Be brave enough to start a conversation

The talking walls are on each of NMMU's campuses 

That’s what Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University did … they heeded the call by Higher Education South Africa to try to assess what role higher education might be playing in terms of promoting democracy in South Africa.

They started the conversation by erecting temporary walls – “talking walls” - on all six of our campuses to give staff and students the opportunity to share what democracy means to them anonymously.

And for the most part, participants have responded responsibly citing everything from being able to study at a multi-cultural university to being able to vote.

But of course you always get one …

In fact, in this case, it’s probably three or four.

These are the ones who choose to spoil a perfectly good idea by sharing racist and offensive comments, which flies in the very face of NMMU’s values, and democracy itself.

The very values the university endeavours to instill in its students, like integrity and taking responsibility, are the very ones that are flouted and ignored.

Nasty, negative, racist and downright offensive statements have been shared on at least two of the nine or so boards. And a number of staff and students are not happy – understandably so.

“It tarnishes our reputation,” one highlighted, and indeed it does. Few of our 27 000 students would want to be associated with those who spew forth such venomous hate speech, but that’s life, isn’t it?

There is always one or more who will ruin it for the rest because I would hate to think that the majority of our students, the Born Frees, are racist. Most have moved on or certainly want to move beyond things that categorise them according to their colour.

We’re embarrassed by the horrible comments too because it’s Diversity Month at NMMU – a time when we celebrate our differences and how they enrich our lives.

These “talking walls” are aimed at enriching our lives by giving those who work and study here the opportunity – in line with HESA’s call – to have their say.

After all, a university, a place of higher learning, is the ideal platform for such discussions to take place. It is part of what we are meant to do. We are meant to provide folk with a safe space for sharing.

Yes, we’re meant to have critical conversations, we’re meant to be brave enough to start the conversation …

We were brave enough.

And now we’ve got to be brave, bold and honest enough in handling the fall-out (I have no doubt the media will follow up). We’ve got to acknowledge that though we have come a long way during the first 20 years of our democracy, we still have a long way to go …

After all, the writing is on the wall (literally).

Physically diverse but equally committed

Zanele Mdodana

Jolynn Minnaar

One is as tall as the other is short; one as dark as the other white and one as glam as the other is casually chic.

On the surface the two women – both guest speakers during Diversity Month at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on Monday 18 August – are worlds apart. They come from vastly different backgrounds too, but there’s more that unifies these women than makes them different.

So please meet Zanele Mdodana, the physically tall, dark, glamorous woman (when she’s not dashing about the netball court) and Jolynn Minnaar, the slightly-built, casually-dressed white woman.

Both have made their mark. Zanele as an exemplary Proteas netball player, a Laureas Sport ambassador and more recently as founder of the project “Vision Girls Foundation” and Jolynn as a talented film-maker and driving force in the concerns around fracking in the Karoo.

Zanele grew up in a Port Elizabeth township, Jolynn on a farm in the Karoo.

Their backgrounds and life experiences stand in complete opposition to one another, yet there’s more that unites than divides these young women.

Drive, perseverance, commitment and a sense of purpose unites them.

It’s the latter that makes both women exceptional.

Zanele, who is also an NMMU staff member with Madibaz Sport, wants to use her God-given talents to serve others, to be a role model and provide hope to netball players of tomorrow in Port Elizabeth and beyond.

Likewise, Jolynn is using her talents as a film-maker and the insights she gathered while tracing the gas industry in America, to trigger thinking as to whether shale gas really is the solution for our energy-hungry world.

Both are driven by a sense of purpose.

And both women will be talking about their passion and purpose on Monday at NMMU.

It's about passion and a sense of purpose 

Jolynn will also screening her film Unearthed – an investigative documentary that probes fracking in America. She spent five months in North America – from New Brunswick, Canada, to Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to Colorado – during which time she traced the gas industry and met scientists, gas companies and those living in gas drilling areas, to fully research this method of gas extraction.

All in all, Unearthed is the result of 18 months of research, over 400 interviews, a large number of gag orders, no trespassing zones and the reality of being exposed first-hand to chemicals on drilling sites.

But let Jolynn tell you more.

Here are the details:

Date: Monday 18 August

Time: 5.30pm to 8pm & again from 8pm to 9.30pm (two screenings)

Venue: NMMU South Campus Council Chambers

RSVP: marcelledutoil@gmail.com

The film received the WorldView award at the Durban FilmMart for the feature film, which was one of only eight of 106 submissions across Africa selected to participate. It has also since been viewed in Cape Town, Johannesburg and the United Kingdom.

Zanele in action as a Proteas netball player

And let Zanele, along with NMMU honours student Zanele Vimbela, share their experiences about netball with you at the recent Commonwealth Games. But you’ve been warned, Zanele Mdodana is likely to take you off the court because she has a purpose in life – and it goes beyond the confines of playing netball.

Here are the details:

Date: Monday 18 August

Time: 12pm to 1.30pm

Venue: Chancellor’s Room, Sports Centre, South Campus

RSVP: Boiketlo.mongoato@nmmu.a.c.za

Thanks CANRAD (our Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism & Democracy) for providing such diverse speakers and topics knowing, however, that there’s more that unites than divides them.

A cliche, but life does go on ...

After every storm, there's a rainbow

“After every storm, there’s a rainbow.”

So revelations over the past week at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) have left many of us reeling … A leading academic at NMMU cited for the validity of his CV, and possibly doctorate. The allegation flies in the face of our ivory tower (in this case, the 18-storey edifice we inherited from our predecessor) and has us bristling in disbelief and/or anger.

A university is all about learning; it’s all about producing new knowledge; it’s all about inspiring students; it’s all about discussion, debate and discourse; it’s all about critical thinking; it's all about research; it’s all about different paradyms; it’s all about instilling new notions; it’s all about finding new solutions; it’s about technology; it’s about academic freedom; it's about serving society …

Oh, it’s about so many things … but one thing’s for sure, it’s not about CHEATING in any form of word.

So when a former dean is accused of “misrepresenting” his CV – the documentation that got him the job in the first place – it’s a tad hard to accept. But let’s not rush ahead of ourselves as the investigation is ongoing.

In the interim, Prof Velile Notshulwana has been suspended.

If we didn’t learn this via our internal e-mail yesterday, we’d have found it hard to miss today. It was again plastered on the billboards and splashed across the front page of the local daily, the Herald with its 23000 readers. (The Advertising Value Equivalent – what you would pay for the space if you were advertising - of last week’s full page expose was close to R100 000. What a joke. It’s negative news).

It’s been hard – this assault upon NMMU’s credibility, but I’m hopeful we’ll weather the proverbial storm.

Once the investigation, which is also verifying his PhD, articles and employment claims, is completed, a disciplinary hearing will be held.

As long as we do the right thing, and let the world know we have done the right thing by communicating the findings, the university will survive the present bruising. It’s been a nasty bruising that few of us in public relations and communications at the university would like to re-live, but the bruise will fade … and life will go on, and there will be many more wonderful rainbows to follow.

Madibaz Radio ... coming to you soon

“Radio bought people closer, brought entertainment to the doorsteps of homes … it contributed to the happiness and welfare of human society …”

I think we’re all agreed with this, and thankful for the invention of Guglielmo Marconi, about 113 years ago.

Radio is an integral part of lives – entertaining, enlightening, educating or simply reminding us we’re not alone. And very soon radio will become a part of our work and study lives at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Yes, we’re getting our own radio station. Madibaz Radio.

The institution has a had a couple of successful forays into radio in the past with Radio Uppie (with the former University of Port Elizabeth), the community-focused CBFM and smaller ventures by journalism students. Several of today’s top DJs – Daron Mann, Lance du Plessis and Martin Bester to mention a few – started out on these stations.

Madibaz Radio's management team (back from left) Musa Mosweni, Tebogo Sekhalo, Sinazo Mtshengu, manager Saki Makapela, (front) Khanyisa Melwa and Kgabo Maphoto.

But now it’s time for a new generation of radio presenters, programmers and DJs to take centre stage (which happens to physically be above Standard Bank in the Kraal area on South Campus). And how excited Madibaz Radio station manager Saki Makapela and his young team of volunteers are to begin broadcasting.

It is baby steps first as the station will be broadcast via a web address online. And then it hopes to spread its wings later this year with a broadcast licence to reach further listeners via traditional radio channels on the FM frequency. The team has already applied for the licence.

“We’re excited about what’s to come and can’t wait to start broadcasting,” says Saki, a former NMMU journalism student, who previously worked for South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

So far a team of 60 student volunteers has been assembled, led by a smaller dedicated management team. Volunteers will be given a two-month probation to prove their worth and to assess that the programme line-up meets the diverse needs of its diverse listeners.

NMMU music students are already recording the radio jingles, its journalism students are preparing to read the news and the DJ Student Society is providing music mixes and other expertise to respond to the provisional 7am to 10pm weekday programme line-up of:

· 7 – 9am breakfast show

· 9am to midday, mid-morning show

· 12pm to 1pm lunchtime show

· 1pm to 2pm alternate show - current affairs, sport, campus politics and societies

· 2pm to 4pm afternoon cruise

· 4pm to 6pm drive show

· 6pm to 7pm current affairs talk hours

· 7pm to 8pm education talk show

· 8pm to 10pm music offerings

The line-up at the weekends will offer different genres of music from a jazz hour through to hip hop and will also flight the original work of NMMU’s own talented music students.

The teams responsible for each programme will come up with names for their own shows “because we want them to take responsibility for the role,” says Musa Mosweni, who is Madibaz Radio’s programming manager.

According to Saki, Madibaz Radio is purely a student station with its focus on students and student needs.

The content mix is expected to be 80% English, 15% isiXhosa and 5% Afrikaans.

So yes, it’s all pretty exciting … now we simply wait as the final equipment is installed and the teams are trained in the various processes. This will probably take another month.

Stuart Keil and David Opperman of Magnetic Storm are installing equipment for the new Madibaz Radio.

In the interim, however, if you have questions or wish to advertise on Madibaz Radio, here are your contacts:

Programming.madibazradio@nmmu.ac.za

Sales.madibazradio@nmmu.ac.za

Marketing.madibazradio@nmmu.ac.za

Technical.madibazradio@nmmu.ac.za

Music.madibazradio@nmmu.ac.za



We wish the team all the best for Madibaz Radio.

Talking heads ... and walls

 “When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said,” or so says Catherine Murdock.

How true. And so, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is doing its bit to stimulate conversation around a topic key to South Africa’s future – democracy, a subject that might otherwise not be discussed, debated or even reflected upon.

Enter Talking Heads and Talking Walls.

Talking Heads artwork of NMMU staff and students

Both are initiatives to get staff and students thinking, talking and sharing about democracy, especially South Africa’s 20-year democracy and the role that higher education can play.

It is part of a bigger campaign within NMMU, and part of a national campaign being championed by Higher Education South Africa (HESA).

NMMU’s Talking Heads are large cut-out profiles of actual NMMU staff and students who also share their thoughts on democracy within the artwork silhouettes (see photograph above).

The Talking Walls are large Corex white boards on which staff and students are invited to share their thoughts on democracy. These have been positioned in busy areas on all six of NMMU’s campuses, some having several boards.

And so far so good … the conversation is flowing.

NMMU student Khanya Mdlankomo shares her thoughts on the Talking Wall.

The HESA project, which is being rolled under the banner of the Common Campaign Days, is underway at all 23 institutions of higher learning throughout South Africa.

At NMMU, we have also introduced a democracy webpage, hosted a book launch, an environmental justice exhibition, an education seminar and a high profile discussion – called the Big Debate – around the post-school market. The latter was particularly successful with students tweeting their thoughts and opinions with the panelists.

But the Talking Heads and Talking Walls are ongoing – a welcome innovative addition on the NMMU landscape.

The number of profile artworks featuring NMMU staff and students will be increased and will travel from campus to campus, while the temporary Talking Walls will be joined by permanent, larger Talking Walls throughout NMMU. These walls will host other interesting discussions and will, in future, form part of the university’s public art.

So please join the conversation.

What does democracy mean to you? Go to http://intra.nmmu.ac.za/Soapbox/May-2014-(1)/20-years-of-democracy

Billboard blues ... for NMMU

NMMU's integrity is under the spotlight

NMMU Prof in CV Scandal …

These words screamed at us from the billboards en route to our university. They’re words that fill us with shock, curiosity and anger; words that trigger questions and disbelief; words that hurt.

It does not matter whether we are staff members or students, the billboard and accompanying lead story in today’s Herald newspaper about a former dean’s alleged plagiarism and fraudulent actions, impacts upon us all.

But none more so than Prof Velile Notshulwana, whose integrity and credibility is at the centre of story.

An investigation is underway at NMMU to verify the validity of Prof Notshulwana’s CV after the university was alerted by independent sources that all might not be as claimed by the good professor. Possibly at about the same time, the local newspaper, the Herald, began its own investigations. Today’s front page and page 2 stories are the result of that investigation.

And it doesn’t paint a pretty picture.

Prof Notshulwana who studied in the States, but originally comes from Port Elizabeth, is alleged to have provided false information in his CV, claimed authorship of journal articles of which he was not involved and plagiarised the writings of others for his weekly columns in the Herald back in 2011 and 2012. The famed Dr Phil is among those whose writing he is alleged to have used without the source’s acknowledgement.

There are now also aspersions about the validity of his doctorate.

As part of the appointment process at NMMU, all CVs of short-listed candidates are vetted on behalf of the university by an outside agency. The university followed this process with Prof Notshulwana. No information was brought to NMMU’s attention by Kroll (Managed Integrity Evaluation (Pty) Ltd) to doubt the material claims made in the CV.

Right now, however, this is immaterial. Right now, what’s important is that NMMU completes its own investigation and responds accordingly. They must either apologise profusely for the embarrassment caused to our former colleague or mete out punishment according to its our own disciplinary code.

Whatever the findings, it’s imperative that we do what is right to protect our integrity.

NMMU must walk the talk and uphold its values, especially that of integrity and taking responsibility.

Failure to do so will impact upon us all because we’re all tainted with the same brush – students and staff together.

The public doesn’t look for the detail. It’s the broad strokes they see … for everyone knows bad things happen (that’s life); it’s how we handle the bad stuff that’s important.

Join NMMU & see the world ...

Heather Wilford

Today, it’s over to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) student Heather Wilford, who recently returned from an exchange programme in Holland …

We’re pretty confident that once you have read her feedback, you’ll go scrambling about the NMMU website for similar opportunities because every year the university sends hundreds of its students overseas to get a taste of life elsewhere.

“How do you know what a dream is, if you never accomplished one? How do you know what an adventure is if you never took part in one? How do you know what is an anguish if you’ve never said goodbye to your family and friends with your eyes full of tears.

“How do you know what being desperate is, if you never arrived in a place alone and cannot understand what everyone else was saying. How do you know what diversity is if you never lived under the same roof with people from all over the world? How do you know what tolerance is, if you never had to get used to something different even if you didn’t like it.

“How do you know what autonomy is, if you never had the chance to decide something by yourself? How do you know what it means to grow up, if you never stop being a child to start a new course?

Heather (second right) experiencing Hup Hup Holande!

“How do you know what is to be helpless, if you never wanted to hug someone and had a computer screen to prevent you from doing it. How do you know what distance is, if you never, looking at a map, said ‘I’m so far away’? How do you know what language is, if you never had to learn one from friends. How do you know what patriotism is, if you never shouted “Hup Hup Holanda” wearing a flag around your body?

“How do you know what an opportunity is, if you never caught one? How do you know what pride is, if you never experienced it for yourself at realizing how much you have accomplished. How do you know what to seize the day is, if you never saw the time running so fast?

“How do you know what love is, if you never experienced the adrenaline from a summer fling? How do you know what a friend is, if the circumstances never showed you the true ones? How do you know what family is, if you never had one that supported you unconditionally.

“How do you know what borders are, if you never crossed yours, to see what is on the other side? How do you know what imagination is, if you never thought about the moment when you returned home?

“How do you know the world, if you have never been an exchange student?”

I told you you’d be yearning to experience the joys of travelling once you’d read this …

For more information contact NMMU’s International Office for Education’s Study Abroad Programme on studyabroad@nmmu.ac.za

Heather Wilford recommends travelling.