editorial

In a dark office at the end of a dingy hallway on the third floor of the Neelsie, a creature lurks. This creature does not know time, or even really place. The creature moans and groans and often must be fed to avoid certain death. It is nocturnal and feral, prowling about looking for an easy target. The creature is called ... Writer’s Block. Not to be confused with Procrastination or its weirdsheep-in-the-family cousin, Laziness. More often than not the regular office-dwellers find themselves backed into a corner, begging for mercy and an extension on their article deadline. Not only writers, but students too have succumbed to its predatory ways. It makes you sweat, and cry, and doubt your own abilities. The most dangerous attributes of Writer’s Block includes having 35 tabs open on your browser, a type of manic anxiety you only get from one too many cups of coffee, and several crumpled pages with thick black lines striking out whatever pathetic attempt there was at finishing the assignment. Or an empty Word document if you’re not a luddite like me. This creature has been very busy as of late.

Its newest tactic? Convincing its victims to cry for the help of an even greater evil - ChatGPT. This new beast will chew you up and then spit you out (and deduct about 30-50% of your mark...if you don’t end up in front of a disciplinary c ommittee). Luddite-status and personal feelings aside, do not dismiss this new beast as harmless. It most certainly is a double-edged sword and a twofaced friend. ChatGPT is in no way a true reflection of your abilities or creativity. It cannot substistute the achievement of a good mark received on merit nor can it teach it you to find

Journalist of the Week

Lienke Norval

•A boygenius fan.

•Cat-parent to Muis.

•Favourite movies include Johnny is nie Dood nie and Mulan (1998).

•Spends a lot of time at Dorp Bar, where she works on her essays and articles.

•A poet.

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ARGIEF / ARCHIVE

All editions of Die Matie from 1941 to 2011 are available online in PDF format as part of SUNDigital Collections on the SU Library’s website. Other editions of Die Matie are available on Issuu. Please visit https://issuu.com/diematie

Other editions of Die Matie are available on Issuu. Please visit https:// issuu.com/diematie

KLAGTEPROSEDURE EN FOUTRAPPORTERING / COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE AND REPORTING ERRORS

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If we do not adhere to this code, please contact the Press Council of South Africa at https://www. presscouncil.org.za/ the nearest seat, open a book and actually put your nose to the grindstone and sharpen your skills. This beast we are only still getting to know is a fraud. Sure, it’s time-efficient and it gets the job done, but as far as I know Stellenbosch University has yet to enroll a robot for a degree programme. To use ChatGPT for academic or creative purposes is as good as plagiarism and there is absolutely no way around that fact. Worse still is the fact that AI poses a very real threat to many of the limited jobs left out there for those of us graduating...especially those in creative and administrative fields. If it can do your course work then surely it deserves your degree. After all, it did all the work.

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Contributors

PROOFREADERS:

Theodora Njati

POSADRES Langenhoven Studentesentrum; Privaatsak X1; Universiteit Stellenbosch; Matieland; 7602 WEBSITE www.diematie.co.za FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/diematie INSTAGRAM @diematie ADVERTENSIES diematieads@gmail.com

Editorial staff

Editor-in-Chief Aurelia Mouton

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Photo Editor Emma Jane Metcalf

News Aurelia Mouton

Student Life Amber April

Dag & Nag Kobus Erasmus

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Social Media Emma Hamman

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