by Kirsti Buick | Sep 21, 2012 | News
Katlego’s* story
Katlego* perches on a wall outside the Cullen Library, an old Nokia in her hand. She shields the screen against the sun, so that the message is visible.
“Hope you will turn me into your personal slave,” one message reads. “Make me serve you and then reward me!”
“Whatever we might agree would be totally secret and safe with no strings attached,” says another. These messages are from Katlego’s lecturer.
“I remember the first time he sent me an SMS. He said something very explicit,” Katlego says.
She called the number back twice, not knowing who it was. There was no answer. “That’s when he sent an SMS, he was like, ‘Don’t call me, let’s just chat via SMS.’”
Katlego had never given him her number, and was initially surprised that he had managed to get hold of it. “But then I realised that he’s a lecturer. He can just look up my name and get my number.”
Katlego says she never considered reporting him. “It was so overwhelming; I thought, ‘OK, I’m just going to brush it off.’ I was a first year student, I didn’t want to jeopardise anything, didn’t want to get into trouble for getting a lecturer into trouble.
“I brushed him off. I told him look, you need to stop. He just said, ‘You can’t handle me, you can’t handle my attention’. But I told him that I was losing all respect for him as my lecturer. And I stopped replying to his SMSes.
“A man his age, it was really disturbing. Have you seen him on campus? He walks with his head down. He knows, he knows he’s surrounded by victims.”
Samantha’s* story
Samantha* had a similar experience in her first year, when the same lecturer invited her to be his friend on Facebook. “He invited a couple of us black females on Facebook, including myself, lots of my friends. He sent one of my friends something really, really, really nasty. There are so many girls that I know. Actually more than six.
“If you ask any black girl who did [the subject] at some stage, they’ll tell you. He approaches everyone,” says Samantha.
Wanting to expose the lecturer, Samantha spoke to her friends, asking them to come forward. But they refused. “My other friend sat me down and said, ‘You don’t want to be that girl. You don’t want to be that girl that exposes the lecturer. You don’t want that reputation.’”
Samantha was unwilling to let Wits Vuvuzela see the messages the lecturer had sent her on Facebook, although she had kept them.
“He’d remember. He’d probably check all the girls he inboxed, and then he’d know. I want to do honours [in the department], so I’m not going to do that.”
However, Samantha is quick to praise the professor. “He’s such a good lecturer, honestly. He’s making changes in the department, good changes.”
Despite this, she admits that his advances on the young women that he lectures are “bad”.
“For me, it’s no big deal because nothing happened, I didn’t entertain it. But what if I was failing, what if I was poor? What does it mean for those girls?”
Ayanda’s* story
Yet another student, Ayanda*, has also been approached by the Wits lecturer. In her case, it was via Yahoo Chat. Ayanda claims that she wasn’t the only student approached by the lecturer, and she has friends who had a similar experience.
“He asks how you are and if you are interested in him. If not, he doesn’t mind. He doesn’t want a relationship, just sex. He has a relationship already.
“At first it was just creepy then it became sad. I honestly thought it was a joke, but jokes don’t continue for months.”
In response to Wits Vuvuzela, the lecturer in question has denied the allegations and said: “There are appropriate channels within the university for dealing with cases of sexual discrimination and harassment”.
A complaint can be laid with one of the counsellors at the Careers Development Unit (CCDU), after which “the process will be driven/guided by the needs and wishes of the complainant”, according to the unit’s sexual harassment policy.
The CCDU’s definition of sexual harassment is “any form of unwanted sexual advance, [which] can include physical, verbal or non-verbal behaviour”.
The student laying the complaint can choose not to pursue any process involving the alleged harasser, to get counselling, follow a process of mediation, or lay a formal internal complaint, resulting in a formal grievance and/or disciplinary process.
Can lecturers date their students?
Contrary to popular belief, relationships between lecturers and students are not explicitly forbidden.
The Wits human resources department has compiled a set of “guidelines” for lecturer-student relationships, which states:
“[F]or instance in the development of a romantic relationship, a staff member should consider carefully the possible consequences for him/herself and the student. Consensual romantic relationships with student members, while not expressly prohibited, can prove problematic.”
Wits Vuvuzela is investigating cases of sexual harassment that students have brought to our attention. If you have any information, please contact us at editor@witsvuvuzela.com.
Wits Vuvuzela will protect the identity of all its sources.
*Names have been changed.
Published in Wits Vuvuzela 25th edition, September 21 2012.
by Jay Caboz | Sep 17, 2012 | Featured 1, News
IPF members march to the SABC stations in Auckland Park in protest of ‘bias and anit-IFP broadcasting’, September 14.
By Jay CabozAround 1500 supporters, mainly from the Inkhatha Freedom Party (IFP), blocked traffic as they made their way to the South African Broadcasting Station (SABC) in a mass protest for fairness from the public broadcaster.
Mungosuthu Buthelezi, head of the IFP, led the large gathering of supporters through Johannesburg CBD to the entrance of the SABC Studios in Auckland Park on Friday September 14.
The IFP leader noted that this was “a matter which goes to the heart of how the citizens of this country can freely make up their own minds as to whom they wish to govern them”.
“South Africans must demand of their public broadcaster that they be treated with respect and not force-fed and manipulated with political propaganda.”
Supporters sported bottles, knobkerries and shields as they made their way along Enoch Sontonga Avenue alongside the University of the Witwatersrand.
One supporter said they were marching to express their outrage that Julius Malema had been banned by the SABC. Another said the media only chose to report their (IFP) actions when they ‘made noise with the ANC’ so they were making some.
Buthelezi addressed the crowd and said that bias within the SABC was not surprising.
“Since 1994, the ANC in Parliament has hand-picked every SABC board member, and the ANC has had the final say in the appointment of all executive officers of the SABC. Thus political interference has been built into the system and ruthlessly exploited by the ANC-alliance.”
“For years, the IFP has continuously engaged the SABC over its anti-IFP coverage and the way in which opposition parties are not fairly represented on all of the public broadcaster’s radio and television channels. This year, for example, two of the IFP’s three major events – its Freedom Day and Women’s Day rally – did not receive TV coverage at all. This is coupled with anti-IFP programmes that have been aired, such as The Bang Bang Club.”
A memorandum was handed over to by the IFP outside the SABC station in Auckland Park without incident.
by Jay Caboz | Sep 14, 2012 | Sport
Published in Vuvuzela, September 14
By Jay Caboz
Demi Du Toit has been chose to represent South Africa in the Junior World Cup Qualifiers to be held in October.
WITS hockey player Demi du Toit has been chosen to represent South Africa in the Under 21 Junior World Cup Qualifier Tournament to be held at the Kaspersky Randburg Astro in October.
Should the team win the tournament, they will automatically qualify for the Junior World Cup, to be held in Canada in June next year. But Du Toit will be unable to play in this as she turns 21 this year.
“Last October I was told I had been called up into the Junior World Cup squad to join them at camp. However turning 21 in 2012 meant that I was ineligible to participate in the Junior World Cup, meaning that I would only be able to play in the qualifiers should I be selected for the team.”
Du Toit is not the only one. A further five players in the squad also exceed the age limit. Kaila Flemming, Christine Roos, Lisa Hawker and Nicole Kemp will not be able to go.
Du Toit (the only Witsie), Flemming and Roos are among the five players who were selected from Southern Gauteng. Four were chosen from Western Province, three from the Free State and Northern Gauteng, two from Amathole (formally Border) and one from Eastern Province.
She is disappointed at not being eligible, but Du Toit still hopes to make the women’s senior side in the future. The eligible players were included in the squad to help strengthen it specifically for the qualifying tournament.
U21 SA are firm favourites to win at Randburg and have been scheduled to take on the likes of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
“In order to make the SA woman’s squad, it’s going to take a lot more hard work, focus and determination. I believe I have what it takes to be in that team one day and I will put in the work to get there,” said Du Toit.
Du Toit most recently represented U21 SA in the Senior Interprovincial Tournament (IPT) held in August at the Randburg Astro. They finished in fourth position overall after losing to Northern Gauteng. The Witsie contributed significantly to the side as one of the top defenders as well as a penalty corner specialist.
“I first played in green and gold when I was 17. I made the U18 South African team. We played a series against Australia and Zimbabwe later that year. The same team then took part in the U21 IPT the following year.”
For Du Toit, every moment on the field is about being accurate, composed and patient. She accepts that balancing her university work and her hockey schedule is her greatest challenge.
jay@witsvuvuzela.com
by Jay Caboz | Aug 28, 2012 | Featured 1, News
Members from the unions ALTSA, ASAWU and NEHAWU gathered outside the Great Hall Steps at 12pm to protest the break down in wage negotiations with Wits Council. Photo by Jay Caboz
By Lisa Golden and Nandi Ndlazi
Photographs by Jay Caboz
Wits Administration, Library and Technical Staff Association (ALTSA) leadership accepted the terms offered by Wits management after last-minute negotiations last night but failed to inform some of their members of this decision. This left the Academic Staff Association of Wits University (ASAWU) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) to strike by themselves today August 28 against Wits management.
This morning confused ALTSA members arrived at the picketing lines, unaware that their leaders had accepted an agreement with Wits management the night before. Some were confused and frustrated when they found out.
This is the second strike by the academic unions this month. They are demanding an increase in salaries for workers, an agreement to structure salaries around the 75th percentile, resolve issues with parking and provide a childcare facility for workers among other issues.
Ian Walters, and ALTSA member and an administrator in the Wits School of Arts, was unaware that ALTSA had backed out of the strike, and only found out when he arrived at campus in the morning.
“I’m staying on strike because I’m in support of NEHAWU and ASAWU. That was the original idea,” said Walters.
Adele Underhay, the president of ALTSA, was unavailable for comment, and some members of the union also couldn’t reach her.
David Dickinson, president of ASAWU said it was regrettable that ALTSA leaders had chosen to break ranks. “I respect the independence as a union and the decision of their leadership is what they must account for to their membership” Dickinson said.
Negotiations between the Wits Executive Council and ASAWU, ALTSA and NEHAWU was re-opened a day before the strike. Photo by Jay Caboz
The Wits Senate (the academic leadership forum) made a call to halt the striking unions “without further delay”. Photo by Jay Caboz
Fellow ALTSA members expressed their disappointment in their leadership’s acceptance of management’s offers. Barbie Pickering from the finance faculty said she didn’t know about their union pulling out at the eleventh hour and they only received the e-mail this morning.
“We went into this thing to support all the unions. We are not happy with our union leadership on that,” said Pickering.
The rally, which started at noon, had speakers that reiterated the unions’ demands. Carl Beaumont, an ASAWU member, congratulated the ALTSA members who turned up at the rally while fellow strikers applauded the group.
The Student Representation Council and the Wits Workers Solidarity Committee again pledged their support for the striking unions.
The final word from Beaumont was that the unions are prepared to strike again if their demands are not properly discussed and considered during negotiations.
nandi@witsvuvuzela.com
lisa@witsvuvuzela.com
by Jay Caboz | Aug 24, 2012 | Featured 1, Sport
The Wits Fencing Club has ended a four-year medal drought by coming home with 6 medals and a third place ranking from the Gauteng Fencing Association (GFA) tournament held in Johannesburg in early August.
Fencers Mikesh Harrilall (gold), Dean Grisillo (silver), Thomas Shamuyarira (bronze) and Wikus Koen (2 silvers in the U20 division and bronze) competed in the field to bring home their winnings.
“The tournament consisted of three categories Epee, Sabre and Foil. Traditionally we do well in the Epee category but weirdly we won medals in the other two. It’s not so bad considering we coach ourselves,” said Thomas Shamuyarira, bronze winner and chairperson of the club.
“The different categories demand different sorts of agility,” said Shamuyarira. “The Epee is for people who are taller and have a longer reach, the Foil is for people who are more agile and the Sabre is for people who are stockier and more powerful. The Sabre is the one most people know about, it’s where you see the fencers jumping with more physical movements.”
Mikesh Harrilall and Dean Grisillo fought each other in the Sabre final which lasted for nine minutes and ended with a score of 15-11. Harrilall is the first fencer to win a gold medal in any event for the club in over 4 or 5 years said Shamuyarira.
Harrilall only started fencing in his second year at Wits.
“My family all plays table tennis, when I joined the table tennis club in first year I watched the fencers across the room. I knew that next year I would do that. They just looked like they were having so much fun,“ Harrilall said.
Harrilall is set to begin his BSc Honours AccSci at Wits next year.
Shamuyarira explains that the hardest part of fencing is keeping fit. It makes it easier to concentrate toward the end of the bout.
“When you are fighting you are watching the sword and the opponent’s body language mostly. It is a mental game and you have to watch out when your opponent fakes a movement, that’s called a feint.”
The objective is to win by points. You have to initiate an attack to get points and make sure you don’t lose your advantage, or else your opponent will win a point by countering,” said Shamuyarira.
At the University Sports South Africa tournament, held in July, Koen also brought home an individual bronze and a team bronze medal (Koen, Thomas Shamuyarira and Alek Gallo). Overall Wits Fencing finished 5th out of 10 clubs competing.
Click here for slideshow Photo Essay
For more links click here
Olympic dreams for 2016
Wits men seal the deal against Crusaders
Lopez has an objective
Tang Soo Do walks away with a 20 medal haul
Published in Wits Vuvuzela 20th edition, 23 August 2012
by Jay Caboz | Aug 24, 2012 | News
A student casts his vote during the voting period for the SRC elections this week. Voting hours were extended to allow for more students to cast their ballot for their candidates of choice. Students who voted were impressed by the campaigning of the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (DASO).Campaigning tactics included posters, SMSs, door to door canvasing and other tactics.
Follow these links for more on the SRC elections
Akinoluwa Oyedele – Candidate claims election exclusion
A Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) candidate was apparently removed from the ballot list days before the SRC elections.
Zinhle Tshabalala – Witsies are indifferent about SRC elections
Less than 20% of Witsies generally vote in the SRC elections – and this week’s election is not expected to draw more than 23%, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
by Jay Caboz | Aug 6, 2012 | Featured 1, News
http://storify.com/JayCaboz/curiosity-exposes-martian-surface-for-dollar-2-6-b
by Jan Bornman | Aug 3, 2012 | News
As a journalism student it was hard to ignore a recent attack on the study of journalism in South Africa. I read an opinion piece by David Bullard (@LunchOut2) (a man loved by few, and hated by many – and I generally enjoy his writing) where he argued that studying journalism is a complete waste of time and “daddy’s money”.
And in a sense I agree, because the three years I spent at another Johannesburg university just reading about news values and magazine readership and circulation did not make or teach me how to be a writer.
After reading his article, I tweeted him directly and insisted that I will continue with my “bogus degree,” despite his words of wisdom. He responded by giving me some more “great” advice – “find a girlfriend with a doting rich father”. Hardly great advice because I want to carve out my own future, and not live off some rich snob’s money.
Looking back at my undergraduate degree, I can pinpoint the exact moment when alarm bells went off – it was when a third-year lecturer told us to “imagine you are a reporter sent to cover the Oscars. Imagine you interview this or that celebrity. Now write that article using other articles as your ‘sources’.” So in essence she was teaching me to plagiarise? Is that okay? No!
It is courses such as these that produce the type of journalists that give our media such a bad name. We are constantly bombarded with examples of how lacklustre the media is. But, is it is the South African media collectively, or just a small minority that were poorly taught?
I agree with Mr Bullard, there is a need for on-the-job training, and cadet schools like in the “olden days”, where journalists were taught by the organisation.
The one thing I need to point out is, I think I made a great decision turning down an internship and deciding to further my studies at Wits. Hopefully when I enter the job market next year, my potential employer will favour me over another journalism graduate, as I would have had the experience of pitching stories for a weekly newspaper, pursuing and writing those stories, designing and producing a newspaper for both print and online, blogging, covering a violent protest, taking photographs, and learning video editing, interviewing and sub-editing skills. Skills and experiences that no three year journalism degree graduate would have learned anywhere else, even in their first year on the job.
I think that universities should drop three year journalism degrees, and only offer an intense one-year post-graduate course such as that offered here at Wits. That, or an intense training and mentoring program at a media organisation, is the only place where you will truly learn how to be a journalist.
Experience is the only way you will learn – whether experiencing the perks of the job, or the drawbacks such as the “fifty-year-old embittered journalist” Mr Bullard refers to.
by Jay Caboz | Aug 2, 2012 | Featured 1, News
By Jay Caboz follow him on WordPress or for more Photography
Gavin, who lives at number 15 Juweel Street, Jukskei Park, noticed that something was amiss after he hearing strange noises coming from his neighbour’s house. It was 4am but from his bedroom window it looked as if sunrise had happened already. The house next door, number 17 was on fire.
“I then heard the sound of the flames as the thatch caught fire. I phoned the fire department and went outside to start wetting my own thatch roof with the garden hose.”
By the time the firemen arrived the flames were two meters high.
Firemen struggled with the fire. They needed more water but the only fire hydrant was on the next street. Four more trucks and a portable water truck were called in to handle the blaze.
Until they came, firemen controlled the fire by wetting the border areas of the house. Other neighbours also began to wet their thatch rooftops in case the blaze spread.
“The house had been empty for a couple of months.” said Gavin to the other neighbours gathered around the street. One of them was watching the fire with her coffee mug still steaming.
Despite rumours of squatters on the property firemen said they found no evidence that anyone had been in the house when the fire had started.
Stories like these are a regular occurrence in South Africa’s wintertime. Winter is dry in Joburg, and cold, according the city of Johannesburg these are the two leading causes that lead to fires in households in the city. People turn on their heaters and braziers, and carelessness can lead to devastating fires.
Bringing home reality
The following is taken from an article written by Camilla Bath, Deputy News Editor for Eyewitness News, in Johannesburg.
“Fire is a terrifying thing. It tears through homes, guts buildings, destroys property and devastates the lives of those who survive it. Many don’t.”
Years ago, as a field reporter, I covered the story of a fire at an electrical sub-station in Johannesburg in which a man died. Authorities suspected the victim had been living in the sub-station and had inadvertently touched a live wire, starting the blaze late at night.
Early the following morning, I caught a glimpse of his blackened body through the painted slats of an air vent. It is an image that has stayed with me in vivid detail, one I wish I’d never seen: the badly burnt corpse somehow frozen in time, crouching, one hand outstretched, his face formless, its features seared away. Perhaps worse than that stiff figure was the smell of burnt flesh, unexpectedly sweet and cloying.
Every time I hear or read about another fatal fire, I’m taken straight back to that scene.”
Follow more of her article here –http://sawdis1.blogspot.com/2012/06/real-burning-issue.html
- Only SABS-approved electrical and/or cooking apparatus should be used.
- Heaters, two-plate stoves and so on, should only be used for their intended purposes, as per the instruction manual.
- Do not leave candles burning unattended.
- Experience has shown that in informal settlements – though this can also be the case in brick and mortar structures – people tend to disregard even the smallest detail regarding fire safety by warming themselves using primus stoves and braziers (mbawulas), only to fall asleep and their homes go up in flames.
- Alcohol should be consumed in moderation.
- In case of emergency, call 10177 or 112.
Everyone is welcome to volunteer at a fire station in Johannesburg of his/her choice. Life skills acquired through such volunteering can be used in life-saving situations. A well-trained volunteer can perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on victims of drowning and smoke inhalation. They can also train members of their own communities to be life-savers.
- Fire sources such as heaters, stoves and irons should not be left unattended.
- Boxes of matches and cigarette lighters should be stored safely.
- Children like to experiment– always trying this and that. Their actions can have dire consequences, not only to your home but to the whole community
Make sure that your house is properly ventilated; there must always be enough fresh air. This will prevent winter-related airborne diseases.
Other sites of interest
Firewise
Dangerous areas
Preventing veld fires
ER 24
by Jay Caboz | Jul 27, 2012 | Featured 1, News
Nicholas Ho, first year BSc, hoped to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics but missed his final chance in March. He still has a chance to compete in the 2016 Olympics, since he is part of the South African Archery junior training team. “Archery is a kind of hit-and-miss sport. You never see the same person winning a medal two Olympics in a row,” said Ho. “You stand more chances of winning a gold in archery than in other sports such as athletics where there are big names like Usain Bolt.”
Text by Marsha Moodley & Jay Caboz
Photographs by Jay Caboz
Published in Vuvuzela 17th Edition
Wits’ Olympic hopeful, Nicholas Ho, failed to qualify for the London games, but still remains optimistic about representing South Africa in archery.
The first year BSc student said the demands of starting university had prevented him from competing in the African Archery Championships in Morocco in March. He needed to be ranked in the top 32 in that competition in order to qualify. He was writing exams at the time.
Ho had previously taken part in the qualifiers for the Singapore 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, but failed to qualify because he did not rank high enough.
“We competed in a series of head-to-head competitions, where two archers competed against each until one loses. I got eliminated in the first round though.”
Ho, who is currently ranked 57th in the national division, has represented South Africa three times: in Poland, Turkey and America. He still has a chance to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics as he is part of South Africa’s junior archery training team.
Ho told Vuvuzela the training process for archers was quite intense. “An average shooting exercise consists of anywhere from 100 to 110 shots, but in a competitive environment I would shoot about 144 arrows for six to seven hours standing.”
Ho has competed in all sorts of weather conditions: “heat with temperatures of 40 degrees, rain and wind”.
Archery was a costly sport, he said. His bow cost R30 000, with individual arrows costing R300 each. “I am funded by my mom, but I do receive some funding from Archery South Africa and Wits Sports.”
Although archery was not a paying sport, he said he did it because he had a passion for it. “I have been playing since I was nine.”
marsha@witsvuvuzela.com
jay@witsvuvuzela.com
by Jay Caboz | Jul 27, 2012 | Featured 1, Sport
by Jay Caboz
Published in the Vuvuzela Edition 17, 27 July 2012
A hotly contested match ended with the Wits hockey men beating Crusaders 2-1 last Sunday.
The win pushes Wits into fourth position in the premier league. This places them above Crusaders by just one point. At this stage Wits have three more matches left in the season, only one more than Crusaders.
From the start, Wits applied heavy pressure on the Crusaders’ defence. The strategy has proven to be effective throughout the season. On Sunday, Wits forced the Crusaders’ defence and midfield line to make crucial errors, giving Wits a number of shooting opportunities.
Five minutes into the half, Wits goalkeeper Carl Zontag was judged to have been fouled deliberately in his own defensive area. Crusaders striker Jonathan Martin was shown a yellow card with a ten-minute suspension off the field.
Wits took immediate advantage of the 10-man side. With an impressive display of individual skill, striker Max Cobbett put in the first goal of the game from a tight angle with a reverse stick shot.
Crusaders appeared switched off for the rest of the half. They conceded another field goal thanks to a good base line run from Witsie Jarryd Povall, who set up fellow team mate Devon Campbell.
Wits went into the halftime break with the two-goal lead.
The second half saw a revival from Crusaders. Wits’ defence, which had seen little action in the first half, was put under considerable pressure and Crusaders managed to pull off a single goal courtesy of a deflection by Brendan Hayes. Despite the added pressure, Wits remained calm and managed to hang on to their slim goal lead.
At the other end, Wits produced a number of chances to increase their score but failed to take their opportunities, which included six penalty corners.
“I was happy with the win,” said Geoffrey Scott, Wits Captain. “We went there and got the points we needed. It wasn’t our best game but it’s a positive sign when we don’t play our best, yet still walk away with 3 points.”
If Wits keep their fourth place position, it would be the best result the Wits Men’s A-side has had in a number of years – especially since they played for relegation at the end of last year’s season.
Wits faces one more tough game, against Jeppe A on August 11. Jeppe is currently third in the log. At this stage bonus points in the other two matches are essential in order for the Wits side to stay fourth.
jaycaboz@gmail.com
jay@witsvuvuzela.com
by Lisa Golden | Jul 4, 2012 | Featured 1
http://storify.com/Lisa_Golden_SA/johannesburg-radio-days
