by Caro Malherbe | May 17, 2013 | Featured 1, Sport
QUEER AS FUN: Wham! members enjoy a day of social rugby at Wits. Photo: Provided
WHAM! A queer social rugby club based at Wits was started this year by Witsie Gabriel Khan and a group of his friends.
“I love rugby and I love the queers, it was the natural thing to do!” said Khan, who works for the Gay and Lesbian Archives (GALA).
Wham! is made up of Wits students, some ex-Witsies as well as people who are linked to Activate, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersexual student society (LGBTI), as well as other GALA members.
“Wham! is about creating a healthy social space for queer people to meet and make friends, outside the usual scene of bars and clubs.”
“Although we have other queers who heard about rugby, and decided to join in as well, Activate has been great in supporting this initiative,” said Kahn. Khan said Wham! members come together every Saturday and play a game of rugby, usually followed by a drink and the vibe is “usually quite chilled.”
“There aren’t many safe spaces for queers to meet socially, and I thought sport is a healthy way to get out there and have a good time.”
Although Wham! started as a social game, the team are looking to become more competitive and hope to play against other teams such as the Cape Town based queer rugby team, Blight Rugby club. “We’d be keen to play against other Wits teams, just for the fun of it!” said Khan.
Anyone can join in the fun and players don’t necessarily need to be queer.
“We don’t discriminate against straight people. It’s mostly about having a good time and it’s also a great way to get fitter,” said Khan.
Khan said anyone who is interested can join the team on Saturday, even if it’s just to watch and support. Khan said Wham! has a Facebook page with information on practices and events.
by Caro Malherbe | May 17, 2013 | News
By Caro Malherbe and Ray Mahlaka.
SEXUAL harassment allegations against Wits university lecturers have dented the university’s reputation. At least three academic staff members have been suspended for alleged sexual harassment and have been put on special leave, pending an inquiry.
Wits spokesperson Shirona Patel said the coverage of the sexual harassment cases in the media has cost thousands of rands in reputation damage.[pullquote align=”right”]”Reputation is everything in academia as well as the world of corporate and consumer brands”[/pullquote]
“We have adopted an open and transparent approach pertaining to this matter, without compromising the legal processes underway…However, we can facilitate the communication as much as we like, but if we do not fix the real problems in our system, these issues will recur,” Patel said.
Communication strategist Sarah Britten said that in a country where people are aware of gender based violence, institutions such as Wits should be criticising society.
“Scandals like this [sexual harassment] could scare off potential students and staff and cost Wits money in lost fees and the inability to attract the best academics. “Reputation is everything in academia as well as the world of corporate and consumer brands and this has been damaging,” Britten told Wits Vuvuzela.
Britten said that the Sunday Times article on senior drama lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu will linger in people’s memories. “In cases like this, it’s important to create the perception of transparency and swift action. I’m not sure they have actually done this,” she said.
Word of mouth can harm the reputation of the university more than the reported stories in the media, said Britten.
Public relations consultant Chris Vick said the university has been “relatively successful” in demonstrating that it will not tolerate sexual harassment. “But the key is to maintain momentum by formulating and announcing steps, such as policies and practices, to ensure this does not happen again and to communicate these to students, in particular, in a convincing way.”
Students’ thoughts
Melissa Lowrens, 2nd year BA, said she felt the scandals that were exposed this year have caused “irreparable damage to Wits’ reputation.”
Lowrens said people often tell her: “Oh, that school that was in the paper for sexual harassment.” However, Imra Schaik, 2nd year BA General, said that he remains a proud Witsie even after the scandals. “My friends who are at UJ [University of Johannesburg] still think I’m a boss for getting into Wits.”
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by Caro Malherbe | May 10, 2013 | Sport
THE WITS rugby club teams came out on top after they defeated Pirates five times in five matches on Saturday.
The U/19 team walked away with a victory of 29-0 while the U/21’s secured a massive 48-0 win against the Pirates.
The 3rds and 2nds then kept the streak alive with wins at the Pirates’ Greenside rugby field.
The highlight of the day was the Wits first team beating Pirates 44-29, leaving the Witsies feeling proud as they walked away with all five wins.
The first try of the game was scored by Jacques Erasmus after Pirates gave way for a Wits line out, 30 meters away from the try line. However, after talking to the lines men, the try was cancelled.
Grant Janke showed off his stepping skills as he filled the gaps, resulting in a try for Wits, then flyhalf Greg Blom converted, putting Wits in a 7-0 lead.
Blom managed to secure a second try, as well as a conversion. Very early on in the game it was clear that the Wits boys were going to give it horns.
Wits raised the pressure considerably but unfortunately handed over a penalty for Pirates due to small, silly mistakes giving their opponents a sense of hope.
Wits was strong on the offense as they drove into the Pirates five metres away from the try line. Pirates made for tough opposition, but Erasmus eventually made it over. Blom missed the kick over and at 30 minutes into the game the score stood at 19-3 to Wits.
Ten minutes later Wits managed to score another two tries as well as two conversions by Blom, putting Wits ahead 33-3 at half time.
Wits came back in the second half with confidence, scoring another try by Hannes Luddick after a great display of teamwork.
With the score at 38-3, Pirates were feeling the heat. Trying to recover they finally manage to score their first try when they received a scrum 25 meters from the Wits score line. Fighting through the Wits defenders, they scored and with a converted to 38-10.
Another try was scored by the Pirates, but a missed conversion put the score at 38-15 at 60 minutes into the game. About a minute later the Pirates dished out some clever moves and secured another try raising their score to 38-22.
Wits received a penalty that was kicked over successfully by Kyle Peyper who came on for Blom and fought back for a 41- 22 lead. Pirates came back strong five minutes later when they once again scored a try and a kick over.
With the score at 41-29, Wits clung onto their lead desperately with only 10 minutes left of the game.
Wits received another penalty kicked over by Peyper. Erasmus then made a break for it and scored a try that was again cancelled after the lines men had said their bit.
With Pirates strong on the offence 30 meters from the try line, Wits stayed adamant by defending strongly, forcing the Pirates into making poor decisions.
The Wits team were relieved when the ref blew the whistle, signalling the end of the game and a 44-29 victory for Wits.
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 30, 2013 | Featured 1, News
Seadimo Tlale, One Day Leader number 2, dominating at debating.
Photo: Facebook
Seadimo Tlale is the last Witsie standing in SABC’s One Day Leader contest.
The show that aims to find future leaders of the country will soon be coming to an end. With only 3 contestants left, the pressure is on for Tlale to represent Wits, as well as being the last female in the competition.
When asked what got her this far in the competition, Tlale said: “People like the way I reason and stand by what I believe in regardless of what anybody says.”
Known for her skills in debating, Tlale can proudly say that she has won the most debates this season, despite the fact that she is the youngest contestant to ever make it this far.
“The quality that made me stand out the most was that people were amazed about how age is not a factor for me. I go out and achieve what I set to do,” said Tlale.
The finale airs on Mothers Day, Sunday May 12, where the decision will be made on who will be South Africa’s One Day Leader 2013.
With faith and assurance, Tlale is ready to go all the way. She said: “I have overcome great obstacles by challenging very strong opponents with confidence.”
To support your fellow Witsie SMS “Leader 2” to 34068.
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 29, 2013 | News
Witsies showcasing their graffiti skills on the Library Lawns.
Photo: Caro Malherbe
Sprite has launched a nationwide talent search for the best emcees, dancers and graffiti artists in the country, and this week they’re at Wits main campus.
Sprite is looking for skilled dancers and emcees or “b-boys” who have a love for hip hop.
The winners of the Sprite Uncontainable Talent Search in each category will win a trip to New Orleans with Talib Kweli, the American rap master.
Jody Elliot, one of the ladies handling entries, said: “Anyone can come to the Sprite truck on the Library Lawns and show their talent to the judges in a private booth. Dance groups have a dance floor that they can use and there are also boards put up where people can show their graffiti skills.”
The search will be at Wits for the remainder of the week from 9am to 5pm. There will also be free Sprite given away during lunch hour.
Sprite’s tagline for the competition is: “Show us what you got and represent your hood.” Wits is sure to have some talented representatives.
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 26, 2013 | News
A “WITS sex tape” made by two students has been a hot topic of debate this week, blowing up on twitter and radio.
The six-part, 30 minute sex tape begins with the male student positioning the camera. The woman, whose name is known to Wits Vuvuzela, then begins performing oral sex.
The woman from the sex tape refused to speak with Wits Vuvuzela, but it was confirmed by a close friend that the woman is still a Wits student and the couple have been dating for years.
A source close to the girl told Wits Vuvuzela on Sunday: “Well she and her boyfriend made the sex tape long ago and she didn’t know it was online.
She had been trying to get hold of her boyfriend [on Sunday] but he was not answering his phone.”
The source said she thought her friend was in denial about the tape going viral judging from her reaction when told about it.
“Oh well, at least I look hot,” she told her friends.
The sex tape was trending on twitter for more than 72 hours early in the week. Some students had mixed feelings about the sex tape, while most were just trying to get in on the most talked about topic on twitter. The tape was uploaded in six parts last November, on the Blacknudes mobile porn blog under the title “Wits girl love”. The blog has since been deleted.
Many tweets rolled in speculating whether or not the couple was aware that they were being filmed, but it is clear from the tape that they knew they were on camera.
The man positions the camera before the woman looks directly into the camera, saying: “So yeah, hey like we’re about to fuck.”
On Wednesday morning a man claiming to be in the tape was interviewed on the Yfm breakfast show hosted by Moeti Tsiki and Khutso Theledi.
During his anonymous interview with Yfm, the man claimed it had been filmed by his dad. However, many tweets flew in saying that the man being interviewed was a liar and that he was only trying to gain fame and publicity.
caro@witsvuvuzela.com
shandu@witsvuvuzela.com
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 19, 2013 | News
An independent inquiry into sexual harassment reporting is now in full swing.
It started last week with two top powered legal teams from the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) and Norton Rose Legal Practices.
They are now making a call to all students to come forward with their stories or views on how to improve the system.
This is a separate inquiry from the internal investigation by Wits into staff members. The legal teams are making a further call to students who have been harassed, or any member of the university community with a view on the matter, to come forward.
A lawyer from Norton Rose, Joe Mothibi, said that the inquiry was aimed at finding out “what systematic problems there are in the university with regards to sexual harassment. What mechanisms are in place, are they adequate and how they can be improved”.
CALS Attorney, Jameelah Omar told Wits Vuvuzela that she was finding it “a big problem with a trend that students don’t actually feel comfortable speaking to anyone in the university about sexual harassment.”
Mothibi said: “We are doing this to let people know that we are receptive to their complaints”. The legal team would be supportive and students would not be made to feel that they did something wrong.
“The biggest difficulty that we have had is with students coming forward. I think there might be some confusion because there are two paralleled commissions running. Ours is not to look at specific incidences, but to look at trends so that preventative measures can be put in place so that sexual harassment doesn’t happen of any sort.”
According to Omar, the university was handling specific incidences of sexual harassment privately.
Mothibi added: “Cognisant of the rights of the alleged perpetrator and the victims, the university is dealing with it fairly for both sides and with maturity and sensitivity.”
By students coming forward with their views it would help determine how widespread the problem is and what needs to be done.
Omar explicitly added that by speaking up, “it is not contingent on them [students] actually making a formal report. So, say a student was actually sexual harassed they can come to us and tell us their story without it necessarily going any further. They are not forced to make any formal complaint.
“It is entirely confidential, we don’t need formal complaints, we don’t need evidence, and we don’t need anything to be proven.”
Mothibi said: “The idea is that the students contact us directly and come and see us under the strictest confidential terms with absolute assurance that it won’t get back to any other people in the university. “
Anyone who wishes to speak with the legal team can contact them via email: Joe Mothibi on joe.mothibi@nortonrose.com or Jameelah Omar on jameelah.omar@wits.ac.za
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 19, 2013 | News
Prof Rupert Taylor of the Political Studies department. Pic: Facebook.
Professor of Political Studies, Rupert Taylor, was escorted off campus by security on Tuesday after he was placed on special leave following allegations of sexual harassment.
Director of Campus Control, Robert Kemp, said Campus Security was called by Elaine Milton, head of employee relations, and given the instruction to remove Taylor from campus.
Taylor contacted Wits Vuvuzela via email on Wednesday to give a statement: “I am deeply upset and concerned about the damaging allegations that have been published against me in Vuvuzela and elsewhere, on and beyond Wits campus.
“I regard these allegations of sexual harassment against me as devoid of any truth and defamatory.
“The false allegations have resulted in very serious damage to my dignity and reputation. I am taking legal advice on my possible recourse in this regard.”
Shireen Hassim, professor of politics, was present when Taylor was escorted out of his office, to his car by security. She said that Taylor had initially declined to be removed but, when security was called, he complied. “It was not conflictual. He was very dignified,” Hassim said.
Prof Daryl Glaser, head of the politics department, said: “I can confirm that Prof Taylor is on leave, and that arrangements have been made to ensure continuity in teaching and supervision.”
Questions were raised about Taylor following a Wits Vuvuzela report published last year. Many suspected the article was about Taylor, as he was not named at the time. The allegations against Taylor arose again after a senior drama lecturer, Tsepo Wa Mamatu, was accused of sexual harassment and rape in the Sunday Times earlier this year.
Wits Vuvuzela reported in March that Dikeledi Selowa, former politics first year class representative, said there had been talk among the students about Taylor. “We knew of his history and some students were warned about him.”
Glaser confirmed that “investigations into sexual harassment claims are still ongoing”
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 19, 2013 | News
An exciting new online teaching initiative is taking Wits by storm.
Students can now get help online, with IQMate.com. Third year applied maths student, Houston Muzamhindo created the teaching website.
“Students can watch video tutorials online that are relevant to their courses. They can post questions and get answers,” enthused Zandi Keebine, Computational Applied Maths Masters student. She is one of the students who contributed to the site.
www.IQmates.com is targeted towards any student who is struggling with maths, accounting, physics and engineering.
“We are specifically trying to get first years and undergrads involved as we feel it will be a great help to their studies.”
In fact, “Any person, from any school, in any country can access the website and get help,” said Keebine.
The tutorials are structured according to the syllabus, so it stays relevant and up to date.
The website can also be a useful way for students to get in touch with tutors who could give them extra lessons or one-on-one guidance.
There are group discussions on the site where anyone can contribute by providing useful information.
This space provides a free market of ideas where students get access to various sources.
“Sometimes notes given in class aren’t enough and students need more practice and explanation in order to understand,” said Keebine.
By getting a variety of opinion, students can grasp ideas better and receive information that is more comprehendible.
Gone are the days of having to search Google or YouTube for hours, trying to get answers. Now a quick and easy portal gives students access to help any time of day.
The Science Teaching and Learning Centre’s, Dr Ann Cameron, had been involved in researching innovative education methods and helped to connect students to other lecturers.
Head of Schools for Computational and Applied Maths, Prof Ebrahim Momoniat supports the initiative. He helped the students set up the online teaching tool. There are plans to expand the website to include more subjects from other faculties.
The website IQmates.com is up and running and ready to help. For online tutoring go to www.IQmates.com and sign up.
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 15, 2013 | Featured 1, Sport
WITS CYCLE: A group of staff and students who came up with the idea to make Wits cycle friendly.
A group of students and staff has been working with planning teams to make Wits more bicycle-friendly – not only to improve the critical parking problems, but to lessen traffic congestion and fuel pollution too.
Called Cycle Wits, the initiative was founded by Nicky Falkhof, a senior media lecturer. She and a group of friends, mostly international students and staff, were concerned about the major parking and transport problems at Wits. They hope to encourage Witsies to cycle to campus.
“Everyone in Europe cycles to work and class,” said Falkhof. Not enough people made use of this mode of transport, she said. And there was no provision for those who did cycle. Campus accessibility, safe bike parking and bike routes that did not interfere with cars or pedestrians were non-existent.
The group have already met with the senior executive team in charge of planning and construction management at Wits. They also met with consultants from the City of Johannesburg and Urban designers to come up with a way of incorporating safe bicycle routes, bike racks and safe parking on campus.
Falkhof explained that safe parking for bicycles was of great importance as she and her fellow staff cyclists were currently forced to keep their bicycles in their offices during the day.
“The outcome from the meeting was a positive one as everyone seems to be on board with the idea,” said Falkhof. In the meantime, the Wits Security Manager has made provision for cyclists to use the side gates at entrances.
The group aims to create a cycling culture that starts with “Cycle Fridays”. “The more people are seen with bicycles on campus, the more the idea will become normalised.”
She said the group had created cycling route maps. These routes should create safe areas to cycle, and to interact with cyclists who follow the same route. This should make the commute fun and build camaraderie.
If the initiative grows, the group plans to help students buy bicycles and helmets, in order to “change the transport culture within the university and Joburg as a whole”, said Falkhof.
To get involved go to Cycle Wits on Facebook or visit their blog at www.cyclewits.co.za.
Next week Wits Vuvuzela will be riding a trail with one of the cyclists using a GoPro, a sports camera, which attaches to a cycle helmet.
by Caro Malherbe | Apr 15, 2013 | Featured 1, News
TWO VC’s SPEAK: Incoming Vice Chancellor Prof Adam Habib and outgoing Vice Chancellor Prof Loyiso Nongxa addressed the media on Monday regarding the spending on the VC’s official residence. Photo: Ray Mahlaka
UNCERTAINTY surrounding the refurbishments of Savernake, the house provided for Wits vice chancellor, was the subject of a news briefing held on Monday by incoming Vice Chancellor Prof Adam Habib.
“The house belongs to the trust of the Price family and was made available for the use of Wit’s vice chancellor some 40 years ago. The terms of the agreement are that it has to be returned to the Price family should the vice chancellor not live in it,” said a statement from the office of the Vice Chancellor.
Habib, who is not yet residing at Savernake, stressed at the media briefing that the house is not only a home for the VC but a venue that is used to host a number of university functions.
However, Savernake, which is still registered under the Price family trust has “not been adequately maintained and has fallen into serious disrepair over the years.”
The cost of refurbishments to the house
was settled at R12 million, but was later cut down to R9 million after a meeting convened by Habib with the representatives of the unions, the SRC and the senate representatives to Wits Council.
The Star recently published an article that criticised the decision to renovate Savernake by stating “[The] University is prepared to spend at least R9 million on renovating the vice-chancellor’s official residence, [when] desperate students sleep on chairs.”
Habib said that the university is aware that there are students without homes and who have financial problems: “We will do our best within our means to help them but we must abide by public laws of heritage too.”
The reason the cost of refurbishment is so high is because the house is a heritage site and there are certain laws surrounding the renovation procedures of it.
“There are explicit rules of how to renovate it and it can only be repaired by a select group of artisans and service providers,” Habib said.
Tawana Kupe, deputy vice chancellor for finance and operations said that it has been agreed with the Price family trust that the property, worth R30 million, will be transferred to Wits University should the renovations proceed.
“We are not paying the Price family a single rand for the house. We will not buy the house,” Kupe said.
