by Bongiwe Tutu | Sep 2, 2014 | News
Students campaigning against the SRC (Student Representatives Council) elections today were seen handing out #WhyShouldWeVote flyers next to voting stations on the Wits Education campus.
A number of students from the campus have acted on their promise to boycott the elections this week as they feel their grievances are not being satisfactorily addressed by the SRC.
Some Wits Education Student Council (ESC) leaders have voiced their support for the campaign.
“We’re handing these flyers out to ensure people don’t vote carelessly, if they are not conscious of their vote, then why are they voting?” said third year student Bedney Morole. He explained that it was more of an awareness campaign for conscious voting or no voting at all.
Morole said that he would not be voting in this year’s SRC elections.
The flyers read “future teachers’ united #WhyShouldWeVote, we are sick of empty promises. Can we be taken serious [sic]?”
“I believe these flyers are a result of grievances from the students”, said Mokolwane Masweneng, Wits ESC Academic officer.
He said the ESC received grievances from the students and took them to the head of school, but they are still waiting for a response from the dean of student’s office.
“We are not against the parties that are running, but just bringing awareness to students,” said third year student Philip Hlatshwayo, who was handing out the flyers and abstaining from voting.
WHY VOTE: A student on Education Campus passing on flyers to make others think twice before they vote. Photo: Bongiwe Tutu
Numerous grievances
Manqoba Chungwane, second year Education student said: “We don’t even have options for food here, we can only buy from Olives and Plates which is very expensive, so we have to travel to main campus every day for lunch.
Third year Education student Themba Sibeko said ever since he was in first year, there has only been one Kudu terminal for printing. “We have asked for it to be removed from inside the library so that we can access it when the library closes, as it closes so early, but nothing was done. They don’t care about us,” he said in reference to the SRC.
“How can you have one Kudu Bucks machine for about 2000 students? And one ATM that never works! How can we ever vote when our voices are not heard?” said Thabiso Dlamini, another third year Education student.
“The students have the right to state their grievances and I support this campaign,” said Masweneng. “I am also not voting, I am representing the students” he said.
Wits ESC Grievances officer Xolani Khoza said the issue is about representation, “It doesn’t say we are not going to vote, but we want to know why we should,” he said.
Khoza would not say whether he would be voting or not, but said that he was in full support of the students.
“I am a student before I am a leader, and tomorrow we will go on for a full day of campaigning if our grievances have still not been answered,” he said.
Students from education campus have been voicing their concerns on the Wits Education Student Council (ESC) Facebook page.
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by Ilanit Chernick | Aug 29, 2014 | Featured 1
Ricardo de Sao Joao, Wits SRC administrator, IR masters student and one of the most helpful guys on campus. Photo: Ilanit Chernick
Ricardo de Sao Joao is the Wits SRC administrator, and also works for the Student Development and Learning Unit. Besides having a Wits Master’s degree in International Relations (IR), he is an avid cook and loves helping students wherever possible. De Sao Joao has become well-known for helping others, despite a disability which makes walking difficult.
Describe yourself in a few words.
I’m legit one of those faces that everyone knows but can never place. I’m a bit of a chameleon-type person too, I try and blend in.
What is your personal philosophy?
I was brought up to believe that anything others can do, I can do better. Even with my disability I make sure to give things everything I’ve got and more.
What has been the most exciting or impactful moment of your life?
When I was in first year, my IR tutor asked to speak to me after a tutorial one day. Initially I thought I was in trouble but he took out a book on South African International Affairs and said: “I want you to have this book because something about you screams potential.” If it wasn’t for his encouragement, my path to where I am now would not have been solidified. His continuous reinforcement helped me get to where I am today.
What were your experiences on campus like as disabled student?
I did my best not to let it affect my university life. Things like getting to class on time and requesting parking nearby my classes were sometimes difficult but it always worked out in the end. I did everything very normally: wrote exams, had classes and attended tuts with everyone else, no special assistance needed.
What sets you apart from the rest?
My tenacity. Good or bad, I have a knack for irritating the shit out of people until I get what I need.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming SRC elections?
It’s going to be interesting as there are a lot of parties running this year, and things will get heated. I’m a huge fan of competition though – it keeps you on your toes!
What is your message to Witsies?
Always be kind to everyone around you. A smile or a “hello” can make a big difference.
by Rofhiwa Madzena | Aug 29, 2014 | News
Following a debate earlier in the week, the question of where student political parties receive their funding has taken centre stage a week before the elections.
Claims were made that Project W got funding for its campaign from Zionist groups at a debate during the SRC debate on Monday at the Piazza.
Project W leader Jamie Mighti said: “It’s a lie, don’t get misled that we get money from anyone else. I want to answer these malicious lies. We get our money from students.”
He said they started planning for the election campaign last year. “We all know there would be financial requirements,” said Mighti.
Project W has a budget of R50 000. In an interview with Wits Vuvuzela Mighti said the organisation had money that it had saved from the previous year and members and volunteers also contributed. “Project W is a student run, student funded, student organisation.There is nothing we get from any body.”
“We all know there would be financial requirements.”
He said that members of the organisation take the campaign seriously and they were required to contribute “at least” R1 000 to the campaign. “We have old candidates who also contribute.”
He did also say that some wealthy members of the party contributed a significant amount of money to the campaign.
Wits Vuvuzela approached the PYA to comment on where their funding comes from but got no response.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy coordinator Sive Mqikela said: “We’re working in the budget that the university has given to us. We are not being funded by anyone and we are fundraising.”
The party received R500 for each candidate from the university “so that’s R7 500”. Mqikela said their campaign is “mainly based on ideas”, not how many posters or resources they have.
Mqikela said they did not get any funding from the mother body.
He said they requested money “but we didn’t receive anything”.
by Lutho Mtongana | Aug 28, 2014 | News
By Lutho Mtongana and Nqobile Dludla
A controversial revised residence admissions policy which critics said would leave disadvantaged students without housing has been halted for now.
Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Adam Habib agreed to postpone the policy following protests and meetings by the SRC, house committees and the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
“This policy will not go forward until there has been talks between us and the VC later on Saturday,” said Sunnyside house committee chairperson Maame Boateng.
The highly contested policy states that, “[It has been revised] for new first-year undergraduates to make campus accommodation more accessible and appealing to all students, especially those who have a good academic record”.
In addition, the policy states that: “[It] will ensure a diverse and cosmopolitan residence environment in which everyone can feel at home and can succeed academically.”
Coming in effect in 2015, the policy will ensure that more single rooms will be available to new students in addition to already allocated double rooms.
This point outlined in the policy did not sit well with the majority of the residents who were worried about losing their rooms next year.
“What I don’t like is, people racialize the question as if because we are taking white students, we are going to bring out black students, I never said that.”
“The residence students who are currently here now might not have a place next year because they [management] want to open the residences to first years. What that means is that they want to give single rooms to first years and when that happens those who are currently staying here now will lose their rooms,” said All Residence Council chairperson, Mpho Maziya.
According to Maziya, the policy will also favour more affluent students who can pay their accommodation fees upfront, without the aid of NSFAS. She said the revised policy was devised to bring more white students into residences.
“They are to close off 30 percent space to try and accommodate white kids who can normally afford accommodation outside of university,” Maziya said.
Habib contested the racialization of the policy by critics and said, “What I don’t like is, people racialize the question as if because we are taking white students, we are going to bring out black students, I never said that.”
Habib said that students would not lose their places in residences because of the revised policy. He said the university intended to increase the overall number of beds in residences.
The highly contested policy was also challenged at the meeting because residents and student bodies said they were not consulted before it was drafted and rolled out.
“Consultation was the issue and the fact that students weren’t being consulted. We said we are not interested in the procedural issues we are more interested in the substantial [issues] for the purpose of that policy. What we have achieved is that, this document will not go further than it has”, said Wits EFF candidate Vuyani Pambo.
According to All Residence Council chairperson, Mpho Maziya, “the decision making structures need to be more representative”.
“We are requesting that the decision making structures need to be more representative because what you have now is certain members of the SRC sitting there making decisions for resident students without the knowledge of what’s going on in the residences and how these decisions will affect students,” said Maziya.
The revised residence policy issue was first raised at the evening circus that took place in the main dining hall on Tuesday. The 2010/2011 SRC president, Mukovhe Morris Masutha pleaded on behalf of Mens residence with the three organisations campaigning in the SRC elections—the PYA, Wits EFF and Project W—to come up with a solution.
Student organisations contest the policy
The three student organisations, SRC and house committee representatives had a meeting on Tuesday at Mens Residence about the policy.
Following the meeting, SRC president Shafee Verachia announced that all organisations agreed to reject the policy and would march to the International Office, where University Senate Council was meeting on Wednesday morning. He added that the three organisations would boycott the SRC elections if their voices fell on deaf ears.
The “sell-outs”
However, Project W told Wits Vuvuzela they had not agreed to the march or proposed election boycott.
“We disagree with the protocol, we disagree with the process. There’s a process before we follow these things. We can’t make a hasty decision as an organisation,” Jamie Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela on Tuesday.
Although the Wits EFF joined the march, they were not pleased with what they said was a lack of transparency displayed by Verachia, who they said had known about the new policy since last month.
“They [PYA] knew this and they did not tell the students, they did not consult with the students when we asked [Verachia] … We found out last night, then we probed him as the EFF, he buckled under pressure and he said he knew in July,” said Wits EFF candidate Anele Nzimande during the lunch circus on Wednesday.
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Wits Vuvuzela, UPDATE: Student Organisation unite to challenge new residence admissions policy, August 2014
by Rofhiwa Madzena | Aug 27, 2014 | News
Rofhiwa Madzena and Bongiwe Tutu
Witsies on Education Campus have rallied together to boycott the SRC elections, complaining that they have been marginalised.
The Wits Education Student Council (ESC) Facebook page has been abuzz with complaints and comments by students on Education Campus, with demands that they would like met by the SRC.
The students have threatened to boycott on the day of the elections as a collective and not cast their votes.
The campaign is under the identifiable hashtag: #whyshouldwevote where students place their comments on the ESC Facebook page.
Philip Hlatshwayo wrote: “I think the community of students at Wits Education Campus is taken for granted, we are continually promised services that remain ink on paper, #whyshouldwevote?”
“We are not voting at education campus, we are calling for a boycott of SRC elections at education campus. We are going to revive and help the ESC deliver because we know it’s not easy – But no votes for SRC,” said Bedney Morole on the ESC Facebook page.
Dzimani James wrote: “#whyshouldwevote? Second and third of September we will still be here asking the same question to the SRC, why vote?”
James was supported by Nqobile McGaga Nqosh, amongst others, who wrote: “I am for the #whyshouldwevote campaign.”
Bedney Morole wrote: “we need a campus that does not just accept things as they come. This campaign aims to give the ESC teeth to bite”.
Some of the things they want on Education campus include two Kudu Bucks machines, an ATM machine as well as another food outlet.
Former Vice-chairperson of the Education Student Council, Njabulo Mkize honours BA Applied Drama student said that the current food outlet, Olives and Plates is becoming less affordable for students. “It’s a monopoly, they get to determine their own costs because they don’t have competition.”
He also said: “Last year the VC [Prof. Adam Habib] came to Education Campus and he said that they would look into it but still nothing has been done.” “I’m doing my honours on main campus [Braamfontein campus] and you can feel the difference, everything is available here.”
Pkay Mjekevu wrote: “Our aim is to stop the culture of being blinded by unrealistic promises again and again.”
The leaders whom we are going to elect must know that we don’t believe what they say but we recognise what they have done,” he said.
SRC’s liaison officer, Jabulile Mabuza said: “It’s not a secret that Olives and Plates food is expensive for the average student and it’s very frustrating knowing that’s the only food option you have.”
Mjekevu wrote: “Wits extended medical school towards our campus and put hospital on our campus and they did nothing for us.
Don’t tell me about that incomplete lecture theatre at Liseding,” he said.
“Where was SRC when that happened? The SRC has done nothing to make us feel welcomed at Wits.”
Mabuza said: “The University needs to start taking students serious on these issues and if a boycott is what it takes for the University to address these concerns then it must be.”
by Roxanne Joseph | Aug 22, 2014 | News
FEES FREEZE: Wits has backed recommendations made by the SRC to freeze the upfront fees for 2015. Photo: Luca Kotton
by Luca Kotton and Roxanne Joseph
The upfront fee for next year will remain frozen at R9 350 but it and other fees may still increase in 2016, according to deputy vice-chancellor of finance, Prof Tawana Kupe.
The university had proposed an increase of the upfront registration fee to R10 300 from R9 350. General tuition fees will still increase.
When asked if the freeze will have an effect on the following year’s upfront fee, Kupe said, “In 2015, we will go through the normal processes for setting the various fees, including the upfront fee payment for 2016.”
The upfront fee free was the result of a long process of negotiations by the SRC which reached an agreement with the University Financial Committee (FINCO) surrounding fee increases in 2015, said SRC president Shafee Verachia.
The agreement was reached just over a week ago at a meeting with FINCO, and will be forward for approval to the University Council, which Vice-chancellor Prof Adam Habib, Verachia and Deputy Vice-chancellor, Prof Andrew Crouch, among others.
Verachia said the SRC successfully negotiated the freeze by commissioning a team of postgrad accounting and actuarial science students to investigate whether or not the upfront fee was unnecessarily high.
Kupe said the freeze is based on a further assessment made by FINCO, which has enabled them to recommend that the university is able to accommodate a freeze in the upfront fee and will not lose any income because “the freeze in the upfront fee amount is not a discount on the fees for 2015”.
He said there was recognition that some fees, such as the Health Sciences degrees, Wits has become too expensive and have been reduced. This is especially significant for international students, who were only allowed to pay their tuition fees in a set of instalments for the first time this year.
Currently, international students studying health sciences will have their fees cut by 60 percent, dropping to R74 680 from about R191 990.
The university had previously justified the increase of the upfront fee by saying it had high costs at the beginning of the year. Kupe said fee increases were necessary due to rising costs.
“Fees have to increase every year because of rising costs, the fact that our government subsidy is not rising as much as inflation and that some of our costs are related to items that are imported,” Kupe told Wits Vuvuzela.
“As you know, the rand has fallen against major currencies and this fall increases our costs. We also have to ensure we have enough financial resources to offer a quality education.”
by Roxanne Joseph | Aug 20, 2014 | News
Posters claiming the fees negotiations are ‘Important Victories!’ are stuck up all over campus. Photo: Roxanne Joseph
Wits University has backed and approved a suggestion made by the Student Representative Council (SRC), not to increase the upfront fee payment next year.
The SRC today confirmed the upfront fee will remain R9 350, as it was at the beginning of 2014 despite an initial proposal by the university to increase the amount to R10 270.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of finance, Prof Tawana Kupe told Wits Vuvuzela the agreement has been approved by the University Financial Committee (FINCO) and is recommended for approval by the Wits Council, in December this year.
According to a statement released by the SRC this morning, the student body commissioned a team of senior accounting and actuarial science students to do “extensive cash flow and financial modelling to ascertain whether or not the upfront fee payment is exorbitant for the purpose that it serves”.
“The reduced upfront fee payment as conceptualised by the SRC of 2012 will also be continued and will also remain at the same 2014 price,” read the statement, signed by President Shafee Verachia and Secretary General Michlene Mongae.
Another development in fees negotiations has yielded positive results for international students, whose fees have been reduced for 2015 by R38 996 for Commerce, Law and Management to R15 140 for Humanities.
Additionally PhD students will not see an increase in their fees in 2015.
by Roxanne Joseph | May 23, 2014 | News
David Abel of Likud-SA claims the Zionist lobby influenced Wits University’s disciplinary process against the Wits 11 who were charged with disruption of the Yossi Reshef concert last year. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi
Claims by Zionist organisation, Likud-SA, to have influenced the outcome of the disciplinary hearings of the Wits 11 have been rubbished by vice-chancellor Prof Adam Habib.
In an article published in the Cape Jewish Chronicle, David Abel was quoted as saying that the South African Zionist movement had “strongly influenced the suspension of the Wits 11 students involved in the disruption of the Yossi Reshef concert.”
In response, Habib called the claims by Abel “nonsense.”
Habib maintains that “Wits has too many diverse voices to be influenced by a single stakeholder. I cannot account for what other organisations claim. The delusions of others must be their responsibility, not ours,” he said.
Abel, national vice-chairman of Likud SA, is quoted as saying that against “the background of rising anti-Semitism worldwide and Israel being threatened by a potential nuclear Iran,” South African Zionism is claiming a number of victories “by inflicting damaging blows against the enemies of Israel.”
One of those victories, claims Abel, was influencing the disciplinary hearings of the Wits 11 which resulted in 80 hours of community service for 10 of the students and 130 for Tokelo Nhlapo.
Members of the Wits SRC, Muslim Students Association, Wits Palestinian Solidarity and the Progressive Youth Alliance stormed the stage of the concert during a closed event on March 12 and chanted their support for Palestine.
“Wits has too many diverse voices to be influenced by a single stakeholder. I cannot account for what other organisations claim. The delusions of others must be their responsibility, not ours,”
Abel referred to pro-Zionist forces, including Jewish and Christian Zionist individuals and organisations, opposition parties, the South African Jewish press, students, sponsors and donors as having had an impact on the university’s decision.“Maybe not all of them were involved in the incident but they were at the same university,” Abel told Wits Vuvuzela. “They were also involved in the Yossi Reshef incident.”
He called it (the guilty verdict) a “wise decision” and added, “I have confidence that the university went through all the correct procedures. I’m quite happy about that.”
When asked about the students’ refusal to complete their community service hours (with the exception of one), he said, “[Their defiance] is strange to me. The university has certain rules, in my day one would never defy authority. It’s a defiance I don’t understand.”
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- Wits Vuvuzela, Community service for Wits 11, January 17, 2014
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by Roxanne Joseph | May 14, 2014 | News
A screengrab from SRC member Sarah Mokwebo’s Facebook account. SRC member Vuyisani Kuboni says “we are going to attack him [Mighti]. Photo: Provided
SRC member Jamie Mighti has accused fellow council members and leaders of the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) of threatening to “attack” and “klap” him.
“He stated that they would ‘attack me’ and in addition, in a vernacular language, stated that I would ‘shit myself’.”
Mighti said he received the “threats” pertaining to his political views and opinions via social media earlier this year. He then blocked SRC clubs and societies officer Sarah Mokwebo onTwitter who he said had made some of the threats.
Last week, upon realising that Mighti had blocked her on Twitter, Mokwebo commented on Facebook “Comrades Jammie [sic] blocked me on Twitter :’D”.
Fellow SRC member Vuyisani Kuboni commented on her status update “unyile [he is going to shit himself] us are going to attack him!!…”
Mokwebo said her Facebook and Twitter profiles were her “personal accounts” and had nothing to do with the SRC. She refused to comment further to Wits Vuvuzela explaining, “I have nothing to say to you people”. Kuboni could not be reached for comment on the alleged threats.
“He stated that they would ‘attack me’ and in addition, in a vernacular language, stated that I would ‘shit myself’’,” said Mighti. He said that he approached Mokwebo and Kuboni for an explanation but they did not respond.
Godfrey Maja, a member of the PYA, also attacked Mighti over Twitter. “…where your actions dictate that a good klap be deployed. Yes it’s fine to not only threaten but deliver too!”
According to Zambian-born Mighti, the attacks on him were “xenophobic rhetoric”. Mighti said he was concerned the SRC will not be able to “conduct ourselves as student activists in the political space while we continue to receive explicit threats from rival organisations.”
But Maja criticised Mighti’s claims of threats and victimhood calling them a “political tool”.
“A game is when u make your safety a political tool to gain sympathy. We know ur tricks. U will fool children,” Maja said on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Mighti contacted Vice Chancellor Adam Habib, Dean of Students Pamela Dube and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Tawana Kupe complaining about the situation and asked them to “take immediate and decisive action to ensure the safety of students in the political space and to deal with those who see it fit to threat, intimidate and harass their political opponents.”
by Zelmarie Goosen | Apr 30, 2014 | News
A CHANCE TO GIVE: With the weather becoming increasingly colder, students can donate clothes to those in need. Photo: Zelmarie Goosen
Winter is fast approaching and while most of us are geared for the cold, there are many students that need some help keeping warm.
Wits campus radio station VowFM recently launched their annual campaign to collect warm winter clothing for those in need.
“Every year we have different homes that we work with in the Braamfontein area,” said Vow’s marketing manager Lucky Mdaweni. “This year we’re working with the Wits Volunteering Office, [now called] Wits Citizenship and Community Outreach (WCCO).”
The WCCO office helps VoWFM locate charity homes, as well as students within the university who are in need of the donated items.
“They work a lot more closely with students on campus who need the clothing and other things … which works nicely because not all students on campus want to be known as the kids who want clothing, so they work with them anonymously.”
Mdaweni says that Witsies have responded positively to the initiative. “We’ve had a lot of requests to have the boxes stay a bit longer, purely because of the demand in terms of people giving a lot of clothing within the university,” Mdaweni said.
The campaign runs until the end of June, when all the clothes that have been donated are given out, but continues after that if people want to donate more. Boxes, such as those pictured above are located all over campus.
by Ilanit Chernick | Apr 18, 2014 | News
PANEL DISCUSSION: Bonisile Modise, Mbali Ntuli & Floyd Shivambu seated on stage for the Wits Great Debate. Photo: Roxanne Joseph
Intolerance reigned during the second installation of the Great Debate at Wits University last night.
Last night’s debate featured Mbali Ntuli of the DA youth wing, EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) Chief of Staff Floyd Shivambu and ANCYL (African National Congress) coordinator Bonisile Modise all of whom could hardly be heard amid the persistent combination of boos, jeers and cheers.
The speakers struggled to make their points heard and had to wait, several times, for the audience to quieten down.
At one point, a small spat place happened between ANC and EFF members when each thought it was their turn to ask questions. Campus Control and members of the crowd were forced to intervene to stop the fracas from escalating.
[pullquote]”The ANC and the EFF continuously disrupted opposing supporters when questions were asked.” [/pullquote]
Despite the noise though, the debate continued and Witsies got the chance to ask questions related to the youth. Wits EFF member Tokelo Nhlapo asked about the cost of education and the lack of support given by the ANC to university students, with specific reference to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSAFAS).
ALL SMILES: a DA supporter expresses his pride for his party. Photo: Luke Matthews
SRC member, Jamie Mighti questioned the ANC’s credibility by asking: “If government has a good story to tell why hasn’t the ANC been able to secure this country and nation [after 20 years of democracy]”, which was cheered by both DA and EFF supporters.
The Wits Great Hall was almost filled to its capacity with a strong showing from EFF and ANC supporters who remained vocal throughout the evening.
The Great Debate series continues next week and speakers are yet to be announced.
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by Robyn Kirk | Apr 16, 2014 | News
PLEASE VOTE: (L-R): Pitso Moses, IEC member in Gauteng; Carien du Plessis, a journalist and radio personality Shaka Sisulu, were hosted by the Wits SRC at a discussion on voting last night. Photo: Palesa Tshandu.
A small group of Witsies came together last night to discuss the issue of spoiling a vote in next month’s national elections.
The Wits SRC (Students Representatives Council) hosted journalist Carien du Plessis and radio personality Shaka Sisulu in a discussion that appeared to be a reaction to the NoVote! campaign launched earlier in the day.
In contrast to the Sidikiwe Vukani campaign started by ANC (African National Congress) veterans Ronnie Kasrils and Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge yesterday, the popular opinion at last night’s gathering was in support of social responsibility through voting.
“Democracy only works when you work on it yourself”, said Wits Dean of students, Dr Pamela Dube. “You should vote because you can … we [as South Africans] have a lot to be proud about and contribute [towards our democracy].”
But not all the audience members shared the sentiment. “I’m from the Eastern Cape,” one student commented during the talk. “Even after 20 years of democracy, there is still no electricity [in my hometown], there are still no jobs … what will my one vote do to [to change anything]?”
Sisulu, in response to the student, said that South Africans need to participate in the affairs of government beyond just casting a vote once every five years: “What makes us think that we can have a relationship with our government like that – that’s not a relationship, that’s a one night stand … We must be in a constant dialogue.”
The discussion included talks by the Wits SRC President Shafee Verachia and Pitso Moses of Gauteng’s Independent Electoral Commission and was attended by about 50 people.
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