by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 29, 2014 | News
There is no intention to replace black students with white students in Wits residences, says Wits Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Adam Habib.
Speaking exclusively to Wits Vuvuzela, Habib responded to this week’s furore around the revised residence admissions policy which saw some student organisations threatening a boycott of the upcoming SRC (Student Representative Council) elections if Habib did not address their concerns.
Habib said “there is no special incentives for white students.” “What is at place is making sure that we have an appropriate balance between demographic representivity and cosmopolitanism. We believe this can be done without adversely affecting poor students or existing students.”
“We want to ensure that our students have a holistic experience in our residences that they interact with other students across racial boundaries, religious boundaries, ethnic boundaries and cultural boundaries but also class boundaries. We do not want rich students sitting in one place and staying in one res and poor students staying in another res”, said Habib.
On Wednesday, student organisations, residents and house committee members accused Habib of wanting to replace black students with white students in the effort to make residences more cosmopolitan.
According to Habib, the university’s “integration agenda” should be reflective of South African society.
“Even though our society and institution is majority black, obviously our residences will be majority black. But a majority black institution does not mean that we can’t be cosmopolitan.”
Speaking on behalf of student leadership representatives, Sunnyside chairperson Maame Boateng said:”We are not against diversity in our residences but a policy that looks to disenfranchise the majority of current residents in order to serve a privileged minority”.
The student leadership representatives are “calling for a recall of the policy in its entirety and/ or creation of a new policy that will be fair and equal for all students and not unjustifiably benefits any class or race group”, Boateng said.
Habib, along with university management and student leadership representatives, will hold another round of consultations on Saturday afternoon where more cases will be heard and discussed.
“Student leadership will stand firm tomorrow in the fight for students those who we serve. We will not stop until a policy is put in place that will in no way detriment any student, a decision that will serve the best interests of all students”, said Boateng
In the meantime, Habib has agreed to halt the implementation of the controversial policy pending further discussion with student organisations.
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by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 29, 2014 | News
SHUT OUT: Jamie Mighti of Project W dismisses accusations from members of the Progressive Youth Alliance. Project W was accused of being “sell-outs” for not joining a march against proposed changes to the residence policy on Wednesday. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
By Nqobile Dludla and Lutho Mtongana
The SRC election was dominated this week by a controversial new res policy which brought together the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in protests, marches and threats to boycott the vote.
The highly contested policy states that “[it has been revised] for new first-year undergraduates to make campus accommodation more accessible and appealing to all students, especially those who have a good academic record”.
In addition, the policy states its intention to “ensure a diverse and cosmopolitan residence environment in which everyone can feel at home and can succeed academically.”
The protests culminated in a four-hour meeting at the SRC offices between the PYA, Wits EFF, the SRC, house committee representatives, Res Life director Robert Sharman, Deputy Vice-chancellor: finance Tawana Kupe, Dean of students Pamela Dube and Vice-chancellor Prof Adam Habib on Wednesday.
At the meeting, Habib agreed to “halt” the roll out of the revised residence admission policy pending further discussions to be held on Saturday.
Public protest about the policy began at the evening circus on Tuesday. The 2010/2011 SRC president, Mukovhe Morris Musatha, pleaded on behalf of Mens residence to the three organisations campaigning in the SRC election—PYA, Wits EFF and Project W—to come up with a resolution.
Initially, it appeared that all three organisations would oppose the policy following a meeting at the circus when SRC president Shafee Verachia said they would all march against it on Wednesday morning.
Verachia said the parties had agreed to boycott the SRC elections if their protests fell on deaf ears.
However, Project W said it had not agreed to the march or a potential election boycott. Project W candidate Jamie Mighti said they disagreed with the PYA and Wits EFF on “process”.
“There’s a process before we follow these things. We can’t make a hasty decision as an organisation,” Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela on Tuesday.
“Consultation was the issue and the fact that students weren’t being consulted”
Although the Wits EFF joined the march against the new res policy they accused Verachia of a lack of transparency, saying he as SRC president had known about the new res policy for weeks.
“They [the PYA] knew this and they did not tell the students, they did not consult with the students when we asked him [Verachia] … We found out last night, then we probed him as the EFF, he buckled under pressure and he said he knew in July,” said Wits EFF candidate Anele Nzimande on Wednesday.
Critics speak out
Critics of the policy said it would result in students already in res losing their rooms and called it racist, arguing that it was designed to bring more white students into residences.
Coming in effect in 2015, the policy will ensure that more single rooms will be available to new students in addition to already allocated double rooms.
This point outlined in the policy did not sit well with majority of the residents who worried about losing their rooms next year.
“The resident students who are currently here now might not have a place next year because they [management] want to open the residences to first-years. What that means is that they want to give single rooms to first-years and when that happens those who are currently staying here now will lose their rooms,” said All Residence Council chairperson Mpho Maziya.
“They are to close off 30 percent space to try and accommodate white kids who can normally afford accommodation outside of university,” Maziya said.
Habib contested the racialization of the policy by critics: “What I don’t like is, people racialize the question as if because we are taking white students, we are going to bring out black students, I never said that.”
Students also contested the policy on the basis that student bodies had not been consulted on the changes.
“Consultation was the issue and the fact that students weren’t being consulted. We said we are not interested in the procedural issues we are more interested in the substantial [issues] for the purpose of that policy,” said Wits EFF candidate Vuyani Pambo.
Maziya said they wanted the decision-making structures around student issues to be more representative, including having non-SRC members a part of the process.
“We are requesting that the decision making structures need to be more representative because what you have now is certain members of the SRC sitting there making decisions for resident students without the knowledge of what’s going on in the residences and how these decisions will affect students,” said Maziya.
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by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 28, 2014 | News
By Lutho Mtongana and Nqobile Dludla
A controversial revised residence admissions policy which critics said would leave disadvantaged students without housing has been halted for now.
Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Adam Habib agreed to postpone the policy following protests and meetings by the SRC, house committees and the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
“This policy will not go forward until there has been talks between us and the VC later on Saturday,” said Sunnyside house committee chairperson Maame Boateng.
The highly contested policy states that, “[It has been revised] for new first-year undergraduates to make campus accommodation more accessible and appealing to all students, especially those who have a good academic record”.
In addition, the policy states that: “[It] will ensure a diverse and cosmopolitan residence environment in which everyone can feel at home and can succeed academically.”
Coming in effect in 2015, the policy will ensure that more single rooms will be available to new students in addition to already allocated double rooms.
This point outlined in the policy did not sit well with the majority of the residents who were worried about losing their rooms next year.
“What I don’t like is, people racialize the question as if because we are taking white students, we are going to bring out black students, I never said that.”
“The residence students who are currently here now might not have a place next year because they [management] want to open the residences to first years. What that means is that they want to give single rooms to first years and when that happens those who are currently staying here now will lose their rooms,” said All Residence Council chairperson, Mpho Maziya.
According to Maziya, the policy will also favour more affluent students who can pay their accommodation fees upfront, without the aid of NSFAS. She said the revised policy was devised to bring more white students into residences.
“They are to close off 30 percent space to try and accommodate white kids who can normally afford accommodation outside of university,” Maziya said.
Habib contested the racialization of the policy by critics and said, “What I don’t like is, people racialize the question as if because we are taking white students, we are going to bring out black students, I never said that.”
Habib said that students would not lose their places in residences because of the revised policy. He said the university intended to increase the overall number of beds in residences.
The highly contested policy was also challenged at the meeting because residents and student bodies said they were not consulted before it was drafted and rolled out.
“Consultation was the issue and the fact that students weren’t being consulted. We said we are not interested in the procedural issues we are more interested in the substantial [issues] for the purpose of that policy. What we have achieved is that, this document will not go further than it has”, said Wits EFF candidate Vuyani Pambo.
According to All Residence Council chairperson, Mpho Maziya, “the decision making structures need to be more representative”.
“We are requesting that the decision making structures need to be more representative because what you have now is certain members of the SRC sitting there making decisions for resident students without the knowledge of what’s going on in the residences and how these decisions will affect students,” said Maziya.
The revised residence policy issue was first raised at the evening circus that took place in the main dining hall on Tuesday. The 2010/2011 SRC president, Mukovhe Morris Masutha pleaded on behalf of Mens residence with the three organisations campaigning in the SRC elections—the PYA, Wits EFF and Project W—to come up with a solution.
Student organisations contest the policy
The three student organisations, SRC and house committee representatives had a meeting on Tuesday at Mens Residence about the policy.
Following the meeting, SRC president Shafee Verachia announced that all organisations agreed to reject the policy and would march to the International Office, where University Senate Council was meeting on Wednesday morning. He added that the three organisations would boycott the SRC elections if their voices fell on deaf ears.
The “sell-outs”
However, Project W told Wits Vuvuzela they had not agreed to the march or proposed election boycott.
“We disagree with the protocol, we disagree with the process. There’s a process before we follow these things. We can’t make a hasty decision as an organisation,” Jamie Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela on Tuesday.
Although the Wits EFF joined the march, they were not pleased with what they said was a lack of transparency displayed by Verachia, who they said had known about the new policy since last month.
“They [PYA] knew this and they did not tell the students, they did not consult with the students when we asked [Verachia] … We found out last night, then we probed him as the EFF, he buckled under pressure and he said he knew in July,” said Wits EFF candidate Anele Nzimande during the lunch circus on Wednesday.
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by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 27, 2014 | News
THE CRY: PYA candidate Nkululeko Nkosi strikes alongside Project W and Wits EFF outside Mens Res while waiting for the leaders of the three parties to reach an agreement about the revised residence admission policy last night. Photo by: Lutho Mtongana
By Nqobile Dludla and Lutho Mtongana
The Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and some of members of the Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) along with members of house committees and the SRC marched to the international affairs office this morning to demand a response from Wits Vice -chancellor, Prof Adam Habib about their concerns on a revised residence admissions policy.
Habib met the dozens of protestors to receive the memorandum that was jointly written last night by the PYA, Wits EFF, house committees and the current SRC.
The memoranda states: “We as concerned students, social leaders and student representatives say that the time is ripe to demand the university keep students interests at the forefront and not impose policies that will affect our lives adversely, without any consultation or vigorous engagement.”
“We told him that it is unacceptable that issues that relate to students are not properly discussed and debated with students before an actual policy is taken into consideration of being drafted”, said PYA candidate Shaeera Kalla.
Habib told the students that he would meet them to offer his response to the memorandum later in the day. The meeting will be held at Mens Residence common room at 2:30 pm.
Original Story
Competing candidates and organisations for this year’s SRC (Students Representatives Council), elections race were united last night in a bid to challenge the Wits University revised residence admissions policy which aims for a more cosmopolitan university at the expense of disadvantaged students.
The Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA), Project W, and the Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), along with the house committee and the current SRC , will occupy the international affairs boardroom from 9am today to challenge the recommendations of the policy, according to outgoing SRC President Shaffee Verachia.
Verachia said the group will draft a memorandum and hand it over to Wits Vice Chancellor, Prof Adam Habib.
The revised residence admission policy, which Habib referred to at a recent townhall meeting, states: “for new first-year undergraduates to make campus accommodation more accessible and appealing to all students, especially those who have a good academic record”. In addition, the policy states that: “[It] will ensure a diverse and cosmopolitan residence environment in which everyone can feel at home and can succeed academically.”
According to Mens Residence chairperson, and PYA candidate, Keoagile Matseke: “Some of the recommendations outlined in the document, we felt that were disadvantaging certain students. We felt that the management tries to achieve the cosmopolitan agenda at the expense of other students.”
At last night’s meeting, Verachia announced that: “ All three structures (PYA, Project W and Wits EFF) further accept that there may be a call to boycott SRC elections if tomorrow our voices fall on deaf ears.”
“We felt that the management tries to achieve the cosmopolitan agenda at the expense of other students”
Project W disagrees with process
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela after the meeting, Project W’s Jamie Mighti said while his organisation agrees with the rejection of the policy, they disagree with the manner in which the issue is being addressed.
Speaking on behalf of Project W, Mighti said, “We disagree with a protocol, we disagree with the process. As Project W we cannot support something we haven’t seen, we haven’t engaged our minds with, we haven’t spoken with our constituencies about.”
He added, “We are united around student issues, when they are genuine, this is a genuine student issue but we don’t think the way it’s being articulated is genuine. There’s a process before we follow these things. We can’t make a hasty decision as an organisation.”
by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 24, 2014 | Sport
Bidvest Wits went into the second leg of their match against Orlando Pirates with 2 goals already against them. Last night, Pirates put on a top-class performance at Orlando Stadium to move into the MTN 8 final with another 3 goals against the Clever Boys. The match finished 3-1.
Wits failed to stop the Buccaneers from reaching a fifth consecutive final and four MTN 8 final appearances in the last five years.
The Clever Boys came with intention to attack judging from their starting line up that included Sithembiso Ngcobo playing in the first half with hope to net one early in the first half.
Indeed in the first half, The Clever Boys showed consistency in pilling on the pressure from the start, leading with good ball possession and forcing Pirates back into their own half.
Bidvest Wits early goal attempt in the 3rd minute failed to put the team ahead when Vincent Pule’s shot went over the bar.
Ngcobo could have also have had a goal to his name if it wasn’t for a defence tackle from Happy Jele which saw Ngcobo’s attempt, combined with Toriq Losper’s pass go wide off.
Enjoying a sustained period of ball dominance, Bidvest Wits’ third chance came from defender Buhle Mkhwanazi, who out-ruled Siyabonga Sangweni in the 11th minute to steer his header that went wide of the mark from close range.
Pirates’ goalkeeper, Senzo Meyiwa had no trouble deflecting Bidvest Wits’ ambitious attempts when he saved Bidvest Wits’ captain, Sibusiso Vilakazi’ shot in the 30th minute.
Pirates started gaining momentum towards the end of the first half, with Erasmus, who often found himself off-side, breaking through Bidvest Wits’ backline with tremendous pace, only to have his efforts halted.
The second half kicked off with both teams’ score sheet still empty, putting more pressure on the Wits side as time was running out and still no early goal from Wits.
Wits nearly scored a minute after halftime when Ngcobo steered his header wide of the target.
Erasmus took charge again when he paced through Wits’ backline and finished with a solid lead goal. Wits quickly closed the widening score gap when Gataneh Kebede won and converted an equalising penalty kick in the 76th minute.
Pirates coach, Vladimir Vermerzovic’s game changer, Lehlohonolo Majoro impressed the crowd when he came on and netted a brilliantly angled shot received from Sifiso Myeni’s header in the 84th minute, making Orlando Pirates lead with a 2-1.
Without hesitation, the striker finished a 3-1 lead when he strategically beat the offside trap and sent his shot over Wits goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane who advanced towards “Major” in an attempt to deflect his 2nd victory.
Major’s finish made the climb steeper for Wits who could not cover four goals to advance to the final stage.
Wits coach Gavin Hunt was clearly disappointed: “We were dead and buried even before they scored the first goal”.
“All credit to them for breaking away on the second goal of death, we were dead and buried even before they scored the first goal”, said Hunt.
by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 22, 2014 | News
TRANSFORMATION AT PLAY: Wits EFF candidate Brian Sibanda at the SRC circus outside the FNB Building on Wednesday, giving closing remarks about transformation through creating sports for the disabled and changing the names. Photo: Lutho Mtongana
By Nqobile Dludla and Lutho Mtongana
SRC ELECTIONS are well underway but, unlike in previous years, candidates will no longer be able to campaign in the evenings in dining halls with the cancellation of evening circuses.
According to chief electoral officer Jabu Mashinini, evening circuses in dining halls during dinner hours is not allowed because it disturbs students from eating peacefully.
Campus housing director Rob Sharman said it was “long-standing policy that election circuses in dining halls are not held during meal times.”
Holding circuses after dinner hours, after 8pm, was also shot down by the SRC election office because it would be an unwelcome distraction during study times.
“We are considering student academics. When are they going to study if we start at 8pm and finish at 10pm? So that’s the reason why we cancelled the evening circuses,” said Mashinini.
Sharman said that while two dining halls, Main and Highfield, only close at 8pm this was not the case for all dining halls.
“The other four dining halls close at 7pm, as they always have, so election circuses can start earlier in those venues,” Shaman said.
Sharman said a proposed circus at Noswal Hall would have clashed with a previously planned Women’s Month event at the residence.
“So the circus obviously had to give way to the residence event. I have not seen any proposed alternative date for the circus,” Sharman said.
“What was beneficial about these evening circuses is that we target students that are not usually around during the day. For us not to be afforded that opportunity is really a shame.”
The decision to call off the evening circuses came as a surprise to candidates who arrived on Tuesday for the first scheduled evening circus, meant to take place at Convocation dining hall, only to learn it was cancelled.
Reaction from candidates
Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) election management committee chairperson Lesego Mokwena said the cancellation of evening circuses was “a shame” and would make it more difficult to get Witsies to turn out and vote.
The PYA felt that “not having evening circuses is really a shame” because they were also campaigning to encourage Witsies to actually vote.
“The issue of us not having evening circuses is really a shame because apart from trying to promote your manifesto, the first thing we try to do is to actually get the Wits students to actually go vote,” Mokwena said.
“What was beneficial about these evening circuses is that we target students that are not usually around during the day. For us not to be afforded that opportunity is really a shame.”
After the cancellation of the Tuesday circus, the ended up campaigning door-to-door at West Campus residences, David Webster Hall and Barnato Hall.
Project W candidate Gwinyai Dube said the cancellation was due to “a disconnect that exists between management structures and students.”
“It’s disappointing to limit the political process like that just because some guy sitting in the office somewhere is thinking for the students. Just because I’m eating doesn’t mean that I don’t want to hear what someone has to say,” Dube said.
Sharing the same sentiment, Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) felt that the student community should have been consulted before a decision to cancel the circuses was made.
“It should have been consultative to find out from students which do they prefer because some have tutorials during lunch time and are missing out on lunch circuses,” said Wits EFF candidate Anele Nzimande.
“It’s a huge disadvantage because evening circuses bring everyone together, so everyone is in the same place and you don’t have to go door-to-door giving people your manifesto one-by-one. Now we are missing out on that opportunity, we are missing out on so many people,” added Nzimande.
However, Nzimande said that the cancellation of the evening circuses won’t tarnish their effort to reach more students as new members.
First week of campaigning
The SRC elections officially began on Monday with a lunchtime SRC Great Debate held in the Great Hall. It was the first time the PYA, Project W and Wits EFF were able to present their manifestos to students who packed into the large venue.
Transformation on campuses and residences was a common issue raised by all three parties. Wits EFF called for changing the names of campus buildings to honour African leaders while the PYA said it was committed to transformation “at all levels”.
Project W countered by saying their candidate list was the most transformed because it was the most “representative” of the parties.
This issue of representativity came up at the Wednesday lunch debate, when first-year student Dan Peter, Bcom Law and Economics, challenged the PYA on its diversity asking if the organisation is “a representative party which can represent me as a white student in this university?”
PYA candidate Fasiha Hassan responded that the PYA advocated transformation on all levels on campus and defended the diversity of their candidates.
“If you look at all these people [PYA candidates], we have our candidates from all campuses and all religions,” Hassan said.
Day circuses will still take place during lunch at respective venues while organisations will organise their own evening campaign sessions.
by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 15, 2014 | News
PSOM OUT: Independent candidates under Positive State Of Mind (PSOM) pulled out of the SRC elections as they felt the organisation needs more time to establish itself. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
A group of independent candidates have pulled out of the SRC election campaign as it felt it hasn’t been firmly established on campus.
With campaigning due to start on Monday, independent candidates under Positive State of Mind (PSOM) withdrew as they felt the organisation needs more time to establish itself.
“Most of our activities on campus were done outside campus. So this is not pulling out completely but a mature decision to give ourselves a year to let everyone know who we are before we actually decide to run,” said PSOM vice chairperson Roland Nzanzu.
PSOM had nine candidates running for the elections. They are no longer on the SRC Election candidate list.
The only organisations left are the Economic Freedom Fighters, Project W and the Progressive Youth Alliance. Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (Daso) members are still “secretly” running under other organisations.
PYA said they are “confident” about the elections.
“We are confident as the Progressive Youth Alliance that through the work we have done as a collective for students in the past up to date, as well as the work that we still wish to do for the students in the future, that our candidates will be able to rally the support of the students of Wits University,” said Wits branch South African Student Congress (Sasco) chairperson, Nompendulo Mkatshwa.
Project W believe they “are ready to take it to the next level and be the governing organisation at Wits University”.
“Project W feels that we are the most relevant platform for creating real change at the University. As a collective of independent non-partisan student organisation we cut out the middle man and the external political agenda of our counterparts. We believe that we are ready to take it to the next level and be the governing organisation at Wits University,” said Project W member, Zuhayr Tayob.
UPDATED Candidate list
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by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 13, 2014 | Sport
FLYING HIGH: Dillon Sheppard warms up before Bidvest Wits draw with AmaTuks. The Clever Boys have four points and are in top half of the table. Photo: Luca Kotton
Wits’ top ranked soccer team piled on the pressure on varsity derby visitors University of Pretoria on Tuesday night finishing the game with a draw.
“There’s no doubt that they put us under pressure”, said University of Pretoria head coach, Steve Barker of the 1-1 scoreline with the Clever Boys at the Bidvest Wits stadium.
“Wits are a very good team in terms of putting under pressure especially when they got [sic] players like Hendrico Botes … We don’t have the biggest players at the back but if you look at Tebogo Monyai, tonight for me credit goes to him”, said Barker.
Both teams walked away with a point and Barker says if they can get points at Wits “then I believe we can go anywhere and get points”.
AmaTuks’ Atusaye Nyondo netted a goal in the first five minutes of the game sending AmaTuks supporters up in the air as they jumped up and down in jubilation.
“There’s no doubt that they put us under pressure”
Geoffrey Massa broke and sped past the home side before shooting a pass for Nyondo to net right in the top corner.
Threatening to give AmaTuks a second goal, Vuyisile Ntombiayithethi tried his luck with a long range shot that quickly fell short of putting the visitors ahead.
Protecting home turf, the Clever Boys captain, Sibusiso Vilakazi took a dangerous free kick which saw the visitors’ defenders scrambling to protect themselves inside the box, only to have Vilakazi’s attempt hit the crossbar.
Before being stretchered off the field, Nyondo posed a significant threat to Jackson Mabokgwane who quickly deflected Nyondo’s effort.
The Clever Boys persisted and applied pressure on AmaTuks’ back line. Falling short however, Maliele Pule’s set piece saw the ball sailing over the top of AmaTuks goal post.
Nearing the end of the first half, the score still stood with AmaTuks leading with 1-0 to Bidvest Wits.
The second half saw a lot more hard work from the Clever Boys who dominated with ball possession.
This domination almost had Bidvest Wits equalising two minutes into the second forty-five when Arubi missed his chance to deflect the ball quickly enough, but to his luck, AmaTuks defender cleared the ball when Christopher Katongo went in for a rebound attempt.
Bidvest Wits finally picked up a point when Botes slotted the ball in from the left side of the box, equalising the game.
by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 10, 2014 | Featured 1
SHOW-STOPPERS: Esselen Drumbooters won first place at the 2014 All Res Council talent show on Friday. The beat of their boots left the crowd in the Great Hall wanting more when they left the stage. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
Drumbooters imitating miners rocked the audience at the All Res Council (ARC) talent show in the Great Hall on Friday.
The students from Esselen residence walked away with the first prize and bragging rights among their fellow residents.
The group won the crowd over with an opening sequence that included a short role play and taking off their shirts on stage which was quickly followed by the stage-shattering gumboot dance sequence.
Drumbooters’ member, Klaas Mokgomole, said interacting with the crowd was vital to their performance.
“We had to be creative and interact with the crowd. [We] couldn’t just perform for the judges alone. We wanted something different, most people dance sbujwa, spantsula, hip hop etc. so we had to be different,” said Mokgomole.
“We feel like we did our res very proud. We carried the responsibility on our shoulders. The res has always supported us even when we were still starting,” added Mokgomole.
Fellow Esselen residents were so excited with the win that they stormed the stage as the winners were announced. As friends, supporters and Esselen residents joined the Drumbooters on stage, the Great Hall filled with song in jubilation.
Dancer Sam Malebati of Noswal Hall came in second while dance duo Via BC of Braam Centre, placed third.
by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 8, 2014 | News
CHANGING MIND-SETS: Tshidiso Ramogale believes change occurs when one changes his mind-set. At 21, he continues to live by what he preaches. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
Two Witsies have found themselves on the pages of one of South Africa’s most anticipated publications of the year. Tshidiso Ramogale and Zareef Minty have been named as two of the top 200 young South African’s in the Mail & Guardian’s Young South Africans 2014 list.
Ramogale was nominated in the civil society category while Minty in the politics and government category. At just 21, fourth-year LLB student Ramogale refused to let his childhood challenges hold him back from success.
Ramogale was 15 when he “felt like it’s over” following his father’s disappearance, his mother losing her job and their home being unlawfully sold in execution. His experience led him, at 19, to start a non-profit organisation called Change SA that “uses entrepreneurship as a trajectory for change”.
“I usually speak to schools about where I started out, this is my experience. I often say: ‘I was exactly where you are right now and I was able to work slowly out of it and why can’t you?’,” said Ramogale.
When Ramogale is not giving motivational talks, he is representing informal traders and others in need in court, in relation to socio-economic issues.
“What motivates me is my mother, undoubtedly. I always say I’m lucky to have a mother who has always been supportive,” said Ramogale.
There is no secret really to his success, he says but adds that, “the best way to start, is by starting somewhere.”
Like Ramogale, third-year LLB Zareef Minty has “always been someone who believes in change”.
The 20-year-old Patriotic Alliance national youth president, who is also the Wits Black Lawyers Association chairperson, said his aim is to “encourage leadership”, not only in schools but also in communities everywhere.
“I want to encourage people that they can be the best at what they do. As young people we always have this mind-set that we go to university and once we’re done we sit down and think ‘okay, what are we going to do with our lives?’ We need to get rid of that mind-set,” said Minty.
Minty has also established the ‘Zareef Minty Build a School Foundation’, through which he aims to create an education link between state and the private sector.
“The best part for me is sitting one day and receiving an email or message from someone saying ‘you know what, because you did this, I’m also inspired to do the same. That’s what I want,” said Minty.
by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 8, 2014 | News
SINKING SHIP: Daso members are not on the 2014/2015 SRC candidate list. Daso chairperson, Sihle Mthethwa said the members are running “under other brands” because of insufficient candidates. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
WITS Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (Daso) members are campaigning in SRC elections—but are keeping their affiliation secret because it “may jeopardise their chances of winning”.
“We as Daso Wits are not standing as an organisation because we have members standing in the SRC elections under different brands,” said Mthethwa.
Mthethwa did not want to disclose the names of the Daso members who were candidates and under which organisations they will be campaigning “as that may jeopardize their chances of winning”.
At last year’s SRC elections Daso failed to win a single seat. The best performing Daso candidate came in 31st place with only 945 votes. The election was dominated by the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and a political newcomer Project W.
“Someone from our party actually told me, ‘I’m not ready to write my name on a sinking ship’. So looking at last year’s results, I was also convinced that Daso should not run as an organisation, but at least we have people in other organisations that we know that they have a chance of making it,” said Mthethwa.
According to Mthethwa, there were not enough Daso members to nominate as candidates. The party attracted less than 10 students who were willing to run under the Daso banner. This was not enough to meet the minimum of 15 candidates required for an organisation.
‘I’m not ready to write my name on a sinking ship “
“We had a meeting on Monday, where we convened as a committee along with the DA deputy spokesperson were we voted whether we are continuing with elections or we pull out,” said Mthethwa.
Mthethwa said he pushed for the organisation to run despite their lack of numbers but the majority of the members preferred an alternative where Daso members would run under other banners.
Mthethwa said the alternative was supported by his deputy chair who he refused to name because the deputy was among those Daso members campaigning in the SRC elections.
Candidate list is out
Tuesday was the final deadline for students to submit their nominations for the 2014 SRC elections. Some candidates were still running around campus, moments before deadline, trying to secure last-minute signatures for their nominations.
Several independent candidates have formed what they call an “apolitical alliance” called Positive State of Mind (PSOM).
“Last year we realised that there are issues here at university that we would also like to deal with and there are certain issues that we can’t deal with unless we take over council and represent the students and therefore we decided to run for SRC this year”, said PSOM candidate Ngcebo Buthelezi.
“We are impressed by the increasing competition regarding SRC elections as this may stand as an indication of a decrease in student apathy at Wits University“
Speaking on behalf of the PYA, Wits SA Students Congress chairperson Nompendulo Mkatshwa said they were “impressed” by the large number of students running in the SRC election.
“We are impressed by the increasing competition regarding SRC elections as this may stand as an indication of a decrease in student apathy at Wits University. We do however hope that this increase in competition is not motivated solely by what may seem as a fancy seat in governance,” Mkatshwa said.
The Wits Economic Freedom Fighters are also running in the SRC elections and said they “want all the seats” according to Vuyani Pambo the party’s chairperson.
“We are obviously engaging in a populist exercise and as such we have to mobilise students in numbers and we have plans in place to kick start our campaign,” Pambo added.
Project W could not be reached for comment regarding their plans for the SRC elections.
Candidates are still waiting to be officially given candidate numbers before they can start campaigning.
by Nqobile Dludla | Aug 7, 2014 | Sport
SETTING THE BAR HIGH: In the top four, Wits FC head coach, Karabo Mogudi is certain that his team will qualify for the USSA Gauteng Football League semi-finals. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
Wits FC coach Karabo Mogudi says he is confident enough that his team will remain in the top four of the University Sport South Africa (USSA) Gauteng qualifiers as the season resumed on Tuesday.
The team has three more matches left until the semi-finals, which will see the top four teams battling it out to qualify for the USSA National Championships taking place in December.
“We have a fairly good squad this year. Performance is a little bit better [than the previous year]. We’ve tried and done our best and we think we’ll get there, but the job is not done yet. Our objective is to stay in the top four, qualify for the USSA National Champs and qualify for Varsity football,” said Mogudi.
For Wits FC to qualify for the USSA National Championships they need a minimum of three wins that will put the team through to the semi-finals, whether they draw or lose one game out of the remaining four. Of the four teams battling it out in the semi-finals, only three will be chosen to represent Gauteng at nationals.
“I’m gunning for three wins and one draw. I’m not looking for a loss. We must decide our own destiny. We need to decide and say ‘we are going to be in the top four and we are going to the national champs’,” said Mogudi.
“If we get 17 [points] that means we are definitely in the top four because that means we would have beaten UP (University of Pretoria) and UJ (University of Johannesburg) who are close to us … We are confident that we can do the job in the last two matches,” said Mogudi.
“I’m gunning for three wins and one draw. I’m not looking for a loss”
Last year the team juggled both Varsity Football and the Gauteng League which resulted in constant injuries and lethargy. According to Mogudi, he couldn’t rotate players due to injuries and prolonged recovery because there were “not enough [players] to rotate with”.
Mogudi believes sport administration support, quality players, medical assistance and high performance assistance will have a positive impact on the team’s objectives and the quality of the team that he is grooming.
“We need res, food, medical assistance, bursaries et cetera. Unfortunately we don’t get that much. The budget is limited. So for those living off campus it is a challenge for them to come to practice on weekends.”
According to Mogudi, “with some of the matches the team did not have a physio due to, among other things, the lack of funds. So dealing with a part-time physio means that when they are working on the same day as the match you end up going without them.”
Despite the challenges, Mogudi hopes to encourage the spirit of commitment among his players.
At number four, Wits FC has 11 points along with UP sitting at number three. In second place, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Pretoria also has 11 points and sitting comfortably at number one, the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Vanderbijlpark has 16 points.
For the upcoming matches, Wits FC will face UP, Midrand Graduate Institute and Medunsa.
