09 March 2015 Issue 6 Year 77

Tuks win Diski Challenge

pg. 12

The Jeep Warrior Race

pg. 11

Perdeby

Tuks se amptelike studentekoerant / Official Tuks student newspaper / Kuranta ya baithuti ya semmušo ya Tuks

9 March 2015

year77issue06

TuksChess hosts tournament - pg. 12

Amber Lourens from Magrietjie was crowned Miss Kollege 2015 last Thursday at Trademarx. The pageant saw contenders from several ladies residences model cocktail dresses, swimwear and Kollege wear. Photo: Michal Linden

Soul Inc. unearths talented Tuks students

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What would MacGyver do?

.............

Your genre, your venue

pg. 9

pg. 7

Do The Dew campus activation - pg. 4

SUSPICIOUS STORY OF ESPIONAGE Exclusive interview with

A

WOL NATION

pg. 8

2

Perdeby

Editorial | 9 March 2015

Step back

www.perdeby.co.za perdeby@up.ac.za m.perdeby.co.za @perdebynews @PerdebySport @PerdebyE Tel: (012) 420 6600

Editorial Editor-in-chief Carel Willemse

carel.willemse@up.ac.za @Ed_in_Chief

Editor Michal-Maré Linden

perdeby@up.ac.za @MicsLinden

News Michael Bongani Reinders

news@perdeby.co.za @Mike_Bongani

Features Leanne Cumming

features@perdeby.co.za @CummingsGoing

Entertainment Elmarie Kruger Sport Simphiwe Nhlabathi

entertainment@perdeby.co.za @elmariekr

Web Marko Svicevic

sport@perdeby.co.za @SimphiweNhlabZA

From the Editor It seems that everyone is buried in tests, assignments, sport and social events at the moment. I find myself sleeping less every night and still falling further behind. More specifically, I’m trying to make overalls happen because I haven’t had time to do washing this week and it’s so cold. I guess I could call them work onesies.

The stress of finishing these tasks on time or trying to fit everything into your schedule can become quite overwhelming and can often cause us to focus only our problems while rapidly approaching a meltdown.

On Tuesday I was reminded of something cool. I was watching a talk about the cosmos and how huge it is. The Sun is the closest star to Earth. The Sun is so big that the Earth can fit in to it 960 000 times. But in the Milky Way (which is just one of millions of galaxies) the Sun is considered an average star.

This is because the Milky Way galaxy is pretty big. It consists of billions of stars. In fact, if you had to count every star in our galaxy at one star per second, it would take 2500 years for you to count them all, and if you had to travel from one end of our galaxy to the other at the speed of light (299 792 km per second) it would

take you about 100 000 years.

Those are pretty huge numbers and they make me feel quite small (or smaller than usual, seeing as I’m only 1.56m tall).

More than that though, I was awed by the perspective these figures give.

When taking a wider view of my life, I realised that my urgent tasks, while still needing to be done, were not the important tasks and that the important tasks, though they had little urgency, needed to be fulfilled just as much as the others, if not more so.

I know this won’t really help me with my work or the fact that I’m running out of clean pants, but it was a good reminder to take a step back when the work and commitments seem like they’re a bit too much to bear.

We have some light-hearted content this week to help you out. Check out the “Do the Dew” photo essay on page 4, our Features article on the Fashion Vigilantes of Cape Town on page 7, and make sure you know where to let off steam with our “Your genre, your venue” list on page 9.

Have an easier week than the last!

A solution might be to simply learn the greeting. But I say no, why should I be treated like that? Why is it that when a white person is checking out they are greeted in English?

Because the cashier knows (or assumes) that they don’t speak their mother tongue. If I’m expected to learn their mother tongue just to be treated with some dignity, then everyone should also be expected to learn it. It’s not like they don’t speak English at all. Why must I be treated with less respect just because I am black and don’t speak Zulu or Sepedi or Xhosa? I am being judged based on my appearance.

Sometimes I feel like they rub it in. One day a girl ahead of me greeted the man who was serving food in their native language and she got 4 pieces of carefully chosen wings, and I greeted in English. Not only was my greeting ignored, I only received 3 pieces of disfigured wings On another occasion a white girl ahead of me was greeted and thanked and told to have a lovely day. When it was my turn I greeted as graciously as I could and got no response and wasn’t thanked or told to have a lovely day. For those of you who haven’t experienced it, I can tell you it does hurt one´s feelings, especially experiencing this on a daily basis.

Sometimes when we have to engage in a conversation, like if I want to know the price of

something or if they tell me that my combo comes with a drink or that I have reached my limit, there is this constant back and forth of English vs their language. Since I can make out what they are saying, I don’t make a fuss and ask them to repeat in English unless I really didn’t get an inkling of what they said.

The last example that reinforces that this isn’t all in my imagination: one day one of the cashiers (who repeatedly ignores me when I greet) took the time to look at my student card and noticed that my surname was foreign and for the first time she smiled at me and asked where I was from. We chatted a little and she wished me a nice day. You have no idea how good that made me feel. That hasn’t happened again. This is very frustrating for me, but what can I do? It’s not that I refuse to learn other peoples languages. I enjoy learning new languages and I speak 3 languages myself, as well as understand a bit of Zulu, Afrikaans and Tswana. What I refuse to do is to learn a language just to be shown a bit of respect and kindness.

I would really like to hear about other people’s experience, opinions and or suggestions.

Michal

webeditor@perdeby.co.za @MarkoSvicevic1

Copy Herman Hoogenboezem

copy@perdeby.co.za @hermaninoff

Layout Nikita Mokgware

layout@perdeby.co.za @nikineo

Visuals Hendro van der Merwe Multimedia Keegan Schmidt

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Teams Layout Ashleigh Batchelor Jacob Swati Kriszti Bottyan Copy Bianca van Staden Christelle van Schalkwyk Emma Paulet Happy Mahlangu Jaco Stroebel Jessica Nogieć Rorisang Moloi Shannon Nauschutz Tshepho Mamashela Online Jarred van der Westhuizen Joane Olivier Mothusi Masibi Thabang Letageng

Advertising Sales Tel: 012 420 6600 Cell: 083 318 9738 carel.willemse@up.ac.za

Letters The issue of racism has been circling quite a bit now. What I am about to share isn’t exactly racism in the conventional sense, although it is discrimination partly based on the colour of my skin.

As a black international student I am faced with quite a challenge: the language barrier. I have come to notice that because I am black, people tend to assume I speak one of the local languages (excluding Afrikaans) and because I don’t speak it, some people assume that I am one of those black snobs who only speaks English and thinks themselves too good to speak their mother tongue (which is quite silly). I am specifically talking about the workers at the residence dining halls. Time and again I have been made to feel like an outsider, even more than I already am, simply because I greet them in English.

The following are a couple of examples of the reactions I get when I greet them in English: they don’t greet back, they pretend they didn’t hear me, they look the other way, they mumble a half-hearted hello or they even greet me in their mother tongue.

Aren’t they like that with everyone? The answer is no! I have observed carefully how they respond to different people based on their race and the language they speak.

Anonymous

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9 March 2015 | News

3

Tuks tackles poster problems UP poster wall at the Student Centre. Photos: Marko Svicevic

JODY DAVISON

SUPPORTED BY:

Several individuals and political parties have raised concerns regarding posters on campus. On 23 February the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) told the EFF to take down posters that were seen as offensive and discriminative.

However, it has not just been the EFF posters which have been causing issues on campus. On 11 February Sasco brought to the attention of the SRC a job advert that specified “non-BEE” as a requirment. The SRC is aware of this problem and plans to address it at their regular Tuesday

meeting. Jhua-Nine Wyrley-Birch, the SRC member with the transformation portfolio, told Perdeby that “it is unacceptable that people can just put something up and take it down and nothing further is done about it.” Wyrley-Birch explained that the EFF posters and the job advert were both in the wrong for not having the official Tuks stamp that every poster on campus requires.

In a statement, the SRC explained the procedure: “Posters should be approved by TuksToonbank before they are put up on campus. Should Toonbank be unavailable, the SRC may approve these posters. A copy

should also be submitted to Toonbank before any stickers are given out.”

Both posters also violated section seven of the poster regulations. This section states that posters may not directly or indirectly be racist, sexist, pornographic, contain hate speech towards religious beliefs or in any way be “detrimental to the image and stature of the University of Pretoria”.

However, when Perdeby spoke to Wenzile Madonsela, EFF Tuks’s Secretary General, she said, “This poster is not an official EFF Tuks poster. It has not been approved by the [executive committee].

Secondly, we as the EFF Tuks do not

agree that the posters were racist, [it was] merely bad wording. It still made valid claims about class oppression.” Madonsela explained that EFF Tuks acknowledges “the miscommunication about the meaning behind the posters and breach of [the] University of Pretoria procedure on getting posters approved”.

Michelle Kruger, the SRC member with the societies portfolio, told Perdeby that “there are loopholes in a lot of [the] regulations and that is what [they] are trying to fix this year.” She explained that there has not been enough emphasis on how strict the regulations will be, which

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The onus is also on students to be aware of regulations when putting up posters and reporting a poster. If a student is unhappy with a poster, they should know which section of the poster regulations it does not comply with in order to report it.

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News | 9 March 2015

Do The Dew campus activation

SIMPHIWE NHLABATHI On Thursday 5 March the Mountain Dew tour travelled to UP for their annual skating and BMX exhibition.

With crowds gathering, skaters and BMX (bicycle motor cross) athletes took turns to show their freestyling skills to the crowds. Prizes such as t-shirts and a long board were given out to students who showed the most spirit and had the most creative social media posts.

Kelvin Kiewet, a BMX freestyler, told Perdeby that he enjoyed riding for the crowd because “It was very different, unlike a competition atmosphere. It’s just us trying to pull

Photos: Hendro van der Merwe

our best tricks for the crowd, and the crowd made us push harder.”

Kiewet has been freestyling for 15 years and he, as well as fellow participant Malcom Peters, will be riding in Hout Bay later this month before competing in an international competition.

Martin Stoffberg, a skater, said “The crowd was good. I enjoyed the crowd. They were not so hyped out in the beginning but they got hyped up towards the end, so I enjoyed it.”

He has also taken part in the Ultimate X Action Sports Festival. He added, “I’m making a living off of this so if that’s what you call pro, then I guess [I am a pro skater.]”

9 March 2015 | News

5

Intervarsity news MAKHOSAZANA NDLOVU

DSA launch of campaign. Photo: Brendan Fraser

DSA launches “How are you?” campaign BUSISIWE BEJE On 5 March the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) held an event covering mental health awareness.

The “How are you?” campaign aims to improve the way in which students greet each other and to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.

The “How are you?” movement is a student-led initiative which held its first march in October 2014 on the Hatfield Campus, with posters and banners asking “How are you UP?”, making a visual contribution to Mental Health Awareness Day last year.

Director of the DSA Dr Matete Madiba explained, “We had concerns about the death of staff and students on campus. This led to many students talking to the DSA and the Counselling Student Support Division (CSSD). If a person had asked how the other person was doing on that particular day, things could have been completely different. This simple question could have separated life from death.”

Mental illness is a huge problem in our society and we are all affected by it in one way or another. “Between the ages of 18 [and] 24, many young people experience their first episode of depression as lots of things happen,” said Hanlé Kirkcaldy, a clinical psychologist from the CSSD. Katlego Mpshe, a BEd student, thinks that “This is a great initiative because it will hopefully eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness.

I hope we as students will now care more about one another and actually ask how the other person is doing.”

The “How are you?” movement will have an event on 23 July and another on 15 October, which is Mental Health Awareness Day. There are more days planned by the movement.

Dr Madiba said “this is a buildup from what last year’s march. We want to make it a non-hit and run affair where it just happens once and people forget about it. We will continue to have more events. It will not just be a 2015 affair.”

Students involved in the silent march. Photo: Marko Svicevic

IAW silent march for Palestine stopped MICHAEL BONGANI REINDERS On 6 March members from the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and some independent individuals were stopped from taking part in a solidarity march for Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) by Tuks security.

Mzikazi Noholoza, head of student governance, told Perdeby that permission is required before holding a march on campus and this permission was not given. She further said that the application for permission was submitted only two days before the march and that is why it was not approved.

IAW is an international solidarity campaign which seeks to raise awareness about the situation in Palestine and the apartheid policies which they claim Israel has adopted towards the Palestinians.

The aim was to have a silent march to raise awareness about

EFF Tuks launches new initiatives BYRON MCLEOD EFF Tuks recently started two new campaigns. The first campaign is the “I am Jackson” campaign and the second is to raise awareness and support for the Muslim Student Association (MSA) during the Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW).

The “I am Jackson” campaign was started after a student referred to only as Jackson was found squatting outside of a men’s residence at the beginning of the year with no food or money to support himself. He was waiting for the NFSAS loan he had applied for in the previous year to come through.

Jackson spent his first semester at Tuks travelling between campus and Warmbaths each day as he did not have accomodation. According to Wenzile Madonsela and Nomcebo Jele, members of EFF Tuks, “He was [only] given funds in May [2014].”

He was academically excluded after the first semester.

After hearing Jackson’s story, EFF Tuks decided to help him acquire funding from the university so that he could support himself, and in the process met more individuals who were in a similar predicament.

Jele describes these individuals as “alone [and] excluded”. Realising the situation these unregistered students, or “Jacksons”, were in, EFF Tuks launched their campaign by distributing numerous posters around campus to help raise awareness of the “Jacksons”.

Madonsela and Jele said that they have brought KPMG on board as a sponsor for R20 000 towards the campaign. The Public Protector’s office will also to help raise funds for and support the “I am Jackson” campaign. They said that all they want “is to get R1 from every student on campus” to go towards the “I am Jackson” fund to help students during the waiting period for their loans to come through.

They have also begun printing

shirts saying “I am Jackson” in support of the campaign. Wenzile Madonsela stated that, “We are not going to put EFF on [the shirts], because it is not about the EFF.” Instead they want to represent the “Jacksons” as individuals and not bring politics into the situation.

Jackson has currently been reinstated as a student at Tuks this year and is recieving funding through various financial schemes.

The second initiative is to raise awareness during IAW. The campaign focuses on the current problems the people of Palestine are facing. Madonsela stated that their members “were educated on what [is] happening so that [during IAW they] are equipped… to answer questions.”

EFF Tuks plans to participate in a number of events planned for IAW, including lectures by guest speakers on the conditions between Israel and Palestine, screenings on the subject, and a silent march along the fitness trail.

the issues around the crisis in Palestine. Iram Yousuf from the MSA told Perdeby that “it is just a silent march to show solidarity with the people of Palestine.” She further stated that “after the latest escalation of violence, we think this Israeli Apartheid Week is very necessary to show that injustice is not appreciated…especially in a country… [where] we still have the effects of apartheid living with us.”

Nomcebo Jele from the EFF said that, “At the moment we are very appalled at the fact that the university is trying to stop us from walking…we are not trying to provoke anybody, we are just raising awareness for this issue.”

Wenzile Madonsela from the EFF said that “we are trying to educate people about what is going on because when there is international pressure. That is when the world starts to open their eyes and we actually act.”

University of Witwatersrand Wits SRC President Mcebo Dlamini has resigned with immediate effect. The message announcing his resignation was posted on his Facebook account.

A post made earlier said he was found guilty of insulting a member of senior management.

It was reported by Wits Vuvuzela that Vice-Chancellor Prof. Adam Habib “received a report that Dlamini was part of a disciplinary hearing about an offence committed prior to his election”. Habib added that, “The hearing apparently found him guilty and he subsequently resigned on Facebook... He is entitled to appeal as per rules.”

SRC deputy secretary Amogelang Manganyi told Wits Vuvuzela that the secretary has not received an official resignation from Dlamini.

University of Stellenbosch (Maties) Students at Maties are reported to have racially taunted black staff and tugged at their uniforms across the counter in the food court. A case has been opened with the police and the chairperson of Daso Maties has written to the Rector and the Rector’s management committee regarding this matter.

University of the Free State (Kovsies) The legal team of AfriForum Youth has served a letter of demand to the Rector of Kovsies, Prof. Jonathan Jansen. Two former students, Cobus Muller and Charl Blom, have claimed damages of R1 million from Prof. Jansen and the university and have given them two weeks to pay out the compensation.

These students were acquitted of murder by the court and the South African Human Rights Commission. The university then expelled Muller and Blom without procedure or trial and they were not given the chance to state their case.

6

Features | 9 March 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey: accurate erotica?

TIJANA SAKOTA Fifty Shades of Grey, like its title, falls somewhere between black and white. Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson), a middle-class English literature student of Washington State University, meets Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), the incredibly attractive multimillionaire of Grey Enterprises. At its core, Fifty Shades of Grey delves into the story of a timid, young virgin who attempts to tame a man with many flaws and a dangerous desire.

The film was released worldwide in February this year. The high levels of anticipation of the film’s release resulted in cinema houses, such as South Africa’s Ster-Kinekor, achieving “its biggest box office for a single day” in the company’s history, according to Ster-Kinekor marketing executive Doug Place. The film was released just before Valentine’s Day in South Africa, which added to the excessive audiences.

However, despite the overwhelming majorities heading to the theatres, Fifty Shades of Grey has received both positive and negative feedback from critics and audiences alike.

Shaun Nortjé, transformation executive of UP’s psychology society, says that within these “grey shades of moral ambiguity”, society tests and questions behaviour to be either “morally good and acceptable” or “morally bad and punishable”. When considering whether or not Fifty Shades of Grey portrays abusive gender roles and uneven balances of power in a relationship, Nortjé believes that the film does “[analyse] the intricate dynamics of relationships”, while making specific reference to “complicated” relationships such as BDSM relationships. BDSM, an abbreviation for bondage and discipline/dominance and submission/sadism and masochism, is the type of relationship in which Grey and Steele find themselves. Nortjé goes on to further outline

disconcerting elements of the film which he argues one must consider before deciding on the matter of power relations within the film. “I [do not] do girlfriends,” is a statement made by Grey. Nortjé argues that this statement points to Grey’s absence of commitment to the possibility of a prosperous relationship with Steele. Nortjé also raises the question of whether or not relationships are “business contracts” and if it is okay to have a “strictly sexual relationship”.

Desré Barnard is a former UP student who has performed academic studies on the BDSM culture. She says that the movie misrepresents the true nature of BDSM relationships. “Firstly, at its core, a BDSM relationship it is not about sex. It is about trust: deep and incomprehensible trust. You are allowing a person to push the limits of ‘normalcy’ ... and the person entrusted understands and cares about you and how you are responding. For them, it’s usually about having control of someone’s body and mind, and being the sole caretaker thereof. It’s beautiful,” she says. She also adds that, “It’s also not about getting someone to do something they do not want to do: they are consenting adults, and have agreed on hard boundaries (many have contracts stating that they will not do certain things).”

Fifty Shades of Grey poses a major question: whether Anastasia will or will not sign a legal contract agreeing to be Grey’s “submissive” in their BDSM relationship. Nortjé lists this as a further troubling element of the relationship dynamics in the film. “I [will not] progress until [you have] given written consent,” states Grey in another scene in the film. Here, and how this portrays gender roles within the practice of BDSM. “Where does the concept of love as a selfless devotion feature?” queries Nortjé.

Furthermore, in an article published in February on Time.com, writer Sabrina Toppa explains how the film was expected to be rated NC-17 (no children under 17 admitted).

However, the Motion Picture Association of America labelled the film as R (restricted, under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian).

This means that the sex scenes were carefully edited. Nortjé suggest that one must question what Fifty Shades of Grey promotes, what it communicates to society, and what it advises society to do. “One thing is true, Fifty Shades of Grey [cannot] be Photo: Hendro van der Merwe ignored,” says Nortjé.

“The media... remains a key driver for and baby dolls, said manager Nina Nefdt. This is governing and influencing the public’s with the aim of targeting fans of the film. Bates perception of sexuality,” says Rory du Plessis, reports that the owner of sex shop The Bedroom, a lecturer of visual culture studies in the Marina Bargehr, has allocated a corner in her Department of Visual Arts at UP. Fifty Shades shop to Fifty Shades of Grey merchandise. These of Grey’s construction of sex characterises products include sex toys such as riding crops, and represents the “genre of erotica”, with the blindfolds and handcuffs, all of which the film’s elements of BDSM serving as a “novelty” in audience is introduced to in Grey’s “playroom”. distinguishing Fifty Shades of Grey from other This allows for audiences to directly engage material within this genre. Du Plessis credits with the film. Adult stores allow for the Fifty Shades of Grey with having “a positive opportunity to “recreate...favourite scenes impact on female sexual health”. Fifty Shades of [from Fifty Shades of Grey] perfectly,” says Grey provides women with “an awareness of the du Plessis. He argues that Fifty Shades of Grey plethora of sexual activities available”, including assists women in feeling “more empowered BDSM. This is in alignment with creating a about their sex lives” and it helps women to “growing interest in BDSM”, which is “actively “feel comfortable about sexual fantasy”, says du cultivated by entrepreneurs”, argues du Plessis.

Plessis.

A report posted by Erin Bates on eNCA’s While it may be easy to stigmatise BDSM website last month reinforces du Plessis’s after watching Fifty Shades of Grey, Barnard view. Bates identifies how local businesses advises caution, saying, “Before people break are “capitalis[ing] on the hype” around Fifty out the riding crops and nipple clamps, they Shades of Grey. South African manufacturer need to stop allowing Hollywood to [force-feed] Flirtelle Lingerie has introduced a range of grey this nonsense into them. Do some research, and garments such as grey nightgowns, G-strings be informed.”

Superstitions surrounding Friday the 13

th

Image: Kirsty Mackay

CINDY FRIEDMAN For most of us, this Friday is going to be just another uneventful day, but for some Friday is going to be a reason to keep the curtains drawn, to call in sick and not leave the house until the day is, by all accounts, history. This is because they are either triskaidekaphobia sufferers, people who have a fear of the number 13, or ailed by paraskevidekatriaphobia, the scientific term for the fear of Friday the 13th.

There is no evidence to support labeling “Friday the 13th” as a superstitious day before the 19th century in western culture. However, since the 14th century Fridays have been considered unlucky days to undertake journeys or begin new projects, as witnessed in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.

Considering that, today, more than 80%

of high-rise buildings lack a 13th floor, many airports skip the 13th gate and both hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13, it becomes apparent that whether or not you are superstitious about Friday the 13th or the number 13, the fear has become embedded in western culture for no apparent logical or scientific reason. If you are a sufferer, you are certainly keeping very powerful company.

According to a Huffington Post blog by ritual expert Donna Hennes titled “Why Friday the 13th is a very lucky day indeed,” Jean Paul Getty, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Napoleon, Winston Churchill and Christopher Columbus were all known to fear the number 13. Churchill refused to sit in row 13 of an aircraft or theatre.

In the 1950s the Columbiana, a group of Italian Columbus experts, concluded upon careful study of ships’ logs and notes that Columbus actually

landed on the Western Hemisphere on 13 October 1492. They made the deduction that the date was deliberately changed to 12 October to avoid the connotation of such an “evil omen”.

Although it is not clear when these phobias originated, Dr Donald Dossey, a folklore historian and author of Holiday Folklore, Phobias and Fun, said that fear of Friday the 13th is “rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities ultimately combined to make one super unlucky day.” Thomas Fernsler, an associate policy scientist in the Mathematics and Science Education Resource Centre at the University of Delaware, believes that the number 13 has a negative light cast upon it because of its position after 12. Fernsler states that numerologists consider 12 a “complete” number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles of Jesus. Therefore, by exceeding 12 by one, 13’s association with bad luck “has to do with just being a little beyond completeness. The number becomes restless or squirmy.”

Even though there is no clarity on the origins and whether it is lucky or unlucky, the number 13 is considered a mystical number in mythology and the ancient history of many cultures. When looking at some of the connotations associated with Fridays, it becomes apparent why the two associated together might culminate in the fear of a “super unlucky day” for some, as Dr Dossey puts it.

Before the religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism took root, both the day and number were in fact held in high esteem. Pagans associated both Friday and the number 13 with great goddesses, and they were therefore regarded as the sacred essence of luck and good fortune.

Sufferers can take heart though, as superstitions, when not taken to extremes, can even give some believers a psychological boost Prof. Stuart Vyse, a professor of psychology at Connecticut College in New London and the author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, believes that there is a psychological explanation as to why superstitions are so prominent in human nature.

He says intelligence has little to do with whether or not we succumb to superstition. Prof. Vyse states that “sometimes the creation of a false certainty is better than no certainty at all.”

Superstitions give us a sense that we are in control of our lives and a degree of certainty in a world that often seems to thrive on presenting us with the unexpected.

Ironically though, this sometimes paralysing fear could result in a slightly less dangerous world. A 2008 study by the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics revealed that fewer traffic accidents occur on Friday the 13th than on other Fridays. Reports of fire and theft were also lower. Dr Dossey speaks of an economic drawback, though. Many people will refuse to fly, buy a house or act on a hot stock tip, and these actions noticeably slow economic activity. Dr Dossey continues to say that in the United States it has been estimated that $800 to $900 million is lost in business on this day. Superstition, no matter how irrational, undoubtedly affects human behaviour.

For those of you who really do not care one way or another and do not mind sleepless nights after being shaken to the core, Jason Voorhees will be defying all logic in another Friday the 13th movie. As of yet, it is unclear whether the release date is to be 13 November 2015 or 13 May 2016. But be warned, if you have any latent superstitions it might be only fair to point out that this release marks the 13th appearance of the hockey-masked slasher.

9 March 2015 | Features

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The Al Jazeera spy cables: the suspicious story of espionage MARKO SVICEVIC The Al Jazeera spy cables are a series of confidential documents from intelligence agencies around the world that were leaked to and published by Al Jazeera’s investigative unit in collaboration with The Guardian. The leak, which has been described as the biggest of its kind since Snowden and WikiLeaks, includes hundreds of documents from several intelligence agencies around the world. Agencies affiliated with the spy cables include Israel’s Mossad, Britain’s MI6, Russia’s Federal Security Service, the United States’ CIA and, perhaps the most heavily incriminated agency, South Africa’s State Security Agency (SSA).

According to the Al Jazeera network, the leaked documents were electronically obtained and largely derived from communication between the SSA and various other foreign intelligence agencies. Although such an exposition of confidential state information is no laughing matter, it shows that South Africa’s intelligence agency certainly has its very own James Bond, Austin Powers and Johnny English.

In light of the spy cables and within the context of what they reveal, Perdeby has put together a list of essentials when dealing with the world of espionage.

Spies, lies and networking ties When it comes to deceitfulness, nothing screams “secrets” louder than spies. The spy cables have taught us that spies still play a very active role when it comes to the acquisition of intelligence.

One leaked report from September 2009 detailed how foreign spies in South Africa have “total freedom of access” to various security installations and even to parliament. This access by foreign spies was regarded as a possible threat to national security. Another similar report added that the SSA suspected over 140 foreign spies to be operating in the country. The spy cables have also taught us that spies spy for each other, but occasionally they also spy on each

other. Further documents reveal communication between the SSA and foreign intelligence agencies in gaining information on rogue NGOs, politicians and exiled groups. Included among these was a request from Cameroon to spy on an opposition leader only a few weeks before elections, an attempt by Rwanda to list “genocide fugitives” and “negationists” as targets for surveillance, a deal by Zimbabwe to spy on rogue NGOs, and a request from South Korea for a security assessment of South African citizen and director of Greenpeace Kumi Naidoo.

Another revelation was the joint South African and Russian satellite programme, codenamed Condor. Leaked documents revealed that in an attempt to obtain more information about the joint project, the SSA had been relying on a spy called “Agent Africanist” who had direct access to the Russian government for such information. A cable from 2012 added that such a satellite project would provide South Africa with its own aerial surveillance capacity, not only of Africa but as far off as Israel for “strategic military purposes”.

Assassination attempts Of course, every good spy story needs its own assassination plot. This is exactly what the SSA was prepared for on 24 October 2012, when an assassination plot was suspected of targeting the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Just days after she was appointed as the chairperson, DlaminiZuma faced an “imminent threat” to her life while at an AUC summit in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian officials later accused Sudan of the plot, although no arrests were made.

Manipulative military motives Where the military goes, secrets will follow.

An SSA report regarding the controversial “arms deal”, a military procurement package by the ANC in 1999 worth R30 billion, showed that foreign spies played an active role in persuading decision-making in the deal. An

Image: Hendro van der Merwe

August 2010 Mossad document revealed even more disturbing secrets. It showed that Israel had obtained stolen anti-tank missile technology from South Africa. The technology, which was manufactured by state arms manufacturer Denel, was called the Mokopa ground-to-air missile system. Although refusing to investigate how Israel had obtained the stolen technology, Mossad made a conditional agreement to return the missile plans to South Africa.

Nuclear conspiracy contradictions There always seems to be some radioactivity when adding the term “nuclear” to a sentence.

Nuclear conspiracy was exactly what Fox News suspected when it reported on a break in at Pelindaba. A well-known nuclear research facility, Pelindaba was also where South Africa’s atomic bombs of the 1970s were stored. According to the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, shortly after midnight on 8 November 2007 four “technically sophisticated criminals” were involved in an attack on the facility. CBS News titled the story “Assault on Pelindaba” and claimed that the motive of the break in might have been to obtain nuclear material in order to build a bomb. The four criminals successfully deactivated a 10 000 volt

electric fence and deactivated several layers of security at the facility. This suggested that inside knowledge played a role in the attack. The criminals were never apprehended, and spent a period of 45 minutes alone in the facility. SSA documents, however, contradicted the nuclear conspiracy theories and suspected the attack to be state espionage to steal a new type of nuclear technology known as the Pebble bed modular reactor. The SSA suspected the attack was carried out by Chinese intelligence officials in an effort to advance China’s rival project Chinergy.

In a response to the spy cables, South Africa’s Minister of State Security David Mahlobo said in a statement that the leak “has the dangerous effect of undermining operational effectiveness of the work to secure this country, and borders on undermining diplomatic relations with our partners in the international community.”

The spy cables have heavily incriminated the SSA and have certainly dented its reputation as an intelligence agency. Simultaneously, they have given the public a glimpse into the mysterious and often invisible dealings of state intelligence agencies and the politics of deception.

Fashion vigilantes on the rampage

Image: Hendro van der Merwe and Monrique Hennig

JARED DE CANHA Hipsters everywhere have been on high alert after a video campaign to eliminate the “top knot” hairstyle exploded across social media recently. Claiming responsibility for these socalled “drive-by” haircuts is Cape Town-based comedic duo Nic Smal and Gareth Allison, who are otherwise known as Derick Watts and the Sunday Blues. These “fashion vigilantes” recently took to the streets of Cape Town with a pair of scissors and a collection tin, targeting seemingly unsuspecting Cape Town men and their “top knot” hairstyles.

A “top knot” hairstyle, better known as an undercut bun style, is a hairstyle trend which erupted in 2014, combining an undercut style of shaved sides with the man-bun top. This hairstyle has a strong historical base, with the

earliest recorded man-bun dating back to the symbol of the Buddha from as early as the seventh century BC. The trend was revisited briefly throughout subsequent centuries, with the most notable man-bun being worn by George Harrison, a member of the Beatles.

Historically, the man-bun was seen as the hairstyle of choice for warriors such as generals and samurai. However, thanks to a multitude of male celebrities including Jake Gyllenhaal, Jared Leto and Leonardo DiCaprio, the “top knot” has become a popular choice for modern males.

The comedic duo, which was founded in 2011, began the #stoptheknot trend on 18 February 2015 in their initial video which seemed to target men with the “top knot” hairstyle. The premise of this video was that the duo were acting as “fashion vigilantes” against something which bothered them in society. In

their follow-up video, however, it was brought to light that the video was actually no more than an elaborate hoax that the group had approached as a social experiment, as well as a performance piece. This hoax was so elaborate that even a hair and makeup artist, Kaley Meyer, was used to help concrete the appearance of the illusion.

In a recently released press statement on 23 February entitled “#Stoptheknot creators reveal controversial viral video as elaborate hoax,” the duo stated that the actual intention of the video was their keen interest to observe the reactions of society. In this statement, Nic Smal explained that the duo “wanted to do this video at this point in time for several reasons.” He went on to say that current affairs at the moment, including the chaos at the 2015 State of the Nation Address, the problems which Eskom has been experiencing and the recent Isis videos showing the decapitation of civilians, prompted the duo to create this video aimed at the controversy surrounding the “top knot” hairstyle.

This planned gimmick, which was also created in an attempt to direct traffic towards the group’s Youtube channel, has exceeded any previous expectations after it received over 4.5 million views in less than five days. The story was also broadcast across the globe after local and international media outlets spread the story as far as England, Australia, New Zealand and Los Angeles. The duo also managed to get their “Stop the Knot” video to reach number one in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Ireland, as well as to be rated as the number one prank in the US, according to their press release.

The duo has been on the receiving end of a strong backlash of comments and criticism across social media ever since the video went viral. After the story was shared by the American entertainment website Buzzfeed, the duo has faced a substantial amount of reproach from Americans on social media. In response to the

outrage on social media, Allison commented on the intended irony of the piece, saying that their “hipster appearance” was a clue as to the validity of the video. Gareth continued to say that “the hate, outrage, threats and calls to be brought to justice, and even jailed” were intriguing given our country’s current “turbulence”. The duo did, however, offer up Nic Smal’s moustache as a peace offering in their apology video, which explained that the trend was a hoax.

Perdeby asked students if they agreed with the perceived intentions of these “fashion vigilantes”, irrespective of the hoax aspect of the viral video. The resounding answer from the students questioned was that they did not agree with the idea of eradicating the “topknot” hairstyle by force. Suvania Subroyen, a second-year LLB student, believes that “people should be allowed to express their personal fashion without ‘vigilantes’ taking matters into their own hands.” Nadia Venter, a first-year BIS Multimedia student, agreed by saying that “everyone has a right to express themselves. By cutting someone else’s hair, you are violating them.” Brad Tribe, a first-year BCom Financial Sciences student, agreed that a person’s right to freedom of expression should not be compromised, but felt that “the video was quite funny and was not malicious at all.”

BCom Business Management students Natasha Ashley and Sinead Roberts agreed that people express themselves through their fashion choices and that no person has the right to violate this.

The duo concluded their public apology in their release by citing Ricky Gervais, who said that “a comedian’s job isn’t just to make people laugh, it is to make them think.” While it seems that no top knots were harmed in the making of this internet sensation, this video has definitely evoked waves of new thought among its viewers.

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Entertainment | 9 March 2015

Awolnation’s new album set to be a musical journey ELMARIE KRUGER American electronic rock band Awolnation will be releasing a new album, Run, on 17 March.

Perdeby had the opportunity to speak to the band’s lead singer, Aaron Bruno, about the upcoming release.

You’ve recently released a new single entitled “Hollow moon (bad wolf)”. How did the inspiration for the song come about?

I don’t know how much inspiration was there [because it was] just a song I wrote based on the way I felt at the time. [The song is] really about facing your fears [and either] running straight towards them or away [from them]. We can run all our lives from our worst fears but the second we face them, one way or another [the] human soul can grow at that point, but until you do that [you can sometimes] feel like you are [living] in purgatory, so [that is] the overall feeling of [the song].

The concept behind the video for this single seems rather interesting. Could you explain the idea behind it?

It was done in one take, and that was really important to me. I wanted to make a video that didn’t have any editing. The video is [up to] the viewer’s interpretation. I’d rather the viewer interpret it as they see fit, rather than [telling them] what it means. It’s a fun subject for people to debate online. [I’ve been] enjoying seeing what people think it’s about.

Your latest album, Run, is scheduled to be released in March. Can fans expect to hear a change in your sound?

[It] was an extremely emotional experience [and] it was a very personal record. I would hope that it’s a proper maturity from the first record and that I’ve pushed the boundaries even further.

Run is a very loaded album title. Is there a specific story or meaning behind it?

[When] people hear the first song on the record [which is] called “Run”, [as well as] listening to what follows and the journey the listener will go through [while listening to] the whole thing, it’ll become pretty self-explanatory. I don’t like to tell people how to interpret [things], what it means to you might be different from what it means to me. I don’t believe that these songs are mine, [but rather] that they are for everyone.

Has there been anything interesting about the recording process of this album?

On the first record, there were a couple of other people that played bass guitar or [other] guitar parts. Even though I wrote everything on the first record, I did have some help from other players. For this record, 100% of it was just me and no one else touched it. It was just me and my engineer in a room, so every single note you hear on the record I physically played myself, and [I] produced the whole thing. It feels egotistical to say that, but [it’s] true and it’s the [main] difference between this record and the first one. [It] was [a] bit of a fantasy for me to make a record that [only I] touched and no one else. I had to do it once, and I’m glad I did it [this] way. It’s just a formula that works for me and [it worked] for this project.

How did the song writing process work for the album? Is there a “golden formula” or is it different for every song?

[Every song is different]. I never know where an idea is going to come from or when it’s [going to] come. It just does, and I do my best to turn that into a reality and make it a real song.

There [are] a lot of song ideas out there in our atmosphere and I feel lucky when [the song ideas] come to me and not [other] songwriters.

Awolnation frontman, Aaron Bruno. Image: Kari Rowe

Trigger Warning:

Short Fictions and Disturbances Neil Gaiman top of a hill: the titular labyrinth. This is a maze

Dan Patlansky in action. Photo: Allan James Lipp

Five minutes with Dan Patlansky ELMARIE KRUGER Local blues/rock virtuoso Dan Patlansky has been involved the music industry for several years. Perdeby spoke to Patlansky about his 2014 album Dear Silence Thieves receiving international acclaim and his upcoming tour to Europe.

Your album, Dear Silence Thieves, was selected as the number one blues/rock album in the world by Blues Rock Review USA at the end of 2014. What does an achievement like this mean to you?

It’s a great feeling to get worldwide recognition for hard work and hours of writing, producing [and] recording. It has also opened many other doors for us abroad which is great. It also means [that there is] more hard work ahead.

This album has been receiving stellar reviews.

Did you ever anticipate that the album would receive such positive critical reaction?

When you record the album you never really know how the album is going to be received.

You can only do the best you can and hope the album will be appreciated and enjoyed by

listeners. It is really satisfying to know that it has received such great reviews all over the world.

You completed a nationwide solo acoustic tour this month. How were you received across the country?

[The tour] was received very well and surprisingly most venues sold out within the first few weeks of announcing the tour. It was also a great warm up for [the] full band tour starting in March.

In April, you’ll be heading on tour to Europe. During this tour, you’ll be playing in countries like Poland. What are your expectations for your performances there?

I hope to have sold out shows with responsive blues/rock-loving crowds.

You’ll be performing at the Atterbury Theatre on 11 March. What can fans expect from the show?

They can expect a passionate [and] full electric show with lots [of] energy and three guys playing music they love from the highly acclaimed album Dear Silence Thieves and other crowd favourites.

Image: GoodReads.com

THOMAS MARAIS English author Neil Gaiman’s latest offering, Trigger Warning, is a collection of various short stories and poems all told with Gaiman’s trademark dark wit and are guaranteed to induce introspection in the reader. The 25 stories and poems range from deeply disturbing to enchantingly fantastical. Gaiman is most famous for novels such as Stardust and Coraline.

Perdeby has done micro-reviews of selected short stories from the collection: Lunar Labyrinth A passionate sightseer travels to a small town in an unnamed country to see a local maze at the

in which the townspeople tread only when the moon is out and the sky is cloudless, except for the day of the new moon, when only the sick and injured walk these tenebrous paths. The writing is reminiscent of HP Lovecraft’s, and the subject matter is somewhat similar as well.

The Thing About Cassandra Successful artist and model Stuart Innes reunites with his two best friends from high school. One of them then mentions being contacted by Stuart’s first girlfriend, Cassandra. The story is built upon various twists and builds characters up only to break them down in the course of the 17 page story. It is a deeply satisfying read that is sure to cause shock once completed.

Down to a Sunless Sea An old woman who wanders up and down the Thames tells her story to the reader while they both shelter beneath an awning. She tells the reader of how the sea stole her husband, her son and her lover. It’s a grim tale with unexpected yet natural twists which is masterfully told.

Adventure Story This unsettling tale is told by the subject’s mother and centres around her husband, or rather around a keepsake that he had brought home from Kazakhstan. It begins grounded, but then strays into the psychedelic. The language usage and narrative structure build upon these themes and lead readers merrily by the hand into the mouth of madness.

(Third Subject’s Responses to Investigator’s Questionnaire) EYES ONLY This interestingly titled story is told through the medium of answers absent of questions. It is another tale of insanity, causing readers to wonder if if Gaiman himself is insane.

Overall, each story is disturbing in its own unique way and the stories will perturb readers in different ways, which is what makes the title of the anthology so functional. It is a fascinating read and is sure to be enjoyed by fans of Gaiman’s work.

9 March 2015 | Entertainment

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Soul Inc. unearths talented students at Tuks KOJO ESSAH Soul Inc. is a new student-led organisation on campus that seeks to showcase the talents of UP students in fields such as poetry, art and music. Perdeby sat down with Lebo Lebese, the organisation’s chairperson, to find out more.

What is Soul Inc.?

Soul Inc. is basically a performance organisation. It started out because we were tired of art students, or even people interested in art, not having a place [or] an event to go to. These events were sporadic, [one] would come about [and] people would not hear of it. There was no cohesiveness, so Soul Inc. tries to get those different types of poets, musicians, stand-up artists, jazz musicians, rappers [and so on] and put them

under one roof. When they have shows, or when we have shows, we tell people about it. We invite people to come through. We also get different kinds of [artists]. Soul Inc. is trying to build itself as a brand that informs people, [one] that creates space for people to be creative. We’re looking at doing collaborative shows with some...contacts from [Johannesburg]. I would love to do other collaborative features with things like the Inklings or [other] organisations we are interested in.

How was the society created?

The original organisation [started] in June 2014. [Later on], I amalgamated Soul Inc. with another organisation called AIM (Artists in Motion) and we adopted the Soul Inc. brand name and it’s what we decided to stick with. By “we”, [I am referring to]

myself, Jemimah Kandemiiri and Raphael Chitambira.

What is your job at Soul Inc.?

I’m the chairperson, but I’m also the events coordinator. If there’s a show, I’ll probably be [the master of ceremonies]. I’m responsible for gathering the talent [for the] the show, and then we have the open mic [slot]. [At] the open mic [sessions] anyone is free to come through and perform [and] share whatever it is they want [to]. [For] the show I have to select certain artists and arrange them in a way that makes the show coherent [and gives it] a certain flow. I don’t have any professional training myself. I’ve only participated in [events like] debates, public speaking, slams and shows since [the age of] 13. Through that, and interacting with people older than me and with more experience,

I’ve gained that [performance] knowledge that I’d like to pass on. If they’re looking to learn how to present themselves, then I’m the person who can help in my organisation.

So...that’s my job. I’m hoping that this organisation grows past me and then when I graduate I can hand over the reins.

Auditions to join Soul Inc. were held on 26 February. How was the turnout?

For an organisation that just started out, I think [it] was good. We had about ten new performers just that day, and these are people with performance history, so I don’t think I’ll have much to teach them or [that I’ll have to] show them the way to present themselves on stage, how to control their tempo, [or] how to interact with the audience. [I’m] very happy about that.

What would MacGyver do?

SHAUN SPROULE MacGyver is an iconic series from the mid80s which features the eponymous spy who can work his way out of sticky situations with nothing but a paperclip and some duct tape from his pocket.

Angus MacGyver never carries a gun, but he still manages to catch the bad guys with his knowledge of physics and chemistry. The name MacGyver has now become a commonly used word for a person that can cleverly manoeuvre their way through improvised situations.

After the fast paced and clever series ended in 1992, many people around the world were left sad for their one time hero.

A lot has happened since then. Mullets have gone out of fashion, special effects have improved and women have been encouraged to be the heroine rather than the damsel in distress. Noticing this, the original producers of the show have set in motion the idea for a new MacGyver series.

However, the script is not yet ready as the producers are running a scriptwriting

Illustration: Jaco Stroebel

Your genre, your venue CHAD JOHNSTON There is nothing worse than heading out for a fun-filled evening only to end up hating the music being played at the venue.

Fortunately, Perdeby has you covered. Here are a few of the best party venues and which specific musical needs they cater for.

NewsCafe If you’re looking for a mix of house music and hip hop, then NewsCafe in Hatfield is where you need to be. It offers a relaxed environment for those who are just looking to have a few cocktails and a good time.

There is a dance floor but it’s not very big, so it’s probably best to head there for a stress-free evening.

Presley’s Sometimes all you need is a good sokkie, and there’s no better place in Pretoria for this than Presley’s. Presley’s offers Afrikaans treffers as well as hits from years gone by. If you need to unwind and dance to some electronic house music after your sokkie, just move over to their second dance floor which offers an atmosphere similar to that of the legendary Dropzone.

Café Barcelona Our local music scene is definitely on the rise and if you prefer live, local acts then you should make your way to Café Barcelona. This café may take a bit of a drive to get to, but if you’re looking for a

different experience or a chance to support our local music scene, it’s definitely worth the trip.

Moloko Moloko may be expensive to get into but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a good dose of hip hop. The club is quite fancy so you’ll need a pair of smart shoes and a collared shirt to get in, but perhaps it’s something to try when you feel like dressing up. With international and local hip hop artists on the playlist, the dance floor is always the place to be.

Zeplins This bar is situated in Centurion and is a mecca for lovers of rock, metal and alternative music. Famous names in the local metal scene perform here regularly and the venue also offers pool tournaments and plays host to various album launches.

Tings an’ Times This bohemian restaurant claims to be an “Attitude-Free Zone”. Unfortunately this venue is not open to anyone under 21, but if you do make the cut be sure to try some of their African and Mediterranean cuisine.

They host live performances by both local and international artists. If you’re a fan of reggae greats such as Bob Marley you can expect to find similar music here, although bands such as Zebra & Giraffe have also played here.

competition, which is open to anyone over the age of 18 with no prior experience required, in order to provide more opportunities for young, aspiring scriptwriters around the world.

The competition is easy to enter and the rules and guidelines are simple and clear.

Your idea has to include a female engineer as the protagonist who “MacGyvers” her way through tough situations. The emphasis needs to be on engineering and what engineers are capable of doing. The producers want the show to encourage young people to pursue a career in engineering, just like the last generation who fell in love with the everyday superhero. The rest of it is up to the writer’s imagination.

To enter the competition, which closes on 17 April, you need to think of an idea and pitch it to the producers through the website, TheNextMacGyver.com. The prize money for the top five ideas is $5000 as well as a Wonkalike trip to Hollywood to shadow some of the top producers and engineers in the business.

The top five will make up the team of writers working on the final script for the new series.

Calendar 9 March: Varsity Cup rugby: Tuks vs FNB CUT – Tuks Stadium 11 March: Dan Patlansky performance – Atterbury Theatre 14 March: Tuks medical students charity fun run – Rietondale Park 26 March: Maroela Boksaand – Voortrekker Monument 25 April: Freedom Festival – SuperSport Park

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Fun and Games | 9 March 2015

Pssst...

ELMARIE KRUGER AND HERMAN HOOGENBOEZEM Perdeby has just hosted intake interviews. Each interview requires the section editor (or editors, if they’re a highly sought-after candidate) and the Editor to sit in and ask questions. The questions are pretty standard but some of the answers made us cringe. (Don’t worry, they still got hired.)

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“I’m writing a book.” Just becuase Twilight was written doesn’t mean it was supposed to be published.

“I read Perdeby daily.” We know we’re cool but the jury’s still out on how entertaining Perdeby is the seventh time around.

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“I think Features is, like, an opinion column.” Columns are fantastic. When written by qualified, experienced, relevant people whose opinions we care about.

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In fact, any phrase that contains the words “I’d like to write a column.” Go ahead, write it. That’s why blogs exist, so people can ignore your opinions en masse.

5

“The only social media platform I’m really active on is WhatsApp.” This is important to us because it hopefully means you’ll read your messages but this wasn’t the definition of “social media” we were looking for.

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“I’m such a Grammar Nazi.” Congratulations, you correct people’s spelling on the internet. That’s like high-fiving yourself in public.

With the rugby season in full swing Pssst... saw Maroela trying to get early practice for their boksaand on the side of the field.

Pssst... supposes it’s a nice change to hear it’s not Boekenhout starting fights. Pssst... is afraid spectating is going to be far more interesting this year. Except for Madelief, of course, who don’t really support anyone and come down purely for a bit of manvang, unlike Erika who seem to be getting really friendly with Olienhout and aren’t afraid to fly their colours.

Pssst... is actually dissapointed in Madelief. First they wear jottirs whenever they like, and next the Knolle are invading the surrounding bars. Pssst... is almost more annoyed that there weren’t any seniors out to catch them. Whatever happened to “Who needs to huppel when you can pub crawl?”

Miss Kollege was on again and for the first time in years Nerina actually didn’t win. Pssst... is at a loss for words. Maybe the transition into an “academic res” is complete. This didn’t seem to stop Magrietjie who claimed gold, for the first time in anything this year. Pssst... thought the biggest surprise still came from Asterhof. A Sterretjie placing at Miss Kollege? This must be a sign of the apocalypse. Or maybe it’s a sign that the feud after 2013’s Rag is over. Or maybe it’s just a sign that the trou vroue have got a thing for the Kollege EC. Pssst... knows everyting...

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■ Dancer?

■ None of the above.

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Sudoku

things not to say in your Perdeby interview

Another week and Pssst... was keen to write about something exciting. Too bad the only thing Pssst... could find was Ienk Athletics. To make things worse, Kiaat couldn’t be quiet for more than five minutes. Pssst... thinks they were just intimidated by coming to a real campus. This was coupled with almost every female residence singing high school (and primary school) war cries. Grow up ladies. Rare bits of excitement came from the toga-clad Kollege (before they were kicked out) and the Mopanie jock run. Pssst... knows the Vremies may be a bit unfit, but is it really necessary to turn the 3000m into a relay? As for the Peppies, maybe having the mini-mart open until nine at night was not such a great plan. Jasmyn tried to spice up the HK relay, but unfortunately Baywatch was kind of lost on this generation. Pssst... found most of the Slurpies asking what it had to do with their “baes”.

Or lack thereof.

There was also a first-year soccer tournament and Pssst... was a little disappointed in the turn out. Surely sporting res of the year Sonop could have put a team on? Even Huis Hatfield Studios managed to find a handful of people. Don’t get too excited TuksVilliage, Pssst... doubts they’re going to take your crown of “Almost Res of the Year” just yet.

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7

“I’m really into postmodernism.” Take your existentialist views with you when you pass through that hole in the wall that symbolises the door through which you will leave.

8

“I don’t know how to shoot on manual.” Photographers, cameras are expensive, highly specialised pieces of equipment. Don’t buy a DSLR if you don’t care enough to use it properly.

9

“Perdeby will never be the same again when you hire me.” We appreaciate the confidence, but unfortunately our offices will be too small to house your ego.

10

“I’m applying for the position of Editor.” No you aren’t, you’re going home.

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9 March 2015 | Sport

11

The Jeep Warrior Race: be brave

Participants of the Warrior Race at the finish line. Image provided.

JOANÈ OLIVIER On 28 February, 6500 people came together at the Riversands farm in Fourways to take part in the second Jeep Warrior Race of 2015. The Warrior Race is an obstacle course racing event in which participants crawl through mud, flip tires, and clamber over other fun and creative obstacles. This two-day event, which occurs eight times a year with a change of scenery every time, has grown in popularity since its start in 2013.

Jonathan Hart, course designer and Tuks graduate with a BA degree in human movement science, explained the basics of the event.

“There are three categories in this race: Rookie (5km), Commando (10km) and Black Ops (15km). Rookie is a race for people of all fitness levels (as long as you have your basic health) and includes a lot of fun obstacles. Commando is for your average person who likes a challenge and Black Ops is for the people who really want to test themselves with the most difficult obstacles,” he said.

According to Hart, both the male and female winner of the Black Ops elite category walk away with R10 000 and a sponsored Jeep that is theirs until the next race takes place. At the end of the season, the overall winner receives a R100 000 cash prize. When asked what students

Greg Avierinos during a running course. Image provided.

can expect when doing their first Warrior Race, Hart replied, “You can expect to get dirty.”

With obstacle names such as Mud Monster, Breaking Point, Tower of Rage and Grip Ripper, one can also expect a challenge. What makes this race popular is that it allows people to have fun as part of a team or to compete with the aim to win. Marno van der Westhuizen, a fourth-year civil engineering student who participated in this last race, said that his motivation for taking part in the Warrior Race was to be social with his friends.

Greg Avierinos, a Black Ops elite competitor and second-year sports science student at Tuks, placed second in the event. Avierinos

said that he started doing the Warrior Race in 2013 for fun and started to compete seriously last year. He even went on to compete in the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in America last year and came second in his category. Avierenos told Perdeby that “the distance, venues and obstacles are constantly changing and bring the exciting element of training for the unknown.”

Not only is the event a great experience for participants, but also for spectators. Spectators can watch the whole race in the vehicles provided that drive spectators up and down the length of the course.

Read our match Varsity Cup rugby review on www.perdeby.co.za every Tuesday

Sport Amatuks player during the encounter with Mamelodi Sundowns. Image: 90mins.co.za

Tuks win inaugural Multichoice Diski Challenge DANIËL BASSON The Tuks u/19 team beat Mamelodi Sundowns in the final of the Multichoice Diski Challenge on 28 February at the Nike Football Stadium in Soweto. With both sides peaking at the right time, there was no clear cut favourite which lead to the match being highly anticipated.

As predicted, the final was a tense showdown with Tuks scoring early as both sides set out in an attacking fashion to grab the first goal.

Sundowns equalised minutes later, which settled

the game down for the rest of the match. The match played out with both teams attempting to keep possession, as well as nervous finishing preventing more goals from being scored. The 1-1 score after full-time saw the teams go to extra time.

Mamelodi Sundowns gained the lead eight minutes into extra-time, but a handball by the Sundowns’ defence handed UP the equalising goal as Dikgang Ngcobo calmly finished from the penalty spot. Sundowns pressed hard and the Tuks keeper kept the game alive on numerous

occasions, as well as having a goal disallowed in the final seconds. Extra time ended with a score of 2-2 and the champions could only be crowned after a penalty shootout.

Tuks were confident that they could bring the title home even after Sundowns had dominated most of the last half-hour of play, having already won a game on penalties. It seemed nerves got the better of both teams in the penalty shootout as both teams missed their next two kicks after Botshelo Mfulwane put Tuks ahead. Lebo Ngubeni, whose shot stopping had kept Tuks

in the game, was the hero again as he saved another Sundowns’ penalty to give UP the win.

Tuks were crowned the inaugural Multichoice Diski Challenge champions with their 2-1 win in penalties.

Tuks will now fly to the Netherlands to attend a four day training camp at the Royal Netherlands Football Association and will play a friendly match against a Bundesliga outfit in Germany.

Talented Tukkie ZUKO QUSHEKA

Craig Bornheim, a third-year studying chemical engineering, seemingly has it all. He plays for TuksSquash, and is the top player for TuksChess having gone undefeated for two years. On the weekend of 27 February he took part in a TuksSquash and TuksChess tournament. He sat down with Perdeby for an interview and to discuss his dreams of becoming a chess grandmaster.

You took part in two tournaments at the end of February. Which one did you enjoy the most?

I really enjoyed both, they were both great. I could do physical as well as mental exercise, thus challenging myself in both aspects. I played five games in each tournament...chess was played over half a day and the squash over three days.

You went into the chess tournament as the favourite. How well did you fair in the squash tournament?

I came sixth in squash. [I] won my first game and lost my second game, thus putting me in position five to eight. We then played a round robin and I came second.

Do you believe you could have done better in the squash had it not have clashed with the chess tournament?

I feel that both were straining and there may have been a slight effect. After all, the mind and body are connected.

How many times have you represented South Africa in chess?

I have represented South Africa seven times.

[I’ve gone] to Brazil, Greece, Turkey (twice), Georgia, Vietnam and Zambia.

You have a chess Elo rating of 2072, do you have dreams of becoming a chess grandmaster?

Yes, I would really love to become a grandmaster. South Africa has recently received their first grandmaster title ever through GM Kenny Solomon. The

requirements are to either receive it through winning a major event such as the African Championships or by getting your rating above 2500 and receiving three norms.

Who was your toughest opponent in the last tournament?

All of my games were interesting and each had its own challenges, so it becomes very difficult to choose which [opponent] was the toughest.

Who is the toughest opponent you ever faced on the world stage?

The strongest player that I have ever played, I actually managed to beat. He is a grandmaster from Egypt [with] a 2596 rating and had won the World Junior Chess Championships before.

Which loss in chess was the most difficult for you to handle?

I was in a play-off match for National Champion in which I blundered very early and lost. It ended up costing me the title.

With your involvement in squash, chess and being in your third-year of chemical engineering, how do you manage your time?

To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I am struggling, but I merely try to get as much done [as possible] when I can do it.

Craig Bornheim. Image provided.

Players during the TuksChess tournament. Image provided.

TuksChess hosts tournament SIMPHIWE NHLABATHI On 28 February TuksChess hosted an unrated Open Chess Tournament at Sci-Enza.

Everyone was welcome to take part in the tournament, including non-Tuks students and junior players. 43 players attended the tournament, with players coming all the way from the University of Limpopo to take part.

The players were competing for cash prizes of up to R800. Another incentive that was given only to the TuksChess players was that the top players would stand a chance to represent UP at the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Chess Championship at the end of the year. The tournament consisted of five rounds, with Craig Bornheim taking first place without any loss. Bornheim is yet to lose a game in a TuksChess tournament since joining the club in 2013. He is also an international player who has represented South Africa in

several tournaments around the world and has a chess rating of 2072.

Four players ended the day tied for second place on four points each. The winner was decided through a series of tie-breaker games.

Second position was handed to Hendri de Klerk, third to Vincent Mokoena, while fourth place was given to Maropeng Molepo and fifth to top female player Jacqui Grobbelaar.

Although unfortunate to lose in the tiebreaking round, one of the highlights of the day was Grobbelaar holding her own to tie in second position. Grobbelaar is also a qualified chess instructor of Tshwane Chess and is a representative of South African chess.

TuksChess is in the process of establishing a junior program and there were 11 junior players that attended. Hanko Crous was the top junior player. Other players that did well are Rene de Beer, Kyle Williams, Lourens Bester, Kobus Coetsee and Andrew Tan.

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