Edition 8:2009

Swine Flu

page 3

Study in Africa page 8

Great soundtracks page 12

Sporting achievements page 19

28 July 2009 · Volume 68, Number 8 · 021 650 3543 · varsitynewspaper@gmail.com · www.varsitynewspaper.co.za

EMERGING LEADERS - 90 Students took part in the week long leadership development programme, which is an initiative run by the Department of Student Affairs and funded by the Career Development Programme’s Corporate Partners. The programme ran from 12 July to 17 July 2009 and presents young leaders with an opportunity to hone their skills and leadership potential.

SASCO: we want action UCT’s mission statement to be revamped NKOSIYATI KHUMALO AT A recent South African Students’ Congress (SASCO) Provincial General Council meeting, UCT governing bodies came under heavy criticism for what SASCO believes are deliberate attempts to hinder the process of transformation.

The annual conference, in which all provincial SASCO branches participate, took place from 12-14 June at UCT. Its main objective is to evaluate and assess the organisation’s actions, and how far it has progressed in its transformation attempts.

SASCO National President Mawethu Rune said that the UCT Senate “could…not be regarded as truly democratic, because it remained largely male and white, and did not reflect the opinions of the majority of South Africans.”

Rune was responding to remarks made by Vice-Chancellor Dr. Max Price, in which the Vice Chancellor deemed it improper for SASCO to “criticise Senate’s democratic decision to review the current UCT admissions policy.”

In a series of open letters and memorandums sent to the UCT Council, SASCO has expressed their dissatisfaction with the creation of the Admissions Policy Review Task Team (APRTT).

SASCO believes that the current admissions policy, which was adopted in 2006, “has not even been given a fair chance at implementation.” The organisation believes that the current admissions policy is in favour of progressive transformation, and therefore a review of that policy would be

premature, and would hinder the processes of transformation.

In a statement issued to VARSITY in March, the ViceChancellor said that the purpose of the APRTT is “to review the merits of race as a proxy and of introducing additional indicators of disadvantage.”

At the conference, Rune contended that “it was only through SASCO bringing the debate [concerning the admissions policy] to the public sphere that the ideas could be scrutinized in a more democratic way, where many people, not just the typical UCT academic, would be able to have their say.”

According to Aphiwe Bewana, SASCO Provincial Secretary, the Vice-Chancellor was invited to the conference “in order to discuss his plans and UCT’s plans for transformation, interact with him, and inform him about what the organisation would like to see.”

During the conference, Price made claims that he felt “attacked”

by SASCO, and that some members of the UCT community “view SASCO as somewhat negative as a result of their letters.”

In addition to their transformation-related concerns, SASCO’s letters criticised Price for encouraging the UCT community via email to support the Social Justice Coalition’s (SJC) protest at parliament.

BRIAN MULLER AS OF 28 April, a Mission Review Task Team has been scrutinising UCT’s thirteen-year-old mission statement and has been preparing a new one, which will be submitted to the Senate and Council for approval in September. Drafts of the new mission statement are now available for the student body to review, add comments to, and suggest improvements on.

The incumbent Mission Statement was created by a Working Group of the University Transformation Forum and acknowledged and adopted at a University Assembly on 24 April 1996. However, as Professor Jo Beall (Deputy Vice-Chancellor) stated in her e-mail to the student body, “the international, national and higher education contexts have changed since the current mission was developed and that UCT needed a crisper, forwardlooking mission to distinguish us from our competitors.”

In accordance with the necessity for a new mission,

a Mission Review Task Team was formulated to spearhead the project. Lead by Professor Francis Petersen (Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment), the team of eleven members includes Gerda Kruger (Executive Director of Communication & Marketing), Mzwandile Kweyama (SRC Transformation Chairman) and Associate Professor Richard Mendelssohn (Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Affairs).

Peterson and his team have been charged with providing a new, single-paragraph mission statement that is clear-cut, with a definite vision for the university’s future, but without distancing itself from UCT’s Statement of Values and its strategic goals.

Additionally, the new mission statement must pinpoint UCT’s unique niche in society.

The DVC elucidated the four main goals to be outlined in the mission statement: (1) a research-led identity, (2) a superior education experience for all students and alumni, (3) “visible advancement of social

justice, social responsiveness and the development of an egalitarian society” as well as (4) upholding the University’s values. The Statement of Values defines itself as “a framework that informs and governs what is considered by the University community to be appropriate and acceptable behaviour. The Statement also serves as the foundation for a range of University policies and guides the management of particular aspects of University life.”

Two draft mission statements have been proposed. Students and staff are encouraged to comment on the drafts and are invited to attempt their own versions of the mission statement. All correspondence should be sent to draftmission@uct.ac.za. The Mission Review Task Team will take all comments into consideration and redraft the mission statement for further discussion.

For more information, visit the “Mission Review” Vula tab.

DRAFT EXAMPLE ONE: MISSION STATEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN Our mission is to be a world-class university, driven and informed by a search for new knowledge with a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning, research and social responsiveness and underpinned with a value system characterised by a social conscience and contributing to the challenges facing society through an African context. In pursuit of its mission, the University of Cape Town will provide an environment to students and staff for intellectual debate, international exposure and a solid educational experience, thus developing graduates with critical comparative thinking and global skills.

DRAFT EXAMPLE TWO: MISSION STATEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN Continued on page 2...

To be a leading university internationally and in Africa, which offers excellent teaching and learning through pursuing critical and relevant research and by making meaningful contributions to society. We seek to provide a safe and nurturing environment in which staff and students are free to think critically, develop their full potential and create and lead better societies.

Visit www.varsitynewspaper.co.za to post your comments, air your opinions and raise awareness about issues that matter to you Varsity, the official student newspaper since 1942, is committed to the principles of equality and democracy

2

NEWS

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 8

Ngobeni to leave UCT NKOSIYATI KHUMALO

Baboon gone wild - An adult male baboon was regularly seen

rummaging through rubbish bins on upper campus during the last week of vacation. Baboon Matters successfully identified him as Mike from the Tsitsikamma National Park.

SASCO accusations ...(continued from page 1) In SASCO’s opinion, “it was fundamentally wrong for [Price] to have abused his executive powers to lobby the University community to participate in activities of his own interest, as this does not fall within the job description of a Vice Chancellor.”

Nevertheless, SASCO officials were pleased with Price’s appearance at the conference.

Bewana said that “it was the first time that the Vice-Chancellor engaged SASCO in a more formal,

constructive manner.”

But Bewana stressed that SASCO “wants the people who are responsible for implementation to actually do what they say— we want action.” He said that the organisation hopes for better relations with University management in the future.

“SASCO is not only there to criticise, but to give a realistic proposal in terms of how to best manage institutions,” said Bewana.

UCT’s DEPUTY Registrar of Legal Affairs and Secretariat, Dr. Paul Ngobeni, has resigned from UCT following a series of disciplinary proceedings instituted against him.

His departure comes after UCT’s disciplinary body chose to abandon all charges against Ngobeni in June.

In a rare statement, UCT said that proceedings were first initiated against Ngobeni in September of 2008 “as a result of the complex nature of the substantive issues that needed to be resolved.”

Ngobeni allegedly accused members of the University’s upper management, and some of its preeminent law professors, of racism and of desiring to ensure “white domination of the judicial bench.”

Ngobeni has been most notable recently for his firm support of controversial Cape Judge President John Hlophe, whose campaign to become Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court has been plagued with claims of misconduct and several investigations by the Judicial Services Commission.

Ngobeni said that his employment status at UCT was threatened due to the deterioration of his working relationship with members of the law faculty as a result of his public support of Hlophe.

In an article which appeared in the Mail & Guardian, Ngobeni wrote that Hlophe’s “leading role as a champion and martyr of transformation shall withstand all hidden agendas to derail his

judicial career.”

Ngobeni has lashed out at certain members of UCT’s law faculty who questioned Hlophe’s ability to occupy his position in a 2007 letter to the Cape Times, labeling them a “group of gangsters who make Hlophe their do-or-die issue.”

UCT Vice-Chancellor Dr. Max Price, in conjunction with Ngobeni, made the following remarks: “The parties, having participated in the internal disciplinary process and having due regard to the complex nature of the matters that gave rise to the enquiry, have reached a mutual agreement to annul the disciplinary enquiry and abandon all charges brought against Dr Ngobeni. In acknowledgment of the complexity of this matter, the hardship that it must have caused the parties involved, I wish to apologise for any inconvenience caused, particularly to Dr Ngobeni.

Having satisfactorily resolved the matters, Dr Ngobeni has expressed his wish to leave UCT to pursue other interests and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.”

“...Like seeing a pack of wild dogs,it was like a lynching...”

Ngobeni, who is currently on leave, will officially part ways with UCT on 31 July.

MALIGNED FIGURE - Ngobeni courted much controversy during his spell at the university Throughout the course of his departure, Ngobeni has continued to denounce members of UCT’s upper management, including the Vice Chancellor, calling him a “hypocrite” for marching to Parliament in February to defend democracy, while Ngobeni himself was “being disciplined for expressing an opinion.” Ngobeni said that his experience at the University had been “stifling,” and that “seeing a group of whites (from the law faculty) gang up on Hlophe…was like seeing a pack of wild dogs, it was like a lynching.”

University officials were unavailable for further comment at time of print.

Varsity

3

NEWS

Inch by inch: what happened over vac

Too cool for school

NATHALIE LEDWIDGE

pulled out the water.

NATHALIE LEDWIDGE

King of pop dies Pop superstar, Michael Jackson, age 50, passed away on 25 June, as a result of cardiac arrest.

However, the detailed results of his autopsy, which include a toxicology report, have not been released yet.

Madonna stage tragedy Two people were killed and eight seriously injured following the collapse of a stage that had been built for a Madonna concert at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France. The accident, which occurred on a Thursday, meant that her Sunday concert had to be cancelled.

New Harry Potter breaks record “Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince” premiered world-wide on July 15, and is said to have broken another record for earning $104 million in just 24 hours.

City plagued by floods Cape Town experienced some of its worst weather from Saturday, 11 June, up until Monday, 15 June.

The heavy flooding was so severe that it resulted in traffic chaos on the city’s roads as road closures were forced on the M5 and the Liesbeeck River burst its banks causing congestion. Flooding was particularly violent in Camps Bay where several vehicles were trapped in water and in Athlone where houses in the informal settlement, Vygieskraal, had been flooded.

Doctors on strike South African doctors went on strike following disputes with government about their lack of pay and inadequate working conditions. On Friday, 26 June doctors picketed outside Groote Schuur Hospital leaving hospitals in the area empty and only attending to emergencies.

Air France crash death toll – not result of drowning Autopsies of the bodies found from the devastating crash confirm that victims did not die from drowning. The Airbus 330, which was traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, was intact when hitting the water. All 228 passengers were killed in the crash although 50 bodies were

Swine Flu toll hits 114 in SA The latest Swine Flu poll in South Africa suggests that, with the addition of eleven new reported cases; the number has increased to 114 cases of the H1N1 virus.

Seven of the eleven new cases indicate that most of the infected have a history of traveling.

G8 Summit held in Italy The G8 Summit was held in L’Aquila, Italy this year and serves as a tribute to the people of Abruzzo, where a devastating earthquake recently occurred.

Issues that were addressed at the Summit include the economic crisis, climate change and international political issues.

Madiba turns 91 On 18 July, world icon and former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, celebrated 91 years. He decided to celebrate at home this year, but there were world-wide festivities, including a tribute concert in New York and the Ubuntu Festival at Mandela Rhodes Place in Cape Town.

Serena and Roger dominate Wimbledon Serena Williams won the Ladies Final at Wimbledon beating her sister, Venus, in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. In the Men’s’ Final, Roger achieved a convincing win over his opponent, Andy Roddick, in sets, 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14.

Boks win Series disappointing final

in

a

The Springboks managed to win the Test Series against the British and Irish Lions even after a dismal loss in the final match with the score 9-28 to the Lions.

Marcus replaces Mboweni as Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus, former deputy governor and chairperson of Absa, will replace Tito Mboweni as the Reserve Bank Governor.

Some speculate that a possible reason for Mboweni’s imminent departure is pressure from trade unions that have been unhappy with current inflation and interest rates.

Gay penguins in San Francisco It was discovered at the San Francisco Zoo in California that two male penguins were in a gay relationship. Harry and Pepper were apparently together for six years and lived side-byside protecting eggs that were abandoned by other penguins.

Beached whales in Kommetjie euthanised It was decided by law officials that 30 of the 55 false whales that had been beached on Kommetjie beach had to be euthanised as they were too weak to return back to sea.

New HIV vaccine to be tested The first clinical trial of an HIV/ Aids vaccine was held in Cape Town. This is the first vaccine that was developed in South Africa and will be conducted by the South African Aids Vaccine Initiative.

Forty years since the first man on the moon It has been 40 years since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. NASA commemorated Apollo 11’s efforts celebrating the anniversary at Washington DC. The possibility of astronauts exploring Mars in the future was a subject of discussion at the celebrations.

6QWTKPI UVWFGPVU ECVEJ UYKPG ƀW TONBARA EKIYOR A CONFIRMED total of five UCT students have been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus (swine flu).

Four of the infected students are members of the UCT squash team and contracted the virus at USSA national championships at the University of Johannesburg. The fifth student is the partner of one of the team members. Over 100 cases of the flu strain have already been reported in South Africa and according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), the majority of them have been quarantined.

In a statement released by the University of Johannesburg, Registrar Prof. Marie Muller confirmed that three of their students have been diagnosed with the virus, which she says was inadvertently spread by a male student who had previously been exposed to the virus, but did not manifest any symptoms at the start of the competition.

She added that “the student and the other three students have been quarantined and are receiving treatment in accordance with the NICD guidelines.” She also said that the spread of the virus has been contained and describes the

outbreak as “a minor cluster” and that the semester is in session as planned.

UCT wellness centre told VARSITY that the students have returned to their homes, and “none of them are at the university at present”. The names of the students cannot be released as their medical records are confidential.

“...students are worried that the university would be unable to keep the spread of the virus under control...”

In a statement, Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price said that the virus did not spread to the other members of the team and that they are “doing well”. He went on to say that “Student Services and [the] Student Wellness Centre are geared up to

handle any eventuality associated with the virus, in particular once students return to residences”.

However, a press release on July 22 assured that the five students “have fully recovered and are no longer in isolation.”

But students, such as second year Film and Media major Tracey King, are worried that the university would be unable to keep the spread of the virus under control, as “the cold weather which causes flu would make students more susceptible to the H1N1 virus”. She pointed out that the disease could be easily spread via keyboards and door handles and advises that one way the university could “keep it under control” would be to provide hand sanitisers (or sanitising wipes) to curb the spread.

The symptoms of the disease (fever, coughing, sneezing, headache and loss of appetite) encourage the spread of the disease as they can be related to a wide range of ailments. Hence, in areas where the virus has been reported, people have been advised to avoid unnecessary social contact, hugging and kissing in particular.

For more information on swine flu, go to the UCT Student Wellness Centre website, or the NICD website at www.nicd.ac.za.

UCT REIGNS supreme as the “Coolest University,” according to the 2009 Sunday Times Generation Next youth brand survey. The announcement was made at a ceremony on 29 May 2009, where guests got to rub shoulders with local celebrities at The Venue, Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, in which the coolest brands, voted by the young South African public, were announced. In the Coolest Brand in Universities and Colleges category, UCT placed first, followed by the University of Johannesburg (UJ), and then the University of South Africa (UNISA) in third place.

In its fifth year, The Sunday Times Generation Next Survey is the most prominent and biggest brand survey in South Africa. Five thousand young South Africans between the ages of 8 and 23 participated in the survey and the results of this poll are meant to reflect what brands are “cool” to the youth demographic of the country.

UCT, being the “coolest”, now has the liberty to use the Sunday Times Overall Coolest Brand mark on their marketing material. Other categories in the survey ranged from the coolest cell phones to even the coolest cereal.

Students on campus are thrilled about their university’s title, although many expected this type of achievement. Gabi Pinto, a second year Theatre and Performance student, said “I guess it’s an honour, as long as we’re cool for the right reasons, not because the building looks cool. It should be cool because the academic standard is good and they offer a good, all round education.”

Second year Business Science student Fiona Ferhson added to this point by saying, “cool is a subjective word; what is cool to one person may not be cool to another. But I do think UCT is a great university.”

Health Sciences second year student, Arlene Mazzaza, felt that UCT had an advantage in the poll, as it is “one of the biggest and most well known universities and we hear about it publicly all the time; and UCT students have this reputation of having a certain look and a cool style.”

Murray Steyn, marketing manager of the Communications and Marketing Department, commented that “UCT has been fortunate to have been recognised in a number of ways recently, but we should not be over-confident regarding our brand value.”

4

OPINIONS

Clarification on tutorials TARA Leverton rightly pointed out in the last issue of VARSITY the key role that tutorials play in the Humanities Faculty. But I would not want your readers to think that all students are in “agony” at tuts, nor that most tutors are bad teachers.

The Faculty takes tutoring very seriously and works hard to set good tutoring standards by holding workshops for tutors and encouraging departments to provide support for them.

Inevitably there are sometimes less-than-great tuts, but there are also very many highly skilled and dedicated tutors who give their all and are rated extremely highly by

students (and not just because the tutors beg them to do so!).

We also need students to help us in this. Tara compared tuts to school classes in their level of interaction. But unlike school, we must not come unprepared, sit still and expect the teacher to keep us entertained. We need to actively contribute ourselves. And why not suggest to your tutor how you’d like to run the tut, if it isn’t working for you?

One other point about Humanities. We have a huge variety of teaching models in over 700 undergraduate courses. By no means are all classes crammed with 400 students. Five first-

year classes have that number, although these also have some of the faculty’s best tutors. But very many other courses, at all levels, are smaller and more interactive.

The lecturers in these are often also the tutors. So find out more about the courses whose teaching mode suits you best.

Professor Nigel Worden Deputy Dean: Undergraduate Education Humanities Faculty

avoided. Naledi Pandor, as former Education Minister, did nothing to stop the disastrous system of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE). She seemed to ignore calls for her to “dump” the system – even from the father of OBE himself, Dr William Spady. Moreover, South Africa’s performance in international mathematics and science studies has been abysmal – placing us near last on numerous occasions.

Also, funnily enough, OBE has reinforced apartheid educational inequalities.

The schools with the best facilities – former Model C and private ones – have excelled in this system, which emphasises small class sizes and access to the internet. The poor township schools do not have the resources to teach content-heavy syllabi, which leads to poor performance in the final matric examinations.

The administrative burden that OBE places on teachers also doesn’t help the situation. Lulu Xingwana, former Land Affairs Minister, is another woman who failed in her duties. The Land Reform programme – which is meant to ensure 30% of farm land in black hands by 2014 –

has so far realised somewhere in the region of 6-7%. While some farmers are probably racist and would not sell their land to black people, the fault of government cannot be ignored.

They have constantly offered below-market rates to farmers, and the bureaucratic measures one has to go through in order to sell a farm is a nightmare. Her famous xenophobic outburst against the DA’s Enyinna Nkem-Abonta who is Nigerian – telling him to go home where “millions of black people” need him cannot go unnoticed. All this evidence can only point to one conclusion: the ANC’s notion of the empowerment of women is to give incompetent women high-ranking portfolios in order to impress gender activists and their ilk. There is clearly no notion of competence when obtaining an ANC Cabinet post.

Helen Zille, on the other hand, is a dignified leader who has chosen her Cabinet on merit only and nothing else. After all, Tando and others, shouldn’t one judge a Cabinet’s competence on service delivery rather than composition?

Chris Rooney

Admittedly, the analytical methods presented by Craig stretch the limits of conventional mathematical thinking and reasoning (the use of imaginary or complex numbers to account for “unreal” or nonphysical phenomena such as the free will). Nevertheless, as Dr. Praet points out, this might be our only recourse in understanding highly non-linear, non-Newtonian and complex phenomena such as human movement, especially

when it is borne out of free will and thereby violates the fundamental laws of motion and thermodynamics.

I would like to join in the appeal for a second chance to Craig to defend his thesis and for the examiners to keep an open mind. It is truly a work befitting a Doctor of Philosophy, in its bringing together of the physics and metaphysics of animate movement, while providing the groundwork for biomechanical solutions that would better benefit injuries & amputations.

Vikas Patnaik, Ph.D. Engineering Manager, Global Modeling & Analysis Engineering & Technology Trane Commercial Systems

I am an Orthopedic Surgeon and researcher in biomechanics. I am familiar with Craig Neven’s work, as I have corresponded with him over several years. I find him a dedicated, hardworking, forward thinking, innovator who, given the opportunity, could make a significant contribution to science.

Greetings all and welcome to the second semester.

For those of you that haven’t been here before (first year students), it’s pretty much exactly the same thing as the previous semester, except for the fact that you have to make a few decisions that could prove to be pivotal moments in the story of your life.

For final year Undergrad students it is a time to weigh up the pros and cons of further study or future employment. For those of you in this position, choose the former. The country is in a recession, nobody is hiring and we need more educated people, so stick around if you can.

To the first and second years among us, just make sure you pass your courses, or you may just be stuck exactly where you are for all of the foreseeable future.

The second semester is also the time when all of the current student structures, from the SRC to the VARSITY editorial, change hands. In just a few short weeks we will be pestered by SRC wannabe’s on Jammie steps, offering us sweets in exchange for our vote.

On our side, there is an advert on page 2 detailing the handover here at the newspaper. We don’t offer sweets, but we do offer press passes. For those of you that are too lazy to page back, the deadline for Editor, Deputy Editor and Chief sub-editor applications is lurking and the deadline for all other positions is not far away either, a couple of weeks at most. So if you are keen to get involved at the paper, send in a letter of motivation and a brief CV. There will be an advert for ALL positions in the next edition.

A friend of mine once said: “I hate quotes. People prance around thinking that all of the worlds wisdom can be compressed into trite little sayings.” With that in mind, and ignoring the fact that I just used a quote by someone who doesn’t believe in quotes to illustrate my point, check out the story on the front page about the university’s new mission statement.

When reading the drafts, just remember that it is impossible to make everybody happy and to define a university as diverse as our own in a single paragraph, but at least it is representative of some of the things the university is trying to achieve. At the very least, we should commend them for acknowledging that things are changing in higher education and for keeping with the times.

Please don’t ask me or anybody else how our holidays were, none of us like that question.

Enjoy the edition, Seamus

Letters of support for ousted student I too have had the opportunity of reviewing Craig Nevin’s thesis and even briefly collaborating with him and Dr. Praet on attempting to apply Newtonian mechanics (kinematics) to the role of the first metatarsal in the initiation of gait. (This was right around the time Craig submitted his thesis, i.e. 2001.) The resulting equations were enormously long and cumbersome, and generally unsolvable. But we do walk, and so there is a solution! This lends support to Craig’s rather unique treatment of whole body (relativistic) dynamics originating from the “unmoved mover” in the big toe, especially if it can be validated experimentally.

Editorial

To those that have already chosen to further their studies beyond Undergrad, the current postgraduate students, this is the semester of the dreaded and - at the same time much anticipated - thesis, not that I would know anything about those, but good luck with them anyway.

Gender equality does not mean better performance TANDO Mamba’s ramble about Helen Zille not appointing any female members to her cabinet just reinforced the notion that SASCO members are intellectual lightweights who were born to cause unnecessary debate about non-issues.

Firstly, a cursory glance at the tri-partite alliance of COSATU, SA Communist Party and the ANC reveals that there has never been a female president of any of these three organisations. This despite the fact that the ANC was formed in 1913, SACP in 1921 and COSATU in 1985. This clearly shows the ANC does not truly believe in the empowerment of women. Furthermore, if one considers the women that the ANC has appointed to Cabinet positions, it can be seen that they are dismal choices by anyone’s standards. Manto TshabalalaMsimang’s famous “solution” for curing HIV/AIDS at the Toronto Conference in 2006 – garlic, beetroot and the African potato – made South Africa the laughing stock of the world.

Her failure to address critical staff and equipment shortages at public hospitals has resulted in deaths that could have been

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 8

I have reviewed his thesis and find it a scholarly presentation well worthy of a doctorate dissertation. I am at a loss as to understanding the controversy around it, and particularly, the harsh consequences of the rejection of the thesis that would, in effect, put an end to Mr. Nevin’s scientific career. As an outsider, unfamiliar with the workings of the South African university system, it is difficult for me to understand how this unfortunate situation came about. I would urge those involved to come to some accommodation that would allow this young scientist an opportunity to pursue the career for which he is so admirably suited.

Sincerely, Stephen M. Levin, MD, FACS Ezekiel Biomechanics Group McLean, VA USA

newsgathering

next newsgathering Thursday 30 July 2009, meridian, in LS 2C

2009 collective editor Seamus Duggan deputy editor Zerene Haddad chief sub editor Maciek Dubla sub editors Cayleigh Bright, Jackie Zvoutete, Louise Ferreira, Nkosiyati Khumalo dtp editor Wei Mao dtp assistant Tiisetso Mngomezulu operations manager Tina Swigelaar images Simone Millward photographers Marco Balducci, Zakareeya Pandey, Jade van Blerk, Ghia du Plessis, Bianca Kramer news Brian Muller news team Olivia Walton, Tonbara Ekiyor, Sarah Jackson opinions Tatenda Goredema features Remy Ngamije & Tara Leverton sport Daniel Freund & Dominic Verwey finance & advertising team Megan Lyons & Desmond Manyatshe marketing & brand manager John-Ross Hugo, Mathabatha Sexwale, Celeste Adonis IT manager Irfaan M Imamdin website manager Yue Mao staff writers Kerryn Warren, Moss Matheolane, Tiffany Mugo, Calvin Scholtz, Gugulethu Hlekwayo, Tariq Desai, Liam Kruger, Nyasha Kadandara, Nkosiyati Khumalo, Gerda von Benecke, Sentlenyana Machaba external contributors Nathalie Ledwidge, Jacqui Watson, Andrew Zaleski, Gerda Von Benecke, Kriste Duff, Alex Child, Duncan O’Regan tel 021 650 3543 fax 021 650 2904 email varsitynewspaper@gmail.com website www.varsitynewspaper.co.za 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 5pm on the Wednesday before publication. They should not exceed 350 words, and will not be published under a pseudonym, or anonymously.

5

NEWS

Vox pops NOW THAT FIVE STUDENTS HAVE BEEN PLACED IN ISOLATION AFTER CONTRACTING ‘SWINE FLU’, WHAT DO YOU THINK UCT SHOULD DO TO PREVENT AN ON CAMPUS OUTBREAK? “Students should report it immediately and they [the university] should keep a doctor ready. Obviously they can’t say everyone mustn’t come to campus ... maybe they could give everyone flyers about swine flu so that we have more information.”

“I don’t know. They’re already taking the precautionary measures.”

JONATHAN DUGUID HUMANITIES 1ST YEAR

MAYANKA SHAH POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MARKETING

“They should check anyone who has been with them [the infected students]; basically covering all contact they have had. You can’t keep everyone on lockdown though.”

“Most res students came back last week and people that are in those res’s should get tested for it. I think it is a hazard.”

GLEN HARTMANN BA POLITICS & MEDIA 1ST YEAR

PEARL NGONDO BCOM ACCOUNTING 1ST YEAR

“I think they are doing everything they can. They’re isolating infected people and educating us [the students].

They haven’t kept it a secret.”

MEGAN BECKETT HONOURS IN MOLECULAR & CELL BIOLOGY

OPINIONS 6 Castles in the sky LET us raise our glasses to the thirteen good men and women of the spaceship Endeavour, and hope and pray that they do not meet the same fate that met those on Columbia, the last time public attention was drawn to bits of stuff falling off during the launch. In other news, a toilet has already broken down inside NASA’s latest pinnacle of modern technology, leaving Frank De Winne with the ignominious title of First Plumber in Space. “What did you do up in space, daddy?” “I fixed the toilet, dear. Here, I have photos.”

It has been 40 years and one week since Apollo 11 first landed safely on the moon and even Buzz Aldrin has admitted that, compared to all the other stuff that’s out there waiting for us, the moon kind of sucks. Mars is where it’s at now - although if you, like I am, are a desperate sci-fi junkie, even that isn’t enough to satisfy you. The dreams of space empires and wagon trains to the stars that have been bred in us by (mostly) American media have made us greedy for new technology. But, really, why not? Human existence on Earth is ghastly. Goldfish in a bowl are we, existing in a small safety zone that is rapidly reaching the point where it will no longer be able to sustain goldfish life, and with only the vaguest of notions of what actually lies beyond the confines of the glass. Sometimes an exceptionally brave goldfish will venture out of the bowl, with the flimsiest of layers between itself and fairly rapid asphyxiation.

Sometimes this goldfish finds that it has to repair the toilet during the course of its epic journey. The metaphor wears thin.

Africa, on the whole, bar Mark Shuttleworth and Siyabulela Xuza, does not have much to boast about as regards space exploration, even less in the way of science fiction, and practically nothing in the way of the space operas that have become staples of American life. Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Stargate... To say nothing of Lost in Space, Gene Roddenberry and Lucas. Does there exist a person in any “first world” country on

SRC COLUMN Photo courtesy of dailybuddy.com

TARA LEVERTON

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 8

“WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON” - Nasa launches another space shuttle Earth who cannot give you at least one Star Wars quote? But there are no African wizards; there is no African Kirk. Which is not to say that we should attempt to create a carbon copy of preexisting American ideas only to make them “African”, but… There seems to exist the notion that mixing Africa with the fantastic would be somehow insensitive to the suffering of our country and our continent - that’s why Africa does not exist in comic books or in sci-fi; why all epics take place in Generic Vaguely Middle Ages Europe Land. But why hide the nastiness away and pretend it doesn’t happen? Star Trek, in its heyday, utilised the fantastic medium of space travel to deal with issues such as xenophobia, homosexuality, genocide, free will and the existence of God. We have been force-fed the idea that space travel is an American thing first and foremost, a concept indoctrinated in childhood stories and modern mythology.

Americans go in first. Do we want to go on believing that? One talks about Americanisation, and the fact that our children read more American comic books, watch more American movies and idolise American cultural icons.

But why shouldn’t they? The only alternative cultural icons they have are our old struggle heroes, and

their glamour is already starting to fade. Ask an American child five facts about George Washington and he will give you three…or four, or five, depending on his level of education. Ask him five facts about Spiderman, and he will give you fifty, whatever his background. Children enjoy looking to the stars more than they enjoy looking to the past. And so much of South African culture is preoccupied with the past. Surely it is time to embrace the future?

Perhaps, from our own experience, there is an innate resistance to the concept of a colonial spirit at the centre of space exploration; annexing, decimating and empire-building are the likely outcomes. That’s what happened to date when humans have ventured into the unknown. “Fuck your dream of an interplanetary empire”, sort of thing. But maybe it’s more than that; maybe it’s the pathetic little goldfish in their crummy bowl, desperate to see something new; something more interesting than a lousy grey rock that didn’t even have any damn aliens on it.

All I want is for our species - for South Africans, in particular to spread through the universe like a plague of locusts, contaminating everything in their path in the endless desire to expand. Is that so wrong?

Welcome back after what I hope was a great holiday. It always amazes me how quickly the year seems to go, and this year has been no exception. It is hard to believe that the SRC elections were almost a year ago! The elections for next year’s SRC take place in August, however, it is important to keep in mind that the 2009 SRC still has three months left in office – and we intend on using every single day.

The SRC spent most of the vacation planning for the rest of the year. We have re-evaluated our objectives and renewed our resolve to achieve them before we leave office on 1 November. One of our key objectives as an SRC is to play an active role in the transformation of UCT. Transformation Focus Fortnight, which will be running from the 3 to 14 August, is an initiative that we hope will allow all students to take ownership of this issue in order to effect real change at UCT. Look out for the posters advertising the various events that will be taking place during Transformation Focus Fortnight. You can also check the SRC Vula tab or the SRC website for further details.

We have been very grateful for all the feedback that we have received from students throughout the year. One of the most common comments made is that, although students know that the SRC is doing a job, they are not quite sure what it really entails. In order to communicate in greater detail what the SRC has done so far this year, we have produced a small pamphlet that highlights a few of our successes and some of the challenges that we have faced. These pamphlets will be distributed across campus over the next few weeks. The SRC will also be continuing to hold President’s Consultations on Mondays during meridian period in LS 1B. This semester I hope to do them a little differently by focussing on specific issues each week. The details of these consultations will be advertised across campus and will also be posted on Vula.

In order to build an SRC that effectively represents students’ interests we need two way communication between the SRC and the students. So please play your part and attend as many of the consultations as you can. The SRC will also be setting up a suggestion stall on Jammie Plaza every month. This will be an excellent chance for you to stop by and chat to your SRC representatives about the issues that are affecting your UCT experience and the ways in which we can help you to make it even better.

Good luck for the second semester.

Chris

Mine nationalisation deserves debate IT IS inevitable that in times of economic disarray and hardship advocates of the various mainstream economic theories will attempt to propagate their own system, given the failure of the status quo.

The recession that has hit South Africa, and indeed the rest of the world, has at last presented an opportunity for the political left to justify their criticisms of capitalism and privatisation.

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and the ANC’s alliance partners, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), greeted the arrival of the recession with calls for the nationalisation of one of the republic’s key industries – mining.

Any first-year economics student will have been taught that this is not the kind of thing that investors want to hear and that the only consequences of such a move would be negative.

However, it appears that the way we study economics and the way

we handle our economy, based on the dominant theories supporting private ownership, can be blamed for the mess that the world now finds itself in. The arrogant discipline has been humbled by its

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SEAMUS DUGGAN

“...if we leave the mines in private hands, WKHVH EHQHÀWV will gravitate to a select few and will fail to redress social inequalities...” shortcomings.

Unfortunately, we cannot do a full about-turn when it comes to what we have practiced, learnt and been taught. If we are to trust our

teaching, something that seems more and more difficult by the day, then we come to the conclusion that the debate of nationalisation vs privatisation is one of equal allocation and efficiency.

The argument for

nationalisation is that the benefits gained from mining (tenders, employment, financial gain etc.) will be distributed equally amongst the people of South Africa. If we leave the mines in private hands, these benefits will gravitate to a

select few and will fail to redress social inequalities.

Supporters of privatisation, on the other hand, would have us believe that the industry is more efficient and thus generates larger profits when controlled outside of government, something that is supposedly good for our economy. Furthermore, we need only look as far as the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to see just how bad things can get when left in government hands.

Is it time for the government to consider nationalising the mining industry? Probably not. Such projects have been attempted in other countries (such as Venezuela and Cuba) and have failed dismally. However, the rules are changing and as a result we find ourselves in a space of extensive uncertainty. We are no longer sure of things we thought we knew and the things that we never knew remain unknown. We are lost with no shining light to follow, except for one – the people of South Africa must make this decision - it is a debate we need to have.

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OPINIONS

WHEN I heard I was to have a voting seat on this year’s student assembly I felt honoured and excited at having the opportunity to be a part of such a prestigious assembly. This was short lived.

Student assembly is like watching Survivor SA - a poorquality South African reality show.

We have the show’s very own host - the student assembly chairperson - and the two tribes, SASCO and DASO. The tribes merging would be the SRC, containing a few independents, most of whom have alliances with one or the other party (thereby assuring executive positions and portfolios of their choice). The viewers of the show are any SASCO or DASO members who didn’t make it into the merged tribe, as well as the sub-council members who, unlike the former, actually have a voting seat in the assembly.

This show is only scheduled to have a broadcast time of two and a half hours but in most cases it can continue for a solid five hours.

This is not because solutions are being brainstormed or anything groundbreaking is being discussed.

Most of the time is spent with silly accusations thrown at the SRC and irrelevant points-of-information are stated. This, more often than not, is done by a SASCO member and is shortly followed by the rather meek, dutiful retaliation of a DASO member attempting to defend their leader. Some may find this entertainment but it is much like watching paint dry with a fly landing in the paint every so often to add some excitement.

I understand that Student Assembly is meant to keep the SRC accountable, and I have a certain type of respect for the SASCO members who so religiously make use of this opportunity. But a line has to be drawn. When Chris Ryall opened his SRC organisation

Photo by Zakareeya Pandey

JACQUI WATSON

STUDENT ASSEMBLY - Another engrossing session report with a quote from Barack Obama he was promptly asked whether he found no African leader worthwhile quoting and was requested to name an African leader and quote him. I’m sorry if I do not find this entertaining or relevant to the activities of the Student Assembly. SASCO is still clearly upset by the fact it doesn’t have majority seats on the SRC and continually tries to find fault with them and DASO, whose main strategy is to go against anything SASCO, says is constantly at its defense.

What still stumps me is why political parties even play such a huge role in our student governance. I am told that by running under a certain party, voters are able to know what type of character and values the candidate has. But when it comes down to it, when these candidates are in the SRC their first allegiance is not to the students who put them there but rather to the party they ran under.

Whatever happened to selecting the best person for the job? I suppose that I should accept that alliances will always take place,

regardless of whether political parties are abolished in our SRC. If Survivor has taught us anything, it is that alliances are part of our survival instinct. But how about this mind-blowing idea - SASCO and DASO accept that this is our SRC until October and instead of continually offering abuse they call a truce and start giving constructive criticism and maybe even a little encouragement.

Maybe once this is done viewers can see what they have wanted to see from the start, correct representation and progress on things such as transformation, university affordability and an efficient academic support structure. Had this structure already been in place, it may have prevented certain SRC members from having to leave the University earlier this year.

If they do this, push aside their political agendas, and learn a little respect - not only for themselves and the people they supposedly represent, but also for the other members of the assembly, then this impotent, circus show might actually receive a five-star rating.

Losing the plot LIAM KRUGER

MORE and more, films are being produced with sequels, spin-offs and merchandise as the focus – with little to no thought for quality or cohesion, let alone “art”.

As far as film release periods go, this season is no different to any other. The “blockbusters” are let loose like straining hounds onto a population just beginning to overcome the euphoria of a midsemester break and looking for something to occupy their time.

They inundate us with a rush of tanks, explosions, robots, skimpily dressed mediocre actresses, and a phrasebook of painful one-liners.

We eat it all up, of course - because not only are we so blown away by the spinning, transforming robot car that we’re willing to ignore the gaping crevasse of plot holes, but, heck, we saw the first movie, why not pay to see the second? Or third?

Or, in this summer’s smorgasbord of investment over integrity, sixth?

Which isn’t to say that “Harry Potter 6: Dumbledore Dies” wasn’t at all enjoyable – if anything, the novel’s relative lack of substance meant that the film could pace itself far better than in the past – but watching twenty-something Harry Potter traipse around wizard school is starting to feel a little like a concept stretched too far.

In an unrelated story, the seventh instalment is being split in half, because that way Warner Brothers can milk you for another year before they have to find a new series of novels to adapt.

“...watching twenty-something Harry Potter traipse around wizard school is starting to feel a little like a concept stretched too far...”

Don’t get me wrong, slapping a number on the end of a movie title doesn’t necessarily make it an unartistic act of prostitution – it’s that, increasingly, sequels are being produced not because there’s still a story to tell about this character or that world, so much as to vacuum another couple of million of dollars out of unwitting moviegoers’ pockets, luring them into the cinema with familiar, recognisable brandnames. For other examples of this technique, see “Snap”, “Crackle”, and “Pop”. I respect the film industry’s need to make obscene amounts of money, but I wish they could at least pretend there was some artistic integrity, or at least intelligence, behind selling me tickets to see Ray Romano, the CGI woolly mammoth, hanging out with some dinosaurs (thereby cashing in on every kid’s love of snarky dinosaur toys, evolution be damned.) Is there really that large a market for two hours of Christian Bale blowing up Schwarzenegger clones?

Which isn’t to say that merchandising is bad. In fact, I don’t even have that much of a problem with Transformers 2 (the bastard offspring of a Saturday-morning cartoon that was designed solely to create a market for Japanese transforming robot-car toys) making $24.2m in the opening weekend off of explosions, CGI, and Megan Fox – I like explosions, among

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Survivor SA: Student Assembly- Out-shout, Out-accuse and (rather) Outrageous

other things. If every film was an emotionally satisfying, imaginative experience, we’d be missing out on the gratuitously self-indulgent Coca-Cola portion of our moviegoing experience.

But it’s when an inexcusably bad film like Wolverine – with a credible director, talented cast and massive budget – gets squeezed out, regardless of bizarre plotting, clichéd visual cues (walking away from an exploding helicopter?

Come on), and a complete lack of respect for source material, purely out of Sony’s need to cash in their expiring lease on the X-Men franchise, it is then that I find myself offended as a moviegoer.

We understand why this happens, of course; it’s the middle of the year, and the Oscars are a long way off – which means any of those thoughtful, quirky, selfstyled “artistic” films designed to win that little gold action figure will be long-forgotten if they’re released now. This is why we haven’t seen 2009’s Juno, or Milk, or Slumdog Millionaire. There’s something to be said for both the cynicism that comes with seasonal film releases, and the presumption that films with robots and explosions don’t deserve Oscars (Best CGI notwithstanding).

Making money is crucial, but it ought not to be the point. The entertainment industry needn’t be laughable.

The 5 Best Films. Ever.

I realise that this was an impossible list to make without offending anybody – myself included – so if you do disagree with the list, feel free to keep it to yourself.

In no particular order: The History Boys (2006) Poignant, witty to the point of brilliance – and British. Set in the early 80s, eight students prepare for entrance exams to Oxford or Cambridge. Adapted from the similarly successful stage production.

Pulp Fiction (1994) Before Tarantino fell in love with senseless gore, before Travolta got fat, before Samuel L. Jackson was in every mediocre action flick within arm’s reach. Also, probably the best use of non-linear, episodic storytelling in some time.

Fight Club (1999) Overblown masculinity be damned, this is fun, intelligent, cleverly filmed, slightly insane, and shows the best performance of Pitt’s career. Also: features explosions.

Dr. Strangelove (1964) Arguably one of Kubrick’s best, Strangelove is a biting satire of the Cold War’s nuclear scare – which is not without relevance today. Worth watching twice in succession.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) In which Guillermo del Toro has unsettling monsters hang out with a little girl during the Spanish Civil War. It’s at once sad and disarmingly offbeat.

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OPINIONS

Welcome to Africa?!

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 8

VOLUME 66 NUMBER 8

Reasonable Doubt Out of many, one

ANDREW ZALESKI “Study Abroad” is listed as the seventy-second entry on Christian Lander’s Stuff White People Like blog, sandwiched right in between “Gentrification” and “Being the only white person around.”

Generally, American college students spend some portion of their third year at university studying abroad. According to Lander’s “study abroad ranking system,” your study abroad stature, so to speak, grows as your location of choice becomes more exotic: Europe and Australia are at the bottom, followed by Asia, then South America, and then Tibet.

However, all these locations pale in comparison to “the conversation killer of studying abroad in Africa.”

Imagine my delight, then, when I knew I would be living in South Africa for three months. While all my friends were busy readying themselves for summers spent in Baltimore, or New York, or (gasp) at home, I was making preparations for a three-month-long stint in Cape Town. (I had chosen not to study abroad my third year; for whatever reason, I stumbled upon South Africa as the logical substitute.)Nothing like “being the only white person around” for a solid three months, assuaging some good old-fashioned white liberal guilt induced by 246 years of American slavery by voting for Barack Obama, traveling to Africa, and then power-walking around Cape Town shouting, “Africa for the Africans!” while wearing a black fedora and darkrimmed glasses a la Malcolm X (which works quite well, actually, until your friend hits you upside the head and reminds you they don’t tolerate such behavior down at the Waterfront).

And then I encountered all these Dutch people on my British Airways flight from London to Cape Town. What? This is not how it works. Where are all the Ugandans? The Namibians? The Africans, for chrissakes – where are all the Africans?

I ordered a Coke and sat there in my blue, economy-class seat, sulking.

To compensate, I immediately began seeking out authentic African experiences upon my arrival. I rode the Metro; I chose to forego the Miller Genuine Draft at Scrumpy Jack’s in favor of Castle lager; I walked on the beach at Muizenberg. By the way I was integrating, surely soon I would don a multi-colored, multi-patterned shirt, begin banging on a djembe drum, and start calling people “bru.”

The irony in all this, of course, resides in the similarities I can draw between my experiences in South Africa and my experiences in America. By the end of my second year of college, I was readying myself for a three-month magazine internship in the Mother City. I’d be lying if I said the novelty and uniqueness of my situation alone didn’t make me want to start bragging to people before I had even packed my bags.

Yet, for as different as Cape Town is (and it is indeed different; try using Africa time as an excuse in Baltimore and you’ll find yourself out of a job), I found it relatively easy to carve out a niche for myself during my stay here.

I thought I had failed, in a sense, because I fit the stereotype, as it were, and essentially transplanted elements of my American lifestyle to a new country, and then had the audacity to assume I was having a novel experience.

But in a world that tends to concentrate on the differences between peoples, and, certainly, the cultural richness that accompanies those differences, the similarities between peoples and nations can lead to a broader understanding – and a greater and more mutual level of tolerance – of cultures and societies that are not our own.

Then again, the sentimentality I just interjected could be another hallmark of the stereotypical, white study abroad experience. If that’s the case, I’ll just play Need for Speed on my iPhone and go order a Big Mac.

TATENDA GOREDEMA THIS past vacation period, I watched in dismay as the situations in Somalia and Sudan further deteriorated. Somalia in particular is a disaster with an untenable status where citizens of that country are subject to warlords and militia men who show no regard to human life and use food as weapons against their own people. In Sudan an international criminal who has committed crimes against his own people and has a warrant out on his name calls himself president and refuses to give up power in the name of a negotiation process that is moving slowly and is backed by the majority of his African leadership brethren some of whom signed on to the ICC. In the meantime ordinary people suffer and languish in squalor.

In Gabon, the death of long-time dictator Omar Bongo - who ruled for 40 years - has led to his son Ali-Ben Bongo attempting to establish a dynasty.

The situation in the East of the DRC is equally depressing, as the victims of the conflict that took place there earlier this year are still suffering and gross human rights violations continue to be perpetrated by those charged with defending the nation. The situation in Zimbabwe is yet to show real political change and many still seek better life elsewhere thanks to the stubbornness of one old geriatric and his band of welldressed thugs and acolytes.

The continent continues to reflect harrowing HIV/AIDS infection statistics. The legacy of children being turned into soldiers in conflict areas such as Sierra Leone has robbed many of normal lives, and the effects of indiscriminate violence in the name of diamond profiteering will forever be a scar on the conscience of the continent.

There is so much wrong in so many parts of this continent that I could write an essay on it but I’m sure you get the picture.

President Obama made a

glorified visit to Ghana this past month and aptly declared that “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

His visit was a nice symbolic gesture from America, offering ‘tough love’ assistance to African states that followed democratic practices, but I am of the strong opinion that if Africa is to pull itself out of the various nightmare situations it is in, it must do so of its own volition.

Western assistance is important and helpful, but Africans cannot depend on the West to solve all our problems. One can only cry out to the international community for so long before one is deemed a charity case. This continent, as Mr Obama noted, has a wealth of natural resources and a vast amount of educated people who have the power to bring about change, no matter how small, and should therefore never accept the tag of a charity case.

The best way to start on improving this continent is accepting what one great man once said, that “democracy is not a perfect form of governance, but it is better than all other forms”.

In too many countries on this continent leaders have used the state and power as a means of gathering wealth and oppressing their fellow men. The will of the people on the continent has too often been ignored, and in many cases suppressed through violent action.

If African states would accept democracy whole-heartedly and work to institutionalise the idea of free and fair elections then the state of the continent would be better. Fostering states where freedom of speech is implemented would also be a key facet in the process of ensuring governance that is transparent and truly there to serve its citizens’ interests.

The African Union must be a key player in ensuring that African states follow democratic rules, the notion of neighbours staying out of each others business is arcane, thoughtless folly and in places like Sudan and Somalia

criminally unjustifiable when ordinary people suffer due to the whims and foolhardy behaviour of a few.

In theory, that would be the best way for the AU to make an impact on the continent. However, a few weeks ago I watched with disgust as Libyan president, Muammar Gaddafi, hijacked the agenda of the AU so he could try to force his foolish idea of a United States of Africa on the rest of the nations represented at the conference. It was almost as if the strife the continent has undergone and is undergoing had been invisible to Gaddafi. That sort of selfish and irresponsible leadership should be banished from AU meetings in future, and more pressing issues should be prioritised.

The title of this piece is a translation of the Latin phrase e pluribus Unum which is the premise of theAfrican Renaissance idea that was pioneered by the erstwhile President Thabo Mbeki.

A visionary idea he introduced in 1998 as Deputy President when he stated, “The time has come for us to call a halt to the seemingly socially approved deification of the acquisition of material wealth and the abuse of state power to impoverish the people and deny our continent the possibility to achieve sustainable economic development. Africa cannot renew itself where its upper echelons are a mere parasite on the rest of society, enjoying as self-endowed mandate to use their political power and define the uses of such power such that its exercise ensures that our continent reproduces itself as the periphery of the world economy, poor, underdeveloped and incapable of development.”

I am of the unshakable view that if you were born anywhere on this continent, regardless of your race or ethnicity, you are African. And as an African how can you be contented or joyous whilst the majority of the continent continues to languish in poverty and suffering?

SARAH JACKSON DURING my first week at UCT, I was told by every lecturer, in every subject, that we should be honoured to be able to attend “the best university in Africa.” Of course we should all be grateful to be at UCT - for example, the large amount of Highveld expats could still be in Johannesburg if it wasn’t for this fine tertiary institution but after a while the gratitude that we are told we should experience began to feel more like smugness.

Academic elitism has been bred from an early age. Private school learners think that they are the best because the IEB syllabus is allegedly the harder one.

Government school learners think that they are better because they can disarm people with dangerous weapons. BSC and BComm students think that they are better because they took maths after high school. BA students think they

are better because they had the presence of mind to drop maths in Matric. You can only become a lawyer if you go to UP, a journalist if you go to Rhodes, and a doctor if you go anywhere except the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

But even then, the competition does not stop because university students band together and, as a whole, think that they are better than anyone who goes to a Technikon, and so the snobbish cycle continues. I’m not for a second downplaying the importance of education, if you want to be a lawyer or an actuarial scientist or a doctor you better get a degree, but not everyone is destined to be one of these things and these vocations are not the only way a person can make money or be considered successful. People without the student card are not somehow less intelligent than the rest of us.

Frustrated by the limitations of

the standardised IQ test, Dr Howard Gardner of Harvard University came up with a much more complicated system. He named 8 different types of intelligence from logical intelligence - being mathematically and logically talented - to kinetic intelligence - being good at physical activities.

A dancer would fall into the latter category, which means that he or she might be able to write an essay, because you are linguistically intelligent, but not necessarily able to achieve any sporting heights.

Bill Gates has a net worth of $58 billion dollars and counting, is the richest man in the world, and revolutionised the computer industry. Yet he is a man without a degree (unless you count the honourary law degree Harvard awarded him years later which I don’t). He dropped out of Harvard after two years to become a computer programmer and did not complete his education. Tony

Photo courtesy of dvc.edu

Academic elitism: does going to university guarantee you a better job?

DAILY COMMUTE - students hurry to their lectures Leon has a law degree from Wits and is the retired leader of the DA.

Jacob Zuma has no more than primary school education and is the president of the country. The cute kid from Slumdog Millionaire won 20 million rupees in a single week and he didn’t appear to have completed grade 2.

Education is paramount, there is no denying that. If more of our youth had access to tertiary education our country would be in a better state. And if you have the resources and the opportunity to come to a university it is basically a sin to not attend. However, going from being a prefect to a prestigious university is not the only way to a surefire successful career. Sometimes luck and hard work are more important factors then we would like to admit. To bastardise the Bill Gates quote, “be nice to the kid selling lemonade at the end of your street. Chances are you will be working for him one day.”

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10

FEATURES

FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 The FIFA Confederations Cup kicked off in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Rustenburg as the World Cup drew closer. Hailed as the “dress rehearsal� of the World Cup, it was important for South Africa to show that it was ready to host the world’s biggest sporting event.

Three of the biggest teams in world football, Brazil, Spain and the current world champions, Italy graced South African pitches. The favourites, Spain and Italy were the subjects of the most surprising upsets. Italy failed to qualify from the group stages, while Spain was knocked out by the USA, which HYHQWXDOO\ FKDOOHQJHG %UD]LO LQ WKH ÂżQDO $IWHU JRLQJ JRDOV XS DW WKH HQG RI WKH ÂżUVW KDOI WKH 86$ FRQFHGHG WKUHH JRDOV LQ WKH VHFRQG KDOI WR KDQG %UD]LO their second consecutive Confederations title.

Not to be upstaged on their home ground, South Africa produced some of the best soccer that Bafana Bafana fans have seen in a while. With Brazilian coach Joel Santana at the helm, South Africa held their own against the best teams in the world, losing out narrowly on a WKLUG SODFH ÂżQLVK WR 6SDLQ 3OD\HUV such as Gaxa, Teko Modise, Benard Parker and Katlego Mpela not only excited the fans but impressed international scouts as well. European contracts are being negotiated for some of the freshest football talent that South Africa has to offer.

Tough times

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 8

“Let’s talk it about it... over some Vodka...�

US President Barack Obama paid a diplomatic visit to Russian president Dmitriy Medvedev in a move to soften up the political relationship between the two countries.

Reducing nuclear stockpiles, world security and economics were on the table in the week long visit held in Moscow.

The visit made headlines since Obama and Medvedev, met in an attempt to improve a relationship that soured between their countries previous administrations. Former US President George W. Bush and Russia’s premier Vladimir Putin’s relationship soured towards the end of last year and it is hoped that the new leaders of the world’s two super powers can have a more cordial relationship.

Iranian political tension

Violence erupted in the Iranian capital, Tehran after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (above right) was elected to a second WHUP LQ RIÂżFH $ SDUWLDO UHFRXQW RI WKH YRWHV ZDV VWDUWHG LQ DQ DWWHPSW WR DSSHDVH WKH GLVDWLVÂżHG SURWHVWHUV DURXQG WKH FRXQWU\ The recount is reported to have yielded no evidence of tampering.

Ongoing nuclear ambitions showed no signs of stopping as the US continued to express world security concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Along with North Korea, the world could possibly see the rise of two new nuclear powers if Iran’s plans are allowed to continue.

2EDPDÂśV DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ ÂżQGV WKH JRLQJ WRXJK DV WKH HFRQRP\ ZRUVHQÂśV despite the stimulus packages intended to put the world on the road to recovery.

Obama also faces declining popualrity ratings as the competency of his administration is called into question.

A galaxy of stars Ronaldo

Kaka’

Real Madrid returns to its “Galacticos� era after a busy transfer season. Kaka’, the FIFA world player of the year 2008, and Chistiano Ronaldo the FIFA World Player of the year joined Real Madrid at a cost of U$140 million.

Ronaldo set a new record with a price tag of U$93 million. With more than six superstar players in their ranks, Real Madrid are looking to launch an assault on the football world that is currently dominated by archrivals, Barcelona.

Sneijder

Cannavaro

Benzema Ramos Casillas

Grounded birds 7ZR DYLDWLRQ GLVDVWHUV VWUXFN WKH ZRUOG LQ WKH VSDFH RI D PRQWK DV ¿UVWO\ DQ $LU )UDQFH SODQH disappeared between Brazil and France with 228 people on board. It was the worst recorded DYLDWLRQ GLVDVWHU LQ $LU )UDQFHœV \HDU KLVWRU\ 7KH RI¿FLDOV EHOLHYH WKH $LUEXV $ DLUFUDIW FUDVKHG DIWHU À\LQJ LQWR OLJKWQLQJ DQG WKXQGHUVWRUPV RYHU WKH $WODQWLF 2FHDQ The second plane crash, an Iranian plane bound for Armenia, killed 168 passengers including the crew.

7KH ZUHFNDJH ZDV VSUHDG RYHU D ODUJH DUHD LQ D ÂżHOG LQ -DQQDWDEDG YLOODJH 4D]YLQ SURYLQFH about 75 miles (120km) north-west of Tehran.

Images courtesy of : www.cnn.com, www.time.com, www.espn.com, www.zimbio.com, www.bbc.co.uk, www.skynews.com.

Sources: Time.com, CNN.com

11

FEATURES

Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009 Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop” died of a heart attack at the UCLA medical center.

The highest sellling singer and performer of all time is survived by three children, scandal and a fan-base in the billions.

Honduran coup

Man on the moon

Nasa celebrates the 40th anniversary of the lunar landings. On 20 July 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Sea of Tranquility.

President Manuel Zelaya (right) was ousted out of power in a military coup. Fleeing to Nicaragua, the ousted president called for world leaders to help put him back in power to see out the remainder of his term.

Zelaya is supported by unionists and peasantry who see him as the voice of the poor.

Zelaya was removed from power for carrying out an illegal referendum that was aimed at changing a clause in the constitution that would allow him to run IRU DQRWKHU WHUP LQ RI¿FH Since the coup, the security of the country has deteriorated as rioters clash with police forces.

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Despite international pressure to stop its nuclear program, North Korea is steadily maintaining its ambition to become a nuclear power.

New weapons testing has not shifted the US stance that North Korea is developing its nuclear program for “antagonistic purposes. US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton has stated that the US is “gravely concerned” about the situation in North Korea.

7KH VZLQH ÀX SDQGHPLF FRQWLQXHV WR VSUHDG ZRUOG ZLGH DV VFLHQWLVWV EDWWOH WR ¿QG D FXUH IRU WKH + 1 VWUDLQ Thus far, all transmission has been human to human contrary to the name given to it. The name has made many people think that it is possible to catch the virus from eating pork products.

Economic woes WILLIAMS DOMINATION The Williams sisters dominated Wimbledon yet again as Serena and Venus squared off in the women’s VLQJOHV ¿QDO 6HUHQD ZDONHG off with the trophy in the end.

Not done for the day, the sister act also won the women’s doubles title.

World wide, the economic recession continues to take root in each and every industry. Though many economists were optimistic that industries would show signs of recovery as soon as the second quarter of 2009 commenced.

However, the situation has worsened.

Petrol, energy and food prices have continued their upward trends as consumers tighten their belts.

The view from Windows 7 Microsoft is set to release the new Windows 7 operating system on October 22.

Developed to address the lukewarm reception that Windows Vista received, the new operating system is designed not only for high-end machines, but also older machines. Developers state that the new operating system not only looks better, but it also works better and is more stable.

Windows 7 will be available in Home Basic, Home Premium, Business Professional and Ultimate.

Still on schedule Construction of the stadiums that will host the 2010 World Cup continues. Despite a worker’s strike in mid-June, the South African RUJDQLVLQJ FRPPLWWHH LV FRQ¿GHQW WKDW 6RXWK $IULFD KDV QRW IDOOHQ behind on its promise to deliver world-class stadiums for the event.

The recent Confederations Cup was a welcome practice-run for the long awaited event. Marketing, transport infrastructure, accomodation and security, the most crucial factors for a successful World Cup were tested by the recent soccer fest and FIFA has declared that it was VDWLV¿HG ZLWK WKH UXQQLQJ RI WKH HYHQW 6WDGLXP FRQVWUXFWLRQ LV H[SHFWHG WR UHDFK WKH ¿QDO SKDVH VRRQ 7KH Green Point Stadium (seen above in a November photo) is a remarkable piece of architecture and brightens up the Green Point skyline.

Images courtesy of: www.cnn.com, www.time.com, www.espn.com, www.stadiums2010.com, www.albumart.org.

Sources: CNN.com, Time.com, BBC.co.uk/news

By Remy Ngamije

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13 Soundtracks - watch with your ears FEATURES

CALVIN SCHOLTZ THERE is a scene in the film The Holiday when Jack Black, who plays a composer of film music, and Kate Winslet, are browsing through the soundtracks section in a CD store, and he starts recommending various albums to her. Picking up John Williams’ score to Jaws, he remarks on the composer’s genius: “Just two notes and you’ve got a villain.”

(Think daa dum, daa dum). Then, showing her Ennio Morricone’s The Mission soundtrack, he tells her that she’s got to listen to it, because the music sounds like “it comes from another place”.

I could relate to this scene as I have a bit of an obsession with movie music myself. I grew up in a house where there was always classical music playing in

THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN TRILOGY A lesson in “character music”. Jack Sparrow was more than a character, he was a sound.

Aural pleasure

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the background, and while I found most of it to be quite repetitive, there were certain pieces that I found so compelling that the music would seem to conjure up images and emotions out of thin air. When I hit my teens I discovered the world of pop and rock music and, like anyone, I had my favourite groups and singers, but I always felt a yearning for something more.

It was at age 16, while fully under the spell of The Lord of the Rings fever, that I bought the soundtrack to The Two Towers on a whim, and it changed my taste in music forever.

The music was composed

by Howard Shore, and has been widely hailed as the best music ever composed for the movies: he wrote around 12 hours of music for all three films, and won 4 Oscars

TITANIC - An iconic soundtrack for an iconic film. Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”, completes a timeless album.

THE E.N.D (ALBUM) - The ultimate party album. 25 songs of nothing but drunk, student nights! “I Gotta Feeling” is sure to be abused in the clubs.

NEW DIVIDE (SINGLE) - Linkin Park’s “New Divide” is the hottest soundtrack of the summer. Pure rocking pleasure.

The film ain’t too bad either.

for his efforts. In the style of opera, he composed more than 50 leitmotifs (themes used to identify characters and ideas), which he incorporated into the music.

Most film scores follow this basic structure, albeit on a smaller scale. The composers usually only start their work on a film during post-production, and have about 3 to 4 weeks to compose up to 2 hours of music. It is also their job to provide the emotion of the film: they have to create an overall atmosphere, as well as providing cues that will tell the audience when to feel scared or excited, when to laugh and, very often, when to cry.

Before the advent of video and DVD, the closest a person could come to reliving the experience of a film was to listen to the movie’s soundtrack on an LP

THE LAST SAMURAI A relatively unknown soundtrack. Some of the most peaceful pieces of music come from this album.

record. Today, film studios release a soundtrack album on CD for almost every movie that comes out, and a quick look at customer reviews on Amazon.com and blog discussions across the net reassure me that I’m not alone in my love of movie music. Even music scholars are now conceding that film music could be the “new classical music” of the 21st Century.

And there is so much music out there for people to explore and to enjoy: there’s the great maestro John Williams, who has composed some of the most iconic music of the last 40 years, including themes from all of the Star Wars films, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter; Hans Zimmer, who combines the traditional orchestra with synthesizers and has done countless epic scores, among them Gladiator, the Pirates of

THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY - In a league of their own. Hans Zimmer and Howard Shore produced some of the best cores that the world has seen yet.

BACK ON MY B.S (ALBUM) - Busta Rhymes is one of the few rappers that makes an album that entertains you.

He’s crazy... but he is damn good!

BLACK SUMMER’S NIGHT (ALBUM) - That is not a spelling error. It is the name of the album. Maxwell brings back that old school loving.

the Caribbean trilogy and Batman Begins; and James Horner, who composed the music featured in Titanic and Braveheart.

The more famous movie music is freely available for download off the web, and with the rate that films are being made at present, not to mention the type of films, there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for composers, both old and new, to showcase their talents. Film music can be used to relive moments from your favourite movies, but it can also be enjoyed on its own, separate from the context for which it was created. It can be used to relax, or to inject a bit of epicness into what would otherwise have been an ordinary day.

THE DARK KNIGHT - The film was a landmark in the world of comic book films. The soundtrack makes it sound as though the Joker is in the room with you.

GLADIATOR - Everybody wants to feel like a warrior. This is the soundtrack to take into battle. “Now We Are Free” brings a tear to the eye.

PATRON TEQUILA (SINGLE) - The Paradiso Girls are going to give The Pussycat Dolls some serious competition.

“Patron Tequila” makes you want to go out and drink.

HERE WE GO AGAIN (ALBUM) - Demi Lovato is...different.

Yes, that is a safe way to put it. But she has a lot of talent and like Adele, she will grow on you. She is not everyone’s cup of tea, but the girl has a voice, and a face... and a body... must get a Grammy for the last two.

14

FEATURES

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 8

The real student working environment Image courtesy of www.purefencgshui.com

GERDA VON BENECKE

THERE comes a time in every student’s life when holiday plans of journeys to far-off places become redundant. When the “Watch this space” on your seven weeks of leisure changes to “Caution – work in progress”. While the rest of the student population is still slumbering, you’re getting up at 6am sharp. A day in the life of the student temp – now debuting at an office near you.

The adventure starts months earlier with correspondence via email and humiliation through rejection as you search your surroundings for the editor prepared to take you in for the holidays. Somehow – getting by with a little help from a friend – you land a four week holiday job at a reputable Afrikaans magazine.

Free of charge.

On your first morning you set out before sunrise, beating both the chickens and the traffic as you reach the X-mark on your Gauteng City Map with 58 minutes to spare.

You spot the waterhole across the

WHERE’S THE COMPANY CAR? - Normal jobs, for normal people.

Starting rock bottom comes standard with every job. road, and, while sipping on your cappuccino, feel completely at home in the world of the nineto-five job. Heading towards the

office, you slide into the first open lift, pretending, with the confident manner in which you push the number “4”, to know exactly

where you’re going.

Open-plan offices can be quite a daunting physical space.

Faces and names attach to and detach from each other as they float around sporadically through a maze of cubicles. With your right hand you pull yourself from one “please to meet you” to the other. The rope ends abruptly and you’re dropped off at your own little square behind the quaintlooking plant in the corner, right outside the door of the keeper of the grounds.

The adventure ends. Peter Pan gets booted out of Neverland.

Mysterious silhouettes are transformed into middle-aged women, as spotlights change into fluorescent tube lights. Everything seems so utterly normal – normal people having conversations about their normal kids going through normal things. No lights. No camera. No action. Just 12 people in quite a humble space, getting the job done.

Pretty soon you find yourself doing just that – a normal job.

Well, kind of. You make the coffee.

You do some data-capturing. You

send away packages. You do some data-capturing. You search the entire city of Cape Town for a white-washed wooden working table. You do some more datacapturing. You sit. You wait. You pretend. You forget to eat your lunch.

Sometime during the four weeks, rewarding only those who remain patient, an adventure of a different kind begins – you get to know what others are only talking about. You might shed your childhood dreams of fame and fortune, but you gain a grip on reality that’s all the more reachable.

As UCT spoils its students with a rather lengthy holiday twice a year, I definitely recommend using a few weeks of your free time to work for a company in your field of interest. Send out as many e-mails as you can – call if you must. Don’t be shy and don’t be afraid of rejection. Be prepared to do absolutely anything and to be paid absolutely nothing.

I definitely wish I started checking “reality” out earlier in my life – the experience? Priceless.

It’s fashionable politics, Doll KRISTEN DUFF

YOU may have seen your little sister wearing one today. You may be wearing one yourself. The keffiyeh, more commonly known as the Yasser Arafat scarf, has become a universal craze. The scarf, with its distinctive woven check pattern, has become so popular that if you really love them enough you can buy them in bulk at Mr Price and never be without one again.

On the off chance that a couple of Palestinians happened to be passing through the ivy-flanked streets of UCT, they’d probably be quite pleasantly surprised at the amount of students who appear to openly support Palestinian nationalism. One can’t help but wonder if all the teenage girls and boys, shopping away at their chain store of choice, actually realise that the cheerful red-andwhite check scarf they’re about to purchase is linked loosely with extremist groups such as Hamas.

The keffiyeh originally

CHE GUEVARA - More that just a Cuban revolutionary, he is now a fashion icon became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism during the Arab Revolt of the 1930s, and gained prominence in the 1960s with the beginning of the Palestinian Resistance Movement and its adoption by Arafat. So what is it doing around the neck of Kanye West, never mind undergraduate

Good ol’ days

THE GOOD OLD DAYS - Originality seems to be dying out. Each new product has less in it and on it, while borrowing largely from the old school. Perhaps the future lies in the past...

students in South Africa?

Fashion has always had a greedy appetite for just about anything it can lay its hands on.

Whether it’s art, music, politics or current affairs, fashion will be sure to nab the most attractive aspects of society and turn them into trends that have seemingly little to do with their origins.

Last time I checked, UCT hasn’t had a serious sandstorm since, well, never. Interesting when one considers that the original purpose of the keffiyeh was to keep sand out of one’s face in MiddleEastern deserts. Who knows, perhaps UCT’s keffiyeh-lovers know something about climate change that the rest of us don’t.

Some may argue that the keffiyeh is just a piece of tablecloth that scene kids like to drape trendily around themselves, and has lost its political connotations along the way. Fair enough. But what about the annoyingly mass-produced Ché Guevara memorabilia?

A high-contrast monochrome graphic of his face can be found

NYASHA KADANDARA THE King of Pop is dead! And so are a lot of other people. My mum is always telling me that she doesn’t understand why our generation listens to “all that techno junk” with synthesised voices and no instrument.

Music, like fashion, science, and technology, is always evolving.

The only thing that’s constant is change, and we are now the generation that wants everything bigger and better than before.

The times they are a-changing, and instead of Bob Marley we have Sean Paul, instead of Aretha Franklin we have self-proclaimed divas like Beyoncé. We’ve said goodbye to reggae, and embraced dance hall. Going to the cinema can be a mind-blowing experience thanks to 3D technology. These are all great innovations to which I would never say no, and there are still riveting books to be written, amazing movies to

staring pensively from an endless array of items, most famously, on T-shirts, ironically promoting the consumer culture that he despised.

I once asked a friend wearing a Ché Guevara shirt if she knew anything about him, and she promptly replied: “Nope, I just liked the colour of the shirt.”

Admittedly, he’s pretty goodlooking, and not a bad face to have on your shirt if we’re choosing between faces. However, it’s slightly disturbing that many of the people wearing these shirts don’t even know that he was a Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, never mind that he was also known for being a ruthless disciplinarian who unhesitatingly shot defectors and was responsible for the death of thousands of people.

Fashion might seem as though it’s all just a bunch of silly fluff, but there are often much deeper influences. What you wear can be seen as more than just selfexpression, but also as a political or social statement. Not to say that people should stop wearing their

beloved keffiyehs and Ché shirts, but they should be aware that they might unintentionally be sending out the wrong message.

made, and heartfelt ballads to be sung. And just maybe there will be another outstanding performer like Michael out there.

But the real question is whether the products that come out of the recording studio and off the film set are actually good, or just good by modern standards?

Back in the day talent led to fame, money, and then sex, booze and drugs. Now it’s virtually the other way round. You can rely on your inheritance, your connections or your looks to bring the same success. Since we as viewers and listeners are more obsessed with these other “attributes” of our stars, a movie is now judged not on the script or the storyline but on who’s in it, and how great or not so great they looked.

Originality is a rare commodity these days, and the number of songs and movies that have been remade, or rather desecrated, is depressing. All the good stuff from the 20th century (like Shaft, Charlie’s Angels, and all the

superheroes, comics, ballads, and jingles) have been dug up and brought back to life, but are rarely ever as good as the first time. As people get more desperate, the time span between the original and the remake is getting even shorter.

This is actually our fault.

Yes, it’s all on you, and me, and everyone who ever bought, sold, or illegally downloaded the junk that people produce. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the lack of real talent. Maybe the death of someone like Michael Jackson wouldn’t be such a big deal, if we knew that the world had lost a great musician as opposed to great music.

You may think I’m expecting too much and that the people who are currently on our TV screens are still yet to reach their prime.

I really would like to paint a positive picture for the future of our entertainment, but truth be told, the talented are a dying breed.

Check out my “scarf”

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16

FEATURES

What makes a good book?

LOUISE FERREIRA

SO THERE I was, an intellectually-minded third-year English major, completely obsessed with a teenage vampire romance.

How embarrassing.

All right, I admit it. I’m a Twilight fan.

I should point out that I am also a great admirer of the likes of J.M. Coetzee and Margaret Atwood. See, I do have a brain.

However, this brings me to the point of this article: what makes a good book? And where does the line lie between popular fiction and so-called literature?

Firstly, although liking a particular book is subjective (personally, I am not overly fond of science fiction or Marian Keyes-style chick-lit), there are certain obvious factors that make for a Good Book. An interesting plot or storyline is crucial.

Give me a story I can sink my teeth into, and I’m all yours; crime writers are particularly good at this.

Well-rounded characters are equally important, and the reader should be able to identify with them on one level or another. For example, the protagonist in Patrick Süskind’s Perfume is a murderer, and yet it is almost impossible not to sympathise with him on occasion.

The third factor is craftsmanship. A skilled writer uses elements such as dialogue, description and narrative to draw the reader in. Here, the venerable Mr Coetzee is a master.

This, it would seem, is the checklist for a good book. But how do we distinguish between art and entertainment? What does a book need to be – or have – to earn it the appellation “literature”?

Frankly, who knows? Obviously, topping the bestseller lists does not mean that a book is brilliant.

The Da Vinci Code might have been enjoyable, but it’s likely that its fame had more to do with what it was saying about the Catholic Church than with its literary merits. And Jodi Picoult is most assuredly not as good a writer as her sales figures indicate.

Conversely, just because a book is considered to be art, does not mean it is an enjoyable read. Time for another confession: I don’t like Modernist literature.

I find it extremely difficult to identify with any of the characters; partly, I think, because Modernism is fundamentally a literature of disconnectedness. For example, although I finished Ulysses (how many of my classmates can say that?), by the end I was shrieking and trying to stab the book in frustration, greatly alarming my roommate. I don’t presume to criticise the great Mr Joyce, but it was most definitely not pleasant. I realise, of course, that literature is not written exclusively, or even primarily, for the entertainment of the reader, but surely a novel should not be a torturous experience?

It is also annoying when popular books are somehow considered inferior. Kate Atkinson’s works might never be studied at university, but that does not mean that they aren’t extremely well-written.

Ditto Barbara Kingsolver, Isabel Allende, Margaret Forster. Social commentary should not be the sole purpose of any book; it must also be to evoke emotion, to intrigue, to take the reader to a world with which they are unfamiliar. These aspects are not only found in the literary canon. You are welcome to disagree, of course, but in that case I’ll have to thump you with this copy of Harry Potter.

Return flight to JHB

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 8

Bookmark

“Some books that deserve to wan award...but probably won’t...”

BY CALVIN SCHOLTZ

His Dark Materials Trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife & The Amber Spyglass) by PHILLIP PULLMAN

A highly controversial fantasy series set in parallel universes and involving a rebellion against The Powers That Be. The story challenges conventional ideas of good and evil, critiques Christian literature like Paradise Lost and The Chronicles of Narnia, and tackles topics like quantum theory and evolution.

Watership Down by RICHARD ADAMS The original “animal epic”, this tale revolves around a group of rabbits who are forced to leave their homes due to human development. The journey ahead of them is fraught with many obstacles, including overcoming an oppressive dictator. Steeped in animal folklore and profoundly moving, this book is a classic.

The Pillars of the Earth by KEN FOLLETT Widely considered to be Follett’s masterpiece, it’s a medieval epic revolving around a rural town in England and the people that live there. The strength of the story lies in the author’s colourful depiction of both good and evil characters, as well as an underlying mystery running throughout the novel.

The Kite Runner by KHALED HOSSEINI Partly based on the author’s own experiences, this story tells of how a childhood tragedy can haunt a person until dealt with. The writing style is flowing and involving as Hosseini leads us along the hero’s uneasy path to redemption in this beautifully crafted drama and intimate portrait of modern Afghanistan.

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. TOLKIEN ALEX CHILD INDUSTRIAL fumes poison your nose as your feet hit the littered tar, taxi noises and utter chaos on the street. Your eyes flinch at the vision of two brightly coloured, spike-haired gheys; babbling their soda pop talk about which “betty” they “niye’d” and where they got their latest pink Ed Hardy collared shirt. The sign on the airport’s exit boldly proclaims “Welcome to Johannesburg”, but you can tell you’ve arrived long before any written confirmation.

Nostalgia might lead you to attempt to enjoy the places you once frequented with weekly obedience. Yet as you walk through their familiar grounds, teenyboppers peep out of every crevice and assault your dignity with their fresh, uncontrolled abuse of alcohol. You will hate this, even if the true reason is purely that it reminds you of your own fast-decaying youth. Luckily, however, the Jo’burg club scene is an ever-evolving monstrosity and new thrills are soon to be found. These new clubs house a breed of humanity known to locals as “gheys”. Wearing only the finest silk shirts and the

most indestructible hair-gel, these greasy men rove the club and seem to survive solely on Jaegermeister and jolling, boet.

As the night progresses they will unavoidably get bored and angry, either due to extreme amounts of bat from girls or from the raw excess of testosterone that their steroids dump in their bodies, and consequently get involved in a fight. These are only ever composed of mean-sounding conversations and hours on the phone to their largest friends: under no circumstances will physical violence be wrought until a crowd is assembled. The reasons for such fights often include that an “ou”/gentleman was “tuning eyes at my bint the whole naat”/ perhaps looking at said fellow’s girlfriend rather too much. When your night is over and your wallet skinny, you go to sleep with a curse on your tongue for the city that now shimmers silver in the golden memory of the Cape.

Of course Jo’burg does bring with it something that we rarely experience on our meagre student budget – delicious, free food!

Sadly, this novelty will be shortlived, for no amount of delicate pastry or fillet steak can mitigate the intense choking of your

freedom that inevitably comes with living at home again. You left for Cape Town for a reason and this will become alarmingly clear very soon. No longer can you calmly walk outside for that sneaky cigarette (which you know you shouldn’t have, but oh, it just makes you feel so damn dangerous – what the hell?), instead you have to go to enormous lengths to hide away all evidence, or worse still, abandon the habit altogether.

So the holidays will continue, until the days become so slow that you actually crave the sweet touch of pen on paper. You might even miss that old familiar, grandfatherlike voice of your maths lecturer; perhaps you’ll send an overly personal email and find that you’re not admitted to his next tutorial session. Nevertheless, you will start to pine for Cape Town like it was a new Steve Hofmeyr album and you the entire population of Loftus. You’ll start having dirty dreams about its skinny streets.

Then the glorious day will arrive and you’ll mount your plane with an enjoyment that will make the passenger next to you blush and try not to look at you for the whole flight, but it does not matter because, finally, you’re homebound.

Fans of The Lord of the Rings who have not read this book are really missing out! The story covers several millennia of Middle Earth’s history, from epic cosmological battles to intimate betrayals between legendary characters. It’s a more detailed and complete mythology than those possessed by most countries.

Images courtesy of www.amazon.images.com

Transformers II: Revenge of The Fallen STORYLINE: Patchy at the best of times EMOTIONAL DEPTH: Zero GENIUS: Uhmm...If I say yes, can we still be friends?

REPETITIVE: Yes LONG: Yes! CREATIVITY: It sets a new level and will become the standard in its category WHO HATES IT: People in denial TICKLING THE PLEASURE SENSES: It’s like Daft Punk’s “One More Time”...it’s a sheer crowd pleaser, anytime, anywhere!

FINAL WORD: If you want spirituality, go to church, or Tibet.

If you want emotional depth, watch Schindler’s list. If you want to go to a theme park without leaving your seat, watch Transformers II! Images courtesy of www.cduniverse.com

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Varsity

Confed clashes

Golf: If Watson had gone on to win the Open at Turnberry, then this would undoubtedly have been top.

As it is Tiger Woods’ first major win at the Masters in Augusta in 1997 leads the way. There were so many remarkable aspects to this break-through major win for Woods. Chief among them were the margin of victory and his limited experience. His overall score of 270, which is 18 under-par, was nothing short of phenomenal on a characteristically challenging Augusta course. The fact that this put him 12 shots clear of runnerup, the veteran Tom Kite, indicated the extent of his dominance.

At the tender age of 21, Woods had obliterated the field and truly announced himself on the world stage. Undeniably, it was this win that launched Tiger’s career and

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Cricket The West Indies victory in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy.

The background to this success is what lends it the significance. The Caribbean side were the golden boys of the 1980s. A fierce bowling attack coupled with a flamboyant and skilful batting lineup ensured that they went almost unchallenged. The collapse during the 90s from these glory days was swift and unforgiving. Soon they had become nothing short of the laughing stock of international cricket. In the ICC championship in 2004, they strung together a set of solid performances that saw them into the final against host nation England. Having bowled out the hosts for 217, the Windies collapsed to 147-8. However, against a dramatic backdrop of gathering clouds and consuming darkness, two veterans of Caribbean cricket, Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw, produced a remarkable partnership of 72 to see them across the line. This effort was so poignant as it combined elements of West Indies cricket that they so often lack. Courage, perseverance and a never-say-die attitude got them across the line. Add to this the then recent hurricanes which had devastated the islands, and it created one of those rare moments in sport, where a team’s success really gives meaning to their fans.

Football The greatest footballing achievement was not a difficult one to highlight. Liverpool Football Club travelled to Istanbul for the 2005 European Cup final in

auspicious circumstances. Simply viewed as a team, this side was not brilliant. Their opponents, AC Milan, were a different story. At the time they were unquestionably Europe’s most talented team.

Shevchenko was on fire; Kaka pulled the strings in the midfield, while Maldini was an ever-present rock in defence. The story of the match is well known. Three goals for Milan in the first half, a haunting rendition of their anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the Liverpool fans, a Steven Gerrard-inspired comeback, an incredible reflex save from Dudek and the unforgettable spaghettilegs approach which saw Liverpool triumph in the penalty shootout. Again, the virtues displayed here by Liverpool, guts, passion and steadfast faith were greatly rewarded.

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the opening match. Therefore, progressing from the group were Spain and South Africa, who met the USA and Brazil in the semifinals, respectively.

Many did not seem to be hopeful about South Africa progressing far in the competition.

However, South Africa showed their impressive talent and overall determination in the semi-finals, after having a somewhat shaky tournament up until that point.

An outstanding performance by South Africa kept Brazil at bay for most of the match and allowed many thrilling goal opportunities for the hosts. Admittedly, we were doing superbly, but were we really competing on equal terms with the Brazilian powerhouse? Some would say yes. Others would say we were playing on excitement and nerves alone. I say you need both qualities for it to be the wondrous game that we all witnessed. An unluckily awarded free kick on the edge of the penalty box ultimately decided our fate as Brazil’s quality shone though. We were beaten in the dying moments of the game and walked off the pitch with our heads held high.

Another surprise were the USA, who seemed mediocre during the group stages. However, against Spain, the USA turned on the class to stomp them in a true underdog performance.

While Spain and South Africa paired up for the 3rd-place playoff, all eyes were on the final, and most of all on USA, who had truly peaked and were up for anything.

A narrow defeat for South Africa in extra time against Spain was enough to convince supporters we were worthy of the place we had secured. It is a definite sign of what we can and will do during the World Cup next year.

It seemed all over in the final when USA scored two quick-fire goals to send Brazil into a frenzy.

However, the class of the South American team cannot be denied at any time, and they bounced back heroically to win the match.

I WATCHED with a deepening sense of amazement last Sunday as Tom Watson closed in on the Open Championship. The sheer improbability of him claiming the oldest and most prestigious title in golf was apparent. However, as Sunday afternoon wore on he remained in contention for the title, and even emerged as a slight favourite. This left the normally calm and reserved commentators scrambling for adjectives to describe the magnitude of the impending achievement. As it was, it was not to be for Watson who was defeated by Stewart Cink in a playoff. Nonetheless, I have compiled a set of the sporting achievements that I have witnessed in my lifetime which I consider to be the most significant.

subsequently his domination of the sport, consequently it clearly has to be recognised as a turning point in the history of golf.

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WE HAVE waited patiently for international football of this level to hit South Africa and the Confederations Cup held at various venues all over the country proved to be everything we had hoped for and more. The tournament ended in just a matter of two weeks, with surprising and all-round enthralling performances by all the teams involved.

Of course, seeing all the big stars in action is a real treat, but what tickles my fancy even more is the prospect of the so-called “underdogs” giving those stars a run for their money. Upsets were in order and the unpredictable was on show, day in and day out.

Giving Africa a good name and demonstrating the continent’s worth was Egypt, who put in a great fight against Brazil during the group stages, narrowly losing in a tightly contested match-up by four goals to three. Brazil have the quality to sideline any team, but Egypt came away from their opening match with their heads held high and confidence raging.

Their great spirits evidently led to one of the upsets of the tournament, beating Italy by one goal to zero.

Unfortunately for Africa, Egypt ducked out of the tournament after the third and final game of the group stage. Before day three, nothing had been decided in this particular group, with every team having the opportunity to claim glory and progress to the semifinals or be sent home. It came down to a massive score line in both the USA vs Egypt and Brazil vs Italy games respectively.

A stunning win for Brazil as well as the USA allowed both to shoot towards the semi-finals, sending Italy spiralling out of the tournament.

In other news, South Africa found it a tough match-up against Spain. However, they easily dismissed the likes of New Zealand and held a draw against Iran at

Great sporting achievements DAN FREUND

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DOMINIC VERWEY

19

SPORTS

Tennis Although Roger Federer’s recent Wimbledon success and consequently his world record breaking 15th Grand Slam Title has dominated tennis news lately, it is Gorna Ivanisevic’s victory in South-West London which strikes me as the most remarkable.

There were so many incredible elements in Ivanisevic’s triumph.

Perhaps most significant is that he became the first (and to this date only) man to win the Wimbledon title with a Wildcard entry. This particular championship in 2001 was overwhelmed by delays due to rain. This caused a dramatic Monday afternoon final between Pat Rafter and Ivanisevic.

Unsurprisingly the match went to 5 sets and eventually the big-serving Croatian overcame the guile and persistence of Rafter. With a world ranking of 125 he had become the lowest ranked player to win the championship.

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Contador seals victory in epic Tour de France Duncan O’Regan gives a breakdown of the big events in this years race around Europe show was stolen by the battle down the road as the prospectors for victory in Paris tested one another in a fiery display of strength. Pre-race favorite Contador exhibited his climbing finesse by successfully attacking over the final two kilometres to come within six seconds of the yellow jersey behind Italian Rinaldo Nocentini.

The race for yellow was to remain largely unchanged for the next week until the Tour entered Switzerland and the riders embarked on the ascent to Verbier.

As expected, the teams of the overall contenders set a blistering pace from the base of the climb, eventually whittling the group of leaders down to a select group of climbers. Early attacks from team Saxo-bank’s Schleck brothers were well-marked. However, at 5.7km to go the acceleration of Contador could not be matched and the young Spanish climber pulled out a significant lead on the other contenders. The Spaniard finished with 43 seconds advantage on Andy Schleck and over a minute on the other contenders.

His effort saw him pull on the yellow jersey with a one and a half minute lead, as the peloton headed for the Alps.

Despite his clear superiority in the mountains, Contador was left on the defensive throughout the Alps as the Schleck brothers lit up the race with attack after attack.

Andy Schleck pursued the yellow jersey at almost every opportunity, but Contador seemed permanently glued to his wheel. This left Contador with a two-minute advantage over both Schleck brothers going into a shortened individual time trial around lake Annecy.

The time trial has not been Contador’s strength in the past and the Spaniard was expected to concede time over the 40km test. However, Contador dismissed speculation on his time trialing ability, taking victory from Cancellara by only three seconds.

With his overall lead extended to over four minutes from Andy Schleck and only one major stage remaining, victory seemed assured for Contador. However an epic battle between Armstrong, Frank Schleck, Bradley Wiggins and Andreas Kloden were unraveling for third position, separated by only 30 seconds.

It was not unexpected therefore that the attacks began early on the slopes on Mont Ventoux.

Needing 40 seconds to take third from Armstrong, Frank Schleck gave everything he had to shake the American aided by his brother Andy who was again ineffective in shaking the maillot jaune off Contador. Armstrong seemed unfazed by the constant accelerations of Frank and was able to calmly restrict any time loss in a manner which has become cus-

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THE run-up to the 96th edition of Le Grande Tour was surrounded by widespread speculation, as rumours circulated regarding the favourites to take yellow in Paris.

At the centre was former winner Alberto Contador, who was not able to defend his 2007 title last year due to a controversial decision to exclude his team Astana on the basis of drug allegations.

The return of seven-time tour winner Lance Armstrong, after four years in retirement, eclipsed all other speculation. Armstrong’s form was of particular interest following a difficult season for the 37-year-old, which saw him sustain a serious fracture to his collarbone earlier in the year.

The addition of Armstrong to the Astana team, which already contained serious overall contenders, sparked suggestion that a leadership crisis within the team was inevitable.

It was amidst this cloud of controversy that the tour kicked off in Monaco. The opening test saw Fabian “Spartacus” Cancellara don the yellow jersey by just 18 seconds over Contador.

Overall victory in the tour has traditionally rested on success in the mountains, and as the peloton headed for the first mountain finish in Arcalis most expected an epic showdown among the main contenders. They were not to be disappointed. With the stage all but won by a gutsy breakaway, the

PRETTY IN YELLOW - Alberto Contador avoided a few potential banana skins to claim victory in this year’s Tour de France. tomary for the Texan over the last four weeks.

For almost 100 years the Tour de France has been more than just a race for the greatest cyclists in the world. It is a journey of self-

discovery; a journey of heroes and of villains, of great triumph and of bitter defeat. This year’s tour was no exception.

Interview with a UCT sportsman: Ricci Gerstner Ricci Gerstner: Heinrich (Ricci) Gerstner, Chairman of the UCT Cricket Club.

What duties does your position entail?

port for the cricket club, what would you attribute this to?

IMAGE COURTESY OF HEINRICH GERSTNER

VARSITY: Who are you and what is your involvement with UCT sport?

RG: Cricket games take a long time, which doesn’t do much for the spectator side of the sport. However, we have been trying to organise a couple of 20/20 exhibition/preseason games with Stellenbosch that might appeal to the students.

We organised a social 6-a-side last semester involving non-cricketers which went well. The committee itself has recently taken over the running of the Bar at the Club and we hope to create a general vibe around the clubhouse, particularly later on in the afternoon, at cricket games.

RG: I am involved with the general running of the Club, which entails organising practices and events, contacting sponsorships and the supervision of the budget amongst other things. The committee is also very much involved in the club and its administration.

V: From your experience how effective is the administration side of UCT sport?

RG: I find it to be rather effective in the sense that the UCT Sports Admin allows the Clubs to be run by the students and for the students but with guidelines, so that things don’t get too out of hand.

V: What do you think of the facilities provided by UCT for practices and matches?

RG: Cricket fields are rather difficult to prepare in Cape Town. The 1st team field has been in impeccable condition, even though hockey is played on it throughout the winter.

We have had issues with the nets, but we are encouraged to voice our complaints and they have been dealt with swiftly. The 2nd team field has also required some attention,

V: Do you feel that cricket is overshadowed by some of the other sports, namely rugby and football?

ON EDGE - Heinrich Gerstner readies himself for a contest at UCT’s cricket oval. but most of the problems have been dealt with. We have all the facilities that we require to be a successful cricket club, including indoor nets and a pre-season training program.

finished 4th in the Western Province Premier League, which is an incredible achievement and I believe they have a very good chance of winning the league this coming season.

V: What leagues and competitions do the UCT 1st XI take part in?

V: Do you feel like your club gets enough support from the UCT students and staff?

RG: The Western Province Premier League and the annual Intervarsity Competition.

V: How do they generally perform?

RG: Very well, considering that we are a student-based club. The 1st team

RG: Yes, I have found UCT sports admin to be very helpful. The students on the Cricket Committee have been very supportive and committed to the club.

V: If there is a lack of sup-

RG: Not really. We have lost some good cricketers to rugby (as they train pretty much all year round) and the football teams often practice on our fields in the summer, which is detrimental to the outfield, but otherwise there have been no issues.

V: How would you rate the standard of cricket at UCT? RG: At the moment it is very high.

All three teams at UCT have been performing very well, with the second and third teams being promoted in their respective leagues. We have often had two 3rd teams and we are implementing a 4th team for the first time this season.

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

V: Are there any structures in place to help those players with provincial and national ambition reach their goals?

RG: Yes. We have 6 1st team players playing for the WP Cricket Amateur side, of which 3 have represented the Cobras in either the 4-day league or the Pro-20. We have had coaches in the past such as Brian McMillan, Gary Kirsten and currently Hylton Ackerman. These mentors have provided players with ability to realise their potential and have given guidance and insight to the South African cricket scene.

V: How can students get involved with cricket at UCT and why should they?

RG: They can sign up at Sports Admin. As I have mentioned the standard of cricket is really high at the moment, but we would like to encourage anyone with cricketing ability to join the club. All of the players at UCT played 1st team or 2nd team at school level with one or two exceptions. We are currently a bit short of fast bowlers in the second and third side, so anyone that has the skill to send the ball down at 140km plus, please sign up promptly.

V: Anything else you would like to say?

RG: It is a pleasure and an honour to be involved with the cricket club, as I have never experienced team spirit, camaraderie and enjoyment such as this at any other club.