Neelsie boasts new look

“There are many structures within the university that support students [with] bursaries, loans etc, but there’s always every now and again a student that comes to our attention that has a gap that needs to be filled.” she adds.

As of 9 February, Baatjes has raised R35 000, but she is hoping to increase this number. In fact, she may continue running even after she has completed the 49 kilometres.

Baatjes thinks that perhaps after she completes the 49 kilometres - which will probably be on 10 February - she may double the distance. This is because she might want to keep running and raising funds until the campaign officially ends on 21 March.

Stellenbosch University (SU) students returned after the December holidays to a newly upgraded Neelsie Student Centre. The Neelsie had been under construction for renovation during most of the summer holiday. While some of the upgrades are obvious, like the upscaled My Brew and new Neelsie Cinema, there have been more subtle but equally important changes made.

According to Hein Swanepoel, Senior Director of SUNCOM, the commercial services division of SU, the Neelsie makeover includes upgrades to the basement floor area and the furniture in the basement food court with additional seating. The stage, lifts, and steps have also been upgraded and the delivery area has also been upgraded and secured. More convenient payment methods, such as card payment, is now available to motorists looking to find a parking spot near the Neelsie after the recent update to the Neelsie parking payment system. Improvements have also been made to the security systems like monitoring, new cameras, and connections to the fire panel.

Toast, an addition to the food court, has already opened its doors and on 1 March 4Tea, a specialist tea shop, will welcome students to the new establishment.

Overall, food prices have not been heavily impacted by the upgrades. Popular establishments, Nca Kos and DCM, saw an average of R2 increase across the board with the signature DCM doughnuts now costing a hefty R6.50, up from R5. All the burger prices, except for one, have increased at Jeff’s Place. All things considered, prices at the Neelsie remain fair to the student pocket as well as the student appetite.