Another SRC campaigning circus ends before it even starts.
The crowed that gathered for the SRC circus at the exam hall on the education campus on Monday evening were sent home before all the parties contesting the elections were given the opportunity to give their opening statements.
The crowd settled into the hall and the opening manifestos began. The PYA took to the floor first followed by Project W.
Project W was then interrupted by chants of “Pay Back the money by the crowd.” Earlier that afternoon, at a lunch time circus, SRC president Shaeera Kalla demanded Project W account for the half a million rand they claimed to have raised for the Wits humanitarian fund.
The organisers stopped the clock on Project W in hopes of calming the crowd.
Suddenly a scuffle broke out between a supporter of the PYA and a Project W member.
Details are still sketchy around who exactly initiated the altercation. A Project W member told Vuvuzela that a PYA supporter smacked him on the neck while filming.
When asked, the PYA said that they did not see exactly what happened and could neither confirm nor deny that the altercation was started by a PYA supporter.
This comes after a very interesting few weeks surrounding election campaigning. Last week the Wits EFF where suspended from the elections by the Council of the Witwatersrand following a physical altercation that occurred at the Great debate between the parties.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of this week’s electoral poll.
On Friday the University of the Witswatersrand released a statement around the suspension of students and the exclusion of the Wits EFF society. This comes after a disruption that was initiated by the Wits EFF at the SRC debate which ended in a physical altercation between parties. It was the start of an unusual campaign season.
This year four parties registered to run for the 2016 SRC elections these included the Wits Economic Freedom Fighters, Project W, the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (DASO).
Cancelled SRC debate
Campaigning started off with a bang this year when the annual Student Representative Council (SRC) debate was cancelled after a fight broke out between parties.
Members of the Wits EFF filled the Great Hall stage dancing and chanting “No SRC!” The party continued to disrupt the proceedings of the debate.
The organisers, campus control head of investigations Michael Mahada, and campaign managers then went backstage for an emergency meeting. The group then came out and announced that the debate was cancelled. Chief electoral officer, Thembi Dlamini explained that the cancellation was based on a “collective decision”.
Exceptionally disappointed with the puerile & disruptive actions of Wits EFF. For Pete’s sake debate ideas & win argument through persuasion
Then more confusion hit at what was supposed to be the first campaigning circus for the year. Only the PYA and a few Wits EFF candidates arrived at the FNB building on Wednesday. According to PYA’s Twitter account, supporters were requested to meet at 1:20pm at the FNB building, for an official election circus. But on arrival it seemed that there was no organisation for the event and only a few PYA candidates handing out pamphlets.
A handful of PYA members were handing out pamphlets encouraging students to vote for their party. When asked, the candidates told those that gathered that they were waiting on the party’s officials and the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC), none of whom showed up. PYA representatives told Wits Vuvuzela that, “It seems as though only Project W were made aware of the postponement, because it was only the EFF and the PYA that prepared for today’s circus.”
What seemed at first, to be a defiance of the cancellation to those who knew about it turned into a simple misunderstanding and miscommunication on the part of the candidates and their parties.
We will be at FNB today for the first official election circus, 1:20pm! Come through, meet your PYA candidates and hear why #PYALEADS!
On Thursday the first organised and official campus circus was held at the Matrix on Wits East campus. Students were encouraged to question candidates on issues surrounding party mandates and burning topics related to the university. While at one point the EFF caused a bit of a disruption, all in all the circus went off with no major incidents.
Suspension of Wits EFF and students involved in debate disruption
On Friday the EFF were not at the second circus that was held at the Wits Medical campus. That evening at 6:30pm a statement was emailed to the Wits student body from the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand. The document gave comment on the decisions to suspend the Wits EFF as a society and said some of the students involved in the fighting at the Tuesday debate would be suspended.
PYA and EFF members gathered for an expected SRC election circus, not knowing that campaigning has been suspended.
PYA and EFF candidates gathered in vein on West Campus at the FNB building yesterday in the run up to the WITS SRC elections.
According to PYA’s twitter account, supporters were requested to meet at 1:20pm at the FNB building, for an official election circus.
A hand full of PYA members were handing out pamphlets encouraging students to vote for their party.
When asked, the candidates told those that gathered that they were waiting on the parties officials and the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC), none of whom showed up.
PYA representatives told Wits Vuvuzela that, “It seems as though only Project W were made aware of the postponement, because it was only the EFF and the PYA that prepared for today’s circus.”
This comes after the brawl broke out on Tuesday at the Wits SRC electoral debate after the debate was disrupted by the Wits EFF.
According to the University, campaigning for all parties was suspended until further notice.
What seemed at first, to be a defiance of the cancellation to those who knew about it turned into a simple misunderstanding and miscommunication on the part of the candidates and their party.
As it stands, campaigning has been limited to certain areas until further notice.
Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of being in a car accident and will probably never forget the details of the experience, (you know, that sudden thud, the flash of light bouncing off the metal, the tyres screeching or the shattering of glass!
But few of us know what steps to follow immediately after the incident. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to keep calm and follow the nine steps below.
1) STOP!
It doesn’t matter if it is a major or minor accident make sure you stop your vehicle at the scene. It is illegal to drive away.
2) Turn on your hazards
3) Check for injuries
Make sure everyone in the car with you is not injured. Then check the driver and passengers in the other car.
4) If anyone is injured, call 10111 for assistance
Remember to give the operator as much detail about the location of the accident scene.
5) Move the vehicle out of harm’s way
If there are no serious injuries talk to the other driver and discuss moving away from the scene.
In the case of injuries: Both vehicles need to remain at the scene to allow the police to do conduct an investigation. In this case it would be wise to put up a warning triangle or beacon in order to warn other vehicles on the road. Both drivers at this point should document the scene as is.
In the case of no serious injuries: To make sure you avoid any more accidents, turn on your hazard lights and move to a place where you can get out the car safely
6) Exchange information with the other driver/s
Names of driver and passengers
Licence plate number
Contact details of those involved
Makes and model of cars involved
Contact details of any eyewitnesses
Insurance company information
7) Take pictures
If you have a camera phone take pictures of the scene and the damage as well as the licence plate of the car/s involved.
This will come in handy when making insurance claims, and in the case of an investigation.
8) Take down the details of the accident
Make sure you know all of the details that may be necessary when claiming rom the insurance company:
Time
Location
Description of the car/s involved in the accident, including: Model, number plates, year colour and the visible damage.
9) Report the accident to the police
Make sure you do this within 24 hours of the accident. This not only is useful in the case of an investigation, but also this will be needed for when you claim back from your insurance company.
Anyone who believes that South Africa is starved of international concerts is definitely living under a rock. No matter what your taste in music, chances are that your favorite artists will be hitting South African stages sooner then you think. South Africa has, in recent years, become a hotspot for all international performers and South African fans are defiantly not complaining.
Last Saturday, German deep house DJ and producer, Robin Schulz began his two-show tour in South Africa. Earlier this year, American superstar Chris Brown, was back in South Africa for the second time in two years. These artists are just some of the major international acts to have graced South African stages in recent years. They join big names like One Direction, Kanye West, Michael Buble, Rihanna and Lady Gaga to name but a few.
Big Concerts, one of the biggest concert promoters in the country, said they were bringing in about 10 international acts about five years ago. That number has now increased to about 12-15 annually.
“One reason for this is because of new venues such as the stadiums, meaning we could bring bigger acts,” said Sophie Doherty, the marketing manager for Big Concerts.
But beyond the bigger venues, it appears that South African fans are part of the reason these top acts choose to come to the country. “We often get told how great SA fans are,” Doherty said.
Apple introduced an array of culturally divers emojis last week and although the concept may seem new, it has in fact been around for years. Here is a brief timeline on how emojis became apart of our daily conversations.
Whether you love them or hate them, it appears emojis are here to stay. Emojis can be described as a small digital image or icon that is primarily used in electronic communication to express certain ideas, feelings, and so forth. “Emoticons” are the predecessors of “emoji”.
Emoticons refer to a representation of facial expressions that are created by various combinations of keyboard characters, such as: “:-)” (representing a smile).
The launch of a new set of emoji from Apple is a sign that these signs of emotion are not going anywhere, but rather becoming more and more complex and nuanced. From their usage in text messages and on other social platforms, emojis have come to function as a shortcut for more complex language and emotions. While the term “emojis” was only coined much further on from its actual emergence, emojis have a rich history that dates almost 150 years back.
Taken from abcnews.go.com
1862 – A speech by Abraham Lincoln included the symbol “;)” in it.
This sparked debate over whether or not this symbol was merely a typo or actually written with its full intent of being an emoticon.
1881 – The first instance where emoticons were purposefully used was in Puck Magazine. The team working for the satirical magazine formed these emotions with specific characters, which was also known as “typographical art”.
1912 – Critic Ambrose Bierce wrote an essay on writing reform, wherein he suggested new punctuation marks to indicate humor and irony in writing. He called this piece: (‿), “the snigger point,” and it was used to represent a smiling mouth.
Taken from mashable.com
1982 – Scott Fahlman, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, posted the first documented happy and sad emoticons (a happy face and a sad face).
The respective emoticons were formed with a colon, a hyphen and parentheses. Writing on an online bulletin board, Fahlman told readers, “I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: 🙂 Read it sideways.”
1990– The term “emoticon” was used in print for the first time in the New York Times.
1994 – Online instant messaging lead a boom in the use of emoticons.
1998 – The first emoji was created in Japan by Shigetaka Kuirita, who was part of the team working on NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode mobile internet platform. The emoji was created as part of i-mode’s messaging features to help facilitate electronic communication, in addition to acting as a distinguishing feature from other such services.
2001 – The term “emoticon” was added to the Oxford dictionary.
2002 – The term “emoticon” was dubbed the official Internet ‘lingo’ after being added to the Urban dictionary.
2008 – Apple released emojis in the iOS 2.2 (iPhone) software update to the Japanese market.
2009 – Google added emojis to Gmail and Fred Benenson initiated “Emoji Dick,” a crowd-sourced project that consisted of translating almost 10 000 sentences of Moby Dick literature into emojis.
2010 – Emojis adopt a Unicode; i.e. a computing industry, standard for most of the worlds writing and character systems.
2011–Emojis had their first international debut on Apple iOS 5 system.
Taken from abcnews.go.org
2012 – iOS 6 is launched and it includes new emojis, like the gust of wind emoji (now know as the ‘fart’ emoji). In addition, the front cover of the New Yorker was almost entirely made up of emojis.
2013– The term “emoji” is added to the Oxford dictionary and Katy Perry releases a lyric video predominantly comprised of emojis.
2015 – Apple releases its most revolutionized range of racially, sexually and culturally diverse emojis.
Authorities gain control of the situation a short while ago
70 people reported dead
65 people seriously injured
Hundreds unaccounted for
Confirmed Al-Shabaab attack
Militants say attack was in retaliation for Kenya deploying troops to neighbouring Somalia
At least 70 people have died in an attack at the Garissa University College in Kenya. Sixty-five people are seriously injured and hundreds are unaccounted for after Al-Shabaab militants attacked the university in the eastern part of the country around 5:30am on Thursday.
Al-Shabaab have claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, and said it was carried out because of the deployment of Kenyan troops in Somalia. The Kenyan ministry posted a “most wanted” notice for the man believed to be the mastermind of the attack, Mohamed Mohamud or Gamadhere.
The siege ended just a short while ago as Kenyan authorities announced they had brought the situation under the control of security forces.
According to the police services in Kenya, the gunmen forced their way into student dormitories opening fire and taking hostages. Kenyan Red Cross stated that 50 students were freed, and at least 65 people were hospitalized from the attack. There are also unconfirmed reports that the attackers had beheaded some of the victims.
Prior warning
In March Garissa University College’s chief security officer informed the institution that Al-Shabaab was planning an attack on the university. Both the United Kingdom and the United States issued warnings of attacks in Kenya just last week. The country’s government said it bolstered security following the warning, but residents say it was too little, too late.
President Kenyatta responds
“I am saddened to inform the nation that early today, terrorists attacked Garissa University College killed and wounded several people and have taken others hostage. On behalf of my government, I extend condolences to the families of those who have perished in this attack. We continue to pray for the quick recovery of the injured, and the safe rescue of those held hostage,” said Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in a statement.
Condolences from UCT and the African Union Somali mission
The University of Cape Town (UCT) also released a statement condemning the attack, saying universities are places of learning, sharing and tolerance. The university extended it condolences to over 200 Kenyan students studying at the university concerned about the attacks back home.
“If you attack a military, it’s an equal battle, but if you go after students, who are learning, who are preparing for the future of Africa, it’s different … I’m a father myself – I am shaken,” said the head of the African Union mission in Somalia, Maman Sambo Sidikou.
South Point marketing intern Junior Mahlangu sitting in front of one of the custom-built bikes given away on Thursday afternoon. Photo: Raquel De Cahha
Ten Wits students in a Braamfontein residence won a bicycle each yesterday afternoon in a competition aimed at growing a cycling culture in Braamfontein.
“We want to show that Braam, is not just for the Saturday crowd and the hipsters.”
“We want to show that Braam, is not just for the Saturday crowd and the hipsters,” said South Point residences CEO Mdumiso Davidson who handed out the bicycles to the winners.
South Point and Wits Cycle Club are working together to show the safety of driving around Braamfontein by giving the winners a class in cycle safety. Davidson believes that that if cyclists make use of the newly installed cycle lanes in Braamfontein, motorists would respect them more, making the lanes safer to use.
One of the winners Promise Thlologelo Rampa, a fourth year social work student, said that health was one of the reasons she wanted a bicycle. She is getting married in December and is planning on finding her dream dress. “I really want to drop two dress sizes in time for my wedding and I know that getting this bicycle can help me do that.”
“We want to encourage an active and healthy movement for students in the area,” said South Point marketing and sales coordinator, Keith Mafu.
The students get to keep the brand new handmade Schinn bicycles for two months. The bikes will then be reviewed and if they are kept in good condition, the students’ use of the bike will be extended.
CONSTITUTIONAL ART: Nolubabalo Memese explains the symbolism of the architecture to 2nd year constitutional law students on Tuesday. Photo: Raquel De Canha
Over 300 Wits Constitutional Law students got their first chance to visit the Constitutional Court last week, as part of a programme that gives the students exposure to South Africa’s highest court.
Students for Law and Social Justice in collaboration with the Wits Law School and the Conhill Education Project, put together the event for 320 second-year Wits Law students.
“Less than 5% of Constitutional Law students have ever actually been to Constitutional Hill,” said Tristan Jones, a member of Students for Law and Social Justice.
Claudia Oliveira, 3rd year LLB, is one of the many Law students who have not had the chance to go visit the iconic space, despite Constitution Hill being within walking distance of Wits’ main campus.
“I didn’t have anybody interested enough to go with,” Oliveira said.
“Less than 5% of Constitutional Law students have ever actually been to Constitutional Hill,”
“It is definitely something that I want to do. But it would have been so much easier and more educational to have gone with Wits when it was relevant and I was learning about it,” Oliveira said.
Jones said the aim of the event is to “ensure that all Constitutional Law students are able to experience the highest court in the land”.
Constitution Hill in Braamfontein has a history dating back to the 1892 when the Old Fort was built under the Zuid Afrikaans Republiek functioning as a prison. Today the site is home to the Woman’s Gaol museum, Number Four museum and the Old Fort museum.
These areas host exhibitions that advocate human rights.
During the tour, students got an in-depth look at the jails on Constitution Hill, a tour of the art collection in the main Court and were also taken into the courtroom itself.
Students for Law and Social Justice is a South African students’ organisation which aims to protect human rights, encourage social justice and help make justice more accessible. The group was formed among students from various universities around the country.
Today we’re taking a look at the #WitsShutdown protests which are over historical debt and unaffordable accommodation, which have seen several students suspended, physical clashes between protestors and security and disruptions to the academic programme for many. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing, we let students unpack their views on what has […]
9) Report the accident to the police
