by Pheladi Sethusa | Mar 11, 2013 | Featured 1, Sport
THOUGHTFUL PUNCH: Lungile Duma, left, strategises ringside. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
DRENCHED in sweat, putting their best fist forward – the girls at the Wits Boxing Club are taking on the ring.
The club has seen a steady increase of female members over the years. Coach Tando Melapi said he has seen membership numbers of women increase dramatically to 200 from only 13 when the club started in 1998.
The majority of girls said they were boxing to up their fitness levels and lose weight. “The injuries are not worth actually competing but it’s a great experience and good way of keeping fit,” said Natalie Zoghby, 3rd year Electrical Engineering.
First year Anele Masikane, however, wants to be a boxing champion. “I want to stand in the ring and be a champ, like my late uncle and Olympic boxer Barrington Mkhize,” Masikane said. She is one of the few girls at the club who love boxing as a sport and want to compete.
Another competitor, International Relations honours student Karabo Smith, said that she was scared of being injured in the beginning. However, she realised that the injuries would only help to make her a better fighter. She said boxing has helped her confidence levels and now she can also protect herself.
“A conscious decision was made to have both genders do the same kind of training. I don’t train boys or girls, I train boxers,” Melapi said.
FIST TO FIST: Nodumiso Gwala takes Lungile Duma on during practice. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
The female boxers don’t sit back during training. Vuvuzela watched as Lorraine Ngubane, 3rd year BAccSci, led the post-run exercises and commanded the boxers to keep going no matter how tired they were.
The female boxers do not mind training with members of the opposite sex. They said they joined the club to achieve their own goals and were not there to look pretty for the boys.
The club recently competed in the University Sports South Africa annual boxing championships, and brought home the trophy for winning both the male and female sections of the tournament. Wits Boxing Club has won this competition four times, the only university to have so many wins in the history of the competition.
Hedda Wolmarans, sports woman of the year for 2012, was one of the gold medalists. She also held the title for the South African National Boxing Organisation champ in 2012.
Nodumiso Gwala, 3rd year BA Geography and Sociology, said that Wolmarans was an icon to her. She added that other girls were inspired by seeing the competing girls train. Gwala has been training for two years and competing for one, the end goal being entering the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
by Pheladi Sethusa | Mar 11, 2013 | News
FREE BOOKS: Charmaine Pule, Media and Marketing Officer for the SRC shows Wits Vuvuzela some of the books they have collected for their book drive. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
WITS students now have the opportunity to loan textbooks for free. Paul Maluleka is the brains behind the SRCs latest campaign that collects textbooks and books for students who cannot afford to buy books.
Earlier this year the SRC was involved in helping excluded students with their problems. They frequently complained that buying books and textbooks was a problem. They cannot all afford to buy new textbooks each semester.
The book drive is one way of fixing that problem said Pule, 4th year Education and Media and Marketing Officer for the SRC. She is running the book drive in conjunction with Maluleka in a bid to help alleviate some of the stress that students face when it comes to lack of access to resources.
They are looking for students to donate their old books to the campaign. Donated books will be given out on loan to students in need. It’s a fairly simple process whereby students need to fill in a form from the SRC office. The students loan the books for however long they are needed..
So far, the SRC have received engineering and law textbooks. While this is appreciated, they need more textbooks and books from across all faculties and disciplines to broaden the campaign’s reach.
In line with the book drive, the SRC will be launching a campaign called ‘Each One, Teach One.’ This campaign will look at donating a variety of things to matric students. Things like stationary, school uniforms and matric dance dresses. The objective of this campaign will be to support matric students who are in need. When dropping off the donated items, SRC members will also hand out food parcels and interact with the students.
by Pheladi Sethusa | Mar 1, 2013 | News
Atish sitting outside of William Cullen Library. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
FINAL year law student Atish Jogi is one of the most stylish men on campus.
His swag—in his own words—is on level “one hunnid.” As GQs Best Dressed Reader 2012 this is not hard to believe.
His hobbies include a mixture of sports he loves and creative art. He plays indoor cricket at the Sandton arena and runs with both the Braamfie and Rosebank run club’s. Artistically he is a photographer with a particular fascination with urban landscapes, street life and fashion.
Why did you choose to study law at Wits?
Wits is a premier academic institution and I really wanted to do law because I want to be involved in finding solutions to some of the country’s problems.
How did you win your GQ Best Dressed Reader title last year?
We had to submit photos of five everyday looks. These photos then went through a selection process by the GQ team, where they selected the top three finalists. Thereafter readers had to vote for their favourite from the top three-which happened to be me.
Is it then safe to say that you’re style conscious?
Well, yes. I don’t plan outfits or anything but I do make an effort to be presentable and wear clothes that make me look and feel good.
Do you think other guys on campus have any sense of style?
Not really. Some guys do try to make an effort but most are the track pants and sneakers types. All I’ll say to those guys is that women appreciate men who dress well.
What are you wearing today?
Vintage Nike Air Max One’s, G-Star Raw jeans, a Country Road cotton v-neck, a Polo jersey and Gucci glasses. I know it seems like I’m obsessed with brands but I’m really not.
Do you have a style icon?
Yes, my close personal friend and model Masego ‘Maps’ Maponyane. His style is unique and fresh.
