the many handshakes, slaps on backs and friendly smiles, they enjoy each others’ company as well. Just what one would expect from College’s tight-knit brotherhood. Hopping onto the buses, I was relieved to find that unlike most formals, we did not have to drive for eternity before

A night to remember - Khanya Gwaza, the new Head Student (left), DVC Nhlapo (Middle) and ex-College House Warden, Ms Chao Mulenga (right).

Photo by Michal Malek

Rémy Ngamije

Varsity

15

SPORTS

IT HAS been a while since VARSITY covered Formula 1.

Justifiably so. A sport synonymous with daring and dramatic highspeed overtaking manoeuvres has, over the last couple of seasons, been seemingly more like that of an autumn Sunday afternoon than that of the most adrenaline-filled and exciting motorsport race in the world.

This season, however, something has changed. Perhaps the catalyst was the controversial video of F1 boss Max Mosley role-playing with four prostitutes in a five-hour torture chamber thriller. Nazis and orgies – what more could one ask of a scandal?

Either way, the sport has found a whole new lease on life, which in every possible way, continued last weekend in F1’s first ever night race, held in the streets of a characteristically hot and humid Singapore.

In terms of an exhibition, this race was a resounding success. As 1 600 floodlights shone brightly onto 20 F1 cars hurtling through the barriers, there were several superb sights to behold: the glowing helmets of many of the drivers, the sight of the most technologically-advanced machines hurtling through high-speed chicanes and straights. The quivering anticipation in the voices of Martin Brundle and James Allen accom-

panied the blue-purple exhaust fumes visible on all the cars as they down-shifted, and Fernando Alonso’s fitting diamonds glistening in the Eastern moonlight.

I say, “fittingly” because this was Alonso’s race. Having been forced out of the McLaren team at the beginning of the season, the man who is arguably the sport’s most determined and talented driver returned to the much weaker Renault outfit, helpless to win races against much faster cars.

However, big moments call for big individuals, and once again Alonso stepped up to the plate. It was the Renault driver’s first victory since the Italian Grand Prix last year and capped a remarkable weekend that saw him on the top two of the free practice sessions but start 15th on the grid after a mechanical problem in qualifying.

He claimed his 20th career triumph by 2.95 seconds over Germany’s Nico Rosberg in a Williams and over Britain’s world championship leader Lewis Hamilton in third place.

That being said, while Alonso was undoubtedly the star of the day, he did not win the race.

Ferrari, and more specifically, Felipe Massa lost it. The Brazilian was in the pits on lap 15 when he was given the green light and drove off with the fuel hose still attached to his car, leaving one of the pit crew floored and subsequently carted off in a neck

brace. Massa ended up sitting in his Ferrari at the end of the pit lane as the crew ran after him and managed to pull the hose free, but it ruined his chances, perhaps those of his championship ambitions to boot. He was given a drive-through penalty and rejoined in 18th place. It was a miserable night for Ferrari with defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen ramming his car into the barriers with just four laps to go, ending his race. Massa’s eventual 13th place finish means he is now seven points behind Hamilton in the championship hunt with just three Grand Prix left in Japan, China and Brazil respectively.

Alonso also received a fair share of luck - luck which many conspiracy theorists say was the result of careful orchestration rather than sheer coincidence, when team-mate Nelson Piquet careered into the wall, causing massive damage to his Renault. He climbed out unscathed but the safety car was deployed. Massa was leading at the time with Hamilton second but at the restart, Rosberg was in front followed by Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella, with Robert Kubica fourth and Alonso fifth.

Hamilton was ninth, but Rosberg and Kubica were subsequently slapped with a 10-second stop penalty for coming into the pits after the Piquet crash before it had opened. The complicated scenario saw Toyota’s Trulli in the lead on

UCT women enjoy success

lap 28 but without having pitted with Alonso second, Rosberg third and Hamilton charging in sixth.

With Trulli taking his first pit stop soon after, Alonso amazingly found himself in front just after the halfway mark, a lead he would never again relinquish.

Overall, the Singapore Grand Prix was a fantastic spectacle and a resounding success, characterised by a worthy winner, a man who has, against all adversity, never

Watch for the guillotine

Tatenda Goredema

Daniel Freund THE UCT women’s football team has won the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Western Cape football league for the fourth consecutive year. Consequently, they will be heading off to Durban in early December to compete in the annual National Championships. They anticipate that 18 squad members and three coaching staff will make the trip.

The team has participated in the National Championships in the past, producing a set of solid performances which saw them placed mid-table. Last year they picked up the awards for Best Team Spirit and Best Manager. This year they hope to make the step up and challenge strongly for the national title.

The reputation of the team is of such stature that they are in the process of securing a fulltime sponsorship, which they believe will cover all the costs of attending the Championships this December. Erika Rodrigues, a member of the team, attributes their achievements to the well-bal-

anced nature of the side: “Some teams are known to be fast teams or strong teams or fit teams; we have a bit of everything.” She also cites an empowering team spirit as a factor, noting that the majority of the players are not South Africans. There are nine nationalities represented in the team and it seems the notion that diversity breeds unity certainly holds strong here. The inclusive nature of the team “definitely helps team spirit”, muses Linda Brickhill. Two of the girls were selected for national try-outs but were let down following a mix-up with the Soccer Club regarding funding for the trip. It was partly this experience which highlighted the importance of funding and the subsequent search for sponsorship.

The team also competes in the South African Football Association (SAFA) Western Cape league.

They had mixed reactions when questioned on this league and felt that SAFA were not pulling their weight. Often, there is not sufficient notice of where and when a game should take place and sometimes the pitch supplied is in such

a state that it is unsuitable for a competitive match. These hassles seem to be indicative of a general unhelpfulness and lack of interest on behalf of SAFA with respect to women’s football. There are not sufficient structures at the lower levels to generate an interest in women’s football and subsequently, South Africa has repeatedly struggled to produce outstanding women footballers. The fact that the UCT team is largely comprised of foreign students is further evidence that women’s football is not receiving the attention it deserves in South Africa.

To this end, under the portfolio of development in the UCT Soccer committee, players from the UCT side have been involved in setting up and coaching a girls’ football team at a local primary school. The girls need all the help they can get with the project and if anyone is interested in getting involved they should e-mail linga@new.co.za.

They are also hosting a party this Friday, 10 October at CyBar in Rondebosch to raise funds and there will be flyers around campus with further information.

let his fighting spirit diminish at any time. With just three races left in the season, and just seven points between them, it is now up to Hamilton and Massa to slug it out for the driver’s championship.

A season beginning with the overworked libido of a sixty-year-old man, prostitutes and Nazis will hopefully and befittingly end in much the same grand and glamorous fashion, doing justice to what has been a great racing year.

THE PSL kicked off recently and although it does not garner as impressive viewership ratings as the Premier League in England or the UEFA Champions League in Europe, the competition still has a large contingent of supporters.

The season is still in its early stages and the big name teams such as Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs are struggling. Orlando Pirates in the past few seasons have become something of a guillotine club, synonymous with firing coaches and having coaches resign. Their new Dutch coach, Rudi Kraal, seems to be intent on instilling a new type of playing style, but his players are not adapting fast enough. In football, results are all that matter, so unless the Bucs start earning points, Dr Khoza may be at work again soon.

Kaizer Chiefs started the season with high hopes due to their successes in the MTN 8 competition, but their initial two defeats have dampened their spirits and those of their vast support base.

Their new wonder striker, Jose Torrealba, who left Sundowns in acrimonious circumstances, has been the man who has been targeted by opposition teams in order to stop Chiefs from scoring. So far the tactics have worked, with Torrealba now enduring a dry spell and looking unhappy. Coach Muhsin Etrugal has been on the chopping block before and last season he came close to losing his job, but unless Chiefs add to their MTN 8 success he will surely bite the dust.

Sundowns have the comfort of having a multibillionaire owner,

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Will Clerke

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F1 plunges into darkness

so in the off season they went shopping and bought something close to a full team. There are advantages and disadvantages to that, because although Abafana bestyle now have added stars in their lineup, their new acquisitions have to adjust to Coach Moloto’s preferred style of play. Downs at the moment are taking time to settle and are playing a game of who can miss the most obvious goal opportunities, with Surprise Moriri leading the polls.

The defending champions, Supersport United, are looking good and should put up a good fight to retain their title under the direction of the demonstrative and emotive Gavin Hunt. The surprise package of the competition thus far has been Thanda Royal Zulu who are playing good football and pushing hard for recognition.

Their captain, Bernard Parker, has been leading by example so far and has scored in every game the team has played this season, earning a Bafana call-up in the process. The season promises to be a good one with added incentive for individual brilliance and worthwhile fiscal reward for the winners.

Football season underway in earnest THE English football season is starting to gather momentum and it is important for fans to take a step back from the fervour and passion of the league and analyse what has gone on so far. United have stumbled clumsily out of the starting blocks with a few disappointing results and more significantly some rather lacklustre displays. Admittedly, they have had a relentless opening month which saw them away at Portsmouth, Liverpool and Chelsea.

The signing of Dimitar Berbatov increased expectation of a record-equalling 18th league title. Following a few uninspired performances, the Bulgarian opened his United account against AaB Aarlbrog with two goals; the second of which was a sumptuous volley from 20 yards. This is the enigma that is Berbatov: the man oozes class on occasion, he has a silky touch and a keen awareness of the presence of his team-mates on the pitch. However, he is infamously lazy and is often prone to sulking when things aren’t going his way.

In contrast, fellow forward Wayne Rooney could never be accused of shirking his responsibility to the team. Unfortunately, this season may prove to be a tricky one for the Scouser-turnedMancunian. With Tevez and Berbatov seemingly striking up a formidable partnership upfront and the effervescent Ronaldo

returning from injury on the right, Ferguson will be hard-pressed to accommodate Rooney in the starting line-up. How Ferguson juggles his frontmen will be crucial as he attempts to reel in Liverpool and Chelsea who have opened up a gap over United.

A 19-year-wait for a 19th title?

Certainly that is what Liverpool fans will be hoping. Liverpool always flatter to deceive. So accomplished and resolute in Europe, they have struggled to launch a stern title challenge for too long. However, this may well be the year. Benitez has assembled a balanced side boasting an intimidating core group of players. Gerrard, Carragher, Torres and Mascherano are renowned footballers; add into that mix the trickery of Babel, the precision of Alonso and the dependability of Reina and Liverpool appear as if they might be right up there in May. Their performances at neighbours Everton and at home to ‘Boro were particularly insightful.

They also produced a memorable comeback at Man City on Sunday overturning a 2 goal deficit to grab a stoppage-time winner. Without playing at their peak, they still picked up three points and this indicates a new steeliness in the attitude of Rafa’s Reds.

Arsenal have made an interesting start to the season. They have fluctuated sharply between the sublime and the ridiculous.

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Daniel Freund takes a look back at the opening skirmishes of the season

The Kop - Liverpool fans are desperate to see their team launch a title challenge At home to Newcastle and away at Bolton they produced some rapturous football. The interplay between all members of the team was sensational and they were a joy to watch. However, away at Fulham and at home to Hull they were dismal. There was no rhythm in their passing and they were unable to stamp their authority on the games in the manner that you would expect from a side of this calibre.

And on that note – Hull City!

Their start to the season has been

nothing short of incredible. This is their first season ever in the top division and they are winning themselves many admirers.

They have already ratcheted up more points than Derby managed last year and as their manager, Phil Brown, correctly pointed out, there were still 32 games to go.

What is happening at Newcastle? The Tynesiders are no strangers to controversy, but this latest saga is quite something.

Fans’ favourite Kevin Keegan was unforgivably undermined by the

Board, prompting his resignation.

This has led to howls of derision and contempt from disgruntled Geordies. The feeling amongst fans is such that many are now boycotting all things connected with Newcastle United (including match tickets) and the police have advised owner Mike Ashley that it would be unwise for him to attend matches in the interest of his personal safety. Never a dull moment in this league, is there?

Hail Gebrselassie

Duncan O’Regan ETHIOPIAN runner Haile Gebrselassie won the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, breaking his own world record and becoming the first person to complete the distance in under two hours and four minutes.

He recorded an exceptional time of 2:03:59 obliterating his previous record of 2:04:26, which was set along the same course last year.

In mild sunny conditions on Sunday, Gebrselassie was able to control the race from the outset and through a combination of impressive tactical running and unprecedented strength, succeed-

ed in reinforcing his lead towards the finish, charging through the Brandenburg gates with a considerable advantage.

“Today, I’m so, so, so happy.

Everything was perfect today,” he said, clearly ecstatic following his triumph that was made all the more impressive as it also marked his third win in the Berlin Marathon in as many years.

However, Gebrselassie admitted that he had had some reservations regarding the quality of Sunday’s performance, as an injury sustained during training had hampered his build-up.

“I had a small calf muscle problem and I stopped for a week, and then I started again a week ago,” he said. “Then today I had, you know, some doubts... but it was really very good.”

Gebrselassie, who grew up in the rural Arsi province of Ethiopia, began running as a means of transport and would run to school each day, a distance of ten kilometres.

This practice has moulded his distinctive running style, with his left arm crooked as if still holding schoolbooks. Now 35 years old, he has been a consistently dominant factor in running over the past 15 years. This consistency has earned him the nickname “The Emperor” and he is considered by many as one of the greatest long distance athletes of all time. The

world record, which will mark the 26th of his career, is in stark affirmation.

Favoured to win gold in Beijing earlier this year, Gebrselassie elected to withdraw from the Olympic marathon, as he feared heavy air pollution in the capital could aggravate his asthma, a condition he has suffered from since childhood. He decided instead to compete in the 10 000m race where he was instrumental in assisting Ethiopian team-mate Kenenisa Bekele to the win in Olympic record time.

The Berlin Marathon course is historically fast due to its consistently flat gradient and temperatures conducive to efficient running. Five years ago, Paul Tergat of Kenya ran 2:04:55 becoming the first person to break the 2:05 barrier.

Gebrselassie first ran the race in 2006 clocking a time of 2:05:56 and over the last three years he has improved almost two minutes on the course while setting two successive world records.

One cannot help but be shocked at this athlete’s determination, strength and thoroughness, which consistently allow him to surprise the younger runners in the field.

Greatest long distance runner in history? A difficult contention to refute. Viva the Emperor, viva Gebrselassie!