by Roxanne Joseph | Oct 10, 2014 | News
BRANCHING OUT: Braamfontein is set to become an extension of the Wits campus. The university will take responsibility for the upgrade of facilities in the area. Photo: Roxanne Joseph
Wits University is to receive R30 million from the City of Johannesburg for the upgrade of facilities in Braamfontein.
Wits vice-chancellor (VC) Prof Adam Habib has confirmed that an agreement has been reached with city officials which will allow the university to extend the campus beyond its current borders in Braamfontein.
As part of the agreement Wits will take responsibility for part of Braamfontein’s lighting, security and paving, as well as the upgrade of a number of buildings in the area over the next three to five years.
“We are looking to colonise the area,” Habib said. He has met with the mayor of Johannesburg, Parks Tau and City manager, Trevor Fowler, who have agreed to provide financial support to Wits for the project.
In addition, Wits is in negotiations to “borrow” bandwidth from the city to increase Internet access and availability across the campus.
As part of the upgrade, international technology company IBM will locate its Braamfontein research lab on the Wits campus. This is in order to support the university’s continued study in the origins of the universe and of human species.
In 2009, the university together with public and private funders invested R1.5 billion into upgrading campus infrastructure, including the Wits Art Museum, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and education campus facilities.
According to Shirona Patel of Wits communications, the “investment had gone into new buildings and in upgrading existing infrastructure, which comprises more than 260 buildings.”
The facilities department is currently conducting a survey, looking at the need for student and staff accommodation and in an upcoming council meeting, will strategise ways to manage the Braamfontein build up so that it does not detract from “normal internal infrastructural duties,” Habib said.
by Zelmarie Goosen | Sep 19, 2014 | Featured 1
HOME DÉCOR: Masters Students Jamy-Lee Brophy and Megan Heilig exhibit recreations of the home environment at various venues in and around campus. The displays are part of their new project which focuses on creating what they call ‘institutions’, which explores and examines what we as multicultural beings experience as an institution and the effects of this experience. Photo: Provided
You’ve probably seen the stack of bricks arranged outside the Wits School of Arts, the Great Hall and other random places around campus and been curious and confused about why they’re there.
As part of a new project, Wits Fine Arts students Jamy-Lee Brophy and Megan Heilig have collected unused bricks from campus and around Braamfontein and built small-scale structures they call ”institutions”.
The project focuses on exploring and examining the idea of what different institutions, especially homes, mean to us in Johannesburg and as students on campus.
“We’re questioning the ideas of institutions, and how institutions reinforce ideologies and constructions and we try and challenge them,” said Brophy. “We have collected bricks … and what we do from this is basically try to build an institution, one that can create a conversation in different spaces and one that’s kind of transitory.”
Heilig added: “I think an institution is an experience, so in everyone’s lives we experience things such as race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, cultural background, and all these things amalgamated within the city and especially in Johannesburg.”
Brophy and Heilig collected the bricks for free from people who wanted to get rid of them, but they also “stole” materials some of them from campus. Heilig said they stole materials because Wits wouldn’t give them funding for their project.
The duo also want to challenge and question the idea of claiming space on Wits campus. The current installation placed outside the Great Hall, which appear to be a pile of bricks, is seen as a “cornerstone”, the implication that there’s an institution outside of another institution. They move the bricks around to rebuild these institutions in various locations so that people will start talking about it and about why they’re doing it.
The focus of their project is somewhat political, and they look at political parties as institutions in themselves and what they represent or how they misrepresent. They created the Halfa Pitchca Party, which is their own organisation and which helps them examine the idea of the relationship between politics and art.
“I think that art is political, and that what’s happening here can be political and it can be social, and it can relate to other people,” said Heilig. “This thing is not just about art for art’s sake, we’re not painting to look how nice paint looks on a canvas, that’s not what all people do here.”
They want to encourage other students on campus to go to exhibitions held at places like the Substation and the Wits Art Museum and know that art is for everybody and something everybody can relate to. Their current project is a way of getting out on the streets and getting talking.
“We want people to know about it [exhibitions],” said Heilig. “We don’t want it to be this underground thing where only if you’re cool and in with the art kids you can come and check out their stuff, that’s bullshit. We need something fresh, something new, and we want to open up spaces in the city on the street and have spaces that we create, especially in the city.”
by Percy Matshoba | Aug 29, 2014 | Lifestyle
BOILING HOT: Braamfontein’s Boiler Room showcases work by students and up and coming designers and architects.
Photo: provided
A small, dark room in a Braamfontein alley is opening spaces and places for lovers of architecture and design.
The Boiler Room is part of the Alive Architecture initiative, located down an alley just off Melle Street, opposite the Neighbourgoods Market. It serves as a space for architecture students and upcoming architects to showcase their work at no cost.
In the first six weeks of its opening, the room had over 1200 visitors, and is becoming known as a space for innovation according to the owners.
Alive Architecture as an architectural gallery was developed in September 2011 and it now has a home in Braamfontein in as of December 2013. The studio that now houses this innovative space is about 25 square metres is a small dark room. The space has a boiler for the building, which is above it in one corner, hence its name The Boiler Room.
The owner Pieter-Ernst Maré – along with Simon Cretney – says that the room caters specifically for students, upcoming architects and designers because this group does not get the chance to showcase as much as developed designers and architects.
“We felt that the smaller designers don’t get enough exposure to the general public,” said Maré.
Maré says that when the concept was drawn up in 2011 there weren’t many showrooms that were available for these marginalised groups to showcase their work for free.
Maré, who is a blogger and architect, says they look at proposals for the use of the space and choose a variety of ideas so the public can get a range of skills, trades and art exhibited in the space.
“We really don’t mind what our tenants do with the space – as long as we get it back like we gave it to them, so that the next exhibitor can step in and showcase with the minimum of fuss and expense in setting themselves up,” said Maré.
He said that many people do not understand the architecture industry. The Alive Architecture initiatives through The Boiler Room aims to educate the public about the work that goes into designing homes and work spaces.
Maré says the initiative wants to show that “architecture isn’t just about keeping water out of a space, that landscape architecture is not about picking the right petunia colour and that interior architecture is not about scatter cushions and curtains”. It’s an exploration of materials, ideas and philosophies that translate into a space, he says.
Maré says they hope to expand and showcase South African talent in other parts of the country in the near future.
by Roxanne Joseph | Aug 29, 2014 | News
CORRECTION: Wits Vuvuzela erroneously attributed a comment to Daya Veerasamy in the print newsaper (29 August edition), who was never interviewed for this article. Wits Vuvuzela regrets the error which has been corrected in the copy below.
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Students from Wits and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) are being threatened with eviction from university residences and student accommodation facilities due to outstanding tuition fees.
“My landlord locked me out my room and I had to kick down the door,” said Sboniso Mahlalose, a second year mining student at UJ. He stays at Bridgeview, in Braamfontein.
“I have to eat, study and sleep, and I had a project.”
Wits Vuvuzela knows of at least four students who have been told to move out of Braamfontein Centre. Some of them owe tuition fees, while others are behind on their monthly rent fees.
According to university management, a compulsory instalment of 20% is payable before admission to any Wits res and the remainder is due by the end of March that year.
Special arrangements can be made directly with the fees office, according to fees office information.
“Paying the fees off in instalments throughout the year is available to all students.”
Students who have entered into an instalment payment agreement with Wits and have fallen behind in their payments by the end of the first term, will have “forefeited his/her rights to further accommodation during the year,” according to a Fees Office booklet.
“I’ve had issues like this in the past,” said a Wits student from Braamfontein Centre, who has been asked to leave due to outstanding fees.
She asked not to be named as it was a “sensitive issue”.
“This time, I was given notice, I tried to find the money. But what must I do?”
If a student fails to pay the full amount of their fees by March 31, their exam results may be withheld and the student may not be admitted to any university residence during the following year.
Students do not feel they are supported by the university and the financial burden is becoming more difficult.
“If we cannot afford it, they must help us. Even if we owe fees, this does not mean they can or should kick us out,” said another student who has been asked to leave Braamfontein Centre.
He asked to remain anonymous until his fee issues had “been sorted out”.
by Ilanit Chernick | Aug 27, 2014 | News
A gang of men have been involved in a number of “snatch and goes” in Braamfontein’s Bertha and De Korte streets over the past two weeks.
Wits Security and Liaisons manager, Lucky Khumela said he is aware of a “gang of men” in the area who are attempting “snatch and goes” on vulnerable targets.
“We have seen a rise of this type of crime where the opportunists will either distract the person and pick-pocket them or just snatch their visible valuables.”
The most recent attack was on Sunday morning when a male non-student was robbed by two men.
“They stole his wallet and cell phone. Our security was informed and subsequently SAPS was called,” Khumela said.
This followed other attacks, the first of which was on August 15 when a a female Witsie was approached from behind by a man t while outside the KFC on De Korte street .
“It was broad daylight. The man snatched my phone from my hands and jumped into a car that had a group of men in it who just drove away,” the woman told Wits Vuvuzela.
Last Saturday, a Wits student’s phone was snatched from her by “a guy who then got into his car that was parked nearby and drove off”.
On Monday, Wits Vuvuzela was approached about attempted car thefts on Bertha street by a security guard who asked to remain anonymous.
The security guard said there was a gang who keep trying to break into cars and steal them while parked in the area next to the Wits Art Museum.
“I tell people who park there to tell the guard to watch their cars and to give him pansela. There have been so many attempted break in’s. These men keep trying to steal the cars and nothing is being done to stop them.”
Khumela said this was the first he had heard of this problem but insisted Campus Control would get to the “bottom of it”.
by Percy Matshoba | Aug 23, 2014 | Lifestyle
Wits Beaty Theatre stylist, Peace Goronga. Photo: Percy Matshoba
Hair salons in Braamfontein are still offering treatments for Brazilian Blow Outs despite recent reports finding many contain the cancer-causing chemical formaldehyde.
According to a study that was recently done by the University of Cape Town, six Brazilian keratin treatments, which are labelled formaldehyde-free, have been found to contain the cancer-causing chemical.
City Press recently named these products as: Re+5 Brazilian Keratin Treatment Formaldehyde Free, Cadiveu Brazilian Cacau Keratin Treatment, Inoar Professional Brazilian Blow Dry, Hair-Liss Professional Line Keratin Treatment Chocolate and Medusa Professional Complex Brazilian Keratin Treatment.
The Wits Beauty Theatre salon on the corner of Jorissen and Station Street confirmed they use Brazilian Keratin treatment. Stylist Peace Goronga said they believe ”it is good for hair because it makes it silky straight”.
A stylist from a local salon, Teal Freeman, said Brazilian Blow outs need to be done in moderation. “Generally every few months should be okay,” she said.
Freeman told Wits Vuvuzela it is highly advisable for a stylist to use a mask when applying the treatment as failure to do so could result in breathing problems and other sicknesses.
She said formaldehyde is like any other chemical and can easily affect humans if they are overexposed to it.
“All chemicals if used in any amount can be harmful – just like if you eat too much food, it can also be dangerous,”
L’Oreal Institute stylist and co-ordinator Rocky Makhubo said their salon uses the “extensive” range instead of keratin as it is safer for clients.
Dr. Pranar K. Tripathi, a carbon material specialist at Wits who specialises in formaldehyde, said the chemical cannot cause cancer if it is not mixed with benzene.
“All chemicals if used in any amount can be harmful – just like if you eat too much food, it can also be dangerous,” he said.
Tripathi said he had not assessed the products and had not yet had a chance to see the UCT study.
As reported in City Press, Medusa Professional’s Denzil Ferreira said the product’s formaldehyde content was not indicated on the labelling but was reduced to 0.05% after UCT’s research was done.
“I became aware of the formaldehyde content about a year and a half ago. The supplier had told me the product was formaldehyde-free. Little did I know they used aldehyde, which is the same thing. This was their reason for calling it formaldehyde-free,” Ferreira reportedly said.
Nadine Bekaardt, a BCom Finance honours student at Wits, said she had always wanted to do the Brazilian treatment and that she was not aware that some of the products could cause cancer. “Now that I know that it can cause cancer I will think three times at least before I do it,” she said.
Third year chemical engineering student Rene King said she has done a Brazilian treatment before and the next time she goes she will opt for the organic product.
by Ilanit Chernick | Aug 20, 2014 | News
STATS: A list of the increase and decrease of stats around the Wits area. Graphic: Campus Control
Crime – including mugging – is on the rise in and around Wits campus, according to the annual crime report released by Campus Control yesterday.
Despite the higher number of arrests made by the South African Police Services (SAPS) together with Campus Control, crime has increased from 279 incidents in 2013 to 310 in 2014. However, this number is still lower than 2012, when 348 incidents occurred. The stats include the area in and around the Wits campus area.
Although theft in general, and the theft of cars, has decreased, thefts outside of cars, pick-pocketing, muggings and the possession of drugs have increased around campus. Cell phone and laptop thefts have also risen.
Campus Control said the rise in cell phone and laptop thefts was as a result of “negligence” by students. Hot-spots across campus were found to be classrooms, parking areas and some residences. Most of the crimes in these areas were petty.
Campus Control’s security and liaison manager Lucky Khumela told Wits Vuvuzela: “Students have been leaving their valuables unattended in these areas and this gives opportunists a chance to take action and steal those valuables.”
Khumela said students must be vigilant, but that Campus Control was working together with the SAPS to arrest “perpetrators of crime”.
“We have been successful so far and we hope to continue. As you can see from the statistics, our arrests have risen from 36 to 42 in the last six months.”
Students have also been warned to be careful in a number of areas outside campus including Enoch Sontonga, De Korte, Jorissen, Ameshof and Melle Streets, as well as Jan Smuts Avenue and Empire Road, where muggings and smash-and-grabs have become more common, as reported by Wits Vuvuzela earlier this year.
Students leaving campus at night, whether walking to their vehicles or walking to residences around Wits or in Braamfontein, are encouraged to call Campus Control to escort them.
Crime can be reported to Campus Control on (011) 717-4444
RELATED ARTICLES:
Wits Vuvuzela: INFOGRAPHIC: Crime spike affects Wits University,May 12, 2014
Wits Vuvuzela: Smash and grabs rife on Empire Road, May 10, 2014
by Ilanit Chernick | Aug 7, 2014 | News
CONCERNING: Thugs have been active robbing Braamfontein locals and, in one attack, tying them up in the cemetery. Photo: Ilanit Chernick.
Wits Campus Control have warned students of an escalation in criminal activity in the area following the robbery of a man who was left tied to a grave in Braamfontein cemetery recently.
A tweet from the Campus Control account sent out on July 24 warned students that on “Enoch Sontonga [there are] thugs becoming violent”.
Security and liaison manager at Campus Control, Lucky Khumela, said the tweet followed the armed robbery of an unidentified man on July 23.
“A man was approached by three armed men. They robbed him of his valuables and then tied him up with wires to a grave in the Braamfontein cemetery,” Khumela said.
The man was left tied to the grave during the night wearing only a t-shirt and boxers. He managed to untie himself and alerted Campus Control of the attack. Campus Control then informed the South African Police Services (SAPS).
Khumela said police have promised to increase patrols in the area.
The area around the bridge outside the cemetery, across the road from Wits, has become a known crime hot-spot for thugs and students have been warned to be cautious there even during the day.
“There are guards from 6am to 6pm, but students must still be careful,” said Khumela
Campus Control also stressed on Twitter that students must not walk alone or with valuables in “isolated areas” after hours because “robberies outside campus is a real concern”.
Two female Wits students were also the victims of two separate smash and grab incidents outside the Wits Art Museum over this past week.
On Friday afternoon a student was driving along Jorissen street when a man approached her car window, smashed it and grabbed her bag.
The second robbery took place on Monday afternoon, also on Jorissen street, when another female student was waiting in traffic. A man smashed her window and grabbed her cellphone before running off into the busy street.
Campus Control posts security guards on Jorrisen street. However, Khumela said the smash and grab thieves were “opportunists” who waited until the guards were patrolling further down the street before striking. Khumela said they were investigating the recent incidents.
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by Thabile Manala | Aug 4, 2014 | News
TOWNHALL POLITICS: (from left to right), Dr Pamela Dube, Shafee Verachia and Prof Adam Habib field questions about promises made. Photo: Palesa Tshandu
There is a lack of diversity at Wits University residences and the vice-chancellor hopes to change this by encouraging more white students to live in res.
Prof Adam Habib was addressing a gathering of staff and students at a townhall meeting in the Great Hall earlier today where he emphasised his mission to “get the right balance between diversity and cosmopolitanism.” “The constitution and freedom charter demands that diversity,” he said.
He said Wits is a diverse university, but the residence life does not reflect that. But his suggestion to have more white students in res was not without criticism. Witsie Mcebo Dlamini reacted by saying that Habib is “bringing a culture of racism in (sic) this university”. Dlamini questioned why white students are encouraged to live in residences when they can afford to live in their “Sandton and Rosebank homes”.
Other students in attendance believe that Habib should be more concerned with poor students, mostly black, and some not from Gauteng who struggle to find accommodation.
Habib said the university was currently in engagements with South Point, Angus properties and other property developers in Braamfontein to form a partnership to expand the number of beds available for students.
Habib started today’s townhall by reflecting on the goals he had achieved from promises made at previous meetings. Some achievements include the cleanup of sewage from outside Esselen res and the establishment of a new bus stop directly outside the same residence.
In response to a question about the proposed upfront fee increase to over ten thousand rands, Habib said the university is currently facing a deficit of R25 million in outstanding tuition fees from international students which has necessitated the proposed increase.
by Lutho Mtongana | Aug 3, 2014 | News
SILENT PROTEST: The Girls Only Club at South Point Residence spread gender violence awareness in the streets of Braamfontein. Photo by: Lutho Mtongana
You could count the number of protestors on both hands but nothing would stop the small turnout from spreading their message about gender-based violence in Braamfontein yesterday.
The Girls Only Club, based at Southpoint residence, arranged a protest but only 10 people, including some men, participated by carrying bright pink posters and walking in silence.
The group marched from their residence in Melle Street along the streets of Braamies where women have been targeted many times by criminals.
The aim of the march was to send out the message that “women are not vulnerable, women are not weak”, as written on one of the posters carried by the marchers.
Yet another one of the posters read, “I am nobody’s punching bag”. On the street the group was stopped at various times by curious onlookers who asked for more information or posters.
Victor Karamba, a male gender activist who participated in the event said, “This is a good initiative because we still have a lot to do in terms of awareness and the issue of gender because we know that violence is a big issue among our society and I think this is something we have to do every day”.
Natasha Manyuku, one of the participants, believed that the, “purpose of the event was to get the message out” and she thinks they did, even though they expected a bigger turnout.
Selebano said, “Numbers don’t always mean success but the message that we send out and people stopping to ask questions, people getting the pamphlets, I think it was successful and I am very happy with the responses”.
“I think we achieved what we wanted to achieve, maybe not in a big scale but part of what we wanted to do was done”, Selebano added.
Apart from holding a silent march, The Girls Only Club provides a space for young girls to talk about their issues in all spheres of life throughout the year.
Initially, when the club started in 2011, the aim was to only focus on gender violence and since then, it has grown and changed with the need of females needing a safe space to talk about their problems.
by Staff Reporter | Jul 27, 2014 | News
In recognition of the role digital technology is destined to play in “Africa’s Century”, Wits University has announced that it will host its inaugural Fak’ugesi: Digital Africa Festival 2014, running from 11 August to mid-September 2014.
The festival will be centered on the JCSE’s new Tshimologong Precinct and will make use of other venues on Wits East and West Braamfontein campuses, the Maboneng Precinct and 44 Stanley.
For more information and specific dates, visit our online calendar.
HEADLINE EVENTS CONFIRMED:
Agile Africa 2014: A major conference on software development methods, following up on the very successful inaugural event held in Braamfontein in August 2013.
A MAZE/Johannesburg 2014: An Indie-Games and Digital Arts Festival, attracting games developers and digital artists from Europe and Africa. This festival has been run annually since 2012 in Braamfontein in partnership with the organisers of Berlin’s A MAZE Festival.
CASCADE: CASCADE is a collaborative multi-disciplinary project that champions digital content development through a series of workshops and activities. The event is led by “Onedotzero” – an experiential arts organisation with over 16 years’ experience in curating and producing cultural events and content for brands and agencies. CASCADE will be supported by the British Council.
Process Improvement Africa: This is a one-day conference focusing on the role that process and process improvement plays in helping ICT organisations deliver high quality products and services in a predictable and repeatable manner. The conference will showcase models and methods such as CMMI, ITIL, TSP and AGILE.
Maker Event: 3-D Printing, laser cutters and other rapid prototyping tools are revolutionizing hardware innovation. “Maker Spaces” give innovators the freedom to explore solutions in the hardware world as easily as software developers do in the world of bits and bytes. The Maker Event will provide an opportunity for “Makers” to collaborate, learn and teach.
Unyazi Festival of Electronic Music: The only African festival dedicated to the latest developments in electronic and electro-acoustic music. Launched at Wits in 2005, the 2014 Festival, in partnership with NewMusicSA, will feature innovative and exploratory music from African and the rest of the world.
by Roxanne Joseph | Jul 26, 2014 | News
Braamfontein’s Neighbourgoods market remained closed and empty till 11am this morning. Photo: Roxanne Joseph.
Joburg’s biggest inner-city attraction, the Neighbourgoods market, left customers locked out this morning as employees protested inside the space in Braamfontein.
Over an hour after it was meant to open, workers started a protest against the closure as customers stood outside in the cold, following a surprise visit from City of Johannesburg inspectors which left the market close to a permanent shut-down.
Adam Levy, owner of the market, arrived to deal with the situation only to be told the market does not meet certain regulations and requirements and cannot continue to operate.
Food stalls were required to remove most of their gas cannisters from the premises and some even had to move their set-ups from downstairs to the open area upstairs.
Owners of clothing and jewellery stalls which were all set up and ready for the market to open at 9am, were angry as they felt any food and safety issues should not affect them.
“I have to pay my rent,” said Christopher Wagner of second-hand clothing store Asseblief. “If they shut down the market I’m setting up on the side of the street outside.”
According to Wagner, in the three years that he has been selling his clothing here, the City has shut the Market down at least three times.
With a construction site right next door to the ground level of the building, inspectors said it was “unhealthy and unhygienic to eat here,” according to Karabo Mashishi of the leather brand Wolf & Maiden.
Some customers made their way to a local coffee shop to wait for the market to open its gates while others left in frustration.
“I’ve heard that the market has had incidents like this before,” said Clive Fortuine, a regular Neighbourgoods customer. “Last year this happened a few times, apparently there were too many people inside.”
The market eventually opened just before 11am and although security initially closely monitored the number of people they let inside, it filled up quickly and business carried on as usual.
