by Roxanne Joseph | Mar 6, 2015 | Opinion
Bassem Eid, founder of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group. Photo: Provided
Palestinian journalist Bassem Eid is the founder and former director of the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies brought him out to speak about his work at various universities around the country during Israel Apartheid Week (IAW). This is his fourth time in South Africa.
What is your background?
I grew up in a camp in the Old City in Jerusalem. We were evacuated for no reason, one year before the 1967 war. I worked for B’Tselem [The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories] from the start of the first intifada [uprising], but I resigned because I was more interested in monitoring the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) violations of their own peoples’ rights.
What kind of work did you do there?
We released reports, six times a year that looked at the violations and atrocities committed by the PA, under the Yasser Arafat regime.
Did you feel this was more important to focus on than what the Israeli Defence Force was doing?
Yes, because it is more painful to commit these atrocities against their own people. For me, it became about defending Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. For them, the PA became another kind of occupation, and because of their corruption, these people have been left hopeless.
What is the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
There is no solution right now. The major problem right now is the lack of leadership on both sides. They will both have to wait for the coming generation. The right-wing Israeli government and the old faction of leaders on the Palestinian side.
Is Israel an apartheid state?
No, it isn’t. South African apartheid has never existed in Israel. Palestinians can study and receive medical care, which are the two most important rights.
What do you think about IAW?
It adds more hate to existing hate. South Africa has a propagandist notion towards the conflict. The money that is thrown at IAW should be used for South Africans who need it in the fight against poverty. BDS (Boycott, Divestement and Sanctions) is a prelude to genocide and the destruction of the Palestinian people. They have no idea what’s going on, they’re just adding more fuel to the flame.
RELATED STORIES:
Wits Vuvuzela, IAW [VIDEO]: Israeli Apartheid Week 2014 wraps up, March 18, 2014
Wits Vuvuzela, Israel apartheid concert round two, August 23, 2013
Wits Vuvuzela, Israel vs SRC, May 31, 2013
by Staff Reporter | Mar 6, 2015 | Opinion
Titus Masike. Photo: Tendai Dube
Titus Masike just completed his BSc Nuclear Sciences and Engineering degree and is now studying Industrial Engineering. He is a model with Boss Model Management and plays the guitar when he isn’t on the runway or in class.
How did you start modelling?
I started last year around August/September. My friend Fuaad introduced me to Adrian Abrahams (photographer) and suggested I take some test photos with him. So I did and Adrian liked my photos and as a result he sent them through to Boss and other modelling agencies. Boss were the first to respond and they wanted to sign me up.
Does being a male model mean you get girls easily?
[Laughs] I don’t know. I don’t even know what that means because I don’t really pay much attention to all of that. Honestly, you’re asking the wrong person, I have a girlfriend and “Hi, I’m Titus” is what I consider a pick-up line.
Is modelling hard?
I wouldn’t say that, the act of modelling itself isn’t hard. But getting booked is the hardest part. I think I’m lucky more than anything. The bearded look seems to be in.
What’s the last thing you ate?
A chicken sandwich.
What is your favourite song right now?
It would have to be a song by Dawn Golden – Discoloration.
What is your favourite accessory?
Bags. Leather bags are a good accessory. I also like watches and a whole lot of other things like spectacles.
What are your tips for the runway?
When you walk make sure you keep your feet straight, so you don’t look like a clown.
What is your gym regime?
I go four or five times a week and I do martial arts at Wits.
Who is the most interesting person you have worked with?
Khanyi Mbau at the Jet summer fashion show. She’s actually really sweet.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 27, 2015 | Opinion
By Brian Tebogo Mashego, third year BA student
Last week Thursday I was chilling with a group of friends at the Matrix building at Wits University, and hell broke loose when one of my friends made a reckless statement about a fellow gay student.
Within a wink of an eye we then interrogated his thinking around the issue of homosexuality, and as we were having this conversation I realised that although our South African Constitution theoretically ensure equality for all, social acceptance of homosexuality and homosexuals is generally lacking especially by those of us who grew up in traditional and religious families.
The discussion reminded me of a heart breaking event that happened to a fellow student, Thabiso; who was a colleague of mine when I was studying at the Vaal University of Technology.
Thabiso was contesting the student elections when his opponents found out that he was gay. The entire election campaign then became focused around his sexuality, throwing his campaign into chaos. By the time voting began students didn’t want anything to do with him. My heart was broken because students didn’t judge him on the basis of his competent leadership skills, but on his sexuality.
That event robbed us of a having a potentially talented student leader. As I began the discussion of the unfair treatment of Thabiso at my old campus I was met with criticism, losing some of my friends along the way.
Many talented students who are capable of leading the student community are denied that opportunity based on their sexuality.
Our discussion at the matrix continued to raise questions about the prejudices that prevail today, especially amongst the student community.
Chunks of the student population on our campuses still embrace hostile attitudes and unfair treatment towards gay students.
Of greater concern than the utterance of my friends’ homophobic remarks, is the fact that – like Thabiso – many talented students who are capable of leading the student community are denied that opportunity based on their sexuality. Our broader society has not only influenced this negative thinking, but have also lead us as students to belittle and disqualify them based on their sexual orientation. We are told that it is “immoral” and “unafrican” to be gay or lesbian. Our selective morality is revealing.
I think we are facing a challenge of creating a supportive society that is inclusive and respectful of gays and lesbians.
Homosexuality is a topic around which our culture still gets awfully skittish. This became visible to me when I was talking to a few homosexual students. Most of them feel that greater hostility is shown to them by ‘traditional’ and religious people.
Thabiso’s case teaches us that there is a great need for our student communities to begin embracing sexual diveristy on our campuses. This must start with our student leadership.
They must breakthrough barriers and speak out against this unjust treatment on behalf of gay and lesbian students. They must do this because it’s their obligation as student leaders and are supposed to represent the entire student body.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 27, 2015 | Opinion
Aspasia Karras, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire South Africa. Photo: Facebook
Aspasia Karras is the editor-in-chief of Marie Claire. Wits Vuvuzela spoke to Karras about this months “Naked Edition” of Marie Claire which is a yearly publication whose proceeds are donated to charity.
What are some of the difficulties that come with being an editor for a monthly women’s publication?
I wouldn’t say difficulties. Because it’s a monthly publication, what you put in the magazine has to be carefully considered, edited and curated. As media we are very fortunate because when you curate a brand like Marie Claire you have a website and Twitter that allow us to communicate things all the time for our readers which gives them a 24/7 experience of what’s happening and that can keep us very busy.
What are the origins behind the “Naked Issue” of Marie Claire?
The “Naked Issue” was started nine years ago. At the time doing a naked edition of a magazine was pretty dramatic stuff. I mean now you see celebrities like Helena Bonham Carter naked with a fish. This shows that naked has become a popular means of drawing attention to a particular cause. And that was the idea with the naked edition then and it still is the focus now.
What charity was used for this year’s edition and why?
This year’s campaign was for Blow the Whistle and it draws attention to, essentially, the terrible plague of violence that affects women and children in this country. So we felt that working with Blow the Whistle and getting amazing celebrities with real calibre and integrity to pose in the most vulnerable way really associated themselves with the victims. When you pose naked you are exposed and exposed to the entire nation. You become vulnerable like the victims.
Were you aiming for the same kind of response as last year’s #BoityReaction?
We haven’t had the Boity affect this year. The reason behind this is the seriousness of the campaign. I feel this year people have actually just understood what it was for and so we’re also celebrating this edition as well. The other thing that was moving about this year’s edition is the men who participated. They really exposed themselves and it’s a very brave act. They’ve really embraced the campaign.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 27, 2015 | Opinion
Riante Naidoo
by Riante Naidoo
It seems to me that for most young couples today, sex has become an integral part of relationships.
Although I believe it is entirely up to each individual as to when they start having sex, the general trend has certainly picked up in recent years, leaving our generation with the attitude that it is a relationship norm or requirement.
I beg to differ. I only discovered the general view of most students on campus when a friend assumed I had been sleeping with my boyfriend of four years. Dumbfounded by her assumption I sat and gave the notion serious thought. ‘Did they not see me as normal’ and ‘how can people just assume that’ were the questions that raced through my mind.
I wondered why girls complained endlessly about their ‘bae’ not being romantic or thoughtful enough, when they were all too excited to respond to his ‘booty call’.
On the flip side however, I find it is not only guys who centre their relationships around sex, but girls too.
Although, in some instances, it may be peer pressure or the need to feel desired that may push one to have sex, I feel it is directed more at a lack of self-respect or ignorance.
Sex is certainly not a need. As educated people, we have the ability to empower ourselves by whatever means necessary.
No matter your gender, whether your partner threatens to leave or pulls the ‘do it to show me you love me’ line, leave. Leave with your dignity still intact and your morale a little stronger.
After all, if you are the kind of lady who expects your husband to be pure enough for you, you do not want to be walking into that relationship with a hideous reputation or trail of ‘baby daddies’.
For those who are mature enough to maintain relationships which exclude the ‘sexual requirement’, there are so many perks of being young and in love. It is the time to enjoy the sillier side of life with your partner.
When I was 18, holding his hand, hanging out with friends together, sneaking into his lectures and waking up to his texts every morning was what made it exciting.
Our generation needs to re-discover what it is like to be embarrassed over being called out in his lecture and being teased by friends instead of falling pregnant after a drunken hook-up.
The idea of sex bogs me down with seriousness. Call me old-fashioned, but yes, it does carry a sacred value and level of intimacy I can wait for. Let it be something special you experience, one day with the most important one.
Despite all the aspiring Christian Grey’s or Anastasia Steele’s out there, who believe they are in their sexual prime, I assure you, there will be enough time for handcuffs and rose petals in between the sheets.
It is completely normal for young couples to be in relationships without sex. It is possible to be together where the other is not ‘getting it someplace else’ just because the two of you are not sleeping together.
This is the time to make memories. To go on road trips with friends, join campus societies and hike a mountain or invent something crazy. After all, Facebook was invented by a group of university students.
Make the real moments matter and just imagine what a legend you will be at graduation!
by Roxanne Joseph | Feb 27, 2015 | Opinion
FIRST-YEAR BSc Astronomy and Astrophysics student Saul Hurwitz was born and bred in Johannesburg and wants to go to space one day. His plans for the year include passing and getting into his degree’s “restricted courses”.
Hurwitz also plays the piano and says his favourite constellation is Taurus, because that is his star sign.
Why did you choose this degree?
I definitely didn’t want to go into business and even though I considered a BA, I needed to think about the future and a career, so I chose this. By the end of this degree, I’ll either be able to go up into space or send stuff into space. So that’s pretty cool.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve learnt so far?
In physics, we learnt how to prove one of Einstein’s equations using dimensional analysis. It proves that the faster you go, the slower you age. But at our speed it kinda means nothing.
Is everything that happens in Interstellar accurate?
No [laughs]. It was very cool though! But, I wouldn’t try it at home, don’t fly into a black hole. Those guys were trained professionals, so they knew what they were doing.
What’s the best part of being at Wits?
The chips at Sizzlers. They’re incredible.
What’s your favourite science or science-fiction movie?
Interstellar, then Cloud Atlas, but I also like Predator. My all-time favourite would have to be Star Wars: Episode III though, because that’s when it all goes down.
What would you wear under your space-suit?
Can you even wear anything under a space-suit? I’d wear socks, because it probably would be really uncomfortable to not wear them. So, yeah, socks and underwear.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Advice is a form of nostalgia, unpacked from the dumpster of the brain, wiped off and sold for more than it’s worth. Basically, advice is crap.
by Ilanit Chernick | Feb 20, 2015 | Opinion
Craig Daniel is a third year mechanical engineering student. He’s a member of both the Wits Yacht club and the Hockey club. He plays hockey for Wits and hopes to climb Kilimanjaro one day.
How did you get the nickname ‘Sven Handel’?
My friend Brennan gave it to me when I joined the Yacht club in first year. My name backwards is Daniel Craig which is James Bond. So as a joke he called me 700 – which is 007 backwards. After that he wanted to find a name that sounded like 700 so he started calling me ‘Sven Handel’.
If I looked in your fridge right now, what would I find?
I have two brothers so there’s lots of food and a lot of mouths to feed. If I think about it, lots of left overs too. It’s not complicated – just the basics!
Who’s you favourite musician?
George Ezra is the man. Also enjoy Coldplay and old stuff like from the 70’s and 80’s music.
What song do you sing in the shower?
I don’t sing in the shower. This is the stupidest question in the world. I think I’ll pass.
What’s the most exciting thing you’d like to do in the future?
I’d love to bungee jump and climb Mount Kilimanjaro. I do stuff for the fun of it. It’s important to do things for the experience you know?
Tell me about your yachting and hockey playing?
I have learned to sail and I really enjoy it. But I take hockey a lot more seriously. It’s my main sport – I play link on the team.
Do you ever use yachting or hockey jargon as a pick-up line?
No! I don’t even know that much yachting jargon and I hardly ever use the hockey jargon I know.
by Nqobile Dludla | Feb 20, 2015 | Opinion
I remember watching The King’s Speech in second year, a movie recommended to me by my friend Kundai. Of all scenes, I specifically remember the dialogue between King George IV and Lionel Rogue his speech therapist.
Upon realising that Lionel is sitting on “St Edward’s chair, a seat on which every King, every queen, sat”, he breaks into a tantrum and says: “Listen to me, LISTEN TO ME!” When Lionel challenges the King on why he should be listened to, the King finally exclaims “Because I have the right to be heard, I HAVE A VOICE!”
It had taken the King so many years to take ownership of his voice and realise that he, like most people have a voice.
“social media has opened up a private sphere which allows me to form words at my own pace.”
I wish I had that confidence growing up. When I was just eight years old, ‘owning’ my own voice didn’t make any sense.
I desperately wanted God to change or take away my voice. I didn’t want to own it. I suffered from a stutter.
At that age I would often go to our bathroom, kneel down on our white cold tiles and ask: “Why me God? Why ca…ca..can’t I s….s..speak like normal people. Please change it. Take it away. Make me normal”
That following morning I woke up excited that God had listened to my prayer.
Thrilled to greet my Dad I opened my mouth and realised that God hadn’t listened when I found myself stumbling on “Sssssss…sa…sawubona Ba…ba” (Hello Dad).
It didn’t make sense to me why I spoke (and still speak) differently from my peers who would often stare in discomfort, impatiently waiting for me to finish my sentences.
I was full of energy and had words to share but was never afforded the platform or the opportunity to express myself I had to consider how those around me would feel by the public discomfort caused by my stammer.
Many people who stammer (myself included) shy away from expressing themselves fully for fear of being looked at with a blank stare as we shape words with our mouths just to be disappointed when we can’t release them. For so long I wanted to a have voice. A voice that commands, a voice that gets people’s attention.
As I’ve grown up I’ve learnt that I don’t need to speak perfectly in order to have a voice and be heard. My voice is different and unique.
“social media has opened up a private sphere which allows me to form words at my own pace.”
For a young lady who never underwent speech therapy, writing and social media has opened up a private sphere which allows me to form words at my own pace. The privilege of being able to form my own words in private hides the “weird” techniques I use such as rocking back and forth and stopping mid-sentence to take a huge breath.
Like the King when he finally said “I have a voice”, I realised that by acknowledging and embracing our differences we can participate in and understand the diverse world we live in.
Finding my voice is finding the strength to realise that I, like everybody else can own my voice.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 17, 2015 | Opinion
We’re one week into the cricket world cup and today’s show looks at the science behind the sport. Experts and cricketers explain how the speed of the ball effects the game, what lucid dreaming can do to improve a batsman and all about the size, shape and make of cricket gear.
Finally, Michael Stevens from Jumping Kids and Dr Mariette Conning from the CSIR talk about how to build a prosthetic limb for a child cricket star.
The Science Inside, the show that goes inside the science of major news events, is produced by Paul McNally, Anina Mumm, DJ Keyez and Lutfiyah Suliman for The Wits Radio Academy. Tune in live to VowFM every Monday at 6pm.
If the full podcast does not load automatically, please click here.
by Ilanit Chernick | Feb 13, 2015 | Opinion
Ilanit Chernick
There is something about walking into university on your first day. Bright-eyed and bushy tailed.
You’ve finished matric, maybe done a gap year and pretty much think you know everything.
You imagine yourself being part of a corny college flick as you walk through the hallways, imagining that you may just fall in love with the cute guy standing in line next to you (Freddie Prinze Jr.) at the campus food store – trust me, it happens, or so I’ve heard.
On my first day I was ready to take on Wits and better yet – the big bad world. I was so excited on my first day that I missed a step and clumsily tripped, falling flat on my face while ascending the steps of the Great Hall (not my finest hour).
I never attended my first year Welcome Day – my siblings took me around to see the place and helped me get my bearings.
I realised after attending Welcome Day as an alumni that I should have done so. I re-lived it, albeit a little late and even got my Kudu horns. I never attended my first O-week either, or my second or even my third. Embarrassingly I thought it was below me. What do I need to attend that for? It’s a waste.
Missing O-week resulted in me missing out on a big discovery: There are societies on campus. Societies for climbers, swimmers, dancers, singers, debaters, Jewish students, silly students and pretty much anything your heart desires.
I missed out on drunken parties, beer gardens, Nike runs and worst of all: Silly Buggers and Model UN (I mean seriously; how did I miss that?).
I only discovered the beauty of The Origin Centre while on the Red Bus tour around Johannesburg this year.
I didn’t attend O-week until my Honours year. Don’t make the same mistake. There’s a lot to see and a lot to discover. So use the time you have you here wisely.
As you start attending classes you learn quickly that as much as you thought you knew everything – you don’t. There are people who are cleverer, smarter and quicker than you. But as time passes you learn to stop comparing yourself to others.
I learned that it was important to learn things at your own pace and that asking questions is okay – you’re not nerdy or stupid as the stigma goes in high school. And I learned that the hard way.
Meet your lecturers, connect with them – I only realised how important those relationships were once I got to third year. But there is a fine line between networking and kissing butt – nobody likes a “teacher’s pet”.
When it comes to making friends, get out there and make new friends every year. Don’t just keep to the same group. The friends I have made at varsity are the ones I will keep for life.
I haven’t visited the Planetarium yet (not even at school) and with only two months left at Wits, it’s on the agenda together with dropping into a MUN meeting, jamming with my guitar on the library lawns, jumping into the pool with my clothes on and making friends with the VC.
Don’t get me wrong – my years here were far from doom and gloom. The four years I spent at Wits were probably the happiest of my life. I loved varsity. Period. And I hope to get back here soon to do an English masters.
But as all good things come to an end there are always moments you wish you could remember. At the same time you have to remind yourself: There are no regrets, just the things you didn’t do.
by Tendai Dube | Feb 13, 2015 | Opinion
Andile Mngxitama: EFF member and the member of Parliament Photo: Tendai Dube
Andile Mngxitama, Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) MP holds an MA in sociology from Wits and has published the first four essays in the New Frank Talk series, a journal of critical essays. Mngxitama is also a columnist for the Sowetan and City Press
What do you think of the current education crisis tertiary institutions are facing?
Here when students say ‘we want free education’, which is a fundamental right, what comes is violence from the police, arrests and intimidation. It shows that this state is anti-black, and totally incapable of listening to the needs of black people, it reproduces the apartheid logic. We should be paying students to keep them at university.
How do you suggest the situation be resolved?
In Bolivia, they pay poor families in rural areas to keep their children in school. that’s what we should be doing.
We should be grateful that our students – after 12 years of kak education – somehow qualify to go to an institution of higher learning. They should be rewarded, not punished.
How did we get to this situation?
In South Africa to get a matric exemption, it’s like we celebrate. In white society, a child is born, they will end in university and it’s not a mystery – it’s a given, but for us, because we have to overcome so many hurdles to actually get a matric exemption or to get university entrance, it’s a huge thing. It is achieving a lot against massive odds and then you get punished in the end.
What are the EFF’s plans to combat the education crisis?
The problem is that the 12 years students spend at school in South Africa, black public schools, are f**cked, it doesn’t prepare them for anything.
So what you do is you bring all the Zimbabweans with O – levels into SA schools and make all our teachers write the basic test – they will fail.
Zimbabwe must become our center for educating. Those teachers who fail have two options, they can get a package and go home or they can get reeducated and we send them to Zimbabwe. Let’s not create a difficult life for ourselves, bring all the Zimbabweans and spread them in rural schools…You just give them a two weeks crash course on methodology.
“The Mngxitama ABCs to solve the education crisis.”
Our teachers are underprepared, uneducated, untrained, unmotivated and they can’t do their basic job, but if we inject this new process then I think that within five years we can get back lot of South Africans into the system who are able to teach. We must build schools also and put real money into those things.
At a university level, not a single student must apply for a bursary. As a student you literally walk up to your university and if you qualify they should take you.
And they can say beforehand that Wits is a pro-poor school therefore we will take sixty percent of all new intakes from bursary students, so I already know what is my bill which I then present to government, to say these are the number of needy students that we have taken. They must make the registration illegal, that thing is evil, once you’re in you must be in until you finish.
by Percy Matshoba | Nov 5, 2014 | Opinion
Percy Matshoba
Photo: TJ Lemon
“The only by-line I care about is the one on a cheque” sums up what I took away from the presentation by two seasoned journalists at today’s Power Reporting conference. ‘How to Pay the Rent’ by Raymond and Natasha Joseph, was one of the most well-attended sessions at the conference which took place at Wits University.
As an almost Journalism graduate, I will be the first to admit that despite the nonchalant front I put up about the by-line, it was a very big deal to me. Before the presentation I acted like the infamous by-line did not phase me, although I would work very hard and sometimes free to see my name printed on a newspaper or a glossy magazine. Forget the hours I would dedicated for a by-line, friends and family would easily be shunned if they stood in the way of my glory.
“you can’t pay at Pick n Pay with a by-line.”
The presentation reduced the importance of a by-line to a zero. The Josephs highlighted that for a journalist the by-line is a bonus, and that paying the rent is of fundamental importance. Raymond, a freelancer who has been a journalist since 1973 said “you can’t pay at Pick n Pay with a by-line.” Speaking mostly for the freelance journalists he emphasised the importance of viewing one’s work as a business.
“The free in freelance doesn’t mean free,” he said.
Daughter Natasha, the news editor of the City Press, said that not charging a fee for your work sends the message that “you do not value your work”.
“Don’t end up working where it costs you money,” Raymond Joseph said. “If you are resentful about where you work, you will be resentful about your work.”
Paying the rent is one of the leading factors of stress in the country, and paying the rent as a journalist is even more stressful. Despite the fact that journalists, put in as much hours as doctors at times, however, they do not get paid nearly as much.
The Josephs emphasised that in order to pay the rent, a journalist should care less about the by-line and more about being well read, pitching a relevant story and having a thick enough skin to ask about the cheque upfront. Natasha added that she also found that curiosity and great sense of humour also came in handy in the cut-throat industry.
As I am about to become a full time journalist I am going into the industry with a change of heart about the glorious by-line. However great it is to see my name printed, I have learned that the joys of a by-line are short lived and most importantly, they do not pay the bills.
