The Oppidan PressEdition 4, 29 April 2015

Ubom! stalwart Slu remembered

Short story:The Fight

Have your say: Xenophobia 4 8 9

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News Features2 The Oppidan Press 29 April 2015

Phelokazi Mbude

Female students in the Miriam Makeba dining hall were recently asked to dress more modestly when going for meals. The new rule implemented at the end of first term banned the wearing of clothing items that the hall administration has allegedly classed as too revealing to be appropriate for public wear.

Thomas Pringle Senior Student, Nomaswazi Mthembu, said she was informed by the hall head student that revealing shorts were no longer allowed to be worn in the dining hall by women. “We didn’t discuss [the rule] she just passed on the message”, Mthembu added.

Although the implementation of the rule appears to have started with Miriam Makeba Hall Head Student, Lelona Mxesibe, its origin is unclear. Mxesibe said the rule regarding dining hall attire came into effect after a hall meeting last term. “We are elaborating on the already existing rule in [the] dining hall code of conduct that states that a person going to the dining hall should be appropriately dressed,” she elaborated. Under this code students are also not allowed to wear pyjamas, slippers or bikinis to the dining hall.

Mxesibe added that this rule is a way of asking people to dress in a manner that is “reasonably modest” when in the dining hall. “There’s a difference

between shorts and ‘bum’ shorts, and that we class it with bikinis and swimwear,” she explained. However, Mxesibe further stated that she is in a difficult position because she does not agree with the rule, but she has to

fully implement it. After the announcement about the

new rule, Thomas Pringle Warden Sibongile Matambo said, “The first I heard about it [the shorts rule] was in the house meeting. Before that I just

heard talk that certain people were not happy with the way people dress skimpily, according to them, in the dining hall.”

In stating her own opinion regarding the rule, Matambo said,

“Personally, I think dress code is subjective. I think there needs to be a lot of dialogue around it before we say it’s a rule.” She added that the rule was never discussed with wardens, adding that the manner in which the rule was stated meant that she thought it should not be taken as a rule.

Thomas Pringle resident Nontshisekelo Shange expressed her opinion about the new rule regarding the wearing of shorts in dining halls: “You really can’t tell someone what to wear. I’m from Durban, I live in those [shorts].”

Shange added that after another student said she was disgusted by her (Shange’s) shorts, she (Shange) felt discriminated against. Shange also pointed out the discrepancies in the new rule, saying that male students were not reprimanded for wearing rugby shorts or tight-fitting shorts.

What is most interesting about this rule’s implementation is that the Hall Warden, Michael Naidoo, was unaware of its implementation as well.

“Mxesibe has no right to decide dress code. She’s not hall staff, she’s not university staff. For me what you wear is a non-issue, provided it’s within the bounds of decency. I don’t want to exclude anyone from this hall on the base of dress,” he said.

Naidoo expressed that in situations like these, he would deal with the issue if students make him aware of it

Nkcubeko Balani

There has been widespread debate and conflict on the Rhodes SRC Facebook group since student protests for transformation began and hashtags such as

#RhodesSoWhite started trending. This has resulted in behaviour on the page which has contravened the group’s values which include human dignity, equality, non-racialism, non-sexism or any other form of discrimination.

SRC President Siyanda Makhubo said that the SRC’s initial response to conflict on the page had been to allow free speech and open interaction since this was a time when the entire student body was conscious of its issues. Makhubo explained that this meant that SRC members who administer the Facebook page would not regulate discussion on the page as this would go against the page being a space of open, uninfluenced discussion.

However, in cases where content on the page had been reported to the page administrator via Facebook, the SRC decided to collect the post and pass it on to a University body to deal with. “There have been about 30 reports … they are with the Secretary General. We will be documenting them and handing them to the Harassment Officer,” Makhubo said. This action could lead to disciplinary hearings or mediation between the parties involved.

Despite students reporting discriminatory posts to Facebook, there have been few reports made directly to the Harassment Officer by students themselves. “[A]t this point there has been no significant increase in the number of cases reported [to my office] on racial discrimination,” stated Harassment Officer and Manager of Student Wellness Nomangwane Mrwetyana. She further encouraged students to feel free to approach her on any discriminatory behaviour at the University.

Mrwetyana also explained that cyber harassment has not occurred to a great extent at Rhodes in the past. “It has not happened extensively, however when it gets brought to our attention the same procedure is followed in dealing with it,” she said.

Cyber harassment does not hold the same clout as physical or face-to-face verbal harassment as it differs from physical encounters, Mrwetyana added. Expanding on the issue, she

explained, “The most often used word is ‘spam’, as in ‘This person is spamming me’. Some people think it’s just social media, and so don’t take it seriously.”

Discrimination on cyber platforms like the Rhodes SRC page is also difficult to follow up on because the perpetrator can easily remove their discriminatory post. In some instances the perpetrator may not even be affiliated with the university, meaning that even if they are reported Rhodes has no jurisdiction over the issue.

Law lecturer Sarah Driver explained: “If someone wishes to take action against a person who is not associated with Rhodes [University] then they should approach a court in terms of the Protection from Harassment Act.”

Driver also emphasised the importance of taking screenshots of discriminatory remarks, before the perpetrator removes them. “Alternatively, evidence could be led from people who saw the offending remarks before they were deleted. In other words, it will depend on the factual scenario and the availability of witnesses,” she said. Therefore while the SRC page aims to foster an ongoing dialogue, this does not mean that people can get away with discrimination and harassment.

As shown on the Rhodes SRC page, cyber harassment can occur even on platforms which are considered spaces for fruitful discussion. While it is sometimes difficult to make a case against a cyberbully, it is imperative to hold those responsible to account.

Cyberbullying hard to prosecute

”Some people think

it’s just social media, and so don’t take it

seriously.

– Nomangwane Mrwetyana,Harassment Officer and

Manager of Student Wellness

Tensions rose on the SRC Facebook page during the height of the “Rhodes must fall” campaign, with some students receiving threatening messages or being harassed for their views. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

Students from the Miriam Makeba dining hall are disgruntled by the new rule to dress more modestly and no longer wear shorts. Caption. Photo: ASHLIEGH MEY

Confusion regarding implementation of new dining hall rules

News Features29 April 2015 The Oppidan Press 3

Aviva Lerer

While calls for institutional transformation filled the national agenda, a recent colloquium

at Rhodes University raised the issue of curriculum transformation, delving into conversations which deal with issues that can impact the rate at which curricula can be developed or halted.

The discussion revealed that, while the student body is divided over what form curriculum transformation should take, there is a clear consensus among students and lecturers that discussions alone are no longer sufficient to deal with such issues.

Rhodes student Kelia Losa Reinoso said that although curriculum change is essential in order for universities and their students to move forward, she did not agree with switching from a Eurocentric curriculum to an Afrocentric one. “Rather, it should be about utilising the existing structure and incorporating Afrocentric ideas and teaching into the ones which already exist,” she explained.

Not everyone agreed with Reinoso, however. SRC Vice President Zikisa Maqubela argued that an African curriculum should not take a backseat to a European one. Maqubela also stated that the importance of forums like the colloquium could not be denied, but that the creation of forward-focused plans are equally important for the transformation process.

“As the SRC, we need to come up with a plan; a resolution [saying] that we are going to do A, B, C, D as well as an implementation plan of how exactly we are going to do these things,” he said.

This need for follow up and the eventual imple-mentation of a plan was reiterated by speakers at the colloquium. Rhodes Politics lecturer Profes-sor Leonard Praeg, who represented the Thinking Africa Project at the conference, agreed that the discussions should be put into action.

“What happens is that these issues become associated with pop-up conversations,” he ex-plained. “People become angry, they sit down to a discussion where their ideas are put down on

the table and the topic then loses momentum.” Praeg also emphasised the need for curriculum change to be an on-going process and not just associated with one conference.

The call for action was followed by a call for accountability. Dr Nomalanga Mkhize, while refusing to comment on the colloquium itself, spoke out on Twitter and stated that curriculum transformation is the responsibility of the indi-viduals employed in higher levels of management at the university. She further stressed the need to hold these individuals accountable on the issue of curriculum change.

One plan already in place to assist with the transformation of the lecturer pool at Rhodes is the Accelerated Development Programme which aims to advance the academic careers of individu-als from marginalised groups. This will hopefully better equip these individuals for permanent positions at Rhodes University.

Masixole Booi, a Politics Masters student whose thesis focuses on curriculum transforma-tion, stressed the importance of programmes like the Accelerated Development Programme. He considers this to be one of the many steps which must be taken into consideration in the process of implementing curriculum change within univer-sity structures.

Although there are differing views about what steps should be taken to remedy the gaps within the current curriculum, there can be no resolu-tion unless a potential solution can be debated, critiqued and reworked.

”We need to come

up with a plan; a resolution that we are

going to do A, B, C, D

– Zikisa Maqubela,SRC Vice-President

Tensions rose on the SRC Facebook page during the height of the “Rhodes must fall” campaign, with some students receiving threatening messages or being harassed for their views. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

In response to increased calls for transformation in universities around South Africa, Rhodes held a colloquium on the matter which saw much debate around the future of the University’s curriculum. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

Despite the discussions surrounding transformation in the university curriculum, the equity of staff appointments at Rhodes has also come under scrutiny. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

Confusion regarding implementation of new dining hall rules

Action and accountability at the forefront of curriculum colloquium

Leila Stein

Transformation is the buzzword on everyone’s lips, especially at universities in South Af-rica. Recent discussions have largely revolved around transforming the curriculums of universities and removing monuments of colo-nists, but the transformation of the academic staff has also become one of the focus points in these discussions.

Rhodes University, along with all other uni-versities in South Africa, has an equity policy that specifically focuses on the equity of staff appointments. According to the Rhodes Equity Employment Document, candidates for positions must be suitably qualified for the post for which they are applying.

The policy further states: “Where candidates from the preferred demographic group/s are suitably qualified, they are given preference for appointment. The preference for candidates is influenced by the statistics of the Economically Active Population of South Africa.”

When looking at appointments according to demographic groups, what is made significantly clear is the difference between equity and equal-ity. Equity refers to fairness while equality relates to treating everyone the same.

“It is recognized that equality of treatment may result in the further entrenching of disadvantage of certain groups. This in turn, fails to recognize the history and context of South Africa,” the Equity Employment Document stated.

Despite this comprehensive policy, it has been noted that there is a disconnect between the Uni-versity’s equity act and the number of academics who are hired to lecture at the University. The document includes an acknowledgment that at the time of the update, diversity was lacking among the staff.

“In the case of academic staff at Rhodes University, there is a paucity of Black academic staff (i.e. African, Coloureds and Indians) and preference will be given to the employment of suitably qualified staff from these categories,” it said.

During the height of activism around #Rhodes-mustfall and #Rhodessowhite one poster placed on campus, which created heated discussion on-line, stated: “All my lecturers have been white un-less teaching ‘black’ subjects.” This again reflected the issue that while there are extensive docu-ments, little change appears to be happening. The

only department that is entirely staffed by black lecturers is the African languages department.

Rhodes Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela touched on the need for greater diversity in his address on transformation. “The student body needs to see transformation in the higher levels of the university. Further progress must be made in this regard,” he said.

While Rhodes has so far focused on cur-riculum transformation, it has become evident that the slow rate of lecturer turnover has left an inequitable pool of lecturers.

“Although Rhodes has been lucky enough to have two progressive black Vice-Chancellors the academic staff at the university is so overwhelm-ingly white that a lot of power has remained in white hands,” wrote Dr Vashna Jagarnath, Deputy Dean of Humanities (Research), in an article for The Daily Maverick.

This statement, and others like it, have highlighted the fact that although there has been 20 years of progressive action in creating equitable employment policies for hiring black lecturers, there has been no substantial change in lecturer demographics at Rhodes. It is this discrepancy that students and staff are starting to question now.

Rhodes academic staff in need of transformation

”Although Rhodes

has been lucky enough to have two progressive

black Vice-Chancellors the

academic staff at the university is so

overwhelmingly white that a lot

of power has remained in white hands

- Dr Vashna Jagarnath, Deputy Dean of Humanities

(Research)

Politics4 The Oppidan Press 29 April 2015

Kathryn Cleary

April is internationally recognised as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).

During April, organisations from both the public and private sectors come together in support of sexual assault awareness.

SAAM originated from “Take Back the Night”, a public protest against gender violence that began in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. The protest spread to the United States in 1978 and continues to generate international attention. As a result of “Take Back the Night’s” global success, the first official SAAM campaign was launched in 2001.

However, South African president Jacob Zuma has failed to officially declare South Africa’s participation in this international event. With the month of April coming to an end, Zuma’s silence on the issue calls for a greater look at what South Africa and Rhodes University are doing to make a positive impact.

Although the government has not officially recognised SAAM, other organisations in South Africa are involved in raising awareness about sexual assault and the need to participate in SAAM events.

One such organisation is the Johannesburg-based Transform Education about Rape and Sexual Abuse (TEARS) Foundation which has been actively working to become the country’s leading non-profit organisation in survivor advocacy and research.

Since its inception in 2012, TEARS has directed a nationwide petition

to President Zuma, calling for his immediate recognition of SAAM. However, the petition has been unable to gain enough signatures to allow it to progress further.

More locally, Rhodes University has many on-campus resources that address the issues associated with sexual assault and rape. The Gender Action Project (GAP), for example, is a Rhodes student society responsible for hosting the university’s annual Silent Protest.

The society’s chairperson, Gorata Chengeta, explained that the Silent Protest is organised against the high rates of sexual violence in South Africa. “The protest aims to create a safe space where survivors can speak about their experiences of sexual

assault,” she said. The prevalence of rape in South

Africa is extremely high, although it is difficult to provide precise numbers as not all incidents are reported, according to Rape Crisis South Africa. Commenting on the 2012 South African Police Service crime statistics, the organisation stated that if all rapes were reported to the police figures could be as high as 84 000 cases in the Western Cape alone, and just over 500 000 cases nationwide. Rape Crisis added that these numbers translate to 27 cases of rape daily.

Despite not recognising SAAM, there have been other changes to the South African legislation regarding sexual assault and rape. The 2007 Sexual Offenses and Related Matters

Amendment Act created a strong legal foundation for victims. The Act worked to redefine consensual versus non-consensual sexual acts in a gender neutral way that included all forms of penetration.

The Act also allowed for certain free services to victims, including post-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV. However, although the Act serves as a large stepping stone in the correct direction, grey areas still remain.

These shortcomings lie within the South African legal system itself. It is still difficult to access information regarding victim’s rights and, with government organisations struggling to collaborate appropriately, overall services to rape victims are lacking. Often the most common complaint by victims who have pursued legal proceedings against their attackers is their dearth of knowledge regarding the progress of their case. According to Chengeta these issues can only be resolved by increasing awareness about the law and ensuring that survivors are treated sensitively to prevent them being re-traumatised by legal proceedings.

Although it does not look like SAAM will be recognised anytime soon due to legal issues that need sorting out, organisations like Rape Crisis and TEARS do show a progressive future for South Africa in terms of addressing rape and sexual assault. Initiatives like the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children as well as the Silent Protest further strengthen South Africa’s hope for positive change in this regard.

Dealing with sexual assault in SARhodes’ Resources

Note: All resources can be found in the RU Sexual Assault Protocol

Î Psychological support is available for free through the Counselling Centre

Î The Rhodes Health Care Centre, under the orders of a GP, can offer pregnancy testing, STI testing, or baseline HIV testing, as well as post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent HIV infection in the first 72 hours after exposure without a case being opened

Î Student harassment is to be reported to the Manager of Student Wellness

Î If the assault occurred on campus, contact CPU

Î Female students are entitled to a female detective

Î If the matter has been reported to the police, the survivor must go to the hospital, and an examination by a district surgeon is needed for purposes of gathering evidence

South Africa has not officially recognised April as International Sexual Assault Awareness month. Photo: ROBYN BARNES

Aviva Lerer

With the recent wave of violent xenophobic attacks being wit-nessed in parts of KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, many foreign nationals around the country have been left displaced and dis-traught. Here are a few opinions on the situation from Rhodes University students and staff.

Tessa Ware, SRC International CouncillorPeople need to face xenophobia and say ‘no’. They need to take a stand and say, ‘This will NOT happen.’

Chido Gezimati, Zimbabwean student

There are so many people of different nationalities living in foreign

countries because conditions in their home countries aren’t favourable. South

Africans, for example, are welcomed in countries all around the world, so why are

they the only ones exhibiting violence against foreigners for being in their country?

Rod Amner, Journalism & Media Studies lecturer

King Goodwill is a leader and people with his standing in society give moral leadership to those they lead. While he isn’t entirely to blame for the xenopho-bia, he does need to be held accountable

for what he said.

Marina Khoza, South African student[Immigrants] arrive here and support

themselves by opening up businesses. We too are struggling to keep up with the costs of living so it upsets us when we see large numbers of foreign nationals living comfortably…

while we struggle. We are also upset by the ever increasing number of foreign-

ers who come here illegally to live in already overcrowded areas belonging [to us]. While I don’t condone

the harming of others, I think that the government should be put-ting better measures in place to ensure that the number of illegal immigrants entering South Africa does not continue to increase.

Tyler Nauman, South African student

South Africans shouldn’t be engaging in discrimination or

hate. We more than anyone else should know where violence and

discrimination can lead.

Lindokuhle Zungu, SRC Secretary GeneralPeople have been harbouring xenophobic thoughts for a long time, but have simply

never acted on them. The king’s words cre-ated a platform to act on them.

Jo Lumka, South African studentI think that xenophobia itself is a silly

concept… and “fear of the unknown” is nonsense. How can you fear something that you don’t even know? When you look at the concept of enculturation – when one culture is absorbed into

another – in the midst of that process, you can absorb what you want or you can

let it go. But with xenophobia, you are absorbing from other cultures and not giving anything back.

Sibusiso Khuzwayo, South African student

I believe that community lead-ers are failing their communities: while these figures are becoming

richer, South Africans are not only struggling to make ends meet but

also have to watch as illegal foreign immigrants steal local business away.

The government is doing nothing to help such communities and is taking no

steps to deal with illegal immigrants, so locals are forced to take things into their own hands.

Rachel Nyazenga, Zimbabwean studentI don’t believe that violence is the correct way of dealing with issues. After all we are all African. My brother lives in Durban and I constantly worry about him. If I send him a message and he

takes too long to reply, I automatically start to worry ‘What if…’

Rhodes students and staff open up on their views of xenophobia

ANC undeterred on Eskom privatisation

Phot

os: Y

OLA

NDA

M

DZEKE

Business29 April 2015 The Oppidan Press 5

Nathi Mzileni Business

As the country’s sole power utility continues rolling blackouts to prevent a power

supply meltdown, the ability of Es-kom to meet the country’s electricity needs has been questioned yet again and this time more calls have been made for the parastatal company to be privatised.

Amid these calls the power utility has threatened to pull the plug on defaulting municipalities. The top 20 defaulters, which includes Makana Municipality, collectively owe Eskom R3.68 billion. Makana has struck a deal with the power supplier to avert the 8 and 6 hour power shutdown Eskom said it would implement during weekdays and weekends respectively, as of 5 June.

The municipality’s Media Commu-nications Officer Yoliswa Ramakolo said that Makana has already paid R9 million of the R66 million it initially owed Eskom. “The municipality is not in any threat of cut-off as long as the payments are made on time,” Rama-kolo said.

When it comes to the national electricity crisis, the Democratic Alli-ance and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) have both asked the government to relinquish control of Eskom. The DA has been making these calls since 2009, a year after Eskom declared a massive power emergency in January 2008. IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi advised President Jacob Zuma to follow in the footsteps of former British Prime

Minister Margaret Thatcher who went on a privatisation spree in an attempt to revive the British economy.

The Congress of the People has also weighed in on the matter, with the party’s leader Mosiuoa Lekota saying, during the party’s 2015 congressional meeting, that it is not worth it for the government to hold on to Eskom. “When you have a state enterprise that, instead of producing profits and contributing to the national fiscus, consumes money from the state coffers and is a burden to the taxpayer, then you know it’s not worth your while,”

he said. “We are in full support that Eskom be broken into sections, so that the production of electricity can be much more efficient and easier to manage,” Lekota added.

Economist Thabi Leoka also believes that the only way to curb Eskom’s cur-rent R250 billion deficit is to sell the company. “The most logical solution is to privatise Eskom and list it on the stock exchange,” she told Radio 702.

However, the ruling party has made it clear that it will not sell Eskom. When the power supplier first resorted to rolling blackouts and declared a

power emergency in November 2014, ANC secretary general Gwede Man-tashe said the party does not consider privatising Eskom to be a solution to the power crisis. He added: “Electricity remains a public good and therefore, if you totally privatise it, it will have problems. Privatisation of electricity is not a panacea.”

Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, has presented a third possible solution to the Eskom crisis: changing the people governing the company. In a press conference ad-dressing the Eskom crisis Brown said

the company needs a board with experience in running a company like Eskom.

“I want a fiduciary responsibility. I want some technical knowledge. We still need to appoint two more mem-bers, such as a CA. I want...electrical engineers,” Brown stated, adding that she would be taking steps to stabilise the company’s board. The minister has already appointed a new acting Chief Executive for Eskom.

Eskom is not the only parastatal in crisis as calls have been made to privatise the state broadcaster, South African Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile, the country’s national air-line, South African Airways, recently announced that it would be privatising some of its operations after it reported liquidity and solvency problems in October last year.

When it comes to Eskom, however, the ANC seems determined to main-tain state control over the company. During his State of the Nation Ad-dress, Zuma said the parastatal will be given R23 billion this year to help it out of its financial difficulties. But this was apparently not enough as the power utility also secured a R4 billion loan from the German development bank, KfW. The bank has said it loaned Eskom the money for the coal powered plant Medupi.

So while the lights might be off, the spotlight continues to shine on Eskom and the problems it faces. And with no privatisation in sight, the only thing consumers can do is hope the com-pany’s new Chief Executive can find a solution soon.

Dealing with sexual assault in SA

Rolling blackouts have left many of South Africa’s urban areas in darkness, leading political parties and business groups to speak in favour of the privatisation of the parastatal organisation. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

Rhodes students Jessica Kent, Sasha Taylor and Kristine Botha produce their own music in their production company, A Minor Production. Photo: KYLE PRINSLOO

ANC undeterred on Eskom privatisation

Nathi Mzileni Business

The country’s top auditing authority is suing the embattled Makana Municipality for millions in unpaid audit fees. Auditor General Thembekile Kimi Makwetu has filed court papers suing the municipality for approximately R10 million after it has continually failed to pay its invoices.

According to papers filed in court, Makwetu calculated the total fees owed by Makana Municipality after consulting with the National Treasury. Makwetu said he has been sending monthly statements to Makana since February 2013 and ending in December last year, Business Day reported.

The law compels the municipality to pay the audit fees within a month of receiving the Auditor General’s invoice. According to court papers, Makana has not made any payments to the Auditor General for the past two years.

Of the R10 million Makana Municipal-ity currently owes to the Auditor General, more than R9.1 million is overdue by more than 60 days.

The municipality’s Media Communica-tion Manager, Yoliswa Ramakolo, declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Oppidan Press. Ramakolo said the

matter was still being discussed by the municipality’s executives.

Meanwhile, the municipality’s Grahams-town lawyer Mark Nettleton has confirmed with The Oppidan Press that the Makana Municipality is aware of the Auditor Gen-eral’s court filings and that they will defend the case brought against them.

However, Nettleton added that he was still waiting for further instructions from the municipality. He also declined to com-ment on the substance of the matter pend-ing court proceedings.

According to the Auditor General’s annual report in 2014, the province with the highest number of municipalities defaulting on audit fees is the Eastern Cape. Collectively, these municipalities owe the Auditor General R78 million in unpaid audit fees.

For Makana, the court action by the Au-ditor General has added to the municipali-ties financial woes as it comes just a week after Eskom slapped the municipality with an ultimatum to either cough up millions in outstanding electricity payments or face bulk power supply disruptions.

However, the Auditor General said that Makana’s long delay in paying the fees has left him with no choice but take legal action against the Makana Municipality.

Another day, another payment demand for embattled Makana

Demi Drew Arts & Entertainment

Rhodes students Jessica Kent, Kristine Botha and Sasha Taylor have formed A Minor Production (AMP), a music production company which ex-plores songwriting and music production through regular blog posts and videos.

According to Kent the group aims to create a com-munity of music lovers, adding that AMP is open to collaboration with other Grahamstown artists. Collaboration is an important aspect of AMP as all three members play an integral role in creating their web content.

Kent, who is the most experienced of the three in terms of creating music, acts as Botha’s mentor to Botha,.the group’s songwriter, Botha said that this mentorship helps to lighten their songs as she (Botha)

tends towards producing gloomier lyrics.The group also works together to produce their

music to ensure it appeals to as many people as pos-sible, focusing on genres like indie, rock and country music.

AMP derives much of their inspiration from the Rhodes community which aids them in producing music for a varied audience. “A Minor Production is a great creative outlet because you are constantly surrounded by people who aim to motivate you and inspire your music,” explained Botha.

Although A Minor Production is just starting out, there is no doubt that they will encourage other mu-sic lovers at Rhodes and around Grahamstown to join in their creative community and participate in their collaborative project.

Visit A Minor Production’s official website: aminorproduction.com.

A Minor Production making a major impact

Leila Stein

Recent events in South Africa and at many of the country’s universities have brought to

the fore the question of belonging and what it means to have a certain identity in a certain place. For me, this means being Jewish at Rhodes.

At first, leaving my Jewish bubble in Cape Town, where all of my friends were Jewish or at least attended my Jewish school, was hard. While it was my chance to escape such a tight-knit, protective community, it was more dif-ficult than I thought it would be.

I do not consider my family to be religious. We are Orthodox, and in the great tradition of South African orthodoxy, are more traditional than observant. This means that, while we may not keep Kosher or go to shul (synagogue) every Friday, we cel-ebrate and commemorate all the “big” holidays. This also means I attended a school where “Jewish Studies” was a subject until matric and Hebrew was a compulsory language until Grade 10.

When people at Rhodes found out that I was Jewish the standard response was that of surprise followed by the “But you don’t look Jewish” exclama-tion. (Whatever being Jewish looks like, I obviously don’t match it.) In most cases this was thankfully the end of the discussion, but for a few this was now my identifier and “Jew” jokes were suddenly even more hilarious.

In one case, I had to specifically explain to a friend why using the word “Jew” as a blanket insult was deeply offensive. While it would not be pos-sible to call her an anti-Semite, it was clear that a severe ignorance coupled with the odd reference to “stingy Jews” had unconsciously made her think

that calling me a “Jew” in response to friendly banter was not offensive.

The realisation that my Jewish background meant that I was seen as different and that it would often have to be explained why Jewish stereotypes were not true was a shock. I needed to adjust to the reality that many South Africans know very little about Juda-ism and would need some explanation.

This is an aspect of having an iden-tity outside of the “norm” I can accept. What ultimately disappointed me was that, after coming from a staunchly pro-Zionist school where there was no nuance with regard to discussing Israel, Rhodes was not the space for varied opinion and measured discus-sion I hoped it would be.

It was clear that at Rhodes the voices of those involved in the Israel Apart-heid Week and Palestinian Solidarity efforts were the dominant and, without an equally strong opposition, the only voices heard. While some efforts were made to redress the imbalance they were minimal and didn’t do much to equalise the discussion.

For me, being Jewish and Zionist cannot be separated. I was educated in a Jewish Zionist school, have been to Israel to visit relatives and have multi-ple connections with what I was taught was my “homeland.”

I therefore felt alienated from Rhodes by the continuous bombard-ment during Israel Apartheid Week of images of dying children in Gaza, and articles and posters present-ing Israel as a genocidal nation. This alienation was particularly due to the fact that Rhodes’ only response was support for what was obviously a very skewed view.

By providing this skewed narrative to students who know next to nothing

about Judaism and even less about Israel, the people involved are acting irresponsibly.

By excluding the history of Israel, explaining why it is defended as a Jewish state as well as a Palestinian one, and why it became a state in 1948, students were left with possibly less understanding and incredible hate towards the situation based on unbal-anced information and graphic images. This kind of education is in opposi-tion to a fundamental concept in the Humanities – critical thinking.

As a result of the condemnation without context, this issue felt like a personal attack. After hearing students make blanket generalisations and reading one stinging comment on Fa-cebook that the “Jews should just leave [Israel],” I considered leaving Rho-des and returning to my safe, if also skewed, bubble where at least I was in the majority. Ultimately I’m glad I did not, and I do regret not making my voice heard in opposition to the situa-tion at the time.

What do you think? Tweet your thoughts to @oppidanpress.

Opinion6 The Oppidan Press 29 April 2015

Deane Lindhorst

The recent #RhodesMustFall movement has seen critiques of institutional cul-tures replete with whiteness emerge on

campuses all over South Africa. Instead of gen-erating thoughtful and engaging conversations, however, these topics have for the most part been met with fierce resistance and disavowals. Our SRC Facebook page is an obvious example of this.

Many commenters on the page have denounced the aims of the movement, the surrounding issues and the students involved as racist, violent and anti-progressive. The obviously ill-conceived and blatantly racist posts are for the most part quickly dismissed. But there is another group of insidious commenters that aren’t as easy to ignore. They are those who label themselves as “liberals” because of their outward commitment to a specific kind of individual freedom.

These are the commenters who ostensibly express their non-racialism and commitment to a transformed society, yet at the same time hotly

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The Oppidan Press

Being Jewish at Rhodes

”I had to

specifically explain to a friend why

using the word “Jew”

as a blanket insult was

deeply offensive

Discussions around the question of belonging have become commonplace at Rhodes, but members of the Jewish community may still feel alienated. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

For the last nine years, we have strived to be the home of the best in South African student journalism. As such, we can no longer sit by and watch the extreme violence meted out against immigrants in Durban and around this country.

This latest spate of violence was encouraged by King Goodwill Zwelithini, a man who once happily served as a puppet of the apartheid government and who very timeously switched sides during the ANC/IFP conflict in the early nineties: “As I speak, you find their unsightly goods hanging all over our shops, they dirty our streets... We ask foreign nationals to pack their belongings and go back to their countries.”

He was not misquoted, nor was his quote taken out of context. Under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, King Zwelithini is guilty of hate speech.We therefore call for his prosecution in this regard, a move that has already been taken up by Tim Flack, a member of the South African National Defence Union.

However, as much as King Zwelithini’s remarks were the spark that ignited this particular fire, we must also acknowledge the severe economic disparity in this country. Coupled with a long history of South African isolationism and exceptionalism, there was more than enough tinder to allow foreign migrants to become the scapegoat for many of the problems in South Africa.

We also cannot ignore how the state has reproduced the logic of exclusion through its new, harsher border controls, the violence suffered by foreign nationals at the hands of our police service and its poor provision of services to even legal immigrants. In order to prevent this violence from ever occurring again, a massive systemic change is needed; a change that would, by its nature, take many, many years to effect.

In the meantime, South Africans need to take a stand. It is not enough to stand in solidarity or hold vigils. While these events are crucial to fostering a culture of empathy with our extended family of immigrants from Africa and around the world, we must do more.

Organisations like Gift of the Givers and the South African Red Cross are currently doing all they can to feed and house people displaced by this violence. We encourage you to donate towards their efforts via their websites www.giftofthegivers.org and www.redcross.org.za.

You will notice a distinct lack of news coverage in this edition on xenopho-bia. The Eastern Cape has largely been spared the same violence that is gripping KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng right now. Some locals from East London have even actively set out to protect their foreign neighbours.

Any news coverage that we do will simply be parroting reporting done by larger, professional news organisations who can do it better and bigger. So instead we encourage you to read the coverage by The Sunday Times, Al Jazeera and The Daily Vox among others who are shining a much needed spotlight on these stories.

Finally, to our fellow South Africans who are perpetuating this violence and who have forced immigrants to justifiably take up arms in their own defence, we have one thing to say: “Not in our name.”

The Oppidan Press publishes letters which are bona fide expressions of opinion provided that they are not clearly libellous, defamatory, racist or sexist. We publish anonymous letters, but as an act of good faith on your part, we require your full name. We reserve the right to shorten letters due to space constraints and to edit them for grammatical inaccuracies. Letters that do not make it into our print edition will be published on our website.

about Judaism and even less about Israel, the people involved are acting irresponsibly.

By excluding the history of Israel, explaining why it is defended as a Jewish state as well as a Palestinian one, and why it became a state in 1948, students were left with possibly less understanding and incredible hate towards the situation based on unbal-anced information and graphic images. This kind of education is in opposi-tion to a fundamental concept in the Humanities – critical thinking.

As a result of the condemnation without context, this issue felt like a personal attack. After hearing students make blanket generalisations and reading one stinging comment on Fa-cebook that the “Jews should just leave [Israel],” I considered leaving Rho-des and returning to my safe, if also skewed, bubble where at least I was in the majority. Ultimately I’m glad I did not, and I do regret not making my voice heard in opposition to the situa-tion at the time.

What do you think? Tweet your thoughts to @oppidanpress.

Opinion29 April 2015 The Oppidan Press 7

Deane Lindhorst

The recent #RhodesMustFall movement has seen critiques of institutional cul-tures replete with whiteness emerge on

campuses all over South Africa. Instead of gen-erating thoughtful and engaging conversations, however, these topics have for the most part been met with fierce resistance and disavowals. Our SRC Facebook page is an obvious example of this.

Many commenters on the page have denounced the aims of the movement, the surrounding issues and the students involved as racist, violent and anti-progressive. The obviously ill-conceived and blatantly racist posts are for the most part quickly dismissed. But there is another group of insidious commenters that aren’t as easy to ignore. They are those who label themselves as “liberals” because of their outward commitment to a specific kind of individual freedom.

These are the commenters who ostensibly express their non-racialism and commitment to a transformed society, yet at the same time hotly

reject the experiential accounts and arguments of those who say that we are not yet transformed. Their non-racialism is proven through their trumpeting of individual rejections of thinking or acting in racialised ways. A common and laugh-able tactic of these pseudo-liberals is appealing to

their diverse friendship group as definitive proof of their non-racialism.

However, what these commenters often refuse to think about is the systemic nature of race and the fact that we need to take it very seriously. Their understanding of themselves as post-race in

the myth of the rainbow nation is enough justifi-cation for them to tap out of the conversation and not take other people’s experiences seriously.

A second tactic often used at Rhodes is showing how we all belong to a broader ‘purple culture’, as implied in the statement that “our blood is purple”. What these commenters fail to see is that the ‘our’ spoken about is itself based on certain practices of belonging, such as the often used example that we all have ‘gees’ on a Friday night. There is a failure to recognise that these practices of belonging demand an assimilation into a culture that is alienating for many students – a culture that is itself tailored to whiteness in many ways.

While being outwardly committed to the freedom of everyone, these commenters often fail to recognise that their engagements repeatedly reinvent the conditions for excluding and marginalising people. Commitment to freedom requires listening and taking seriously the increasingly loud voices of those who are not yet free. We should all be wary of those who think left but talk right.

Andisiwe Barnabas

My first encounter with anything as-sociated with the notorious #Rhodes-MustFall campaign was when I was assigned as a photographer to cover a student body meeting. The only item on the agenda: #RhodesMustFall. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I was sure it was some joke the SRC had come up with to brighten the mood on campus. My first thought was: “Is the Vice-Chancellor in trouble?” To me, he is representative of Rhodes University, and I thought that this was a bunch of students op-posing his appointment.

The following day my friend ex-plained that it was in fact Cecil John Rhodes who had to fall. I had never heard of him, but after doing some research I was able to connect the dots: he was a coloniser and this university is named after him.

At the student body meeting, I was among those who could not enter Eden Grove Red because it was too full. I was very surprised by the turnout because I had not anticipated that this was such a big issue. I only really went to learn what happens at a student body meeting.

After hearing what everyone had to say about their experiences and the reasons the name should change, I was in shock. I never knew such issues existed at this university. I have never experienced incidents like those mentioned. The stories they told were incredibly upsetting. I under-stood their anger. I left the meeting more educated by what I had heard in those three hours than I had been in a lecture three hours earlier. I was also surprised and glad to know that students have enough power to make their grievances heard.

The meeting sparked a new interest in me and so I began following the story on the SRC Facebook page. I

spoke to a lot of people about their feelings about the name-change idea. The issue has divided this institution right down the middle.

It’s been interesting to see the action unfold. Vandalising random statues seems to be a new trend: the reason behind it, no one can explain. The Black Student Movement seems to have taken the lead role: where and when they emerged, even they cannot seem to explain, but it seems they are representing the views of the students.

This is a whole new world for me, the adult world. I have learnt a lot about Rhodes University in the past few weeks from the students them-selves and I believe I will learn a whole lot more in the weeks to come.

Being Jewish at Rhodes

Liberal thinking in the #RhodesMustFall moment

Liberal responses to the #RhodesMustFall movement have been rife with dangerously oppressive rhetoric, as shown in this word cloud generated from comments on the Rhodes SRC page. Image: DEANE LINDHORST

Learning outside of the lecture theatre

First-year student Andisiwe Barnabas was unaware of the significance be-hind #RhodesMustFall until a friend explained the historical context. Photo: BRONWYN PRETORIUS

The myth of the ‘crazy’ womanAndrea Nevay & Kaylin van Aswegen

Hours before One Direction touched down in South Africa it was announced that Zayn Malik had left the group. What followed was a Twitter storm of distressed fans and an even more disturbing #CutForZayn hashtag.

While fans going overboard is not a new phenomenon, one has to seriously consider the fact that when teenage girls obsess over their favourite band breaking up they are mocked and perceived as ‘pathetic, crazy teenage girls’. In contrast, when (mostly male) soccer or Top Gear fans react in simi-lar ways to their beloved heroes losing matches or leaving their show they are not labeled in the same way. The difference? One group (almost always predominantly female) is often called ‘crazy’, while the other (usually largely male) is not.

Another social phenomenon in which women are perceived as ‘crazy’ is the ‘crazy ex-girlfriend’ stereotype. Talk to most men and they will have stories of these ‘crazy’ women in their lives. What makes her ‘crazy’? Calling him three times a day? Crying too

much? Obsessing over not texting back? Accusing him of cheating? Straight up trying to murder him?

It does not matter whether her behaviour borders on the illegal, or is just seen as slightly annoying: if the man does not like it, he can dismiss her as crazy and she, along with the validity of her claims and feelings, will melt away like the Wicked Witch of the West, absolving him of any responsi-bility. This phenomenon is not new, nor is it relegated to interpersonal rela-tionships. The long and painful history of how women have been treated and perceived in medical and psychiatric institutions speaks for itself.

Considerations of the word ‘hysteria’ reveal a centuries-long patriarchal witch-hunt which demonised and othered the female body, alleging the inherent insanity of women and dismissing legitimate physical and mental illnesses. From four B.C. in Ancient Greece to the 1800s, the catch-all medical diagnosis given to ‘crazy’ women was ‘hysteria’, and most problems were ‘sourced’ from perpetu-ated misunderstandings of the uterus and female biology.

Today, hysteria refers purely to emo-tional excess – the new ‘crazy woman’

ailment. Not only is the label dismiss-ive of women who display behaviour that is annoying and inconvenient to men, it is also ableist.

Recent studies have shown that the worry of being perceived as ‘crazy’, a hypochondriac or as over react-ing have even been linked to women not seeking adequate treatment in all medicinal fields. In other words, wor-rying that women are overreacting to all kinds of illnesses is causing more women to experience these illnesses.

This trivialisation of mental illness and a culture which tells women they are ‘overreacting’ to illness dovetails into our culture of victim-blaming and the social trend of absolving abusers of responsibility by alleging that their victims are overreacting and dismiss-ing them as crazy.

So does the crazy-ex girlfriend or crazy ‘fan-girl’ really exist? It seems more likely that it is a construct of patriarchy designed to dismiss women, victims of abuse, and sufferers of mental illness. To further show the ab-surdity of this a question can be posed: how often do we hear about crazy ex-boyfriends or the hysterical boys who cry over their favourite presenters leaving Top Gear?

The idea that women are more likely than men to be labelled as ‘crazy’ for overreacting in any situation can be traced back to ancient times. Photo: ROBYN BARNES

Arts & Entertainment8 The Oppidan Press 29 April 2015

Silulami Lwana: Ubom! loses a legend

Ubom! actor Silulami Lwana will be greatly missed by peers after he unexpect-edly passed away earlier this year. Photo: SOURCED

Ellen Heydenrych

Grahamstown-based actor Silulami “Slu” Lwana died unexpectedly on 31 March

2015, aged 41. An integral member of the Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company, Lwana is remembered as humble and hilarious. His unique combination of kindness and humour made him an actor who de-manded the attention of his audience and a person who fellow actors and friends loved to love.

“He was a natural clown, a softness that belied his strength, and so so funny,” said Rob Murray, director and training consultant at Ubom! and one of Lwana’s close friends. Lwana has been praised for his hilariously clever performances in many of Ubom!’s theatre productions. During these productions, Lwana often coaxed gales of laughter and tears of sadness from

his audience in a single sitting.Lwana was also much-loved by

his peers in the theatre world, many of whom fondly remember his conta-gious laugh and ability to poke fun at colleagues.

“Slu had a lot of conviction and was just a friendly funny person to be around,” said friend and fellow Ubom! actor Luvuyo Yanta. “He was a talented performer who didn’t have to try hard when on stage; his presence made him a joy to watch. Even during a rehearsal process his uniqueness set him apart from other performers because he was not afraid to try what he thought would work for that particular scene. He was a pleasure to work with.”

Yanta added that Lwana had a good relationship with his audience. This was based on Lwana’s knack for under-standing his audience which in turn allowed the audience to fully engage with Lwana’s performance, he said.

Murray also commented that Lwana was generous and giving on stage. “He drew his strength through the presence that he had and an amazing capacity for vulnerability and deep deep care for the performance and the energy,” explained Murray. “Not only that, but he became even more alive in educat-ing young learners and performers. His workshops became legendary.”

According to Murray, Lwana was an integral part of the Ubom! company. “His importance and dedication to the Ubom! family, as well as his own, and his ability to transcend darkness into light made him absolutely vital to us and all around him,” he said.

A vital part of the Grahamstown theatre scene, a hilarious friend and actor and a man who will be missed by many. In the words of Murray, “Rest in peace Silulami Lwana. Slu-jah. Slu-dog. Slu. You were an awesome clown and friend.”

When art educates first yearsEmily Stander

Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company in collaboration with The Rhodes Drama Department recently put on a production of Unzip Your Knowl-edge. The show aims to highlight important aspects of university life and help those struggling with the transition to university. The Oppidan Press asked first year students for their thoughts on the production.

Thabo Gaobuse:I thought the play showed a very good depiction of who we

are as the youth and what traps we can fall into because of the nature of being the youth. It was just amazing to watch and to actually notice my friends and myself in the play. Issues were tackled with such grace.

Justin Course:It was very insightful and I thought they delivered some

important messages that we really needed to hear. The whole ‘Rhodes so white’ thing is a really big issue at the moment

and is important to be spoken about. The way they handled that as well, was really well done.

Jack van der Merwe:I thought the play was very entertaining and I did really enjoy it. I didn’t find it that helpful, because I found that a lot of the stuff was repeated from other speeches and stuff.

Sam Spiller:The set design was nice and simple, the

choreography was good, the music was good, very clever and very witty. I believe the content could have gone

deeper in terms of the main messages. They were able to touch on some sensitive issues in a very participatory

environment, which I think is good.

Smangaliso Gobane:The play was really creative. I never got bored and it was very intriguing. The play really made me want to go to my tuts, because I don’t want to get excluded and I don’t want to go through all of that after paying so much MIP.

You can’t put your parents through that.

Phila Ngoqo:As the play suggested, varsity is a different environment

from high school and we get here thinking we know much, but we don’t. Even with time spent in lecture

rooms, we still plagiarise and still are not sure how to substantiate what we say in our assignments.

Rosemarie Bergsma: They chose a really good angle to tell the story. They were really creative and told it from different perspectives and dealt with a lot of personal things. They were really good actors and I really liked it. I was impressed, very

impressed.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Students incur additional costs at university as they are required to purchase their own art supplies – many of which are imported. Photo: BRONWYN PRETORIUS

Creating art despite constraintsSam van Heerden

Money and art have a complex relationship, particularly as a lack in funding often limits the kind of work artists can produce. Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) students at Rhodes can find their creativity being limited by mone-tary constraints. These constraints are due to the fact that BFA students are expected to pay for their art supplies in addition to tuition fees.

While Head of the Rhodes Arts Department Dominic Thorburn admitted that there may be a divide between students who can afford to make costly artworks and those who cannot, this has not been a big problem at Rhodes. “Any artist will need to tailor their creative ambitions to what they can afford,” he said.

Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that art students do face an extra financial burden as many of their art materials are imported. BFA students are faced with additional costs that range from R3000 in their first year to an average of R8000 in their fourth year. The extra costs incurred by these students are also influenced by which medium they choose to major in.

In light of these extra costs, Thorburn emphasised the fact that the department is aware of the expenses faced by its students and does work towards reducing them. The

department buys supplies for their stock room at cheaper wholesale prices and sells them to students at a slight markup to cover costs such as transport. The expenses are charged to the students’ accounts and the supplies made available to them.

Dudley Hibbert, a 2013 arts graduate from Rhodes, explained that there are ways to work around the high costs of a BFA degree. As a sculpture major, Hibbert repurposed found objects, cement and metal to create his sculptures because of financial constraints. “Bronze sculptures would be my first choice, but luckily postmodernism said that cardboard and gold are worth the same. It’s just about con-vincing the [art] collectors now,” Hibbert joked.

Thorburn further suggested that students could reduce costs by looking for sponsorships or wholesalers who are willing to donate supplies in exchange for publicity such as a logo at the exhibition.

Students could buy good quality products that are more durable. Alternatively, the art department also offers stock room bursaries to students according to their results and need. But very few students apply for these bursaries.

Despite the extra costs and possible inequalities BFA students face, they are still able to pursue their creative identity outside of the problems concerning their personal financial situations.

Photo

s: K

YLE PRINSLOO

The Oppidan Press is pleased to announce its new partnership with Rhodes University’s Ink Society which teaches budding young writers to produce high-quality short stories. As a part of this partnership, The Oppidan Press will publish a short story by an Ink writer in each of its editions and on its website. For more information on Ink Society, visit their Facebook page.

By Tebogo Matshana

TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide

I think I shouldn’t sleep anymore. It’s too much

trouble. I should read instead, read or knit or sew. Perhaps I could even play cards by myself, should it come to that. But as much as I don’t like dreaming, being awake can be just as hard.

My mind and I are left to each other and things often get ugly. When I am awake and all alone, l remember. When I fall asleep I regret all that comes to mind. I cannot tell Aunt Louise about last night or the night before – she won’t be im-pressed. She doesn’t believe in mourning, crying or feeling, so I’ve got to be strong and keep this all to myself.

Unfortunately sleep is inevitable and I cannot escape it. Sometimes it goes well and I don’t dream at all but mostly I am not so lucky. Last night for example, I fell asleep and saw myself lying in the hammock that we once had. Then the hammock became my mum’s crushed corpse and I had become a block of iron. I felt myself squash my mum, I heard her whimper but I couldn’t move. I tried but I was too heavy and then she was silent. I woke up and cried, then decided to read.

This morning my Aunt Louise came in to open the curtains. She placed a Swiss roll before me, sat on the edge of the bed and stared out the window.

“How did you sleep, Walter? Did you sleep well?” Her gaze was fixed on the outside but on nothing in particular, just on the distance.

“I slept fine, thanks,” I replied dishonestly. “You are one of the bravest young men I have

ever known in my entire life, Walter. I think it’s important that you know this. I know that you are going to come out of this much stronger than you’ll ever imagine.” I think she tried to convince herself all this was true at the same time. She gave me a hug, limply though, as if I were muddy and she was wearing a white shirt. I think it’s a little hard for her, to love. I take it my Aunt Louise probably doesn’t give hugs all that often. She prob-ably doesn’t really inspect her emotions either: it just feels like her gestures are mechanic, based primarily on custom. It feels like she is trying really hard to get this whole “comfort your grieving nephew” thing right. I know it’s cruel to judge but it’s mostly an observation.

I wasn’t actually supposed to be here. My father was meant to take me home with him after

the funeral but he couldn’t make it, he had to attend a conference in Toronto. This was about three months ago and we haven’t heard from him since then. It’s really OK though, I honestly don’t mind his laid-back approach to dealing with me. I’ve never really spent any time with him in any case. I am more worried about my aunt and all the trouble she is going through by taking me in.

I’d like to think that my mum slipped on a banana peel and fell to her death from the fourth floor of our apartment by accident, but that isn’t how it happened. If it was I’d have arranged for hundreds of pillows to cover the pavement before she came down. But she didn’t slip, she jumped. At 3am on 11 May 2002 she jumped.

She didn’t die immediately though: she lived for about 15 minutes thereafter. She passed away quietly – didn’t scream or moan, just lay still in her mashed up body in the gutter and stared into the morning’s sleeping sky. Almost everyone woke up, some murmured prayers and others whispered in confusion.

Those who didn’t come downstairs simply looked down as though they were tuned into a program. Our next door neighbour, Oupa, called the ambulance and then my grandmother but she did not answer. He then tried my father several times but he didn’t answer either. Eventually he got hold of my Aunt Louise; she flew in the fol-lowing day.

In all this time I sat sick and frozen beside my dying mother. I don’t like remembering. I also don’t like flats. I’d pick a four roomed house on the ground to a flat on the fourth floor any day.

For the time being I am not attending any school. I’ll go back in August only this time it won’t be to a grey and navy government school. Aunt Louise has had me enrol at a private school nearby. It only has 57 pupils all together. She says it will be good for me.

In the daytime Aunt Louise goes to her practice so I am alone, one of the worst things to be. Sitting on the swing the other day I thought I saw my fingertips turning green, felt the sun disappear-ing as a shadow came over me. I looked up and saw my mum, she took my hand in hers and rubbed the green away but I was only daydreaming. I miss her.

These thoughts pile weights in

my lungs and I can’t breathe. If I do I end up cry-ing, so I hold my breath until I feel a little better. There was green on my fingers, but it was from picking spinach that morning.

I dislike my thoughts, they remind me of her. I hear her humming and I think I see her out of the corner of my eye. When the day is warm, sunny and languid I notice her absence. Sometimes the wind blows the little gate into the garden open and it always feels like she’s just walked through there but then I remember she is absolutely dead.

I see that morning as though it were happening again and the sunlight and wind are gone, it is 3am and the sky is a pale blue looking down on a little boy beside his dead mother. This always happens. I am just about to smile and then I remember and I am heavy again: at least four times a day I remember and I become heavy, like a block of iron.

Early this morning it happened again, only I couldn’t make it stop. Aunt Louise brought me tea and sat by me but I cried for hours on end, I couldn’t turn it off. She became angry in the end. She was tired. I understand. Nursing a fourteen year old cry baby at two in the morning isn’t an ideal way to pass the time.

She’d rather have slept and so would I, if only I didn’t have to watch my-self smother my mum in all my dreams or see her face mashed and without motion, outlined by an endless stream of warm maroon pouring out from her head.

I held my breath. It worked for a while. Aunt Louise slept beside me so I behaved as

best as I could but when I drifted off to sleep I saw a wolf moving slowly towards a hen and her chicks. They were asleep on the ground when the wolf dug its sharp teeth into a little chick’s wing.

The hen woke and chased the wolf. She pecked at it and tried to beat it but it was no use; the little chick hung loosely from the wolf ’s mouth, the red in its fur dark against the chick’s tiny white feath-ers. I woke up and almost cried but I stopped and held my breath instead. Aunt Louise was awake and watching me.

Short Story29 April 2015 The Oppidan Press 9

The Fight

Want to read the end? Go to oppidanpress.com.

Environment10 The Oppidan Press 29 April 2015

Which is greener: e-reader vs. hard copy?Joshua Stein

‘Which is greener?’ explores the environmen-tal impact of various modern-day options through a series of articles that will feature

throughout the year in The Oppidan Press. This week’s edi-tion compares the book and the e-reader.

Forty percent of books are purchased for use on some form of electronic device. That being said, there are still plenty of people who hold onto the nostalgia of the page and prefer traditional paper books. What, then, are the real advantages and disadvantages of either?

As students, an ever-decreasing budget is something we have to consider before buying books on any platform. How-ever, one of the best features of the e-book is the cheapness of the books themselves, particularly in comparison to hard copy versions. For example, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men features on Exclusive Books’ bestselling e-book list and will only set you back R94. Paperback editions of the same work exceed R150.

While this difference may seem attractive now, it must be remembered that e-readers themselves are not cheap. With the cheapest Kindle device retailing for over R3500, paying R150 for a paperback book no longer seems excessive, espe-cially since you can sell it to a secondhand bookshop after you have finished reading it. However, all those books add up and in the long run it is clear that an e-reader works out cheaper for particularly avid readers.

A point often raised with regard to the e-reader versus hard copy debate is their respective environmental impacts. Hard copy books consume vast amounts of paper in their produc-tion while the e-reader does not. However, paper is recyclable and while some parts of electronic devices can be salvaged, large parts of the device will simply be thrown away. Consum-ers often neglect to consider the vast resources involved in the production of devices like e-readers. Once the production, transportation and assembly of these many components is taken into account, the e-reader’s impact appears all the more worrying.

On the other hand, the recycling of books is not as com-mon as one might think as books are more often than not left to grow dusty on a shelf. And while loaning to a friend or re-selling are both subtle forms of ‘recycling’, they still do not have the same impact. According to the Green Press initiative, e-books only become the environmentally friendlier option once enough books have been downloaded to offset what it would take to reproduce the same amount in paper. To reach this point, you would have to buy 70-plus books. Again, it seems that the e-reader suits the eager reader who will read enough books in their device’s lifetime to make it the more environmentally viable option.

There is no clear winner in this contest, it seems, as the hard copy option makes more economic and environmental sense for the casual reader, while the e-reader is better suited to devoted readers. Ultimately, then, it seems that the choice between a book or an e-reader is an entirely personal one.

Most people assume e-readers are more environmentally friendly than books, but is this the truth? Photo: NITA PALLETT

Shedding light on sustainable energy options

Bradley Prior

As the year continues, many students will finally be able to access eduroam from any-

where in their residence – a luxury that other students do not currently have access to.

The Information and Technology (IT) Services Division at Rhodes has earmarked 10 residences – mostly located at the top of the hill – which they hope to provide with complete WiFi coverage by the end of the year, following a weighted lottery which was conducted on 26 March.

These 10 residences, who were drawn from a list of 21 residences that had given the IT Services Division the opportunity to conduct a site survey, were selected at a draw conducted by the Director of Student Affairs, Dr Colleen Vassiliou.

The order of installation is the order in which the residences are listed to the right. However, if it is not possible

Andrea Nevay and Nita Pallett

South Africa relies almost exclusively on coal-power stations for its electricity but coal, along with oil and gas, is a limited resource that cannot be relied on for much longer. This point has been brought home to South Africans by the current load shedding crisis and it is clear that we need to start making use of alternative energy sources soon.

One possible reason for the lack of alternative energy sources in South Africa could be the myths and uncertainty that surround them, both on an economic and social front. In fact, there is a vast array of renewable energy sources available to us that will also result in fewer greenhouse or carbon emissions and – in the long run – be much cheaper.

WindWindmills have been around for centuries

and now modern wind farms are emerging all over South Africa. The blades turn according to the wind speed, spinning a shaft connected to a generator and producing electricity. However, this can be noisy and installing

multiple wind farms requires large tracts of land.

SolarThe sun is one of the most readily available

renewable energy sources in South Africa. We have a booming industry for solar-powered geysers and there are also programmes in place to distribute heaters

to rural areas. However, a lot of these programmes are not widely recognised

and the initial installation cost of solar equipment is high, so not many people are making the switch. Nevertheless, a plan has been proposed for Eskom to build a solar plant near Upington by 2030.

Hydro-powerOne of the most popular alternative energy sources is hydro-power as its main requirement is a body of water. It has proved to be very cost effective once the high initial costs are covered. There is the potential for South Africa to start buying hydro-power from Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In terms of national production, the Eastern Cape and Kwa Zulu-Natal have the most potential for hydro-power plants, but this could lead to environmental damage, including flooding, disruption of wildlife habitats and displaced human settlements.

Smart meteringSmart metering is a system based on meters regulating the load of electricity being used at home, in an office or a factory. By regulating energy loads, the general efficiency of the

supplier could be improved if peak loads are reduced. Smart metering is being introduced to a few

suburbs in Johannesburg by Eskom at present and smart meters could be a short-term solution to the energy crisis.

But does it work?On the other side of the debate is the fact that renewable energy is difficult to generate in large amounts. This is because many of these energy systems rely on certain climatic conditions and thus cannot generate constant power.

Furthermore, South Africa lacks the technology necessary for alternative power sources to match the efficiency of coal. Looking at these considerations, it is clear that converting to renewable energy would be a lengthy and expensive process which the country may not be able to afford at present.

However, we should use the current energy crisis to re-think our energy sources. While renewable energy sources are mainly long-term solutions, it may be possible to implement short-term solutions like smart metering until South Africa can afford to implement alternative energy methods.

Images: S

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RCED

(freepik.com)

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Scitech29 April 2015 The Oppidan Press 11

Shedding light on sustainable energy options

Ten residences to get WiFi coverage upgradeBradley Prior

As the year continues, many students will finally be able to access eduroam from any-

where in their residence – a luxury that other students do not currently have access to.

The Information and Technology (IT) Services Division at Rhodes has earmarked 10 residences – mostly located at the top of the hill – which they hope to provide with complete WiFi coverage by the end of the year, following a weighted lottery which was conducted on 26 March.

These 10 residences, who were drawn from a list of 21 residences that had given the IT Services Division the opportunity to conduct a site survey, were selected at a draw conducted by the Director of Student Affairs, Dr Colleen Vassiliou.

The order of installation is the order in which the residences are listed to the right. However, if it is not possible

to start the installations at a residence when their turn arrives, they will fall down the list.

“It is possible that we will not be able to install [WiFi] in all ten [residences] during this year due to lack of funds or staff time,” said the Senior Systems Ad-ministrator of the IT Services Division, David Siebörger. “If that’s the case, the remaining residences on this list will be done first next year.”

Over the past month, preparation has begun and some infrastructure has been put in place. The progress reports for the residences undergoing installa-tions are as follows:

The new postgraduate flats have WiFi access points installed and are now just waiting for the cabling to the campus network to be completed.

The eduroam installation at Thomas Pringle House is fully functional. Goldfields House, however, has had the cables connecting the access points installed, but the access points them-selves have not yet been put in as there

are currently not enough network switch points available in the residence to do so.

Ruth First House’s cabling contrac-tor has been briefed, but work has not yet begun as his team has been work-ing on the postgraduate flats, while the cabling at Piet Retief House has already been completed.

Siebörger added that university busi-ness may take priority over the lottery results, however, and this may affect the order of installation. “There is a small possibility that urgent university priorities will dictate that deployment in a residence outside this list occur ahead of those which are on this list,” he said.

The expansion on existing internet infrastructure will come as a welcome boost to residences, as the number of mobile devices on campus which rely on WiFi coverage is increasing.

Another lottery will take place next year to draw more residences for edu-roam coverage.

Some residences have been equipped with WiFi that will let students access eduroam from any point in their building, as part of a university initiative to expand internet access. Photo: CAMERON SEEGERS

Bright ideas for load sheddingBracken Lee-Rudolph

Load shedding is a regular occurrence now, and a detriment to students struggling to cope with lost time when there is no power, and lost work when they are inconveniently cut off. However, there are some devices which may aid students in being a little more productive during power outages.

Laptop: One of the first items we recommended bringing to Rhodes earlier this year was a laptop as being able to work in your room as opposed to having to trek to the library or one of the labs on campus is a great bonus.

But when there is no power having a laptop is doubly useful: you will not lose work because of inconvenient power outages and you can take it to the library during load shedding to charge the battery and use the internet, providing you can find a spot.

Mobile devices: It may seem odd, but a mobile phone or tablet can be really helpful when you have an impend-ing deadline and no electricity.

Work saved on cloud storage services like

Google Drive or OneDrive is accessible on an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet which means you can edit documents, albeit on a smaller screen with only touch controls.

Additionally, investing in a Bluetooth keyboard may seem a bit pointless for everyday use, but when the power goes out it will be a huge bonus to have a device you can use to continue working.

Power Bank: Most tablets and cellphones charge through USB cords, either with multi-piece chargers or via computer ports. Power banks are small devices which can be connected to the USB cables of mobile devices to charge them on the move.

Having these devices available on the go is a big bonus when load shedding hits and your phone is blaring at you to connect it to a charger. Larger power banks are available to connect to laptops, but mobile phone equivalents are cheaper and more widely available.

Load shedding may be inconvenient, but it need not be damaging to your academics if you are properly prepared. Technology is a great aid in ensuring you do not lose work or waste time during power outages.

Mobile phone power banks are useful when batteries are low during load shedding or when away from a plug, meaning that South Africans can stay connected on long, dark nights. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

Smart meteringSmart metering is a system based on meters regulating the load of electricity being used at home, in an office or a factory. By regulating energy loads, the general efficiency of the

supplier could be improved if peak loads are reduced. Smart metering is being introduced to a few

suburbs in Johannesburg by Eskom at present and smart meters could be a short-term solution to the energy crisis.

But does it work?On the other side of the debate is the fact that renewable energy is difficult to generate in large amounts. This is because many of these energy systems rely on certain climatic conditions and thus cannot generate constant power.

Furthermore, South Africa lacks the technology necessary for alternative power sources to match the efficiency of coal. Looking at these considerations, it is clear that converting to renewable energy would be a lengthy and expensive process which the country may not be able to afford at present.

However, we should use the current energy crisis to re-think our energy sources. While renewable energy sources are mainly long-term solutions, it may be possible to implement short-term solutions like smart metering until South Africa can afford to implement alternative energy methods.

Residences scheduled to receive full WiFi coverage in 2015:

Î New post- graduate flats

Î Thomas Pringle House Î Goldfields House Î Ruth First House Î Piet Retief House

Î Dingemans House Î Botha House Î John Kotze House Î Hilltop House Î De Beers House

Don’t destroy your devices in the darkness

A sudden loss in power and an abrupt electrical surge when it returns can both wreak havoc on electronics. It is recommended that a surge protector be used, or devices be unplugged, to protect against damage. Photo: KELLAN BOTHA

Bracken Lee-Rudolph

Power outages are not easy on computers: normal shutdown procedures are replaced with an abrupt flash of the screen as the flow of electricity is cut off. This sudden shutdown can cause component damage and data loss.

Since load shedding occurs according to a schedule this should not be a common prob-lem, but when it does happen – when you are not aware of what time the power is going out or neglect to power down your PC – the losses can be horrifying. Thankfully there are ways to avoid it.

Firstly, be aware of what information Eskom is currently circulating. Eskom has a tendency to abruptly change their stages, but keep-ing track of what stage you are on and when your power is going out can be beneficial to your computer’s health. Keeping track of load shedding is as simple as downloading an app to your phone or visiting the official load shed-ding website regularly.

Switching your computer off five to ten minutes before load shedding is scheduled to begin means you will save your computer from the effects of sudden blackouts. However, following the load shedding schedule does not mean you are entirely safe. When the

power returns, it can result in a power surge which can overload and damage unprotected items, especially power supply units and motherboards. Surge protector plugs are widely available and, as the name suggests, are designed to prevent your devices from being harmed by power surges.While these plugs retail at a slightly steeper price than more conventional multiplugs and adapters, they are certainly worth it for the protection and peace of mind they provide.

Lastly, when in doubt: power down and unplug. It may be inconvenient, but when you are leaving your home and are not sure when the power is going out, the safest option is to power off and unplug your PC.

At worst, it means a couple of extra minutes disconnecting a plug or two from the mains, but it can save you a lot of stress (from data loss) and a lot of money (from damages).

Power outages and load shedding may occur frequently for the foreseeable future, but they do not need to affect your technology. As long as you are careful and plan around the sched-uled times, your computer, video game console and any other home device should remain in working order.

SportsRhodes tackles

transformationWiFi, coming to

a res near youAre e-books

green enough?3 1110

The Rhodes Rifle Club showed off their marksmanship at the South African National Championships in Bloemfontein and are aiming high for future tournaments. Photo: SOURCED

Rifle Club sweeps up medals at NationalsGabi Bellairs-Lombard

The Rhodes Rifle Club dominated at the 2015 South African National Championships in Bloemfon-tein, winning a total of 20 medals. The team were

successful despite having a newly-appointed coach and six new members in the club.

The club sent a ten-man team to Bloemfontein to compete in the B, C, D, F and H shooting classes respectively. Rhodes competitor Graeme Shmeldt comfortably won class D – the beginner class – and was followed by team mates Ndyebo Nomatye and Gregory Linklater. Akshay Patel also won medals in this class. In total, the club brought home seven gold, six silver and seven bronze medals.

According to the Rifle Club’s vice-chairman, Mart-Mari de Bruyn, the club had only five weeks to prepare for Nationals, making their success even more remarkable. De Bruyn added that the club’s new coach, Geoffrey Bagshawe-Smith, who is an experienced National Benchrest Shooting Champion, has proved to be a great addition to the team.

De Bruyn further highlighted the fact that the first few months of 2015 have already proven to be better than the entire year of 2014. The Rifle Club won the Most Improved Club award last year and “has not stopped improving,” she explained. She added that the club’s membership has increased in comparison to the previous year.

New coach Bagshawe-Smith stated that “We (the club) are a group of very diverse people from very different backgrounds, but we blend very well.” He added that the club is now trying to grow the sport further in order to not see it die out. The club’s plans for the future involve general growth and even better 2016 Nationals results. “Unfortu-nately, the 2015 Nationals were at the start of the year, but it is good for goal-setting so that athletes can improve over the course of the year and do even better at the next Nationals,” said Bagshawe-Smith.

The club’s next challenge is inter-provincials on 9 May, and Bagshawe-Smith hopes to see an improvement in their practicing range and equipment in order to obtain the best possible results.

Ex-Kaiser Chiefs star still aiming for the top

After giving up his place in the Kaiser Chiefs U/19 team, Tiisetso Maifo continues to play soccer while studying towards his Bachelor of Com-merce degree. Photo: SOURCED

Leonard Solms

He may have surrendered his place in the Kaiser Chiefs U/19 team in order to pursue a career as an ac-countant, but first year Bachelor of Commerce student Tiisetso Maifo is still aiming for greatness – on the pitch as well as off it.

Maifo, who is from Mapetla in Soweto, was scouted by Doctor Khumalo while playing a friendly match against Kaiser Chiefs U/19 for a Sowetan Select XI team. When his coach told him that Chiefs were interested in him, Maifo was sur-prised but excited.

Maifo spent the 2013/14 sea-son playing at the Kaiser Chief ’s academy and helping to take the U/19 side to 5th place overall in the national league.

Last year, however, he decided to put his sporting dream on hold in order to study accounting. Maifo admits to feeling sad about leaving Kaiser Chiefs, but views his decision as an opportunity to let go of one dream in favour of another.

Maifo has not given up on soc-cer entirely, though. He currently captains the Allan Webb Hall team at Rhodes from his favoured centre-back position. Maifo also plays for the Castle League side Movers FC when he is home during the holi-days. During this time, he follows a personalised training routine to counteract any loss of fitness he may experience while at Rhodes.

The team’s chairperson Patrick Moronyane is confident that Maifo

has the potential to achieve his dream of being both a top-level footballer and a qualified account-ant. If he reaches this lofty goal, Maifo will be part of an elite rank of footballers who hold degrees and play professional soccer.

Aside from Moronyane, Maifo has also earned the respect of his new team-mates at Rhodes, with fellow player Neo Tshokudu rating Maifo as one of the best footballers he has played with. Gift Mnukwa, meanwhile, said he admires Maifo’s leadership skills.

Maifo explained that, as a captain, he is very vocal on the pitch. “When it’s necessary, I shout, but never to bring spirits down. Just as a wake-up call or to raise confidence and scare opponents,” he said.

Maifo believes that footballers require resilience above every other personality trait. “Not all coaches will treat you nicely and there will be critics,” he said. “You just have to rise above all occasions.”

A motivated individual in the classroom, as well as on the sports field, Maifo says that he will not be satisfied with anything less than distinctions in every course; a target he is currently reaching in all but one subject.

He hopes that his drive will help him to succeed on the sports field and in the lecture hall. However, while his ultimate dream is to play for Bayern Munich, for the moment he is content to focus on his studies and on guiding Allan Webb Hall to the league title.

Siyabulela Magopeni appointed head of Sports AdminKimara Singh

Siyabulela Magopeni has been ap-pointed as Rhodes University’s new Head of Sports Administration after being Acting Head of Sport since the start of 2015. Magopeni, who started working at Rhodes in 2012 as an As-sistant Sports Manager, said he was delighted about the appointment and looked forward to the opportunity.

Magopeni takes over from Mandla Gagayi, who has taken up the position of Director of Sport at The University of the Western Cape.

Magopeni explained his big plans for the sports division, saying, “One of the key roles is to establish a plan for implementing the Rhodes University Sport Strategy. I would like to first focus on recruitment of staff, attract

sponsors and establish a sound high performance programme for our top athletes, players and teams.”

Magopeni has the backing of both the Director of Student Affairs and the Sports and Societies Councillor, who are both positive about the future of sport at Rhodes under Magopeni’s leadership style.

Director of Student Affairs, Dr Colleen Vassiliou said, “Mr Magopeni is a well-qualified, experienced Sports Manager, who is not only passionate about sports but has the best interest of Rhodes University at heart.”

Vassiliou further added that Mago-peni has a specific plan to take Sports Administration to a competitive level by implementing the newly drafted Sports Administration Strategic Plan.

The Strategic Plan aims to establish

Rhodes as one of South Africa’s top eight universities in identified sporting codes by 2020 and to contribute to the holistic development of students through participation in sport and active living.

Newly-appointed Sports and Socie-ties Councillor, Khanyisile Melanie Mboya, is very happy for Magopeni on his appointment and fully trusts in his ability to lead sport at Rhodes. “I know he believes in sports and athletes, and this new appointment affords students a holistic experience of the university through sport,” she said.

While progress may be slow at first, Magopeni’s appointment should mean that the university can look forward to a more competitive and structured sporting environment in the years to come.