THE WITSBOOK HISTORY, TRADITIONS AND INTERESTING SPACES
COMPLIMENTS OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
CONTENTS THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WITS
WITS MILESTONES
01 CONVOCATION
16
15
03
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THEMACE GRADUATION CEREMONY
19
21
COATOFARMS
17
23
05 THEGREAT HALL
13 THEWITS MASCOT
WITSALUMNI
DEFENDING SOCIAL IDEALS
25
MASCOTHISTORY
29
SPACES&PLACES
ANNUALEVENTS
33
ILLUSTRIOUS WITSIES
63
65
WITSSPORT
41
JOHANNESBURG CITY OF GOLD
RICH&POWERFUL ALUMNI
71
BRAAMFONTEIN
31 37
HISTORY OF TRADITIONS
47
TRADITIONS
69 67
IF I ONLY KNEWTHEN
01 Celebrate your identity as a Witsie for life. Be proud of being part of the Wits experience.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WITS
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02 You are a Witsie for life so truly make this a Wits to call your own.
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stablished in 1922, Wits University has a proud and distinguished record of innovation, excellence, enlightened discourse, and academic leadership. This handbook is your introduction to the world of Wits − its history, traditions, rituals, symbols, and interesting spaces. Over its long history some unique and quirky traditions have emerged. Some are formal and academic, others just silly and fun! They’re all part of the fabric and fascinating legacy of one of the world’s top universities. Traditions are a way of connecting with an institution and give it a unique sense of identity. Some traditions have survived through generations of Witsies, others are lost in the mists of time, while new traditions arise for new ages. As Wits evolves, so too will its traditions. Join us in this evolution that, for almost a century, has been a unique part of giving Witsies the edge.
While this handbook can’t do justice to the rich tapestry and enormous variety of everything Witsie, it will give you a taste of the unique Wits experience as you progress from being a student today, to being a Witsie forever.
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03 Wits has a proud record of standing up for social justice, freedom and democracy.
DEFENDING SOCIAL IDEALS
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its is a vibrant University in the heart of cosmopolitan Johannesburg. Throughout its long history the University has been synonymous with progressive thought and public engagement. Its academics and students speak up and speak out. Although the University’s history is inevitably tainted by the exclusionary policies of apartheid, Wits has a proud record of standing up for social justice, freedom and democracy. Wits is renowned for its demonstrations in defence of human rights and freedoms, from the splendour of formal academic marches in full academic regalia, to messy skirmishes against the teargas and batons of the former “riot police”. From the time Wits defied segregation in the 1930s by permitting black students to study, through the wave of student activism in 1948 when the National Party formalised apartheid, to the hotbed of political unrest during the turbulent 1980s, the University has always been the breeding ground for bold leadership and a diversity of voices.
Wits holds regular public discussions and debates on current social issues and has demonstrated on issues of media freedom, xenophobia, the right of the Dalai Lama to visit South Africa, and the Marikana mine massacre.
The University’s commitment to liberty and justice continues to this day.
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WITS MILESTONES
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The Institute is renamed the Transvaal University College.
1904 The School moves to Johannesburg and is renamed the Transvaal Technical Institute.
Central Block officially opened
Wits University Press established.
Sir William Dalrymple is elected as the first Chairperson of the Wits Council.
1928
1925 The Central Block is officially opened by His Royal Highness, Edward, Prince of Wales. In a famous student hoax, a ‘bogus’ prince is initially presented to the crowd.
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Prince Arthur of Connaught is installed as the University’s first Chancellor.
Professor Humphrey Raikes is appointed Principal. His tendency to fall asleep during important meetings and even official public occasions causes alarm, but is later recognised as narcolepsy and treated.
1923 Mr Henry John Hofmeyr is elected the first President of Convocation.
The Johannesburg municipality donates a site in Milner Park to the University and construction begins on what is now East Campus.
Central Block is gutted by fire and the library destroyed.
1934
1906
University of the Witwatersrand established
1931
Wits University’s forerunner, the South African School of Mines, is established in Kimberley.
1922
1896
The University is formally inaugurated on 4 October at a ceremony at the Johannesburg Town Hall and Professor Jan Hofmeyr is appointed the first Principal. Full University status is granted and the University of the Witwatersrand is established with about 1 000 students.
New Library, now the William Cullen Library, is officially opened by Prince George, Duke of Kent. The University’s Council decides to begin admitting black students to Wits.
1939 The Right Honourable Jan Hofmeyr is installed as the University’s second Chancellor.
1940 The Governor-General, Sir Patrick Duncan, officially opens the Great Hall in the newly completed Central Block.
1946
1957
Two-thousand academic staff, students and members of Convocation march from the University to the City Hall behind the banner ‘Against Separate Universities Bill’.
Dr Mary Susan Xakana (née Malahele) is the first black woman to graduate from Medical School.
1947 1959
anti-apartheid movement
Dr Donald Moikangoa and Dr James Njongwe are the first black men to graduate from Medical School.
1948
The first major Wits student protest – against increased fees – takes place.
‘Mrs Ples’ discovered
Wits launches its ‘crash’ programme for ex-volunteers returning from World War II. The University enrolls 2 825 ex-volunteers, more than twice as many as all the other South African universities combined.
The National Party wins the South African election, prompting student politics to begin engaging with issues of national significance. Various student organisations become more politicised and involved in the anti-apartheid movement.
1943
Honorary alumnus Dr Robert Broom and Professor John Robinson discover ‘Mrs Ples’ at the Sterkfontein Caves.
On 16 April, thousands of students and staff stand in silence on campus to mourn the end of academic freedom as the National Party passes the Extension of University Education Act (a follow-up to the Bantu Education Act of 1953). Both acts exclude black students from white schools and universities. The University’s first ever General Assembly is held in the Great Hall to protest against the imposition of university apartheid. The opening night of the African jazz opera, ‘King Kong’ is staged in the Great Hall, starring Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela on trumpet.
end of academic freedom
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1972
On 12 October the first full-sized planetarium in Africa, and the second in the Southern Hemisphere opens its doors on Wits campus to the public.
1980 The University occupies two new buildings in De Korte Street – Campus Lodge and Convocation House.
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1966
United States Senator, Robert F. Kennedy addresses Wits students in the Great Hall.
Wits hosts the first Free People’s Concert on 12 March. It is a 12-hour non-racial open air event. Alumni including Johnny Clegg, and Des and Dawn Lindbergh perform.
1968
The University purchases the Sterkfontein site, an area with limestone caves that are famous for their fossil finds and palaeo-anthropological significance.
A plaque is unveiled at the Great Hall, declaring: “We affirm in the name of the University of the Witwatersrand that it is our duty to uphold the principle that a university is a place where men and women, without regard to race and colour, are welcome to join in the acquisition and advancement of knowledge; and to continue faithfully to defend this ideal against all those who have sought by legislative enactment to curtail the autonomy of the University.”
1961
1960
The Graduate School of Business Administration (Wits Business School) is established in Parktown.
Wits Business School established
1976
The University expands into Braamfontein where it buys Lawson’s Corner and renames it University Corner. Senate House, the University’s administrative premises, are occupied.
1981
1982
Felicity Steadman (née Wright) (BA Social Work) becomes the University’s 50 000th graduate.
Wits alumnus Sir Aaron Klug wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The Wits Theatre opens
1989
The University purchases the old Rand Show grounds from the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society and converts the grounds into West Campus.
1997 The new South African Constitution takes effect and contains a Bill of Rights which recognises the right to academic freedom in institutions of higher learning. Wits alumnus Professor Ron Clarke unearths the first known Australopithecus skeleton, known as ‘Little Foot’.
Wits confers an honorary doctorate on Nelson Mandela.
The Chamber of Mines Building for the Faculty of Engineering is inaugurated and the brick-paved AMIC Deck, linking the East and West Campuses, is built.
Honorary Wits alumna Nadine Gordimer wins the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Wits purchases the Umbabat Farm in Bushbuckridge, Limpopo Province, to launch the Wits Rural Facility, an interdisciplinary research facility to develop the local community.
1993
2002 The University incorporates the Johannesburg College of Education into the School of Education. The University’s Donald Gordon Medical Centre, South Africa’s only independent academic medical facility, is launched as a result of a R100m donation by the Donald Gordon Foundation.
Honorary Wits alumnus Nelson Mandela wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
2003
1983
1984
1988
Professor Loyiso Nongxa is appointed as Wits’ first black Vice-Chancellor and Principal. International House, a residence designed for the growing international student population, and the revamped student mall, The Matrix, open.
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Wits alumnus Gavin Hood and five other Wits alumni win an Oscar Academy Award in the category ‘Best Foreign Film’, for Tsotsi.
2007
Kudos Kudu
The Wits mascot, Kudos Kudu is introduced to inspire Witsies to greater glory.
Seven-hundred Wits academics and staff, including the Vice-Chancellor, don their academic gowns and bear placards on Jan Smuts Avenue in protest against nationwide xenophobic attacks. The Wits Theatre celebrates mounting 2 000 productions in its 25-year history.
2010
The new FNB Commerce Building and the Commerce Library are completed.
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The Faculty of Humanities’ inaugural Wits Arts and Literature Experience (WALE) is launched in April to celebrate all things literary and artistic.
Justice Dikgang Moseneke is installed as the eighth Chancellor of the University.
2009 The University issues a public statement condemning the South African government’s denial of a visa to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.
The first FIFA® Medical Centre of Excellence in Africa is inaugurated at Wits.
WALE
2008
2006
A groundbreaking discovery of Australopithecus Sediba fossils (one of which is named ‘Karabo’) is announced to the world by Wits palaeoanthropologist Professor Lee Berger. Wits University serves as the training base for the Dutch football team and the South African national football team, Bafana Bafana, during the 2010 FIFA® Soccer World Cup. The new Professional Development Hub and the fourth quadrant of the Chamber of Mines Building are completed.
Karabo
Bidvest-Wits FC (aka ‘Clever Boys’/‘The Students’) make history by winning the Nedbank Cup in the first match to be held in the brand new Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
A new student residence complex in Parktown, Wits Junction, and the Science Stadium on West Campus are opened to students.
2012
2011
Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng is elected President of Convocation.
Wits celebrates its 90th birthday
Wits Art Museum (WAM) opens at University Corner and houses the largest collection of African art on the continent. The new School of Public Health building opens in Parktown. Wits celebrates its 90th birthday with a party on the Library Lawns on 4 October. Dr Randall Carolissen is elected Chairperson of the Wits Council.
Alumnus Professor Adam Habib takes office as Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal on 1 June. The School of Construction Economics & Management building opens in May. It completes the Built Environment Precinct along with the John Moffat building extension and the Yale Telescope building.
2013
A R75m upgrade to the Richard Ward building, which houses the School of Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, is completed.
M Madiba Wits’ most famous alumnus, former President Nelson Mandela (honorary LLD 1991) dies on 5 December, aged 95.
2014 On 20 October, Wits announces receipt of R100m from a single benefactor. R10m is allocated to the Wits Art Museum and the remainder to advancing research and teaching. On 22 October the University launches This Is Wits, a virtual tour app of amazing Wits stories.
Phillip Tobias Building
The Phillip V. Tobias Health Sciences Building in Parktown officially opens on 29 October. Construction of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital begins on the Wits Education Campus.
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THEGREAT HALL The Great Hall is one of the University’s most recognisable icons.
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n 1920 architects Frank Emley and Frederick Williamson won the competition for the design of the future University’s main building (Central Block, which incorporates the Great Hall). Emley & Williamson originally proposed a block with a high, central dome above a large circular hall. The final design for the Main Building was neo-classical.
The eight pillars of the Great Hall could be said to represent the core values of Wits
Academic freedom Social engagement
Accountability
Integrity
Collegiality
Diversity
The musical “King Kong” was one of the most famous productions performed in the Great Hall. It told the story of Ezekiel “King Kong” Dlamini, a misfit from Natal who came to Jo’burg and made his name as a boxer. “King Kong” opened in February 1959 and drew global critical acclaim. It was the first full-scale South African musical across the country’s apartheid “colour bar”. Wits alumnus (and amateur boxer) Nelson Mandela, and his new bride, Winnie, were in the audience when the curtain lifted in the Great Hall for the opening night of “King Kong”.
Excellence Leadership
The Great Hall seats 1 040 people and is renowned for its acoustics. It was designed by French consultant, François Carpentier. The Great Hall was officially opened on 10 June 1940 by the Governor-General, Sir Patrick Duncan and the first musical to be performed was Pergolesi’s “The Music Man”, in 1940.
Today the Great Hall is a national monument. The steps of the iconic building are a favourite meeting place for Witsies, and a place for new graduates to pose with Kudos Kudu.
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15 The university you graduate from is your Alma Mater − ‘nourishing mother’ ‘Alumni’ comes from the Arabic word aalim (‘scholar’) and alumnus, Latin for ‘foster son’, comes from the verb alere − ‘to nourish’.
WITSALUMNI
alumnae alumna
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alumni alumnus
ALUMNI
16 Convocation is a statutory body and the name given to the University’s largest constituency – its alumni. Around 130 000 graduates, Wits academic staff, and retired academics with 10 years’ consecutive service to the University make up Convocation.
Convocation’s role is “to discuss and state its opinion upon any matter relating to the University.” Convocation elects the University Chancellor, the President of Convocation and ten members of the Executive Committee of Convocation (EXCO).
You automatically become a member of Convocation when you receive a degree from Wits.
CONVOCATION What Wits does today can influence the value of your qualification tomorrow. Convocation enables alumni to have a say in University matters, ensuring that the quality and reputation of your Wits qualification is maintained and strengthened.
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GENERALASSEMBLY A General Assembly is a special gathering of Convocation members The University held its first ever General Assembly in 1959 in the Great Hall to protest against the imposition of university apartheid.
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18 Affirmation of Autonomy General Assembly On 19 October 1987 the old South African government renewed its systematic violation of the autonomy of universities. On 28 October, a Wits General Assembly affirmed that: “The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is dedicated to the acquisition, advancement and imparting of knowledge through the pursuit of truth in free and open debate, in the undertaking of research, in scholarly discourse and in balanced, dispassionate teaching. We reject any external interference designed to diminish our freedom to attain these ends. We record our solemn protest against the intention of the government, through the threat of financial sanctions, to force the University to become the agent of government policy in disciplining its members. We protest against the invasion of the legitimate authority of the University. We protest against the proposed stifling of the legitimate dissent. In the interest of all in this land, and in the knowledge of the justice of our cause, we dedicate ourselves to unremitting opposition to these intended restraints and to the restoration of our autonomy.”
General Assembly and Special Graduation Ceremony On 24 September 2005, a special General Assembly and graduation ceremony was held to enable alumni who had boycotted their graduation ceremony in protest against apartheid education to reclaim ownership of their alma mater, and be formally awarded their qualification. In honour of the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Loyiso Nongxa, made a landmark proclamation, stating: “We can never claim that this country is completely liberated if there are places that are not ours, that are perceived to belong to the ‘other’. Wits is your University, it is our University as South Africans. Wits belongs to all of us: Black and White, Muslim or Jewish, Christian or Hindu, gay or straight.”
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GRADUATION CEREMONY The ultimate university experience At graduation the Chancellor of the university formally confers a qualification on a student
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20 Alma Mater Nourishing Mother
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raduation ceremonies are a dignified occasion held in the Great Hall. The ceremony begins with the academic procession (Chancellor, President of Convocation, Chairperson of Council, ViceChancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, guest speaker, honorary graduands, SRC President, and academic staff). The bearer of the University mace leads the procession to the accompanying songs Alma Mater (‘Nourishing mother’) and sIhele (‘Let us rejoice’). S.B.P Mnomiya wrote sIhele, a poetic song that describes the graduation ceremony. sIhele tells the tale of a procession of academics in long robes, who read books of profound knowledge and inspire graduates. The song wishes graduates well and ends with a resounding halala! (‘Well done!’) During the ceremony, graduands in black academic gowns cross the stage to be capped and hooded. The Chancellor taps his hat on the graduate’s head, thereby conferring the degree, then the President of Convocation places the hood, which represents the qualification awarded, over the graduand’s head.
Alma Mater
Nourishing Mother Stans in monte Alma Mater
Standing on the mountain, kind Mother, Ubi alba fluit aqua,
Where the water of good fortune is flowing Omnes doces nos virtutes,
You teach us all the virtues, Artes et Scientam;
The Arts and Science; Digni simus aula tua,
May we be worthy of your princely dignity Fortiter et recte stemus,
Let us stand powerfully and upright, Una voce te canamus
Let us celebrate you in song unanimously Tui nos discipuli.
We, your scholars. Dure laborabimus,
We shall toil relentlessly/rigorously Semper te amabimus,
We shall always delight in/love you Before the graduation ceremony, graduates traditionally pose for photographs with Kudos Kudu on the Great Hall steps.
Crede Alma, crede, Mater,
Have faith, kind Mother, have faith Nobis concinentibus.
In us, harmoniously singing your praises.
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21 The University mace is presented at all graduation ceremonies The mace is a symbol of the authority vested in the Chancellor and of the mandate of the University to grant degrees.
THEMACE T
he Wits mace was created by a Scottish silversmith and engraver, William Kirk. The amber stone in the mace is a tribute to former Chancellor, Bertrand Bernstein (Bernstein is German for amber stone). The words, Universitas Witwatersrandensis Johannesburgi and MCMLXXVI (Roman numerals for 1977) depict the year of dedication of the mace.
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Maces were originally ‘swords of state’ and weapons of defence. Over time, a mace has come to be regarded as a symbol of delegated authority vested in a person or an institution.
22 Gold and silver plated
Vertical blades symbolise the horns of the springbok Central vertical spike depicts a mining rock drill, representative of the University’s mining heritage
Amber stone is a tribute to a former Chancellor, Bertrand Bernstein
Cogs symbolise the cogwheel in the University coat of arms - a tribute to mining and industry
7kg 1070 mm long | 180 mm broad
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23 The motto, “Scientia et Labore” is Latin for “through knowledge and through work”
COATOFARMS The Wits coat of arms is an adaptation of the South African School of Mines badge. It has evolved over time to reflect various influences on Wits and the academic nature of a university.
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Above the shield is the head of a Kudu, a powerful southern African antelope The gold background in the upper part of the shield represents the Witwatersrand gold fields The open book represents learning/knowledge, overlaid on a cog to represent industry The two wavy silver bars in the lower half of the shield symbolise the Vaal and Limpopo Rivers which border the Witwatersrand gold fields The crest reflects the University colours of blue and gold
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25 Affectionately known as “Kudos” or “Kudu”
THEWITS MASCOT
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26 The mascot of Wits University, Kudos Kudu, is a cool and cosmopolitan Joburger who is proudly Witsie, proudly South African and a global citizen.
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ffectionately known as “Kudos” or “Kudu”, he is imbued with the characteristics that generally typify successful Witsies: He is a leader and an achiever; intelligent, confident, and with a wild independent streak. Naturally curious and inquisitive, Kudos is an innovative and progressive thinker and problem-solver who is socially aware, charitable, compassionate, tolerant and civic-minded. His innate stamina and endurance enable him to work his magic relentlessly towards unifying Witsies, lifting their spirits, pride and passion and bringing them good luck. Kudos is tolerant, gentle and kind, but he’s no push-over. Some of Kudos’s natural irritants include the African Hoopoe, which nests at the University of Johannesburg, and the gnome-like ‘Oom Gert’ who, since being kidnapped by Witsies in the 1950s, seldom emerges from his hideout at the University of Pretoria. Ikey Tiger, who prowls the University of Cape Town, and Pokkel S. Quirrel, a rodent at the University of Stellenbosch, remain on Kudos’s radar.
Although Kudos is hard-working, he isn’t averse to kicking up his hooves and having fun! He loves meeting Witsies and celebrating their achievements. He is an extremely loyal friend to Witsies and does everything he can to make sure all Witsies are his BFF. Be sure to let him know when you move so he can stay in touch.
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27 Where does Kudos Kudu come from? Kudos has resided quietly on the Wits Coat of Arms since 4 October 1922 and has always been looking after Witsies. However, in 2007 he decided to make his presence more visible on campus to unite students in support of a “Proudly Witsie” campaign, initiated by the Student Representatives’ Council. Kudos made his debut appearance on October 20 at the Bidvest-Wits vs Santos football match. Other Witsies met Kudos the next day, at the University’s 85th anniversary celebrations on the Library Lawns. Kudos soon found comfortable lodgings for his sister, brother and himself at Alumni House on the West Campus. He entranced the Alumni Relations staff with his magnetic appeal and they gave him a permanent home. The Alumni staff consider it an honour and a privilege to keep Kudos well-groomed, run his errands, and manage his busy schedule of appointments and appearances.
Where did Kudos get his name? Alumna and Wits librarian, Diane Hillman (BA 1974, BA Hons 1990) submitted the name ‘Kudos’ in response to a competition the Alumni Office ran in 2007 to name the Kudu. ‘Kudos’ is derived from a Greek noun meaning ‘honour, glory and praise for exceptional achievement’ – all attributes that typify successful Witsies.
Where you can find him Kudos can be found wherever Witsie spirit, pride and passion is needed. Family is important to him and he enjoys spending time with his sister, Witsie Ms Kudos, and their younger brother and future Witisie, Kudly Kudos. Some of Kudos’s regular haunts include graduation ceremonies, where he congratulates graduands and welcomes them to the Alumni and Convocation fold; major campus sports and social events; O-Week, and surprise walkabouts around campus to meet and greet Witsies.
A Kudu is a beautiful, large and powerful African antelope with magnificent annulated spiral horns, a remarkable sense of hearing, a keen sense of smell and sharp eyesight. Kudus can outrun most animals, jump a 1.5 m fence from a standing start and can kick with a force strong enough to break a jackal’s back.
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You can also find him on Facebook where you can “friend” him and join the Wits Fan Page.
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29 The murky history of Wits University’s first mascot Phineas III now keeps silent sentinel in the Wits Alumni Lounge & Pub, West Campus.
MASCOTHISTORY Phineas The original Phineas was the Highlander mascot of University College, London. His namesake, Phineas II, was a seven-foot wooden replica used to promote a barber shop in Jules Street, Johannesburg. Phineas II was loaned to the newly established Wits University to serve as its mascot in 1923. However, that same year, Ikeys (UCT) abducted Phineas II. There are differing accounts on what subsequently happened to Phineas II. One theory is that he was reclaimed by his original owner.
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Phineas III emerged under mysterious circumstances around 1930. He proved to be as slippery as his predecessors and fell into the hands of Tukkies (University of Pretoria) in 1931. This marked the beginning of a series of raids between students of the two universities. Phineas III retired from active service in 1971 with the cessation of the Intervarsity tournament. He emerged briefly in 1987 as the Wits Rugby mascot and was insured for R10 000.
30 A second mascot made an appearance in May 1923 Mr Wu In an anonymous letter to the University, a man from Port Elizabeth wrote:
“Dear Sir, I have been reading with great interest the accounts of Phineas II. I have in my possession a carved wooden figure I feel could be the father of both Phineas I and Phineas II. My brother, connected with the Taiping Rebellion in 1853 in China, smuggled this figure on board. On my brother’s death his belongings were made over to me, amongst which was this figure. I have no need to keep this ‘Chinese god’. To associate myself with the spirit of your University, I offer you this mascot.” This Mr Wu made occasional public appearances (as did another mascot, “Mompara”, who materialised briefly in the 1930s) but remained very much in the shadow of Phineas II. In the 1980s, Mr Wu emerged as a cuddly, furry mascot based on the American sit-com TV character, Alf – a far cry from the historic, imposing figure of the 1920s.
Some traditions endure, others don’t, and such was the fate of (furry) Mr Wu, who now resides in the University Archives in Senate House.
Zorbo: RAG mascot, 1960s and 70s
Zorro Zorro, the Men’s Res cat, was more of a residence fixture than a mascot. Zorro distinguished himself in the noisy act of lovemaking. According to legend, one such particularly amorous occasion, Sunnyside Res second-years were unable to endure his amorous noises any longer. The result was an infamous assault to which Zorro succumbed. He was buried with a bottle of Claret (to keep his memory sweet). Zorro’s tombstone (erected with ‘borrowed’ bricks) is at the back door garden of Old College House.
Ducks and Pigeons Ducks loom large in the student psyche, particularly since Wits campuses are home to many wild creatures that look like ducks, but are actually Egyptian gee. The most famous “duck” is Penelope, the Knockando Res mascot and cocustodian of the Duck & Bull Pub.
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TRADITIONS Superstitions and Rites of Passage Witsies believe that if one of the purple Jacaranda flowers falls on your head, and you haven’t started studying for your year-end exams, then it’s probably too late and you’re doomed to failure.
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Engineering Spring Breakfast
Skiffyskofbaas Day (Miners’ Day)
Engineering students gather early in the morning on the first day of September each year and prepare breakfast to celebrate the arrival of spring. While they are meant to wear pyjamas, many students nowadays just dress outrageously.
Mining Engineering students don their underground mining gear for Skiffyskofbaas Day in July/August each year and traipse around campus in a mining-related rendition of ‘trick or treat’. ‘Skiffy’ translates loosely to menial worker (‘skivvy’), while ‘skofbaas’ refers to a shift boss. After the festivities the students down a pint at Ore House on West Campus. Nowadays Skiffyskofbaas Day is known as the more politically correct ‘Miners’ Day’.
Superstition of the Jacarandas Spring in Jozi brings with it the blossoming of the beautiful Jacaranda flowers. Witsies believe that if one of the purple flowers falls on your head, and you haven’t started studying for your year-end exams, then it’s probably too late and you’re doomed to failure.
Knock Streak Not condoned by the University, this risqué tradition of Knockando Residence students running naked through Parktown to visit the women’s residences after imbibing ‘Courage Juice’ has endured for decades.
Pillow Fight In what originated as a fundraiser to beat a Guinness World Record for the number of participants in a pillow fight, Witsies now gather on the Library Lawns every September, armed with pillows to pummel each other in a riotous explosion of feathers, fabric and foam.
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HISTORY OF TRADITIONS
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34 Back in the day, rugby was the most popular game on campus and the Inter-Varsity tournament against the University of Pretoria (“Tukkies”) was the highlight of the sporting calendar.
Inter-Varsity Today Wits University sport is most famous for its Premier League football team, Bidvest-Wits FC or the “Clever Boys”. However, back in the day, rugby was the most popular game on campus and the Inter-Varsity tournament against the University of Pretoria (“Tukkies”) was the highlight of the sporting calendar. For weeks prior to the match, students would gear up for the game with sing-songs to boost morale and student support. New students would learn the varsity song, led by cheerleaders. There were also clandestine raids between the two universities, mainly involving students living in residence. The raids were a fun way to rile up the opposition ahead of an important match. In 1956, a Wits University raid resulted in Tukkies’ administration buildings being painted red. The controversy generated by such events resulted in the raids being banned in the 1950s. Though students continued the raids illicitly, they eventually stopped in the 1960s when a student was killed in a car-chase.
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35 40 years ago the University had strict rules about acceptable dress on its grounds. Student dress-code The standard ‘uniform’ for students at Wits University today is jeans and a T-shirt, but just 40 years ago the University had strict rules about acceptable dress on its grounds. It’s hard to believe that Wits, a bastion of free-thinking, would dictate what students wore, but up to the 1960s women were only allowed to wear formal dresses and men were required to wear trousers and shirts with a collar and tie, as decreed in the 1922 dress rules. In the mid-1960s students rebelled, wearing more casual clothing. As a result, the rules were relaxed. In 1967, women were allowed to wear trousers, and men were permitted to wear open-necked shirts without ties or jackets. Shorts were allowed – provided they were worn with ‘long stockings’. Women were permitted to wear skirts, blouses and trouser suits, but only in the libraries; trousers could not be worn in lecture halls.
Mr and Miss Wits The Mr and Miss Wits beauty pageant used to take place annually in the Great Hall with a panel of celebrity judges. During their reign, Mr and Miss Wits were required to do charity work and to encourage students to do the same.
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Wits Rag For many decades, Wits students held an annual Rag (Remember and Give) Parade after an intensive sixweek charity fundraising campaign. After many festive nights spent decorating their floats, students would take to the streets of Johannesburg in their finest fancy dress, parading through town and showing off their fabulous floats in an attempt to win the award for best float. In the run-up to the parade, students would hit the streets selling copies of Wits Wits Rag magazine, in a campaign commonly known as the “Wits blitz”. Each year, a Rag Queen was elected and, after the parade, a Rag Ball was held in the Examinations Hall. The ball was always a most elegant affair where only evening gowns and dinner suits were considered appropriate attire.
Graduation Ball Graduation Ball was a festive and formal annual event organised by students. The Ball, usually held at the Wanderers Hall, saw a host of high-profile guests mingle with recent graduates dressed in their finest attire, in the hope of being mentioned in the local newspaper. The Hall was decorated in Wits blue and gold, and dinner, drinks and dancing to a live band were the order of the day. The SRC election results were traditionally announced at the Ball.
36 Wits students held an annual Rag (Remember and Give) Parade after an intensive six-week charity fundraising campaign.
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37
ANNUALEVENTS
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38 Founders gather for tea on the Gavin Relly Green to reminisce, engage in spirited debate and catch up on the latest developments at Wits.
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39 WALE is a public festival celebrating the music, drama, film, literature and art of Faculty of Humanities academics, students and alumni. Founders’ Tea Founders’ are alumni who graduated forty or more years ago. Annually in November, Founders gather for tea on the Gavin Relly Green to reminisce, engage in spirited debate and catch up on the latest developments at Wits. Up to 400 alumni attend the Founders’ Tea, held until 2009 at Savernake, the Vice-Chancellor’s residence.
Wits Arts and Literature Experience (WALE) WALE is a public festival celebrating the music, drama, film, literature and art of Faculty of Humanities academics, students and alumni. First conceived in April 2008 by then Dean of the Faculty, Professor Tawana Kupe, WALE took place annually from 2009 until 2012. This week long festival of the liberal and classic arts usually kicked off with a campus parade.
Yebo-Gogga and amaBlomo Since 2003 the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences (APES) has transformed the Life Sciences Museum, for three days each year, into an exhibition of live bugs, plants, animals and critters to engage and educate the public – and school children in particular – about the fascinating world of APES.
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Lenn Smith Inter-Faculty Campus Road Race Lenn Smith was a stalwart of the Wits Metallurgy Workshop and a running enthusiast. The first race took place in the 1980s, off campus (around the Gas Works), with the Chemical and Metallurgical departments the only contenders. Nowadays, this annual 4-5km race takes place on East and West campuses and attracts some 350 Witsies across all faculties. Lenn Smith himself, who turned 90 in October 2013, traditionally drops the flag that starts the race.
Wits Road Race The first annual Wits Road Race took place in July 2011 and it’s now a fixture on the Central Gauteng Athletics calendar. More than 2 000 Joburgers, Wits alumni and Varsity Kudus (Wits’ running club) participate in the scenic 21km, 10km races or 5km fun-run through Parktown and Westcliff. Wits Alumni Relations and Varsity Kudus host the race, which culminates in a festive prize-giving and social gathering by West Campus’s Wits Club.
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More than 2 000 Joburgers, Wits alumni and Varsity Kudus participate in the scenic 21km, 10km races or 5km fun-run through Parktown and Westcliff.
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WITSSPORT Witsies work hard and play hard
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42 The dominant sports at Wits University today are basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, and rugby. Basketball
B
y 1939 Wits University had established itself as one of the leading sports incubators in South Africa. In particular, Wits athletes, rowers and swimmers dominated Inter-Varsity tournaments.
Rugby and cricket emerged as firm favourites, and hockey, tennis, boxing, fencing and golf flourished. Football, squash, ice hockey, shooting, cycling, and baseball also attracted interest. However, commitment to sports after WWII waxed and waned with the weight of apartheid and the demands on the University in a volatile South Africa. The post-1994 era of democracy liberated the country and opened up new opportunities. In 2014 Wits formally adopted a new strategy to revitalise sports at the University with the aim of reclaiming Wits’ former sporting glory. Today Wits boasts some of the finest sports facilities in Johannesburg enabling participation in over 40 sports.
The Wits Lady Bucks in July 2014 became the first Wits team in recent history to win a University Sports South Africa (USSA) title.
Football Bidvest-Wits FC is jointly owned by Wits and Bidvest. It is the oldest football club in South Africa. BidvestWits players are known as “the Clever Boys” or “the Students”. Witsies support their team by wearing blue and gold, or lab coats and specs, to games. In 2010, the Clever Boys won the Nedbank Cup at Soccer City in the new stadium’s inaugural match.
Hockey In February 2014, Wits unveiled a new AstroTurf artificial pitch for Wits men’s and women’s hockey.
Rugby The Wits Rugby Club won the Varsity Shield in 2012, earning a place in the prestigious Varsity Cup in 2013. Regrettably, the defeat of the “Clever Kudus” in 2014 relegated the team to the Varsity Shield in 2015.
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43 The Sports Council awards colours for sporting achievement and the premier award is a Wits Full Blue Cum Laude.
WitsSport & the Wits Sports Council WitsSport administers sport and sporting facilities at the University and provides bursaries for academically excellent sports-students. WitsSport works with the student-elected Wits Sports Council to provide Witsies with opportunities to participate in a variety of sports at the levels they choose.
The Sports Council awards colours for sporting achievement and the premier award is a
Wits Full Blue Cum Laude. This is awarded to students: • who represent South Africa • have played in a representative national side • with exceptional sporting performance for sportsmanship • for outstanding contribution to a club
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44 Other University sports awards are: Team Badge
The coat-of-arms surrounded by a green laurel wreath, below which appears the name of the sport
Half Blue
As for the team badge, but with a silver laurel executed in wire
Full Blue
As for the team badge, but with a gold laurel executed in wire
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45 Wits Alumni Sports Stars Ali Bacher (MBBCh 1967, honorary LLD 2001): Cricket
Azar Jammine (BA 1970, BSc 1973, BSc Hons 1970): Rugby
Bruce Fordyce (BA 1978, BA Hons 1979, honorary LLD 2007): Ultramarathon
Dan Robinson
On the side-lines… There are Witsies doing world-class work alongside the sporting greats:
(BArch 1950): Rowing
Dr Catherine Lester
Desmond Cohen
(MBBCh 2004) a Sport & Exercise Medicine specialist, worked at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, with England Women’s Hockey and Australian rowing.
(MBBCh 1949): Swimming, water polo
Donald Clark (MBBCh 1953): Rugby
Hendrick Ramaala (BProc 1995, LLB 1997): Ultramarathon
Herbi Kramer (MBBCh 1947): Football, rugby, hockey, wrestling
Hilton Selvey (MBBCh 1951): Water polo, swimming
Terry Rosenberg (BCom MBA 1970, MCom 197), former provincial tennis player, is Chairman and Director of the Sharks rugby team.
Wayne Diesel (BSc Physiotherapy 1986) is the Head of Medical Services for Tottenham-Hotspur FC.
Jan Mallen
Ronnie Schloss
(BA 1980): Ultramarathon
(BSc Quantity Surveying 1968) is the Chief Operations Officer of the Premier Soccer League.
John Myburgh (MBBCh1981): Rowing
Tefu Mashamaite (BA 2006): Football
Alan Menter (MBBCh 1966): Rugby
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46 Wits has an impressive sporting history and many alumni are South African champions, Springboks or Olympians.
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47
SPACES&PLACES
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48 Wits University has five campuses located across Braamfontein and Parktown.
I
East Campus | West Campus Wits Business School Wits Education Campus Medical School n Braamfontein, East and West Campuses are located on either side of the M1 motor-way and are linked internally by the AMIC deck.
The Wits Business School, Medical School, and the Education Campus are located in Parktown.
The University also owns property in Braamfontein, including the Tshimologong Precinct Tech hub and Frankenwald Estate in Sandton. Further a-field, west of Johannesburg, Wits owns the Sterkfontein Caves and conducts worldrenowned research and expeditions in the Cradle of Humankind in Maropeng.
The Wits Business School, Medical School, and the Education Campus are located in Parktown.
The University also owns the Wits Rural Facility, located close to the Kruger National Park, and Pullen Nature Reserve near Nelspruit.
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EASTCAMPUS The original University buildings were erected in 1922. These buildings were Central Block, Senate House, and the Great Hall. On May 1, 1925, Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales, officially opened Central Block.
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50 Senate House Senate House was built in 1977. It houses the University’s senior management and central administrative staff. The vast internal expanse of Senate House, known as the Concourse, accommodates the Wits Shop, the Student Enrolment Centre, the International Office, the mailing and post offices, and a café. The Concourse used to be the main meeting and eating place for students before the Matrix was built in 2003.
Richard Ward Building One of the quirkier buildings on campus is the Richard Ward building next to Senate House. According to legend, when the building was built in 1966 no one realised there was no internal staircase, so a spiral staircase was simply ‘tacked on’ outside afterwards. Richard Ward was upgraded in 2013 to accommodate the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, and more classrooms and laboratories.
Postgraduate Club (a.k.a the Blind PiG – “because there’s no ‘i’ (eye) in postgraduate…”) The PiG was established in 1976. It has been in its present location on East Campus, opposite the Origins Centre, since 1990. The PiG is exclusively for Wits postgraduate students and staff. Over the years, activities at the PiG have included quiz nights, live music, boisterous participation in televised international sport, and spontaneous games of darts, dominoes and backgammon.
School of Construction Economics & Management (SCEM) In May 2013, a new building for the School of Construction Economics and Management (SCEM) was completed. With 700 students, the SCEM is the largest in the country. Almost half of all Building and Quantity Surveying graduates in South Africa are Witsies.
Professional Development Hub The Professional Development Hub (PDH), a short-course training and conference venue, opened in October 2010. Based at the corner of Empire Road and Jan Smuts Avenue, the PDH is equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual, video-conferencing and internet technology. It is home to Wits Enterprise (the commercial arm of Wits) and the Wits Language School.
Wits Junction The Wits Junction is a residential complex in Parktown that opened in October 2012. It is home to over 1 200 Witsies, mainly postgraduates, visiting academics, and sportsstudents. The complex comprises bachelor, two-, threeand four-bedroom units. The naming theme of buildings in the complex celebrates the folklore and cultures of the many nationalities and people who helped build Johannesburg into what it is today.
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51
University Corner – WAM and VOW
William Cullen Library
University Corner, on the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue/ Bertha Street and Jorissen Street in Braamfontein, was originally a 12-floor office and apartment block known as Lawson’s Corner, famous for its revolving rooftop restaurant.
The William Cullen Library is situated on the west side of the Library Lawns. It was built in 1934 as the University’s main library. Today it houses the Africana, early and fine-printed books, government publications, and historical and literary papers collections.
When Wits bought the building in 1976, it was converted into a dentistry and dental hospital, later housing the School of Oral Health until the School relocated to the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in 2002. In 2010 construction began on University Corner to transform the ground and lower floors into the Wits Art Museum (WAM). WAM opened to the public on 19 May 2012 and boasts one of the largest collections of African art on the continent. WAM regularly showcases Witsies’ work and runs regular public exhibitions and events. The ninth floor of University Corner is home to Wits Journalism & Media Studies, which produces the weekly newspaper Vuvuzela and operates the campus radio station, Voice of Wits (VOW) 90.5FM.
William Cullen was a Scotsman born in 1869. He was a chemical technologist and in 1902 came to South Africa to manage the Modderfontein Dynamite Factory. Cullen was prominently identified with the work of educational bodies – Wits in particular – and scientific societies. He played a major role in the campaign for the establishment of a university in Johannesburg, and was a member of the Transvaal University College (subsequently the South African School of Mines and Technology, which preceded Wits). Cullen returned to the UK in 1915 and Wits officially became a University in 1922. Cullen led the committees in London to raise funds and screen applicants to work at the new University. The University conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws on Cullen in 1924. The William Cullen Medal was founded in 1929 and awarded annually to the most distinguished BSc graduate. Cullen died in 1948.
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52 The William Cullen Library is situated on the west side of the Library Lawns. It was built in 1934 as the University’s main library.
University Corner, on the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue/Bertha Street and Jorissen Street in Braamfontein was originally a 12-floor office and apartment block known as Lawson’s Corner, famous for its revolving rooftop restaurant.
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53
Planetarium
The Nunnery
In the 1950s, the Johannesburg City Council sold a Zeiss projector to Wits to teach with and for public use. Construction began on a building to house the projector in 1959. On 12 October 1960, the first full-sized planetarium in Africa opened. The Planetarium is located on Yale Road, East Campus, and offers shows, children’s parties, and astronomy training.
Opposite the Wits Theatre is the Nunnery, originally a hall of the nearby Holy Trinity Catholic Church that dates back to the turn of the 20th century.
The Wits Theatre Complex The Wits Theatre complex comprises The Wits Theatre, the Downstairs Theatre, and the Amphitheatre. The Wits Theatre first opened its doors in July 1983 with The Comedy of Errors. It seats up to 410 patrons and features a bar and cafeteria in the foyer. The Downstairs Theatre (designated as a “store room” in the original plan) is now a versatile experimental theatre with its own foyer/exhibition space. British designer John Bury, from the Royal Shakespeare Company, consulted on the design of the Wits Amphitheatre. In the early 1980s, open air productions were occasionally staged here if the winter wasn’t too cold or summer too wet.
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In the early 1970s, the Dramatic Arts department was due to open but lacked a suitable theatre space for the launch. Vice-Chancellor Bozzoli had made the church hall available but balked at the cost of the conversion that had been estimated by Wits Architecture lecturer, Herbert Prins (BArch 1952, MArch 1990). So with a revised budget of around R3 000, Prins and a student, Malcolm Purkey (BA 1975, BA Hons 1976), who later became a Professor in Dramatic Arts, set about converting the hall. Prins writes:
“Malcolm and I met on a Saturday morning and stood in Ameshoff Street and, as men came by, we accosted them and asked whether they were looking for work. We put together a gang of workers, all unqualified… Thanks to Malcolm and the off-the-street labour, and those who were generous enough to donate materials, we built the Nunnery on Saturday and Sunday.”
54 The Planetarium is located on Yale Road, East Campus, and offers shows, children’s parties, and astronomy training.
The Wits Theatre first opened its doors in July 1983 with The Comedy of Errors.
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WESTCAMPUS West Campus used to be Milner Park, where the Rand Easter Show took place annually from 1907 until 1984. It was here that David Pratt attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Dr H.F. Verwoerd on 9 April 1960 while he watched a cattle show.
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56 The iconic Tower of Light was built on West Campus in 1936. At the time, a cable car ran from the Tower to Empire Road.
Art on West Campus
Wits Club and Barns Complex
The development of West Campus into an ‘art route’ began in 2008. Artworks by eminent artists and alumni including William Kentridge, Cecil Skotnes, Azwifani Ragamanzi, Deborah Bell, Roy Ndinisa, Francina Ndimande, and Jurgen Schadeberg enhance Witsies’ overall experience through displays of tapestries, photography, sculpture, paintings and beadwork.
The complex includes the Wits Club restaurant with an alumni lounge-pub, a conference centre, and Alumni House, which houses the Office of Alumni Relations. The complex is popular with Witsies who enjoy a meal in the stylish and elegant restaurant, or under the majestic Oak trees. The Barns, now a conference centre, is ideal for alumni weddings, 21sts and birthday gatherings.
Science Stadium
The Origins Centre
The Wits Science Stadium is located on West Campus on the site of the former Charles Skeen athletics stadium. Officially launched on 7 June 2012, the Science Stadium accommodates up to 3 400 students in world-class, stateof-the-art teaching and learning facilities and laboratories.
The Origins Centre is the world’s only museum dedicated to exploring and celebrating the history of modern humankind. Conceptualised by Wits academics and designers, it boasts an extensive collection of rock art and the earliest images made by humans. Cutting-edge technology enables a journey of discovery that explores human origins through fossils, and humankind’s artistic, symbolic and technological development in Africa.
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57
The Yale Telescope Building
Witwatersrand Spruit
Yale Road derives its name from an association between Wits and Yale University in the field of astronomy.
‘Witwatersrand’ is Afrikaans for ‘ridge of white water’ and a ‘spruit’ is a stream. This ridge runs east to west through Gauteng, and Wits is directly on the water divide. Because of this, rain falling north of Senate House ends up in the Indian Ocean, and rain falling south of it, in the Atlantic Ocean. On West Campus, a waterfall carved out of the rock flows into a lake by the Gavin Relly Green.
For over 25 years Wits was the location of the Yale Southern Station, an observatory to research the southern hemisphere’s skies. It was an initiative of Frank S. Schlesinger, director of the Yale University Observatory from 1920 to 1941. He decided to establish an observatory on the fledgling Wits campus due to the “unusually promising astronomical conditions” of the Highveld. Schlesinger arrived in Johannesburg on 8 February 1925 and the 26-inch fully assembled telescope was set on its two piers by 20 May 1925. Today the only reminder of the Wits/Yale association is the Yale Telescope building which, along with the John Moffat building and the Construction Economics and Management building, comprises the built environment precinct.
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Champion Blue Gum Tree The giant Blue Gum tree on the Gavin Relly Green by the lake on West Campus is 35m high and 7.6m wide, with a crown diameter of 40m. Planted sometime in the 1930s, this Eucalyptus grandis is the largest tree in Johannesburg. It was declared a Champion Tree in terms of the National Forests Act of 1998.
58 The Yale Telescope building is a heritage asset protected by the last remaining original eucalyptus trees on campus.
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59 Linder Auditorium
Wits has been teaching teachers since the Johannesburg Normal College opened in Eloff Street in 1909 with 67 students.
WITS EDUCATION CAMPUS Wits has been teaching teachers since the Johannesburg Normal College opened in Eloff Street in 1909 with 67 students. In 1936, it was renamed the Johannesburg Teachers College. It was rechristened the Johannesburg College of Education (JCE) in the 1940s. JCE relocated to its Parktown campus in 1978. It merged with the Wits School of Education in 2001. Girton, Medhurst and Reith Halls women’s residences are based at the Wits Education Campus (WEC).
The Linder Auditorium is a concert and cultural venue located on the Wits Education Campus. The Linder mounts concerts and musical productions, eisteddfods and exhibitions, choir festivals, ballet and dance. Its satellite facilities include the Space Frame Foyer and the Space Frame Theatre. Professor Conrad Linder was rector of the JCE in 1967, and alumnus Derrick Lewis (BMus 1953, BA Hons 1954, MEd 1987) was Vice-Rector. Mr Lewis was responsible for liaising with the Transvaal Education Department (TED), architects, and JCE staff regarding facilities for the JCE, including an assembly hall. The TED’s original assembly hall plans featured a standard school-style stage, and a multi-functional hall. Mr Lewis wrote in 2014:
“As a musician I was conscious of the fact that no musical concert facilities existed in Johannesburg. I therefore motivated at length for a hall suitable for student assemblies, but which would also fulfil the need for a true concert hall.” The TED agreed to a steeply raked auditorium with a lower stage platform and wood-panelled walls. An acoustics specialist recommended that the underside of each seat be of hard wood, that the seating area be devoid of carpeting, and that the aisle carpeting be of thin nylon, not wool. Acoustic factors also influenced the height of the ceiling, resulting ultimately in a reverberation period of 1.9 seconds. The Linder Auditorium opened in 1983 and is widely recognised for its acoustic merits.
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60 School of Public Health A new building for the School of Public Health, located in the Medical School precinct opposite the Faculty of Health Sciences in Parktown, opened in January 2013. The School serves as a regional hub for Public Health academics and researchers throughout Africa.
The Linder Auditorium is a concert and cultural venue located on the Wits Education Campus.
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61
MEDICAL SCHOOL
The British Medical Association established Wits Medical School in 1916. First-year medical students took classes at the Tin Temple in Hillbrow. A Dental School was established in 1925. The Medical School moved to Esselen Street in 1969. In 1972, construction began on the Parktown premises, which opened in 1982. Dentistry and Medicine amalgamated in 1997 to create the Faculty of Health Sciences, colloquially known as the Medical School Campus.
Health Sciences Memorial The sculpture outside the Medical School depicts two figures, representing medical students, holding books. One figure looks down, indicating the years of shame when apartheid limited the participation of black students in medical schools. The sharp barbs represent the pain of this indignity. The other figure depicts a student looking up towards the future, representing a united, non-racial faculty.
Adler Museum of Medicine Located in the foyer of the Wits Medical School, the Adler Museum of Medicine preserves the history of the health sciences in southern Africa and Gauteng specifically. The Adler supplements the medical historical teaching and research of the Medical School and arranges regular public lectures, tours, film shows and exhibitions.
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WITS BUSINESS SCHOOL (WBS) The Wits Business School (formerly the Graduate School of Business Administration) was established in 1968. Located opposite Mike’s Kitchen in Parktown, WBS is internationally renowned and respected for its MBA programme.
62 The sculpture outside the Medical School depicts two figures, representing medical students, holding books.
The Wits Business School was established in 1968.
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63 Wits has produced a vast number of illustrious alumni who have excelled in every field of endeavour. Almost 100 Rhodes Scholars are Wits alumni and four alumni are
Nobel Prize Laureates
ILLUSTRIOUSWITSIES Sydney Brenner
(BSc, BSc Hons, honorary DSc) 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine
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Nadine Gordimer
(honorary DLitt) 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature
Sir Aaron Klug
(BSc, honorary DSc) 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nelson Mandela
(honorary LLD) 1993 Nobel Peace Prize
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7th
Bloomberg’s Most Popular Among Billionaires: Colleges
24th
Times Higher Education’s 2013 Alma Mater Index: Global Executives by number of alumni CEOs
WITSIES IN THE GLOBAL RANKINGS
29th
Center for World University Rankings’ 2014 Alumni Employability by number of alumni CEOs
Wits is a worldleader in rankings that measure graduate success
114th 139th 56th Center for World University Rankings’ 2014 Quality of Education by number of international prize-winning alumni
Emerging Associates’ 2013 Global Employability University Ranking by international recruiters
Spear’s Top 500 universities with millionaire alumni
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RICH&POWERFUL ALUMNI Wendy Appelbaum (BA 1982)
Koos Bekker (LLB 1978)
DeMorgenzon Wine Estate
Former CEO Naspers (Media)
Net worth: $259.3 million
Net worth: $1.3 billion
#5 Ten Richest Women in Africa (2012)
#9 Intellidex 10 Richest Men in South Africa (2012) #24 Forbes Africa’s 40 Richest (2014) #1314 Forbes World Billionaires (2014)
Forbes 10 Female Millionaires to Watch in Africa (2012)
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66 Steven Collis (BCom 1982, BCom Hons 1983)
Rodney Sacks (DipLaw 1972, HDipTaxLaw 1978)
CEO AmerisourceBergen (Pharmaceuticals)
Chairman & CEO Monster Beverages (Energy drinks)
Total compensation: $12,000,206 # 407 Forbes CEO Compensation (2014)
Dr Judy Dlamini (MBA 1999)
Net worth: $1.4 billion # 1249 Forbes World Billionaires (2014)
Chairperson Mbekani Investment Holdings
Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong (MBBCh 1975)
Net worth: $16.1 million (2013)
CEO Nantworks LLC (Pharmaceutical)
#7 Intellidex Richest Women in South Africa (2012)
Net worth: $11.4 billion
Ivan Glasenberg (BAcc 1982)
#39 Forbes 400 Richest People in America (2014) #42 Forbes American Billionaires (2014) #122 Forbes World Billionaires (2014)
CEO GlencoreXstrata (Mining)
Net Worth: $5.8 billion #1 Intellidex 10 Richest Men in South Africa (2012) #4 Forbes Australia’s 50 Richest (2014) #5 Business Review Weekly Rich 200 (Australia) (2014) #215 Forbes World Billionaires (2014)
Patrice Motsepe (LLB 1988)
Sharon Wapnick (BA 1984, LLB 1986) Octodec Investments & Premium Property (Investments & Real Estate)
Net worth: $43.1 million #9 Top 10 Richest Women in Africa (2013) Forbes 10 Female Millionaires to Watch in Africa (2012)
CEO Africa Rainbow Minerals (Mining)
Net worth: $2.2 billion #3 Intellidex 10 Richest Men in South Africa (2012) #11 Forbes Africa’s 40 Richest (2013) #820 Forbes World Billionaires (2014)
Gail Kelly (MBA 1986) Former CEO Westpac Banking Group (Financial Services) #56 Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women (2014)
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67 Wits University is based in the heart of the City of Johannesburg
JOHANNESBURG CITY OF GOLD Affectionately known as Joburg, Jozi or Egoli, the city was born in 1886 when gold deposits were discovered in the area. Since then, the city has grown into the commercial and financial capital of the country and is known as a city where people come to realise their dreams.
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W
its campuses are located in the historical suburb of Parktown with its heritage buildings, and in the cosmopolitan and vibrant suburb of Braamfontein - currently enjoying a massive resurgence as a place to live, work and play. Alumnus Adam Levy has rejuvenated historical buildings here, including The Alex Theatre, Kitchener’s Carvery (one of the city’s oldest bars) and penthouses overlooking the iconic Mandela Bridge.
Jozi
Egoli
Joburg
Jozi is the second-most inspiring city in the world after Hong Kong [2014 Good City Index]
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BRAAMFONTEIN Over the past five years Braamfontein has shrugged off its coat of urban decay and emerged as a vibrant, dynamic student village in which arts and innovation thrive, and where Witsies converge amidst the plethora of places to live, work and play.
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itsies and Wits alumni have been integral to Braamfontein’s rebirth.
Alumnus Adam Levy’s establishments include the Beach rooftop bar, Alexander Theatre, Kitchener’s Carvery & Bar (Johannesburg’s oldest bar), Anti Est. craft bar, the Smokehouse & Grill, and the runaway success that is the Neighbourgoods Market on Saturdays. Alumnus Andrew Bannister owns the Bannister Hotel, while alumnus Miles Kubheka is the “beeg, beeg taste” behind Vuyo’s. The Orbit jazz club and bistro frequently features Wits musicians, while The Wits Theatre and Wits Art Museum (WAM) similarly showcase the University’s finest. Witsies Lesley Carsten and Silvio Rech are the architects behind the breathtaking Randlords venue. Professor Barry Dwolatzky is engineering the Tshimologong Precinct, a Wits-driven IT hub which promises to become Africa’s Silicon Valley. Other Braamfontein attractions include the namesake of Wits’ most famous alumnus, the Nelson Mandela Bridge, and The Devonshire Hotel. “The Dev” is a grande dame of over 80 years, which many Witsies frequented. Young and trendy establishments include The Great Dane, a bar with a floor made of 5c coins, Love Food café and diner, and Father Coffee. Pizza place 86 Public is near South Point Towers, which accommodates many Witsies. One of South Point’s properties, Hotel Lamunu, features meeting rooms named after Wits alumni. These include musicians Johnny Clegg and Manfred Mann, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, Formula 1 designer Rory Byrne, and African literature academic Phaswane Mpe.
“
Braamfontein, the perfect illustration of a racially integrated South Africa; a breeding ground of creativity and innovation packed full of galleries, artist spaces, bars and start-ups focused on making meaningful connections with the man on the street. Sylvia E.K McKeown, 2014 Good City Index
This rejuvenated suburb is synonymous with Wits University and could perhaps better be described as “Witsfontein”. Wits is Braamfontein and Braamfontein is Wits. Be sure to claim your “Witsfontein” stripes.
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IF I ONLY KNEWTHEN Words from alumni & students The following is verbatim advice posted on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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“My education at Wits
laid the foundation for my success.”
Gordon Klintworth (BSc 1954, MBBCh 1957, BSc Hons 1961, PhD 1966) Professor of Ophthalmology and Pathology, Duke University Medical Center
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FROM ALUMNI TO FIRST-YEARS
“ Wits yields
well-rounded leaders.” Mpilo Ntuli
Do your best in every class so that your average will be high and your options will stay open. Be prepared to do your honours degree so that if you end up oversees your degree will be recognized (North American degrees are all 4 years long). There are too few jobs for the amount of graduates so be prepared to do your very best and start networking early.
Gareth Dunn (B.Comm, CHRP) Don’t be shy to ask questions when you’re not sure about something. Make sure you keep your grades good - well above 65%. Be active around campus - i.e have a balanced student life.
University is a wonderful time to explore new experiences with new people. Embrace new ideas, debate your mates in the Senate House coffee area (is it still there?), change your clothes, kiss someone you never thought you would, make friends with people you’d never have met at school. Learning takes place in and out of the lecture theatre.
Tony Cave (BA 1987, MA 1992)
Yolisa Mfaise (LLB 2010)
“relax and make friends” Explore Wits, its people, and the courses on offer. Sit in on classes you don’t take. Get involved in sports or recreation on campus. Join at least one society a year. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Join the annual fee increment protests at least once. Run for SRC at least once. Make sure you visit BAQT! But most of all enjoy the time you spend there, you’ll never get it back. Everyone is in a rush to get out, get a job and start making money, but when you’re out you’ll wish you could spend a bit more time there.
Be yourself. There’s more than enough friends to choose from so don’t compromise who you are to “fit in”. Ask questions before choosing specialised majors and find out about what is required to get into restricted courses. Follow your passion because it’s hard to study and even harder to study something that doesn’t interest you. Don’t let one bad mark throw you off, just work harder at improving it. Look for bursaries or courses early on in the year prior to the year you need them as most application deadlines begin from June onwards. Most importantly ask questions and keep an open mind to what you are taught - educators know a lot but they don’t know everything.
Andrea Olga Papadopoulos (BSc 2009, BSc (Hons) 2010)
Sivene Lolwana (BSc 2005)
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73 My comments might seem obvious but nonetheless, here they are. Listen well in every class and do not fall into the trap of not attending lectures. School is a lot more strict than Uni and one needs to remain disciplined. If one attends all lectures, pays attention and properly focuses then the job of studying is halved. Also, Wits is an amazing campus and can be really impressive. Try to see one new thing on campus each day. At least for your first year!! If nothing this will keep you fit.
Carl Dos Santos (BA 2005)
“ enjoy the experience ” Get involved and volunteer; make every activity part of your education. Employers look for things like that. Use every resource available, they are there for you.
“ Learning at Wits is not limited to academics only.
Moeketsi Makhalemele (PDM 2008)
”
By being accepted into Wits it means that you have the potential and the intellectual capacity to complete your studies successfully, and that applies to every other student in campus. What will set you apart is the extra mile that you are willing to go to make your dreams a reality. Approach your studies like it is a job, put in the necessary hours into getting familiar with your course work, engage/network with other students and consult with your lecturers. Some of your biggest challenges will be coming from your personal life and beyond the lecture room, do not let this deter you from your goals. Keep focused and keep strong, you can do it...
Neo Nong (BAcc 2008)
Terence Mbulaheni (BA 2008)
U are responsible for yourself....no one is to be blamed. It’s ok to skip lec for a few drinks just make sure its doesn’t become a habit!
Beyond the academic challenge, be open and willing to learn from your fellow students. Every person you come across has their own dream and story, all differences whether they may be faculty, year, belief etc should rather be seen as a bridge to facilitate personal growth in a nurtured environment. Every Sunday evening decide on how many new people you plan to meet during the week and on Friday morning check to see if you managed or need to sprint the last hours. Networking skills practiced at Wits will be one of the best gifts you could ever give yourselves - Enjoy with passion.
Karishma Tulsi (BSc 2006)
Colin Kramer (BSc 1981, MSc 1986)
Your first year is the best year of your studies, the trick is to make sure it does not become the best two years of your study!
Obed Matlala (BSC-2003; Dip Eng 2006)
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74 As a long-time ex Witsie (BSc 1985) I wish I had taken the opportunity to sit in on non-course lectures. There is a wealth of opportunity to explore other disciplines / subjects - for pure interest rather than academic scores. Use your free time to stretch yourself and sit in on a lecture that falls outside your sphere of specialisation. Enjoy every minute of being a student - it is your time to stretch and grow!
“ You want to achieve
great things in life... join Wits University... that’s the place to be.” Beauty Mtsweni
Vivienne Gordon-Turner (BSc 1985)
If it is a challenge you are after, Wits will definitely give you one! However, don’t be too quick to “throw in the towel”. The start might be different and challenging but definitely gets easier as you catch up. Catching up will definitely cost you some of your newly found “freedom” and requires more discipline/maturity than in your High School days. Don’t be scared to ask questions on things you don’t understand no matter how stupid they may sound to you! Once you have your study routine sorted, take some time to socialise and learn things outside your discipline or curriculum. No matter what you do, make sure you enjoy the experience!
Paul Nkamankeng (BSc 2004)
“ Have more fun and network. ” Steven Lea (BSc 1988)
You must be streetwise. Social life can be shocking and then interfere with one’s studies. There is never balance, one must just know the correct side the scale must tilt (period).
Jafta Lejwe Namo (BSc 2000)
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75
FROM STUDENTS TO FIRST-YEARS Don’t get intimidated - try hard and make sure you keep up to date - you would be surprised how quickly you get behind. Make the transition from having to get a degree ....to making learning a lifelong pursuit.
Renee Hoon
“ do ur work! ” One thing i wish i had known, appropriate behaviour, especially on the internet. I never knew that the rude feedbacks i gave were traceable and you could be charged with misconduct. which goes into your record.
Brian Mabilu
i say ur studies must be a priority no matter what. Learn to use the library asap.writing centre is there to help with academic writing. consult as much with u tutors n lecturers n have fun being a student cos life change in the workplace...n read as much anythn from ur course packs to any book...
Nthabiseng Mofokeng
“ Hardwork reaps
success! study hard! play hard! and don’t fall off the edge Ajayson Gopie
When u see the plants on the walls of the buildings near greathall going brown then green and the jacaranda trees blosoming outside Watenweiller and cullan libraries and u havent passed your 101 or 102 assignments and tests and you havent started preparing for exams know u r in hot waters. Oh, ATTEND ORIENTATION WEEK very very impotant, at least u can explore and experiment spare yourself the stress of having to look for a lecture hall u cant find on a monday morning b4 class.
Jennifer Mamabolo
That first year is the hardest and panicking will not help my case. Don’t stop living now that you’re at varsity. Those random, senseless conversations can gain you a lot of much-needed information, instead of spending all day trying to find the page! Walkabouts do help de-stress.
Shereen Abrams
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76
“ Be honest to 1st Yrs:
Wits is harder....the secret is simple either a Genius or a hard Worker! Rhulln Stephan
”
yep dat Wits either gives u or pushes u over da EDGE.. either way expect 2 b der an extra year... hw u use dat year is up 2u.
Princess-Maemu Chestnut
Here is some practical advice - learn where you can and can’t park. If you are going to arrive later during the day, plan for delays in finding undergrad parking. And if you are going to risk parking somewhere you shouldn’t, be prepared to pay fines. The guys are sharp and you will not talk your way out of it!First year is so much fun, enjoy the difference in Varsity life as opposed to school life. Find your feet, play around a bit, take as many courses as you can so you can find where your passion lies. Tertiary studies are about learning how to think outside the box and stretch your analytical thinking skills.
Melanie Gard
I doubt this will make much of a difference, it’s always about first hand experience, I wish I had studied more, but i kept on not studying as much year after year. typical of students really.
Tebello Mofokeng
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77
THE WITS BUCKET LIST
10 Things to Do Before Graduating
2.
Watch a BidvestWits football game
3.
Engineers’ Breakfast. Enough said
4.
Visit the Wits Art Museum
5.
Back your boytjies! Go to a Varsity rugby game
6.
Join a protest march. There are a lot of them
8.
Sit under a Jacaranda tree
9.
1.
Watch a play at The Wits Theatre
Be part of the WALE Parade
7.
Be engulfed in feathers in the Pillow Fight
10.
Hug Kudos the Kudu
Adapted from Vuvuzela February 6, 2013, pg4
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