by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 19, 2013 | Featured 1, News
TALK THAT TALK: The Wits Debating Union’s Jamie Mighti (right) has been banned from participating in an upcoming tournament in Durban Photo: Provide
THE PRESIDENT of the Wits Debating Union (WDU) has been banned from a tournament in Durban following allegations of sexism.
The Howard College Debating Union (HCDU) executive committee banned WDU President Jamie Mighti from participating in its second annual debating tournament on April 26 after receiving an anonymous complaint.
Mighti was accused of making sexist remarks on the Nationals 2011 Facebook page towards HCDU members Kimera Chetty and Lindelwe Dube.
The war of words began when Chetty posted a comment on Facebook about the Jozi Rumble, a debating tournament hosted by WDU earlier this month. Chetty asked about television coverage of the tournament, which she said had been promised by Mighti.
“Hey Jamie, which channel can we catch the syndication of the Jozi rumble debates? #excited,” Chetty posted.
Mighti responded to Chetty with a post accusing her of using sexual favours to succeed in debate and saying she had a “flat bum”.
“You can sleep your way to the top but how will you sleep your way to this?” wrote Mighti. “Do you know what your mother wishes…that she had done better, than having a cry baby for a duaghter [sic]”.
Chetty fired back against Mighti on Facebook calling him sexist and arrogant.
“I am VERY glad that everyone is getting to see you for the sexist creep you are,” wrote Chetty. “Your problem is that for all your arrogance and general self-arse-kissery, you have trouble dealing with things directed specifically at *you*.
Lindelwe Dube then joined the Facebook conversation to defend Chetty:
“We all know Kimera or anyone who does well in our community didn’t sleep their way to the top. I for one was on my way to beating the crap out of Jamie for the statement he said about Kimera,” she wrote.
Mighti responded to Lindelwe Dube’s comment by claiming she was bitter because he had refused her advances. “If you went to gym more, who knows what could have happened, let go of the KFC girl.”
Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela that Chetty’s comments were attempts to undermine the work the WDU had done in hosting a successful tournament. “In that post she was trying to ridicule and mock the tournament,” explained Mighti.
He added that his online argument with Chetty was not an isolated incident. “Me and Kemira have had many, many differences over the years…and even on that wall [The Nationals 2011 Facebook Page] there we have many interactions where we will shout at each other.”
Wits Vuvuzela tried to reach Chetty for comment but received no response.
In an official email to the WDU, the HCDU executive committee announced Mighti’s exclusion from the tournament. “Due to Jamie’s utterances on FB page, he falls into that category of individual that the HCDU wishes to dissociate itself from. This ban is applicable only to Jamie and does not attach itself to WDU,” read the email.
Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela that he felt his comments should not reflect badly on the WDU and said he acted out of anger and frustration. He also turned to Facebook to offer apologies to Chetty and Lindelwa Dube. However, he denied that his comments were sexist or untruthful.
“I am sorry I called Lindelwe fat, this was a hurtful thing for me to say, I do not think it was sexist,” Mighti wrote.”I am sorry I said Kimera slept her way to the top, I have no business discussing people’s sexual histories or calling them names. I did not in any way ever mean that WOMEN are as a group incapable of making it on their own and that they can’t do anything.”
“In a moment of anger I also said something about her, which is not untrue but also very hurtful,” said Mighti.
Mighti wrote that he hoped to find a way to move past the dispute with Chetty and Lindelwa Dube. The WDU has since decided to withdraw from attending the tournament. WDU Treasurer Gwinyani Dube said a double-standard had been applied to Mighti as the two HCDU debaters had not been suspended despite having also made insults.
Gwinyani Dube defended Mighti from accusations of sexism and said they were a matter of “perception”.
“The idea of sexism largely relies on perception. We as a union…don’t view the insults as sexist but rather a personal insult that has been inflated into a broader woman-based issue,” Gwinyai Dube said.
Mighti said that the exclusion from the tournament would not affect the WDU’s ranking as number one in Africa and 23rd in the world. The tournament hosted by HCDU was a friendly and not mandatory to attend, he added.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 19, 2013 | Featured 1, News
FILMING IN FINLAND: Wits documentary filmmakers, Zama-Afrika Mkhize (centre) and Margreet Cohen Gouws (right), take a tram in Helsinki.
Photo: Provided
TWO Witsies have been selected to spend the next three months in Finland making documentary films.
Zama-Afrika Mkhize, 4th year BAPVA, and Margreet Cohen Gouws, 4th BADA, were selected to participate in the North-South–South Exchange( NSSE) programme.
Both Gouws and Mkhize expressed their excitement ahead of their trip to Finland and hoped to gain more skills as film-makers during their three month stay.
“I wanna produce and I’m not gonna settle for anything less… I really wanna come out as a specialised professional, a producer in the film industry,” said Mkhize.
Janet King, production coordinator at the Wits School of Arts film and television department, said students were selected based on academics, a motivational letter and a panel interview. King said the programme was open to third year film and television students.
The NSSE programme is a six-month course which creates a platform where 14 students from different corners of the globe come together for six months to create documentaries. This year the programme had two Witsies, two University of Johannesburg students, two AFDA Film School students, three students from Ghana, and four Finnish students. The programme is designed to allow students from different institutions to collaborate creatively.
Gouws said the first three months of the programme were hosted in South Africa and the last three in Finland. During the South African leg of the programme students had to make films centred on the theme of gendered landscapes. They divided their time attending workshops and lectures at Wits, UJ and AFDA. The students are expected to create 12 minute documentaries in groups of four or five both in South Africa and in Finland.
The two filmmakers said they were grateful for the opportunity to go to Finland.
“Europe is such a liberal place. We are very fortunate as young people who are still finding themselves to have this opportunity and for me more than anything I feel I’m gonna find myself,” said Mkhize.
Gouws said one of her goals for Finland was to make a film she could be proud of.
“ I want to make something I can be proud of. I just want to be happy with the end product and I will try my best, that’s my goal at the moment,” said Gouws.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 12, 2013 | News
The Wits SRC has taken full responsibility for disrupting a musical recital by Israeli born pianist Yossi Reshef on March 12 during Israel Apartheid Week.
“The Student Representative Council takes full responsibility for the process; we take full responsibility for disrupting the concert,” said SRC Internal Vice President Tokelo Nhlapo. Members of the SRC, Muslim Students Association, Wits Palestinian Solidarity and the Progressive Youth Alliance protested against the musical recital by Reshef in the closed venue at the SW Engineering building.
The protestors stormed the stage; singing, dancing and chanting their support for Palestine. The concert was stopped and Reshef was ushered out of the venue by Campus Control. “These people must know that they won’t sing comfortably while Palestinians die,” said Nhlapo.
Reshef was born in Israel but presently resides in Berlin, Germany. Nhlapo promised more action against any artist visiting the university from Israel. “We are not gonna welcome any artist from Israel until the state of Israel has human rights like everyone else. “The boycott is not against individuals…We have nothing against the pianist,” said Nhlapo.
There has been ongoing investigation by the university to find those who are responsible for the disruption of the concert.“The university views the disruption of the concert in a very serious manner and is addressing this violation of its Code of Conduct through a thorough, formal investigation within the confines of its regulatory framework,” said Vice Chancellor Prof Loyiso Nongxa in a statement
Nongxa said the rights of Reshef had been violated and the disruption went against the core values of the University.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 12, 2013 | Featured 1, News
Wits Src President Sibulele Mgudlwa Photo: Provided
WITS SRC president Sibulele Mgudlwa was admitted into hospital on Saturday due to complications with diabetes.
Mgudlwa, 3rd year Bsc Acc, called an ambulance to his flat in Braamfontein after feeling weak, dehydrated and dizzy.
“My sugar levels were low…I hadn’t taken my [insulin] injection,” Mgudlwa told Wits Vuvuzela from his hospital bed.
Mgudlwa spent three days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, after losing consciousness on Sunday evening. Mgudlwa was discharged from ICU and moved into the general ward after his condition improved on Tuesday.
“We are keeping him in our prayers and we can’t wait to have him back,” said SRC External President Joyce Phiri.
Mgudlwa is due out of the hospital before the end of the week.
Phiri and SRC Internal Deputy President Tokelo Nhlapo said they admired the manner in which Mgudlwa had handled his illness.
“I don’t think he has allowed his condition to stop him to do his work in anyway,” said Nhlapo. “He is a very committed leader…he is very responsible.”
Witsies have taken to social media to send their well wishes to Mgudlwa, whose twitter handle is @USibulele.
@Sikho_N22h: Glad to hear my president @Usibulele is out of danger:)
@Ulo_Mkat: Wishing @Usibulele a speedy recovery. Leader of the masses…
@Zamantungwa_K: RT @Katleho_thuso: Our prayers go out to u Mr SRC President♥ RT “@Fabulous_Lee14: Jehova Rapha, please hear our prayers @Usibulele ♥♥♥”
Mgudlwa suffers from Type 1 diabetes, which is a chronic condition that occurs when the body stops producing insulin.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows glucose from food to enter the body’s cells where it is converted into energy needed by muscles and tissues to function, explains the International Diabetes Federation website.
Type 1 diabetes can affect people of any age, but usually happens to young people under the age of 30, including very young children and infants. Type 1 diabetes can be inherited and people who suffer from the illness must be injected with insulin to survive.
These insulin dosages must be carefully balanced with food intake and exercise programmes. Although the illness is not life threatening when treated, if it is untreated or unmonitored it could lead to kidney failure, strokes and heart attacks.
The International Diabetes Federation in 2011 reported that more than 15 million adults in Africa suffer from diabetics. South Africa has one of the highest numbers of people with diabetes in Africa with 1.9 million sufferers.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Apr 11, 2013 | News
Wits Src President Sibulele Ngudlwa. Photo: Provided
Wits SRC President Sibulele Ngudlwa was hospitalised after complications resulting from diabetes this past Saturday.
Ngudlwa, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, after losing consciousness while in hospital on Sunday evening.
“My sugar levels were low… I hadn’t taken my [insulin] injection,” Ngudlwa told Wits Vuvuzela via a telephonic interview from his hospital bed.
The SRC President was in good spirits and is expected to be released soon.
Read the full story in the Wits Vuvuzela this Friday.
by Nokuthula Manyathi | Mar 15, 2013 | Featured 1
DRAMA ON INTERSEXIONS: Wits Drama student Zola Nombona was featured on Intersexions this week. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi
Two Wits drama students have appeared on the acclaimed local drama Intersexions, beating out more than 5 000 hopefuls for the honour.Zola Nombona and Lwazilubanzi Mthembu, both fourth year BA Dramatic Arts students, were among the 60 actors cast to appear in the second season of the show appearing on SABC 1. Intersexions is the first television show that either of the actresses have appeared on.
Nombona and Mthembu, who both have theatre backgrounds, went through two rounds of open auditions before landing their roles.
The ‘edutainment’ series magnifies the way our lives are interconnected by touching on social and health issues that exist in the society and creating a dialogue around them.
Mthembu played a nurse who had to tell another character that she had fallen pregnant.
“I played a really small role, insignificant to most but so significant to me,” Mthembu said.
“Being treated like I mattered in the bigger scheme of things, especially since my role was so small, made me feel like there is a space for talent,” she said.
She said adjusting to television was a challenge because there was more attention to “image” than in theatre.
Nombona played “Shado”, a streetwise youngster, in the episode broadcast this week on Tuesday.
DOCTOR-DOCTOR: Wits drama student Lwazilubanzi Mthembu played a nurse on Intersexions. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi
She called the character fun loving, honest and “out there”.
Nombona believes her character is important to the series because she “shows a different aspect from where HIV may come. It makes people aware of the party scene…because that’s where it can happen”.
The second season of Intersexions has been highly anticipated after the success of its predecessor. The first season was able to captivate more than 6 million viewers every week.
The first season dealt with the spread of HIV/ AIDS and how society deals with sexual issues. This time around the production highlights the cycle of secrets and how it affects relationships.
“That’s why I appreciate this season now because it’s not focused on one person, there are many stories where people can see themselves,” said Nombona.
Nombona and Mthembu said Intersexions starts an important dialogue around HIV/Aids.
“It’s a drama for the people…it puts an interesting twist to it [HIV/AIDS] which can start conversation that the country needs,” said Mthembu.
Appearing on television show, which features many famous actors and actresses, was also a great career opportunity for the two fledgling thespians.
Nombana said she was able to network with important people in the industry and liked “being treated like a star”.
