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DieMATIE WENNER VAN DIE ATKV-MEDIAVEERTJIE VIR BESTE KAMPUSKOER ANT

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WOENSDAG 9 OKTOBER 2019

NEGE-EN-SEWENTIGSTE JAARGANG | NO 4

Meghan skenk geld vir gelykheid 2

Give me puppers and doggo’s

Bladsy 3 KUITE, KUITE, KUITE Hierdie vyf fietsryers van formaat is hard aan die oefen, aangesien hulle in November 1000 km gaan aflê vanaf Namibië tot Agulhas. Vir elke kilometer wat hulle aflê, skenk vrywilligers R1 vir behoeftige studente. Foto: Tom Groom

SRC can’t tie a member to chair T BRYNLEY VAN AARDT

he Stellenbosch University (SU) Student Representative Council (SRC) has had three of its newly elected members accused of sexual assault on social media. As a result, an extraordinary sexual harassment advisory panel has been created by the Equality Unit to deal with such allegations. The allegations are one of the reasons why the process of electing a SRC Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson has been halted. At Student Parliament on Thursday, SRC member Wamahlubi Ngoma stood up to address the house, elaborating on reasons why an SRC Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson had not yet been elected. Prior to her address she apologised to the house for the delayed elections and spoke of the SRC wanting to be fully transparent on the process of the elections. “On 5 September we were informed that the election would be postponed as well as the entire student body due to unforeseen circumstances. One of such circumstances being that the military academy captain, who serves on the SRC as well, had not been

elected yet and it would be ideal to have them present. While awaiting the appointment of the captain, there were also allegations made on social media involving some of our own newly elected SRC members. In response to this, the Equality Unit had now convened an extraordinary sexual harassment private panel which will await formal reports to be filed by [Friday] to the Equality Unit Anti-discrimination and Harassment coordinator,” Ngoma said. One of the accused SRC members, Sifiso Zungu, took to Facebook on 5 September and in a since deleted post publicly admitted to the allegations against him and apologised for what he had done. “What you call transparency, I call taking accountability for my actions. As a student leader tasked with the tremendous responsibility of leading, accountability is non-negotiable,” Zungu said in response to a question on his sudden transparency. No formal cases were made against any of the SRC members but Ngoma said in parliament that regardless of whether a formal case is made or not, all the accused parties will be allowed the opportunity to present their case

to the Equality Unit panel. The Equality Unit is convening a panel which will focus specifically on sexual harassment complaints that have been lodged, with their jurisdiction being the entirety of the SU campus including staff and students. They have set the provisional dates of 15 – 18 October for those affected to come forward and register their complaints.“They [the panel] will then write a report and make recommendations communicated firstly, to the people involved in the process and then take what is necessary from the report to the relevant stakeholders of the university who can assist us moving forward regarding these very serious allegations,” Jaco Greeff Brink, the Head of the Equality Unit, said at the student parliament sitting on Thursday. “The panel consists of four competent individuals who have sound knowledge of social justice, sexual harassment and discrimination. The panel is mandated to conduct preliminary investigations as well as providing SU Management with recommendations. Recommendations made by the panel will assist SU Management in

making the best possible decision on the way forward to address the specific social media-based allegations and with the aim to eradicate sexual misconduct and harassment on campus. The investigation is currently underway, and we cannot, at this stage, prematurely provide any additional details or comment,” Brink later told Die Matie. Dr Choice Makhetha, Senior Director of Student Affairs, said SU Management and Student Affairs are “very committed to addressing these allegations” and are in “continued meetings with the Anti-GBV Student Movement, SRC and TSR, to ensure thorough investigation, interventions and refined processes”. According to Addendum A in the Unfair Discrimination and Harassment Policy, the recommendations from the Sexual Harassment Advisory Panel of Inquiry will be submitted to the Vice-Rector: Learning and Teaching, and Vice-Rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel (joint owners of the policy) for their consideration and action within 20 working days from when the panel was activated.

Rock ’n’ Roll on tap

Are you Black or Coloured? – choose 9

Maties is the Ultimate Sport

NEWS

Deathly silence hangs over the Rooiplein CARLA VISAGIE

agbreek Men’s Residence organised a silent protest from the entrance of the residence to the Rooiplein on Friday, 4 October. The approximately 30 protestors, dressed in black, had posters such as “STOP THE VIOLENCE END THE SILENCE”, “MEN AGAINST GBV”, and “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”. The protest was part of Dagbreek’s gender-based violence (GBV) week, which also included three critical engagement sessions on the topic. “Through this week we want to bring light to the issue and try to wake men up in our own immediate and greater spaces. We want to take some sort of collective responsibility and try to amend a culture that clearly has gotten way out of hand and is costing lives now,” said Rob Kucera, HK member of Student Affairs and third-year BA (PPE) student. According to Kucera they took the specific approach of a silent

MEN IN BLACK Dagbrekers protesting on their way to the library stairs to protest against gender-based violence. Photo: Erin Johnston protest to “stand behind the movement” and to “encourage other men to stand with them as a sign of taking collective responsibility”. “We believe a very big part of remedying GBV is a sense of collective responsibility that all men need to take. Regardless if you have a squeaky clean record or you have never spoken to a woman in your life, all of us as men need to

Sonop, Majuba meets on the middle ground NICOLE NASSON

SONOP women’s residence and Majuba men’s residence hosted a debating event on 25 September styled after the popular Middle Ground and Spectrum series on YouTube. The styles were made famous by Jubilee Media, a media group who makes “shareable humancentric videos that bridge people together, challenge conventional thinking, and inspire love”, according to their YouTube biography. Middle Ground allows two groups of people from opposing sides of a subject to discuss their opinions and find a middle ground. Spectrum, on the other hand, allows a group of people, who are usually generalised to believe the same thing, to see where each of

them fall on the spectrum when it comes to issues pertaining to that specific group of people. Facilitated by Emma Wiehman, former Pieke 2018/2019 HK-member and PGCE student, the event aimed to “find consensus around what rape culture is, how it affects campus and what is influencing on it”, says Daniëlle Rossouw, Sonop’s Womxn Empowerment HK. The idea to host such an event came after a conversation Rossouw and Sven Kühn, VicePrim of Majuba, had discussing the anti-gender-based violence movement that erupted across the country during the past month. Some of the topics that were discussed included rape culture, residence drinking culture and consent.

take some sort of action in amending a culture that is now harming women,” Kucera said. According to Kucera, it is completely justified to have verbal protests, but he says there is power in having a silent protest. “In a time like this protests are often very loud and conversations get very heated and very angry, there is obviously a time and

place for that and we respect that. I think there’s a significant power in silence, especially since the entire premise of this protest was to just publicly promote men to get behind the idea of a collective responsibility that we all have and show that men are mobilizing and we are standing behind the movement and to encourage other men to do the same.” Thandile Ngxikwe, one of the leading figures in the Anti-GBV movement, criticised Dagbreek’s approach. “I don’t feel like this is the right approach. Women have been talking to men right, and they don’t hear us. So for men, especially in a res as big as Dagbreek, to have a silent protest, doesn’t make sense,” Ngxikwe said. Ngxikwe addressed the crowd at the protest and said, “In a time where we actually need men to actually be a voice in saying ‘listen, gross’ we need a man-to-man kind of situation. When you guys are silent, you are perpetuating silence again. I’m not understanding

the logic. We have been screaming and they still don’t listen, they are men, they are still quiet, it doesn’t make logical sense, especially because you are standing against gender-based violence and then a woman comes [to talk to you] and then you are silent.” According to a protestor, JW Beukes, a first-year BCom (Actuarial Science) student, he decided to join the protest because he “believes everybody needs to stand together against GBV” and it “will worsen if action isn’t taken”. “GBV is a symptom of much bigger problems, not only at universities or in the Western Cape, but nationally, [and it is a symptom of] of the society that is starting to get worse. This can be corrected by educating people on what is the right thing to do, like introducing a compulsory seminar for all first years on what these different movements are about. Universities are places that bring about change, and I think it is exactly why we should make an immediate difference,” Beukes said.

Markle skenk aan US

CARLA VISAGIE

MEGHAN MARKLE, hertogin van Sussex en die beskermheer van die Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), het verlede Dinsdag aangekondig dat die ACU ’n bedrag geld van £1000 (ongeveer R18 500) aan die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US) gaan toeken om hul projek vir gendergelykheid te bevorder. Markle het in Junie vanjaar die rol as beskermheer van die ACU, ’n internasionale organisasie wat wêrelduniversiteite in verbinding bring, by koningin Elizabeth oorgeneem. Die ACU ken jaarliks hierdie bedrag geld aan universiteite wêreldwyd toe met die doel om gendergelykheid te bevorder. Drie Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite se projekte het die toekenning ontvang, die US, Universiteit van Johannesburg (UJ) en Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland (UWK). Markle het in ’n ACU-persverklaring gesê sy poog om toegang tot hoëronderwys te verhoog en die hoeveelheid vrouens wat in wetenskap, tegnologie, ingenieurswese en wiskunde werk, ’n hupstoot wil gee. “As ’n vrou bemagtig is, verander dit absoluut alles in ’n gemeenskap, en om ’n opvoedkundige atmosfeer te skep is ’n kernaspek daarvan,” sê Markle. Volgens Monica du Toit, Monica-koshuishoof en ResEd-groepskoördineerder by die Sentrum vir Studentegemeenskappe (SSG), het die geleentheid nie net die projek ’n finansiële hupstoot gegee nie, maar die mediablootstelling het ook baie vir die projek beteken. “Ek het eintlik gedog hulle het ’n fout gemaak toe ek die e-pos kry dat ek vir Meghan gaan ontmoet. Een van die goed wat vir my verras het, is dat Meghan wel gelees en gedink het oor hoe seer die gesprekke oor gendergebaseerde geweld in Suid-Afrika

HERTOGIN VAN HARTE Die hertogin van Sussex besig om ’n toespraak te lewer by die Universiteit van Johannesburg. Foto: ACU/Flickr is op die oomblik. Soos sy gesels en gevra het oor die projek kon ’n mens regtig sien sy het dit gelees, en dit was vir my lekker dat sy belangstel. Iets van haar besoek het my laat dink aan hoe jongmense op universiteit vandag nie meer net ’n graad wil kry nie, maar ook die wêreld wil verander,” sê Du Toit.Volgens Du Toit moes universiteite hul konsep vir ’n gendergelykheidsprogram by die ACU indien, waarna dit aan ’n keuringsproses, wat bepaal of die geld toegeken word, onderhewig was. “Die ACU het ’n tyd terug ’n beroep gedoen op universiteite om aansoek te doen vir eintlik ’n klein bedraggie geld. Wat lekker is, is dat die geld ongebonde is. Dit is nie net vir navorsingsprojekte nie, maar kan aangewend word op enige plek waar mens iets ter bevordering van gendergelykheid kan doen.” Du Toit het gesê dat hierdie geld aangewend gaan word vir die Gender Detour-projek, ’n projek wat poog om ’n wandelpaadjie op kampus te maak om doelbewuste gesprekke tussen mense van diverse agtergronde te bewerkstellig. “Ons wou begin kyk na groot gesprekke waar jy almal in ’n hoek druk en dan moet almal saam daaroor praat. Die tyd is reg om terug te keer na klein gesprekke wat die

hele tyd aan die gang is.” “Stellenbosch as dorp het stories en plekke het stories, en jy hoef nie altyd iemand te hê wat jou lei nie. Partykeer as jy net langs iets gaan staan, dink jy daaroor en ons wou daardie metodiek gebruik het. Ons sal die roetes in die vorm van interaktiewe kaarte wil hê.” Gideon Basson, ’n nagraadse LLB-student, het saam met Du Toit aan die Gender Detour-konsep gewerk. “Ons het ook vasgestel dat dit ’n genuanseerde onderwerp is en dat hier diep, onvertelde stories op ons kampus en dorp rondom gender-ongelykheid en persone met nie-konformerende identiteite lê. Die verhouding tussen ras, geweld en gender is ook nog duidelik sigbaar, nie net in Suid-Afrika nie, maar ook op ons kampus. Die bewegings op universiteitskampusse het ons opnuut laat besef dat gender nog 'n groot vlek op ons samelewing is,” het Basson gesê. Basson sê dat hierdie gesprekke kan help om “gedeeltelik sin [te] kan maak van die verlede”. “[Deur die gesprekke] behoort ons voortdurend bewus te wees, anders gaan hierdie geskiedenis ons nie uitlos nie. Dan gaan dit aaneenlopende traumas uitlok en oppervlakkige en blote numeriese transformasie daarstel,” het Basson gesê.

NUUS

9 Oktober 2019

TygerMaties trap fiets MARYKÉ MÜLLER

DERTIG TygerMaties het op 30 November vir eers hulle boeke opsy geskuif om 1000 km vanaf Namibië tot Agulhas per fiets aan te durf. Die Hippocampus-span is verlede jaar deur Breda Reed, Mias Marais en Christoff Greyling op die been gebring. Hierdie drie mediese studente het besef dat studente gelyke geleenthede het, maar nie gelyke toegang om hierdie geleenthede te benut nie. Die naam van die span, Hippocampus, is ’n samevoeging van Hippokrates-koshuis, waar die span ontstaan het, en kampus, aangesien dit ’n student-gedrewe fonds is. Volgens Marais, ’n derdejaar-mediese student, sorg beurse finansieel vir studente se akademiese onkostes en opleiding, maar nie vir eksterne aktiwiteite soos huisdanse of gimnasium-lidmaatskap nie. “Die projek het begin as ’n begeerte om by te dra tot studente se finansiële behoeftes buite die lesingslokaal,” sê Marais. Verlede jaar het vyf studente R60 000 ingesamel deur agt dae lank fiets te ry. Die geld wat ingesamel word, word aan beurshouers beskikbaar gestel. Vir elke kilometer wat hierdie studente per fiets aflê, skenk vrywilligers R1. Alle fondsinsamelings vorm deel van die Nkululeko-fonds, wat vernoem is na Wonderboy Nkululeko Nkosi, wat deel was van verlede jaar se fietsryspan.

Hy het 38 dae nadat hy leer fietsry het, die pad Agulhas toe aangedurf. Reed verduidelik dat Nkululeko “vryheid” beteken en dat dit hierdie groep fietsryers se missie goed opsom – finansiële vryheid vir studente. “Ons is ’n klomp pelle wat mekaar aan die begin van die jaar nie geken het nie en deur saam te oefen, mekaar leer ken het,” vertel Greyling, ’n derdejaar-mediese student wat beplan om vir die tweede keer by Agulhas te stop. Volgens Greyling sien hy die meeste uit na die kameraadskap tussen die fietsryers, maar noem ook dat die voorbereiding vir die projek strawwe oefening drie dae van die week insluit. Reed, wat ’n vierdejaar-mediese student is, sê die moeilike dae is onvermydelik. “Dit is [egter] gerusstellend om te weet dat ’n groep ouens bereid is om daardie dae saam met jou aan te pak,” voeg hy by. Rooi Sello, ’n vierdejaarmediese student wat ook beplan om sy fiets af te stof, sê hy wil die geleentheid gebruik om gewig te verloor asook om mede-studente te inspireer en aan homself te bewys dat hy dit kan doen. “Ek glo dat ek tot meer in staat is en gaan die Hippocampus-toer gebruik om my grense te verbreed.” Mede-Maties wat deel wil wees van hierdie inisiatief kan sosiale media nader en The Hippocampus Team gaan volg.

Tuinmaak as terapie MARYKÉ MÜLLER

ie Bishop LavisRehabilitasiesentrum het aan die begin van 2019 ’n nuwe toevoeging gekry – ’n groentetuin. Die sentrum bied arbeidsterapie, fisioterapie, spraaken gehoorterapie en dieetkunde aan, en die meerderheid van die dienste word deur Tygerbergstudente, onder leiding van personeel van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch (US) se geneeskunde en gesondheidswetenskappefakulteit, aangebied. Kloppers, ’n seniorarbeidsterapeut en bestuurder by die Bishop LavisRehabilitasiesentrum, sê in ’n persverklaring op die US se webtuiste dat die tuin gebruik word om pasiënte individueel te behandel en dat “die arbeidsterapie-studente die pasiënte aangepaste maniere van tuinmaak wys op grond van hul gestremdheid”. Twee vorige rehabilitasiesentrum-pasiënte, John Jackson en Adam Solomon, is in beheer van die projek onder leiding van Maatje Kloppers. Kloppers is van mening dat Jackson en Solomon studente van die Tygerbergkampus motiveer tydens hul kliniese praktiese sessies. “Dit was ongelooflik om die terapeutiese waarde van tuinmaak te beleef. Betrokkenheid by dié proses het dit moonlik gemaak dat ek die waarde van persoonlike welstand besef,”

NUWE LEWE Van die plante wat gekweek word by die Bishop Lavis-Rehabilitasiesentrum. Foto: Wilma Stassen sê Logan Julius, ’n derdejaararbeidsterapiestudent, wat haar maandlange kliniese prakties by die rehabilitasiesentrum in April 2019 deurgebring het. Tuinmaak het ook onlangs deel van eerstejaararbeidsterapiestudente se kurrikulum geword en daar word van hulle vereis om verskeie kruie en groentes te plant. Studente leer die pasiënte hoe om op ’n aangepaste wyse te kan tuinmaak met ’n gestremdheid. “Ons kry konstante versekering [sic] dat daar in die Kaapse Vlaktegemeenskap ’n groot behoefte aan tuinmaak is, veral wanneer mense in die wagkamer sit om te kom tuinmaak,” sê Kloppers. Verder noem Kloppers dat daar tans navorsing gedoen word oor

hoe die tuin groei en ook hoe ander beroepe by hierdie inisiatief betrek kan word. Kloppers beskou Jackson en Solomon as die projek se grootste suksesverhaal. Volgens Jackson is hy “dankbaar vir die geleentheid om sy passie uit te leef”. “Tuinmaak hou verskeie voordele vir gestremde pasiënte in. Ek geniet dit om mense te leer watter vaardighede hulle met hulle hande kan verrig,” sê Jackson. Volgens Kloppers is die primêre doel van die tuin “behandeling vir pasiënte”, maar dit word nie slegs vir terapeutiese doeleindes gebruik nie. “Damespersoneel gebruik die vars groente as bestanddele in sop, so die tuin voorsien ook vars groente,” sê Kloppers.

Smart centre finished in 2020 Solution to plastic straws

CATHARINA VAN DER MESCHT

THE CONSTRUCTION of Stellenbosch University’s (SU) new building, the Jan Mouton Learning and Teaching Centre, is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2020. Professor Stan du Plessis, SU’s Chief Operating Officer, said the construction of the Centre started “on 1 November 2017 after SU approved the construction of the new Jan Mouton Learning Centre in September that year. An initial planned completion and occupation date of 20 January 2020 was agreed upon.” According to Du Plessis, “Group Five Construction, the main contractor, notified SU on 12 March 2019 that their company would be placed under business rescue”. This apparently caused “severe delays on the project and two full months were lost relative to the original project plan”. Occupation of the building is now planned for the start of the second semester (July) of 2020. Situated between the Neelsie Student Centre and the Polymer Science Building, the Jan Mouton Learning Centre will allegedly be a sustainable building with a low-carbon footprint. According to Martin Viljoen, SU spokesperson, the building will include a greywater system that will serve the ablutions. The infrastructure will also be readied

FUTURISTIC CENTRE This is how the Jan Mouton Learning and Teaching Centre will look like. Photo: Supplied for a future photovoltaic roof panel installation, while rain and groundwater will be collected and stored. It will include an atrium and terraced seating, with groupwork classrooms respectively seating 350, 270 and 150, a gatherand-share communal space, an undercover walkway that will link the centre with other campus buildings and a restaurant. “The building will be a stateof-the-art learning facility for students with 2 large lecture halls on the ground level and 2 large auditoriums on the second floor. This additional lecture hall capacity will address the need for additional large lecture hall capacity and create spare capacity so that Facilities Management and IT can renovate existing lecture facilities,” Viljoen said. He added that, “there will be 130 parking areas available to replace the original parking area at

the Neelsie. 99 of the spaces will be in the basement, and 30 [will be] outside. This includes delivery parking for ground level and basement deliveries.” The funds for the project were acquired in 2016 via a donation of R50 million by Jannie Mouton, SU alumnus and founder of PSG, a financial services group. The Department of Higher Education and SU also contributed to funding the project. “I believe in making a positive difference in society to the benefit of our future generations and this is how I do it. For me this donation is more than an investment in a contemporary learning space that will enrich the learning experiences of our students. This is an investment in the future and the continued excellence of Stellenbosch University as a world-class institution of higher learning,” Mouton said to an SU representative.

A MATIES student has come up with her own solution to the plastic problem. Leila Siljeur, second-year BEng (Chemical) student, has recently won R50 000 from the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation National Jamboree for inventing her own brand of environmentally friendly and edible straws. These straws, come in three ranges – regular, vegan and healthy. The bases are gelatine for regular, plants for vegan and fruit for the healthy option. According to Siljeur the

straws have a dried fruit or liquorice consistency and can be flavoured and coloured according to the customer’s request. In Stellenbosch, the most popular option is the vegan mixed-berry flavour. When asked why she started the business, Siljeur said, “even though companies are producing biodegradable straws, some still end up in the ocean, posing a threat to marine life”. – Catharina van der Mescht

Matie is Kaapstad-finalis MHLENGI Ngcobo, vierdejaar-BIng (Siviele Ingenieurswese)-student, het bewys dat jy beide ’n student en ’n besigheidsman kan wees. Ngcobo was hierdie jaar een van Kaapstad se Global Student Entrepreneurship Award (GSEA) finaliste. Die kompetisie word deur die Entrepreneurs Organisasie (EO) van SuidAfrika aangebied en studenteentrepreneurs van regoor SuidAfrika het ingeskryf om deel te neem. Ses finaliste word gekies uit elke streek (Kaapstad, Durban, Johannesburg) en die top twee

kandidate vorder dan na die finaal. Ngcobo is op 1 Oktober gekontak met die inligting dat hy een van die top ses finaliste uit Kaapstad is. CoffeeMM, sy besigheid, is ŉ koffieroostery waar die kliënt hul eie koffieprofiel kan opstel vir die koffie wat hulle wil bestel. Ngcobo sê: “Ek wil graag my mede-Matie uitdaag om met organisasies soos GSEA betrokke te raak.” “Dit is ook ’n wonderlike geleentheid om mense te ontmoet wat ook streef daarna om die wêreld te verander,” sê Ngcobo. – Catharina van der Mescht

STUDENTELEWE

Your Guide to Guide Dogs CHRISTOPHER JOUBERT

tellenbosch is home to some of the goodest and hardest working boys and girls out there. We’ve all been baffled at how these boys and girls resist the urge to chase the hundreds of squirrels that crawl around the town. So how do they do it? How do guide dogs manage to resist the temptation of chasing squirrels and getting pats from the hundreds of dog-lovers on campus? how should students treat these furry friends? Welcome to Die Matie’s guide on guide dog etiquette. Loandrie Potgieter, who uses and owns a guide dog, provided her insights on the process these dogs go through before becoming guide dogs. Every guide dog you’ve seen on campus has been through a thorough process to ensure that they are properly trained and competent enough to guide a visually impaired human around campus. Firstly, a carefully bred puppy is raised by a family for one year. This family follows strict rules to ensure that the puppy is socialised and well behaved and won’t be tempted to chase squirrels. After one year, the pup goes to formal guide dog training for six months. Then, the dog gets matched up with someone to guide. Once someone is matched with a guide dog, they must complete four weeks of training together. Guide dogs choose to become guides. Guide dog programs determine whether a dog is unwilling or uncommitted to the career

KAMPUS QUOTES “Some say I must try highlighting, but I get distracted by the pretty colours.” – Student who struggles with studying “I’d rather be hungry than sober.” – Bohemian regular “I look like a raisin and a bellybutton at the same time.” – Exhausted postgrad student “Listen, I’m not going to sleep with you, I just want to be held.” – Student experiencing a rough week

YOU CAN LOOK, BUT YOU CAN’T TOUCH Guide and therapy dogs are hard-working animals that need to be respected regardless of how cute they look. Photo: Jonathan Rees and if this is the case, the dogs live a happy domestic life instead. If they are committed, they then go on to graduate and enjoy their careers. Potgieter spoke of some of the ways her guide dog helps her daily. These dogs will do far more than sit or fetch. Commands range from left, right, find the curb or, after one day of training together, leading Potgieter to room 223 in the BA building after being told “223”. According to Potgieter, one of the golden rules of guide dog

etiquette is to never feed a guide dog. “The way to their hearts is truly through their tummies and they profess loyalty to whoever feeds them,” she says. Therefore, it should only be the owner who feeds the dog. It is important to ask before trying to pat a guide dog. The dogs are at work while their harnesses are on and must not be distracted. Furthermore, it’s rude to ignore the owner, so say hello to them first. The last piece of etiquette in this guide, is that when a guide dog ap-

proaches you without their owner, it means their owner is in trouble and you should follow the dog to help. Potgieter says that Stellenbosch University has a positive attitude towards guide dogs. “[The University] acknowledges the value they [guide dogs] add to disabled students’ lives,” said Potgieter. However, she says that this view is not always shared in “the rest of society”, with access to some buildings and restaurants being denied to guide dogs.

“I’m so mad I put makeup on for this.” – Disappointed dater “It feels like Aphrodite is giving me a back rub.” – A very intoxicated student “This semester is like Vegas Rachel and Ross - a lot is happening, but nothing makes sense.” – Friends fanatic “My Uber driver tried to motivate me, but went for ‘you could be the first white president post-apartheid.’” – Future Helen Zille “I always need to pee.” – Nervous student

Rocking the Daisies: sh*t or lit? Kesia Abrahams asked students in the aftermath of the Rocking the Daisies weekend if the event was really worth it

Kira Anthony, BCom (Management Sciences)

Erin Walls, BA (Language and Culture)

Ehren Jacobs, BCom (Management Accounting)

Genevieve Rousseau, BA (Law)

Alexander Brand, BA (Human Resource Management)

“MY first Rocking the Daisies experience was definitely one to be remembered. It was worth every cent spent. I can say that the best moments of my life were created at this event. The music, food, crowd and atmosphere was on par throughout the entire event. It is definitely a must.”

“I was really upset when two of the biggest artists pulled out which I think contributed to a lot of the ticket price, well that’s my opinion. They didn’t make an effort to replace them and only told us that Giggs was not coming the night before, but otherwise, I thought the acts were amazing.”

“THE camaraderie between all, appreciating the different musical genres and cultures, made it a fantastic experience for me. I’ll defintely encourage the event for anyone open to seeing what the best of local and international music can deliver. It, being my third RTD, I still experience the same fun.”

“I found that last year was a lot more fun, because this year was about half the amount of people as last year so it wasn’t as much of a vibe as last year, but getting into lines and stuff was really cool. The acts were kinda irritating, because the very popular acts started very very late.”

“IT was a very fun experience and there was a lot of cool stuff that happened, the silent disco especially was a really cool experience. The acts were incredible. The one disappointing thing for me was that the local acts felt more prepared and in to it than the international acts because of their reputation.”

STUDENTELEWE

9 Oktober 2019

Goggas in die bib PULP REVIEW DOMINIQUE VERSTER

The Art of Self Defense

*Vertaal deur Dominique Fuchs

atogene in algemene areas soos biblioteke en badkamers ontlok gereeld kommer onder die publiek. Dit is veral die geval tydens die eksamenseisoen wanneer honderde Maties in die bib saamdrom en hulle mikrobakterie-kolonies onder een dak integreer. Die dodelike kombinasie van die swak ondergrondse ventiliasie, die dig gepakte boeke en die hordes studente wat in die biblioteek bymekaarkom gedurende hierdie tydperk is die definisie van ’n patogeniese speelparkie. Volgens ’n reeks studies wat deur Karbowska-Berent et al. in 2011 gedoen is, is boeke wat styf teen mekaar gepak word ’n ideale ruimte vir kieme om te floreer. Die sellulose in die papier en die proteïene in die stof wat die boeke bind, is die perfekte ruimte vir mikrobakterieë om te groei en siektes te versprei. Die dig gepakte boeke en die rakke in die biblioteek kan die vloei van lug belemmer. Dit maak dit moontlik vir mikro-organismes om in die lug te sedimenteer en stof te vorm, wat gevolglik allergieë kan vererger. Die swak higiëne in biblioteke word geïllustreer deur die artikel, “Fifty Shades of Grey Goes Viral”, wat in 2013 geskryf is. Dit het bewys dat biblioteekboeke wat gereeld uitgeneem word met die herpes-virus besmet is. Gelukkig kan studente die aanslag van patogene

Directed by: Riley Stearns Starring: Jesse Eisenberg Rating: 1.5/4 Stars ARRIERINGSTINGABABYWOMANMANINSTAARRIEHOHOSNACKSHOHO

DIE VUIL PLEK WAAR ONS STUDEER Biblioteke is ‘n teelarde vir bakterieë. Foto: Kesia Abrahams afweer deur die volgende raad te volg. Was jou hande gereeld gedurende studiesessies of gebruik handsaniteerders. Volgens Karbowska-Berent et al. se studie moet studente dit vermy om hul skryfbehoeftes te kou of hul vingers te lek as hul bladsye omblaai. Meeste studente blyk om bekommerd te wees oor die biblioteek se toilette en oor die toestand waarin dit agtergelaat word deur ander studente. Volgens ’n studie wat in 2011 onderneem is, behoort die toiletsitplekke van publieke fasiliteite nie studente se grootste bekommernis te wees nie.

Die studie het bevind dat wanneer ’n toilet met ’n oop deksel gespoel word, mikrobes in die waterspatsels vinnig oor ’n wye area versprei. Dit gekombineer met die feit dat nie alle individue altyd onthou om hul hande te was na ’n uitstappie badkamer toe nie, is ’n groot bron van kommer. Weens hierdie onhigiëniese praktyke, is deurhandvatsels en krane meer met kieme besmet as toilette. Vermy dit om aan deurhandvatsels en krane te vat deur liewers met jou moue daaraan te raak. Was jou hande en naels deeglik vir ten minste 20 sekondes.

J ES SI E EISENBERG is fast becoming one of the best actors in Hollywood today, but starring in Riley Stearns’ The Art of Self-Defense will be a decision he might come to regret later in his career. Jesse plays 36-year-old nerd, Casey Davies, who, after getting mugged in the street, decides to join a karate dojo to learn how to defend himself. As Casey’s fighting ability develops, so does his relationship with Sensei (the instructor), who leads Casey down the path to discovering the deeply sinister and cult-like nature of the dojo and its members. Unfortunately, this synopsis makes the movie seem more exciting than it is. Despite all efforts on behalf of the marketing team, this movie will not be remembered as the “quick-witted, action-packed thriller” it tried to be. On the other hand, it is an unnecessarily slow burner in plot and dialogue. Watching the characters speak is like watching a leaking tap, with the words dropping

out of their mouths in a lifeless sort of rhythm. Alessandro Nivola’s performance as the enigmatic karate Sensei is one of the few highlights here, as he seems to be the only actor that finds a way to make the writer’s cringe-worthy dialogue work. Jesse is also well suited to the role of Casey, but his performance doesn’t amount to much. It will be a surprise to see this movie get any nominations at the big awards shows later this year. There has long been a rift in the opinions of movie critics and the public. Audiences simply seek enjoyment and thrill, whereas critics sometimes wrongly hold their noses in the air and give bad reviews to good films if they are purely made for enjoyment, because they are not “art”. If there is one thing on which the public and the critics can both agree on, it is this: The Art of Self-Defense is neither a work of art, nor is it enjoyable. I do not recommend this movie, but there are some other great films screening at Pulp.

Campus closet: Die Daisies vibe in Stellenbosch Mia van der Merwe het op kampus gekyk vir mense wat die musiekfees na Stellenbosch toe bring.

DIE GOTH-CHIC

EENVOUDIGE VIBES

DIE IMPRESSIONIS

EMO-STYL

PATRONE OP PATRONE

‘n MEER gewaagde styl word vasgevang in hierdie uitrusting. Hierdie styl is perfek vir ‘n edgy maar steeds gemaklike en praktiese stylvolle uitrusting stel. Die kombinasie van die luiperdpatroon-romp en die choker verskaf ’n rock-geïnspireerde voorkoms. Tesame met gewaagde aspekte, is die uitrusting nog steeds gemaklik met die bypassende gekleurde hemp en tekkies.

WIL jy ‘n modestelling maak, maar steeds gemaklik wees? Hierdie is beslis ’n goeie kombinasie vir beide – ’n donker knopieshemp met ’n patroon word gekombineer met ’n sagte kakie-kortbroek. ‘n Polarized sonbril vir die lenteson is die perfekte manier om die modestelling af te rond en prakties te maak om jou gunstelingkunstenaar te bewonder geduerende ‘n helder dag.

HIERDIE uitrusting is perfek vir die student wat koppe wil laat draai deur om so min as moontlik moeite te doen. Die kombinasie van die klere is basies en daar is geen tierlantyntjies nie, maar tog trek dit aandag. ’n Mengsel van lyne en vorms verlei die oog. Die opvallendste item in die uitrusting is beslis die kleurvolle hemp wat vasgevang is tussen ’n bucket hat en sokkies.

DIE uitrusting vang die soft punk emo-styl perfek vas en dit is vir die meer gewaagde individu. Die tweetonige uitrusting skep dimensie deur met horisontale en vertikale lyne, sowel as vorms te speel. Die besige komposisie word gebalanseer met ’n wit hemp en afgerond met bonkige swart stewels en ’n swart leer-halssnoer met silwer ringe.

UITRUSTING soos dié een is perfek vir uitspattige studente wat aandag wil trek. Die kombinasie van die gekleurde patroonbaadjie met die gespikkelde rokkie vang die lawwe gees perfek vas. Met die verskillende patrone weet mense nie presies waar om te kyk nie. Die uitrusting word verder gebalanseer met ‘n helderrooi handsak.

DAG & NAG

Dag & Nag Spoegwolf seëvier in Stellies

Dominique Fuchs het ’n paar vrae aan die nederige en talentvolle Danie du Toit, hoofsanger van Spoegwolf, gestel.

poegwolf het ’n nuwe era in Afrikaanse musiek ingelui. Met hul trefferliedjies propvol emosie hang fans aan hulle lippe. Hulle vierde album Koma het grense verskuif deur die eerste Afrikaanstalige musiekalbum te wees wat die eerste posisie op die Apple Music-trefferalbumlys bekleë. Spoegwolf het onlangs “Lenie Blou ІІ” vrygestel en vir aanhangers ’n voorsmakie gegee van hul nuwe album, See. Gelukkig hoef aanhangers net tot 14 Februarie 2020 uit te hou om dit in die hande te kry. Wat is die resultaat as jy ’n kopieskrywer, sjef, ingenieur en geskiedenis-dosent bymekaargooi? ’n Groot suksesverhaal. Gaan julle nuwe album, See, baie verskil van jul vorige albums? Die musiek is baie anders as die vorige album; dis ’n klein bietjie meer seëvierend (mind the pun). Daar is bietjie meer happiness en fun in die album. Ons probeer weer na ons roots terugkeer. Toe ons begin het met musiek, het ons op die strate musiek gemaak en by markies en feeste. Ons wil weer musiek maak wat vir ons lekker is om te maak en wat vir ons lekker laat voel aan die binnekant. Hoe lank het dit gevat om te kom waar julle nou is? Waar ons nou is, is nie waar ons

NEEM ’N FOTO NOU Spoegwolf weet presies hoe om met die gehoor te toor. Foto: Henry Engelbrecht wil wees nie. Dit gaan nog baie langer vat om te wees waar ons wil wees, maar dit is vir ons ’n lifelong commitment – ons doen dit al vandat ons in graad drie bymekaargekom het as vriende, so van 2001 af. It’s been a long road – ons kon eers die laaste twee jaar ’n living daaruit maak. Skryf jy meeste van die lirieke? Lirieke skryf is soos poësie – van watter skrywers put jy inspirasie? Yes, ek skryf die lirieke. Dis seker naby aan poësie, maar poësie is baie moeiliker, ek is nou nie ’n digter nie, net ’n liedjieskrywer. My gunstelingskrywers op die oomblik is Danie Marais en ek is mal oor Nick Cave.

BE MY MISTAKE The 1975 had the groupies screaming at Rocking the Daisies this weekend. Photo: Erin Walls

Is die lirieke gegrond op persoonlike ervarings en wat is jou muses? Ek is bly die emosies word positief ervaar. Mens skryf oor die lewe, oor dinge wat vir jou saak maak en dinge wat vir jou belangrik is. Ek skryf rêrig baie vir Marguerite, my meisie, en sy is vir my ’n groot bron van inspirasie. Hoe balanseer julle die restaurant (Drum), studies en shows? Life is a balancing act anyway en as jy ’n goeie support structure het – Marguerite het my só support en my vriende, my familie – kan jy al hoe meer en meer goed balanseer. Raak julle ooit moeg vir mekaar aangesien julle so baie

tyd saam spandeer? Ja, ons raak moeg vir mekaar. Ons is actually al moeg vir mekaar van die heel begin af. Raak die inspirasie ooit min en kry jy soms ’n skrywersblok? Inspirasie wat min raak? Nee, ek dink nie ek het dit al ervaar nie. Ek is deeply inspired deur die dinge in my lewe en ongelooflik bevoorreg. Sover is daar so baie om te sê en so baie om oor te sing. Life is really crazy en dis lekker om deel daarvan te kan wees en iets daaroor te kan sê. Wat is julle pre-show roetine? Ons drink niks voor ’n show nie en rook niks nie. Ons het ’n baie strict policy oor almal wat sober

moet wees by die show – dis vir ons baie belangrik. Voor ’n show doen ons stemopwarming vir so 10 minute, dan bid ons net nadat ons so ’n klein liedjie doen, ons noem dit “The Man of Constant Sorrow”, dis iets waarmee ons almal assosieer. Dis ’n liedjie wat ons drie of vier keer ’n week sing. So ons sing dit voor elke show en ons doen dit al vir amper ’n dekade – selfs voor ons Spoegwolf was. Hoe voel jy oor vanaand se show by Aandklas? Is dit hierdie Woensdag? Moenie vir my sê dis hierdie Woensdag nie. Het jy enige wyse woorde vir aspirante musikante? Die beste raad wat ek al in my lewe gehoor het is “the band is bigger than the music”, so musikante sal dit verstaan. Die grootste probleem wat jy kan teëkom is dat tydens die show die band die moer in raak vir mekaar en tydens recordings is daar soveel differences as dit kom by die musiek en die kwaliteit van die musiek. My belangrikste stukkie raad van ’n man genaam Paris, was dat “whatever happens, is dit baie belangriker om die vriendskap en die vriendelikheid in die band te behou as enigiets anders”. Die band kom altyd eerste. Moenie Spoegwolf misloop nie; hulle is vanaand 22:00 te sien by Aandklas. Kaartjies is R50 op Quicket of beskikbaar by die deur.

SHITTING BRICKS A group of festival goers collected plastic bricks at Small Town Beats. Photo: Tom Lee

DAG & NAG

9 Oktober 2019

Rock talent on tap WILLOW-RUBY VAN DER BERG

hat sounds better than sex, drugs, (beer) and rock ’n’ roll? Absolutely nothing. Tomorrow The Sir Thomas Brewing Company, located just outside Stellenbosch, is hosting the Analog on Tap event where you can expect to hear top quality rock tunes. Arno Carstens, Alberst Frost and Matt Carstens will be playing at the event, so you will definitely find yourself headbanging along to a few rock bangers while hydrating yourself with ice cold craft beer. “The Analog on Tap event is exciting for me because it is concentrated around world class live sound, a journey through acoustic rock to blues rock and great craft beer to make it complete,” said Frost. This journey is sure to put the grunge back in rock ‘n’ roll with all the raw sounds that make us nostalgic. “I’m extremely excited about being part of such a cool event. To be jamming it up on a line-up with two SA rock legends is going to be absolutely surreal! Stellenbosch has always been a favourite for many musicians because there’s such an appreciation and love for live music. “So, I think it’s the perfect place

LIT MATIE LitMatie is ’n platform in Die Matie waar ons gedigte wat geskryf is deur studente publiseer. As jy jouself as ’n digter beskou, kan jy jou gedigte deurstuur na willowbrg@gmail.com. Dié week se gedig is deur die talentvolle Alwyn van der Merwe geskryf. Waarna soek jy? Opsoek na iemand wat kaalvoet deur my vullis loop, my skuiling is onder ’n donderwolk wat die taal van die man geslote in my skedel vertolk. In my spring in my diepkant, baljaar in my vlaktes die kranse van my gemoedstoestand uitklim.

GO AGAIN Albert Frost will rock the stage tomorrow. Photo: supplied to host something like Analog On Tap. All in all, I don’t think anyone is going to want to miss this show,” said Carstens. You’ll also be excited to hear that Arno Carstens will not only perform his latest single, “Empire of the Night,” but he will also ex-

hibit some of his own paintings and signed prints. These items will all be for sale and Carstens believes that it would make the perfect wall-decoration for your new flat. Tickets are sold on Webtickets for the price of R180 and includes a surpise gift.

By my gebrande lande nuwe groei aanspoor, by die afgekapte drome en dood gestroopte bome weer ’n Namkwaland spruit, binne my vloei soos ‘n rivier waaraan my wortels kan suip. Wat ’n drassig op hierdie dor, dors en droë grond laat vat, ja dis eintlik al.

REDAKSIONEEL

t a recent Die Matie Alumni Press Club gathering, Pieter-Louis Myburgh, Scorpio investigative journalist and the mind behind Gangster State, made the shrewd point that the crucial importance of the free press is only realised when democracy is truly under threat. What Myburgh certainly meant is that the South African Democracy is in peril, and that the free press is now more important than ever. The roots of corruption and state capture run deep, and they are being dug up by the bucket load. Many of the exploits that our country’s most vocal (and best dressed) politicians make

A free press is the canary in the coal mine

themselves guilty of, flirts with the absurd. Pauli van Wyk’s recent exposés on the excesses of the EFF frontmen, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu, seems better suited to the pages of Christopher Marlowe than to the realities of the political system. One imagines that a person who has their pockets lined with millions of Rands worth of stolen money might invest in an elaborate ploy to conquer the world. Dr Heinz Doofenshmirtz would certainly have created enough “enators” to completely obliterate Perry the Platypus if he had access to the same resources. But these people spend thou-

GORRELKOP

Die kommentaar waarvoor almal bang is en nooit wil sê nie. Gorrel is nie verantwoordelik vir enige ongerief veroorsaak nie. Platejoggies GORREL is gedurig in die Neelsie en dan hoor Gorrel klomp simpel musiek. Waar is smaak heen? Gorrel dink die platejoggies moet die groot oorfone van hul koppe afhaal en vir eens luister na die soort musiek wat hulle speel. Opvoedkunde-gebou GORREL lewe nie in die 1800’s nie. Dit is vir Gorrel ’n redelike eeuskok om in dié gebou in te stap. Gorrel voel asof Gorrel in ’n museum instap.

Somerslette GORREL dink dat al die meisies wat hul bates rondgooi in die somer sommer strooi is. Gorrel is veels te konserwatief as dit by lae halse en kortbroekies kom. Saambly GORREL dink nie dat dit verkeerd is van Gorrel se mede-Gorrels en Gorrelinas om saam te bly nie. Geniet julleself. Julle is jonk. Dit is beslis ’n goeie tyd om vir Gorrels en Gorrelinas beter te leer ken en mens leer werklik eers iemand ken as julle saambly.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE AND REPORTING ERRORS Die Matie is onderhewig aan ’n gedragskode wat by die SRlid vir Media beskikbaar is. Alle klagtes word deur ’n regsdosent ondersoek, waarna Die Matie voor die Mediaraad kan verskyn. Klagtes moet volgens die uiteengesette prosedure binne veertien dae ná publikasie aanhangig gemaak word. Die Matie subscribes to the South African Press Code that

prescribes news that is truthful, accurate, fair and balanced. If we don’t live up to the code, please contact the Ombudsman. Die Matie is accountable to its readers and will correct errors where necessary. Please send any complaints to the paper’s ombudsman/public editor, George Claassen, at gnclaassen@sun.ac.za or 083 543 2471.

HOOFREDAKSIE

KONTAK ONS / CONTACT US

HOOFREDAKTEUR Lian van Wyk TESOURIER Alexander Carstens BEDRYFSREDAKTEUR Oliver Frew UITLEGREDAKTEUR Heléne Leonard FOTOREDAKTEUR James Smith AANLYNREDAKTEUR Gabriela Viljoen ADVERTENSIEBESTUURDER Nicole Nasson ENGLISH SUB-EDITOR Byron Latham AFRIKAANS–SUBREDAKTEUR Dominique Fuchs NUUS Carla Visagie STUDENTELEWE Kesia Abrahams DAG & NAG Willow-Ruby van der Berg SPORT Lemuel Blignaut

E-POSADRES diematie75@gmail.com POSADRES Langenhoven Studentesentrum; Privaatsak X1; Universiteit Stellenbosch; Matieland; 7602 WEBADRES w w w.diematie.com FACEBOOK w w w.facebook.com/ diematie OPLAAG 4 000 VOLGENDE UITGAWE 23/10/2019 SPERDATUM 17/10/2019 ADVERTENSIES Nicole Nasson diematieads@gmail.com ARGIEF Vorige uitgawes van Die Matie is in die biblioteek beskikbaar

MEDEWERKERS TEKSREDIGERING Wynand Conradie, René Esterhuyse, Zahlé Eloff, Marissa Badenhorst, Catharina van der Mescht, Kirsty Bucholz, Brynley van Aardt, Erin Walls DRUKWERK PaarlMedia

sands at Shoprite and the liquor shop on the corner. They adorn themselves with Gucci and Louis Vuitton and wed each other in the most lavish of ceremonies. Van Wyk is a brilliant writer and an even better journalist, but one can imagine a reader looking at a headline like “The Chronicles of Grand Azania, Part One: How a slush fund paid for Floyd Shivambu’s wedding” for the umpteenth time and thinking, “Stories like this come out every day. I know what its about. I know that South Africa is filthy with corruption. To be quite honest, this is bat shit crazy!” Such a reader might be tempted to skip over this story and

the many others like it. Everyone certainly doesn’t have the time to read everything. But we ignore the utility of these stories at our own peril. A wonderful analogy for the role of the free press is that of the canary in the coalmine. Without digging too deep into the specifics of mining; a canary is carried into a mine by the miners that work it. If the air in the mine becomes tainted with bad gasses, the canary dies, and the miners know that it’s time to get out. The South African air is thick with the toxic gasses of corruption and the canary is singing like it has never sung before. The death of the canary means

the death of democracy, so we would be wise to listen to its song. The stories written by dedicated teams of journalists form the notes to this song, however small and insignificant they might seem. These notes, now a desperate melody, have warned and continues to warn us against the very real danger in which South Africa finds itself. When the canary in the mine dies, the miners still have a chance to get out. If the free press stops singing, where do we go? Now is the time for the citizens of South Africa to rally behind its journalists and to make sure that they can continue doing good work.

OPINIONS

9 Oktober 2019

On pointless objections to Anti-GBV: a response MICHAL VISSER

ince late August, South African campus communities have engaged in protests and discussions regarding a national crisis of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). The rape and murder of varsity women in particular, has served to galvanise a movement that is long overdue. For many years, South Africa has had among the highest rates of GBV in the world. The severity and brutality of GBV in South Africa deserves assertive opposition. Fortunately, activists have started to engage in resistance against GBV. In response to growing anti-GBV activism, Die Matie opinion columnist, Tian Alberts, asserts that we need to “get real about the Anti-GBV” [emphasis my own]. This column is a response to Alberts’s opinion piece. This column is neither a defence of every manifestation of Anti-GBV activism, nor is it a defence of the particular demands of the three-page memorandum that was handed to men’s and mixed residences. It is not aimed at Alberts in particular, but he has provided a convenient summary of poor arguments lodged against Anti-GBV activism. As a testament to the impersonal nature of my response, I

*Michal Visser studies Economics. will henceforth refer to Alberts’s piece as LGR (short for “Let’s get real…”) and avoid invoking his name any further. I suggest that readers first read his opinion piece to see whether this response misrepresents any of the arguments in LGR (available in the 25 September edition of Die Matie and online). Firstly, I agree that any movement may be critiqued. However, the critiques should be valid and (preferably) constructive. LGR does not satisfy these rudimentary criteria and thus deserves a critical response. Secondly, LGR constructs a theatrical narrative of oppressed dissidents fighting against an overbearing social movement. I contend that this narrative is self-imposed by those who feel victimised by the Anti-GBV movement – an actual “victim mentality”. If people demand that you take certain actions, you can disagree. If people call you

names, you can disagree. Importantly, you can disagree without having a martyr complex. Thirdly, LGR vaguely suggests that the Anti-GBV movement aims to “prescribe acceptable culture” and to “impose” this by using University structures. For this strong claim, the author provides no specific examples of prescriptions. This is a critical deception because the reader is left to imagine any degree of draconian regulation without being able to judge the merits of the author’s argument. In fact, it is hard to discern exactly where the author disagrees with particular prescriptions made by the movement that he implies we should rebuke. I hypothesise that many of the pitfalls of LGR are due to fundamental misconceptions about the Anti-GBV movement. Despite the impression given by LGR, Anti-GBV activism is not monolithic. The movement does not have a “leader”. It is simply a broad-based and diverse civil society movement that is united in one cause: opposition to Gender-Based Violence. Sure, some bad actors may use the movement as a means to consolidate power, but this is not a sufficient reason to broadly lambast a whole movement. Furthermore, the author asserts that the Anti-GBV movement demands adherence to “every ideological disposition”. This demand

Faith vs Reason, or Faith vs Faith? SEBASTIAN UYS

YES, this is another article about the existence of a deity. I say another because I write this as the “sequel” to the article written by Christopher Joubert, who I attend class with, called “Faith, religion and reason at SU.” Chris wrote about the disparity in belief in Stellenbosch, and I agree, but I would propose that there is a general agreement around the ‘essential’ fundamental difference between theists (those who believe in God) and atheists (those who don’t). As Chris mentioned, the fundamental difference comes from how either side makes their argument, and this is a view that is commonlyheld upon most 21st century campuses across the world. However, through this article, I would like to question the ‘fundamental difference’ that has been proposed between the two sides namely the assertion that atheists use empirical evidence to “reasonably” justify their unbelief in God and that theists disregard these reasons, but instead remain fully committed to the existence of God in a way that the modern world deems unreasonable. Dallas Willard, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California who held theistic views, said that “We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the sceptical person is always smarter than one who believes.” Even though we doubt for sport, we can all agree that a “fact”’ is either a) something that is self-evident to everyone (E.g. There’s a rock in the road) or b) something that is not self-evident to the senses but can be proved scientifically.

Any other position held that can’t be demonstrated in any of these two ways is one that includes some degree of faith. To demonstrate this, and to expand on Willard’s quote, I propose that our culture fails to see the latent faith within the arguments made by atheists using reason. For example, if someone would “reasonably” doubt that Jesus Christ is the truth because “there can’t be just one true religion, due to all the various religious beliefs today”, we fail to recognise that this statement is itself an act of faith. This is not a self-evident universal truth, and even though this statement has the appearance of reason, can it be scientifically proven? I wonder what a mathematics professor at any university would think if a student shouts out, “There can’t be one right answer to the question because all of us got different answers!” Additionally, another example can be drawn from Atheist Alliance International, which is a worldwide organisation that envisions a world based upon ‘sound reasoning’. In an article proclaiming the ‘reasons’ Christianity is false, AAI claims that “Christian theology is incoherent to the point of absurdity. God killing his son so he can forgive our future sin is like me breaking my son’s legs so, I can forgive my neighbour in case she ever parks her car on my drive. It is quite ridiculous.” I hope it is clear, by now, that this is a clear statement of “faith”. This is not self-evident or empirically grounded. This supposedly “ridiculous” nature of the sacrifice of Christ does not reasonably

*Sebastian Uys is a final year Political Science, Philosophy and Economics Student who likes the beach, making music and reading anything written by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. disprove his existence, it actually just points to the superior nature of God’s love, as willing to sacrifice what was most precious to him for the undeserved benefit of others. Therefore, this is not a difference between faith and reason, it is a difference between alternate systems of beliefs. There is no fundamental difference in how either side makes their arguments. In conclusion, this article was written to problematize the distinction between faith and reason and I hope that it helps to show that it is in fact faith vs faith. I, therefore, urge those with “unexamined faith” as the base of their reasonable scepticism to wrestle with their beliefs, and for believers to wrestle with their personal and cultural objections to their faith. At the end of this process, I propose, we will all hold our positions with greater clarity and humility, and ultimately respect one another's views in a way we didn’t before.

is, of course, an extrapolation of the author’s own nightmares. If certain demands are unreasonable, you can oppose them specifically without eschewing an entire movement. In the latter half of his article, the author reveals a fundamental grievance he has against the movement: he doesn’t like it that Anti-GBV activists are telling men’s residences what to do. He doesn’t like the language they use. He doesn’t like criticism from the outsiders. Altogether, LGR’s opposition to the Anti-GBV movement seems rather petulant. I imagine that, in the author’s utopia, the outsiders would desist from saying mean things about men’s residences and stop telling them what they should do. The author has chosen to experience critiques of his “constructive criticism” as a public persecution enacted by “the mob and social media hunting packs”. It appears that dissidence is only courageous when it is voiced by the author. LGR is based on the premise that the act of making suggestions to men’s residences is necessarily undermining the autonomy of men’s residences. For example, the author contends that “if men’s residences were really adamant to effect (sic) these changes in the first place, they would have done so on their own terms in the absence of the social coercion that they now

face”. However, it is not at all obvious that men’s residences will propose and enforce solutions to GBV independently. It could be that they are either complicit or indifferent to GBV issues. Clearly, a superior method would be for men’s residences to receive the suggestions formulated by Anti-GBV activists (from the outside) and discern which suggestions are beneficial and which are unreasonable. Learning from outsiders is astute. It is not “caving”. How would constructive criticism of a movement look like? Firstly, dissidents need to make valid arguments against specific points of contention. My stylistic preference is that authors should avoid painting themselves as martyrs when they are criticised for their critiques. When the discussion stays centred on the arguments it is much less likely to devolve into wasteful melodrama. Secondly, authors should avoid conflating the actions of some bad actors as being representative of an entire movement. Rather, state explicitly which denomination or individuals are committing the specific transgressions. Constructive criticism needs to suggest better alternatives. Let’s get real avoids suggesting any tangible policies in response to GBV, and thus does not contribute whatsoever to addressing the crisis.

ARE YOU BLACK OR COLOURED? PERCIVAL QUINA

I watched the premier episode of a TV-series called Mixed-ish. As race is the central issue that this series deals with, this episode left me immediately reflecting on my own identity. I cannot account the amount of times I have been asked: “So, what exactly are you?”. Nor the amount of times I was left unable to honestly answer that question. For quite some time I thought of discovering my identity as a destination. Something that I will eventually reach and be truly sure of. I am only realising now that discovering your identity is a journey. I am 22 years old and the fact that I still cannot answer what seems to be a simple question to some, means that I honestly do not know who I am. Since forming part of the Stellenbosch environment in January 2016 as a first year, and throughout my years in this environment, I was fighting an identity war. Not just internally, coming to terms with my sexuality and dealing with my race, but also externally, explaining to people something that I myself do not even know and am not truly sure of. Many people look at me and assume, based on my dark complexion that I can speak an African language. The truth is, my home language is Afrikaans (and yes, to some this might be a surprise). Every single time when I tell this to people I am left feeling like I disappointed and denied some part of myself. See, my grandmother was a coloured woman and my grandfather a black, Xhosa man. Their reality was totally different from my reality. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been raising children of colour in the Apartheid years. Even worse, raising children of colour in what was then a predom-

*Percival Quina is currently doing his Honours in International Studies.

inantly Afrikaans forestry town called Knysna. They decided to teach their children to speak Afrikaans instead of Xhosa hoping that this will allow their kids to have an easier life in a predominantly Afrikaans town (however, this was not the case). Today, here I am. Not sure how to answer a simple question. Too dark to be considered coloured and too Afrikaans to be considered black. I am left not knowing which box to tick at the Home Affairs office. Either way it feels like I am betraying a part of me. I acknowledge that being in this situation offered me some privileges that few have. I grew up being exposed to a rich and complex culture unlike any other in the world. I was also able to access certain “Afrikaans spaces” that most people who look like me are blocked out of. This identity war is still raging. To you this question might be extremely straightforward but to me it is a complex one. One that leaves me with sweaty palms and a racing heart because what if I choose the wrong identity?...Why do I have to choose in the first place? I hope that one day I will fully embody James Baldwin’s words when he said: “It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.'' Up until now this label and identity obsessed world is not allowing me to win this war.

CANVAS

Out with the old and in with the new Tom Lee had the honour of interviewing Stellenbosch University’s newly elected Chancellor. Ex-Justice Edwin Cameron has quite an extraordinary story to share with us. Cameron speaks about the discriminative stigmas, opportunities and facing prejudice.

tellenbosch University’s (SU) Electoral College has elected Ex-Justice Edwin Cameron as the institution’s fifteenth Chancellor. The announcement came on 25 September, a month after Justice Cameron had announced his retirement. Cameron, who has served as a member of the judiciary for 25 years, was revered as one of the top judges in South African judicial history. An alumnus of Pretoria Boys High School, Cameron went on to navigate the corridors and lecture halls of Stellenbosch University as a student. Here he worked hard at obtaining a BA (Law) degree, whilst juggling the responsibility of being the Prim of Wilgenhof Men’s Residence. Cameron certainly succeeded at being a student and bagged the BA (Law) and an Honours degree in Latin, receiving cum laude for both. He received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University. Cameron packed his bags, seized the opportunity with both hands and went on to earn his BA in Jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford. He completed his LLB at the University of South Africa later in his career. And so, the foundations were laid for Cameron’s career as a legal professional and academic. His extensive knowledge and experience served him well when he began his judicial career as a judicial officer in the High Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court. The ex-Justice spent close to ten years on the bench as a Constitutional Court judge. He was actively involved in various notable cases, including The Citizen v McBride, which dealt with fair comment in terms of the right to freedom of speech, Le Roux v Dey, which dealt with defamation in terms of Human Dignity and most recently, Democratic Alliance v African National Congress, a ruling that was lauded as a “victory for freedom of speech”. His path as a judicial officer was certainly riddled with obstacles and the sort of challenges every judge must face, but Cameron began his career in a position faced by no other civil servant at the time. The ex-justice opened up about his homosexuality and positive HIV status becoming one of the first public officials to do so. “After three years of utter solitude, remaining silent while feelings of shame and fear churned inside, in 1990 I had managed to start speaking with my closest relatives, friends and colleagues about my HIV,” said Cameron. Cameron utilised his status as a gay and HIV positive male and became part of numerous gay rights and HIV/ AIDS movements that were aimed at breaking down the stigmas sur-

TAKE A CHANCE Edwin Cameron, SU’s newly elected Chancellor is planning on impacting the university for the better. Photo: Supplied rounding homosexuals and those affected by HIV/AIDS. He was part of the gay pride parade in South Africa in 1990 and was instrumental in the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the Constitutional Court. He also played a part in the creation of the Yogyakarta Principles, a document outlining human rights in the areas of gender identity and sexual orientation, and was involved in an initiative at the University of the Witwatersrand called the Society for Homosexuals, which raised awareness for the rights of gay students. The fight against HIV/AIDS is an ongoing one, and it is a fight in which Cameron has been continuously involved. He has been living with HIV for two and a half decades and has been a part of projects such as the Charter of rights on AIDs and HIV as well as the AIDS consortium, both of which strive to fight HIV and AIDS and the stigmas and issues attached to the virus. “I reflected all the millennia of the dumb homophobia and embraced it inside. It was a pitiful way to live. When I started human rights law, I was absolutely determined that I would never again apologise for being gay, so I came out. Soon after that I became infected with HIV and discovered that in 1986,” Cameron says. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng recently commended Cameron for being a loyal servant

to the Republic of South Africa and for his humility in bettering the community around him. The Chief Justice gave some insight into the ex-Justice’s character. “Edwin, in his spare time makes it his business to share himself and his experiences with many others out there who don’t have the benefit of the information that he has. This information can liberate them from the prejudices that have kept them in a position of disadvantage for a long time,” Mogoeng said. Mogoeng honoured Cameron for his involvement in human rights activism. “A brave and bold man. When HIV attracted stigma, he stood up and declared openly that he was HIV positive. He knew the attitude of South Africans at the time. He could afford the ARVS and could like many of us mind his business and care less about others, but not Edwin Cameron. “His love for the multitudes of South Africans could not allow him to shut up, so for the sake of the suffering masses he not only spoke but acted and moved around and mobilized the support. “Thanks to him, the lives of many South Africans and many people across the globe have been saved. He is, therefore, the kind of man to be honoured at national level.” The job of the chancellor may mainly be a ceremonial and figurehead position, but Cameron is still willing and able to play an active role in advising the various

programs that have been set up in response to the ongoing issues and stigmas at Stellenbosch University. According to Cameron, stigmas can be eradicated by creating opportunities for people to speak out and confront the stigma affecting them. "You know, I think that stigma needs to be confronted in whatever form it takes, and certainly, I can try to do exactly that. I cannot personally confront racial stigma but can certainly confront the LGBTQIA stigma and stigma against people living with HIV and AIDS. The part of the answer lies with those who are stigmatized themselves, who must be given the agency and opportunity to talk out about the stigma," Cameron said. Cameron has some valuable insights on the brain drain currently affecting Stellenbosch students and South Africans in general. He believes that young South Africans have far more opportunities than they know and should consider the positive aspects of the country when making decisions on immigration. “There are opportunities here. South Africa is an extraordinarily beautiful country and it is an interesting country. “When you make comparisons, which ought to be to other middle-income countries such as Turkey, Russia, Argentina, India, we are not doing badly at all. I don't think we should be complacent. “I do think South Africa offers fantastic opportunities to people

with talent and dedication and I think our unique racial history offers a role to young Afrikaans people, young white people, and young black and brown South Africans.” Cameron says the country at this very point in time needs certain traits to be instilled by Stellenbosch University to lead South Africa in the right direction going into the future.

“I cannot personally confront racial stigma but can cer tainly confront the LGBTQIA stigma” “The university needs inclusivity, academic excellence, a heightened research output. It needs to generate new ideas in the sciences, in the agricultural areas, and racial reconciliation, in all those areas together.” For those young students and graduates who are trying to secure their futures and make a difference in South Africa, Cameron recommends dedication and hard work.“I think there is a huge contribution to make to our country and I think the most important thing is hard work and dedication. “Whether you are in law, accounting or public administration, the key ingredient is hard work and dedication in all that you do.”

SPORT

9 Oktober 2019

Maties go Wild at Nationals LEMUEL BLIGNAUT

he Pietermaritzburg Long Donkeys Ultimate Frisbee team and Lions River Polo club played hosts to the seventh annual National Ultimate Frisbee tournament over the weekend of 5 October. The tournament saw a variety of men’s and women’s teams vie for the title. The seven women’s teams played a series of round robin matches, with the two top ranked teams heading to the final, while the third and fourth ranked teams faced each other in the playoff for bronze. During the season, Mondays are match days, and all the Ultimate players can be seen across the Stellenbosch University campus in their club kit, practicing their sport. “Ultimate isn’t very well known across campus, we would like to grow quite a bit,” Maties Ultimate Frisbee secretary, Natalie Austin, says. Maties didn’t send a full women’s team to the National Ultimate Frisbee tournament, but several Maties players went as members

of Wild, the Western Cape women’s team. “Wild was made for the people that wanted to go to nationals, ladies that didn’t have a team and were keen to play on a national level. So we formed our own team,” Austin says. Wild remained unbeaten throughout the weekend, shrugging off the University of Cape Town (UCT) women’s, team Bengals, 15 – 3 in the finals on Sunday, after emerging top of the log after the round robin matches. The men played a more conventional pool-based tournament, with the top teams proceeding to the knockout stages. Marco Dewey, chairman of Maties Ultimate Frisbee, says the men’s team was a sort of collaboration between Maties and UCT. “We did send a men’s team, although we ended up picking up some of the UCT players as they didn’t send a team, so it was kind of a combined effort from Maties and UCT.” The men placed fourth overall. “It is very successful for us, we had never come above ninth at Nationals before,” Dewey said.

WILD WITH JOY The Western Cape women’s team. Photo: Grant Evans

HIGH FIVE Chantelle Swart en Khomotso Mamburu gedurende die Varsity netbal finaal. Foto: Christiaan Kotze

Netbal-beker bly in die noorde ANNERINE SNYMAN

MATIES Netbal het Maandagaand, in die Varsity Netbal-finaal in Pretoria, ’n enorme poging teen die Universiteit van Pretoria (Tuks) aangewend en net-net nie die beker saam met hulle huis toe gebring nie. Dit was behoorlik ’n noordsuid-stryd met Maties wat gepoog het om hulle oorwinningsgetal teen Tuks op te stoot. Maties het nog net een keer van tevore teen Tuks in hierdie toernooi gewen en dit was in 2015 se halfeindronde. Hoewel die spel heen en weer was soos beide spanne links en regs balle onderskep het, het Maties gesorg dat hulle op Tuks se hakskene bly. Maties het in die uitspeelrondes 53-46 teen Tuks, wat die toernooi onoorwonne afgesluit het, verloor. Die wedstryd was deurgaans gelykop, met Maties wat halftyd 35-34 voorgeloop het. Die wending het egter in die laaste twee minute plaasgevind

toe Tuks dit vermag het om die balle een vir een deur die net te kry om die beker met ’n eindtelling van 48-43 te gryp. Zanele Mdodana, Maties-afrigter, het na afloop van die wedstryd gesê hoe ongelooflik trots sy op haar spelers is. “Hulle het hier uitgekom, teen die skare, teen almal en hulle het opgestaan en opgedaag en ’n goeie stryd gegee en dit is waaroor ons span gaan,” sê sy. Volgens Mdodana kan die span trots oor hulle vertoning voel, want “hulle het alles gegee wat hulle gehad het”. Mdodana het melding gemaak van “kritiese beslissings” deur die skeidsregters wat die wedstryd se spanning laat bou het en die wedstryd naelskraap gemaak het. “Ek gee dit vir Tuks. Hulle het op die baan gegaan en geveg,” sê sy. Mdodana het haar senior-spelers, waarvan onder andere Jo Prins en Sasha-Lee Petersen (wat al vir ses seisoene deel van die Mat-

ies-span is) deel is, geprys vir hulle “fenominale” spel. “Ja, hulle sou daarvan hou om die goud om hul nekke te dra en die trofee vas te hou, maar ek is steeds trots dat hulle vandag opgedaag het en die oomblik ingeneem het. Hulle kan baie trots op hulleself wees.” Khomotso Mamburu, Maties se hulpdoelverdediger, is as die speler van die wedstryd gekroon. Sy was ook deel van verlede jaar se Kovsies-span wat die goud gewen het. “Dit is nogal hartseer [om te verloor], maar dit is deel van netbal. Jy gaan elke wedstryd in met die moontlikheid om te wen of verloor,” sê sy. Mamburu verduidelik dat sy elke oomblik van haar laaste seisoen by Maties geniet het en dat sy baie dankbaar vir die geleentheid is. Maties speel volgende jaar weer netbal en sal intussen met hulle voorseisoen-voorbereiding besig wees.

A deep dive into the Maties Underwater Club KIRSTY BUCHOLZ

MOST humans would probably prefer having their feet firmly planted on the ground. There are, however, a group of Maties who thoroughly enjoy the dark depths of the ocean. Maties Underwater is Stellenbosch University’s official Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) five-star Instructor Development Course (IDC) club. In layman’s terms, this means that Maties Underwater offers a full range of scuba diving education programs, equipment selection and experience opportunities, and the whole thing is run by students. They scuba dive, free dive, do spearfishing, and have professionals who train students in these areas. The club’s PADI accreditation ensures that their courses are of a standard, and their courses are

TAKING A BREAK Club members exploring their second home. Photo: Maties Underwater Facebook affordable for someone looking to get into scuba diving on a student budget. The club has intermittent events

such as Women’s Day dives and informational talks. Their main events are the regular courses being run, training

sessions and frequent ocean dives. Die Matie spoke with one of the club’s committee members who described their favourite spots. “Simon’s Town is a great area for students to dive since there are many dive sites with shore entries. We also dive quite a few wrecks and ‘caves’. We’re a big fan of the Smitswinkle wrecks and A-frame dive site,” said the committee member. Meeting wise, their committee has frequently scheduled meetings while the rest of the club flows on a more ad hoc basis. Meaning that people are able to come and rent gear with other members and head to the ocean or join in on any spontaneous club dives. The club aims to have two club dives a week but these have limited spaces to ensure that all members are safe. Safety is important to the club and they follow prudent diving practices. The committee member also spoke of the clubs more

informal events, “[We] also host braai’s seeing as the club has such a great social atmosphere too. It’s a really great way to wind down and get some nature time in too.” Enya Munting joined the club in her first year with the intention of becoming a divemaster. Three years later, she is an instructor at the club and describes how being part of the club allowed her to meet new people and try new things that she never thought she would try. “I went spearfishing this year and it was amazing, I had the most fun. It was never a sport I thought I’d try, it was always scuba diving for me. Freediving and spearfishing have become a lot more interesting to me. It’s really diversified my interests, and I’ve seen things I wouldn’t have seen. I’ve learnt about a whole culture.” Anyone wanting to know more about the Maties Underwater can check them out on Instagram or Facebook (@matiesunderwater).

WOENSDAG 9 OKTOBER 2019 | GR ATIS

Maties-Sewes sien silwer rand ANNERINE SNYMAN

aties-Sewes het die afgelope naweek hul staal gewys in die Varsity Sports Sewes-toernooi in Johannesburg. Alhoewel dié span met die silwermedalje tevrede moes wees, was hulle poging glad nie te versmaai nie. Maties het die toernooi Vrydag afgeskop deur hulle eerste twee wedstryde teen Walter Sisulu-Universiteit en die Kaapse Skiereiland Universiteit van Tegnologie (KSUT) te wen met 21-19 en 34-19 onderskeidelik. Hulle veldtog het egter later die dag ’n ompad geneem toe hulle teen die Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland (UWK) die knie gebuig het met ’n 22-24 nederlaag. Saterdag het hulle teen die Noordwes-Universiteit (Pukke), asook die Universiteit van Pretoria (Tuks) te staan gekom. Met hernude momentum aan hulle kant het Maties 31-14 en 24-5 onderskeidlik hierdie spanne geklop om die finaal teen die Universiteit van Johannersburg (UJ) te haal. UJ, ook bekend as die Orange Army, het verlede jaar die titel misgeloop toe hulle teen Tuks in die finaal gesneuwel het. In Saterdag se finaal het UJ van die begin af vinnige spel ten toon

FOKUS Iver Aanhuizen Kaptein, Jaquin Mattinus en Hein Kritzinger staan reg voor ’n wedstryd die naweek in Johannesburg. Foto: Carlo Jonkerman gestel. Al is een van hulle spelers vroeg in die wedstryd met ’n geelkaart afgestuur, kon Maties hulle nie onder beheer kry nie. UJ het ook op die power play (waar drieë 10 punte elk tel) staatgemaak om teen halftyd 15-0 voor te loop. UJ se Odwa Nkunjana, speler van die toernooi, het met ’n drie in die tweede helfte die doodslag vir Maties beteken en UJ het uiteindelik die beker gevat met ’n telling van 20-0. Maties was sonder een van hulle uitstaande spelers, Michael Visser, wat in die semi-finaal ’n

heupbesering opgedoen het en nie aan die finaal kon deelneem nie. “Dit [die besering] was nie baie lekker nie. Ek sou graag deel van die finaal wou wees,” sê Visser. Hy verduidelik egter dat die besering nie “te ernstig” is nie en dat hy vir ongeveer twee weke uit sal wees. Ian Campbell-McGeachy, Maties-afrigter, meen dat Visser ’n “ongelooflike speler” is. Verder verduidelik hy dat “om met 11 spelers in ’n finaal in te gaan, sal altyd ’n invloed hê”. Weens die vinnige en veeleisende aard van sewesrugby

teenoor vyftienmanrugby, is afrigters geneig om meer op hul reserwes staat te maak – ’n taktiek waarvan Campbell-McGeachy deurgaans oor die naweek gebruik gemaak het. Nog ’n speler wat Campbell-McGeachy glo “ongelooflike rugby-vermoëns” het, is George Lourens. “Ander spelers floreer rondom hom as gevolg van sy visie en vaardighede. Hy sien geleenthede raak wat verdedigers uitoorlê,” verduidelik hy. Vir Iver Aanhuizen, Maties-kaptein, is dit reeds ’n “groot

eer” om in die finaal te kon speel. “Dit is een van ons doelwitte vanjaar – ons wil in die eindstryde van elke toernooi waaraan ons deelneem, speel. So, dít is die ingesteldheid waarmee ons ingegaan het,” sê hy. Aanhuizen meen dat daar ’n paar besluite is wat gedurende die finaal nie na hulle kant toe gegaan het nie en dat hulle ’n taai aanloop tot die wedstryd gehad het. Daar is egter ’n silwer rand wat Aanhuizen na afloop van die toernooi uitlig. Hy glo Maties “is een van die top sewesspanne in die land” en dat baie van die jong spelers hul kant gedurende die wedstryde gebring het. Visser het aan die einde van die toernooi die Pulse Try of the Tournament-toekenning ontvang vir ’n wegholdrie wat hy teen Pukke gedruk het. “Om met so ’n toekenning vereer te word is altyd lekker,” sê hy. “Daarmee saam kom ook trots. Ek moet vir my span ook erkenning gee – sonder hulle sou ek dit nie kon doen nie. Dit dui ook op ons harde werk deur die seisoen, so dit is ’n kersie op die koek.” Maties sal vir die volgende vyf weke aan die WP-sewesliga deelneem, wat hierdie naweek afskop en Campbel-McGeachy meen “dit sal lekker wees om die toernooi te wen” en glo dit dien as motivering vir die spelers.

Paddling USSA out of the water CHRISTOPHER JOUBERT

VOET IN DIE HOEK AmaMaties is as die klusterkampioen van die eerste byeenkoms van die Maties Atletiek Klusterbeker gekroon. TygerMaties was tweede, terwyl Validus met die vuil goud weggestap het. Die volgende byeenkoms is vandag (Woensdag 9 Oktober). Die eerste byeenkoms het op 2 Oktober by Coetzenburg se atletiekbaan plaasgevind. Foto: Anke van der Merwe

THE Maties Canoeing team has cut their way through the challenging rapids and weirs of the Fish River to be crowned the 2019 USSA Canoeing champions. The 30 Maties paddlers now have bragging rights after leaving the likes of University of Cape Town (UCT), Northwest University (Pukke) and Varsity College in their wake during the gruelling Fish River Marathon, which took place on 27 and 28 September in Cradock in the Eastern Cape. The Fish River asked nothing less than true spirit and perseverance, but the Maties team ground out a powerful and dominant performance. The USSA competition is an Inter-Varsity Championship that forms part of the Fish River Marathon, an annual two-day marathon where over a thousand participants arrive in Cradock to try their hand at navigating 82 kilometres of treacherous river. Day one is the biggest stretch of the marathon. Competitors

LIKE A FISH IN THE WATER Dom Leslie and Evan Knight. Photo: Graham Daniel start the race at Grassridge Dam and complete a menacing 46 kilometres downstream. Day two sets the stage for the competitors to race the remaining 36 kilometres of river to finish in Cradock. The university teams competing for the Inter-Varsity SA K2 title were Maties, UCT, Rhodes, Pukke and Varsity College. The overall result saw UCT in third place, Varsity College in second and in first place were the Maties canoeing teams. Victory in the Inter-Varsity Championship is decided by the top three mens’ performances and

the best woman's performance. The Maties displayed a dominant exposition of canoeing and came out on top in both the winning men’s teams and the overall best woman. The winning men were Murray Starr, Dominic Leslie and Evan Knight. The overall best woman in the USSA competition was Tracey Oellerman. “It was such a cool event to be a part of and there’s a really good vibe between the varsities. It’s probably one of the biggest water events in the country so there’s really big rapids!” Knight said.