by Brendan Roane | May 11, 2011 | News
BOTH the ANC and DA have accused each other of “dirty” campaign tactics in the build up to the local elections, according to several reports.
Neither the Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (Daso), nor the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) at Wits directly named other parties, but did believe unfair campaign tactics were being used.
Godfrey Maja, ANCYL chairperson at Wits, said other parties’ campaigns are based on what the ANC does and are also “trying hard to prove how they like black people”.
He believes “some party” defaces its own posters and then blames the ANC for the vandalism.
Nazley Sharif, Daso chairperson at Wits, said: “Tearing posters down or defacing of posters does happen and does not promote free and fair elections.
“It is in contravention of the Electoral Act and university rules and regulations.”
Sharif said: “As we can see by looking around us there is nothing to show [what has been achieved] and thus [the other party’s] campaigning is to discredit the opposition parties.”
Sharif believes such campaigning will have only have a small effect on voters and said “voters know that they can choose five years of corruption, inefficiency, poor service delivery and economic decline or they can choose the DA”.
Maja also believes “dirty” campaigning will not work. He said the ANC does not need tactics to win the elections and that “claiming to be an alternative won’t work”.
Maja said people are aware of the “excellent work the ANC is doing despite negative and politically influenced coverage by the media”.
by Brendan Roane | Apr 15, 2011 | News
Wits University has taken the first steps toward possibly implementing the African language policy proposed by minister of higher education and training, Blade Nzimande.
Wits’s language policy outlines provisions for isiZulu and Sesotho to be included in the requisite curricula of all degrees, if the government declares this mandatory in tertiary institutions.
Head of the African languages department, Dr Brenda Mhlambi, says, “In order to build positive sustainable development of African languages we need to focus students on the historic and political economic elements of the language, such as its translation and usage in the workplace and for their own economic needs.”
Government and the private sector have to create an environment where graduates need to use African languages to enhance their careers in dealing with co-workers, clients and investors, she adds.
When asked if students would be able to cope with the extra workload, Professor Kathy Munro, acting dean of the faculty of commerce, law and management says, “We had to rise to the challenge of introducing some level of computer literacy and we’ve managed to do this.
“We would need to discuss the practicalities [of the proposal] and I’m ready to have that debate.”
Mhlambi says, “The development of African languages as academia is not sustainable in the long term when political motives are the main reason for it.
“The language [course] will see high numbers of learners enrolling and upon a change in government, the number of students needing the language rapidly declines.
“This was evident when the Afrikaans department had to be closed at Wits University in the mid-1990s.”
According to Section 29(2) of the Constitution, the right to receive education in an official language is subject to the practical considerations of making it feasible.
The Wits language policy, 2003, indicates isiZulu and Sesotho are the most widely spoken languages in Johannesburg but the university would only be able to develop Sesotho due to financial constraints.
by Brendan Roane | Apr 8, 2011 | News
STUDENTS in Swaziland are aiming to use social media to organise an uprising in the country and overthrow King Mswati.
The Swaziland national union of students (SNUS) has created an event on Facebook for Tuesday, April 12 calling on students to join the revolt.
Another event page on Facebook, formed by the Swaziland Solidarity Network Forum said: “Inspired by the North African uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya plus the collapse of the Swazi economy, the Swazi people will on [April 12] stage the final demonstration against the Swazi monarchy.
“Our demands are that the king must step down from power, abrogate the fraudulent constitution and give power to an elected transition government that will lead the country to its first free multi-party elections A.S.A.P.”
Zandile Mtsweni, chairperson of the Swaziland students association (SSA) at Wits, said her, “society’s constitution does not give a mandate on political participation” but most of the society will not participate in the uprising.
She said: “We were approached by some organising entities for the uprising and members were given a chance to voice their opinions but only 3 responded and the majority, I suppose, have their reservations.”
As of Tuesday morning, the SNUS event on Facebook had 246 out of 1153 people who had confirmed they are going to attend the April 12 uprising.
This number is relatively small in comparison to the numbers of people who joined groups on Facebook for the Egyptian uprising. However, Egypt has a population of 80 million more people than Swaziland, according to the World Bank website.
Mtsweni said there will be a public rally on Sunday, April 10 at the Civic centre at 10am where there “will be over 60 organisations from Swaziland present, some as speakers and others as participants”.
Participation at the rally is also backed by ANC, SACP, Cosatu, Sasco, ANCYL and ANCWL, among others, Mtsweni said.
by Brendan Roane | Apr 5, 2011 | Featured 1, Sport
HANGING UP THE BOOTS: The Wits rugby team lost 25 -18 to Central University of Technology on Monday night during the Varsity Shield final. Photo: Brendan Roane
by Brendan Roane | Mar 31, 2011 | News
WIKIPEDIA should be seen as a valid resource tool for academic work, according to a local non-profit organisation.
The African Commons Project director, Kerryn Mckay, said the Wikimedia foundation’s chapter committee recently approved a local chapter which aims to improve the website’s reputation among academics. Wikimedia is a non-profit charitable organisation which runs several projects, including Wikipedia.
She said the group would “definitely look at raising awareness [about Wikipedia] this year” on campuses in South Africa.
Mckay said the chapter’s aim of promoting Wikipedia at universities is not about changing the site or how it is moderated, but rather informing tertiary institutions about the “stats and compelling reasons as to why it is a useful resource”.
A document regarding referencing in academic work from the Wits school of education in 2008 says “students are forbidden to use or cite Wikipedia”.
Several other similar documents can be found on the internet from tertiary institutions, such as the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town, which also discourage students from using the reference site in academic essays.
Izak Minnaar, SABC editor of digital news, said “Wikipedia can be an incredibly rich source, if the information you are looking at is a result of the best brains reviewing the topic.”
However, Minnaar said only if South African academics use and review information on the site themselves, will Wikipedia become acceptable at tertiary institutions for essays and research.
“South African academics should wake up to the fact that Wikipedia is the people’s access to information,” said Minnaar.
Mckay said the chapter is bidding to host Wikimania 2012 in Stellenbosch. Wikimania is an annual event run by the Wikimedia foundation in which projects and issues surrounding the foundation are discussed. South Africa is currently the only African country with an official bid.
Mckay said Stellenbosch was the preferred location because there is an interest in Wikipedia from the University of Stellenbosch. This would help build the discussion around academia and Wikipedia.
by Brendan Roane | Mar 15, 2011 | Featured 1, News
LIBYAN exile and Jungian psychologist, Dr David Gerbi, gave a rare, firsthand account of life under the rule of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his menacing use of fear, intimidation, corruption and isolation on the people of Libya.
Gerbi was forced into exile in 1967 to Italy, when he was 12 years old, along with 5 000 other Libyan Jews.
Gerbi said he returned to Libya in 2007 on a peace mission but wastaken to Tripoli by the government, where he endured psychological torture.
“If I hadn’t given them the right answers, I probably would not be here today,” he said. Gerbi believes Gaddafi is psychologically ill and that his “illness is an omnipotent grandiose”, meaning the Libyan ruler believe
s he has God-like powers and possesses an unrealistic sense of superiority.
Libyan Crisis: Dr Gerbi , a Libyan Jewish exile, talks about the plight of refugees and those opposed to Gaddafi’s rule at the Humanities Graduate centre at Wits. Dean of Humanities, Professor Tawana Kupe moderated the debate. Photo: Yanga Soji
Post-apartheid South Africa is a model that he hoped Libya would follow once liberated from Gaddafi, Gerbi mentioned. His stance on South Africa’s response to the Libyan crisis was one of the talking points of his lecture.
“Gaddafi is not Mandela, he does not think about future generations, but only for himself”, said Gerbi.
He expressed his disappointment with the international community and its sluggish response to Libya’s crisis, asking: “How many litres of blood do they need to see to realise the human rights crimes?” He accused the world powers of being driven by self interest, much like Gaddafi.
Gerbi’s statement reiterated what former international relations minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said at a Wits lecture in 2008 about the international community, specifically the United Nation’s poor response to African crises.
“The UN sprints like a cheetah to help Europe but drags like a tortoise to help Africa.”
It is the friendship with former president Nelson Mandela that Gerbi says is challenging the Zuma administration from being more vocal about the Libyan situation, but ordinary South Africans could do their bit and support the people of Libya by rallying on social networks and forcing our leadership to be more active about Libya.
by Brendan Roane | Mar 11, 2011 | Featured 1, News
Dr Sally Reynolds, lead author of the research published in the Journal of Human Evolution
While natural disasters in Christchurch and Haiti have shown us the devastating effects of earthquakes, research performed by a Wits alumni may indicate that these quakes are what drew our ancestors to these areas in the first place.
Dr Sally Reynolds, lead author of the research published in the Journal of Human Evolution, said hominins, our early ancestors, chose to live in areas where there had been tectonic motions, such as earthquakes, because the features of the environment were better suited to them than the areas that had not been affected by earthquakes.
The sites affected by such tectonic activity supported the hominins because they typically have a river which supplied both water and pebbles for raw materials, trees for shade and some raised ground for viewing possible predators and food.
Reynolds believes the tectonic landscape model may also explain how our ancestors protected themselves from these predators.
“Hominins didn’t have sharp teeth, didn’t run fast, didn’t have controlled use of fire at this specific time, they had no clear way of defending themselves,” she said.
The hominins may have sought predator refuge on geological features as a result of tectonic motions, like cliffs, where they could view possible approaching danger. This kind of landscape use is still seen in baboons as protection from predation, according to Reynolds.
Reynolds also said that these findings will have an effect on future paleoanthropological studies.
“Prior to this study, the focus was on the fossil itself and possibly the cave or catchment area.
“If you want to understand why a hominin was living at a site, there is no point in just looking one, two or five metres around the fossil. You need to step back and look 10-15km around, where the rivers are, where the mountains are.”
Reynolds said that very few places in the world do not have much tectonic activity, however, she stressed that “tectonically active” on the geological scale could mean one earthquake every 200 000 years.
by Brendan Roane | Mar 4, 2011 | News
Political organisations contacted earlier this week had no specific plans to encourage students to register for municipal elections. According to the IEC, this weekend is the last opportunity for registration.
Students interviewed on Monday had not seen any advertisements or campaigns on campus.
According to IEC figures, only 11.4% of young people between 18 and 19 are registered to vote in the upcoming municipal elections.
Mukondeleli Mphigalale, chairperson of the Wits Congress of the People Student Movement (COPESM) said on Monday her party was going to try to place posters around campus to advertise the registration process, but they were struggling with time constraints.
Mphigalale said they were focusing on “word of mouth” to convince students to register.
African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) secretary at Wits, Lebohang Matshaba, said his party was concentrating on new media to get the message across.
But a check of the new media sites such as Facebook and Twitter could not find any such campaign about the upcoming registration.
“No, I’ve never seen any organisation creating that awareness,” said Jones Matlakala, a 4th year Media Studies student.
On Monday the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) had organised flyers which contained registration details, while the Democratic Alliance Students’ Organisation (DASO) had theirs up on Tuesday near the Matrix.
The last date to register is this weekend. Registration stations around Wits are to be found at Wits Old Mutual Hall and the Metropolitan Theatre, 158 Loveday Street, between 8am and 5pm.
by Brendan Roane | Mar 4, 2011 | News
A former Wits student’s R7.6-million lawsuit against Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande was struck off the roll in court recently.
According to Times LIVE, Hamilton Moloi, who was a fourth-year BEd student, argues he was deliberately failed by the university and is seeking compensation from Nzimande. However, his case was not taken into account by the judge due to errors in his application.
Legal expert Professor Stephen Tuson believes Moloi cited the wrong defendant in the case as he can sue Wits directly for his claims.
According to Tuson, Wits is a “statutory body with a standing identity”, which means it has the ability to sue and be sued in its own name.
However, Moloi also has the right to sue the person in charge of the alleged offender, such as Nzimande or even the vice-chancellor of Wits, as a representative of the University.
Tuson said it appears the case was struck off the roll because the evidence Moloi presented to the court, in the form of affidavits, was not properly authenticated by a commissioner of oaths.
Moloi told reporters outside of court he will not give up fighting as he believes Nzimande has to answer his claim that he has been denied his right to education.
Professor Francis Faller, Deputy Head of the Wits School of Education, said the incident was examined and the findings were passed on to the Department of Education.
He said: “the matter has been thoroughly investigated and the school is satisfied that Mr Moloi has not been unduly disadvantaged.”
Faller also said there had been no recent contact between the school and Moloi or between the school and the Department of Education, to his knowledge.
The incident began in 2007 when, according to Moloi, he placed an assignment in the wrong submissions box which was then deemed late and marked out of 50%.
According to reports, Nzimande said in court papers the student should have included Wits in his application as the case revolves around a decision made by the university, not by the minister himself.
