Home @ LAST!

LAST is the operative word... Hi everyone, hav I got a story for you...

I never believed my life to be cursed or bewitched of even interesting enough for anyone to REALLY care enough to make it completly MISERABLE...

The last post I put up went on abput how I was still in the G-town while all my mates enjoyed home and stuff... Anyway, on the 28th of Nov I *FINALLY* got my chance to go home too, so I got on the bus and left for PE (that's where our airport is - NOT IN GRAHAMSTOWN as you might have expected)...

I went to check my stuff in when we arrived, thinking I was good for time. THE JOKE WAS ON ME!! Not only was I missing a credit card authorisation on my booking, my luggage was 32 kg's OVERWEIGHT!! I'd have to pay R900 charges...

For crying in a bucket! I am a student! It is the end of the year! I already was hysterical because I'd missed my flight, I DID NOT NEED THIS! But such is my life, never a dull moment...

I *calmly* set out to find both accomodation for the night and funds to pay my charges (yeah right, if bawlling your eyes out on the phone to your mom, who's 1500km's away to try and help you is calm, then yes, I was *calm*)... Laugh if you will, I had to laugh to avoid extreme hysteria and bombing the airport...

Come the morning of the 29th, I wake up bright and early and head for the airport for a second try. If you are a sympathetic person who lives in the ideal world, you may have assumed that this day was better than the previous... You'd be sorely mistaken! The 29th was as bad if not WORSE!! I arrived at the airport BEFORE 7am...thinking this would give me enough time if anything were to go wrong... Let me pause here to fill you in on a little secret...

Murphy (the guy who has a LAW named after him) HATES MY GUTS!!! Plain and simple.

I got to the airport, did the whole process of checking in again - only to find the same problem as the previous day, exept, I WAS PREPARED!! My preparation did not aid my frustration because I ended up in the Team Leader's office, on the phone, waiting for an operator to assist me for TWO HOURS! Okay, it wasn't that bad... But when you are holding for help and the background music sounds like a waiting room sound-track, you tend to flip out!

I finally got help, got authorisation and proceeded to MISS MY FLIGHT... At this point in the story you should be doing one of two things (or both). You should either be rolling on the ground, laughing your head off, or you should be bawlling your eyes out in empathy... I did neither. I remained perfectly still, stopped breathing til my brain decided suffocation was not a dignified way to die and forced me to breathe.

The events that followed those few minutes are: team leader puts me on the next flight in business class, I get to Joburg and sprint to catch the Lowveld Link (my connection home) and ride smoothly into the blazing heat of the Transvaal...

I love my life and woudn't change a single event or element...

I hope my woes have sufficiently entertained you, have a blessed festive season and please be safe on our roads!

All my love

Une

Home at last!!!

I gaze at the last post added by our gorgeous drama queen Ncebi, and can't help but chuckle to myself. She's still at Rhodes, bored out of her mind and about to write an exam, while I'm at home, relaxing, drinking tap water that actually tastes good (grahamstown peeps will know what I'm talking about) and eating my ma's cooking. The nasty monster of jealousy must be eating you up inside Ncebi. But don't worry my friend, you'll be home soon.
However, this post was not added to brag about the joys of being home, but to remind everyone that Zane is still alive and kicking. Exams were rather hectic so much of my time was spent with my face in the books and no time to look up let alone turn on my laptop to add a post. But by the grace of The Almighty I made it through the exams and now I've got nothing but free time on my hands. I can't promise a daily update, but I can guarantee at least one post to remind everyone about our annual celebrations of Christmas and New Years!!!
But until then I must love and leave you. To everyone on vac have a great one. To all our overseas readers who don't go on vac until Christmas, good luck.And to Ncebi, hope your exam goes well.
As Gossip Girl would say, "You know you love me. XOXO"

When does it end?!

It may be pay-day in the real world, but I'm two days away from my final exam and sadly BORED TO DEATH!

You know how it feels when you've had enough and all you want is your mother's house and HER cooking?? Well, that is my current status...

Une is: wanting to go home to her mom's house and cooking!!!

K, maybe I'm being melodramatic, who can blame me? My last exam is Drama after all, may as well put it to practice...

*Deep sigh*

I really did enjoy my first year as a student, it was everything I hoped it would be (in terms of always managing to surprise my ass!). I made plenty of friends and I hope next year will be just as exciting if not more.

Happy holiday season everyone, I'm sure the Gerbil team will have some posts up for you to survey while you avoid removing your scalp in frustrated bordom... hehehe...

Thanks for being a lively bunch, catch you on the flip side!

Music made for the summer

Since the beginning of the year my music taste has changed somewhat even 'maturing' if you will. I opened up my mind during these two semesters to bands I'd never heard of, even attending a Southern Gypsy Queen concert- a band I knew nothing about and found that I actually enjoyed it! So I feel it my duty to share with the world the bands I beleive will be the soundtrack to my summer and cary me into another year with bigger better things to come!

First up is Modest Mouse. They first wowed me with 'Float On' and I think it is the best song you could ever listen to after a bad day, You'll just end up smiling! Next up is Cold War Kids and Hospital Beds, I really like that song but struggle to figure out what it's about but that doesn't matter. It's the feeling it creates. Best listened to when you are irritated with the world and feel trapped! Will be posting more good songs in the next few days.

Happy Summer Ya'll

I can see it now.. the horizon.. it's close..

So guess what boys and girls, it is the home stretch! I just wrote my second last exam for the semester and have one more to go.. Gee whizz it's been a bit of a odd year.. Between crushes and academics it hasn't been too much of a dull one though! I made mistakes (and will probably make some more next year) but what's important is that I take what I experienced this year and grow a little.. or a lot.. which ever one appelas to me the most! It's the home stretch now so fears aside, get cracking and have faith, next year will be better and much more than you'll hope for...

Humour during cabin fever

Hey Everyone :]

Ok guys, so I'm in the middle of exams at the moment which is why there haven't been any recent posts lately.
However, I came across this video today. I know it's sort of old news now, but I still find it screamingly funny. I don't want to give away too much, but it's a LIVE video of South Africa's Chairman of the Finance Portfolio Committee. Maybe it's not that funny and I just happen to find it hysterical because I'm suffering from cabin fever in my tiny room, surrounded by mountains of work which I have to get through in the next few days. You be the judge.

Anyway, Enjoy :)
Oh, and turn up the volume. Trust me, it's worth it!

xx

V! Is for Vote!

In this day and age, the youth of society think they are making a political statement by not placing that ‘million-dollar-x-mark’ on a ballot paper. Truth be told, they are serving only to further the disintegration of our state by adopting an attitude of apathy towards voting. Voting is not only a right and privilege, it is a weapon by which one can really make a difference, but the youth of South Africa would rather watch Survivor: Fiji!

Guys (and gals), wake up to the reality of the power given you. Take responsibility of your future, use the opportunity awarded you to be the difference. It is through us that our leadership is chosen, if we choose not to take action then we have no right to complain that the country is going to the dogs – we have allowed it!

Don’t get me wrong, I am neither politically aware nor do I know how the politics of the country work. What I am is concerned. How long will we allow our country to be run by ‘incompetent’ rulers? For as long as we do, that is how long the non-voters should be silent.

I believe that those who choose to take the ‘back-seat’ approach to life have no right to interject with sob stories and complaints when they are the root cause of the degeneration of the country. I earnestly appeal to the youth of South Africa to take up arms (ACTION, not weapons…) and make a very important decision with regards to their own future.

Do not let apathy continue to be the downfall of our nation.

Vote and vote SMART!

Check out this article and see for yourself...

Men

I came across this monologue while doing resaerch for my Drama 1 Vioce exam last semester. I found it amusing while true, check it out...



MEN

"I've always loved sports, and what I love most about sports is that all you have to do is play the game and show your stuff. No spin, no politics. A home run is a home run; a basket is a basket; a goal's a goal.

But even then, it's not a level playing field. I kept being told, "Gee, you're good. You could play on the team, if you weren't a girl". In a pick-up softball game in the park I'd take my position at short-stop only to have a guy come by and stand in front of me. I say, "Excuse me, but I'm playing here." He gets mad, cusses me out and calls me "dyke" and stalks off to play for the other team. I've had guys get mad at me personally because I was the woman on a team that beat them. Like we're so inferior, losing to a woman is an insult! Even when they "let us play", the guys want to put us "where you can't hurt anything" - or can't do much good, either!


The last straw was when I went to work for a sports magazine-- yeah, ‘That’ sports magazine. I was automatically assigned the "soft" sports, even though that was the area where I had the least experience. When I'd make suggestions for stories, they'd be rejected: but the same suggestion is greeted as a great idea when some guy brings it up. Men think they own sports-- like they own government and the military."


I hope you in good spirits...
Take care

Mwa
xoxo

Staring at my reflection

Last year, while I was on my gap year I travelled overseas and was away from home for a lot of the year. I decided that during this time I was going to create a blog which would detail my adventures and in some way, keep in touch with my family and let them see what I was getting up to. At first I updated my blog frequently, writing detailed posts and including lots of pictures.
However, like many people who start blogging, the excitement of my blog died pretty quickly and I soon lost interest in it.
At the beginning of this term when we were told that we were going to design and create our own blogs, I was really excited about it. The fact that I was going to create another blog and have the opportunity to learn how to use and manage it properly was an exciting prospect. I loved the idea that the term would consist of a lot of practical and creative work, as those are two fields of working which I thoroughly enjoy.

In our tutorial, when we formed groups of blogging teams, I instantly knew that my team and I were going to work well together. We were all hard workers who put a lot of effort into producing our best work for the blog. My team and I were all enthusiastic about the blogging assignment for the entire term.
I think the reason why I felt so positive about the productivity which I would produce is because I was working in a group and the maintenance and updating of the blog did not rest entirely on my shoulders. Because of this, I did not feel like I had a huge responsibility to write posts constantly, as my team members would be doing it too. I therefore had the freedom to write when I wanted to and didn’t feel pressured to constantly update it.
Another reason why I felt productive in posting on our blog was because I felt like I was reaching out to other first years and prospective first years on what to expect. I felt as though I could help guide them in the right direction and give them a better sense of what life at Rhodes University and other universities was all about. It felt as though I was achieving something which was quite important.

I found it really easy to generate story ideas according to our blog character. This is probably because the stories related to experiences of first year, which I now have first hand experience in. I wrote about my favourite topics which I often think about, topics which reflected the life of a Rhodes University student in a number of different lights. I tried my best to make my posts inspirational and uplifting, because that is the type of person that I am, and I wanted to show and tell everyone the type of experiences which I as an optimistic, happy person has had being here in university. I wanted to show the good side of being here at Rhodes University, because I know that there are a lot of pessimistic views and articles out there about this university.

All of us who belong to the Gerbil blogging team get along very well and we’re all very close. This made discussions and decisions in our formative meetings very relaxed and easy, because we each gave each other the chance to put our views across before deciding which idea to go with as a group. All our ideas were quite easy to come up with and relate to our blog’s character, because we all had so much which we wanted to talk about our first year here at Rhodes. The assignments which we were given to publish on our blog were also really fun to do, as they focussed on the ideas of what it’s like to be a first year and we were able to express ourselves as creatively as we wanted to.

This course definitely let me grow as a person and gave me the freedom to express myself freely. This allowed me to write about issues which I wanted to write about and I felt no restrictions, because of the fact that it was my own blog. In doing so, I not only reflected about my experiences to other first years, but I was also able to reminisce about my year and everything which happened in my life. It helped me look back and realise how incredibly lucky I am and how wonderful my year has been.

Because we were not working on real publications, the freedom of writing about what we wanted to without having to reference took a while to get used to. However, this type of writing was really fantastic and enjoyable, because the assignments felt more ‘fun’ rather than tedious and just something which we ‘had to do for DP purposes’. I was more inspired to write the assignments which we were given, due to the freedom of our writing.
However, I don’t think our articles can be seen as journalism, but more along the lines of creative writing. Our posts didn’t really hold anything worthy in terms of news values and therefore cannot really be seen as true journalism.

I think that if we had not been restricted to writing along the theme of ‘first year’, our blogs would have been quite messy and would not have been interconnected with one another. I therefore think that it was important to stick to this theme instead about writing about anything and everything that was on our minds.

In terms of my sources, it was easier to write a profile piece on someone in this term than in term one, because I have come out of my shell and I’m not so shy to meet new people. The articles which I wrote seemed to link with a lot of other articles which people around the world wrote. It seemed that many people around the globe also felt that they needed to write about certain issues which I also found important.

Overall, I thought this was a really fantastic course. I had so much fun working with my team members and having the opportunity to write in a free, relaxed manner and about issues which caught my attention. The art of blogging is important in this day and age as it is becoming more and more prominent over the Internet. It is slowly becoming the new form of journalism and learning about blogging has provided us with an important stepping-stone in the form of journalism today and in the future.

xx

Marketing Gerbil

Hi

I’m a first year at Rhodes University in South Africa and I recently wrote a post on having a relationship during your first year in university, without the involvement of sex. In some ways my post relates to your post.
I believe that it definitely is possible to have a loving relationship between two people without having to have sex. I mean, surely a relationship is about the bond between two people and not about having sex. I know that it a very important issue in all relationships, but at our age (18-20) I honestly believe that we can build solid, intimate relationships with our partners without having to have sex with them.
I think that getting to know a person well before you enter into any commitment is very important and I agree with you in the fact that friendship really is the best foundation for love. It is not all about having sex.

Please would you mind visiting my blog and having a look at my post?

Thanks

Sarah

WORDPLAY

I have never been the quirkiest of individuals and so to compensate I tend to note down all the things I hear in movies or see in comics that I think would be fun to say, in the hopes that a situation will present itself and I will think "Yes! I have the purrrfffeeecct phrase to say just at this very moment". However the fact of the matter is when a moment appears ripe for the use of my words.. the words escape me (as do most things that are planned in life) and instead the only choices I have left is to be mum or spew a deluge of meaningless verbal diarrhoea. So I have aken it upon myself to share this collection of wise words with you, that way I'm putting them to some use!

- You rock

- No friend, I rule!

-Would you hit that?

-Yeah.. With a stick!

-Could you please get over yourself, everyone else has!

-I am unable to acquiest your request (yes I really have always wanted to use that one!)

These are just a few of my favourites, wll have more for you next week!

Out of your SPACE: CounSEling = cUre??

Click here for help!

There are some extreme cases, my friend, of people who never get the help they seek from counselling...
There are, unfortunately, those who go for counselling but do not wish to be helped...

I understand how you feel, in fact I'm one of those people who don't believe in getting counselling for my issues because I choose to deal with them on my own rather than spilling them out to a stranger.
I do, however, recognise that counselling works for other people really well.

Touche.

I think your friend just needs to be honest with herself. Only she can decide if she wants to be helped... As for the rest of the counsel-seeking populace, they'll keep going and we'll keep wishing them well...


Out of your SPACE: CounSEling = cUre??

The truth is...UGLY!

This post was meant to make you move.
React.
Whether that meant you were offended, impressed, outraged, dispaired...it was meant to make you feel something...anything!

If you did, well done, you have just participated in a debate, if you sat in seething silence on your own then...oh well- you missed out on an opportunity to be both politically incorrect and incredibly exciting...

This is my comment to this piece:

Hi friend...

I admire your guts and unapologetic stance, be careful not to judge people though- we all do the thing we do for various reasons.
I appreciate your values and, without being gender centric, I think your argument poses a lot of difficult questions for many homo/heterosexual people in terms of religion and the like…

While people may call you ignorant, I commend you for voicing your honest opinion. Your piece has not raised issues undealt with, and even though Rhodes is such a ‘desert island’ community, it is obvious that the topic of homosexuality is a touchy one. If people were comfortable and content with their sexuality, there wouldn’t have been such a reaction.

I am glad your piece got so much attention; it means people are paying attention and we are pushing the right buttons…

Keep it up!
Ncebi *20*

Only in Grahamstown

Aloha ♥

You know, there are all sorts of weird and wonderful things which go down in this small town.
For many of us who comes to Rhodes University, we have never really had a full on meeting and experience with animals like cows, goats and donkeys. Alright, so of course we've all seen these animals before, I mean who has never been to a petting zoo or a farm or the 'Bunny Park' as we people from Benoni know all about?

But, the difference here is the fact that these animals walk freely around the town and even more weirdly, around the Rhodes University campus! Yes, you read right. These animals come down to the town from the informal settlement just outside of Grahamstown and seem to just chillax around the town for the day. I'm guessing they're bored and just want to head out on the town for a bit of fun, right? ;)

Anyway, so all you first years (and anyone else who plans on visiting lil' old Gtown), don't be too alarmed when you come across carts being pulled by donkeys, goats roaming through the town and cows walking on campus among the cars! (All first hand experiences, believe it or not...)

It's completely normal and expected. Welcome to Grahamstown.

xx

Growing up way too quickly for my liking...

Greetings everyone!

A very upsetting thought dawned on me earlier this morning while I was sitting in my second to last Journalism lecture of the year.

*** Why does time go by so incredibly quickly and more importantly, how can I stop it from doing so? ***

My first year at university is already nearly over, even though it feels like it's just begun! There was so much I wanted to do this year, so much I wanted to achieve, and yet here I sit, about to go into the last stretch of the year. A month filled with studying and exams and then? It's back home to Johannesburg for three months of holiday bliss. How can time have raced by so quickly? I had no warning about how quickly this year would go by and it upsets me to think that I only have three more years of the uni lifestyle before I head out into the big, scary working world.
I know it sounds silly and irrational, but I'm just loving it here at Rhodes so much, I can’t think past anything but the happiness which I’m experiencing here right now. And yea, I'm the type of person who lives in the moment and tries her very best not to ruin the present by thinking about the future, but this morning sitting in my Journ lecture, that’s all I could think about.

I mean, I looked across the room at all my Journalism friends and thought about whether we'd all still be sitting together next year in JMS2. My friends in my Journalism class have become such a great part of my life, they're like my 'Journalism family' and it feels so utterly strange that I may never sit in another lecture with them again. Do I get too attached to people and become too comfortable in the environment which I'm living in at the time? Maybe I do, but it’s who I am.

Anyway, I guess what it really boils down to is enjoying every moment of your life, because when change does come along, you want to be able to look back and be grateful for everything and everyone who made your life perfect in that moment and to also realise that more perfectly wonderful moments will head your way.

So, to my amazing blogging team and all my Journ friendies, thank you. Thanks for being such special people and for making my first year JMS course an absolute blast. You guys really are awesome and I love you to bits.

xx

5 In Blindsight: First years are not interested in politics!#links

Mr H.

Thank you for a great piece of writing, I do, however, have an issue to raise.
While I admire your stance on political importance, it is valid to note that some first years are honestly not interested in politics. I’m not talking about the subject offered; I’m talking about the actual events happening on a day-to-day basis.

While this may be sad, it is true. More so because the majority of first years are still teenagers and have adopted an attitude of apathy towards politics and the country’s political dilemmas.

There are those who are interested in politics, I’m not disregarding them, but I do wish to challenge your point of view in terms of the reality of the fact. We do not live in the ideal society where everything works as it should, and I commend you for sticking it through instead of packing up and moving out. You are one of the few white South African males who should be an example to the rest. I believe in our country and the potential its people have, but politics is a lifestyle that will take some a little longer to adapt to.

Don’t give up, if you keep a positive attitude about politics and share that with as many first years as possible, I am certain that you will make a difference to their outlooks on the subject and the events.
See my post on voting.

Good Luck!

Ncebi *20*5 In Blindsight: First years are not interested in politics!#links

Cruiser's Lac: taking the trip without trippin': Basketball, Books and a Baby

Reading the profile that dreamer wrote on a first year student who fell pregnant and has to keep on dealing with the reactions of different type of people made a hero story for me.
I liked how the student who was interviewed did not take her pregnancy as a burden but accepted it and through all the gossip and wondering eyes around campus, she managed to not fall apart. Instead, it’s like she found motivation to accomplish everything that she wanted to in her first year.
I think that the profile can fit in with Todorov’s model where the is a state of equilibrium, disruption and then also the second stage of equilibrium where everything goes back to normal. It also features the characters of the story and thus makes use of Propp’s character dramatis.
Over all, I think the writer of the profile was really brave to go interview someone who has gone through something like this and also for the person to actually agree to share her story was very courageous.http://www.gerbilthefunkyrhodent.blogspot.com

Cruiser's Lac: taking the trip without trippin': Rhodes Of Our Lives Commic Strip

I am not taken away by your comic guys. I think that taking the ‘soapie’ route did not work for this piece. There was nothing fresh, exciting and captivating about the story, it never provided the element of surprise that I would expect a comic strip to have.
When I read the first three blocks, I could already tell where the story was headed as the title also gave it away. What I liked about it though is the characters that were in the comic strip. There was the guy who started off looking like a nice guy which made him a hero and then later the story shifted and he was a villain in the eyes of the girls.http://www.gerbilthefunkyrhodent.blogspot.com

Varsity Compass 101: Opinion Piece: Library Extention

Comment on the Opinion piece about the new library being built
I do not see what your issue with the new library is because you should know better than any one how the library helps us humanities students. Our degree can only be obtained if we read and read in abundance. Sitting in front of a computer screen and trying to access an article is a lot of admin and it is also time consuming. What more having to read the article on the screen? Not everybody has got a good eyesight that permits them to sit in front of the screen for hours; people struggle with sitting in front of the computer because of their eye sights and also it being a lot of work and can be an unreliable source. Some of the people who are students here are not really computer literate and might prefer taking a book out of the library and making copies of the parts that they need, this saves time and also is easy to use. The library is been extended to help you and not to waste money, it is a way of trying to ensure that people have all they need for their degrees at their disposal so that people do not come up with excuses saying that the university does not support them with their studies.http://www.gerbilthefunkyrhodent.blogspot.com

Varsity Compass 101: Opinion Piece: Library Extention

Varsity Compass 101: Opinion Piece: Library Extention

Comment on the Opinion piece about the new library being built
I do not see what your issue with the new library is because you should know better than any one how the library helps us humanities students. Our degree can only be obtained if we read and read in abundance. Sitting in front of a computer screen and trying to access an article is a lot of admin and it is also time consuming. What more having to read the article on the screen? Not everybody has got a good eyesight that permits them to sit in front of the screen for hours; people struggle with sitting in front of the computer because of their eye sights and also it being a lot of work and can be an unreliable source. Some of the people who are students here are not really computer literate and might prefer taking a book out of the library and making copies of the parts that they need, this saves time and also is easy to use. The library is been extended to help you and not to waste money, it is a way of trying to ensure that people have all they need for their degrees at their disposal so that people do not come up with excuses saying that the university does not support them with their studies.

Comment on Starfish's opinion

Hey Starfish

I must say that I disagree with you in the fact that relationships in first year don’t work.
You see, personally I think that in order to enter a relationship, you need to know the person a little bit before jumping into any sort of commitment. Keeping a relationship alive does take effort, but it’s a lot easier if you know and understand the person, rather than just getting together straight away. You can’t expect a relationship to keep its spark if you have no intimate connection between each other. Not intimate in a sexual way, but in a way where you can trust each other with personal things and having the ability to talk to each other about whatever may be on your mind.

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve met some guys who are a bunch of sex-crazy morons, but there are loads of guys here who aren’t like that, like all of my guy friends. I mean I’m sure they have sex on their minds, (what guy doesn’t?) but they keep it to themselves and would never date a girl just to get into her pants. They’re a bit harder to find, but if you look hard enough for them you wont be disappointed, because they really are a million times better than those guys who want nothing more than sex.

Cheers
Sarah

Check out Starfish's post

“I’m not angry but I still have to get over it”…

“I’m not angry but I still have to get over it”… These are the words of Matchbox Twenty’s song called Angry and describe exactly how I feel. I recently had the misfortune of encountering one of those people who appear to be one way but are in fact another; you know the type, the ‘I’m your friend but I actually make fun of the way you always push up your glasses when you talk behind your back’ type. One would assume that coming to a place like university that one would be prepared for such situations but nope, one is most definitely not! It is still going to hurt when you invest time and effort into another person only to have them throw it back in your face in bits and pieces. The best thing to do is to be extremely selective when it comes to friends as well as boyfriends/girlfriends and if a bad seed somehow mingles its way into your garden, why then starve it of everything necessary for it to become a big ugly ole’ tree. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have a chain saw to acquire and a tree to cut down…

Homosexuality

Growing up in a small town on the East Rand of Johannesburg, homosexuality has never been an issue as my surroundings never entertained the idea of homosexuality. Also, being raised in a Christian home, having Christian beliefs and lifestyle, homosexuality is a sin in my eyes. It is an act of denying God’s creation and God’s plan with an individual’s life.
When I came to Rhodes, I was astonished and amazed of the high percentage of homosexuality and how it seemed to be a norm amongst the people living in Grahamstown. Being unfamiliar with such behaviour and also the freedom and support these people get from societies such as OUTRhodes made me uneasy and unsettled. It is as if I am in another island, another planet, a different world from the one that I grew to know.
I felt like I an alien in the island of these homosexuals, a foreign disease that no one was fond of. I failed to understand the reasons behind these people believing that they were women when they were born as men and others wanting to be men when they were born women. I do not understand how you could impose a character that you are not, are you trying to say that God made a mistake in creating Eric instead of Erika? Or is it because we feel that since God gave man dominion over everything in this earth that we also have dominion and the right to be female when you are male?
I am appalled by how people come from home being young beautiful girls or handsome boys and knowing what they want in life. When they get to Grahamstown, they all of a sudden discover that they are gay. I do not get the logic here, or is homosexuality like Levi jeans, it is a must have before it goes out of style. Because frankly, that is what homosexuality has come to be in our society, it has become a way of fitting in with the ‘in crew’. It has become a way of seeking attention and also gaining recognition from people around you. Being known and visibility has become a main objective of being homo, turning heads has became a mission and goal that people seem to want to accomplish.
What exactly are the reasons of becoming homo? Are there any? It’s become like chicken pox, infectious, contagious and dangerous. Why dangerous? People end up wanting to kill themselves because of being gay; they are ‘disappointed’ at not being accepted by their families and by other people around them. My question is: why must people compromise their beliefs and qualities to please you as a ‘homo’. If you as a homosexual were comfortable with your homosexuality then why do you need acceptance from those who are different from you?
It disgusts me how when things do not go the way people want them to go, they resort to suicide,. How can you expect to participate in a controversial act such as homosexuality and not expect rejection and hatred? Do gay people ever think of the consequences of going against the course of nature? God made you a man because He knew that you will fail to produce what he wants you to be if you were to be a woman. So what makes people think that if you do it yourself, things will be better and you will be able to live this twisted ‘fashion’ of homosexuality?
This just proves to me that as an individual, you know that what you are doing is wrong and does not represent the inner person that lies within you. You know that everything that happens in life happens for a reason, at a time that God sets it to happen. He (God) knows the reasons why He made you a woman and not a man or a man and not a woman. The bible says that God knew you before He formed you in your mother’s womb. If that is the case, then surely He was sure of what He was doing when He made you a man or a woman.

Masquerade Ball

We all know that being in Grahamstown feels almost like living on an island, to the most part secluded from the outside world. Being in Rhodes University is a further isolation. We live in a bubble, shielded from the harshness of the real world: a fairytale world where everything is perfect. We go to our lectures and tuts and on Wednesday the weekend begins. To the outside world Rhodes University is a world in itself, portraying dedicated students (who may get drunk once in a while) but students who stand up for what they believe in. It is a University far removed from discrimination of any kind. We all march for women’s rights, gay rights; a liberal university. We do not accept discrimination of any kind. That is why you never hear of racism at Rhodes University. That is why you never hear of homophobia at Rhodes University. Therefore it makes so much more sense that Rhodes University students would ruin portraits of the great Steven Biko, recently put up after the renaming of the Union to the Bantu Steven Biko Building, or that Rhodes University students would bring fear to the life of a homosexual student who was threatened and almost attacked because he is openly gay. Yes, Rhodes University; our (safe) home away from home.

I have always wondered why it is that issues of discrimination never arise at Rhodes University. It seems virtually impossible to me that every other university has reported cases of some kind of discrimination, but Rhodes is somehow exempt from it all. But I have now finally discovered the answer to my own question. Rhodes University is known as a liberal university. Discrimination it seems would never be tolerated in an institution like this. We have societies of all kinds, exhibiting their pride in their cultures (Lesoc, Zim soc for example) as well as societies for homosexuals such as Out Rhodes. The world sees a place that is accepting of all kinds, because we hold protest marches aimed at women’s rights and gay rights, marches against all kinds of discrimination. Therefore it is widely understood that Rhodes University equals peace, love and happiness and students play along with this image.

However drunkenness takes over sanity and the masquerade abruptly ends. We have students who publicly exclaim their threats and hatred of gay people and students who vandalise beautiful portraits celebrating a man who was an immense part of changing this country for the better; a hero to most black South Africans. Some may say that this may not have been an act of racism, but I find it difficult to believe that black students who are able to be at this university because of people like Steven Biko would commit an act so disrespectful of their history and their race.

I’m pretty certain that very few people have heard of these extremely disgusting acts, because it seems to me that Rhodes University is attempting desperately to hold on to this façade of a perfect world. Issues of rape on campus never go beyond the University gates. Issues of racism and homophobia never go beyond those small groups which are directly affected, because students are afraid of tainting the image that Rhodes portrays. The perpetrators of this discrimination also seem too scared to be honest about who they truly are. In their sober states they are all “pro-everything” but as soon as they lose hold of their masks at the Union (the University club), Equilibrium (EQ) or digs parties, their true faces are revealed.

You may call me crazy but I would rather these people be honest about who they truly are (drunk or sober), so we can finally know the extent of this discrimination and what we are dealing with. Rhodes University looks down on the UOFS institution because of the extreme cases of racism there, but students should start looking at and criticising their own surroundings, because much of the same thing happens in the minds of students here at Rhodes. This University has the tendency of covering up difficult issues, sweeping them under the carpet so that everyone else does not find out about them. At the moment these issues are not to the extreme, but we all know that these kinds of actions start off small and then escalate into something less controllable. That is why Rhodes University needs to confront the seemingly small incidents. They need to make a big deal about them so that these students can know for a fact that any racist and homophobic acts they commit will be retaliated against with extreme force. So until this minor issue is dealt with you won’t hear me shouting “Viva liberalism at Rhodes University! Viva!”

A Night Full of Memories Which I'll Hold Forever

Hey Hey Hey Gerbil readers! ^_^

I had a night of absolute fun last night, here in little old Grahamstown and it didn't involve drinking! Off I went in an insanely hyper mood (after eating chocolate and sweeties all day) to my friend Kyle's res. Once our entire group of friends had all grouped together there, they packed themselves a hubbly and off we went for a BP run. For those of you who don't know what a BP run is, it's a mad dash to the BP for food supplies etc when everything else in Grahamstown is closed.
A couple of minutes later, with two cars full of Coke, Fanta, chocolate, sweets and hot dogs we headed off to the monument!


We had such a good time there, even though it was freezing cold! It was a beautiful night, with the full moon shining over the town and the fog drifting over the town, making the lights twinkle and sparkle every so often.

You see, the thing is that everybody seems to have fallen into a frame of mind where they think that the only way to have a good time here is to drink until you are totally and utterly wasted. I think that is the biggest load of rubbish. I myself do not drink or smoke and I still manage to have a really good time. All you need is a great bunch of friends and the initiative to do something different and exciting and you're bound to find something to do, besides the same old routine of spending your entire night at The Rat and Parrot, Friars or EQ.

There are all sorts of little hidden gems which can be found here and they can turn out to be an absolute blast! So get out there and find them, because when you do, it really is worth it.

xx

NO means NO!

“They call me a feminist because I refuse to be a prostitute or a doormat!”

This was a comment made at an illegal protest march I attended on Friday evening called “Take back the Night”. I partake in these marches because I believe in the rights of women and I strongly believe that the “struggle” is not over, as the patriarchal ideology of society would have us believe, it has only changed shape! The focus of this piece is not on the rights taken from women, but on the rights they fail to employ. As a woman, I have equal rights to a man, if not more, yet I choose not to take charge of them. I am of a breed of women who were raised to be ‘seen and not heard’, and I still find the concept of ‘feminism’ a daunting one.

On the 10th of November 2008, it will be a year since I was raped. It will also be the first time I will publicly speak to anyone about it. If you hadn’t guessed by now, no- I didn’t lay a charge on him. I also didn’t tell my parents or friends until I was sure I could say it without jumping off a roof. This piece is not supposed to evoke pity or sympathy; I want you to be angry. At me, at him, at society for making women believe they deserve the treatment they receive.

It is to my knowledge that many female students at Rhodes University are currently suffering in silence out of fear, shame even despondency. It is also in my opinion that it is out of self-preservation. Be they first or fourth year, they all respond in the same way. I commend those who have had the courage to step out in protest and reclaim their human rights, and I empathise with those who carry the burden while trying to piece their lives back together. Sisters, today is our day, let us stop allowing the patriarchal mentality tell us we are less than we believe we can be.

I have always had a negative attitude towards the counselling centre at Rhodes, not for anything they’d done to me personally, but just because of how I grew up. I’ve always believed that if a problem is not causing you physical bodily harm, then it isn’t serious enough to need counselling. How wrong I was, because even though it may not cause physical harm, the harm it is causing psychologically is irreversible and thus greater than physical harm which may heal without leaving a scar. The scars left by psychological trauma are permanent, most never reaching the stage of turning into a scar but remain open, gaping wounds that fester and rot as time goes by.

I have since changed my views on the counselling centre; they offer an understanding ear and a non-judgemental one at that. They offer a certain type of security that comes with knowing you can tell them your deepest and darkest secrets and they will remain in the room between the two of you. I’m beginning to understand and advocate ‘self-help’ because I believe that it is in my best interests that I deal with the emotional baggage I find I carry on a daily basis – when will you deal?

Ladies, take back the night, take it back every night!

What you wear or how many drinks you’ve had do not give anyone the right to take what is not theirs to have!

UNIVERSITY: THE PLACE TO BE: free?

It is common knowledge that every first year student when they arrive at university has in their heads, a list of things they want to achieve before the year is through. Most lists are positive but some are negative, either way, they all know that these achievements can be reached because it is varsity isn’t it? Liberalist views cover varsities in a manner similar to that of ants on a deserted crumb, or at least that’s what movies like Road Trip and Legally Blonde perpetuate. Homosexuals, hippies, partying and reinventing oneself will all be possible in this new place where your opinion and or appearance will go unchecked; as long as you do not offend anyone else’s of course.

Recently at Rhodes University, scandal swept the campus when this week, a controversial comment from Honors student Adrain Nel made it into one of three campus newspapers; ‘The Oppidan Press’. It read “This is Rhodes University, where leaders learn; learn to follow Viv!” This comment was triggered by the harsh punishment imposed on an Oppidan (student living outside of residence) who held a party and due to complaints by his/her neigbours about excessive noise levels was charged by the University as bringing the University into disrepute. Nel believes that the punishment symbolized a restriction on the freedom of students. The afore mentioned restriction is then not set in stone but stems from the fear of hosting a Digs party in case one may be charged with bringing disgrace to the name of the university.

The main point worth analyzing here is whether the University actually had jurisdiction in the digs matter. One of the most common reasons students become Oppidans in the first place is to escape the rules found within on-campus residences and to distance themselves from the interfering hand of the university. It is not enough that the university decides to what extent your opinions are similar to someone else’s in essays and tutorials (plagiarism), now their power reaches to your very door, even if your door is past the zebra crossings linking the University to the rest of Grahamstown.

The saddest part of this limited freedom debacle is that it is a result of what the founders of this University must have initially believed to be a great advantage; the distance of the university from the hustle and bustle of big cities. This advantage is the reason why it will be forever impossible for any Rhodes student to outrun University rooted laws as long as they reside in Grahamstown. The University is the life of Grahamstown, and many a student have used the phrase ‘it dies’ when describing Grahamstown after Students leave for vacations. Every interaction a student makes here is linked to the rest of the town, even if it is throwing a party. What the University should consider is that had the same situation occurred at in Cape Town, the police would have handled the matter and the students even if they were from the University of Cape Town may not have been identified as such because of the size of the city. Here in Grahamstown, due to the boarding school nature of the high schools, the proximity of digs to campus and the size of the town, it will always be easy to single out students as the debaucherous youth.

Surely the handling of the Oppidan student taints the liberalistic theme associated with universities and stunts the construction of what freedom truly is in the developing minds of students attending Rhodes, particularly first years. By punishing the student so harshly, the university inadvertently erased all the effort at attempting to instill ideas of free expression in the first year students during Orientation Week through the Obom! drama pieces for example. It now promotes the idea that students can be free, as long as their freedom is approved by the University and this is wrong.

Yea, I'm just gonna go now...

Is it rude to walk out during the middle of a lecture?

You’re lying slumped over your desk and tilt your eyes towards the clock on the wall. Time seems to be going backwards, that’s how horrifyingly boring the particular lecture is. You can think of a million different things that you would rather be doing, than sitting in the lecture, listening to your lecturer drone on about something that you couldn’t care less about. We have all been in this situation, often more than once and I’m sure that nearly everyone can agree on how painful these can sometimes become.

This however, does not give you the excuse to just pack up your things and leave. I think it is incredibly rude to leave while the lecturer is still trying to teach. We all know that not every lecture is going to bring excitement and provide interesting information. There will be times where the information which is being discussed and taught will be mind numbingly boring, but do you honestly expect to be entertained by your lecturer all the time?
Honestly, it's just common courtesy and good manners to sit through the lecture, no matter how much you aren’t enjoying it. The fact that your lecturer put in the effort to prepare the lecture and teach it to you means that you should also just put in a little effort and respect by attending the lecture and actually staying for the full 45 minutes. It’s actually not a long time, considering that we can sit still throughout an entire movie which can often stretch to around two hours.

What I don’t understand is if you are going to leave the lecture, why bother coming in the first place? It just doesn’t make a lot of sense, deciding to go to a lecture and then leaving halfway through. You just end up distracting the lecturer as well as some of the people sitting close to you. If you think about it, all you manage to achieve in this process is wasting your own time. And besides, you’re the one who chose the subject, so it is in your own interest and responsibility to sit through the lectures.

Look at it this way. Imagine that you wanted to talk to your friends about something which was really important to you. You’d expect them to listen to what you have to say, wouldn’t you? So picture them walking away halfway through what you were telling them about. It wouldn’t exactly make you feel appreciated or respected, in fact it would most probably make you feel like the complete opposite.
Well, that is probably what the lecturer feels like when you leave the room during the middle of the lecture. So in a way, you should really think about the Buddhist saying, “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful” and try to follow and live by it, because ultimately it holds a lot of truth.

There are about 500 hundred students who took first year Psychology this year, and today when I arrived for the afternoon lecture, there was a grand total of 20 students present, which decreased to 18 after two students left within the first five minutes of the lecture. Besides this small number, at least most of the students who were there decided to make the effort to attend the lecture and then stay the full time.

So, in a way, it was better that the other students decided from the very beginning that they weren’t going to come to the lecture, rather than leaving halfway through and disrupting the class. It’s like Werner Brohmke, a Rhodes Psychology lecturer says, “If you don’t want to come to the lectures, why don’t you just study through UNISA instead?” He has a good point there.

Tail of a Rhodent - Comic

I got it ALL this morning!!!

“Sorry I’m late!” These were the words of first year student Anele Ngwenya as she sauntered into the room sporting a warm, yet timid smile. “My show went on a little longer than expected” she sighed. The show she referred to was Good Morning Grahamstown, the fruits of her proudest achievement thus far; winning a coveted spot at Rhodes Music Radio as a DJ. Anele is one of many first years who have suffered what she terms as ALL, “Academics, Love and Longing!” she stressed, counting each point on a specific finger then following through with laughter. Acknowledging that she had, not a culture shock but a reality check when she came to Rhodes, ‘Anelle’ as her friends call her, divulged the unconventional ways in which she managed to deal with it ALL.

School work, she claims was the most difficult adjustment she had to make when she came to university. Explaining that it was not the work load that aggravated her but the marking scheme changes. “I came fresh out of high school having passed Matric exams and having never heard of negative marking!” Despite all the hours Anele put into her work she couldn’t reach the 80 percents she had by the neck in high school and quickly realized that things in varsity were different. Early in first term her academics were putting such a strain on her life that she dropped a subject. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” she mumbled, “I felt like a quitter, like I’d let my parents down”. Instead of opting to lock herself into her room or make New Street’s Rat and Parrot her new home, Anele took it as a sign from God to go out on a limb and find alternative paths to success.

First on her list was getting the RMR hoodie which she did and as a result now has her face covering campus walls on posters as a part of RMR’S ongoing ‘Revolution’ Campaign. “I like my poster because the photographer made me look tall which as you can see I’m sooo… not!” she mused but later admitted that her height had only ever been an issue when she would try to reach the hidden peanut butter at the top of the pantry cupboard back at home. Second on her list was applying for Housing Committee in her residence and being actively involved in her church activities. “I’m still waiting on the house-com results but my parents are really proud that I’m taking all these opportunities. At home I used to be all school now I’m a little more social.”

Aneles’ success outside of school however has not over shadowed her academics, commanding an average of between 68 and 70 percent she is still one of the most promising students in JMS 1. “I just didn’t want to be one dimensional ya’know. There’s so much more to a person than lectures and tutorials.”

Like many girls at Rhodes Anele has also experienced the bane that is the campus crush, jokingly identifying the cause for her crush as cabin fever she re-iterates that having a social outlet like being a DJ prevented her from succumbing to the pressure of dating. Whilst admitting that on several occasions she felt left out when seeing couples acting out PDA (Public Displays of affection) she resolves that settling for someone because other people think he is cute is not a valid enough reason for her to date them. “I’m still exploring what’s out there for me, what I’m capable of… I’m not ready to do that with another person.”

The second hardest crossroad Anele experienced was that of telling her parents about the subject she dropped. Detailing the incident, she explained how at first they were disappointed but later accepted her decision telling her the words that ring in every first years ears after Orientation week “the onus is on you to make sure you pass”.
“I realize that I may never make it onto the Deans List”, Anele says, “but its ok. I want to show people that you don’t have to have a pocketful of firsts to be success or make your parents proud”.

Day Sleeper..

So after a weekend of torture, well torture initiated by procrastination, the week began again. I often wonder about how many Mondays one has in a lifetime... The maths to calculate it exists I know but I'm not really in the mood for usuing that part of my brain. I haven't been since I was twelve. Anyway on the subject of Mondays, mine seem to be mostly occupied by thoughts which do not relate to lectures at all. This week its about a boy. Without sounding too soppy I can part with this much information: He's sweet enough, a little bit funny and walked me back to my rez. The scene plays over and over in my head whilst my eyes glaze over the lecturer who is mumbling something about a test.. I wish he would shut up so I can daydream in peace..

Why is it that lecture venues are the best to sleep in? To daydream in? I swear the best nap I ever had this year was during Anthropology in first term. The funny thing is no matter how sleepy you are, you would rather drag yourself half way across campus to that lecture only to arrive, lay your hands in front of you, place your head on the desk (one ear to the ceiling of course to hear any the shuffling people make when the lecture is over) and fall into the deepest sleep imaginable. How do we do it? What is more frustrating is that even when I convince myself my fatigue will work against me in class and decide to miss a lecture so that I can catch up on my sleep, I am unable to fall asleep.. IN MY OWN ROOM!!! What I am referring to here is not a Rhodes thing, it is a university thing. I have a friend at UCT with the same problem, so my conclusion is thus: lecture venues and sleep are inextricably linked.. Somewhere between the two therein lies a conspiracy.. But what do I know anyway..

too much candy rots a child’s teeth!

Help! I’ve been kidnapped by a lecturer trying to relate to me!

You, Mr Kyazze, have both over-stepped your boundary and overstayed your welcome!

“I’m about to ask you to come and sit in the front, yes, you in the purple jersey…”
Sir, had YOU been paying attention to me, instead of trying to out me in front of your fans, you would have seen that it was I who was focused on what you were saying! No sweat, it is water under the bridge now…

I love this course, in fact, I LOVE this subject… but OMG! It has become such a “YAWN!”
I don’t know if it’s from the excess CO₂ in the atmosphere or from absolute BORDOM, but the last few weeks have dragged out like a funeral procession! Don’t get it twisted, I love journalism and intend on carrying on with it, but could I please not bleed to death before I get the chance?! The opinion piece is not such that we cannot manage it, but you, sir, make for some interesting writing…

I’m not trying to attack you, but simply let you know that your methods of ‘humiliating us into submission’ are both outdated and not appreciated. I’m not whining about you making a public mockery of us when you catch us chatting or digressing, but I’m simply enquiring whether you thought it out first or if you’ve always simply had a case of “open-mouth-insert-foot”!

Mr Kyazze, Sim, sir… It is not that we don’t care about what you have to say, on the contrary, a lot of us are very interested in what knowledge you have to impart with us, but to get respect- you’ll have to earn it, and so far NOT SO GOOD...

A tip, for future reference, you don’t have to be mean or funny to be liked. The fact that we show up for every lecture counts in your favour, you don’t need to try harder.

Yours truly
Unenceba Rakale

Ahh... The life of a BA student

They lie on the grass in a completely relaxed manner, soaking up rays of sunlight. They don’t have a care in the world as they chat to each other or doze lightly. Their laughter fills the air while other students besides their ‘kind’ drag their feet towards their next lecture venue.
The creature which I’m describing is what many (anyone not doing a Bachelor of Arts Degree or any other arty kinda degree) would like to call the ‘lazy, no-good student’. That’s right, I’m talking about a BA student.

This view which all other students seem to have, besides BA students is a LIE! I myself am a BA student and I would like to make perfectly clear that we work just as hard as any other student on campus. Ok, so we may not have as many pracs or write ups as BSc and BCom students, but wow, we have a huge amount of reading and essay writing to do!
The other day, I was talking to one of my friends who is doing a BSc and he was in a complete state about the fact that he had to write a 300 word assignment. Pshh, that’s an entire assignment, whereas for a BA student, those 300 words would just make up our introduction to our 2000-3000 word essays!

However, regardless of how much work we BA students have to do, we still always manage to find a way to have a good time! It’s like it’s been encrypted in our genes to be more care-free and fun lovin’ than BSc and BCom students who are serious hard workers who are studying subjects which I would never, ever be able to do. So I definitely take my hat off to you guys, but remember BA students work just as hard as you do! :)

xx

Calling all summer lovin' water babies!

Sunnies, check.
Swimming costume, check.
A bunch of your best friends, check.
(And in my case, A LOT of sun cream!)

Alright this post is aimed particularly at Grahamstown peeps, although anyone could put it into context, depending on where you live and what your weather is going to look like over the next couple of days.
According to our friends at the South African Weather Service, this lovely little town is going to reach a high of 34 degrees tomorrow!
And with the funny weather we’ve been having, who knows when the next warm day will fall on a weekend.
So take complete advantage of this incredibly wonderful weather and get out there and have some fun everyone! The exams are looming around the corner, so it may be one of the last times you’ll be able to hit the pool or the sea for a while. So go on, treat yourself. Head out to the pool and soak up as much Vitamin D that you can everyone! Just think of the additional Vitamin D intake as 'preparation' for the studying ahead...

If anybody needs me, you know where to find me. ;)

xx

A first year living life to the fullest

By: Zandile Mavuso

Born and butted in the Mpumalanga providence, Nontobeko Mkhathwa has made her way to the Eastern Cape. A first year at Rhodes University who has come from sitting in a class room with other students who had English as a second language to sharing a row with English first language students at lecture theatres at Rhodes.
“I did not want to come to Rhodes, I did not want to be far from home”, she said while lying on her bed, flat on her stomach, suffocating the pillow with her arms. After passing matric, Wits University was the only university on her mind. She wanted to study drama at Wits but all did not work out as she had hoped it would. Being two weeks late for her drama audition was what turned her whole life’s plan around as the dreams and ambitions of studying at Wits in 2008 slowly but surely slipped out of her hands. Coming to Rhodes was like having a back up Christmas present list if you do not get what you initially asked for. When she got to Rhodes, she was impressed by the level of studying, the curriculum and how people took tutorials and lectures seriously.
Though she made friends when she got here, she still felt that she was yet to find people who understood her and who wanted to live the kind of lifestyle that she wanted to practice at University. Being a person who was raised in a strict family where she was never allowed to go out, except for days like Christmas, Nontobeko came to Rhodes wanting to experience that which she never was familiar with when she was home. “I struggled to make friends with people who were like me in the first semester”, she said “but things got better in the second semester”. Mother luck was on her side and she finally came in contact with people who were a reflection of who she is and had the same ideas of what life at varsity should really be like.
Partying, loud music, singing along with some of that is being played are things that she enjoys and believes that they are an extension of who she is. “I work hard during the week and make sure that all my work is up to date so that I can go out during the weekend”. Partying is and extra mural activity for Nontobeko. If someone were to take it away from her, it would be like stealing an inhaler from someone who is asthmatic. Believing that partying is a reward for working hard during the week, Nontobeko takes her work seriously and makes sure that it is all done before she could ‘drop it like it’s hot’ on the dance floor.
Drinking and partying has proven to be fun and entertaining for Nontobeko but also fascinating for other people as well. She shares a moment when she was out partying and was a bit tipsy, she asked a random guy to massage her feet. Hiding her face while telling me, she giggles underneath her breath. She keeps quiet for a moment, stares into space as she reminisces on that moment of craziness that she experienced.
Nontobeko believes that it is all part of being a first year and that you must enjoy the present while planning for the future. Working hard for her is one of the key aspects that allow her to juggle her academics and her social life. It balances her life as she believes that if you want to do something, you must do it without guilt and do it because you want to do it. If you are happy when you go out and party or going to church, then do not feel ashamed of doing it. That being her advice to future first years, she ends of by saying: “Coming to Rhodes was the best decision ever”.

Tyreen: My First-Year Hero

Honesty is the best policy kiddies!

Her quiet confidence exudes through a slight strut in her walk. Her casual, stylish outfit of a simple brown tracksuit jacket and black tight fitting pants emphasises that she is a laid-back kind of girl, who places comfort before any kinds of pressure that other girls experience in terms of fashion here at Rhodes University. Her Port Elizabeth Coloured accent accentuates her pride at whom she is and where she comes from; another aspect of herself that she has refused to abandon since arriving at Rhodes University. Her retention of who she is and where she comes from was probably the best decision Tyreen could have ever made for herself, because from the moment she receives her final results at the end of the year, she will no longer be a Rhodes University student (in short; no longer a rhodent).

“It’s like there’s basically two groups at Rhodes; the academics that study every single weekend and do nothing but study, and the partying people that go out every night. There can’t be an in between.” It seems as though Tyreen does not feel the passion that has driven many to continue with their journey at Rhodes. She is not part of the cluster of first year Journalism and Media Studies students who are now scrambling and stressing about putting together portfolio applications for JMS 2. Before discussing her feelings about Rhodes she begins by rolling up the sleeves of her jacket, as though what is about to be discussed is a matter of grave gravity. The first words uttered when asked about her reasons for leaving Rhodes are; “Because I’m not enjoying the vibe of the people.” After making her opening comment she begins to relax stating that the polarisation of students may change in second year and this is why (with a giggle) “I may actually take a rope”. She then returns back to her serious manner and speaks about her unhappiness here at Rhodes and her plans to discontinue her Journalism course. She no longer feels any reason to continue her studies here, because the only reason she applied to Rhodes University was because of her passion for journalism, which has now dwindled to the point of non-existence, “I’ve realised its not for me and I’d rather save my parents money and go to a cheaper university, then carry on with something that I know I’m not gonna enjoy.”

Her initial passion for Journalism was highlighted by her participation and willingness to learn more about it. In her matric year 2006 she entered a writing competition, the Steven Biko Media Competition, where she was chosen as one of the top twenty students. She received an opportunity to visit Rhodes University during Orientation week, where she was shown all the aspects of the Journalism and Media Studies course. “It was fun, but not the writing bit. But the practical; the filming and everything, we did all that. So that made me wanna come.” She also took a gap year where she did a Journalism course at NMMU, where the focus was also on the practical side of journalism. However first year journalism here at Rhodes focuses on the theory and practical comes into play mostly in third year. So that may have been the cause for her loss of passion for it.

As she begins speaking about how much she misses home, she picks up a leaf from the ground, looking at it she begins to bend and fold it with her long delicate fingers. “I don’t know if it’s because I miss home too much, cause I’ve been going home a lot; like every second or third week… and it’s a waste of money so I might as well go back home.” Her father she describes as being ecstatic about her return home, while her mother is so disappointed that she won’t help Tyreen with filling in her application forms. And this assistance is necessary to Tyreen because she thinks she has terrible hand-writing.

When asked why she feels that anywhere else will be better, she smiles with a slightly guilty look on her face and says, “Cause it’s not here.” Rhodes University students, she feels, are on their own mission and not one will smile at you just for the sake of smiling. She does not feel that she belongs here and craves that feeling of home that Rhodes University does not offer her. She does have a small group of friends that she says are unhappy about her decision to leave, but as much as she has grown to love them, she is just “over it”.

One can only respect this young lady for not giving up at the moment that she realised that Rhodes University was not for her. She struggled and fought against her desires to forsake this place and return home. Her realisation that she wanted to leave came about in the first term but she has stayed and plans to remain here until she completes her exams. To me Tyreen Ragadu is a true first-year hero, because the best hero you can be is an honest hero.Read what Tyreen has to say about first year on: http://www.truthaboutlies101.blogspot.com/