VOX POP
5FM Breakfast Show DJ Gareth Cliff was caught driving at 182km/h an hour in a 120km/h zone on the R21 in Lyttleton earlier this month. Having been found guilty of the offence, he was given a R10 000 fine. South Africans Against Drunk Driving (SAADD) said the fine did not match the offence. We asked Witsies what they thought about the fine.
HARD work has paid off for Witsies who lived in residence and excelled academically last year.
Claude Vergie , assistant registrar in the west campus cluster, said res students had the academic edge over day students because of the accessibility of resources and ability to collaborate with other students.
Deputy Vice Chancellor: Academic, Professor Yunus Ballim, said awardees were in a privileged historical position: “It took us way too long to get rid of apartheid […] your generation must not make the same mistakes we made.”
Noma Radebe, producer of SABC 1’s Ek se Lalela, said awardees should not make their success about themselves. She advised them to give back: “Literally, even if it means standing up in a bus for an older person or someone that looks tired.”
Top achievers from Men’s Res and Jubilee Hall were hosted at the recently refurbished main dining hall for their joint dinner last Friday.
Reginald Matamela, a 3rd year mining engineering student, bagged nine As and emerged as the top student from Men’s Res. He said discipline and making the right decisions drove his success.
“I chose my girlfriend really well, who’s very supportive, and understands what I have to do.”
With his trophy in hand, Reginald Matamela celebrates his achievement as the top student from Men's Res. He achieved nine As in last year's exams.
Nomsa Mlambo, a 2nd year accounting science student, said it was hard in the beginning of her first year, but getting into a study group and going through past exam papers made studying “fun”.
Vergie advised the students to embrace the principle of life-long learning.
“It’s really just unlocking the door to greater success. They shouldn’t just sit back and think they’ve achieved it all.”
The res dinner formed part of a series of academic dinners occurring across campus in March.
STUDENTS who disobey noise rules in residences face having their music systems seized.
The university permits students in res to use a range of sound systems to enjoy the music of their choice.
But the Conditions of Accommodation document, issued to students by the Office of Residence Life each year, stipulates that “a resident may not cause disturbance in, or in the vicinity of, the residence, or disrupt any residential or other services”.
If the sound levels are anything to go by, many students are either unaware of this rule, or choose to ignore it.
“We’re always told not to play the music so loud that the neighbour can’t hear theirs,” said Ally Ubeidullah, a 2nd year geology student living at the Knockando residence.
Ubeidullah said his neighbour’s playlist doesn’t always match his taste in music.
Giyani Chauke, a 2nd year chemical engineering student, said he did not read the conditions of accommodation when he moved in and was not aware of noise hours.
“To make sure I only hear my music, I play it loud.” Chauke enjoys listening to hip-hop, house and R&B.
Noise hours are allowed in certain residences between 5pm and 7pm. During this time students are permitted to make noise but are asked not to make “excessive noise”.
A document issued by assistant registrar Naziem Randera asks students in the Parktown cluster to be considerate by not “indulging in excessive noise during the noise hours”.
Knockando House Committee member Orateng Motsoe says what may be described as “excessive” is ambiguous.”
“It’s different what management says and what students do,” said Motsoe.
He added that house committee members are sometimes asked to call to order students who play music loudly outside noise hours. Randera said hall coordinators and security guards patrol residences after hours, and repeated offenders could have their sound systems seized.
Failure to comply may also jeopardise a student’s readmission to university residence the following year. “The philosophy is to try and contain it among ourselves first,” he said.
We Should Be Writing podcast