by Nqobile Dludla | Mar 15, 2014 | News
Celebrating the long standing partnership, the Mining Qualification Authority handed the School of Mining Engineering a R23 592 113.03 million worth cheque. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
The School of Mining Engineering has become the recipient of a R23.6-million cash infusion—most of it for new bursaries—courtesy of the Mining Qualification Authority (MQA).
Celebrating a partnership going back to 2005, the MQA handed the School of Mining Engineering a R23.6-million cheque for investments in mining education during a ceremony on Friday.
Most of the R23.6-million will provide full bursary funding—which includes tuition, accommodation and allowances—to 236 students.
In the School of Mining Engineering, 120 bursaries will be allocated. The chemical and metallurgical engineering school will receive 59 bursaries. The geology school will receive bursaries for 16 students. The other schools in engineering will have 41 students who benefit from bursaries.
“About 50% of students enrolled for mining and minerals qualification drop out of their studies due to financial constraints. Today we are here to make a small contribution towards financial assistance of these students. I hope that this partnership will continue to make a meaningful contribution in the eradication of poverty in our country,” said MQA chief financial officer Yunus Omar.
In addition to the amount provided, the MQA had already given the school R100 000 in support for the school’s program for needy and deserving students.
[pullquote]”I hope that this partnership will continue to make a meaningful contribution in the eradication of poverty in our country”[/pullquote]
“We often have students who come here and say we can’t see the white board, or we don’t have food. So we then use this strategic money, in a strategic way towards needy and deserving students,” School of Mining Engineering head Prof Fred Cawood said.
“We look at the candidate; we make an assessment to see whether the money will make the difference. If the money can cause these students to pass at the end of the year, then we allocate.”
Postgraduate students in the School of Mining Engineering will also receive funding for their research projects out of the new donation to the tune of R100 000.
Vice Chancellor Adam Habib thanked the MQA for the donation and reflected on the historic challenges of economic disenfranchisement in society, stressing the need for co-operation between institutions.
“This particular partnership is testimony to what can be done…it creates hope by providing bursaries to students who are particularly disadvantaged,” Habib said.
“Not only do you provide resources for covering the training of students who do not have the resources under normal conditions, you also simultaneously create incentives for your industry. But even more importantly you create hope in society,” said Habib.
by Nqobile Dludla | Mar 14, 2014 | News
Yes We Can: Expanding the rich history of speech delivery
Photo: Provided
STUDENTS interested in public speaking will have a new outlet to practice their oratory talents with the launch of the Wits Public Speaking Academy.
Jamie Mighti, the academy’s curator, said over 600 students, staff and alumni had signed up for the academy last year in November. He said the academy was recently approved by the SRC (student representatives council) as a club and society.
Mighti said he had a series of meetings with the Wits Debating Union (WDU) and they agreed there was a public speaking vacuum on campus that needed to be filled.
[pullquote]”You give people the opportunity not only to impact society, but to comment on society on a public platform”[/pullquote]
According to Mighti there was significant interest in public speaking among students who wanted to improve their skills, as debating did not provide the kind of flexibility and creativity needed for proficiency in public speaking.
The academy, which held its first session on February 19, seeks to teach and practice three specific areas of public speaking: speech writing, speech delivery and historic speeches. Members are trained by experienced speakers, some from WDU. The speeches range from informative speeches and business presentations to political, comedic, storytelling and motivational speeches.
“You give people the opportunity not only to impact society, but to comment on society on a public platform. These kinds of things bring people together and we impact society like that,” said advisory board member Thamsanqa Pooe, 1st year BA.
Fellow board member Awande Zwane said they wanted to establish the sort of environment where any person would feel comfortable.
“A lot of people who came to the Academy came because they are not confident with speaking in public or they stammer,” she said. “People come because they know that they are there to grow and that’s the environment we’re creating.”
Maame Boateng, 3rd year Law, said she was inspired by the participation in the academy and the platform it provided.
“I was genuinely touched when listening to the young Africans speaking about the dreams they had for Africa, how they wanted to bring Africa’s glory back,” Boateng said.
Mighti said membership to the academy was free at the moment which was being run through a system of crowd funding by the advisory board. He added that other potential donors have come forward.
“There have been some interesting offers made to us in relation to funding….both internal and external sources who love what we are doing. So if we succeed in producing the kind of product we want to produce, this will always be a free organisation,” said Mighti.
The next session of the academy will take place next Wednesday at Umthombo lecture hall 2.
by Nqobile Dludla | Mar 13, 2014 | News
The annual, and usually controversial, Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) kicked off at Wits University this Monday. The event was unusually subdued but certainly more colourful than those in recent years.
by Nqobile Dludla | Mar 11, 2014 | Featured 1, News
- Uyanda Mabece (left) and Ntshembo Vuma were hammering their wooden frame outside the Umthombo Building setting the stage for an argument with a Wits SA Union of Jewish Students member. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
A heated argument over loud hammering broke out between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups on campus Monday, setting the stage for an acrimonious Israel Apartheid Week (IAW).
A pro-Israel, “Give Peace Wings”, event was being held inside Umthombo 2 (U2) lecture hall when hammering sounds were heard outside the venue.
Uyanda Mabece, an executive member of the Wits Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC), and Ntshembo Vuma, chair of the Young Communist League, were nailing wooden frames in preparation for a pro-Palestinian event.
David Isakow, a member of the Wits branch of the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS), was sitting in the Give Peace Wings event and went outside to investigate the noise.
“I went outside to see what was going on. I saw Uyanda from the PSC hammering nails into a wooden frame and also intentionally missing the nails to make noise,” said Isakow.
Isakow said he repeatedly asked Mabece and Vuma to stop making noise or move away from their talk.
“[Mabece] refused to move even after I offered to help him. I said I’d take it further as it’s disturbing our events and they weren’t willing to be helpful,” he continued.
[pullquote align=”right”]Campus control were called in to break up the fracas.[/pullquote]
An Israeli professor of oncology, Prof Yehuda Skornick, was due to deliver a speech on medical science at the Give Peace Wings event. Skornick also went outside to confront Mabece and Vuma.
The fight continued to escalate with Isakow taking out his cellphone to record his argument with Mabece. Campus control were called in to break up the fracas.
Mabece defended the hammering to Wits Vuvuzela and said lunch hour, when the fight took place, was the only time noise was allowed on campus.
“[Isakow] was very impolite when he spoke to me. We’ve been working and using that space outside Umthombo since yesterday and now that they’re having an event there we must stop what we’re doing?” he said.
According to Mabece, preparations for the first day of IAW began at 6am on Monday morning and were paused during lecture hours with the intention of continuing during lunch.
“This was not a strategic move, it just happened that it was a coincidence,” said Mabece. Prof Skornick was able to deliver his lecture in the same venue after the incident.
In previous years, IAW at Wits has been the scene of bitter arguments, confrontations and protests between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups. Just days ago before this year’s IAW began, vice chancellor Adam Habib issued a statement asking for peaceful co-existence between student groups.
Wits Vuvuzela journalists intimidated
In a related incident, this journalist and a colleague were stopped by the campus control officers from photographing the incident. Look out for the full story in this week’s print edition of the Wits Vuvuzela.
by Nqobile Dludla | Mar 7, 2014 | Featured 1
BMI Drive: Karin vander Walt, senior catering manager calculating student’s BMI to make them aware of the health implications of the food they eat. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
by Pheladi Sethusa and Nqobile Dludla
A Body Mass Index (BMI) drive by RoyalMnandi was launched on Monday in an effort to raise awareness among students.
BMI drive
“BMI is basically the ratio that you use, if you’re a certain height you should ideally be a certain weight,” said dietician Neroshnee Govender.
“We weigh their weight and measure their height, we take that down and use a calculation method and then we let them know whether they are within the normal range for their height or whether they are overweight, obese or underweight,” she said.
The testing left Witsie Sannie Baloyi smiling at the paper holding his results.
He said learning a BMI could be “traumatic”. Though Baloyi was happy with his results he said would still try to improve his lifestyle.
“It’s [BMI] somewhere along the lines of being accurate but it traumatizes people. Now I’m going to try eating healthy food and I’m going to start exercising.”
Royal Mnandi liason officer Bontle Mogapi said the health awareness drive was put in place to provide students with information and the means to lead healthier lifestyles.
While students were queuing, waiting to be measured and weighed, Zazele Mabaso expressed a different opinion as he dodged the weigh-in.
“It’s a waste of time really. What do I gain from knowing my BMI?” Mabaso asked.
[pullquote]BMI “doesn’t look deeper” because it doesn’t give an accurate reading of muscle mass and body fat.[/pullquote]
Is it useful?
The calculation of BMI is contentious and there are different views of its validity. The intentions of the calculation, to correct unhealthy lifestyles is not in question but the methods of the calculation are in dispute.
For example, a rugby player who weighs 100 kilograms and measures 1.8 metres tall has a BMI score of 30.9, which would fall on the obese side of the BMI scale.
The calculation fails to factor in muscle weight, which is much heavier than fat, so people who are fit and muscular are not catered for in the calculation. “The body mass index becomes worthless when it is used on a general population,” said sport science lecturer Marc Booysen.
He suggested making use of other measurements like hip to waist ratio, in conjunction with a body fat caliber to measure such a diverse population.
He added that BMI “doesn’t look deeper” because it doesn’t give an accurate reading of muscle mass and body fat. Given the example of the “obese” rugby player, he said it would be more accurate to measure body fat in that situation with caliphers.
In a case where the population group being measured is fairly similar, like a soccer or rugby team, the BMI could then be useful because those people have a fairly homogenous BMI score said Booysen.
