by Nokuthula Manyathi | May 10, 2013 | News
There are nice gift incentives for good behaviour: the dean of students, Prem Coopoo, presented members of the Wits All Residence Council (ARC) with tablets last month.
Fifteen of the 18 ARC members were promised tablets as an incentive to ensure that last year’s all residence “Wits 90” heritage celebration picnic would be incident free.
In an email interview with Wits Vuvuzela, Coopoo confirmed this.
Coopoo said because of previous misconduct at the ARC picnics, there was a lot of debate on the future of the ARC picnic. The Student Services Advisory Committee had then decided that 2012’s ARC would be granted permission to host the picnic based on certain conditions.
“As an incentive to host an incident free picnic, I offered the ARC members tablets,” said Coopoo. “These picnics have always been without incident except for two consecutive years in 2010/2011 when we had alcohol abuse and a stabbing,” said Coopoo
Coopoo said her office had provided the funding for the tablets and that the tablets were for the members to keep.
Justice Nkomo, former Chairperson of 2011/2012 ARC, was able to confirm that he had received a Proline 9.7” tablet from Coopoo in good faith.
“All members of last year’s ARC received Tablets because of a resolution that emanates from the student advisory committee,” said Nkomo.
According to the company’s website, the Proline tablets retail for R2 295.
Nkomo said the ARC had received the tablet because they put in extra effort in organising the event and that he could not confirm whether other student representative councils would receive gifts if they performed according to the set standards.
Nkomo, upon receiving the tablets, said that other students should not be outraged that the university was spending money on them. He said the Proline tablets were among the most inexpensive on the market.
He added that he hoped to re-launch the SRC’s “one student one tablet” campaign so that all students could be equipped.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 26, 2013 | Featured 1
On Friday night, after a long day on campus Sechaba*, 3rd year Construction Management, walked to his car only to find it dented and surrounded by shattered glass.
A picture of Sechaba’s car after the incident. Photo: Provided
Sechaba’s car was parked next to the bus stop on Yale road, between 9pm and 12am. He had come to campus to pick up friends.On seeing the damage, Sechaba immediately contacted Campus Control to report the matter.
The officers on duty made him fill out an incident form and advised him to come back on Monday to view video footage, if any was available. The officers told Sechaba that the culprit would be easier to apprehend if he was captured by video footage.
By Monday, following discussions with his mother, Sechaba decided not to take the matter further. “I decided just to go ahead and fix it myself, luckily I have a few mechanics in my network and the cost of repair is minimal,” said Sechaba.
Sechaba felt that Campus Control did all they could to help him. However, his concerns lay elsewhere, “as students of Wits, we pay so much money to attend here but our needs are treated as second class,” lamented Sechaba.
Wits Vuvuzela spoke to a number of Witsies about whether they felt their cars were safe on campus. Candice Griev, 3rd year BA Law, said nothing major had ever happened to her car except for a minor scrape.
Griev said she had seen vandalised cars at the parking lot for third and fourth years next to the Origins Centre. She saw one incident where someone had written on a parked vehicle with glue “How dare you park here?”
“The thing is there are security guards around here. I don’t understand why this was never addressed and why the person was never caught,” said Griev.
Mitchell Leering, MA Chemical Engineering, said he did not feel that cars were safe on campus late at night. “My car has been hit five times in the last three years,” he said.
Leering said his car had only ever incurred light damage. He said he had friends who had been victims of hit-and-runs with enough damage to be sent in for panel beating over a long period of time.
Leering told Wits Vuvuzela that they had not reported the matter to Campus Control.
“It’s not really worth it, because in our building we get alarms going off for hours without Campus Control coming. What’s the chance that Campus Control will come around to talk about your car?”
Robert Kemp, head of security for Campus Control, said that some parking lots have CCTV camera’s monitoring them. Along with this he said that there are regular patrols in the parking lots during the day.
He stressed the importance of students reporting their issues, so that they could get the help they needed.
Kemp encouraged those who had accidentally damaged cars to always leave a note with their name, number and student number on it. The repercussions for not doing so could be bad if the culprit later caught.
*Name changed to protect identity.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 26, 2013 | Featured 1
Dr Lord Mauko-Yevugah
INTERNATIONAL relations lecturer Dr Lord Mawuko-Yevugah has been placed on special leave following an investigation.Social Sciences head of school Prof Shahid Vawda said Mawuko-Yevugah had been put on leave about two weeks ago and would “be back as soon as the investigation is over”.
Vawda could not confirm the details or the nature of the investigation. He said he had not recieved formal confirmation of the nature of the allegations or the investigation.
Vawda said the investigation could be in relation to any form of misconduct such as sexual harassment, racial discrimination or gender-related issues.
He told Wits Vuvuzela to approach the Wits legal office for any further information or comments regarding the investigation.
Wits Vuvuzela was unable to reach the Wits legal office for comment. The communications office referred the paper to Wits employee relations.
Director of Employee Relations, Elaine Milton, said she could not rule out that the pending investigation was unrelated to sexual harassment. Milton referred further questions to the legal office.
When contacted Mawuko-Yevugah said he was on “personal leave” due to ill health since his return to the country from his trip to Ghana.
“I don’t know how long I will be away for but I will be back,” said Mawuko-Yevugah.
Administrative officer for the international relations department, Hilda Potgieter, said Mawuko-Yevugah “had taken personal and family leave”.
Potgieter said a contingency plan had been implemented to ensure students did not miss lectures and were not inconvenienced by Mawuko-Yevugah’s sudden absence.
“New lecturers have been assigned,” said Potgieter.
Mawuko-Yevugah is one of at least four lecturers who have been put on special leave by the university in the past two months, pending investigations.
Following Mawuko-Yevugah’s sudden absence, social science students were left confused and approached Wits Vuvuzela to express their concern.
Mawuko-Yevugah who teaches international relations subjects to undergraduates, postgraduates and Wits Plus students, joined Wits University in June 2011. He holds a PhD from Alberta University in Canada, with a specialisation in international and comparative political economy.
Additional Resources
Wits Vuvuzela. April 13, 2013: Wits staff in sexual harassment inquiry.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 19, 2013 | Featured 1, News
TALK THAT TALK: The Wits Debating Union’s Jamie Mighti (right) has been banned from participating in an upcoming tournament in Durban Photo: Provide
THE PRESIDENT of the Wits Debating Union (WDU) has been banned from a tournament in Durban following allegations of sexism.
The Howard College Debating Union (HCDU) executive committee banned WDU President Jamie Mighti from participating in its second annual debating tournament on April 26 after receiving an anonymous complaint.
Mighti was accused of making sexist remarks on the Nationals 2011 Facebook page towards HCDU members Kimera Chetty and Lindelwe Dube.
The war of words began when Chetty posted a comment on Facebook about the Jozi Rumble, a debating tournament hosted by WDU earlier this month. Chetty asked about television coverage of the tournament, which she said had been promised by Mighti.
“Hey Jamie, which channel can we catch the syndication of the Jozi rumble debates? #excited,” Chetty posted.
Mighti responded to Chetty with a post accusing her of using sexual favours to succeed in debate and saying she had a “flat bum”.
“You can sleep your way to the top but how will you sleep your way to this?” wrote Mighti. “Do you know what your mother wishes…that she had done better, than having a cry baby for a duaghter [sic]”.
Chetty fired back against Mighti on Facebook calling him sexist and arrogant.
“I am VERY glad that everyone is getting to see you for the sexist creep you are,” wrote Chetty. “Your problem is that for all your arrogance and general self-arse-kissery, you have trouble dealing with things directed specifically at *you*.
Lindelwe Dube then joined the Facebook conversation to defend Chetty:
“We all know Kimera or anyone who does well in our community didn’t sleep their way to the top. I for one was on my way to beating the crap out of Jamie for the statement he said about Kimera,” she wrote.
Mighti responded to Lindelwe Dube’s comment by claiming she was bitter because he had refused her advances. “If you went to gym more, who knows what could have happened, let go of the KFC girl.”
Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela that Chetty’s comments were attempts to undermine the work the WDU had done in hosting a successful tournament. “In that post she was trying to ridicule and mock the tournament,” explained Mighti.
He added that his online argument with Chetty was not an isolated incident. “Me and Kemira have had many, many differences over the years…and even on that wall [The Nationals 2011 Facebook Page] there we have many interactions where we will shout at each other.”
Wits Vuvuzela tried to reach Chetty for comment but received no response.
In an official email to the WDU, the HCDU executive committee announced Mighti’s exclusion from the tournament. “Due to Jamie’s utterances on FB page, he falls into that category of individual that the HCDU wishes to dissociate itself from. This ban is applicable only to Jamie and does not attach itself to WDU,” read the email.
Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela that he felt his comments should not reflect badly on the WDU and said he acted out of anger and frustration. He also turned to Facebook to offer apologies to Chetty and Lindelwa Dube. However, he denied that his comments were sexist or untruthful.
“I am sorry I called Lindelwe fat, this was a hurtful thing for me to say, I do not think it was sexist,” Mighti wrote.”I am sorry I said Kimera slept her way to the top, I have no business discussing people’s sexual histories or calling them names. I did not in any way ever mean that WOMEN are as a group incapable of making it on their own and that they can’t do anything.”
“In a moment of anger I also said something about her, which is not untrue but also very hurtful,” said Mighti.
Mighti wrote that he hoped to find a way to move past the dispute with Chetty and Lindelwa Dube. The WDU has since decided to withdraw from attending the tournament. WDU Treasurer Gwinyani Dube said a double-standard had been applied to Mighti as the two HCDU debaters had not been suspended despite having also made insults.
Gwinyani Dube defended Mighti from accusations of sexism and said they were a matter of “perception”.
“The idea of sexism largely relies on perception. We as a union…don’t view the insults as sexist but rather a personal insult that has been inflated into a broader woman-based issue,” Gwinyai Dube said.
Mighti said that the exclusion from the tournament would not affect the WDU’s ranking as number one in Africa and 23rd in the world. The tournament hosted by HCDU was a friendly and not mandatory to attend, he added.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 19, 2013 | Featured 1, News
FILMING IN FINLAND: Wits documentary filmmakers, Zama-Afrika Mkhize (centre) and Margreet Cohen Gouws (right), take a tram in Helsinki.
Photo: Provided
TWO Witsies have been selected to spend the next three months in Finland making documentary films.
Zama-Afrika Mkhize, 4th year BAPVA, and Margreet Cohen Gouws, 4th BADA, were selected to participate in the North-South–South Exchange( NSSE) programme.
Both Gouws and Mkhize expressed their excitement ahead of their trip to Finland and hoped to gain more skills as film-makers during their three month stay.
“I wanna produce and I’m not gonna settle for anything less… I really wanna come out as a specialised professional, a producer in the film industry,” said Mkhize.
Janet King, production coordinator at the Wits School of Arts film and television department, said students were selected based on academics, a motivational letter and a panel interview. King said the programme was open to third year film and television students.
The NSSE programme is a six-month course which creates a platform where 14 students from different corners of the globe come together for six months to create documentaries. This year the programme had two Witsies, two University of Johannesburg students, two AFDA Film School students, three students from Ghana, and four Finnish students. The programme is designed to allow students from different institutions to collaborate creatively.
Gouws said the first three months of the programme were hosted in South Africa and the last three in Finland. During the South African leg of the programme students had to make films centred on the theme of gendered landscapes. They divided their time attending workshops and lectures at Wits, UJ and AFDA. The students are expected to create 12 minute documentaries in groups of four or five both in South Africa and in Finland.
The two filmmakers said they were grateful for the opportunity to go to Finland.
“Europe is such a liberal place. We are very fortunate as young people who are still finding themselves to have this opportunity and for me more than anything I feel I’m gonna find myself,” said Mkhize.
Gouws said one of her goals for Finland was to make a film she could be proud of.
“ I want to make something I can be proud of. I just want to be happy with the end product and I will try my best, that’s my goal at the moment,” said Gouws.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 12, 2013 | News
The Wits SRC has taken full responsibility for disrupting a musical recital by Israeli born pianist Yossi Reshef on March 12 during Israel Apartheid Week.
“The Student Representative Council takes full responsibility for the process; we take full responsibility for disrupting the concert,” said SRC Internal Vice President Tokelo Nhlapo. Members of the SRC, Muslim Students Association, Wits Palestinian Solidarity and the Progressive Youth Alliance protested against the musical recital by Reshef in the closed venue at the SW Engineering building.
The protestors stormed the stage; singing, dancing and chanting their support for Palestine. The concert was stopped and Reshef was ushered out of the venue by Campus Control. “These people must know that they won’t sing comfortably while Palestinians die,” said Nhlapo.
Reshef was born in Israel but presently resides in Berlin, Germany. Nhlapo promised more action against any artist visiting the university from Israel. “We are not gonna welcome any artist from Israel until the state of Israel has human rights like everyone else. “The boycott is not against individuals…We have nothing against the pianist,” said Nhlapo.
There has been ongoing investigation by the university to find those who are responsible for the disruption of the concert.“The university views the disruption of the concert in a very serious manner and is addressing this violation of its Code of Conduct through a thorough, formal investigation within the confines of its regulatory framework,” said Vice Chancellor Prof Loyiso Nongxa in a statement
Nongxa said the rights of Reshef had been violated and the disruption went against the core values of the University.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 12, 2013 | Featured 1, News
Wits Src President Sibulele Mgudlwa Photo: Provided
WITS SRC president Sibulele Mgudlwa was admitted into hospital on Saturday due to complications with diabetes.
Mgudlwa, 3rd year Bsc Acc, called an ambulance to his flat in Braamfontein after feeling weak, dehydrated and dizzy.
“My sugar levels were low…I hadn’t taken my [insulin] injection,” Mgudlwa told Wits Vuvuzela from his hospital bed.
Mgudlwa spent three days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, after losing consciousness on Sunday evening. Mgudlwa was discharged from ICU and moved into the general ward after his condition improved on Tuesday.
“We are keeping him in our prayers and we can’t wait to have him back,” said SRC External President Joyce Phiri.
Mgudlwa is due out of the hospital before the end of the week.
Phiri and SRC Internal Deputy President Tokelo Nhlapo said they admired the manner in which Mgudlwa had handled his illness.
“I don’t think he has allowed his condition to stop him to do his work in anyway,” said Nhlapo. “He is a very committed leader…he is very responsible.”
Witsies have taken to social media to send their well wishes to Mgudlwa, whose twitter handle is @USibulele.
@Sikho_N22h: Glad to hear my president @Usibulele is out of danger:)
@Ulo_Mkat: Wishing @Usibulele a speedy recovery. Leader of the masses…
@Zamantungwa_K: RT @Katleho_thuso: Our prayers go out to u Mr SRC President♥ RT “@Fabulous_Lee14: Jehova Rapha, please hear our prayers @Usibulele ♥♥♥”
Mgudlwa suffers from Type 1 diabetes, which is a chronic condition that occurs when the body stops producing insulin.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows glucose from food to enter the body’s cells where it is converted into energy needed by muscles and tissues to function, explains the International Diabetes Federation website.
Type 1 diabetes can affect people of any age, but usually happens to young people under the age of 30, including very young children and infants. Type 1 diabetes can be inherited and people who suffer from the illness must be injected with insulin to survive.
These insulin dosages must be carefully balanced with food intake and exercise programmes. Although the illness is not life threatening when treated, if it is untreated or unmonitored it could lead to kidney failure, strokes and heart attacks.
The International Diabetes Federation in 2011 reported that more than 15 million adults in Africa suffer from diabetics. South Africa has one of the highest numbers of people with diabetes in Africa with 1.9 million sufferers.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 11, 2013 | News
Wits Src President Sibulele Ngudlwa. Photo: Provided
Wits SRC President Sibulele Ngudlwa was hospitalised after complications resulting from diabetes this past Saturday.
Ngudlwa, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, after losing consciousness while in hospital on Sunday evening.
“My sugar levels were low… I hadn’t taken my [insulin] injection,” Ngudlwa told Wits Vuvuzela via a telephonic interview from his hospital bed.
The SRC President was in good spirits and is expected to be released soon.
Read the full story in the Wits Vuvuzela this Friday.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Mar 15, 2013 | Featured 1
DRAMA ON INTERSEXIONS: Wits Drama student Zola Nombona was featured on Intersexions this week. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi
Two Wits drama students have appeared on the acclaimed local drama Intersexions, beating out more than 5 000 hopefuls for the honour.Zola Nombona and Lwazilubanzi Mthembu, both fourth year BA Dramatic Arts students, were among the 60 actors cast to appear in the second season of the show appearing on SABC 1. Intersexions is the first television show that either of the actresses have appeared on.
Nombona and Mthembu, who both have theatre backgrounds, went through two rounds of open auditions before landing their roles.
The ‘edutainment’ series magnifies the way our lives are interconnected by touching on social and health issues that exist in the society and creating a dialogue around them.
Mthembu played a nurse who had to tell another character that she had fallen pregnant.
“I played a really small role, insignificant to most but so significant to me,” Mthembu said.
“Being treated like I mattered in the bigger scheme of things, especially since my role was so small, made me feel like there is a space for talent,” she said.
She said adjusting to television was a challenge because there was more attention to “image” than in theatre.
Nombona played “Shado”, a streetwise youngster, in the episode broadcast this week on Tuesday.
DOCTOR-DOCTOR: Wits drama student Lwazilubanzi Mthembu played a nurse on Intersexions. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi
She called the character fun loving, honest and “out there”.
Nombona believes her character is important to the series because she “shows a different aspect from where HIV may come. It makes people aware of the party scene…because that’s where it can happen”.
The second season of Intersexions has been highly anticipated after the success of its predecessor. The first season was able to captivate more than 6 million viewers every week.
The first season dealt with the spread of HIV/ AIDS and how society deals with sexual issues. This time around the production highlights the cycle of secrets and how it affects relationships.
“That’s why I appreciate this season now because it’s not focused on one person, there are many stories where people can see themselves,” said Nombona.
Nombona and Mthembu said Intersexions starts an important dialogue around HIV/Aids.
“It’s a drama for the people…it puts an interesting twist to it [HIV/AIDS] which can start conversation that the country needs,” said Mthembu.
Appearing on television show, which features many famous actors and actresses, was also a great career opportunity for the two fledgling thespians.
Nombana said she was able to network with important people in the industry and liked “being treated like a star”.
