by Nomatter Ndebele | Apr 26, 2013 | News
The members of the SEBS Committee
Last week Thursday, the SEBS committee held an exclusion briefing for 1st years, at the new Commerce building on West campus.
The briefing informed the students about the possibilities of financial and academic exclusion. Former SRC president Tebogo Thothela advised the students, on the importance of making an effort to consult with their lecturers and to ask for help before it’s too late. Justice Nkomo, treasurer of the SRC encouraged the students to come forward and ask for financial assistance as they have the means to put people in contact with financial sponsors. Academic officer Imaan Carrim told the students that the briefing was not about telling them what to do after exclusion, but rather to help them prevent exclusion.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Apr 26, 2013 | Featured 1
Winners of the talent show.
From the left: Mokopi 3rd place, (poetry recital),1st place Wits movers(Dance).2nd place Wellem (Classical recital)
THE Education student council (ESC) held a talent show “Bring a can if you can campaign” at Linder Auditorium, on education campus, earlier this week.This was an awareness campaign, in order to help students at the campus who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and cannot afford to get food.
Incoming chairperson Mpmelelo Sangweni said, the event was also to promote the education campus as it is often “Not taken as a wits school”.Former Vice chairperson of the ESC Njabulo Mkhize raised the same concern when he said,“There is a general view that the bachelor of education course is easy and studied by ‘less smart’ people. Education Campus has a history of being silent and boring thus many education students (all the way from first year) are disgruntled when seeing the comparison between main and education campus.
Sangweni said, they hoped to attract a lot of people from main campus, so that they would bring a can of food with them for their campaign, hence the affordable price. The entrance fee charged to watch the contest was R10.
Sangweni said the cans collected would be distributed to less fortunate students, as identified by Mr Zungu, head of student affairs.
Vukile Junior Kamtala, 1st year education, said the event would not only help the energy of the campus, but also help the less fortunate. He also said, although the talent show was somewhat of an “Informal” fundraiser, it would still make a difference.“You don’t have to know where it’s coming from, but someone out there cares” he said.
Kamtala will be one of the students benefiting from the campaign and to this he responded, “I pass off as a well spoken person, but that doesn’t mean I can support myself – its all about humanity”.
The show had 20 contestants, who were judged by SRC Treasurer Justice Nkomo, VoW Fm DJ Sam Kaase, Dj Mlungu as well as Musician Psyfo.
The winners of the show were Makopi who came in third, reciting a poem. Willem came in second after a classic rendition, while Wits movers took first place after bringing down the house with their pantsula / kwaito dance routine.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Apr 6, 2013 | Featured 1, News
Striking Community Workers Project (CWP) members marching to the Department of Infrastructure and Development offices in the Johannesburg CBD. Photo: Nomatter Ndebele.
Community work programme (CWP) workers embarked on a strike on Thursday afternoon, marching from Jorissen Street in Braamfontein to the Johannesburg CBD.
CWP spokesperson Simphiwe Hlafa, said that the organisation was striking because its workers were being exploited and are seeking a 16.3% increase.
CWP is a government organisation that recruits unemployed and underemployed men and women, giving them the opportunity to improve their communities through various projects like doing maintenance work in schools.
The protestors also raised issues of corruption and nepotism within the organization.
CWP Said they were prepared to take more action should their demands not be met.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Apr 5, 2013 | Featured 1, News
Sisanda Msekele pictured here with her guide dog Romy. Photo provided.
ALL that Wits graduate Sisanda Msekele, 23 wants to see when she gets her eyesight back is herself and all the people that matter most to her.
Despite losing her eyesight from Stevens Johnson’s syndrome when the medication she was prescribed damaged her cornea she has triumphed over adversity by graduating.
Coming to Wits University was a challenge for Sisanda, she had just turned blind and suddenly had to adapt to a university environment as “everything was new and overwhelming”. It was a difficult transition, after being in high school where everybody else was blind. Sisanda came to Wits and had to learn how interact with people who could see.
When Sisanda was in Matric she had applied to do medicine and was in the process of being accepted. Her hopes were dashed after losing her sight, when she had to enrol into a special school where she had to change her subjects and consequently her dreams of being a doctor. “ It’s a challenge, competing with people that can see…You never always get what you want, but you can work something out, it’s all about what you make of it,” Msekele said
When she started Msekele failed her 1st psychology test and her major essay and was ready to give up. Although pursuing psychology was not her first love, Sisanda now has dreams of being a neuro psychologist, she says although the chances of her being a neuro psychologist are slim, she’d like to get into clinical psychology in the mean time.
Mseleke said that she wasn’t excited about the graduation on March 25, but when she got onto the stage she realised what a great achievement it is when she received a standing ovation from students and Academics.
“Accomplishing something yourself is great, but when other people acknowledge you, it’s amazing,” she said.
Msekele now has plans to continue her honours and Masters degree, only this time, there is a chance that she will complete the courses with her eyesight, as she is preparing to undergo a life changing operation that could restore her eyesight.
Msekle remains positive that she will be able to see again, but expressed fear that it might not happen. “It’s scary, if it (Surgery) doesn’t work, I have nothing to lose, I have high hopes of being able to see, but what if it doesn’t happen?”
With all the excitement, Msekele said that she has to be positive, but also realistic.
If the operation goes well, Sisanda will open her eyes, look into a mirror and see herself as a triumphant Wits graduate.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Mar 15, 2013 | News
I watched a girl getting mugged and I did nothing.
But, it could have been me.
I could have been the girl getting mugged, desperate for someone to help me and she could have been me- walking past, doing nothing to help.
As she walked past me, a man walked up right next to her and pulled out a knife, showing it her. He said “ Do you see what I have here” ? Another man walked up to join them and he said to her “ Don’t scream, just give him everything you have”
Two weeks ago, I was outraged at the fact that the crowd around the taxi driver Mido Macia did nothing as he was dragged away by a police bakkie,but here I was two weeks later and no better.
The bio on my blog states that “I am a super hero, the chosen one, I’m going to save the world…you will thank me one day”
But superheros don’t just look away, do they?
I hate the fact that I live in a city where I am reluctant to help someone for fear for my own safety. I suppose it’s always been that way though, whenever you step into such situations, you run the risk of getting hurt. But in this city you run the risk of not just getting hurt, but losing your life.
What if I had helped her? If I had screamed, I may have raised enough alarm to gather a crowd. Within a few minutes a scene of mob justice could have played out in front of me… What if they didn’t stop beating them? What if they killed them?
I would have helped that girl. But I would have been partly responsible for two other deaths. Would I have felt any better? Any less guilty? No. I would probably be sitting here, writing the same story asking myself the same questions. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
Everyone else around me keeps saying I did the right thing. No. I did what was best for me, not the “right thing”.
So yes, this is probably a strike against my name, and I will probably be called into the board of super hero’s to explain myself, this is what I’m going to tell them:
I am only Human. Cell phones and wallets can be replaced, lives cannot sometimes the best decision won’t be the right decision.
Published in Wits Vuvuzela, 6th edition, March 15.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Mar 5, 2013 | News
KENYAN citizens took to the polls yesterday, in a highly contested election between Raila Odinga, candidate for the coalition of reforms and democracy, Musalia Mudavadi candidate for the Amani coalition, and the only female contender Martha Kurua candidate of the national rainbow coalition Kenya Party.
However, there are an estimated 2.5 million Kenyans in the diaspora, many living in the United States and Britain, but also in Germany and Kenya’s east African neighbours, that did not get the opportunity to vote.
The Kenyan Government decided last year November that citizens abroad would not be able to vote due to financial and logistical constraints impeding their registration in time for the election day.
There are 73 registered Kenyan students studying at Wits. PhD (finance) student Allan Simuye said that he felt shattered, especially since they were promised that they would take part in the elections by the government and the electoral board.
Most Kenyans in the diaspora have the sense of being ‘an empty shell’ after being denied the opportunity to vote. Simuye said that they really wanted to be part of the process, “all we can hope is that our choices reflect the right thing on the ground”.
Simuye is very optimistic that these elections will be historical, in that the elected person will bring about a lot of change in Kenya and be able to unify all Kenyans. The new elected leader will continue economic development, unify all Kenyans and will deal with key social ills such as tribalism and corruption.
“A constitution is the only assurance we have of a focused leadership” We hope the leader addresses the so called ‘historical injustices’ that everybody talks about but never addresses, he added.
Simuye believes that Marta “Mother” Kurua is the most courageous of the candidates because she does not show any fear in exposing the wrongdoings of the people in power. He believes that Kurua is a role model that will inspire Kenyan’s to speak out against corruption.
by Nomatter Ndebele | Mar 1, 2013 | Featured 1, News
Some students seated on the floor of the umthombo building, due to lack of space. Photo: Nomatter Ndebele
A venue allocation problem across campus has resulted in overcrowded classrooms with some students left sitting on the floors during lectures.
Riaz Adam, Property and Infrastructure Management Division (PIMD) deputy director of venues and space management, said that there has been a venue allocation problem across various departments in the university.
Vuvuzela witnessed one lecture hall filled with first year chemical and metallurgical engineering forced to sit on the floor because there isn’t enough seating available in their lecture venues.
There are 404 registered students scrambling for seats in the Umthombo 1 venue which only seats 287.
The lectures also include a lot of interactive learning which requires the students to be seated properly, said senior lecturer Laurie Woollacoot.
He said he has been able to organise extra chairs, but they don’t always arrive due to miscommunication.
Woollacoot said the problem is not the large class but rather a lack of resources. “I can handle 400 students no problem, with the right resources,” he said.
The classes have been full to capacity for the past three weeks and Woollacoot said he has contacted but they have failed to respond to him.
This year has been a challenging one in terms of allocating venues due to the increased numbers of students that enrolled in the university this year, Adam said.
The process of venue allocations allows the various university departments to request a venue based on the class size that they will have. This starts in June, where departments are asked to submit their requests, and upon receiving all the requests will start to allocate venues, starting with the largest classes working their way down. All this information is then posted on the PIMD portal, allowing the various departments to see the venues they have been allocated.
However, what often happens is that the number of expected students increase or decrease, from the initial requested number, and then there has to be a shuffle of venues, said Adam.
Adam said that the problem is the tight time frame in which the allocations office has to work in. By the time they have numbers they can work with, there is about two weeks left to the start of term and in some cases registrations still continue after the term has started.
Adam said that he does not condone the use of extra chairs in lecture venues as they pose a serious health and safety issue “if there is an emergency, the students have to try and get out without having loose furniture to try and get around”.
The planning office is currently reshuffling venue allocations, and they hope to have the situation under control soon. The classes with the largest numbers will be dealt with first.
