Student 24/7 (Vol 3 No. 7) 2013

Vol. 3 No. 7 12 August 2013

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NWU Vaal Student 24/7 www.nwu.ac.za [email protected]

2 EDITOR’S LETTER 12 Aug 2013

Kinga Siejek

Second semester is in full swing, and looking through your Campus diary you may notice something:

• Spring is just around the corner• Recess is just around the corner• Exams are just around the corner• December is just around the corner• Next year is just around the corner

Me personally, I have a few ‘just around the corners as well’:

• The Alumni Reunion is just around the cor-ner

• My Birthday is just around the corner• My Best Friends Bridal Shower (That I am

hosting) is just around the corner (which I stillhavetofinishplanning)

• My Best Friend’s Wedding is just around the corner (no, not the movie)

When you look at certain things in the perspec-tive of ‘just around the corner’, you get the false sense of security that you have a long time until the ‘event’ is meant to happen; but once you start counting down the days; the feeling changes. Let’s use my ‘just around the corners’ as an example:

• The Alumni Reunion – 11 days away• My Birthday – 16 days away• My best Friends Bridal Shower – give or

take 2 months away• My Best Friend’s Wedding – 2 months and

14 days away

Weall know that time can fly past us in theblink of an eye; and before we know it is either the day before or the day of a certain event in our lives.

So you may be wondering what on Earth I am going on about... Well, simply said... learn to be prepapred for anything. With so much on a student’s plate it can be easy to put things aside and say that there is time to do it later; that the due date is ‘just around the corner’ but

New Semester... New Directions...not here yet. Then you wake up in the morning, and realise it needs to be in that very day.

What I do, to try to make sure that I get my stuff done on time, and that I know how much time I have for everything, with still having time for myself; is not by trying to complete everything long before the due date, but to rather prepare myself beforehand.

Write notes in your diary, keep reminders on your phone, put sticky notes in books and around your room or computer; anything to re-mind you of the work you need to do and by when it needs to be done.

In the end, it will be easier to have your work doneontime,andstillfindtimetodothefunthings in life (like reading Student 24/7 of course).

Now once you have done your notes, re-dec-orated your toom with colourful sticky notes, andfilledyourpoorphonesmemorywith re-minders; sit back, relax and go through Stu-dent 24/7 as part of your ‘study break’.

When goijng through the pages, you may no-tice a few dedicated to the lovely ladies of our beautiful country. With it being August, it is not only Woman’s Day but also Woman’s month, so we here at Student 24/7 have decided to dedicate our August Edition to women.

Hope you all enjoy!

3VUVU’S SOAPBOX12 Aug 2013

Vuvu’sSoapbox

I will never for the life of me understand the attraction that chicks have to love stories (ap-propriatelycalled‘chickflicks’).Imeanreally–if you have seen one, you have seen them all! Every Thursday evening I make my way to the Verries TV room to catch a glimpse of the e-TV movie,andeveryweekIfindmyself tryingtoescape the cry-fest... QUACK! It would seem that no member of the fairer sex can resist a good old-fashioned Cinderella story – one in which the geeky girl takes off her glasses and gets the boy; the ugly duckling has a make-over and gets the boy; or the clumsy girl learns to dance and gets the boy. Worst of all – after frolicking about for the entire movie... the boy or Cinderella-wannabe dies a most tragic and prolonged death at the hand of some or other mysterious illness or act of random violence. Face it boys, women are programmed differ-ent! Quack!

They hide their age, weight, and feelings and never seem to have anything to wear – ex-cept off course for shoes! If a guy goes on a seven-daytriphewillpackfivedays’worthofclothes and will wear some things twice...if a woman goes on a seven-day trip she will pack 21outfitsbecauseshedoesn’tknowwhatshewill feel like wearing each day and heaven forbid she has to be seen in the sameoutfittwice! How do I know this, you ask? Every year whenwewelcomethenewfirstyearstudentson campus, the ladies sport seven suitcases, three vanity cases and two handbags... all whilst the guys have no problem hauling their single suitcase to the residence. I guess there is truth in the saying that men are from Mars and women from Venus...

Whatever the case may be – this goose is very happy that the sistas found their way to the Vaal Triangle Campus. We may not always understand them, but we would be lost without them! To show my appreciation towards femi-nine folk, I will be celebrating Women’s Month

with gusto!

Interesting facts about women:

• The average number of items in a typical woman’s bathroom is estimated at 96 – and it is said that a man would not be able to identify most of these items.

• The two highest IQ’s ever recorded belong to women.

• When a woman yawns, she covers her mouth with the palm of her hand, not with afist.

• MRI scans have found that men are able to ‘read’ other men better than women and thatisthereasonwhymenfinditdifficultto‘read’ a women’s emotions.

• Researchers claim that women speak about 20 000 words a day on average. It is just 7 000 for men.

• The average woman owns more than 25 pairs of shoes.

• On average women lives six to eight years longer than men

Happy Women’s Month (woot! woot!)... Relish in the fact that we (and now I include all homo sapiens, feathered flock and hooved herd)think you are simply amazing!

12 Aug 2013FROM THE RECTOR’S OFFICE4

Dear students

The month of August is upon us, and I sense an air of excitement and anticipation all around! Maybe it can be ascribed to the looming awareness that spring is just around the corner, and whilst nature is slowly awakening from her winter slumber, I find myself looking forward to a season of new begin-ning and growth.

With the recent international Mandela Day celebra-tions still fresh in our memories, it is heartening to see South Africans unit towards a better way of liv-ing for all. Having said this, I would like to thank every member of the campus community who took up the 67 minute challenge and contributed towards the living legacy of former statesman, Nelson Man-dela. The shared spirit of “ubuntu” and strive to-wards common good, got me thinking.

What do you stand for? This must be one of the greatest questions a man can ask of himself. Many have overlooked the importance of this question and permitted their lives to go completely afoul. Standing for something – as Nelson Mandela did, means you have a legitimate purpose in life. It sug-gests that you believe in yourself and the goals you set out to accomplish every day. In short: someone who is aware of his/her worth will refuse to take no for an answer and defend his/her beliefs in the face of hostile criticism from even the fiercest adversar-ies. Standing up for what you believe in and stick-ing to your merits is what discerns the cream of the crop from the pedestrians. May this be your motto as you delve deeper into the challenges and oppor-tunities that come your way during the course of the second semester. As members of the Generation Y, you are next in line to conquer the world with your youthful pride, ambition and prowess.

The month of August is synonymous with women and on 9 August we celebrate National Women’s Day. As a country, we have come a long way since 1956, when 20 000 women marched on the Union

Buildings in Pretoria, demanding an end to the pass-law system.

Interesting facts about women on the African con-tinent include the appointment of Dr. Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma as the first woman to head the Afri-can Union; the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the first African female head of state in 2006 and in Rwanda female representatives amount to 56 per-cent of the total members of parliament. Although great strides have been made, a lot more needs to be done – especially when one considers that wom-en fill less than 15 percent of top positions at For-tune 500 companies. As we celebrate great South African women such as Gill Marcus (Governor of the Reserve Bank), Maria Ramos (CEO of Absa), Wendy Appelbaum (Business woman and philan-tropist), Nicky Newton-King (CEO, Johannesburg Stock Exchange), Nonkuleko Nyembezi-Heita (CEO, ArcelorMittal) and Graca Machel (politician and humanitarian) we should also salute all moth-ers, daughters, wives and sisters.

12 Aug 2013 CAMPUS NEWS 5

The time has come again for students to ex-ercise their rights and vote for the people that they feel will best represent them and lead them with integrity and respect. Student 24/7 took the time to chat to Mr Zakhele Gamede, and found out what students need to know about the process of the Campus Student Representative Council (CSRC) nominations before the elections.

Mr Gamede explained the criteria used to se-lect new candidates who want to stand for the CSRC membership. First, the candidate must be registered as a student at the North West University Vaal Triangle Campus. They must havealsoservedasamemberofanaffiliatedsociety or served as a house committee mem-ber on campus. Sometimes certain portfolios are not contested because some students who qualify to stand for CSRC do not apply to stand for membership therefore, the number of stu-dents in a certain portfolio will determine if the candidates will have oppositions or not.

Members of the CSRC cannot nominate them-selves into certain portfolios because for a candidate to stand for CSRC, they need 25 signatures from the Vaal Campus students.

CSRC nominations low-downNontokozo Tshambo

The potential candidate does not necessarily need to be associated with any student politi-cal party on campus.

Students need to stand as individuals who are willing to dedicate themselves to the wellbe-ing of their fellow students and the progression of the campus in terms of the interests of the students. What counts most when candidates are nominated is their academic performance which should be that they pass 60% of their modules and they should also be involved in extra mural activities on campus; this may in-clude sports, singing, dance and other things that are done on campus.

If a student meets all the requirements, they then campaign during the given dates and then the votes will determine the best candidate that the students chose to lead them in a particular portfolio. The closing date for nominations is on 13 August 2013, the CSRC manifesto will then follow on 16 August 2013 and campaigns and voting for the new CSRC will take place on 19 August.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” - John F. Kennedy

Gwede Mantashe aims to inspire studentsMpho Nakana

The Vaal campus recently host-ed the Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC), Gwede Mantashe and other governmental delegates, in a lecture aimed to inspire students to become more po-litically aware and active in the course of the nation’s future.

The event was organized by the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA), in association with the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANCYL)

and the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCL-SA), all Vaal campus branch-es, and the Sedibeng District Municipality; in an initiative “to provide a platform for con-structive dialogue between the student population and other sectors of society” regarding the various socio-economic is-sues that are affecting South Africa.

The lecture, which took place in the Building 12 auditorium, had the Secretary General of

the ANC, Gwede Mantashe, as the main speaker and was under the title: “Education as a site for struggle: the role and significance of student activ-ism in institutions of higher learning”.

The Rector, Professor Than-yani Mariba, welcomed the del-egates emphasizing that the aim of the institution was “not to produce academic giants and social dwarfs” and urged students to be ambassadors of freedom, as he referred to the

12 Aug 2013CAMPUS NEWS6

Roche Artz

Studying towards a degree, gives one a greater opportuni-ty to be regarded as a suitable employee in the given career one has obtained a degree in. On Friday, 26 July, the Faculty of Economic Sciences and In-formation Technology held a career fair. A marquee was set up in the open space outside building 6. More than a hun-dred students were queuing with anticipation to enter into the marquee and receive their portion of information regard-ing their chosen career paths.

A group of 3rd year BCom (CA) students, who were one of the early ones to get to the eventfirst,saidthattheycameto find outwhat theminimumrequirements are employers seek from graduates. The group who consisted of Joshua Van As, Ferdi Heuer, Hesma-

Planning for the futurerie Wright, and Linda Pieterse said that they were surprised that the career fair had so many attendees. Heuer said, “It is a lot busier than what we expected”. They also said that another reason why they came was to “get a free goodie bag”, which contained stationery.

Given Mathemba, 1st year, BSc (Business Analytics) stu-dent, said that he wants to be a business analyst. He said “ABSA [who was one of the exhibitors], is definitely usefulfor me”. He add-ed that what he is studying “gives me more oppor-tunities.”

Bernice Smit, Career Centre Manager of the

youth’s role in the Arab Spring.“Youth have an important role to play in (solving) challenges faced by societies,” said Cllr Simon Mofokeng. The mayor also called on the youth to be cognizant of themselves, mak-ing a reference to movements such as the Black Conscious Movement. He talked about Sedibeng’s plans to become a ‘Smart City’ that will compete in the Information Communica-tion and Technology sector by using social media and having Wi-Fi accessible to residents in the region

Mr Mantashe told those in at-tendance, how a university was not only about the consump-

tion of knowledge but a place for the generation of knowl-edge. Going with the theme of the afternoon, Mr Mantashe said education was ideological and not neutral, stating that it is education that determines the outlook of an individual. “What we deal with now in ed-ucation will also be dealt with in twenty years.” He further emphasized the importance of student movements in univer-sity campuses, and said they should however be relevant. “Movements must move from being resistant movements to forces of change… students have a responsibility of build-ing the future.”

The lecture was the third of a series of lectures planned by the student movements on the Vaal Campus to serve as platforms of dialogue aimed to “conscientize the student pop-ulation in the Sedibeng region about various socio-economic issues affecting South Africa, Africa and the world.”

* In 2012, two lectures were delivered by Deputy Minister of Economic Development Pro-fessor Hlengiwe Mkhize and former Executive Adviser of Transformation and Diversity Management at NWU Vaal, Dr Ingrid Tufvesson.

campus said, “The students’ response and attendance was overwhelming”. She said, “It was a very well organised event and we can only grow from here.” Though the num-ber of students was more than anticipated, this resulted in an endless queue of students who were still waiting to enter the marquee. Smit said that they will look into extending the time for the next career fair they will host. She said, “I was pleased to see how eager the students were to learn.”


On Friday 26 July, the campus hosted their Mr. and Miss NWU Vaal Campus pageant at the Big Lapa. It was scheduled to start at 18:00 and end at 21:30 with an entrance of R20.00 for guests and R50.00 for VIP. The theme of the event was “It all starts here”.

The MCs (Master of Ceremonies) for the event were Channel O presenter Sthembiso Khosa known by his famous name SK, and our own socialite Thato Mokoena known as Tpex. As the event was opened with the Campus an-them, the MC welcomed the judges and the crowed, the event began after that.

The judges for the night were Elzeke Von Wi-elligh 16th Annual J&B MET presenter; Ma-rissa Van Heerden, Miss NWU Vaal Campus 2012/13, Olivier Tshimbidi, Mr SA Campus 2012/13; Mr Laurie Botha founder of Ford Supermodels; Al-decia Molaudzi, owner and founder of 2SABModelAgency.

Getting a few words from Marissa van den Heever, also First Princess of Miss SA Campus 2012/13 she said “I am looking for humble contestants, both girls and guys who have confidenceand who are true to themselves”. The evening was full of excitement with special performances by Simply Vin-cent who did poetry/rap, Karien who sang and danced, Sky who danced and singer Phiri blew the audience away with his wonderful voice. The contestants had a run of casual, tradi-tional and evening wear.

In the male category: • MacDonald Legare, was crowned

Mr NWU Vaal Campus• Brendon Bosman was crowned

Second Prince• Maxwell Peter was crowed First

Prince• Yamkela Mhlongaca became Mr.

Personality.

It all starts hereMalenyalo Molemane

MacDonald Legare Mr NWU Vaal Campus af-ter being crowned said with happiness, “I re-ally didn’t expect to be crowned Mr NWU Vaal Campus, I’m really happy.”

In the female category:• Lerato Motsoane was crowned Miss NWU

Vaal Campus• Siphokazi Sikutshwa was crowned Second

Princess• Deliwe Msibi, was crowned First Princess• Michelle Tusik became Miss Personality.

The MC, Sthembiso Khosa AKA SK said with excitement, “usually people don’t support this kind of event, so I was surprised to see this kind of support. I really liked the whole event and I enjoyed myself”. The evening was amaz-ing and remember, IT ALL STARTS HERE, at the Vaal Campus.

12 Aug 20138 CAMPUS NEWS

Upon the wake of each aca-demic year, our beloved Vaal Campus is enriched with curi-ousyoungmindsthatarefilledwith dreams and ambitions on a quest to manifest them into a reality. 2011 was truly such a year. However, little did any of us know that would be the year that our campus grounds would be blessed with a col-league who would truly stand out from the rest. Sabata Mo-qhali.

Sabata hailed from Carelton Jones High, where he com-pleted his high school career in 2008. He was a gifted young man with aspirations of obtain-ing his degree in politics and using it to change the world for the better. Sadly, on 18 July 2013,uponbeginninghisfinalstretch to achieving this goal, his life was tragically cut short, as he passed away after being involved in a car accident.

In his two and a half years here in the Vaal, this friend to the masses would come to be known by different names among his peers. “The Gen-eral” was one in particular that was quite befitting of him, ashe was the captain of the VTC bodybuilding team. Further-more, he was well respected by colleagues, friends and family as he had built himself into a black Adonis who in-spired many of his peers to take up the challenge of de-signing themselves to become who they truly wanted to be; not only physically, but spiritu-

ally as well.

This beloved son of our fair in-stitution made his mark in the school’s history books, and in our hearts, by rising through the ranks to become our champion bodybuilder; with no less than 1 sixth place win, a third place win, 3 second place wins and 2 first place bodybuilding titlewins since arriving here. His

Vaal Campus mourns a ChampionRatanang Mogatusi most recent victory being ob-

tainingfirstplaceastheoverallwinner of the mini USSA com-petition that was held at TUT earlier this year. And although we’re proud to have shared in this history with him; having had the good furtune to get to know him, we now mourn his passing. He was a great and gentle soul who shall not be soon forgotten. R.I.P to the General.

12 AUg 2013 9CAMPUS NEWS

Rochè ArtzThe Serious Games Institute-South Africa (SGI-SA) launched the Mandela 27 project on 18 July, at the North-West University (NWU), Vaal Triangle campus. Marking the day which also celebrates International Madiba Day, Prof. Thanyani Mariba, the Campus Rector, said in his opening address, “We are here to celebrate the birthday of Madiba and the Man-dela 27 project”.

Prof. Herman van der Merwe, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Infor-mation Technology (I.T.), said that the project came about from the year 2010. The project is based on former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, and the time he spent on Robben Island.

Werner Ravyse, project manager of the SGI-SA said that the project is “a collaborative affair, collaborating with people all over the world”. He said, “We are using education and we are uniting people” with the Mandela 27 project. Thetargetmarketoftheprojectisspecificallyaimed at those between the ages 16 and 25. However, due the interest shown by those who are older than the targeted age bracket, Ra-vyse said that the “older generation” is also in-cluded.

Users who access the site can participate in Mandela’s story and the time he spent on Rob-ben Island, by use of the graphic novel. Ra-vyse said, “We are creating the graphic novel as an art form plus interactive game form [as this] is what the youth are looking for”. He said, “The graphic novel is the way to go for Generation-Y.”

The release of the graphic novel and serious game is scheduled for November, this year. Users will be able to experience with interac-tive timeline and map from next year in April. The travelling exhibition cells and learning content is scheduled between May and Sep-tember next year.

Roche Artz

SGI-SA launches Mandela 27 project


NORTH-WEST UNIVERSITY CAMPUS SRC AND HOUSE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS PROGRAMME

No. DATE ACTIVITY 1 10 June 2013 PUBLICATION OF ELECTION PROGRAM AND INVITATION FOR

NOMINATIONS 2 20 May 2013 1ST CONSULTATIVE MEETING WITH IEC OFFICE 3 RECRUITMENT INTERVIEWS FOR ELECTIONS STAFF 4 FINAL PLANNING MEETING WITH IEC 5 15 July 2013 WEEKLY VOTER EDUCATION ACTIVITIES STARTS 2 13 August 2013 NOMINATIONS SUBMITIONS CLOSE AT 16H00 3 14 August 2013 ELECTORAL COMMITTEE SCRUTINISE NOMINATIONS 15 August 2013 PUBLICATION OF CANDIDATES LIST AND OPENING FOR OBJECTIONS

(LAST MEETING FOR OUTGOING CSRC) 1ST IEC TRAINING FOR ELECTIONS STAFF

4 15 August 2013 CLOSING FOR OBJECTIONS 5 16 August 2013 MANIFESTO DAY @ 13H00 (STUDENT CENTRE) 6 19 August 2013 VOTING 7 20 AUGUST

2013 VOTING, COUNTING, OPENING FOR OBJECTIONS

8 21 AUGUST 2013

PUBLICATION OF RESULTS & CLOSING OF OBJECTIONS

9 22 AUGUST 2013

OPENING OF HOUSE COMMITTEE, NOMINATIONS, SUBMISSIONS

10 23 AUGUST 2013

CSRC INAUGURATION

11 23 AUGUST 2013

VOTING FOR HOUSE COMMITTEES, COUNTING, PUBLICATIONS OF RESULTS AND OPENING OF OBJECTIONS

12 26 AUGUST 2013

CLOSING FOR HOUSE COMMITTEE OBJECTIONS

13 30, 31 AUGUST-01 SEPTEMBER

2013

LEADERSHIP TRAINING CAMPUS FOR CSRC & HOUSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

14

Running and owning a busi-ness of one’s own, may be deemed as being ambitious, yet, as global business and motivational speaker, Alex Granger puts it, “don’t play around with opportunities and chances that come your way.”

The bhive EDC business com-petitionfinalpitchestookplaceon Friday, 24 May at building 6, room 111. The MC [master of ceremonies] of the event, Clive Morris said, “It was good, though I thought there would [have] been more business people for networking.” The panel of judges consisted of Prof Linda du Plessis (vice rector), Prof Herman van der Merwe (dean of the faculty of economic sciences & IT), Prof Wynand Grobler (director of the school of economics), Paula Maleka (local business owner of Fountain of Beauty), Leonie Greyling (business con-sultant at Aequis consulting) and, Tobie Venter (owner of VTec trailers & vice chairman of the Vanderbijlpark chamber of business).

Once Clive Morris, welcomed everyone, Prof van der Mer-we provided a basic layout as to what was expected for the evening. Prof Herman also explained how the voting poll was to work, after which he welcomed the audience to “en-joy the evening with us”.

Global business and motiva-tional speaker, Alex Granger, issued his talk which focused on “Sleeping and the magic

of waking up”. Granger ex-plained the manner in which one dreams and how one can make the dreams a reality, and also control it. He said, “While dreaming, we become tem-porarily paralysed”. He said explained that one shouldn’t just dream, but also take the opportunity of applying one’s dreams. “Incorporating in your dream what’s happening in the real world”, he said. Granger closed his address by say-ing, “Take action. Don’t play around with opportunities and chances that come our way.”

After Granger’s address, the three finalists of the businesscompetition, Kamohelo Mban-guzi, Nelisile Mogano and Burger Aucamp with Tamen de Lange, delivered their presen-tations, which were followed by questions where members of the audience could ask, as well as the judges. Once this was completed, members of the audience as well as the judges, were to rate the pre-sentations. Following the rat-ing of the presentations, the scores were tallied. There was no third place. Two contes-tants received second place. These two contestants were Kamohelo Mbanguzi, with the business named, “BSTRACT”, and Nelisile Mogano with the business name, “Cute Cut”. This lead to the winners Burger Aucamp and Tamen de Lange, with the business DTF, which stands for Down to Fashion, and is a magazine.

In an interview with the win-ners, Aucamp said, “We just

EDC Business Competition FinalRoche Artz really wanted to start our own

business because we feel we would be good at doing busi-ness.” De Lange added, “It’s not for the money, it’s for the fashion, hence our slogan ‘passion for fashion’.”

Kamohelo Mbanguzi, who also came in at second place, alongside Nelisile Mogano, said, “I think I did my best, and even though I am a runner up, I believe that I have the po-tential to be an entrepreneur”. She said, “Tonight’s not a set-back, but one to keep moving forward.”



With the internet and social media taking over the world, for the past few months on Face-book there’s been an enormous attention on Universities’ Confessions pages, which is now extending to Twitter. This has become a trend on students around South African Universities. The Confession Pages are run by Google Doc, which allows people to confess anonymously, without the creator(s) of the page even know-ing the identity of the ‘confessor’.

Almost all universities have these pages, in-cluding ours. The pages are designed for ‘con-fessing’ behind the anonymous identity. Some of the posts are pure humour and interesting. Some are repulsive and what you would con-sider unusual. But the purpose is clearly con-fessing.

Our campus confession page titled ‘NWU VTC Confessions’, has built up to more than 1700 likes. Like other universities this is growing. Some of the posts are bad for the public and obviously others could be false and a way of promoting the page. It is important for our stu-dents to remember that our campus has integ-rity and standards to uphold. As other universi-ties have the same pages.

This can be seen as a double sharp-edged

knife. On the one side it’s perfectly designed to share some of the things you wouldn’t dare tell a soul, only now you are enabled and un-restricted as you’re “anonymous”. On the other end, it has resulted into becoming unpleasant and a form of bad mouthing of other students around campus, which could lead to chaotic environments on campus as well as online.

Besafeanddon’tfindyourselfon thewrongside of the rules of our campus. Make sure to understand the North-West University Social Media Guidelines for students and staff. Some of the guidelines that are stipulated are:

o “Remember that anything said on a so-cial media platform is available for the world to see. Be respectful of all individuals, races, religions and cultures.”

o “Do not use any form of hate speech. The administrator of the page will be contacted to remove any undesired comments.”

The rest of guidelines can be downloaded at http://www.nwu.ac.za/webfm_send/57627. These will help you to stay out of trouble.

This question which has been raised is: Will this trend slowly fade away or will this become even bigger?

The Buzz Online - Confessions pages on FacebookWilliam George

12 Aug 2013 ADVERT 13


As undergraduates have the eFundi site to help them in their academic interaction with their lecturers, the post gradu-ate students will also have an “eFundi” for their studies. Ac-cording to a mass mail sent to post graduate students on 5 August, the StudentSupervi-sor.com is an interactive online system for post graduate stu-dents, this system is currently being launched on campus.

The system will be used for the management of post-graduate students.

StudentSupervisor.com is a web application that aims to fa-cilitate and optimise the super-visory process, providing es-sential metrics in the process. Moreover, it acts as a platform

where students and supervi-sors can interact, and in turn, uses these interactions to gen-erate data regarding the super-visory process. Furthermore, it aids in creating a formal audit trail often lacking during the supervisory process.

StudentSupervisor.com aids post-graduate management by measurement and has a man-agement by fact philosophy. It aims at increasing the student throughput rate by:

�Augmenting the interactionbetween the student and the supervisor.

� Making students awareof their progress or the lack thereof.

� Keeping supervisors in-

An interactive online system for post graduates to be launchedKeleabetswe Narenti

formed about student activity and progress.

�Providingastructuredchan-nel for the work review pro-cess.

� Organising and minimisingthe demand on the supervisor. �Generatingdatathroughoutthe process for accurate man-agement reporting

Post graduate students should not worry as this system will make it easier for them to have regular contact with their super-visors and lecturers concern-ing their studies. This system will be implemented complete-ly in 2014, so if you are plan-ning on doing your post gradu-ates studies on this campus as a student, you should have no worries as eFundi was there throughout your undergradu-ate studies; StudentSupervi-sor.com will be there for your post graduate studies.

Technology can be said to improve many fac-ets in daily living. It is something which can also be said to be in support of improving that which already exists, just with a sharper edge to it. This is what MuST (Multilingual Speech Technologies) does.

The MuST group is made up of a postgradu-

ate research group in the School of Informa-tion Technology (I.T.) of which is lead by Prof. Etienne Barnard. MuST is speech technology for the South African context which makes use oftheelevenofficiallanguagesandmanymix-tures. It is made up of various activities, such as basic research, technology development and, applications. The focus of MuST is on a learning environment, which trains young re-searchers, makes use of tools and skills appli-

Taking multilingial speech technologies to the edgeRoche Artz


During the month of August the Vaal Triangle Campus community is on a mission to be-come eye smart by participating in the Get Eye Smart Campaign. This campaign sees the Directorate Student Counselling and Devel-opment taking hands with the Campus Clinic and Thariza van Rensburg Optometrists to of-fer staff and students access to an eye clinic. The Get Eye Smart Campaign highlights the need for individuals to know the risk factors for eye diseases, infections and injuries and how optometrists can help prevent, diagnose and treat eye conditions.

The guest speaker at the launch of the eye clinic was Mr Hendrik Steyn, a lecturer from the School of Languages within the Faculty of Humanities. Described by colleagues and st-duents as diligent and prcise, Hendrik cuts the picture of a young, ambitions man who is mak-ing his way in the world. He is building his ca-reer, is married and loves spending time with family and friends. Hendrik is also blind.

Hendrikwasthefirstblindstudenttoenrollatthe Vaal Triangle Campus and subsequently thefirstblindlecturertostandinfrontofaclass.While so many of us take the miracle of sight for granted, Hendrik is blazing a trail of excel-lence for other visually impaired people. Since he cannot read e-mails, books or other study material – which are essential to an academic

career, he uses hi-tech innovations such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Job Access with Speech (JAWS) screen reading software.“TheveryfirstthingItellmystudentsis that they should forget about raising their hands to ask a question,” Hendrik states with a smile and adds that he has adapted to his surroundings with such ease that he doesn’t regard his inability to see as a stumbling block. “During my childhood I longed to be able to see and I very often questioned the reality I was faced with as a blind person,” says Hen-drik and adds that as he progressed in life he realised that with a positive attitude and deter-miniation he could supersede the perceived limits that society places on visually impaired people. His message during the launch of the eye clinic was simple: cherish the awe inspir-ing ability to see for you never know when it can be taken away from you.

Apart from an information campaign, the eye clinic will be operational every Tuesday at the Campus Clinic for the duration of the month of August. Apart from staff and students having the opportunity to have their eyes tested the campaign furthermore entails drastically re-duced prices for essential eye services such as eye tests, frames and lenses. For more infor-mation or to book an appointment please con-tact the Campus Clinic on extension 103163 or send an email to Julia du Plooy.

Campus launches first-ever eye clinicAnnette Willemse

cable beyond speech technology, and to pro-vide linkages to world-class researchers and projects. The current student research con-sists of educational applications, multilingual home pronounciation, practical ASR, and new directions which sees trajectory models and kernel densities.

Prof Barnard said that they have three inter-acting goals. He said, “Firstly we would like to see our technologies have a measurable social and commercial impact in South Africa, and the projects are one of the ways in which we strive towards that goal.”

“Also, the projects allow us to gain a better un-derstanding of speech processing and pattern recognition in general.”

Prof Barnard said that this understanding has practical implications which allow them to de-velop software, methods and guidelines that can be used in any context where speech technology must be developed for under-re-sourced languages,andalsopurelyscientificmotivations.

Lastly, he stated, “our projects are an excellent way for students and young scientists to learn about cutting edge technology.”

12 Aug 2013HEALTH16

Oh Sinus!“Aaaargh my sinuses are killing me!” Have you ever heard this complaint from somebody be-fore? Or perhaps you may have, at some point in your life, fallen victim of this ever annoying illness. Sinusitis is an illness caused by the in-flammation (redness and swelling caused byinjuryorinfection)oftheair-filledspacesinthefacial bones. These cavities have the same slimy lining that your nose does, a mucous lin-ing, that traps germs and dust particles. You may think that this is gross, but that slimy bit is pretty important as it keeps the cavities moist!

As you are reading this you may wonder where exactly these sinus cavities are located. Here’s aquickbriefing:• Maxillary sinuses are in each cheek bone

• Frontal sinuses are above the eyes on ei-ther side of the forehead

• Ethmoid sinuses are behind the bridge of your nose and

• Sphenoid sinuses are located between the upper part of your nose and behind the eyes

As you may have experi-enced, the pain or pres-sure felt as a result of si-nusitis differs according to which sinuses are in-flamed.To illustrate, thepain felt when the maxil-lary sinuses are affected is in the cheeks and is often experienced as toothache or headache. When the frontal sinus-esareinflamed,thereispain or pressure felt be-hind or above the eyes and generally feels like a headache. On the other hand, ethmoid sinusitis

causes pain behind or between your eyes. It also feels like you have a headache. Lastly, you will feel pain or pressure in the top part of the head when you have sphenoid sinusitis.

It is an awful lot of info to take in, which sinuses cause pain where...”HOW do I prevent or treat them?” You ask anxiously. Well, the truth is re-ally that people with acute sinuses do not need treatment to get better. If you are not one of those lucky ones, here are a few things you can do to ensure that you stay sinusitis free this spring:• You may get salt-water nose spray over-

the-counter at a pharmacy to help irrigate (moisten) your nose

• To help relieve the pain, you can inhale steam from hot, but not boiling water. Alter-natively,sitinabathroomfilledwithsteamfrom the hot shower.

• Put a hot flannel on facial areas that arepainful may also help relieve pain

• Get antibiotics prescribed by your doctor if the sinusitis is caused by bacteria

So, do not let sinusitis get in the way of life this spring. Try these few suggestions so that you can focus on the more important things in your student life.

Selina Mokatsane

12 Aug 2013 HEALTH 17

Hay FeverMamello Bless

Hay fever also known as al-lergic rhinitis is an immune system disorder characterised by allergic response to pollen grains and other substances. The word rhinitis means irrita-tion of the nose and derivative of rhino meaning nose.

Symptoms of hay fever usu-ally include nasal congestion, a clear runny nose, sneez-ing, itchy nose and eyes, and excess tear production in the eyes. Postnasal dripping of clear mucus frequently causes a cough. Loss of the sense of smell is common, and loss of taste sense occurs occasion-ally. Nose bleeding may oc-cur if the condition is severe. Itching, red, and excess tears in the eyes frequently accom-pany the nasal symptoms. The eye symptoms are referred to as “allergic conjunctivitis” (inflammation of the whitesof the eyes). These allergic symptoms often interfere with one’s quality of life and overall health.

There are two types of hay fe-ver; seasonal hay fever, which only occurs during the time of the year when plants pollinate and perennial hay fever, which occurs throughout the year. If you suffer from hay fever in spring it is likely that you are allergic to pollens. In summer it is the grass and the weed pollens that may cause allergic reactions. People with peren-nial hay fever are usually al-lergic to indoor allergens; this may include house dust mites,

feathers, animal dander which may be found on bedding, car-peting and damp areas like bathrooms and basements. Hay which is grass that has been mowed and dried for fod-der is not the actual cause of hay fever.

Hay fever is often an inherited trait (genetically determined). The majority of patients with hay fever have a parent or sibling who also has allergies. Hay fever can lead to other diseases such as sinusitis and asthma. Many people with al-lergieshavedifficultywith so-

cial and physical activities, for example one can have prob-lems concentrating when ex-periencing hay fever.

Here are some useful tips from The American Academy of Al-lergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) on managing seasonal hay fever.

1. Wash bed sheets weekly in hot water.

2. Always bath and wash hair before bedtime (pollen can collect on skin and hair throughout the day).

3. Do not hang clothes outside to dry where they can trap pol-len.

4. Wearafiltermaskwhenmowingorworkingoutdoors.

5. Avoid peak times for pollen exposure (hot, dry, windy days, usually between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.). Although pollens are usually emitted in early morning; peak times for dissemina-tion are between around 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

6. Be aware of local pollen counts in your area.

7. Keep windows and car windows closed; use air conditioning in both if possible.

8. Perform a thorough spring cleaning of your home, include re-placingheatingandA/Cfiltersandcleaningductsandvents.

9. Check bathrooms and other damp areas in your home fre-quently for mould and mildew, and remove visible mould with nontoxic cleaners.

10. Keep pets out of the bedroom and off furniture, since they may carry pollen if they have been outdoors.

12 Aug 2013SA NEWS18

SA women and politics: Yesterday’s struggles, today’s celebrations

1956marked 9August as a significant date.Women bravely dedicated their time in a multi-racialmarchtofightfortheirrights.Todaywehave women leading in presidential and parlia-mentaryoffices;becauseofthatonebraveactthat changed it all.

“Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo,” they sang as they marched to the Union Buildings. The aim of the march was to demonstrate women’s dissatisfaction at the Pass-law obli-gation that required black (all non-white) South Africans to carry Pass books everywhere they went. This was government’s way to maintain control over the movement of black men and women in urban areas.

More than 20 000 women from all over the country congregated at the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956. They were led by Lilian Ngoyi,

Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn. These women played a verysignificantrole inthehistoryofwomen’srights struggles. United and strong, they made a difference.

2013 marks the 57th year of the beginning of South African women exercising equal rights with men. Were it not for the courage, strength and unity that the women of 1956 demon-strated, the role of women in the struggle for a democratic South Africa may not have been as recognized.

As South Africans we need to work together to fight against abuses such as sexual and do-mestic violations that women are facing in our country.

As one African proverb states, “Mosadi o tsh-wara thipa ka bohaleng,” which implies that women can handle issues that majority of men cannot deal with. We should therefore support and commemorate 9 August with pride and dignity, as we remember the journey of women through to a democratic South Africa by pro-tecting them and their rights. Viva Makhozika-zi, Viva women!

Malehlohonolo Motloung

12 Aug 2013 SA NEWS 19

It’s woman’s world

Asiphe Tsolo

With August being women’s month, we are cel-ebrating the lives of women who have shown that ambition and true desire to succeed can go a long way in helping one to achieve their dreams. Student 24/7 put together a list of women who have shown that it really is a wom-an’s world out there.

1. Winnie Madikizela Mandela- this former South African First Lady is a member of the ANCs National Executive Committee. She is also a former president of the African National Congress Women’s League; and enjoyed a short stint as the Deputy Minister of Arts, Cul-ture, Science and Technology in 1994-1996.

2. Carol Bouwer- A business woman and TV producer, Carol Bouwer is the CEO and found-er of Carol Bouwer Productions. She is also currently involved in Peace Island, an offshore project located in Cape Town which will be in-volved in providing housing.

3. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma- She is the cur-rent Chairperson of the AU, a member of the ANC National Executive Committee and Na-tional Working Committee.

4. Khanyi Dhlomo- The Managing Director and founder of Ndalo Media, Khanyi is also the founding editor of DestinyConnect and Destiny magazine. She is also a Non-Executive Direc-tor of Foschini Group Limited.

5. Natalie du Toit- has shown that your dis-abilities do not have to limit your capabilities by competing in both the Olympics as well as Paralympics. She is professional swimmer who has won gold medals in Paralympics as well as Commonwealth Games.

6.PatriciadeLille–isthefirstwomaninSouthAfrica to form a political party (the Independent Democrats) and is now the Mayor of Cape Town.

7. Mariah Ramos- is CEO of ABSA Group Limited and Group Chief Executive of Trans-net Limited as well as Director-General of the National Treasury. She was also voted as the World’sNinthMostInfluentialBusinesswomanby Fortune magazine.

8. Uyanda Mbuli- is the founder and head de-signer of Diamond Face Couture and was se-lected as Miss South Africa Globe in 2005 till present.

9. Basetsana Khumalo- is the CEO of Baset-sana Women Investment Holdings as well as a former Miss South Africa (1994). She is also an ambassador for various South African com-panies.

10. Gcina Mhlophe- is a writer, motivational speaker, activist and actor. She was nominat-ed for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Celebrating some of South Africa’s outstanding women

12 Aug 2013ADVERT20

12 Aug 2013 ADVERT 21

12 Aug 2013EVENTS22

Former South African president, Nelson Man-dela, once said, “Education is the most pow-erful weapon which you can use to change the world.” On Friday, 2 August, Gwede Man-tashe, African National Congress [ANC] sec-retary general who is also the chairperson of the South African Communist Party [SACP] delivered a lecture on education being a site struggle.

The lecture focused on the role and signifi-cance of student activism in institutions of high-er learning. The lecture started half an hour late with approximately 250 attendees seated at Building 12. Campus rector, Prof Thanyani Mariba, welcomed all attendees. Mariba told them that as students, the longer they stay on campus, without graduating, going longer than ascribed time, “you’re blocking the space of another student”. Though attendees laughed when Mariba told them this, he was encourag-ing them to remain focused on their studies.

When Mantashe took the podium, attendees erupted in song and dance. He began his ad-dress by saying that, “Education is ideological”. He explained that some would suggest that education is a site of struggle. Mantashe em-phasised that education is a “terrain” of strug-gle. He said, “Education is the terrain, but this campus [NWU-VTC], is the site.” He asked, ‘Why is it for us taboo to talk about apartheid?’ Providing an answer to his question, he said, “We must make history compulsory in school”. He explained that every young citizen must know where they come from.

Though the lecture focused on the role and significanceofstudentactivism in institutionsof higher learning, Mantashe said that there is no student in the university to politick. He said, “I want every child to study for themselves.” He added, “Students have the responsibility of building the future.” Remaining within the framework of education, Mantashe advised students to “follow the opportunity where it ex-ists”. He said, “Education gives you mobility and shapes the thinking.”

After Mantashe answered the questions the at-tendees were welcomed to ask him, more than half of the audience left. Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Com-fortMananamadefinalthanksbeforeclosingthe lecture.

Mantashe lectures on EducationRoche Artz

12 Aug 2013 EVENTS 23

12 Aug 2013EVENTS24

Mr and Miss NWU Vaal FinalsPhotos by: Kinga Siejek & Willliam George & Malenyalo Molemane

12 Aug 2013EVENTS26

12 Aug 2013EVENTS28

The Faculty of Economic Sciences and IT held a career fair on Campus on 26 July. The event was attended mostly by BCom students who showed a lot of interest in what the exhibiting companies had to offer.

2nd year BCom student, Katleho Makoko, said she found the career fair very helpful. “The career fair helps with obtaining information re-garding employability in the course you have chosen,” she said. Her sentiment was shared by other students including Vincent Saunders, a Chartered Accounting student who said that the career fair helped those who were still undecided about what career path to take to make the right decision for their life.

The companies on exhibition were not only there to inform the students but to recruit them for internships as well. Bridget Kriel, from the South African Institute of Chartered Accoun-tants (SAICA), was quoted saying, “it is es-sential for university to hold career fairs since (they) enable the students to learn more about different career fields and to make informeddecisions regarding their future, since most people want careers that they are not well in-formed about.”

Some of the companies on exhibition were:Teach South Africa- an NGO that recruits Graduates to teach learners in under re-sourced schools to improve learner achieve-ment. It helps them in maths, science, English and technology.

ACCA(AssociationofCharteredCertifiedAc-countants) - an international accounting bodyDepartment of Trade and Industry (Dti) - which offers an internship for Economics, Internal Au-dit and Labour Relations

ABSA –They offered internships to students who wanted to work in banking.

SENWES- an agricultural organisation that as-sistsgraduateswithfindinginternships.

Helping you to make informed choicesAsiphe TsoloPhotographs by Sesethu Nyokana


When the rest of the nation celebrated Interna-tional Mandela Day, celebrated every 18 July, is a day where one is encouraged to dedicate 67 minutes of doing good. Students of our campus supported the Matwala’s Children’s Home in Vanderbiljpark on this day. The CSRC Campus Student Representative Counsel [CSRC] and Faranani Residence leadership, along with other students on campus donated food and did chores which helped Matwala’s Children’s Home. help around the home with what was needed for the day. The founder Ma-Twala, welcomed the stu-dents and gave a brief history of what inspired her to open the home. The home is for chil-dren aged 1 - 13 who are orphans, others were abundant and others are from underprivileged homes. She also explained how she supports the children with her own money and receives some support from the government and some Non-Government Organisations [NGOs].

A group of students helped washing clothes for the children, others were cooking lunch [for them], for the ; while others played with the children.Itwasadayfilledwithjoyandlaugh-

Reaching out on Mandela DayNontokozo Tshambo & William George

ter . It was humbling to see students bring smiles to the little faces of the children . As the day went on, ; personnel from Aveng Gri-naker LTA, a South African Construction and Engineering company; ,arrived and donated groceries, clothes, kitchen utensils, and other things that the children may need.

The children at the home were overjoyed and asked when the students were coming back to play with them again.

30 EVENTS 12 Aug 2013

We all imagine a world where people get along, we do not see anyone suffer and we are happy and proud to be South Africans. This was Mandela’s vision since the very begin-ning.

On 18 June it was not only Mandela’s 95th birthday, but also the 5th Mandela day. The predominant objective of Man-dela Day is to inspire people to take action and help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global move-ment for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communi-ties everywhere, hence the slogan “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.”

The NWU-Vaal Library took this objective seriously and contributed to Mandela Day in two different ways. Mrs Sally Van Heerden took the initiative of baking the very traditional “pannekoek”, or pancakes, at the entrance of the library. She felt that a lot of students on campus do not always have enough food to eat and had the idea of spoiling them with one of South Africa’s finestdishes. Mrs Martie Esterhui-zen and Louise Harmse paid a visit to one of Vanderbijlpark’s orphanages to help cheer up little children and put a smile of pure stupor on their faces. Mrs Esterhuizen and Mrs Harmse gave the children enough sweets to rot all of their teeth and read them stories that could last a year. Mrs Harmse commented on the saddest

Mandela for a DayBurger Aucamp thing of her visit; “Just thinking

of that smell and the fact that there is absolutely no fresh air saddens me and makes me want to cry”.

The question is never just “what can I do to help?” It is very often how can I inspire change, and inspire people to be the change. Don’t try to be Mandela, rather try and make Mandela proud!

31PROFILE12 Aug 2013

Profile of Ms Busi KhabaMpho Nakana

Lecturer: Political Science

Ms Busi Khaba is a Political Science lecturer for first andsecond year students. She de-scribes herself as a spiritual being who is driven by spiritual connectivity, intellectual stimu-lation and physical activity. She says those three things are what inspire her in life. Student24/7 sat down with this lecturertofindoutmoreaboutwho she is.

“Students must never under-estimate or undermine them-selves because they matter.”

Ms Busi Khaba hails from Er-melo (Mpumalanga) where she matriculated at Ligbron Technical School. She then enrolled at the North-West Uni-versity Potchefstroom campus (old Potchefstroom University) to study Pharmacy, but as she realized that it wasn’t the ca-reer path she wanted for her-self, she left it to register for a Bachelor of Arts degree major-ing in Politics and Communica-tions.

After completing her Honours in Politics, she went to work for government for a year. In No-vember 2010 Ms khaba joined her former university (NWU-Vaal), this time as a junior lec-turer. She completed her Mas-ters at the end of 2012, basing her study on African Politics with a concentration on Sudan. Next year Ms Khaba plans to pursue a PhD in International Relations, where she will be

studying the relationship that South Africa has with the rest of the world.

She encourages her students to never give up and to contin-ue putting effort in everything they do. “They must make the most of their time here (varsi-ty) because it goes by quickly. Maximize your potential and utilize the facilities available.”

Asked what her advice would be for young women celebrat-ing Women’s Day, Ms Khaba said that young women must never sell themselves short and they should try not to make uninformed decisions that will affect their future. “They should value themselves and stop this ‘unspoken’ competi-tion against each other where they gossip about each other and look down on each other.”

Interesting facts about Ms Khaba: She writes poetry Her favourite music is Hip Hop and Pop She loves beautiful cars; her dream car is the Mercedes Benz C250

Coupé She was the editor of her high school’s newspaper, wrote for

WAPAD (Potchefstroom student newspaper) for two years and even owned her own magazine which she called “Millicent” after her middle name which was centered on student fashion and lifestyle.

She has her own blog, where she writes about politics related to politics. www.busikhaba.wordpress.com

She is a house-parent at Longfellow residence

12 Aug 2013LOVE 2 DRAW32

A little creative fun...

12 Aug 2013 LOVE 2 DRAW 33

12 Aug 2013STUDENT 91134

A lot has undoubtedly happened in just one se-mester, from a handful of successful on-cam-pus events to a peaceful strike that wasn’t all that peaceful which brought out the campus’ students in their masses. I recently sat down with Mr Kobus Potgieter, Head of Security on the Vaal Campus, to do a brief follow up on the current security company and also to discuss a fewkeyissues.Theaimwastofindoutifheishappy with the performance of the Black Stal-lions security company; whether he still main-tainsthesamelevelofconfidence;andlastlywhether or not he is certain that student and school personnel safety is not compromised.

Mr Potgieter does admit that he was a little if-fieabouthowwell thenewsecuritycompanywould adjust in terms of on campus culture. He does assure that more than anything the transitionhasbeenswift.Heisovertlysatisfiedwith the cooperation on both ends and judg-ing from his own research he can assert that thenewguysareefficientanditisbecauseofthis reason that he is grinning from ear to ear. “They’re an easy bunch to work with, they’re efficientandshowasignofmoraldedication…I could not be happier”, Potgieter said.

Typically campus is a very quiet place. With a cool, serene atmosphere that resembles that of Mount Kilimanjaro. An atmosphere where birds are singing and human noise seems to be something unheard of (no pun intended); but on rare occasion, the masses come to-gether. Students attempt to work toward a common goal. The event that recently took place on campus left many in awe about the level of dedication executed by students in an aid to help make change. Though Mr Potgieter is rather mum on the topic and only responded

Ronald Mhangani

by giving long, exaggerated sigh only minutes later to say “no comment” he does plead with students to communicate more in small num-bers and to take proper channels in order to ensure that no days are lost to what could have been a productive day.

The peaceful strike was truly something of note. Marking it one of the times that students unifiedwith the intent ofmaking their voicesheard. Complaints were made known, nobody was hurt and damages on property were kept at a minimum. The masses voiced their opinions without the execution of any violence. Lulama Mkwanazi who is a day scholar gushed at how many people were present on the day, “It was amazing! People I had never seen before were there, it was a movement with undeniable at-mosphere, being part of it was awesome. To a lotofpeopleitmarkedunityandwasafirstforme.”

Though there is still a long way to go, we can only hope for smooth sailing here on further. Approaching the second semester with a level of optimism and hoping that soon many of the problems experienced will be a thing of the past. As we all walk around each to his own, lest we forget the power that lies in numbers and the rewarding feeling of working together as a campus community.

Leaving that dry patch of grass and looking forward to greener pastures

12 Aug 2013 STUDENT 911 35

The second semester has started and it’s about that time whenwefindourselvesdrown-ing in a lot of work, and before we know it we will be writing second semester tests and ex-ams.

It is with no doubt that the sec-ond semester is very short hencewe find ourselves hav-ing to work on assignments and submitting them almost every week; whether we like it ornotwefindourselveswork-ing under a lot of pressure try-ing to juggle everything all at once. In between all the school work that we have, there are also extra mural activities that we commit to as well, as stu-dents, and we end up stress-ing not knowing how to handle everything all at the same time.

Student 24/7 took time to in-terview some of the NWU Vaal students just to find out howthey manage stress and work under pressure and these are the things they had to share:

• Block out things that are less important in your mind so as to put more focus on the things that are more im-portant.

• Tell yourself to calm down when you feel as though you are starting to panic.

• Time yourself according to the things you need to do and always remember to prioritize.

• Have lots and lots of rest.

How to handle pressureJava Zwane

• Stay away from drug or getting yourself intoxicated in any way, it might be ad-dictive and unhealthy (Caf-feine included )

• Set your mind in the right focus.

• Drink a lot of water.

• Do not stress over the fact that you have a deadline.

• Be in a quiet place and away from people.

• For those who cannot get anything done in silence, do it with soft music.

• Listen to music, watch TV and series just to relax your mind.

• Surround yourself with people who motivate you to get work done.

• Do not procrastinate

We also went on the internet just to findout fromaprofes-sional perspective (Carolyn Tytler) how you can handle stress and working under pres-sure and this is what we found:

• Getsufficientrest• Have a healthy breakfast• Plan ahead• Be comfortable• Be organized• Avoidconflict• Take a walk• Check your goal list

Hoping that these tips will help you get through the second se-mester and wishing you all the best!

12 Aug 2013ADVERT36

12 Aug 2013 INSPIRATION 37

The road to the showDeliwe Msibi

I have been entering pageants for as long as I can remember, but never have I met a team as driven and together like the one on Mr. and Miss North-west University Vaal Triangle Campus 2013/2014. All the contestants had a driven character, all were different of cause, however all shared a single goal and that is, to be the next Mr. /Miss NWU Vaal and to support each other as much as possible.

We were given a few tasks to do. We had to dance; we had to organize our own outfits;and we had to bring in songs that we wanted played when we entered the stage. As usual, not everyone was able to bring in all that was required, but instead of caring about no one else but ourselves, we were all able to help each other. On the night of the pageant, we de-liveredasthoughtherewereneverdifficulties.

On the day of the show, my heart was pound-ing, not because I was nervous, but because it had hit me that it was the very last time we were able to watch each other perform on that stage. Having entered so many pageants in

my life, all that I remember now, and will for-ever remember in loving pageants is that I had entered one that is extremely different from all the others, Mr. and Miss NWU Vaal 2013/2014.

The gals and guys all respected each other, no one had jealousy of other’s achievements and even after the show, we all congratulated each other for all the hard work put in all the days of the practice.

Myheartisfulfilledwiththetitledofbeingfirstprincess. I wish all the other winners and the contestants a happy journey in the beauty pag-eants path. We can only hope that we meet once again on other competitions.

12 Aug 2013INSPIRATION38

Adamant and true wins the raceBurger Aucamp

Everybody wants to be known for something, or to be that someone that everybody notices. How do you do this? By achieving something an ordinary person couldn’t. You do not get to this point by achieving greatness, but by stand-ing out.

How does any publication stand out between the famous Glamour, Cosmopolitan or Elle? Well, I present to you; DTF! Recently, my part-ner and I won the annual business competition at the Faculty of Economic Sciences and IT, hosted by EDC (Enterprise Development Cen-tre). The EDC is a platform or “bhive” where young entrepreneurs are catapulted into the future by lending them resources to achieve their dream.

Together, my partner and I came up with a fash-ion magazine called DTF or Down to Fashion. DTF believes fashion should be affordable, that’s why we created an affordable fashion-trend guideline for students from students. DTF inspires runway fashion at an affordable

price, inspiring change and inspiring students to be the change. However, achieving this goal hasn’t been – and still isn’t – an easy objective. Believe it or not, winning the competition was the easy part. It is what follows that scares us, and may be what can make or break DTF. But we won’t give up; we will reach for our dreams and achieve what is most desired.

The idea of DTF sprung from the belief that studentsdonotknowhowtodresstofittheirpersonality.Theydresstofit tothetrends,ortofit in.But like I said, it’snotaboutachiev-ing greatness. It’s about standing out! Why not stand out by expressing through fashion. Art-ists have music and painters have paintings to express themselves. Shouldn’t fashion also be a form of art or a form of expression?

In the end what is most important is trying to follow your dreams. Obstacles may come your way, people might laugh in your face and try and convince you that what you are doing is impossible. But ignore them and keep pushing on. That’s what we did.

God’s ThingPoet: Kiki

“One of the staff he made”

From the thoughts of his noblest mindPrior to the fundament of any kindWhen the universe was still in conceptionBefore the maker had materialised his creation

He called the moon to shine at nighhtDuring the day the sun to give lightSeasons know when they should changeNature is taught how to rearrange

In His likeness he brings forth manWhom He made to live, love and learn

Mama’s womb was his private studioThe genesis of my entire life’s porfolio

Knowledge calls me a human beingStanding there thinking

“I’m actually God’s Thing”

For more information on this amazing student poet,findmoreonWritersCafe.orgunderKiki.

12 Aug 2013 CHILLAX 39

A sign of loveAnnelize de Lange

Emily and John shared their last kiss, under the willow tree on the far side of a very small town. Once a week she would tell her parents she will help her Great Aunt Tabitha in her candle store. She would quickly pop in and tell her aunt what to say in case her parents would phone and then she would rush off to spend an entire afternoon in her beloved John’s arms.

Her parents did not know of their relationship. They did not approve of him. “Emily he is not right for you, we won’t allow it, look at his fam-ily. If you marry him you will suffer for the rest of your life.” They would go on and on about silly things about him, but it didn’t bother her because she was deeply in love with him and wanted to spend every second with him.

On the last Sunday afternoon of August, the same ritual took place. Emily went to her great aunt Tabitha’s candle store and quickly rushed off to meet her beloved John under the willow tree. The road felt endlessly long, and the car especially slow, but nothing could stop her. Fi-nally she reached her destination, and there as always her beloved John was sitting under the willow tree waiting for her arrival.

She ran to him and as he caught her in his arms, she could feel something was not right. She felt sadness within him and asked him what was wrong.

“My dearest darling.” He whispered softly as tearsfilledhiseyes. “Ineedtogooverseas.”She took a step back and suddenly her eyes werefilledwith tears. “If Igo, Icanfinishmydegree and make enough money to take care of you, and give you the life you deserved. It will only be for a while my darling.”

He came towards her and held her in his arms, “I must leave tomorrow, but I will write to you every day… I promise!” Even though she did not like it, she loved him more to try and stop him. She knew that this was something he wanted to do and respected his decision.

The following day, she went to say goodbye, and as he got on the train, a part of her left her body!! She couldn’t breathe and ran after-wards, but her legs were just too slow, and she watched as the train got smaller on the hori-zon.

The next few months were horrible for her, ev-ery Sunday afternoon felt like an eternity with-out her beloved John. Even though they wrote to each other often, and enjoyed a few phone calls, she wanted to be in his arms!

On one particular cloudy day, she received a letter of her beloved John, telling her that he will come home within one month’s time! She was overwhelmed with excitement and drove to her aunt’s store immediately. Before she could reach her destination she got into a ter-rible accident!

When she woke up she saw her parents beside her bed. Her mum was crying and she realized that she was badly injured. She wanted to ask her mum what had happened, but couldn’t get anything out except a sigh. She lost her voice and her hearing!

Her mum called the doctor to explain to her what happened! In writing he explained, “You obtained a terrible brain injury, and lost your ability to speak… Now this can be because of the swelling which would mean the injury will only be temporary, but when the swelling goes down… The injury will be permanent”

She was in tears, and turned around. She didn’t want to speak to anyone. All that she could think about was her beloved John.

She looked at the calendar and realized that he would be here within two weeks. She didn’t want him to see her like this, because she knew he would leave his studies and take up his old job again to care for her. She didn’t want to be a burden for him.

She wrote him a letter and told him that she had moved on and will be getting married in one week.

12 Aug 201340 CHILLAX

Dear John

This letter may come as a surprise to you but I am getting married in one week. I don’t want you to come back for me. I want to settle down and start a family. I don’t want you to leave your studies for me… There will be someone for you who will love and appreciate you. I want you to be happy!

Forget about me.

Once I am married I will move away and don’t want you to ever contact me again.

I am truly sorry for hurting your feelings.

Yours sincerelyEmily

She was devastated. She wrote on a piece of paper and asked the nurse to mail it for her. Her parents came in just as she was giving the letter to the nurse, but distracted them from asking the recipient of the letter by writing on another piece of paper, asking them to move away.

Her parents honoured her wishes, they knew this old town would only haunt her and as soon as she was ready to be discharged from hospi-tal they moved away.

They were gone only a week, when her be-loved John came back to town. He went to her great aunt Tabitha’s candle shop only to findthatsheisalsopackingupreadytomoveaway. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked with a fury. “Where is my darling Emily?”

Great Aunt Tabitha couldn’t look him in the eyes, “They moved away.” She replied softly. Emily’s marriage was last week.” He couldn’t believe it! John had an absolute rage within him and ran to their willow tree, where he just sat for the rest of the day.

The following day Great Aunt Tabitha closed the door of her candle shop. Just as she was getting into the taxi, she saw John. He was looking at her. “Just move on dear boy” A tear rolled down her cheek and she got into the taxi.

“Psssssttttttt” A voice behind the candle shop called John. It was a friend of Great Aunt Tabitha. John walked towards her. “Can I help you ma’am?” She grabbed him by the arm. “Follow me!”

She walked really fast, and had a tight grip on John’s arm. Finally they stopped in a dark cor-ner behind the shop. “Now you didn’t hear this from me.” The old lady whispered.

“She didn’t get married, there was an acci-dent and she lost her voice and hearing.” Her parents moved and paid a lot of money to the town not to say anything, but I know you love one another, I used to watch you there by the willow all the time.”

John was astonished and didn’t know what to do. The old lady carried on. “They live in the neighbouring town about 200 miles west from here, but remember you didn’t hear this from me.” John walked away, totally shocked.

He wrote a few letters to his beloved Emily af-ter that but she never replied, she just sat star-ing out of her window never smiling, mourning the loss of her beloved John.

Finally new hope came with spring, or so her parents thought. They thought since it had been a year since the accident she would lighten up, but alas it was just the opposite, but on a particular sunny day, she decided to go outside.

She sat in the garden and read her book. Her aunt came to her and touched her shoulder from behind. As she turned around her beloved John was standing in front of her. Her heart stoppedforasecondandtearsfilledhereyes.He stood there in front of her and in sign lan-guage he told her,

“My LoveI am so sorry for not coming sooner, but it took me a year to learn sign language, so here I am and I just want to say I love you”

And there on that sunny spring day, was the firsttimeshefinallysmiledsincetheaccident.

12 Aug 2013 REVIEWS 41

Mr and Miss NWU Vaal 2013William George

The prestigious event of the year; Mr and Miss NWU Vaal 2013/14 took place at the Big Lapa, planned to start at 18:00 PM, but it has become a trend to start events late, it went on to start at 19:00 PM.

The Big Lapa was packed with students from our campus, students from Mafikeng andPotchefstroom Campus, lectur-ers and Korean visitors. On the decks, we had DJ’s from Twin Radio Productions; who car-ried on till the bash. We were joined by the SABC 1 Class Act Season 2 runner-up Pal-lance Dladla, who is taking the South African acting industry by storm; he’s currently on Isi-Baya, Intersexions and Tempy Pushas. Also, in the VIP were: The Department of Student Af-fairs & CSRC, Management of North West University Vaal Campus, Student leaders, Stu-dent 24/7, as well as visitors from outside our campus. The support was implausible.

The MC’s of the event were an incredible pair; our very own NWU student Thato ‘TPEX’ Mokoena, who was part of the 2013 MTV Base VJ Search Au-ditions, all the best. TPEX was accompanied by Mzanzi Ridez and Goal Diggerz show host Sthembiso Khoza famously know as SK, he is currently

hosting a show called Bounce. They both had done exception-ally good work. Not only can they host, they can dance and keep the crowd entertained.

Judges included Marissa van den Heever who was Miss NWU Vaal 2012/2013 and Ol-ivier Tshimbidi Mr NWU Vaal 2012/2013. Performances by the talented: Simply Vincent and Karien who did some danc-ing and later sang for us. Phiri; the next big name, the guy can sing, play guitar and ladies love him, he covered all time-hits such as R. Kelly’s When a Woman Is fed Up, Adele’s Someone Like You and others.Sponsors of the night were the Rothman’s Driving School and Number Plates, Red Square as well as Modelling Agency 2SAB Production.

Out of 20 Contestants who made it to the Mr and Miss NWU Vaal, these are the ones who were crowned the 2013/14 winners:

• 2013/14 Miss NWU Vaal – Lerato Motsoane

• 2013/14 Mr NWU Vaal – McDonald Legare

• First Princess – Deliwe Msibi

• First Prince – Maxwell Pe-ter

• Second Princess – Sipho-kazi Sikutshwa

• Second Prince – Brendon Bosman

Congratulations guys, also ku-dos to the Top 10 and the rest of the contestants who took part, you were all great; judges had tough decisions to make.

REVIEWS42 12 Aug 2013

SPUD: The Madness ContinuesPortia Rampa

After remarkable success of thefirstmovie,thefilmmakerswere pressured to have a se-quel of Spud. Spud is adapt-ed from the bestselling novel series by the South African author, actor, playwright and producer John van de Ruit and directed by Donovan Marsh. The movie achieved nearly R3 million in its first week open-ing and it was nominated as the 6th leading performer of all timesforalocalfilmattheboxoffice and Television awards.With its tremendous success it had a great anticipation from viewers to have a screening of another sequel movie titled Spud: The Madness contin-ues.

The movie is said to have also received a lot of attention and interest from international countries like UK, Mexico, Ire-land, Belgium, New Zealand, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Turkey, Scandinavia, and the Middle East. Spud: The Mad-ness Continues is distributed by Nu Metro Films, and is sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry; and Na-tional Film and Video Founda-tion.

A slight recap of Spud (2010)It was the year 1990 and two major events were about take place in South Africa, the re-lease of Nelson Mandela from prison and primarily, it is Spud Milton’s first year at an eliteboy’s only private boarding school. Having lunatic folks, decrepit granny and having to adapt to a school environment

surrounded by freaky charac-ters that all turn life into bewil-dered state for Spud.

Spud: The Madness continues portrays genres of comedy and drama and stars the Brit-ish screen legend John Cleese as ‘The Guv’ playing the role of the eccentric English Teacher. It also recasts South African born stars, Troye Sivan as Spud, Jason Cope as house-master ‘Sparerib’, Jeremy Crutchley as headmaster ‘Mr Glockenshpeel, Aaron Mcllroy and Julie Summers as Spud’s mad parents and the rest of the crazy 7 returns as well.

PlotThe year is 1991 and Spud Milton is doing his second year at a private boarding school in Kwa-Zulu Natal, however his journey to puberty is moving at a slow pace, approaching 15 and with no signs of maturity. Spud is accepted as a member of the crazy 7, he encounters a lot of challenges; mad par-ents, mad teachers, peer pres-sure and love problems. The crazy 8 become the rulers of

the school, they rebel against their malicious housemaster ‘Sparerib’ whom his plan is to have most of the boys expelled from school.

Movie rating: 7.6/10

Spud: The Madness Continues is an outright comedy whereby viewers will watch some of the hilarious antics of what the crazy 8 get up to. Viewers can catch the movie on DVD in a few months. Follow the lat-est movie update of Spud on Facebook or other social me-dia and read up the latest nov-el of Spud entitled “Spud -Exit, Pursued by a Bear” released in January 2013 after the 2009 titled “Spud- Learning to Fly.”

12 Aug 2013 GUYS SPEAK OUT 43

In the 17th century, Carolus Linnaeus hypoth-esized that there were approximately 4235 species of animals known to humanity, with a probable further 6000 more to be discovered. Today there are over 47000 different species of vertebrate known to mankind. They come in all shapes, sizes & forms. Some have limbs that enable them to run faster than some ve-hicles; some have been blessed with wings thatenablethemtotakeflight,andsomeevenhave gills that enable them to breath under water. However, despite all these marvelous creatures that we share our beautiful planet with, none are more majestic and precious to mankind than women.

Awomanis,bymydefinition,themostbeauti-ful and sophisticated creation of God. She is wonderful in more ways than I can account for; and more complex than my kind will ever fully understand. In truth, she is brave in ways we are fortunate we will never have to be. She is God’s chosen vessel for the delivery of life for mankind. Although some might say it is a curse, it is in many ways a blessing. For in a child’s eyes, a mother is the greatest symbol of our creator’s might, benevolence and above all else, his unconditional love for us all.

Although not all women become mothers, they do all touch us in some way for the better. The fairer sex has the heart to voice out truths that we’re sometimes afraid to admit even to our-selves, and they endure hardships that they themselves aren’t aware that they can. They have it in them to inspire men and women alike.Theymotivateothers to findgreatnesswithin themselves; as many men, young and old, would attest that the women in their lives do for them. Whether she is a daughter, sister, mother or simply a colleague or a friend, every woman has within herself the ability to motivate positive change in others, and to incite actions forthebenefitofallthatareaffectedbythem.

Taking It On The Chin...God’s GiftRatanang Mogatusi

Shemay not be able to fly, out run a chee-tah or out swim a dolphin; but she is the most amazing representation of God’s glory and his love for the sons and daughters of man. She should be treasured, adored, and protected. Moreover, for all that she puts up with from her male counterparts; and her willingness to makesacrificesforthesakeofthosethatsheloves, she should most certainly be respected. So this women’s month, be sure to treat ev-ery woman with the love and respect that you would your very own queen. Hold a door open for her; or better yet, open it especially for her. Greet them with a smile, and bid them fair-well with one too. Even if she doesn’t smile back, do it anyway, because she might not be God’s gift to you, but she surely is to somebody.

12 Aug 2013FASHION44

Q & A with our own FASHIONEASTA Fatima DesaiAnnelize de Lange

Every Vaal Campus student has seen this vi-brant young Indian girl somewhere on campus. She is a fourth year BEd student with a real passion for fashion and a sassy upbringing at-titude that will open many doors for her.

I had an interview with her about her recent modelling experience “FASHIONEASTA”

AdL: Modelling is often stereotyped as an “only a size 4 girl” thing. What is modelling in your opinion?FD: For me modelling is a platform to be who you are and whoever you want to be. It is what you make it to be. I see many rising opportuni-ties and space to be your own person, to be confidentanddowhatyoulovemost,toshinelike the true star you are.

AdL: Many girls dream of pursuing some-thing in modelling, but why did you choose to model?FD: Modelling is my favourite pastime and definitelymynewfoundhobby.Itgivesmeaninternal arousal that gives me direction. I meet a lot of new people and make tons of friends. When I die I want to leave a legacy behind. I want to teach girls that you don’t have to be skinny to be a mode l, there shouldn’t be that pressure to be a certain shape or have the “perfect” body from the media.

AdL: You constantly take part in various modelling competitions such as Miss Vaal, and Miss Acacia, but where did you hear about FASHIONEASTA?FD: Most of my friends know that I absolutely enjoy taking part in modelling competitions and pageants. My one friend actually came across a post on Facebook, advertising model search “Face of FashionEASTa 2013”that she forwarded to me and of course I immediately entered

AdL: Taking part in a competition that big

must mean that you met up with various designers and stylists. What designers did you wear on the big night?FD: ZIA Abaya and Modest wear by Zuri Cou-ture, Zuri-Couture Archana Kachar Collection, FIZA exclusive collection, HAYA and SWEETY Abayas by HAYA

AdL: Most people will look at you and see that you are a Muslim girl. Being a Muslim, doesn’t that mean that you are not actually allowed to model and show off your body?FD: A woman is always allowed to be beauti-ful but at the same time being modest and re-specting yourself and dignity. Women in Islam are portrayed as the oppressed by the media and that is very untrue.

AdL: What achievements did you achieve during your fashionEASTa performance?FD: Face of FashionEASTa started off with DJ ZubyKhan, trainingusas thefinalistsof thesearch of face of FashionEASTa, leading us tothesemi-finalson7JulyatSETRosebank.The Designer District. Seven girls were cho-sen from the14semi-finalistsand Iwasoneof them. We then went on to participate in the final event and that was the FashionEASTaevent in Newtown Johannesburg on 22 July at The Dance Factory. The 2 modelling contracts were won by 2 of the crowd pleasers based on the noise level, so unfortunately due to my small fan club I did not win a contract. The search for fashionEASTa 2013 is still on and mychancesarestillstrong,sofingerscrossed!

AdL: At these events, there is always some-thing going wrong or something totally fun-ny happening. What embarrassing/hilari-ous thing(s) happened back stage that you can share with the Student 24/7 readers?FD: Being in an open setting that day it was quite chaotic and pretty funny because we all had to rush to switch outfits and get intothe next set, so there was clothes flying allover, make up touch ups, designers trying to squeeze and push garments onto us and pull

12 Aug 2013 FASHION 45

them off so there’s no time wasted. I’m a really accident prone person so nothing really em-barrasses me much these days.

AdL: Many girls only dream about model-ling, but a few of them actually have the self-confidence and guts to pursue it. Can you give the readers some advice?FD: Go for it, stand strong and believe in your-self, have a strong support system, I’ve been nothing but blessed to have such amazing friends and family that have been nothing but support, motivators and my greatest fan club ever! Stay in shape and be on the lookout for local model searches, contests and events, look for any opportunity to look good because life is your runway and you are the show- stop-ping star and you never know Tyra Banks could be watching!

There you have it!! Anyone can pursue their dream you just need to believe in yourself!

Student 24/7 congratulates Miss Desai in her achievements and wishes her the best in pur-suing her dreams.

12 Aug 2013FASHION46

The power’s in your closetBurger Aucamp

Times are changing, and so should your wardrobe. For most third year and honour students their closet is becom-ing more of a black hole than a power stance - especially for studentsoff to theirfirst inter-views. It is time to make the shift from student to profes-sional. If your idea of dressing professionally is a suit, well then you are horribly mistaken! Do you have pieces in your closet which can convey au-thority, status, or position? Well of course! There are items you wear every day that say more about your professionalism than you know.

If you want to plot your closet to convey professionalism with-out your wallet plotting against you, you need to utilise these key power pieces:

A classic jacket/blazerNothing yells professional more than a neat tailored blazer or jacket. Jackets aren’t only for winter; a crop-cut den-im jacket will also do the trick! Don’t be afraid to go bright, but just don’t overdo it. You do not want to draw ALL the attention in your interview by dressing exuberantly bright

A good braDon’t let those puppies flyaround like gymnasts on a pole. If your bra rides up in the back, slips off your shoulders, runs over in the front, back, or side it’s time you go shopping. And keep the cleavage to a minimum! You’re not in a Bay-watch episode.

Pencil skirtA pencil skirt is a must for any woman who wants to look like a professional. It accentuates the female body and gives the impression that you are ready for action.

A good pair of heelsWearing the proper shoes doesn’t only make you look professional, but it also makes you feel professional. Women need to buy conversation-starting shoes which can be a great ice breaker for network-

ing. Just don’t commit fashion suicide by wearing heels you cannot walk in.

Vintage, Vintage, VintageWhatever you do, try and in-corporate some kind of vintage element. Whether it is your gran’s pearls or one of your mom’s old skirts you can never go wrong. Nothing yells class and professionalism more than something vintage.

Whenever you find yourselftrapped in a downward fash-ion-malfunction-spiral just ask yourself; “What would Blair Waldorf do?”

12 Aug 2013 FASHION 47

12 Aug 2013PONERDING PEARL48

Pearl writes back...Thank you for your letter.

I’m not normally inclined towards telling oth-ers about my misfortune. I believe that while adversity is never pleasant, it is nevertheless an ingredient for success, so I will share a few of my thoughts with you. God was good to me and blessed me with the most wonderful par-ents.They influencedmy attitude to life in apositive way that taught me that adversity was always negated by the challenge it created.

We were not a jet-set family by any manner of means, but knew the power of using those small wonderful words in life, like God, love, wife, home. I heard them often and will always be grateful to my parents for leaving me this heritage.Theygavemefaith,confidence,per-sistence and stability. I have learnt to turn my weaknesses into strengths and in the absence of adversity, will create my own challenge as I set higher and higher goals. It’s like someone throwing down the gauntlet and is part of my success.

You can tell the delegates at your Good Hope convention from me that they must have faith and be prepared to pay the price of commit-ment and persistence in the face of adversity if they want to succeed… The right attitude is all that is needed.

One of my greatest triumph in life is to achieve success through building up other people, peo-ple who think they are broken down because; of race issues, broke, uneducated enough etc. For me the best reward is to reveal to them whence they have come or where they are go-ing is not important. What is crucial is to discov-er the greatest of all gifts... The potential which is inside all of us, what comes from within us. ThisismyfirstpriorityinlifeandI lovedoingit. I thrive on challenges. I inevitably create my own because they are evidence that I am alive and working hard and I thank God for giving me the courage to overcome those challenges so that I can continually set even higher goals. Those who attempt the impossible, have little completion- be the extraordinary

In conclusion, my philosophy is a simple one: He, who kneels before God, can stand before anyone or anything…Have Faith*

Pearl Mavunda A Million Miles From Normal

12 Aug 2013 FREAKY FACTS 49

Bonjour mon etudiants! (My fellow students!) I am sorry for the long absence, but I am back and here to give you some faits de bizarre to enjoy. Since it is Women’s day this month, I thought about giving some facts about women that you may or may not know!

Tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous!

Ten of the most poisonous snakes in the world can be found in Australia.

According to a census, South Africa has the 3rd best drinking water in the world!

Ancraophobia is the fear of wind!

Spectrophobia is the fear of mirrors!

The first cloned burger has been made andtastes almost like the real thing!

And because we are celebrating Women’s Day this month, here are some facts about women, for women, unfortunately by a man:

It is illegal to be a prostitute in Siena, Italy, if your name is Mary.

Women get fewer hiccups than men and blink twice as much.

A woman’s breasts can change shape if she sleeps on her chest!

The average woman spends 2 years in her life-time looking at herself in the mirror.

Women can identify more colours than men!

According to Stanford University researchers, Women have a better sense of humour than men.

According to an ancient Sumerian legend, the universe was created by the female goddess Tiamat.

There are 4 million more women than men in the U.S.

The English word girl was first used to de-scribe a young person of either gender. It was in the beginning of the sixteenth century that the word was being used to describe a female child!

SPORT50 12 Aug 2013

A note from the Sports Ed...

“I have played rugby my whole life; it is a part of me.”

NWU Vaal’s Etienne Swanepoel (21) breathes, eats and sleeps rugby. Bubbles, as he is known to his rugby team mates, is one of the most hardworkingfrontrowersonthefieldandoneof the humblest players off it.

Swanepoel plays tighthead and loosehead prop as well as hooker for NWU Vaal Rugby Club’s first team. Furthermore, he also rep-resented the Valke under 21 team this year. Swanepoel is also no stranger to the club,

which he has represented when he was still in matric.

Etienne is currently a student at NWU Vaal, where he studies B.Com Sport and Recre-ation. “I love sport and I want to study a de-gree where I can be involved with sport,” said Swanepoel.

“The campus is also close to home, it’s more affordable and it has a chilled vibe making it easier to study.”

Swanepoel is born and bred in Vanderbijlpark. He is part of the community - a rugby success story.Swanepoelfirstgotintroducedtorugbyat Laerskool DF Malherbe in Grade 1. He made great progress at junior level and decided to go to Hoërskool Driehoek, instead of their arch

NWU Vaal’s Bubbles ready to burst onto professional rugby scene

12 Aug 2013 SPORT 51nemesis Hoërskool Transvalia.

“Transvalia was closer to home, but I chose Driehoek, as it had a stronger sporting cul-ture,” said Swanepoel.

His father, Walvis Swanepoel, is one of the rea-sons he started playing rugby. Walvis has pre-viously been a coach at the NWU Vaal Rugby Club, and has mentored a lot of young players inhis tenureat theclub.Anothermajor influ-ence in Swanepoel’s career is Rossi Briers, who is currently the headmaster at Dr. Malan in Meyerton.

Swanepoel has also been privileged to be part of a winning rugby culture. This has helped him to progress in his rugby career. At Hoër-skool Driehoek, he won three out of a possible fiveValkeCup’s.AtuniversityhewonanotherValke Cup, as well as making it to the semi-finalsin2011withtheunder19team.

Swanepoel has also played two years of Cur-rie Cup with Valke and lists this along with his achievements at school and varsity level as his greatest rugby achievements thus far.

“The most memorable game that I played in was for Hoërskool Driehoek’s under 15’s when webeatTransvalia6-5intheValkeCupfinal.Itwas amazing, because we have a huge rivalry” said Swanepoel.

Swanepoel is not your average prop and has qualities that make him stand out from the rest of the pack. He is very mobile for his size and likes to run with the ball, but is still a power-house in the scrum – much like his rugby hero, Springbok prop Jannie du Plessis.

His rugby loyalties lie in the Cape, as he is a fanatical Western Province and Stormers sup-porter. He says that he would like to get con-tracted to any rugby union at the moment, but he would prefer to go to Western Province. “There is a good rugby academy in Stellen-bosch, and it would be great if I could play my rugby there,” said Swanepoel.

Swanepoel also has high hopes of becoming a professional rugby player in the near future. “Rugby gives me opportunities to keep my body healthy and gives me a chance to be ag-gressiveinapositivewayonthefield.”

Apart from playing rugby, he also keeps him-self occupied by playing guitar in his free time aswellaskeepingfitandstrongatthegym.

Support structures are important when you want to be the best and that is one area that Bubbles can count on. “My girlfriend is always there for me, and she supports me at every game. She even makes protein shakes for me, before I go to the gym!” says a smiling Swane-poel.

Bubbles – a humble and hardworking person and homegrown rugby player that basis his success on one particular motto: “Plan for to-morrow, live for today.”

SPORT52 12 Aug 2013

A classical end to the inter-res storyWouter Pienaar and Mangaliso Maduna

Oryx completed the double by clinching both the rugby and male soccer titles at the 2013 Inter-res games.

It almost seems unimaginable to think that it was just yesterday when we were all itching for the inter-res games to commence yet again we all know that all good things must come to an end. The 2013 inter-res games brought smiles, anguish and plenty of drama both on and off thefield.

In the rugby, Oryx beat Thuthuka 50-15 in a game which Oryx dominated from the start. In the end Thuthuka could only manage a few consolation tries. Jonathan Freislich, Shaun Heiberg and Pierre-Lois Bosch were among the try scorers for Oryx on the night.

The inter-res ended in a spectacular fashion withOryxclinching their first inter-res titleasfar as male soccer is concerned. The Oryx side is without a doubt the 2013 success story, hav-ing assembled a highly experienced squad. Breeding with enormous talent, they looked set to rewrite history and be counted among

the best.

Thefinalwasahighlycontestedgamefromaword go. It was a game marred by controversy and clumsy tackles. Both teams enjoyed their fair share of chances but Oryx had the upper hand and were twice denied by the woodwork. Oryxwere the first to put their name on thescore sheet after a Thuthuka defender handled the ball in the penalty area and Oryx success-fully converted their spot kick. They would later double their lead after some superb distribution fromtheirgoalkeepertofindtheirstrikerwhocurled the ball with ease into the net. Thuthu-ka pulled one back in the dying minutes, but it was already too late as Oryx were crowned 2013 inter-res champions. Other winners include Verries, Jasmyn , Aca-cia and Thuthuka. Longfellow had a disastrous campaign this year after they failed to land even a single medal in all competitions. Acacia remained victorious in netball. Verries, Jasmyn and Thuthuka complete the list of win-ners as they reigned supreme in volleyball and chess respectively. The date and venue for the trophy and medals presentation are yet to be confirmed.Fromthesportsdeskwewouldliketo express our humble gratitude to the players, coaches and spectators who made the compe-tition successful.

A chat with ToksAnnelize de Lange

Albert van der Linde was born on 30 December 1969 in the Eastern Free State town, Senekal. He is more commonly known as former rugby player Toks van der Linde.

He started playing rugby for the Western Prov-ince and made his debut in the Springbok match in 1995 in the number 3 jersey as prop when South Africa took on Italy in Rome.

He played his last game in 2001 when South Africa played against the French side and wore the number 1 Jersey. Things didn’t stop there for him. He carried on as a motivational speak-er and spread his message of determination

throughout the country by telling his audiences to never give up and to live a life with the aim of making a positive and visible difference.

One would think his talents would stop there

12 Aug 2013 SPORT 53

Women in SportsArchibold Bojosi

The recent winter recess saw both the NWU VAAL Netball and Hockey women’s teams compete in the annual Uni-versity Sport South Africa (U.S.S.A) games. The wom-en’s hockey team overall fin-ished third in the games held

in Cape Town from the 1-6 of July. The team participated in the B-sectionandplayedfivegameswith three wins and two losses. This was a vast improvement from last year’s 5th place over-all standings. Due to compet-ing in the B-section the team doesn’t qualify to compete in the Varsity Cup but with such

but this former Springbok has a passion for cooking as well… He is especially famous for his biltong potjie, which most South Africans now also regard as an African delicacy.

Thespeedoftherugbyfieldjustcouldn’tleavehim. He has his own talk show “Oor die kole” (Over the coals) hosted with former teammate and friend Kobus Wiese.

Mr Van der Linde also has a deep harmonious love for opera, and this is exactly this love that got him to sing the national anthem when for-merSpringbokCaptain,VictorMatfieldplayedhis 100th Springbok test match.

His message for NWU VTC… “Never stop giv-ing your everything!”

improvement the future looks bright for the team.

The LC de Villiers Stadium in Pretoria hosted the Netball U.S.S.A Games also from the 1-6 July and our NWU wom-en’s netball team represented the campus well with four wins andtwo losses.Theteamfin-ished overall 8th at the games, though no player was selected for the provincial squad the team will take pride that it did sowellinitsfirstyearcompet-ing in the A-section. Future prospects are that the team will be participating in the Var-sity Cup.

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Student 24/7 (Vol 3 No. 7) 2013

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Transcript of Student 24/7 (Vol 3 No. 7) 2013