by Enos Phosa | May 19, 2011 | Featured 1, Sport
THE final round of Absa Premiership games ends tomorrow afternoon with Ajax Cape Town in the driver’s seat to clinch their first premiership title.
Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates still have an outside chance of “stealing the glory” from Ajax should the latter fail to bank maximum points against Maritzburg United at Cape Town Stadium.
Meanwhile, at Bidvest Stadium the Clever Boys, as the Wits soccer team is known, have been labouring in physical activity in preparation for their final league game against Platinum Stars. Wits will be hoping to win the game and end the season on a positive note by qualifying for the MTN 8 Cup knockout which starts at the beginning of next season.
Wits coach Roger De Sa described the season’s performance as “satisfactory” and is pleased that the team is “among the top overall scorers in the league”.
Wits has not managed to win silverware this season and, moreover, relinquished their possession of the Nedbank Cup title with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Chiefs in the second round. Despite this, De Sa remains optimistic about next season and urges his players to continue giving of their best.
“The players always show 100% commitment whether they get selected to play or not. If we can continue playing our normal attacking football and tighten the defence as well, I think we will do better next season,” he said.
At one stage during the season one would have thought Wits would be a contender for the premiership after an impressive run of victories at Bidvest Stadium. It was however not to be, with the team managing a single win in their last five games and adversely affecting their league standing.
There is still plenty of enthusiasm from the players which is impressive especially at the very end of the season. The players have had a physically draining season and regardless of this, midfielder Stanton Fredericks believes that “it is up to the players to be professional until the end, because the commitment we [the players] show in training will be reflected in the game”.
Fredericks was backed by teammate Sifiso Myeni, who recently won his first Bafana Bafana cap in a 1-0 win away to Tanzania, when he said: “If we all put in a good performance we can beat Platinum Stars and keep our home record to just one league defeat this season”.
by Enos Phosa | May 12, 2011 | News
Many people know what it feels like to be told that they look “gorgeous”, “cute” or “handsome” but only a few embrace the feeling of being called “a celebrity lookalike”. Enos Phosa caught up with celebrity lookalike Witsies to get their views on the celebrities they have been labelled as.
by Enos Phosa | May 12, 2011 | News
Despite continued efforts by Wits to tighten security, the safety of cars in and around campus is not guaranteed, especially at night.
Thabang Sefalafala nearly lost his Opel Corsa when the car’s rear windshield was shattered in a car-theft attempt on the last day of the first block in April.
The sociology masters student usually parks in front of the Chemistry Building on East Campus until the early hours of the morning to use the Wartenweiler Library’s 24-hour section.
“I did not see the damage on the windshield immediately because it appeared like water drops as it had been raining that night,” he said.
After noticing the damage in the morning Sefalafala headed to Wits to report the incident. He was “shocked” to discover that a student who also drives an Opel Corsa was there to report a hole drilled in his car window in line with the unlocking pad also in a car-theft attempt.
“I was told by security that the glass must have been hit with a spark plug to break it,” Sefalafala said.
Sefalafala’s car was saved by a “smash-and-grab” system he installed in the windows and windshields which acts as a buffer enabling the glass to withstand massive force when struck. This prevented the glass from breaking despite the countless cracks.
Sefalafala raised the concern of “whether it is students who are doing these things” and feels that “Wits is too big a community to be left in the hands of Campus Control alone”.
“We should look out for each other or else we are all going to cry,” he said.
Walter Lemao from Campus Control believes this is the “work of outside criminals” who find their way onto campus. After observing the damage to both cars, he said: “These problems often arise because students swipe-in strangers onto campus, thinking that they are being helpful.
“In this way we are unable to fully monitor who is on campus and because we are stationed at gates and buildings mainly, it is difficult to keep an eye everywhere.”
by Enos Phosa | Apr 15, 2011 | News
The Clever Boys, as the Bidvest Wits Soccer Team are known, aim to send Santos back to the classroom for a football lesson in their first-round match of the Nedbank Cup. The game will be played at the Bidvest Stadium on Sunday, March 13, and kick-off is at 3pm.
Having emerged victorious in the competition last year, Bidvest will be hoping to get a perfect start to their championship defence by defeating the Cape Town side.
Wits are no strangers to beating Santos and to ensure that the players showcase a top performance as they did in the February league fixture when they brushed off the People’s Team with a convincing 3-1 score line, the coaching staff and technical team are putting in extra hard work in preparations.
Goal keeper Darren Keat said: “Keeping a clean sheet is essential because it is a knock-out Cup game.
“We are strong enough to beat Santos, and we can achieve that if we keep our eyes on the ball.”
Wits will be looking to the likes of Sifiso Vilakazi upfront to spearhead the attacks. Vilakazi said: “The mood is high in camp and against an unpredictable side such as Santos we need to attack from the first whistle in order to win.”
Despite lying in sixth position on the Absa Premiership log, Wits have had a recent impressive run of matches. In their last 10 games they have won six and drawn two, scoring a total of 23 goals.
They will hope to carry this run of form into Sunday’s game which, should they win, will send a strong message to the rest of their opponents that they strive for nothing less than retaining the Cup.
A concern for the team could be that their leading scorer, Bhongolwethu Jayiya, will not be able to play as he has featured in the same competition before, for a team in the first divison prior to joining Wits.
According to midfielder Mark Haskins this is not really a worry for the team. “We have been on a good run lately and playing at home is a good enough boost to see us through to the next round,” he said.
by Enos Phosa | Apr 15, 2011 | News
FORMER Witsie and 2004-05 SRC president Mohlouoa Ntsasa is on the brink of launching a ground-breaking “one-of-a-kind” poetry book. Poetic Therapy contains 170 poems and is the first poetry book in Africa to contain all 61 recognised different poem types.
Poetic Therapy showcases some of Ntsasa’s best language and literature work. The poems depict a diversity of contemporary issues such as love, gender, divorce and the origins of Africa and South Africa.
“The use of language should be beyond mere communication, so this book helps preserve the mathematics of language and is aimed at inspiring people to express themselves and feel enthusiastic about language,” said Ntsasa, whose curiosity about language motivated him to write the book.
Another unique feature of the book is that it contains the world’s longest palindrome, a piece of writing containing words and phrases such as “eye”, “121”and “madam” which can be read forward and backward and still make sense.
The 335-word palindrome makes Ntsasa the first poet in the past 100 years to write one longer than 226 words.
This wordsmith, academic, linguist, poet and grammarian will launch Poetic Therapy midyear in Johannesburg and people interested in attending the launch can e-mail booklaunch@ymail .com. People at the launch will receive a Poetic Therapy hamper which includes a signed copy of the book and DVD and a poetry compilation CD. There will be live performances by national and international poets, authors and comedians.
The book will also be launched in Canada, India and Poland.
Otshepeng Mmelesi, BA African literature student, said: “I love poetry [I] and always read it; I will definitely attend the launch because it will be valuable and worthwhile.”
For further information visit www.ptdejavu.co.za
by Enos Phosa | Apr 15, 2011 | News
WINTER is approaching and the start of the second block should see Wits students and staff members crowding the Wits Campus and Wellness Centre to get the flu vaccine.
The flu vaccine is injected annually to protect people against the highly variable influenza virus. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases last year’s influenza season was 18 weeks long, which makes it one of the longest in the past 26 years.
The flu vaccine for this year’s influenza season contains three influenza viruses, namely, A (H3N2) virus, A (H1H1) virus and B virus, which when injected, the immune system gets used to and therefore prevents people from getting the influenza virus.
Head of Campus Health and Wellness Centre, Sister Yvonne Matimba, said: “Students who have been taking the vaccine should continue to do so…”
Matimba explained that the vaccine is to prevent the “influenza virus which is deadly” from entering the human body.
“With vaccination, a person is only at risk of getting a common cold which may cause a running nose and minor cough, but he is protected fully from influenza which causes sore joints, high fever and can kill,” she said.
Final year BA student, Mmathapelo Khutoane, has never taken the flu vaccine before. “I hardly ever get flu, even in winter but I would advise students to get vaccinated because keeping warm does not necessarily ensure that you won’t get sick,” she said.
Third year Psychology student, Michelle` Greaves said: “I take Vitamin C tablets from Clicks and therefore I don’t think I need to get the flu vaccine.
“People who are prone to colds and flu can exercise regularly to try and strengthen their bodies’ ability to fight off illnesses.”
Students and staff members who wish to get the flu vaccine can sign their names at the Campus Health and Wellness Centre at a cost of R50. Alternatively, the vaccine can be purchased at pharmacies for the same price and should be kept at a temperature of between two to eight Degrees Celsius.
“Each day is important in a student’s life and students miss out on a lot when they stay away from campus due to sickness, there for its better that they get vaccinated and then need not worry,” Matimba said.
by Enos Phosa | Apr 14, 2011 | News
RECENT hikes in fuel prices have adversely affected students’ ability to have lunch on campus. Last week saw the petrol price rise to a record all-time high of R9,60 a litre and students face the decision of either buying their favourite lunch at the Matrix or prioritising in filling up their tanks to get to campus.
“The more I eat, the less petrol I have, said Tshepo Malaka, a 3rd year BCom accounting student.
“Since the price increased I spend up to R450 every week on petrol, which is double the amount I would normally spend.
“I don’t mind walking to campus, but I’m forced to drive because I carry heavy textbooks.”
Mncedisi Mvelase, a politics honours student, said. “I can’t afford lunch anymore because I have to put extra money aside for fuel.
“It’s cheaper to bring food from home.”
Students also say there is limitation in accessing alternative transport and many would rather pay the high fuel prices and travel comfortably than switch to public transport. Zak Myeza, a 4th year electrical engineering student, said public transport is unreliable and he cannot use it as an alternative.
“Nowadays, buying food at lunch time is a luxury and for me I have to put aside the R60 I would normally use to buy food to top up petrol money because I cannot rely on buses and taxis,” he said.
For some students the petrol price increase does not necessarily affect their ability to buy food at lunch time, but they have to sacrifice other luxuries to keep their cars fuelled up enough for them to get to campus and back.
Liz Grieve, a 3rd year psychology student, said the fuel price increase does not really affect her ability to buy lunch on campus, but then she is unable to “go out” as often as she wants and buy shoes she likes because she has to put extra money aside from her allowance to fill up her tank weekly.
by Enos Phosa | Apr 8, 2011 | News
The saying “if a public toilet has no writing behind the door or on its walls then it has never been used before” is applicable to many public toilets, including Wits.
Walls and doors of toilets around campus, especially those in Senate House, have been vandalised with layers of writing and drawings, of which some depict obscene imagery. It seems that with every flush, there is a guarantee that a new message or a reply to an existing one is added.
OFFENSIVE AND COSTYLY: Bathroom art? Photo: Enos Phosa
Some of the messages on the walls read: “F*** you if you are reading this!” and “P***y is too good to be gay.”
Prishani Naidoo, a staff member of the sociology department, said: “Vandalism at Wits occurs because students may feel that they are not given the platform to be vocal about issues or concerns they have, therefore the use of toilet space can be an option for students to exercise power because there often are no consequences.”
Godfrey Makharamedza, a Supercare worker responsible for cleaning the toilets in Central Block, said: “It’s offensive for me to have to clean such things off the walls and doors, and often management has to repaint the toilet walls because some of the writing cannot be scrubbed off.”
The attitude of most Wits students towards toilet graffiti is that it is “immoral”
Photo: Enos Phosa
and “insulting”.
Such views are shared by BA law 1st year student Lloyd Nxumalo, who said: “This goes against my Christian principles and I feel insulted having to find such graphic and obscene graffiti in toilets.
“University is supposed to prepare us for the seriousness of the work place, and what does this immaturity say about our values which employers often look for?”
For Sibusiso Mqikela, a 1st year bachelor of clinical and medical practice student, such “provocative” and “disturbing” things are never encountered at Wits Medical Campus.
“I have only seen such things at Main Campus and it is because students have too much time to waste,” he said.
“This represents the lack of respect stu
dents have for one another and it’s really disappointing.”
by Enos Phosa | Apr 8, 2011 | News
WITS students who have lost money trying to load their student card accounts at Icam machines on campus have voiced their discontent with Icam’s “poor service” when dealing with complaints.
Students say even though the new digital Icam machines installed on campus at the beginning of the year are easier to use, they often get jammed and cost them lots of money because they only load notes.
Bevin Dorkin, a final year BA student, said when he tried to load R20 into his account at the machine close to the Matrix on Saturday, the machine “swallowed” his money and then stopped working. He said a while after the machine jammed the screen displayed a message which stated that “An e-mail will be sent to notify the Icam office.”
When Dorkin went to the Icam office in Senate House to report the matter, he was told to write his student and cellphone numbers on a blank piece of paper given to him.
“It’s been almost a week now and I have not been contacted by Icam. I am angry that I had to lose my money in this manner. What if I had put a R200 note into that machine?
“It’s plain to see that Icam has a mediocre attitude towards complaints and this leaves me wondering how much money a day they make when machines get jammed,” he said.
Tshepo Dikgale, a 3rd year quantity surveying student, usually loads his card for making photocopies.
“I have never used that machine [again] since it chowed my R10. Even the guys who were in line behind me waiting to use the machine, lost their money.
“These new notes-only machines are a disadvantage because I can’t load less than R10 even though I just want to make one or two photocopies,” he said.
Icam manager, Giles Watermeyer said the system being used “can only work with notes.”
“I admit that we have been struggling with service delivery. We are hiring more staff to deal with queries more effectively. We are improving the system to make sure that we can do proper tracking, tracing and communication… The object is to have a three day turnaround time for students to know that the money is ready to collect at the office…” said Watermeyer.
Mpho Lekitlane, 3rd year organisational psychology student, said: “I was able to receive my R10 back from the Icam office last year, but I found the system very bureaucratic.
“If they had a system for students to forward their queries online, then it would be more efficient.”
by Enos Phosa | Mar 28, 2011 | News
FOR the first time in five weeks students and other commuters were able to board Metrobuses on Tuesday, March 22. The bus service resumed after being suspended due to strike action by drivers belonging to the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) who were unhappy about the implementation of a new system that required them to work longer hours.
It has been reported that the strike cost the bus company up to R10-million in lost income and another R2,5-million in facilitating mediation with the union.
It is estimated that 90 000 commuters rely on Metro buses to get to work and schools. Among those are university students who had to find alternative transport while the strike was on.
Busiso Moyo, an honours student in development studies, said he was “greatly inconvenienced” by the five-week long strike because he had to “hustle” a ride with friends to campus or use a taxi.
“The bus picked me up at my gate and dropped me off there again from Senate House. During the strike I had to walk across Mandela Bridge because the taxi dropped me off at Bree [Street].”
To make up for the inconveniences to commuters, Metrobus announced that passengers who had bus tags would be allowed to use the bus free of charge on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
Emma Molobi, a 4th year metallurgy student, said she boarded the bus free of charge by just showing the driver her tag.
But, students are complaining that buses are now late and they have to wait up to an hour before the bus arrives.
“The buses were spot on before the strike – now they are back, but they have major delays. This new shift system is nonsense and it seems that management tried to fix something that was not broken,” Moyo said.
He was backed by Molobi who said: “I am okay with the buses, but having to wait up to 30 minutes longer than I used to for the bus is making me unhappy.”
by Enos Phosa | Mar 18, 2011 | News
The 9.0 mega thrust earthquake which hit Japan on March 11 resulted in a tsunami with 100000 kilolitre waves travelling up to 10km inland. The most affected area has been Sendai and the surrounding north-eastern islands along the Pacific coastline.
The tsunami has caused severe damage such as flooding, landslides, nuclear incidents, building and infrastructural damage. The reported death toll has topped 11 000 and rescue officials (locally and internationally) have continued to work around the clock in rescue operations.
Seiya Tobishima, a Wits 2nd year Bcom economics exchange student from Soka University in Tokyo, said he was shocked because Japan had never experienced an earthquake this massive. His hometown of Sapporo is further north of Sendai and was hardly affected by the destruction.
He said: “I am fortunate that my family is safe in Sapporo, but I feel very sorry for people in Sendai and the best I can do is to encourage them through prayer.
“I have joined The Eastern Japan Earthquake Project which sends messages of condolences and encouragement to people from the affected areas, but I feel that I could do more to help if I was back at home”
According to Thabisa Hlwatika, an English assistant teacher at a junior high school in Izumi, close to Sendai city, school pupils were told to only return to school next week Tuesday.
She said: “The Japanese people in my area have been very calm and are trying to get things back to normal. I have not seen collapsed buildings in Izumi because the area is further inland; however there is damage such as cracked walls, fallen roof tiles and broken windows.
“I did not have electricity and could not make international calls to home until two days after the earthquake. I received food and water from the refuge shelters brought from neighbouring towns by trucks.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday News 24 reported that the South African government was moving 10 exchange students from Sendai to Tokyo as a safety precaution because of the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
by Enos Phosa | Mar 18, 2011 | News
SOUTH Point residents in Braamfontein are in turmoil over more than a week-long water cuts in the buildings’ bathrooms and toilets.
Students are unable to shower, brush their teeth and flush the toilets in the mornings and often throughout the day because water is not available from about 6.30am until 5.30pm.
Last week, South Point management put up a notice in the buildings which read: “Please note – there is currently no water in the building due to Municipal problems and not South Point. The Municipal offices have been contacted and the problem will soon be resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Albert Ndou, a Witsie living in South Point 66 De Korte, said: “I am not free to go to the toilet during the day, I have to hold myself.
“I usually have classes after 10am, so when I wake up I collect water from the kitchen to wash in my room. I can only wash half my body because the tub I use is too small.”
Another Witsie, Omphile Menyatsoe, said: “Girls have monthly special needs and due to unavailability of water, the toilets are dirty, not flushed and smell like urine.
“For more than five days now I have been waking up at 3am in order to shower. Whenever South Point gives us poor service, they always say ‘sorry for the inconvenience’ but we cannot say that when we can’t pay rent. This is unfair.”
The precinct manager of South Point, Navi Kathrada, said the water cuts in buildings are due to the inability for the municipality to apply enough water pressure to efficiently supply the buildings.
“I understand the hindrance the water problem is having on students but it is not only South Point which is affected, also the rest of Braamfontein and the Joburg CBD,” she said.
“We are investigating the problem and trying to find an alternative for students. At the moment we cannot say much as we are waiting for feedback from Johannesburg Water.”
Veronica Benham, a Witsie living in Braamfontein Centre, a street away from South Point 66 De Korte, said there had not been any water cuts in the Wits res.
There is concern amongst students that South Point is not paying for water as it should.
“If it was a municipal problem, there would be no water on Wits campus as well,” Ndou said.
