So much more than a stolen blanket

A stolen blanket first alerted us but it was only when I heard his story that I realised that so much more has been taken from this young man.

You see, this first-year Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University student, who had been sleeping under a planked walkway along the beachfront near our campus, has been denied the opportunity to study because of failed promises. The government promised that financially-strapped students with the potential to achieve would receive funding to support their studies.

For all too many students this has not happened and they have returned home, their dreams of attaining an education and a better life now put on hold.

But not this student.

If today’s newspaper story is correct, this young man persevered in the hope that the funding would eventually arrive and he’d be able to continue his studies. He didn’t want his mother, a domestic worker, to know of his circumstances and add further to her burdens.

And so, when forced to vacate his off-campus accommodation because of an inability to pay, he set up “home” under the boardwalk, off Marine Drive. He’d lived like this for two months before his blankets and textbooks were stolen and he’d reported the matter to the Student Representative Council.

How sad.

How sad that the government’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has not been able to assist every worthy student; how sad that our university was oblivious to his circumstances and how sad that this young man cannot turn to his parents because of their own financial difficulties.

Much more has been taken from this student than a blanket and some text books for he is being denied the opportunity to a better life.

But the wonderful part is the triumph of the human spirit. No one can take this away from him.

I have no idea of this student’s academic capabilities but, in my book, it doesn’t matter very much because his resilience, his determination to succeed, his faith in the benefits of education reveals great depth of character.

As the late Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.



Let’s hope that through our pooled resources that we can help this young man to continue his studies and sleep safely at night.

Warning: this photo is loaded

Yes, this one … this one of three beauties from yesteryear. It was posted on our Facebook Page yesterday as part of a new online campaign called #ThrowBackThursdays to give followers a blast from our university past.

The three nameless students had attended one of the university’s predecessors – Port Elizabeth Technikon – and had won the then beauty contest in 1984. We hoped the photograph might elicit their names or at the very least, trigger a debate around the validity of beauty pageants.

Instead, the faded photo of 30 years ago triggered a “racist” debate.

“This is racist” one Facebook fan responded using the #JuliusMalemaVoice hash tag …

And that was all it took for society to voice its opinion … until one or two realised that the said Malixole was simply yanking everyone’s chains.

Hadn’t anyone noticed that the “this is racist” comment had come with the #JuliusMalemaVoice hash tag?

Playing the race card, as he of the famous red beret band tends to do at every given opportunity, was simply this student’s way of poking fun …

And certainly many laughed.

But certainly many more still need to chuckle, to laugh out loud and guffaw at our wonderful differences (black, white and all the shades in between) because humour is a sure-fire way of helping us to move forward and away from the enforced separate development lifestyle of 20 years ago.

Ask Trevor Noah.

This South African comedian pokes fun at all of us – English, Afrikaans, black, white, coloured, Jewish, Chinese, young, and old – and in doing so, brings us closer together as a nation.

And so perhaps, as Malixole suggests, we all need to “take a chill pill” and learn to laugh at ourselves. LOL!

PS Can anyone identify these women?

        

Never mind the weather, as long as we're together

"Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me quite nervous.”

Regardless of what Oscar Wilde felt, weather is the subject under discussion today … but there’s no reason to feel nervous.

After all, it’s not as if the weather is persona non grata. It’s a subject that is dissected each and every day by each and every one of us since it plays such an integral role in our daily lives.

From what we wear to how we behave, the sun, rain, wind, frost, snow, sleet, breeze, cold, heat, gale etc impacts on our very being.

That’s why when the sun comes out there tends to be a spring in our step, while the galoshes of grim weather tend to keep us down. But you know all this …

What you may not know, however, is that for the past three days Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University has been blessed with beautiful wind-free sunny days.

And it’s mid-winter!

(Anyone who has ever lived or visited Port Elizabeth will appreciate the “wind-free” part of the description … since wind is a key component of the PE psyche, but let’s not go there.) 

With temps in the low to mid-twenties, it is spring-in-the-step time and given that NMMU’s North and South campuses are in a 720-hectare nature reserves, gentle rambles are called for …

NMMU's North and South campuses are situated in a 720-hectare private nature reserve.

During these walks – with and without fellow colleagues – we are privileged to enjoy nature’s bounty: the smell of the sea (since NMMU is next to Algoa Bay) and the coastal fynbos; view the beautiful indigenous gardens and bush and even a Springbok or three, along with a troop of vervet monkeys all under an African azure sky.

Springboks on NMMU's South Campus.

And then there’s the silence … the empty sound of empty spaces.

Now herein lays the rub – the bit that Oscar Wilde was nervous about; those chats about the weather that he felt were fraught with other meaning.

I confess that so it is with this blog … the weather was but an excuse to share the beauty of our coastal campuses and recognise that while there’s beauty in the silence of our surrounds, I MISS THE NOISE AND VIBRANCY OF THE STUDENTS.

It is recess time at NMMU and while it’s an ideal opportunity to catch up and get on with matters not pertaining to students, it’s far too quiet for my liking.

And so, given the option, I’ll forego my fair weather feelings for the tried and trusted “never mind the weather as long as we’re together”.  I’d much rather have students in all weathers, than long, silent sunny days. 

After all, to quote one wise soul, it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow. 

PS. I believe a cold front is on its way! 

     

The brainiacs of NMMU

I’m never sure whether to laugh or cry at our academic awards. I find myself being torn between releasing silent high-pitched sniggers of disbelief at the sheer academic excellence of these students and cries of despair at just how middle-of-the-road I am.

Xandri Schoultz, Ross Charnock, Greg Ducie and Lana Strydom were among the recipients of the 2014 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Academic Achiever Awards.

With citation after citation highlighting their brainiac brilliance, I am both inspired and depressed. Inspired because these academic achievers give me hope for South Africa’s future and downright depressed about the marks I managed to produce.

Or is it just me?

But then I remember that the awards aren’t about me – the awards are about the students who deserve recognition for the hours that they have toiled to obtain their distinctions and for the solutions they are seeking through their research.

I mean, I am not exactly seeking solutions for curing cancer via chemistry (as in Xandri Schoultz’s case) or hoping against hope that I can make a difference and help improve South Africa’s pitiful mathematics marks with research into the concept of mindfulness like Amina Brey.

And that’s what just two of the 29 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University recipients are doing … endeavouring to add value to South Africa’s lot.

Not that the lot of these students has always been easy which makes me marvel (and feel even more pathetic) all the more.

One Henrick Tissink, for example, grew up all over Africa and was home-schooled for the best part of his schooling. He also had to deal with tropical diseases along the way and yet he managed an average of 92% for maths in his BSc degree.

And then there’s Amina Brey, a muslim women, who studied theology for five years, and then taught for seven years before pursuing her own studies in education. She’s the mature student who is now seeking to improve the country’s poor mathematics marks by helping to improve learners’ memory capacity. Only 14% of South Africa’s grade 9s passed their Annual National Assessments last year.

Renita Affat (left ) and Amina Brey

Yes, there’s plenty of reason to celebrate; to recognise the young and not-so-young men and women who sacrifice so much for academic excellence.

And as much reason for me and all the other average Joes out there to get over ourselves and recognise that while we may not have been blessed with an abundance of brains, there is always something positive we can do to pave the way for a better tomorrow.

We’ll start by choosing to be inspired. Let’s recognize and celebrate the academic excellence of the following recipients:

Full list of winners

Rupert Family Trust winners (R60 000 each):

· Amina Brey - PhD: Education on mindfulness training and mathematics

· Xandri Schoultz – PhD: Chemistry on rhenium thiazoles as anti-cancer agents

Vice-Chancellor’s Awards

· Ross Charnock – Best first diploma; NDip: Photography

· Lana Strydom – Best first degree; BPharm

· Greg Ducie – Best postgraduate degree in the Social Sciences and Humanities; MCom: Business Management

· Xandri Schoultz – Best postgraduate degree in Science, Engineering and Technology; MSc: Chemistry

First-year Undergraduate Awards

· Cecilia Matsha – NDip: Inventory and Stores Management (Business and Economic Sciences)

· Yasmine Khan – Bpharm (Health Sciences)

· First Diploma Awards

· Ross Charnock – NDip: Photography (Arts)

· Rendo Rust – NDip: Marketing Management (Business and Economic Sciences)

· Tafadzwa Mvindi – NDip: Electrical Engineering (Engineering, Built Environment and IT)

· Tanya Herselman – NDip: Biomedical Technology (Health Sciences)

· Andrew Halvey – NDip: Game Ranch Management (Science)

First Degree Awards

· Leah Moodaley – BA Media, Communication and Culture (Arts)

· Caitlin Allen – BCom (Rationim) (Business and Economic Sciences)

· Roxanne Pittaway - BEd: Foundation Phase (Education)

· Noel Jansen – BEng: Mechatronics (Engineering, Built Environment and IT)

· Lana Strydom – BPharm (Health Sciences)

· Tamryn Jensen – Bachelor of Law (Law)

· Henrick Tissink – BSc (Science)

BTech Awards

· Rayghana Abrahams – BTech: Cost and Management Accounting (Sponsor: Ford Motor Company)

· Andries Lotter – BTech: Information Technology (Software Development)

Postgraduate Awards

· Lauren Farquharson – BEd (Hon) (Education)

· Aviwe Gqwaka – BSc (Hon) Mathematical Statistics (Science)

· Jonray LeeChing – MBA (Business and Economic Sciences)

· Greg Ducie – MCom: Business Management (Business and Economic Sciences)

· Xandri Schoultz – MSc: Chemistry (Science)



· Bridget de Villiers – MTech: Human Resources Management (Business and Economic Sciences)

Spreading hope ... via the Internet

“The Internet makes the world a better place.”

There are many who might dispute this, and there are many more again who don’t give South Africa’s future any hope against the present backdrop of high crime, massive unemployment and deplorable education standards.

Not so, Alan Knott-Craig. The no-problem-is-too-big entrepreneur was the guest speaker at an alumni breakfast at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University today. He was there to promote his new “fluffy” book, Really, Don’t Panic, a collation of positive messages by South Africans for South Africans.

And if ever there was a great combo to kick-start a weekend, it’s good grub and an enthusiastic reminder that it’s A-Okay to live in South Africa. In fact, it’s far better than simply alright because ours is a country that offers so many opportunities.

You simply need to give people free access to the Internet.

Well, that’s what the founder and CEO of the non-profit organization Project Isizwe is advocating.

“By increasing the broadband by 10%, you can add 1.8% growth to your GDP …”

So the “recovering chartered accountant”, is putting his money where his mouth is by investing his time and talents into the city of Tswane to get things moving.

There he and his team are facilitating the roll-out of free Wi-Fi networks. It’s just a starter because the real goal for the founder of Ever Africa with its selection of eCommerce, games, education, eBooks and telecoms in Africa, is to provide the means for people to access the Internet across the whole of the continent.

Why?

Because Internet makes the world a better place.

It does so because it gives you access to … education, like the Khan Academy, which provides “free world-class education to everybody”.

“People would rather be stupid than look stupid. Internet allows you to be anonymous,” he says, highlighting the success of MXit, which allows students to converse with unknown tutors.

The Internet is also good for:

Employment – you can both find jobs and create jobs. “Look at Gumtree. It’s just a platform for exchanging second-hand goods.”

Stopping crime – the proliferation of social media means that more people are “watching you”.

“The trick is to make Wi-Fi free. You don’t want to be thinking about costs when you are serendipitously searching on the Internet … “

As recipients of free Wi-Fi at NMMU we understand and appreciate the sentiment. We wish you full speed ahead in cutting through red tape, boundaries and no-problem-too-big in spreading hope – and access to the Internet – throughout Africa.

Twitter bios … what they say

Who needs the findings of Generation Next from the Sunday Times to understand today’s youth when their Twitter biographies are just a push-of-a-button away …

A glimpse into the psyche of today’s youngster is there for all to see and doesn't it make for interesting reading – if you can understand it.

It’s not that I’m a stalker. I just happen to see what is being offered in the short biographies and photographs of those who choose to follow the NMMU4U Twitter handle. I do this when thanking each and every new follower for choosing to follow us.

So no, I am not a stalker but I am curious.

I am curious as to why you’d use provocative, scantily-clad photographs of yourself, tell others “SCREW YOU DUDE” or aspire to be “ambitios” (sic) and misspell half your words.

Don’t you know that the world does judge a book by its cover or, in this case, a person by their Twitter handle bio?

For the uninitiated Twitter is a short messaging system – you only get 140 characters (not words) to write – that is shared with your followers. These followers are usually those people with similar interests.

NMMU4U for example, is mainly followed by NMMU students and prospective NMMU students, but also others who have an interest in what the university is doing – hence other institutions of higher learning, media houses, research organisations and like might also choose to follow us.

Anyway, back to the biographies – the information that is provided by the person about his or herself. As shared, it’s fascinating for all sorts of reasons not least the ease with which the youth of today “put it all out there”.

Nothing, it appears, is sacred.

Misspelling is nothing, especially when sms-speak is everyday parlance … M de shy, quiet nd naughty kinda guy; enjoyin evr moment of lyf

At least the latter is happy, which is something we cannot say for SCREW YOU DUDE and the individual who’s happy for the world to know she’s bi-polar and suffering from a “severe case of OCD”.

Not surprisingly, a large number of NMMU’s followers appear to be searching for themselves (the Baby Boomers did likewise), while even more include visionary and aspirational goals in their bios. They’re either “destined for greatness” or “the one to watch”.

The comics, academics and sports lovers are there too.

Each bio, wittingly or unwittingly, offers insights into that individual and as a collective for Generation Y – a generation that happily voices its opinion at the push of a button. And there’s nothing wrong with that either … providing you think before you tweet.

And you think about the bio you compose …