2014: Edition 7

SINCE

1942 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

#Undesirable 29 July 2014

VOLUME 73: EDITION 7

varsitynewspaper.co.za

@varsitynews

Katy Scott

nternational students at UCT, approximately 20% of UCT’s populace, are significantly impacted by the new immigration laws that came into effect on May 26th 2014, whether they realise it or not.

Perhaps the biggest change is that students can no longer apply for study permits directly through Home Affairs. All applications must now be submitted online to the Visa Facilitation Centre (VFS).

Applicants will then be given a date and time to go in person to the VFS to give their fingerprints.

Carol Ojwang, African Partnerships and Programmes Manager of the International Academic Programmes Office (IAPO), thinks that the reasoning behind the establishment of the VFS is because of fraud occurring within Home Affairs regional offices.

I

Some students may have already been declared undesirable

“We are hoping that things will become more streamlined and ultimately the process a lot easier for students,” agrees Ojwang.

However, students will no longer be able to submit applications using immigration practitioners. They will also be charged a service charge by the VFS of R1 350 over and above the visa fee of R425-R450 due to Home Affairs, says Pieterse.

Ojwang clarifies that Home Affairs is still the final decision maker in terms of issuing the visa.

“We’re informed that the permit will now take 20 days to be issued but that is yet to be seen.”

While students used to be able to submit applications 30 days before their visa expired, the new

regulations now require applications 60 days in advance.

Students must now submit their actual police clearances, whereas before a receipt proving the student has applied would have been sufficient. Police clearances can take up to 6 months to process.

Pieterse is worried about this. “I personally foresee a lot of problems with that because students are not thinking six months in advance.”

“Before they were quite lenient… now there’s no concession, if you don’t have all the requirements for a visa application they’re just not accepting it,” adds Ojwang.

Previously if a student had overstayed the validity of their visa they would be able to pay a fine to

Home Affairs. “Now the person in breach will most likely be deported and it will go on record that that person is undesirable,” explains Ojwang. Some students may have already been declared undesirable for between two to ten years.

A number of students enter South Africa on a Visitor’s Visa and then try to change their status. Now applications can only be made from students’ home countries.

If a student with a pending application leaves the country with a receipt from Home Affairs they will be banned from re-entering the country.

“We would advise students not to leave the country when you have a

pending permit,” warns Pieterse.

He continues to explain that he is optimistic about the new system as the VFS gives students a date and time to present themselves, meaning that they will no longer have to stand in queues for days on end.

“I had a post doc student who applied on June 20th and he already has his visa, which is unheard of,” says Ojwang.

Each university now has a central adjudicator to contact concerning the outcome of visas, making the process a lot easier.

But Pieterse forewarns students that IAPO does not have jurisdiction over the Department of Home Affairs. “We work within an administrative system that has their own challenges. If you have been listed as undesirable we can’t speak or advocate on your behalf… DHA are the custodians of the immigration act, we are just tasked to uphold it.”

“We would also just encourage students to come and ask us questions and not hesitate or just draw assumptions. And don’t wait until the last minute,” adds Ojwang.

“If you know your visa is expiring in December, there’s no harm to think about the renewal process four or five months before.”

“Phasing it out is going to be tricky, there is going to be a lot of teething pains from the old into the new... It’s going to be quite a learning curve, even for us.”

“We want to assure students that we’re going to do our best to help students, obviously within reasonable expectations, and that our hope is that at some point things will bed down and the system will just work properly.”

IN THIS ISSUE

“It’s not just fraud with people coming into the country, it’s also Home Affairs officials who have access to visas and all sorts of documents”, says IAPO’s International Full Degree Students Coordinator, Moses Pieterse.

He explains that documents will no longer be couriered and get lost, as with VFS everything happens electronically.

Image: Katy Scott; Edited: Sofia Gilli

varsitynewspaper

Gender-less toilets

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Admission policy

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Festival guide

CENTRE

London calling

PAGE 10

World Cup recap

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

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news

V73 E7 – 29 JULY 2014

NEWS BITES Tutu in support of assisted dying

SOUTH AFRICA – Retired Anglican Archbishop of South Africa Desmond Tutu has shown his support for assisted dying of terminally ill patients.

“The manner of Nelson Mandela's prolonged death was an affront,” he wrote in The Observer. “I revere the sanctity of life – but not at any cost.”

-The Guardian

Presidency budget focused on planning, communication and service delivery

SOUTH AFRICA – President Jacob Zuma delivered his speech for the 2014/15 financial year, stressing the need to prioritise five key areas: education, health, rural development and land reform, and the fight against crime and corruption. Critics say this was a much more pointed speech than his State of the Nation Address, which was delivered in Parliament just over a month ago.

- Mail & Guardian

Move towards IVF with three parents

UK – IVF with three parents may soon be possible in the UK, but will be restricted to cases of mitochondrial disease, which affects 1 in 6 500 babies born in the UK each year. This disease, which is characterised by weakness, blindness and heart failure, could be averted by using the sperm and egg of the parents, together with an egg from a donor female which would contribute the healthy mitochondria to prevent such symptoms occurring.

-BBC

Gender-neutral bathroom opening at UCT Aisha Abdool Karim

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essica Breakey, Transformation Co-ordinator on the SRC, has been the key driving force behind the creation of a new gender-neutral bathroom at UCT. The bathroom is not yet open as it is undergoing some renovations, but it should be fully operational within the next two weeks. It will be located on the bottom level of the Leslie Social Sciences Building.

start being creative in the way we view transformation It was created for use by students who don’t wish to be defined by their sex or gender and was previously requested by LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) students at UCT in March last year.

The creation of gender neutral toilets has recently become more prevalent as they have been incorporated into campuses all around the world.

“acknowledging that gender fluidity exists”

Breakey felt it was “time to start being creative in the way we view transformation on campus”, and

Image: Deanna ZandT

that this inclusive bathroom is one way of moving in that direction. She also emphasised the importance and significance behind the creation of a bathroom where students who don’t identify within a gender binary feel safe.

When the idea for this bathroom was first announced in Student Assembly, Breakey dealt with many concerns and questions, the main one being, “How many transgendered people are on campus?”

However, the creation of this

bathroom is not related to the number of trans-, non-gendered or intersex students on campus, but rather to providing facilities that can be used should they be required, regardless of how many students use them. Breakey believes that this bathroom is about UCT “acknowledging that gender fluidity exists and doing its best to accommodate and p romote it”.

Other students and the SRC were worried about the potential security worries this bathroom might

Malaysia Airlines tragedy strikes again: Flight MH17 nationals from the Netherlands.

Many of these were prolific AIDS researchers who were due to speak at the International AIDS conference in Melbourne, Australia.

The Netherlands will therefore be leading the investigation into the details and reason for the crash.

Man claims land for daughter to be princess

NORTH AFRICA – An American man, Jeremy Heaton, has claimed a patch of disputed land between Egypt and Sudan to celebrate his daughter’s seventh birthday her request to be a princess. He travelled from America to plant the flag his daughter, Emily, had designed in the ground, proclaiming it the Kingdom of North Sudan.

He has put in applications with both countries, but says that he has had no response from either.

- BBC Newsbeat

The crash is said to have been gunned down by pro-Russian separatist rebels in Ukraine.

Top Ebola doctor catches virus

SIERRA LEONE – Virologist Sheik Umar Khan, who has been at the forefront of the fight against the Ebola outbreak, has himself been diagnosed with the disease. It is not clear how he contracted the virus, and his colleagues credit him as being meticulous with protection. He has been receiving treatment at a facility run by Doctors Without Borders.

- Reuters

Clare Garrard

present, but Breakey ascertained that there was no real cause for concern through consultation with Property and Services, and through her own research.

This bathroom in the Leslie Social Sciences Building will be the only gender neutral bathroom on campus for the time being; however, the SRC is working on trying to get an agreement with the University that stipulates that every new building built on campus must have at least one gender neutral bathroom.

Image: commons.wikipedia.org/MartinH

Laurie Scarborough On July 17th, the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine close to the Russian border.

The plane, which was carrying 298 passengers, was traveling from

Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All passengers aboard were killed in the crash.

The crash is said to have been gunned down by pro-Russian separatist rebels in Ukraine. The reason for the attack is not yet confirmed. Rebels are allegedly

withholding corpses from authorities trying to identify the deceased passengers, and were reluctant to give over safety data recorded on the plane to the Malaysian Prime Minister for further investigation.

Approximately two-thirds of the passengers on board were

The bodies of the passengers and a crew member aboard the flight are currently being transported to various countries for identification – a process that could take months.

Malaysian Prime Minister, Najob Razak, has negotiated with the rebels involved in the crash to send the plane’s black box to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch. The black box is a device that records audio information from the cockpit, as well as all electronic commands made to systems of the aircraft. The information stored in the heat and impact-resistant box is hoped to shed more light on the crash.

This is not the first crisis that Malaysia Airlines has managed this year. In March, the MH370 flight traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared over the South China Sea with 239 people on board.

Condolences were expressed in a statement released by Malaysia Airlines: “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the passengers and our colleagues on board MH17 as well as their families and loved ones.”

Much debate about admissions policy Clare Garrard

I

n a recent debate about the new admissions policy, 40% of the students who attended voted against the new policy, while 60% voted in favour.

On June 14th 2014, UCT Council approved a new admissions policy model in place of the current model which uses race as a proxy for disadvantage. The policy is expected to come into effect for the 2016 intake of students.

According to UCT, the goal of the new admissions policy is to transform the student body into one that is more diverse and representative of the population while recruiting the best students available.

The new admissions policy is aimed at an intake selected through three distinct mechanisms: one part will be based on grades, a second which takes the school and home environments into account, and a third part which is motivated by achieving targets based on race and performance. UCT Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price stresses that no student would be offered a place if they did not exceed a minimum threshold indicative of a high probability of success.

Price asserts that, depending on the faculty, 25% of students would be selected with reference to race while 75% could be selected according to other factors.

UCT acknowledges that many black applicants now attend good schools and are admitted on a competitive basis with reference to their school leaving results, and wishes to redress disadvantage in its own right, rather than using race as a proxy. Factors taken into consideration under the new policy will include the applicant’s home language, their parents’ education, and whether the family was receiving a social grant. However, this has been met with strong opposition from some parties.

“Does UCT really believe that the black majority has progressed sufficiently in 20 years, which is half a generation, to minimise the consideration of race?” asks Lucky Thekisho, Chairperson of the Board Higher Education Transformation Network, in an address to UCT Senior Management.

“The UCT policy provides a template for admission which punishes the historically disadvantaged. Considering the other variables they propose for assessing disadvantage, even if a black student attends the same quality high school as a white student, or if their parents went to a tertiary institution, there are historical realities and intangibles, which provide the white student a significant advantage.”

The new policy has also not received the backing of the SRC. “We still retain our stance and now with the new development will have to

news work with what we have to tackle the issues we have,” says SRC President, Nommangaliso Gondwe Students raised many relevant issues both for and against the new admissions policy in the aforementioned debate which was spearheaded by UCT Debating Union on Friday, July 25th.

The subject of UCT Faculty targets was brought up as it was noted that targets for blacks were still significantly lower than those for whites in most faculties across campus.

The issue of the coloured ethnic group potentially being most severely disadvantaged by the new policy arose in audience discussion, echoing recent media outcry from SRC representative Ramabina Mahapa.

This was countered by the argument that including the home language of Afrikaans as a disadvantage factor would in turn benefit white Afrikaaners, thus negating the race correction.

The lack of any form of gender or disability allowance was also observed, although this is something that is not addressed in either the current or the new admissions policy.

However, it was agreed that although the new admissions policy is flawed, somewhere there would have to be trade-off, as it was impossible to make allowances for all factors involved.

“Ultimately this debate is about equalising the playing field of competition to get into university as much as we possibly can so that the most deserving person gets into university,” stated the third speaker on the team in favour of the new admissions policy. “Our policy is not perfect, but it is more progressive.”

V73 E7 - 29 JULY 2014

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online this week International efforts for ceasefire in Israel-Palestine conflict

Image:flickr.com/DaleSpencer

Aisha Abdool Karim Given the rapid escalation of violence and the rising death toll in Gaza, in Palestine and Israel, the United Nations called for a ceasefire on Monday July 21st. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, went to Israel and US Secretary of State, John Kerry, travelled to Cairo, Egypt in an attempt to lead international efforts to secure a ceasefire. Hamas ally Qatar was also working in the background to seek a solution to the conflict.

Both sides agreed to a 12-

hour humanitarian ceasefire for Saturday, July 26th whilst international diplomats continued trying to attain a longer ceasefire. This ceasefire provides Palestinians with an opportunity to move medical supplies into Gaza, since their resources have steadily depleted, as well as affording them the opportunity to move out the injured, whilst Israel has said that it would continue to “locate and neutralise” the Hamas underground tunnels even during the ceasefire.

Read more online at: www.varsitynewspaper.co.za

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editorial

V73 E7 - 29 JULY 2014

2014 Collective editor-in-chief Laurie Scarborough editorial@varsitynewspaper.co.za

deputy Editor Katy Scott

Editorial

Make me up

editorial@varsitynewspaper.co.za

online editor Daniël Geldenhuys online@varsitynewspaper.co.za

Copy Editor Jena Ascough copyed@varsitynewspaper.co.za

Online content editor Katelyn Mostert online@varsitynewspaper.co.za

news Clare Garrard & Aisha Abdool Karim news@varsitynewspaper.co.za

opinions Parusha Naidoo & Vikash Gajjar

S

o firstly, welcome back to UCT, fine people who read this column. Good on you to brave the mountainous campus for another four months (and for reading

features Lynne Marie Fraser & Busang Senne features@varsitynewspaper.co.za

sportS Mark Nandi sports@varsitynewspaper.co.za

centrespread Krysia Gaweda centrespread@varsitynewspaper. co.za

images@varsitynewspaper.co.za

Design Zona Magadla

Editor-in-Chief my column every edition). If your holiday was anything like mine, it was far from restful. If you flip over to the Features section you’ll see that I was involved in a musical at the Artscape, and rehearsal were almost daily, stretching into the darkest hours of the night. Very exciting and everything – dreams come true, standing ovations, gold stars, etc etc.

Besides the obvious stand-out moments of being on a stage that every performer lives for, I think one of things that will stick with me is the sheer amount of make-up that is smeared on your face in your preshow preparation.

Seven days a week for the last two weeks I’ve painted layers of foundation, contour base, four different shades of eye-shadow, a mix of three different lipsticks to create the required dark pink,

SRC say what?

opinions@varsitynewspaper.co.za

images Sofia Gilli & Khanyisa Pinini

Laurie Scarborough

Katy Scott Deputy Editor

So out of sheer boredom I decided to piece together the Tweets of a handful of SRC members to create a little story. No SRC members were, or will be, hurt in the process (I hope).

Just recently, a certain SRC member publically revealed his biggest weakness. “I personally think that I have the worst fashion sense of everybody that I know” tweeted @ Lwazi_Somya.

SRC President, Mangi Gondwe, shared her thoughts by retweeting a tweet by @HeatherLLove which read, “It’s never about you. Take your eyes off of yourself. #Jesus.”

design@varsitynewspaper.co.za

web Tayla-Paige van Sittert web@varsitynewspaper.co.za

Finance & Ads manager Natasha Makoni finance@varsitynewspaper.co.za ads@varsitynewspaper.co.za

operations manager Aneesa Lockhat operations@varsitynewspaper.co.za

human resources Kudzai Tabaziba & Saadiq Samodien hr@varsitynewspaper.co.za

contributors Sub-Editors Courtney Hope & Ruth Urson Column photos Charlie Turnley

Daniёl Geldenhuys Online Editor

To anyone.

Make-up is not a modern phenomenon. No, woman have been painting their faces for a good long time. In the 17th century, it was in mode to have very pale, white-ish skin. So woman painted their faces with a white leadbased foundation. Yes. Lead. And while cosmetic products are less dangerous now, they still can cause some nasty skin problems, which make woman want to use more make-up to cover-up their skin problem. I call this the The Makeup Circle of Doom.

I’m not shouting down people who wear make-up, I’m just saying that it shouldn’t be an unspoken law that women need to wear make-up. Why not embrace your slightly unflawless skin tone, and marginally less-thick eyelashes every now and again.

Fezile Niwa from sports and Recreation was not in agreement. “If it ain’t directed directly at me, I don’t respect it.”

“What is the truth though?” pondered Deputy Secretary General, Fowzia Davids, “So much shit happening in the world man.”

Perhaps sarcastically, VicePresident of Affairs of the Internal, Ben Mendelson added his two cents.

“We live in extremely interesting times” he tweeted (probably in a British accent).

Such interesting times were exemplified in International Students Coordinator, Nomsa Makgabenyana’s subsequent tweets: “I am a Neo-Fanonist at heart…” , “…and yesterday my dad said that’s the reason I have one white friend”.

In what could be seen as a subtweet directed at Nomsa, Jessica Breakey from Transformation tweeted, “Rejection letters are the worst.” Sad face. Luckily Ramabina Mahapa of Labour and Services strode in to try lift the spirits with

his tweet, “Today is too blessed a day to be depressed.”

In an act of complete randomness, and perhaps to lighten the mood, Alex Proctor from Day Students tweeted, “Biiirrrtthhddaayyy suit.”

In response to this, Carey McIntosh from Health Safety and Environment promptly declared, “We are sexual beings, its time to begin the dialogue surrounding our sexual rights & health.”

Kgabo Senyatsi from Societies added his opinion to the matter: “I only f*ck with real niggaz.” Grabbing the opportunity to subtweet her feelings, Nomsa Makgabenyana jumped back in proclaiming, “Lllllloving you, is really all that’s on my mind.”

Lungisa Ntobela from the Residences laughed this off by tweeting, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” In a strange little plea Procter tweeted, “If someone doesn’t call me in the next 20 mins or randomly rock up at my door with a partying plan I shall morph myself into a slug.” The end.

News gathering: Tuesday, 1pm Jena Ascough Check Twitter for updated venue Copy Editor

Do you want to study in Australia?

A representative from the University of Adelaide is in Cape Town this week to meet with interested students.

Time: Thursday, 31 July 2014 from 13:00 – 17:00 Venue: Southern Sun Waterfront Conference Centre, 1 Lower Buitengracht, Cape Town Contact Elsa on 082 887 0306 or mail info@rutegaeducation.com Please contact us to make an appointment or just come though to the venue on the afternoon

TELEPHONE: 021-650 3543 Level 5, Steve Biko Students’ Union

eyeliner, mascara, fake eyelashes, rouge, powder. It’s exhausting.

I’ve never really been one for make-up besides the odd special occasion, and now that it takes me fifteen minutes to only partially take off the mask, I don’t know how people do this every day. Why should women need to plaster their faces with every product under the sun to feel beautiful? Why is it seen as less formal if someone goes to fancy dinner with nothing but clothes on? And why on earth (WHY ON EARTH) is it some kind of special event every time you take a selfie of your face without make-up on?

There are even full-scale articles about celebrities without make-up: “See Hollywood’s top 10 actresses with no make-up!”

I really don’t see how that’s in the public interest. Or why we should care. Or how it’s relevant.

Find us at rutegaeducation.com or facebook.com/StudyDownUnderForAfrica

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V73 E7 – 29 JULY 2014

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opinions

v73 e7 – 29 july 2014

UCT admissions policy: too much too soon?

Image: Khanyisa Pinini

w

The lady doth protest

Parusha Naidoo

Opinions Editor

Accentism – discrimination of a different kind student because their response is “Yes sah” and not “Yes sir” or a tutor who pronounces “Plato” as “Pla-toe”.

The first intuitive argument most of our peers make is that the accent of their tutor or lecturer impairs communication abilities.

Acting as a justification, we switch off and spend the semester complaining that the person is unintelligible. Despite this popular and much cited assertion, studies have been unable exism, ageism and (South to discover any noteworthy Africa’s personal favourite) differences in the academic racism, are generally the performance of students that are dominant themes that come to exposed to different accents. mind when we enter into heated I once listened to my peers debates about discrimination. spend 20 minutes of a class But wait, there is another “ism” mocking a lecturer’s accent, they to add to our list of prejudices - went on to spend the remaining 25 minutes accentism. Your watching Vines response may I once listened to my and scrolling be “Did she just make that up?” peers spend 20 minutes through 9gag.

I attempted While the of a class mocking a to rationalise word was lecturer’s accent their behaviour underlined and decided in red when I typed it, it does exist, at least that the only other time they that’s what Google tells me. had interacted with someone Accentism essentially refers to who spoke with “that” accent, the discrimination of someone was when their parents hired a based on their accent. So beyond domestic worker or when they skin tone, hair colour and gender, were in the checkout line at our accents act as signallers. We Woolworths.

My peers faced a mental unconsciously associate accents with class, education and cultural blockage because of previous backgrounds. We instantly form encounters and chose to deal attitudes towards people based with the situation through sniggers and jeers. There are on their twangs and drawls.

The pronunciation and style other instances at our university in which an individual speaks when lecturers and students were a given language includes a undermined not because of what combination of consonants and they said but instead because of vowels and factors like pitch, how they said it.

This results in a dangerous stress and tone. So when does a much-loved party trick of conditioning that sanctions the impersonating accents turn out voices of people to be stifled.

There is a subtle undermining to be a human rights violation?

It may seem a bit hard because the manner in which a to conceptualise given that person expresses themselves is accentism goes largely not what we are accustomed to unchallenged because it is rooted hearing or even worse, not what in socialising forces like popular we deem acceptable and adequate media. And so we easily overlook enough to acknowledge.

If all our daily interactions were it with a pat on the back and an appeal not to be overly sensitive comprised of communicating through writing letters only, we and serious about life.

We automatically assume the would assess and engage with the degree of person’s intellectual message sent to us and not the ability according to how well paper that it was imprinted on. In they speak English. This bias the same sense, our spoken words means that we may easily are the messages that should dismiss the opinion of master’s be heard and not the accents in

S Geoffrey Kilpin For years, debate about UCT’s race-based admissions policy has lacked a concrete alternative to challenge the claim that race is the best measure of disadvantage o. No longer: the University’s new admissions policy, accepted “in principle” by Council, is potentially a dramatic step forward in adding important nuance to the way in which the admissions policy understands disadvantage.

much of the reasoning underpinning the policy remains opaque However, despite this potential, the policy has been subject to a stunning lack of critical evaluation, leaving unanswered the most important question: is the new policy an improvement on the old?

Assessment of the new policy is difficult due to the lack of information made available to both the members of committees expected to approve it and the public.

The University has not published the research (or methodology) underpinning the new policy, nor has it been subjected to peer review.

This is not just an academic point (and even if it were, one would think that would be important at a research institution) – much of the reasoning underpinning the policy remains opaque and open to criticism.

This includes the much-discussed

exclusion of Afrikaans as a home language that receives points for disadvantage, the failure to consider family income as a factor, despite recognition that it is one of the best measures of disadvantage, and the policy’s questionable relationship with race.

Importantly, the new policy remains a race-based policy. This is necessary – alternative measures considered by the new policy only account for 56% of the variance in education performance of applicants, and the lasting legacy of apartheid and its effect on opportunity has been written about elsewhere.

However, by relegating race to backup status for when alternative measures of disadvantage fail (alternative measures are only considered to the extent that they assist the University in meeting its race targets, while a category for race-based admissions remains), the policy fails to consider a factor which informs disadvantage.

Is this the result of the University rushing to reach the point where it can (dubiously) claim that a “majority of offers [will be] made without reference to race”? It is impossible to say without knowledge of the research informing the policy.

The problem of lack of information is exacerbated by the small number of results of modelling exercises (testing the policy against previous applicant pools) made available. Published results have only demonstrated the racial composition of the admitted class in just three degree programmes each in a single year only, leaving

many questions unanswered.

A key question is whether the policy works from year to year. The policy involves setting proportions for each of the three bands of admission (pure marks, marks weighted by disadvantage, and pure marks within race pools) in advance of an admissions cycle in order to meet the University’s diversity targets.

These proportions are likely to vary dramatically. In the published year they are 62%, 33%, and 5% respectively for the BSc programme, and 22%, 53%, and 25% for Mechanical Engineering.

If the proportions are so sensitive to fluctuations in the applicant pool between different programmes, what is to say that they are not just as sensitive to random fluctuations in the applicant pool to the same programme across multiple years?

the policy fails to consider a factor which informs disadvantage Ultimately too much is unclear, too many questions are unanswered, and we can be confident of little. An attempt to improve the increasingly blunt measure that is the current pure race-based policy is incredibly laudable, but is not a justification for risking so much. Giving the researchers developing the policy more time to test its effects and respond to criticism can result in a progressive policy that UCT can be truly proud of.

Disclaimer The VARSITY Opinions section is a vehicle for expression on any topic by members of the university community or other interested parties. The opinions within this section are not necessarily those of the VARSITY Collective or its advertisers.

Letters to the Editor need to be kept to a maximum of 300 words and can be sent to:

opinions@varsitynewspaper.co.za

opinions Incy wincy cyber, writing on your wall

Image: wordpress.com/VanessaPaech

Saara Mowlana verything was going well. We laughed. We cried. We shared funny stories. But then we logged out and returned to reality. We were two strangers in the same room yet two friends in the chat room. Do we segregate our lives into online and offline? In today’s society when the digital social media platform allows you to be and say whatever you want we tend to develop an online alter ego.

E

we tend to develop an online alter ego

You can be a journalist online – having your critique on a prominent topic or Kim Kardashian’s outfit.

Read, liked, shared, retweeted. But in our offline lives there’s a social etiquette that chastises and limits our freedom of speech. This is why many tend to separate their online personas from their offline personas.

The anonymity of the alluring digital world evokes confidence which one may not have offline.

This online confidence allows us to have a flurry of friends at the press of a button or a flick of the screen.

But how many of these online “friends” would we actually allow into our personal offline circle? We share pictures and thoughts with hundreds of online friends daily and receive countless likes to match, but when we log out, we probably only associate with a handful of those friends, and trust even fewer.

The disparities between our online and offline personas is so radical and commonplace that it seems acceptable to acknowledge people in cyberspace, but ignore those same people in literal space. Perhaps the overbearing and exhausting labour of offline friendships with hundreds of people is just too hard a task. Or perhaps the cyberspace is the sociological stage for our daily performance and reality is the backstage. Whatever the case, we unconsciously – or consciously – segregate our digital and real lives.

Maybe the joke is funnier online.

Maybe your wit comes across better in cyberspace, or vice versa. With the overflow of devices and technology buzzing at our fingertips, we can seamlessly slip in and out of our online lives and intertwine these segregated identities. At the café with your quaint posse of trusted friends you may be replying to a message in a group chat with friends of a further social circle.

These social circles we create that ripple out from each other allow for divisions of interactions. The innermost circle being whomever you share the most with or trust the most and the circles span out. The wider the circle, the weaker the personal bonds and interactions become.

digital world evokes confidence which one may not have offline.

Circles of interactions and online and offline lives are all products of society and the accessibility to cyber space within it. It is the effortless entry to a world in which people can do and say as they please anonymously and log out unhindered. Cyberbullying is often done this way, with the anonymity allowing the bully to log out unaffected whilst the victim logs out with the collateral damage.

Digital or reality, we segregate our interactions in both. However, our actions are available to a broader audience online than offline, which is why our online and offline personas differ. We present and portray what we want to be seen as online with more effort than offline to a recluse group of trusted friends.

v73 e7 - 29 july 2014

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The truth is Hlaudi Dean Horwitz

is compared to Idi Amin with a style which is forced and fierce, The SABC has been embroiled in demanding blinding loyalty from controversy over the past several all those who work for him. years and its latest controversy Motsoeneng knows what needs is threatening to bring the entire to be done and anyone who gets broadcaster to its knees if it in his way gets removed. On the does not get its other hand, those that house in order. carry out The controversy The SABC has been his work get centres on the embroiled in controversy bonuses, as permanent was recently appointment of reported in the Chief Operating Officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng Sunday Times.

With each passing day the who, despite a Public Protectors recommendation to the SABC is moving further and contrary, was appointed without further down a deep rabbit hole guided by the man with the iron consideration earlier this year.

The issue of Motsoeneng’s purse. The key role of the SABC as a appointment is unfortunately state institution, which represents much bigger than standard labour all citizens of South Africa in practices and while the majority of free and fair programming, is the citizens of South Africa would slowly turning into an institution which takes expect state companies like This controversy says money from the the SABC to go everything about the taxpayers and delivers little in through correct current state of the return. procedures government We are when hiring and at a turning firing, this is unfortunately not the case. It is point in South African media important to make this distinction relations: down the one road lays because I believe this controversy a state broadcaster serving as a says nothing about labour government propaganda machine, practices in South Africa and and down the other lies a state everything about the current state broadcaster producing content that appeals to the majority of government.

The appointment of of South Africans, that is free Motsoeneng has allegedly been and fair and, most importantly, attributed to his quality of ruling truthful. Government needs to with an iron fist and his fierce take a firm stance and stop the loyalty to the ruling party. In rot at the SABC before it develops a recent article written by Rob into a full blown crisis from which Rose for BDLive, Motsoeneng it will be unable to recover.

The Glorious Game, bankrupting since 1930 Adam Kleinschmidt If you were to stroll around the picturesque Green Point area, you will easily gaze upon the new Cape Town Stadium, a gift from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It’s quite an attractive building and has hosted many prolific events, concerts and sports matches. It generates enough money, by the best estimate, to make it one of the biggest white elephants in modern South African history.

The World Cup held in South Africa was a major event both locally and internationally. People of all creeds and colours came out in their droves to support a team that floundered in the group stages. Once South Africa had made history, we all followed the real nations to support, be they Germany, the victorious Spain, or the African favourite Ghana.

A great sense of national pride, despite the loss, was instilled in South Africa. For about 15 minutes.

Today, the stadiums dotting the country stand silent. Sure, when there is need for Justin Bieber to perform, or for the Premier Soccer League to happen, the stadiums are whipped into shape quickly to allow for a couple of thousand

spectators to enjoy a good game of football.

The great problem with us hosting the World Cup, or any major event for that matter, is the social and economic cost upon a country. With the increased pressure on transport, power and the service/hospitality industry, to name a few sectors, a major sporting event puts immense strain on a nation. Infrastructure must be upgraded, security boosted and the general presence of a country improved – but this is all to impress foreigners.

FIFA takes in the lion’s share of profits Given how fragile our economy has been for the last decade, was it really wise for us to host a competition that cost us in excess of $3 billion and generated very little (if any) profit? Not only is the cost of building immense, the maintenance of the projects is huge. While some elements can be profitable to a nation (like new infrastructure) the vast majority is not.

The true beneficiaries of

Image: Mohammed Moosa

ONLINE THIS WEEK: SEE COUNTER ARGUMENT: DISMISS IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL

varsitynewspaper.co.za

the tournament are very clear.

Emblazoned on every t-shirt, plastered on every television, and riding shotgun with FIFA are the multinationals. Adidas, having made the symbolic match-balls and having sponsored numerous teams, reaped in the billions.

Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Budweiser, to name a few, are also included in the list of real winners.

They are not alone: FIFA takes in the lion’s share of profits, money which in essence should be given to the nations that host the tournament.

If it were in the United Kingdom, or the US, or in any developed nation, this issue wouldn’t be much of a problem. It would batter their economy somewhat, but a little austerity goes a long way. For fledgling economies like those in Africa, Asia or South America, however, this is not the case, and the effects of funding a major event can be felt across all sectors. In both South Africa and Brazil, riots and service-delivery failures have been seen as either a direct or indirect result of the World Cup. In real respects, South Africa faces new economic issues. Brazil might be an entirely different ball of wax. The big question for them: was the 15 minutes of patriotism worth the $14 billion spent on this World Cup?

First Thursdays

First Thursdays is a public event that is free to attend. The gist is that art galleries and cultural events situated around Cape Town’s central city stay open until 9pm or later on the first Thursday of every month. This allows anyone and everyone to explore the city on foot and experience the cultural wealth this city has to offer.

There is no tour, schedule, or guided walk; it is all up to you to decide what you want to do and where you want to go.

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NEXT EVENT: August 7th For more info, check out: http:// www.first-thursdays.co.za/

August

August 2nd Grape Day Out Wine Festival Tickets: R150p/p Available via webticket.co.za as well as at the door on the day.

Location: Woodmill in Stellenbosch Grape Day Out promises to be an afternoon to rememeber, or forget, depending on the amount of wine one consumes. Visitors can expect free wine tastings from 11am to 3pm, and a fashion show featuring young designers from top fashion schools in Cape Town and surrounds. There will also be a “Best Dressed” contest for those who catch the judges’ eyes as well as live music and so much more. Definately something you DO NOT want to forget!

UCT offers buses from Lower Campus. Be sure to buy your ticket and bus pass.

What’s on your agenda this semester?

Every year, the Thursday night before the epic Oppikoppi music festival takes place, headline acts travel to Cape Town for the ‘One Night in Cape Town’ preview concert. This year, artists include Aussie group Wolfmother, British punk-rock band Editors and Israeli instrumental trio Tatran. In addition to the incredible line-up, there will be a range of food stores and even a beer garden to relax and chill-out at between sets.

August 24th Blisters for Bread Annual Charity Fun Walk Starting at the Green Point Cricket Club, Blisters for Bread charity family fun walk 2014 aims to raise funds for the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA). Participants are able to chose between a 5km or 10km race and are invited to walk/run or even crawl the event, all in the name of giving back to future generations. All proceeds go towards feeding school children in the Western Cape. As PSFA says, “You can’t teach a hungry child!”

Participants can enter either online, via fax or email or by dropping entries off at one of many participating stores. Entries for all distances cost R50p/p.

October 2nd - 5th Rocking the Daisies Tickets: Between R200p/p and R750p/p Available at http://rockingthedaisies.com/tickets/info/ Location: Cloof Wine Estate, Darling

So, the second term has begun - time to buckle down and get those academic juices flowing, right? Yes. BUT, on top of all that is happening on campus this semester, DO NOT forget about all the incredible FESTIVALS AND EVENTS happening in and around Cape Town as well.

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September

PLEASE NOTE: dates and ticket prices are subject to change. (VARSITY has highlighted only a few of the many festivals and events that are happening throughout the semester.)

September 20th The Fray Big Concerts presents American rock band, The Fray, who will perform live in Cape Town at the Grand Arena .

Starts: 8pm Tickets: R310 - R510 p/p Available at http://online.computicket. com/

August 7th Oppikoppi “One Night in Cape Town” Tickets: R200p/p to R400p/p Available via Plankton.mobi Location: CBD’s Good Hope Centre

October

September 6th Alien Safari: Sprung Lover of trance? Lucky for you, spring has arrived as well as Alien Safari’s Sprung trance party. This epic event not only signals the start of the new season, but also the beginning of psytrance’s regular weekend takeovers. Alien Safari outdoor electronic music and psychedelic productions provides a platform for freedom, interaction, exchange and artistic expression, bringing together people from all walks of life as one. So, it’s time to dust off those boots and get stomping!

For more info check out: www.facebook.com/aliensafari

September 19th - 21st Earthdance Earthdance is a three-day music festival aimed to enchant Western Cape electrolovers. Each year, Earthdance celebrates a different theme that drives the three-day music mecca, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more information! You don’t want to miss out.

For more info check out: http://www.earthdancecapetown.co.za/

Creative Week: September 13th - 21st

In aim of honouring Cape Town as the World Design Capital 2014, the Cape Town Partnership is set to showcase a series of innovative, crowdsourced events for creatives by creatives for the 2014 Creative Week Cape Town.

For more info check out: http://www.creativeweekct.co.za/

Rocking the Daisies never disappoints (#RTD2014), and this years RTD aims to prove that it will, once again, rock your socks off ! Transforming the Cloof Wine Estate into a musical mecca from Thursday to Sunday, rockers this year will see international artists such as MGMT, Rudimental and Cystal Fighters. On top of the all awesome international and national artists playing, the festival hosts an incredible food court, a comedy stage, art exhibitions amongst much more - there is definitely something for everyone.

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September 20th - 28th Hermanus Whale Festival Be sure to head to Hermanus, one of the world’s best land-based whale watching sites, for the annual enviro-arts festival. The family-friendly Hermanus Whale Festival is filled with activities for young and old alike, such as whale spotting and education, arts and crafts, sporting races, live entertainment and delicious food.

Tickets: Subject to each event; although entry into festival is free.

October 12th Cape Town Gun Run Participants may either enter in the 21km halfmarathon, a 10km race or a 5km fun run. After the race, runners are invited to cool down on the Sea Point Promenade at the Kfm music stage. A lucky draw and prize-giving will take place after the races.

21km: Starts outside the Cape Town Stadium at 6:30am, finishing opposite the Winchester Mansions Hotel.

10km: Starts at 7:30am at the Stadium and finishes opposite the Winchester Mansions Hotel.

5km: Starts at 08:30am and will finish around the same time as the other two races.

Entries close Sunday 28 September 2014 Tickets: Please visit for more info: http://thegunrun. co.za/

October 8th Moonlight Mass The #MoonlightMass is a casual bicycle night ride on a full moon once a month.

Riders meet at 9pm under the Green Point Circle.

Around 9:15pm, riders depart through Granger Bay Boulevard, turning left into Beach Road, continuing onto the Moullie Point Promenade.

Riders then go up Three Anchor Bay Road, turn left onto the Fan Mile cycle lane and regroup at the bottom of Long Street. Riders then travel up Long Street, ride down Loop Street, turn right into Longmarket Street and into Green Market Square.

Rules to follow: 1. Wear a helmet 2. Use reflective gear 3. Switch on the lights 4. Obey all traffic laws.

Cost: Free

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Markets to attend: THE NEIGHBOURHOOD GOODS MARKET

Where: Old Biscuit Mill Complex, 373 – 375 Albert Rd, Woodstock When: Every Saturday between 9:00am and 2:00pm

CITY BOWL MARKET

Where: 14 Hope Street, Gardens, Cape Town When: Saturdays from 9am to 2pm.

Thursday evenings from 4.30pm to 8.30pm.

HOUT BAY MARKET

Where: Hout Bay Harbour When: Fridays 5pm to 9pm, Saturdays & Sundays 9:30am to 4pm

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features

v73 e7 – 29 july 2014

Exploring the North Image: Gustav Lillienveld

island or a jungle that I like, I tend to return multiple times in order to explore more of it.

Those who have been to Bali in Indonesia will be well aware of the intense commercialisation found on the southern part of the island.

What was once a tropical paradise has, over time, been transformed into a loathsome hotspot with nightclubs and overcrowded beaches. It was on this note that my travelling companion and I decided to head up North and ride along the roads less travelled.

After our first night in Kuta, we decided to rent two scooters and see what the rest of the island had to offer. On day three of our scooter

the rays of a new day bring everything to life

Sekenpul waterfall. Gustav Lillienveld and Nix Van Der Westhuizen at Sekenpul waterfall

Gustav Lillienfeld fter spending six weeks exploring various islands in South East Asia in search of undiscovered beauty, my travelling companions and I had ventured through many terrains, from abundant mosquito-infested jungles in Bali to submerged volcanic drop-offs off the nearby islands. Fortunately, I had suffered minimal injuries during this time,

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though upon my return to the Mother City, I felt the onslaught of a vicious fever.

What could this be? I kept thinking, as the nurses proceeded to draw my blood and check my vitals. Malaria? Dengue? Typhoid?

Whatever it was, it still felt like a small price to pay for the amazing moments I had experienced on my trip.

Having travelled to most areas around South East Asia, including 13 trips to Thailand, four trips to

Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia, I have become wellacquainted with the backpacking culture in the region. Each time I set off on a trip, I do so with the same goal: to wander off the beaten track in search of areas not yet spoiled by commercial tourism.

Although the social dynamics and traditions in the south-east Asian countries are truly astonishing, my main interest in the area has always been its incredible variety of natural wonders. If I find an

London calling

Image: Busang Senne

Busang Senne And call, it does. When a man (or a woman – gender equality was no big deal in Samuel Johnson’s 16th century) is tired of London, he’s tired of life. My second time in the city of circuses and mass, too-goodto-be-true consumerism showed me I’m not tired at all.

Describing London to somebody who has never been to the former commercial centre of the Roman Empire is like explaining the taste of vanilla ice-cream to someone who’s never had it. You can give them the skeletal outline of what it’s all about, the same outlines given in leafy

tourist brochures and episodes of Monty Python, but the feeling of the gravitational pull to its melting pot is inexplicable.

Of course, I’m biased. In actual fact, 80% of people I’ve spoken to frown upon its notorious weather.

Never mind the characteristic British stiff upper lip and the Pound (being one of the strongest currencies in the world) that can be Satan personified in notes. The calling started when my sister won a trip to London. Three-year-old me, toothy and in absolute wonder, listened to her describe this magical place of endless toys and Crème Eggs. From that moment. it would call me for the rest of my life. My first time to London was when I was 17. I

had seen Paris and thought nothing could top quaint cobbled streets and poised woman smoking Gauloises in Chanel. But London is a different planet, wedged somewhere in the Milky Way of clock towers and trains that jet past the underground.

A little bit older this time (and therefore automatically a bit wiser – that’s what they say, right?), I dug through the trenches of unknown territory. I didn’t neglect the usual must-do attractions of Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street, but the crevices made for insanity and first world envy – that’s what London is. It’s getting lost in hidden gems in offroad alleyways and mining the gold you find. Wandering deep in the relics of The Stables of Camden Market and finally finding a decently priced bowler’s hat (I realise The Lot has these in stock, but R450? I have my limits). Then there was lobster brioche at the Burger and Lobster in Soho, exploring bric-a-brac in the markets of the Lower Marsh in the South Bank, eating red velvet cupcakes at the Hummingbird Bakery in Kensington. The list of places to stumble upon is endless.

What draws me to London most is that it feels as if everyone there flew from all over the world just to feel the magnetic force of it. It bustles. It vibrates. I hasten to add that Cape Town is in a league of its own (a mountain and the sea? There’s no contest), but when London calls, you can’t help but answer.

trip, and after a 3am hike, we found ourselves watching the sunrise from the summit of Mount Batur.

At an altitude of 1 717m, the view from the volcano overlooks the entire island as the rays of a new day bring everything to life. After eating a few eggs cooked by the geothermic steam off the rocks (yes, Mount Batur is an active volcano), we sprinted down the mountainside back to our bikes to see what else we could fit into this already amazing day. After a quick swim in some of the natural hot springs, we hopped on our bikes and set out to find the next waterfall.

We relied on directions from

local inhabitants to find these majestic water features. Whenever we felt lost, we would greet a passerby and enquire, “Air terjun?” Each time, the friendly islanders would smile and point us in the right direction of a waterfall – air terjun means waterfall.

One of the most beautiful waterfalls we found was a 15 minute scooter drive through the jungle just outside a small village. The Sekempul Waterfall, though not entirely unknown to the public, has apparently only attracted tourists for roughly a year.

The water cascading down this 80m tall cliff is surrounded by the most beautiful thick green jungle, which is almost constantly moist due to the spray of water that lingers around the valley. The tiny swallows that fly overhead truly make it feel like something from a dream. As we made our way up one of the tributaries, we arrived at another set of twin waterfalls with a series of crystal clear pools to swim in. This pristine valley was truly breathtaking, and to top it all off, there wasn’t a person in sight.

In the end, my traveling companion and I were lucky enough to find 15 waterfalls, having driven more than 500km across the island. This six-day road trip through Northern Bali was truly the highlight of my holiday and, coming from a regular south-eastern Asia traveler, I highly recommend it. As I lay awaiting the doctor’s verdict, my mind simply drifts back to the lush green valley and the sounds of the cascading water colliding with the crystal pools…

Man in Manhattan

Image: Daniël Geldenhuys NEW YORK: View from the H&M on Times Square.

Daniёl Geldenhuys It’s the first day of summer in the USA and Jennifer Lopez is performing her new single on Good Morning America in Central Park.

I’m watching the broadcast from my 7th Avenue/14th Street apartment, in a state of dream-like disbelief that this is happening just up the road from me.

That’s New York: the city where dreams are found and reached.

Love celebrities? See them live on Broadway (Neil Patrick Harris and Daniel Radcliffe signed my Playbills after stellar performances). Interested in fashion? See the runway collections in person and on sale. Prefer history?

See the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History and take a spin on the dino flight simulator. Enjoy walks in the park? Central Park offers ponds, benches, rocks, views, dancers, casual orchestras and even cornered-off Paramount Pictures film sets. Into art? Take a seat in front of Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm at the Met and get lost in his vibrant maze of emotion.

Whatever your interest, there’s

something you just have to experience in Manhattan. The chances are you’ll find it just by walking around.

I emerged from the Columbia University subway stop (the one train takes forever from 14th to 116th street, but I’m too lazy to connect to the express lines), crossed their version of Jammie steps, and walked down the road to discover a cathedral so old and colossal it made me stop and stare.

Inside is an utterly modern yet breathtaking phoenix sculpture by Xu Bing.

Typical New York contradiction.

Yes, it’s a small island, but not a nook or cranny goes to waste. There are the steps on Times Square, the elevated parkway on 10th Avenue, the arch at the bottom of 5th, the flatiron building, a Jeff Koons sculpture at 30 Rock, the Oprah Chai at Starbucks, a Starbucks inside the Uniqlo on 5th that looks like a store from the future, the Statue of Liberty in the distance, the apartment block that looks like a giant wringed it out after Sandy, and the dancing fountain at Lincoln Centre: a subtly spellbinding spectacle that generates a serene noise and exudes a uniquely addictive aura of joy – much like that of the Manhatten experience altogether!

features

Mzansi fur sho

Image: Daniël Geldenhuys

Daniël Geldenhuys fur coat has a string of negative connotations: mass

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killings, false values and guilt, despite its fluffy anatomy. But this is not a style issue in Mzansi, right? Wrong again. Beauty Without Cruelty Chairperson, Beryl Scott, recalls

Cape Town designers showing fur in their collections a few seasons back.

“We held a protest which was very successful outside the Convention Centre,” she says. The organisation managed to change Fashion Week policy and have them reject fur.

Real fur can be found in Johannesburg’s Rosebank, where Erich Fischer Furriers has offered a wide variety of new authentic fur jackets and coats for over three decades. “We love it!” owner Robert Fischer proclaimed when I ask him how he responds to antifur activists’ comments about his work. He spends a lot of his time fighting connotations. In a world where the dominant mindset is centred on how evil furriers are, he manages to stay calm and explain that his line of work is really just misunderstood. Every garment produced at the store has origin assurance and a stamp of approval in line with the International Fur Trade Federation (to which international brands including Versace and DKNY subscribe).

One of the only points on which

Goodbye worries, Hello Essay

Image: Sofia Gilli

Olivia Shaine Zack Homer is a fairly unassuming, friendly twenty-something year old with a genuine smile and an attentive ear. But when he talks about Hello Essay, the online editing company of which he is CEO and cofounder, he becomes a spirited and focused professional, one who could be rallying a group of supporters or leading a force into battle. He becomes exactly the type of person in whom students can trust because he is so passionate about his cause—helping students succeed. And he will stop at nothing to make sure they do just that.

That’s where Hello Essay comes in. “Hello Essay was created,” Homer said, “to solve a little understood problem: the lack of effective and ethical writing support.” He pointed out that

writing centres often have limited time and that both parents and friends lack the needed expertise to truly help a paper succeed; plus, any of those services might break school rules by rewriting papers or changing the student’s voice.

Hello Essay, however, labels itself as the solution to this seemingly insurmountable issue.

“We care immensely about customer experience,” Homer said. This is obvious with a simple perusal of helloessay.com—the welcoming interface, easy-tounderstand instructions, fun graphics, and affordable price are immediately enticing to any student in need of editing help. In addition, Hello Essay attempts to distinguish itself from its competitors with a few key features that aren’t simply superficial. Homer named five of these features: allowing students to select their own editor, complying

with academic integrity policies, taking a personalised approach (with editor-client communication on several fronts), providing expert evaluation and advice, and giving back to the broader community (through the Hello Essay Cares initiative).

Homer also marked an important difference between the help that students receive from his company and the help that they might receive from other sources.

“Writing assistance itself is not the issue—knowing where to draw the line makes all the difference,” he said. “That is why we reviewed the academic integrity polices of universities around the world and collaborated with academics to identify these boundaries.”

Those boundaries include the Hello Essay Code of Ethics (posted to the website), which ensures that all Hello Essay editors abide by the strict ethical code that prevents any sort of plagiarism from occurring.

This means that students can relax, knowing that any editing they receive from Hello Essay is completely above board and can only help their papers.

Though Hello Essay was only launched this past May, it had been in development for the past year and Homer is very proud of the feedback it has already received. Customers love the userfriendliness of the website and the impressive and extensive resumes of the helpful editors. Homer speculated that “the excitement we have seen is the result of our persistence to address a real problem with creative solutions”.

And with Homer’s attention to detail and Hello Essay’s determined mission statement, there is no doubt that the excitement for this tool will only grow over time.

v73 e7 - 29 july 2014

Scott and Fischer would agree is that producing faux fur is bad for the environment. There have been numerous reports about the large amounts of oil and chemicals used to produce the synthetic faux fibres.

Not only is it bad for the ozone, it negatively affects the health of the people in the factories that produce it.

But that’s not all: “Faux fur originating from China has been found to be cat or dog fur,” says Scott. She warns that real fur fibres are mixed with faux ones according to confirmed case studies come from China and Europe, leading Scott to believe there is a strong likelihood that the same happens in this country as well.

As the great fur debate ... stands, it’s faux fur that comes off worst Perhaps the largest group of South Africans who wear fur (who are relatively free of judgment for doing so) are those doing it in a traditional context. Silindile Mhlongo, a stylish law student from KwaZulu-Natal, fills me in on fur trends in the Zulu culture. “Fur does play a huge

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role in dress and accommodating style and realising hierarchy in society,” she says. Traditional Zulu garments are all made from cows, a very sustainable resource in KZN. Mhlongo says the cows are never killed for the sake of the clothes, but rather for unrelated ceremonies. The clothes are a by-product and “every part of the cow is used”.

As the great fur debate in South Africa stands, it’s the faux fur that comes off worst. It’s up to you as a shopper to decide to purchase origin-assured fur, not purchase fur at all, or wade into the murky waters of faux.

Still, designer tastemakers must remember their influential power when they send garments down the runway. “It is a designer’s responsibility to use their garments as examples of what is acceptable,” Cape Town local designer Sabrina Linder tells me. With this in mind, I take a stroll through the store that boasts the widest distribution of local design in the country: YDE. Embellishment, drama in cut, and lathers of lace are just some of the tools YDE designers use to signify status in their garments – not fur. I search the store and find nothing. A store assistant confirms my verdict. There’s no fur in YDE: the young minds of Mzansi fashion have made their voices heard.

Jou Ma Se

Image: Damien Schumann

Dean Horowitz Jou Ma Se Comedy Club is the brainchild of one of Cape Town’s favourite comedians, Kurt Schoonraad, who started the club at the 2005 Cape Town Festival before moving it to the Albert Hall in Woodstock. The club became a meeting place for comedians and their audience, providing a regular source of comedy for Capetonians.

After leaving the Albert Hall in 2010 the Club moved around a bit before settling at its new, permanent home in the Pumphouse at the Waterfront.

The Pumphouse is an incredible venue with a rich artistic and naval history – the perfect setting for an unforgettable night of comedy, good food and an awesome vibe.

On arrival at the club you are taken in by the venue’s perfect blend of old charm and new world ambience. You feel like you are in a downtown New York comedy club. The venue is large, but not large enough that you cannot see or hear the comedians on the stage.

Even sitting near the back you are able to see and hear everything.

The club has a fully functional kitchen and bar. It also serves the perfect mix of basic yet tasty “comedy

club fare”, such as pizzas and burgers combined with Cape classics such as the Gatsby. Each dish on the menu is named after a famous comedian and guarantees a laugh, especially if you imagine them eating it!

Based on a tried and tested formula, the club not only offers patrons the chance to see some of South Africa’s biggest names live and often unscripted, but also offers the best of local and upcoming talent for your enjoyment.

While you will probably know the headline act, don’t be surprised if you don’t recognise anyone else on the bill.

The club is open Wednesday to Sunday and the line-up changes each week, but also sticks to a standard formula featuring a headliner, an upcoming comedian, an open mic slot comedian and a host, who not only introduces the comics, but offers some great comedy too. Some of the comedians that have performed at the club include Nik Rabinowitz, Riaad Moosa, Conrad Koch and Paul Snodgrass.

How often do you find yourself looking for something to do and are bored of the regular dinner and a movie date? With the ever-changing roster of comedians and the food specials, you are guaranteed to have a unique and fun night out every time.

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features

v73 e7 – 29 july 2014

The audition

Laurie Scarborough

walk out of the lift onto level three of the backstage area of the Artscape Theatre to a group of men in cowboy costumes drawling in Southern accents. It seems that the “wear all black” rule for auditions didn’t apply today and I stick out in my sombre black dress.

I hand in some forms, pin an audition number to my dress and have a head-shot taken by a tap-

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Chin up, smile on, deep breath.

dancing man in a Stetson hat, before sitting down at the back of the queue.

People chat like old friends (they all know each other from previous theatre work) and I am stuck in line listening to a girl detailing how much she’s looking forward to working with old Teddy again (the moustached director).

After a painful 30 minutes a “Number 94 please” summons me through the double-doors of the audition room. Chin up, smile on, deep breath.

There is a panel of 12 people staring at me as I walk to the pianist and hand her my sheet music, passing my CV (woefully light) to the director. He skims over and utters a small nasal “Ooooh”, which I understand to mean he’s read the only thing besides my name on my CV: corde ballet member.

The piano starts its light waltz and I channel Julie Andrews. I look excited about wild geese and mittens and copper kettles, while inwardly praying that I don’t mess up the lyrics. Unsure of whether it is a good or bad sign, I try to avoid looking at the white-haired man sitting on the end of the panel who is conducting along with my song. Finally the music ends and a prompt, “Are you free next Sunday at 2pm?” completes my last refrain. Relieved, I leave and celebrate in the quiet victory of my first call-back.

The following Sunday, I return to the large rehearsal room I nervously entered the week before. This time I’m far more confident, and the panel of judges is less intimidating. There is an assortment of about 60 other people of varying ages congregated in small groups around the room.

A woman who looks like she means business stands in the middle of the space and calls us to order.

“Welcome to the call-backs of

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s Oklahoma!,” she says. “I’m Kyla the choreographer. Girls at the back, boys at the front. Let’s go.”

We shuffle into position and are taught with a quick demonstration the barn dance that will open the second act. Everyone is partnered up and the hoe-down begins with a short doesy-doe and a polka going around in a circle. Half way through all is looking good, until suddenly all hell breaks loose as pairs begin slamming into each other.

Confusion and frustration disturbs the auditionees and choreographer alike as we all attempt to spin off in the correct direction without bashing into a stranger.

After several attempts with several different partners, we give up and the musical director takes over.

“Welcome to the callbacks of The Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s Oklahoma!”

The white-haired conducting enthusiast stands beside the piano holding sheet music. Each of us receives a copy with 12 bars of four-part harmony before being

Getting whey-sted?

Image: Laurie Scarborough split into vocal parts: soprano, alto, tenor, bass.

Although normally a soprano, I look at the high F in the score and settle for a slightly less showy alto.

We are taught our respective parts and then are teamed up in groups of four, with one of each voice part.

I volunteer to go first, with the melody still fresh in my head. I get four bars to sing and then it’s over,

just like that. Once everybody’s sung their bit, the production’s director addresses us briefly and we all leave, finally, at 5pm.

Almost a week later I receive a welcome email. The producers congratulate of Oklahoma! me on becoming a member of the Oklahoma! ensemble and dance crew.

I’m going to be in a musical!

Cape Town Vegan Challenge

Whey protein and why you should become friends Annie Insam Whether you’re “on the shred” or simply an innocent bystander to all things health and fitness related, you have certainly heard the buzz surrounding protein shakes.

Milk is made of two proteins, casein and whey. Whey protein can be separated from the casein in milk or formed as a by-product of cheese-making. Yes, that means that if you’re allergic to milk, it’s possible that you’re only allergic to whey itself.

Protein is consumed in order to assist the body to repair our bones, muscles, organs and other tissues.

When a protein source has all nine essential amino acids, it is said to be a complete protein. Whey is a complete protein, which means that our bodies can digest this type of protein most efficiently.

I’m sure your eyes had a glint of excitement when you read that whey can build muscles. Whey is commonly taken directly after a workout to enhance lean muscle mass. Due to it being a complete protein, its efficiency levels are prime in this regard, meaning muscles are able to recover and therefore effectively grow.

A study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism showed that “whey protein supplementation during resistance training offers some benefit compared to resistance

Image: Claudia Emanuel Image: flickr.com/Ias-initially

training alone”. Furthermore, “males who supplemented with whey protein had a greater relative gain in lean tissue mass”.

Researchers from Australia had 28 obese men consume four different drinks. Those who consumed the beverage containing 50 grams of whey had significantly reduced levels of ghrelin (a hormone that tells your brain you’re hungry) up to four hours later.

It can be used as a dietary supplement for both men and women in order to curb appetite.

You eat less because you’re full, leading you to not gain extra weight, or effectively lose weight.

Now don’t write off Mr Whey as simply good for aesthetic purposes only.

Not only has research proven that whey contains anti-

carcinogenic properties and can lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure, but it can also help people suffering with asthma.

It seems like whey is the little miracle we all need in our lives, but it also has its less-thandesirable effects. Excessive use can cause stomach pains, nausea, headache, fatigue and cramps.

Whey is also known to improve our immune systems, meaning that it can decreases symptoms of HIV. Pretty cool, right?

Basically, if you’re a student who is into getting wasted, it’s high time you start getting a bit whey-sted too. Whey protein is definitely a friend who has your best interests at heart (yes, it has cardiovascular benefits as well), and is a great addition to your health and fitness regimen.

Claudia Emanuel For those who are concerned with the conservation of planet Earth, adopting a vegan diet is one of the most effective ways to have a positive impact on the environment. Besides saving the planet, vegans do not support industries that exploit and slaughter animals and are generally at a lower risk of getting diseases such as diabetes.

For the first time, The Cape Town Vegan Challenge is taking place from July 28th until August 17th, encouraging individuals to try a new sustainable way of living and to demonstrate that going vegan is easier than ever before. Getting on board are some of Cape Town’s top food bloggers as well as plenty of support from local vegan related restaurants and companies.

The official launch took place

on Wednesday, July 23rd, at the Cape Town Club, which served as a beautiful setting for the event.

Throughout the evening guests enjoyed vegan canapés and vegan wine. Muriel Argent from UCT’s Vegilicious society introduced the challenge, and the “Fry’s Guy” from Fry’s Food Group gave an informative talk about the negative impacts of the animal farming and the fishing industry.

Perhaps the thought of “going vegan” may seem daunting to some, which makes the Cape Town Vegan Challenge ideal as an easier way to transition. Many people believe that it takes around three weeks to form a new habit. You never know, maybe after taking up this challenge, you’ll never look back.

Sign up at http://www. veganchallenge.co.za

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v73 e7 – 29 july 2014

WORLD CUP’S FINEST

Image: wikimedia.org/Agência Brasil

Image: wikimedia.org/Agência Brasil

Image: wikimedia.org/Agência Brasil Image: flickr.com/Antoon’s Foobar Image: wikimedia.org/ Marcello Casal

Image: wikimedia.org/Danilo Borges

Image: wikimedia.org/Danilo Borges

Image: wikimedia.org/Danilo Borges

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Mark Nandi Formula One 2014: White line fever The verdict thus far Louis Van Dame

Sports Editor

Image: wikimedia.org/Morio

Mark Nandi The start of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship was a rather gloomy one. The paddock was awash with noise and murmur from fans and drivers alike, mostly as a result of the numbness of the new power units.

Race organisers and promoters were already talking of pulling out of the calendar altogether if nothing was done to restore the bellow that F1 had been accustomed to with the V12s, the V10s and the V8s.

They blamed the numb V6 hybrids as a major contributor to dwindling crowd turnout on race weekends.

But fast forward to July and I must admit (being a critic myself) that, despite the lack of the cracking V8 scream, the season thus far has been spectacular. As we head into the August factory shut down, here’s a look at some of the pointers that have characterised the season so far.

The Nico versus Lewis battle With Mercedes GP pretty much bagging the Constructors Title for this year, the stage couldn’t be more set for another classic duel between teammates for the driver’s title.

Formula One is such a unique sport in that teammates are expected to keep the interests of the team as a top priority.

Such expectations, however, fizzle out rapidly when the only person standing between you and a world championship title is your teammate. Few gave Nico Rosberg the chance when the season began since Lewis is regarded as one of the fastest – if not the fastest – driver on the grid at present. And with a Mercedes that is a class ahead of the field, it was finally Hamilton’s chance to deliver a second title.

But with five pole positions and four victories in the aftermath of the German Grand Prix, it is Nico who leads the Championship by 14 points. Mind you, most attribute Nico’s current position down to luck.

Controversy hasn’t been short with regards to some of his victories; from the questionable lack of a safety car deployment at the German grand prix, with 20 laps to go that would have seen Lewis slay his massive advantage upfront, to his pole position in Monaco where he controversially reversed onto the track; and all this after a mistake at Mirabeau corner resulting in yellow flags and the abortion of Lewis’ lap, which was at the time much faster.

His relationship with Lewis has seen a few bitter pills but, as ever, Nico Rosberg is displaying focus and efficiency that most have come to associate with the Germans. He wants to win this title and he will

take any advantage of Lewis’ slip ups. Yes, he may be lucky, but show me a world champion who won without luck on his side. As for Lewis, the double points finale in Abu Dhabi doesn’t seem like such a let off after all.

Fernando Alonso, the class act Scuderia Ferrari has yet again shot itself in the foot with its 2014 challenger, the F14-T. The car is simply uncompetitive and of late has come under increased pressure from Red Bull and, most notably, Williams F1.

However, Fernando Alonso lies fourth in the driver’s championship standings behind the two Mercedes drivers and Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull. He is ever the classy driver, even when presented with a dog of a car. That Ferrari has questioned the sanity of Massa in the past and its latest victim, Kimi Raikkonen, the iceman, is rapidly thawing away as Fernando continually glides round the track, extracting the maximum out of the car, fighting to the last lap.

His epic duels with Sebastian at Silverstone and with Ricciardo at Hockenheim are classic examples.

He has five times as many points as his fellow champion-teammate Kimi, as if to say he is five times the driver. Ferrari has a great asset in Alonso and equally in Raikkonen, and the team needs to up its game for 2015 so as to maximise the talent pool at disposal in Maranello.

Sebastian who? The name’s Daniel…. Daniel Ricciardo How the mighty have fallen!

The past four seasons have seen an Australian choked by the presence of the German in Vettel, but it looks like the Aussies are set for good old revenge.

Daniel Ricciardo has proven why Red Bull rates him so highly with stunning performances that have led to a victory in Canada.

He leads Sebastian Vettel in the championship and currently leads massively in the qualifying battle. So good have his performances been that Red Bull’s chief advisor, and Vettel’s number one groupie, has told his love child to “raise his game”.

It must be difficult for Sebastian though, as he seems to have the same run of luck that plagued Mark Webber in his career at Red Bull.

Daniel, however, is driving like a champion and it’ll not be a surprise to see him fighting for titles once Red Bull gets back on track. He has shown the racing maturity, awareness and skill that so often characterises world champions.

As for Vettel and Red Bull, one can’t help but wonder how strong the relationship will be if Daniel keeps on outperforming his teammate in such a manner.

Only time will tell.

traight from the World Cup in Brazil with an impressive third place finish, Louis Van Gaal is already making headway with his new mandate: Manchester United. Plenty has been said about his managerial style and his temperament and, true to such, he is already stamping foot at Old Trafford.

From ordering for new training turf layouts to having spy cameras installed within the training grounds, to secluding the coaching staff from the players during meal times, Louis Van Gaal is a man on a mission and he is making his mission statement known. Coming from a David Moyes regime where the coach

S

struggled to make his presence felt, Van Gaal comes in with a wealth of experience and accolades. His methods have failed at times, but often enough they have borne fruit.

As Barcelona coach, he instilled the style of hard pressing off the ball – a style which proved to be uber successful for the Catalans during the Guardiola spell. Similar styles of play existed at Ajax and still do exist within the Bayern ranks to date. In fact, it was Van Gaal who propped up Pep to Barca captaincy and such leadership has been portrayed in his spells as Barca and Bayern Head Coach.

In short, Van Gaal’s methods may be crude, and to some extent egotistical and arrogant, but he has the results and trophies to show for it. He takes over a United team that in so many cases last season lacked the resolve and gusto that many had come to characterise it for; a team in which some players have become complacent. He is no stranger to clashing with senior players in his teams and seems to favour youth in his set ups. United has made

a couple of young promising signings in Herrera and Luke Shaw.

With Di Maria, Vidal and Daley Blind on radar as well, you get the feeling that a major overhaul of the squad is underway and Louis Van Gaal is not about to leave any stone unturned.

So as we await for what promises to be another cracking Premier League season, one can only hope that United can restore the pride and status that it has held for so long amidst stiff competition from a well-balanced Chelsea team, a revived Arsenal, a fired up Liverpool and an ever threatening Manchester City.

Closer to home, Varsity Football is back with us for a second season and UCT will be counting on home support to boost their performances this year. Let’s get behind the boys as they look to shake off the disappointment of last year.

You can check out their fixtures on www.varsitysportssa.com. Have

a lekker second semester, will you!

Sport

FIXTURES

VARSITY

Varsity Football Monday, August 4th PORT ELIZABETH, 6PM

NMMU vs UCT

Inter Res Sports Weekend August 1st – 3rd SPORTS CENTRE

RowanHendricks: UCT’S football guru Mark Nandi

V

ARSITY Sport recently caught up with Rowan Hendricks, UCT Football’s new Head Coach for an interview regarding this year’s Varsity Football tournament and what he expects to achieve with the team.

VARSITY: How long have you coached UCT? RH: I started as head coach in February this year.

VARSITY: What has your experience been thus far as Head Coach?

RH: It has been a good experience, I think - although there are certain things I’d like to see changed at UCT with regards to how the soccer club is run. I have experienced some difficulty in getting my direction and management style for the club going.

This will however take time but I am sure we will be able to get to where we really need to be as a football club.

VARSITY: What have you preparations been ahead of this year’s tournament?

RH: The preparations have been good. We are prepared for this tournament. However, after the game with Limpopo there are some elements of play that creeped back in that I’m not happy about which I need to address and iron out. That was not how I see us playing football

Image:: varsitysports and we need to change that as we progress into the tournament. The opponents are only going to get tougher and we need to improve our style of play.

VARSITY: Last year was disappointing for UCT - what is the target for this year?

RH: The target is to definitely do much better than we did last year.

The University expects a lot from me

and I expect a lot from myself as well, but I cannot do it by myself. Hence I have brought in a new technical team and gotten some new players as well. Only four players from the last Varsity Cup squad started against Limpopo. We are not the most brilliant team in the competition for sure, but we are a team that never stops fighting and we believe that we can achieve our goals if we put our

heart and souls into it. But we have to be more clever in our play, and our target this year is to at least make it to the semi-finals.

VARSITY: With Kevin Musikanth, UCT Rugby Head Coach, on your technical team, how much of a difference has that made?

RH: I think Kevin is a great guy and I have asked him to come on board mostly as my mentor and guide. He has full control on speaking on my behalf to the team regarding certain issues and aspects.

But his presence in the team is a motivating factor for the players because it raises the bar. There are certain things that I can learn as a coach as we’ve all seen what he has done with the rugby team. We also have Eddie, the rugby team’s biokineticist, who has been helping with conditioning of the players. I think it has never happened before in UCT where rugby and soccer have interacted in such a manner. The reason for doing this was not that I’m different, but that I felt it was needed.

If you have the tools available to do well, then why not use them?

VARSITY: Lack of goal scoring was part of our downfall last year.

Is there going to be a change this year?

RH: I think it boils down to confidence and self-belief. That is

currently lacking in the players, but this is an area where Kevin steps in. I can train the players and guide them, but if the player doesn’t believe that he can put the ball in the net then there isn’t much I can do. However, I am positive that will change and I’m 100 percent sure that we will score a lot more goals this year and concede a lot less. It is just a matter of the players beginning to believe in themselves.

VARSITY: What are some of the challenges you have faced/are facing as head coach?

RH: One of the challenges I face, as I said earlier, is getting my management style and direction for the club to be adopted. Also, constantly training on the astro then playing on grass poses a difficulty. We had several issues of players getting cramps during the game against Limpopo. I think the University prepared the pitch the best they could, but I would like to see a soccer pitch put up at the University so that we can play and train on grass. This is not an excuse, but it does weigh on the body and affects the style of play, which in turn influences the game plan and confidence of the player.

VARSITY: Lastly, which professional football team do you support?

RH: In the Premier League I support Arsenal.

The lessons I learnt from World Cup 2014 Dean Horwitz The Soccer World Cup has come and gone and while we know that Germany won and Argentina finished runners up, we now need to turn our attentions to world football and the direction it’s heading. This World Cup has taught us many valuable lessons from many great moments and now is the time to reflect on them.

The loss of Spain, Italy and England ... world football order

First and foremost, Germany is the new pride of the football nation and this is their moment in the spotlight. While Spanish football has dominated with their league and their national team being praised around the world, the Germans have quietly been building their revolution. The German league may not be the most glittering or dazzling, but they make up for it in precision and sheer determination to develop home-grown players of exceptional quality.

While many of us were blown away by the sheer skill of some of the

goals in the World Cup, the true stars were the ones saving the goals. Never has a World Cup shone such a bright light on the men in between the goal posts that produced some of the most awe-inspiring saves to keep their teams in the tournament. This new order has given rise to goalkeepers finally enjoying equal status amongst outfield players and finally being able to command equal pay cheques.

If we go back a few months to the pre-World Cup predictions, you will notice that while many people would have predicted the final two, or even the final four, the last sixteen teams were entirely unpredictable. The loss of Spain, Italy and England before we even got to the last 16 signalled a change in the world football order, emphasising the closing gaps between smaller and larger nations.

This shift also pointed to the fact that passion will only get you so far and that while the smaller nations had the passion, they lacked the clinical precision to finish off the bigger teams.

the Germans have quietly been building their revolution.

One of the nicknames for world football is “the beautiful game” – and while this World Cup provided many

exhilarating goals, it also provided quite a few tense moments of extra time and penalties before giving us a winner. This was exemplified by Argentina who, despite possessing players who could spark a game into life, adopted a clinical approach to the Cup strangling their opposition into submission.

One of the nicknames for world football is “the beautiful game” This approach demonstrated to us that while the highlights reels will love those spectacular goals at the crunch, games were won by superb tactics which produced some of the most nerve wracking finishes that we have ever seen in world sport.

This approach can also be attributed to another set of unlikely stars, the coaches, who despite spending so much time out of the spotlight, shone brightly this time.

At the end of the World Cup, it came down to two teams: Argentina and Germany. While Argentina was clinical and controlling, they were unable to defeat the Germans because they were overwhelmed by the German tactics which ensured that no matter how you start in the game it is how you finish that matters.

Image: flickr.com/jikatu