14 March 2016 Issue 6 Year 78

Interview with Radlyn Naidoo

Get ready for the nicki minaj tour

- pg. 9

8 pg. -

Perdeby

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

14March2016

year78issue6

Suspended students return to campus Talks continue at transformation lekgotla MAMMETJA MOGOTLANE Suspended students returned to class last week after a lekgotla was held on Saturday 5 March. UP ViceChancellor and Principle Prof. Cheryl de la Rey acceded to student demands to allow students who were suspended following the violent protests on campus to return to campus and continue their academic activities, including attending classes and tutorials and writing tests.

The lekgotla was attended by the SRC, UP management, EFFSCUP, Sasco, Afriforum Youth, and the Afrikaans Must Fall movement and was held to discuss the way forward with regard to the revision of the language policy and the transformation of UP. Former Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro was the independent

Varsity Cup returns

- pg. 12

facilitator of the lekgotla. Tumelo “Duke” Rasebopye, UPrising’s interim spokesperson, confirmed that the independent facilitator was chosen by both management and the students, saying, “It helps us ensure that there is impartiality in the whole process.”

Initially students refused to engage because of the presence of police at Faircity Roodevallei Hotel, which was the venue of the event. However, the discussion resumed after Justice Mokgoro spoke to the police and asked them to leave.

The discussion focused on the suspension of certain students, the outcomes of issues raised in the various memorandums received by UP, and timeframes for agreements.

The different stakeholders were given time to discuss and decide on the three priorities that would be addressed at the sitting. Following this, Prof. de

la Rey said that students who had been suspended would be allowed to return to campus with immediate effect, pending the outcomes of their disciplinary hearings.

Student bodies decided that there were three main issues that required immediate attention and engagement.

They were: • the languages used as a medium of instruction, communication and signage, and class composition and employment issues; • the UP culture and the transformation thereof in Stuku and residences, and name changes; • and curriculum reform relating to prescribed work, the demographic transformation of academic staff, and use of indigenous languages.

Court ruling traps Akani Simbine: Kesha in record South African - pg. 7 contract Olympic hopeful

- pg. 12

Car guards as an urban institution

- pg. 7

To conclude the day’s proceedings, a peace accord was signed by all stakeholders present to ensure that classes are not disrupted in future and that engagement on these issues could continue in a constructive manner.

UP spokesperson Anna-Retha Bouwer said that there will be other meetings following this lekgotla.

According to News24, the UP Worker’s Organisation (UPWO) and trade movement Solidarity threatened to withdraw their members from the university if UP lifted the suspensions of four EFFSC-UP members. However, News24 also reported that “at least 50 lecturers have distanced themselves from [these] statements and threats.” These lecturers supported the institution’s decision to lift the suspensions of students.

Nehawu members go back to work

- pg. 4

Quarter One recap of 2016

- pg. 5

2

Perdeby

Editorial | 14 March 2016

Slow and steady does it, but not always.

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

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Editor Michal-Maré Linden

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News Chad Johnston

news@perdeby.co.za @ChadChaddalz94

Features Huvasan Reddy

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Entertainment Elmarie Kruger

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Sport Carli-Ann Furno

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Web Marko Svicevic

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Visuals Shen Scott

The most glorious part of this past week has to have been the rain that poured for more than a whole day. While we might never have been ready or happy about the flash floods or second shower on the way to class, it’s no secret that the country desperately needs rain. This rapid change in weather is unexpected but ultimately welcome.

Rapid change is not only manifesting in our weather but also in our social and political climates. However, 8 March, International Women’s Day, highlighted for me that gender equality is a place

From the Editor

where rapid change is frustratingly absent.

While there have been inroads made into equal gender representation in many areas, I just can’t understand how in 2016 such inequality still exists. Independent published some statistics that indicate the level of inequality women still face, even now.

According to Independent, two-thirds of the illiterate adults in the world are women. This statistic has been the same for the last 20 years.

Only one in five parliamentary seats in the world are held by women, and even less than 4% of CEOs worldwide are female. Parliamentary and corporate power and the ability to shape a country and economy are some of the highest forms of power you can have. Without representation in these areas, the laws and norms that govern our countries still remain quietly beneficial to men.

Along with this, one in three women still experience some form of physical or sexual abuse from men, at the current rate it will take 118 years to close the gender pay gap, and, according to a study published by Psychology Women Quarterly, all women are still met with gender stereotypes that haven’t changed since the study was started in 1980.

I’m the first person to run away from the term feminist just because of the negative connotations associated with it. But the fact that women that want to fight for their rights are deemed aggressive, man-hating and unladylike is in itself a form of male hegemony. There is no rational argument for why women shouldn’t have fundamental rights such as education,

political and economic power, and physical, emotional and intellectual respect.

Women are capable of so many things and of being valuable to society. This year’s event focused on celebrating the ambitions and achievements of women and also how we can accelerate equality for women. Some of the suggestions made involved men and women signing a “pledge for parity by 2030”, having honest conversations with each other about sexuality, reproduction, paternity rights, and the right to choose these, educating children on feminism and increasing female representation in academic curriculums, and starting gender equality campaigns addressed to those already in power, urging them to facilitate female development that will equip and launch women into roles that are typically dominated by men.

Maybe these things seem rather big, but each small contribution will help. As we are at an institution of higher learning, all of these suggestions are possible to implement when the right roleplayers take up the responsibility.

We are all roleplayers to some degree and in some area. The question now is: will you?

This is our last edition for the quarter.

Perdeby will be back after the break. Until then, you can keep up-to-date with campus news on our website (www.perdeby.co.za) or on our Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Have a fantastic break. I hope you return a refreshed person, ready to tackle quarter two.

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14 March 2016 | News

3

The powers of the police project NTOMBIKAYISE MKANDHLA In light of the recent protest action that saw 27 UP students arrested, Tsosang Molao, which is a student-run “street law” organisation, hosted a workshop on the powers of the police on 4 March. The workshop’s objective was to raise awareness of people’s lawful rights when confronted with police action. Tsosang Molao, which means “revive the law”, is a project under Mbewu, a youth-focused organisation.

The workshop was presented by four UP law students. The first in a series, the presentation focused on what you must do when questioned by the police. This section highlighted the fact that the only information you have to provide to the police is your name and home address. “You are not obliged to answer questions,” Siphesihle Sibeko stressed. Even before then, the police officer should produce identification, even if

they are in full police uniform.

“Cops do tend to overstep their boundaries,” said Tumelo Marema, a third-year law student.

Marema also mentioned that police officers may not assault people, even those who resist answering questions. The only lawful force permitted is on a person resisting arrest, and even then it should be to a reasonable degree.

Furthermore, Marema highlighted that if any person has been assaulted by the police, that person should tell their lawyer, a senior police officer, or a magistrate as soon as possible and insist on seeking medical attention.

By law, for anyone to be arrested, “they need to be in contravention of a certain law,” said Molao. Furthermore, Molao explained that there are two types of arrests: arrests with and without a warrant. The latter is reserved for more urgent cases, such as rape and arson.

South African Constitution

Chapter 2 - Bill of Rights Section 35: Arrested, detained and accused persons 1) An image circulated on social media by Legal Shebeen. Image provided

Students discuss protest action on campus MAMMETJA MOGOTLANE

On Friday 4 March, the Legal Shebeen hosted a discussion on student protests and whether the university is in a state of emergency with the continuous unrest on campus. The discussion was facilitated by UP students and Legal shebeen executive members, Lethabo Mailula and Khumo Thage.

The debate tackled two main questions: “Are violent protests necessary?” and “Is the Colourblind campaign delegitimising the struggle?” Both questions were met with heated and contrasting opinions.

The floor comprised of students from different faculties. A second-year BA Law student differentiated between two types of protests, namely peaceful and violent. He said that protests become violent when peoples’ voices are no longer listened to and the situation at hand becomes desperate. However, the facilitators noted that the term “peaceful protest” is inherently problematic, as protests are by nature a means to disrupt. Another student noted that the focus of the question on protest action on campus should not be whether they are violent or not, but on the level of violence: “The argument should be on the levels of violence and how they manifest … a protest has to be a violent act for it to attract enough [attention]

onto that issue,” the student said. The general consensus from the floor was that the protests could have been prevented, provided university management had formally addressed the matter timeously. “Their only answer was to add more security. Instead of addressing the real issue, they just chose to BandAid it,” a second-year BCom Law student said.

A third-year education student said that, in terms of understanding the point of the protests, “It’s not only [some] whites that don’t understand, [but] a huge number of privileged black people that do not understand the point of the protests … black privileged.” Following this, the “black privileged” were defined by the floor as the merger of economic assistance and the gatekeepers of white privilege.

The second session focused on the Colourblind campaign, which was met with discontent from the floor. The problem, according to Mailula, is that the campaign delegitimises the call to have one medium of instruction by ignoring the problems raised by the students. According to the students, the Colourblind campaign is a form of institutional racism. The floor agreed that there is a dire need for people to be made conscious of the structural and social inequalities that exist in society, rather than turn a blind eye to them.

Everyone who is arrested for allegedly committing an offence has the right : a) to remain silent; b) to be informed promptly: i) of the right to remain silent; and ii) of the consequences of not remaining silent; c) not to be compelled to make any confession or admission that could be used in evidence against that person, d) to be brought before a court as soon as reasonably possible, but not later than: i) 48 hours after the arrest; or ii) the end of the first court day after the expiry of the 48 hours, if the 48 hours expire outside ordinary court hours or on a day which is not an ordinary court day; e) at the first court appearance after being arrested, to be charged or to be informed of the reason for the detention to continue, or to be released; and f) to be released from detention if the interests of justice permit, subject to reasonable conditions.

4

News | 14 March 2016

Nehawu members go back to work MAMMETJA MOGOTLANE AND MICHAL LINDEN An agreement between UP management and Nehawu was signed at the Administration building on 8 March, putting an end to repeated worker’s protests on campus that went on for two weeks.

The discontent has largely been aimed at the delay in implementing the demands of a memorandum that was handed over to UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof. Cheryl de la Rey and Patience Mushungwa, the executive director of Human Capital and Transformation, on 25 January. UP has now responded to the memorandum and its demands.

Vusi Munyela, the provincial chair of Nehawu in Gauteng, addressed the crowd of demonstrators on 8 March. In his address, he emphasised that the primary issue that is being tackled is that of a 13th cheque and the implementation thereof.

According to the chairperson of Nehawu UP, Joseph Makhasa, the agreement has resulted

Nehawu members protesting at the admin building. Photo: Mammetja Mogotlane

in all level 5, 6, and 7 workers receiving a 12% bonus, level 8 to 10 workers receiving a 33% bonus, and level 11 to 17 workers a 66% bonus as a 13th cheque. “Even [the] University of Pretoria Workers Organisation (UPWO) benefited from Nehawu action,” Makhasa added.

Intervarsity news CHAD JOHNSTON Tshwane University of Technology Students were requested to vacate two campuses in Shoshonguve on 8 March.

The announcement was made on 7 March, giving students 24 hours to make alternative accommodation arrangements. Some students had to find churches and community halls to stay in on Tuesday night.

Stellenbosch University (SU) On Wednesday 9 March the SU SRC protestesd against colonial symbols and outsouring at the university. On Thursday 10 March the protests turned violent and lasted throughout the night. Protesters set a car on fire, damaged buildings and torched an administration building. The university said on Twitter that a case of arson and damage to property has been opened with the SAPS. Stellenbosch has appointed a task team

to look into allegations of a “rape culture” at the university. This is after a female student was raped outside the Harmonie residence in February. The university’s Rector and ViceChancellor Wim de Villiers has expressed his outrage at the incident and urged students at the university to report all sexual assault cases to the police and to the university.

University of Cape Town (UCT) UCT confirmed that a female student escaped after she was attacked, raped and held captive off campus on 8 March. The university has said that details are unclear, but there is a possibility that the attack is similar to three previous attacks that occurred close to the Rhodes Memorial and that the attacks may have been committed by the same person. The student was severely assaulted and has been admitted to hospital. UCT has urged students and staff not to go running in the area alone.

Campus news bites SRC presidential elections SRC presidential elections are still postponed. It is expected that voting will be conducted via an e-voting system. The candidates are Tumelo “Duke” Rasebopye, Henrico Barnard, and Kwena Moloto.

EFF march postponed The university employed strict security measures on 10 March due to an expected Economic Freedom Fighters’ march that was scheduled to take place. The march, however, has been postponed until further notice, according to a statement released by Malesela Ledwaba, the Gauteng provincial secretary for the EFF.

The full memorandum also included “study benefits at other institutions [for Nehawu registered workers’] dependants, debt consolidation, transformation at executive level, benchmarking, [and] victimisation [of workers by the] director of Human Capital

Reena Budree,” said Makhasa. However, the issue of transformation and policy changes had been removed from the memorandum, as those matters will be dealt with during their quarterly meetings.

Makhasa said the union had given management five days to respond to the memorandum when it was initially delivered in January. On Friday 5 March, the regional secretary of Nehawu spoke to Prof. De la Rey during a conference call and it was agreed that the memorandum would be signed by Monday 7 March, according to Makhasa.

While addressing the crowd, Munyela thanked the leadership for negotiating with UP, as well as the workers who conducted themselves without disrupting learning activities. Munyela assured the workers that everything would be paid by the end of April.

There was also a police presence on the scene; however, Munyela said that the police were there “peacefully, to understand what [the issues are], [and that] they [were] not there to arrest but to monitor peaceful demonstrators”.

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14 March 2016 | News

5

A recap of the first quarter of 2016

The annual TuksRag procession was hosted on 30 January. Photo: Kirsty Mackay

There was a heavy police presence on and around UP’s Hatfield campus after the Afrikaans Must Fall protests.

Photo: Shen Scott

Tuks Bophelong, a co-ed medical residence, was officially opened on 1 February. Image provided.

The UP SRC launched their fundraising campaign, The R10 million Game, to provide tuition fees for “missing middle” students. Image provided.

Magrietjie were the overall winners of Ienkmelodienk 2016. Their theme was “granny”. Photo: Kirsty Mackay

SRC presidential elections are postponed. This follows the recommendation of the IMB last year that they be held again for the portfolio of president and vicepresident. The 2015 elections were contested by Sasco, Afriforum and EFFSC-UP Photo: Carel Willemse

TuksCricket were named the Varsity Cricket champions for the second year in a row Photo: Saspa

The body of UP project manager Johan de Beer was found in the Musaion on 6 January. Police are still investigating a case of murder. Photo: Fezekile Msimang

Perdeby

Quarter 1 report card The top performing articles this quarter according to our web stats on 11 March 2016.

News

#1 overall

1. Body found on UP’s Hatfield campus 2. Strict access control to be implemented at UP 3. UP locked down following language policy protests 4. Language policy protests leads to violent clashes 5. VC takes a stand against disruptive behaviour

27 students were arrested during the Afrikaans Must Fall protests. Their court hearings were postponed until 7 April Photo: Fezekile Msimang

Features 1. Every degree matters: five careers that will shape your future 2. Men may soon be able to have contraceptive choices 3. Student survival guide 4. The critical state of education in South Africa 5. Activists argue against maiden bursaries Varsity Cup rugby matches are set to resume on 14 March after being postponed due to the protests on SA university campuses. Photo: Stefan Stander

Entertainment 1. Books to fill your year 2. Mystery Ghost Bus launches new Irene tour 3. Magrietjie takes Ienkmelodienk 2016 crown 4. If book blurbs were honest 5. Starman: the life and times of David Bowie

Sport 1. Tuks Student Gym: a first hand account 2. Varsity Cup postponed pending protests 3. UP-Tuks implode against UFS 4. Understanding the hype: NBA All-Star Weekend 5. UP players to take Super Rugby by storm

UP issued a statement on 2 March that students can face disciplinary procedures for content they post and share on social media, should it contravene the UP disciplinary code. Photo: Shen Scott

On 20 January, UP agreed to end outsourcing at the institution. Workers will become insourced over time as their current contracts expire. Photo: Huvasan Reddy

6

Features | 14 March 2016

US presidential race heats up

Image: Shen Scott

JARED DE CANHA The race to seize the oval office has heated up after results from the US presidential primaries have begun to thin the list of major contenders for their presidential election. With the eyes of the world fixed on the outcome of this race, a greater understanding of the US system of government could prove to be useful, given that these results have an effect on us all in the globalised world that we live in.

Republicans versus Democrats In the US political system, internal elections within the Democrat and Republican parties occur before the two chosen candidates are pitted against each other so that the most desirable candidates of each party stand against one another in the presidental race. These two political ideologies differ on a wide range of issues, such as the role of government, taxation, immigration, healthcare, abortion rights, same-sex rights, and gun control.

Democrats, represented by a donkey and the colour blue, are generally more liberal and left-leaning and generally are supporters of women’s reproductive rights, same-sex rights, the belief in universal healthcare, and progressive taxation on higher income earners. Outgoing president Barack Obama is an example of a leader of a Democrat administration. Republicans,

represented by an elephant and the colour red, are more conservative and right-leaning and generally oppose reproductive and same-sex rights, while advocating the death penalty, flat or constant tax rates for all citizens, and individual rights and justice.

Former president George W. Bush is an example of a past leader of a Republican administration.

The significance of Super Tuesday The results of the presidential primaries after Super Tuesday (1 March) have drawn clear battle lines, according to an article detailing the results published in The Economist on 5 March. The purpose of the US primary elections is so that political parties in each of the 50 states are able to determine their preferred presidential candidate for the elections at the end of 2016. Donald Trump, a Republican candidate, and Hillary Clinton, a Democrat candidate, both recorded significant victories and moved closer to securing the nomination of their parties.

The Trump card Trump’s increasingly controversial comments toward immigrants, Muslims and women have led to a backlash on social media.

Trends such as #NeverTrump and “dump-Trump” have surfaced on social media but have been argued by critics to be unsuccessful in hindering Trump, based on his support base within the Republican camp. Trump’s campaign has also been shadowed by controversy recently after he declined to denounce David Duke

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during a CNN interview. Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan who has thrown his support behind Trump.

Trump later denounced Duke as a “bad person” in an interview later in the week during another interview.

Trump’s Super Tuesday success has also created instability on Wall Street. According to an article by eNCA published on 4 March, Trump’s success has “sent a chill over the heart of American capitalism” after fears of Trump launching a trade war with China and interfering with the Federal Reserve over monetary policy. These sentiments were echoed by Greg Valliere, chief strategist for Horizon Investments, who reiterated that a Trump presidency is a fear for the markets because he represents uncertainty.

The Democrat dilemma The Democratic frontrunner, Clinton, has been hailed as a formidable candidate by many, but her campaign is also plagued by a lack of support in parts of the Democrat camp, as well as a pending investigation into whether she mishandled classified information. Clinton is in competition with Senator Bernie Sanders, who seems to have galvanised support from the progressive left.

With the race well in motion, candidates in both camps seem set to pull out all the stops in order to secure their place in the presidential election in November this year.

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14 March 2016 | Features

Court ruling traps Kesha in record contract

Image: Staff cartoonist

COURTNEY TINK On 19 February, New York Supreme Court Judge Shirley Kornreich denied singer Kesha’s injunction to dissolve her sixalbum contract with Sony-owned recording company Kemosabe.

The termination of this contract would have allowed her to separate from her producer Lukasz Gottwald (Dr Luke), whom she claims has raped, harassed and abused her for the past ten

7 years.

The “Tik Tok” singer, who has been absent from the music world for the last three years, has been musically muted since October 2014 when she presented a case against Dr Luke for giving her drugs and alcohol to sexually abuse her. On that same day Dr Luke filed his own lawsuit against Kesha in New York, accusing her of defamation and breach of contract. It is still unknown as to what the California case’s outcome will be as the New York case took precedent.

Judge Kornreich’s denial of Kesha’s preliminary injunction was apparently due to a lack of basic evidence that supports Kesha’s claims. One such claim sees Kesha accusing Dr Luke of getting her intoxicated and then giving her a “sober pill” that she consumed not realising that it was allegedly a gammahydroxybutyrate pill (GHB), a known date-rape drug. According to the court documents, “Ms. Sebert [Kesha] took the pills [GHB] and woke up the following afternoon, naked in Dr Luke’s bed, sore and sick, with no memory of how she got there.”

Kesha also accuses Dr Luke of countless attacks on her weight and appearance, even comparing her to a refrigerator, therefore setting the foreground for her eating disorder that saw the singer admitting herself into a rehabilitation centre in 2014 for bulimia and suicidal thoughts. Although Sony has said that Kesha will not have to work with producer Dr Luke any longer, they did add that in his contract he has the right to produce six of her songs per album. Kesha agreed to a six album deal with Sony, but has only released two albums so far. Therefore, she is still required to record four albums as per the stipulations of her contract. This suggests that Kesha will often have to make contact with her alleged abuser until she fulfils her contract with Kemosabe, which still requires her to complete three more albums.

A key piece of evidence that shifted the court’s decision in favour of the defence was a videotaped deposition from 2011,

where Kesha, in a deposition for a lawsuit against her former managers at DAS Communications, said under oath that Dr Luke had never assaulted or drugged her. At the time the videotape was made Kesha had not brought up any charges or allegations against Dr Luke. Judge Kornreich said, “There has been no irreparable harm … she’s being given the opportunity to record.”

Statements such as the above have been accused of exacerbating rape culture and have caused a media frenzy. Many fans and celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Lorde, Ariana Grande and Lily Allen have shown their support through the hash tag #freeKesha. Comedian Lena Dunham publicly backed Kesha as she wrote about the importance of being aware of rape culture and feeling secure at all times in her weekly newsletter Lenny Letter. Adele mentioned that she supported Kesha in her speech at the Brit Awards, and Taylor Swift donated $250 000 to Kesha and her family to cover some of the legal fees accumulated during the trial. However, TV host Wendy Williams sided against Kesha, saying, “Unfortunately, business is business,” and, “If everybody complained because somebody allegedly sexually abused them and was ripping them off, then contracts would be broken all the time.”

The ongoing battle between Kesha and Dr Luke has highlighted the manner in which the issue of sexual abuse is dealt with by society. The number of fans and celebrities coming out in support of Kesha points to a bigger issue that needs to be addressed Sony is reportedly releasing Dr Luke from his contract a year early, amid his legal battles with Kesha and pressure from feminist groups. The Wrap reported that “Sony will end it’s working relationship” with Dr Luke. However, Dr Luke’s lawyer issued a statement to Time, saying that “This is not true. Luke has an excellent relationship with Sony. His representatives are in regular contact with executives at the highest levels at Sony and this has never come up.”

Car guards as an urban institution SAVANNAH PLASKITT In the 2013/14 financial year the South African Police Service recorded 56 870 cases of motor vehicle or motorcycle theft, 143l812 incidents of theft from motor vehicles and 11 221 cases of carjacking. Studies have found however, that most of these vehicle-related thefts occur in residential areas rather than outside offices and shopping centres.

Wherever cars are parked in South Africa, there will almost always be a smiling face promising to look after them for you. Car guards form an integral part of our urban landscape and our cities wouldn’t be the same without them. Car guards are informally employed people who assist in finding parking spots and ensure the safety of cars parked in the area. Informal car guarding is an illegal but tolerated activity according to the National Road Traffic Act of 2000 and the Business Act of 1991 (Act 71 of 1991). South Africa is an ideal country for car guards, as it has a lack of formal employment and high crime rates, especially motor theft.

South Africans direct a large amount of ire toward car guards, often seeing them as a nuisance and nothing more than glorified beggars. Although individual drivers may choose not to pay them, these drivers still benefit from car guards as their presence can act as a deterrent to thieves. Car guarding is considered to be a more effective theft preventative measure than patrol cars and closedcircuit television monitoring.

Car guards are included in the 2.4 million people active in the informal economy (excluding the agricultural sector). In 2009, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act was amended to include car guards under the Sectoral Determination for Private Security.

This means car guards are placed in the category “employees not elsewhere specified” with the minimum wage in Pretoria and Johannesburg set at R2 519 per month. A 2015 survey of 144 car guards in Pretoria by UP’s Department of Social Work and Criminology found this minimum wage to be reflective of what car guards earn monthly. Of the participants, 37% earned between R51 and R100 a day, and 34% earned between R101 and R150 a day. However, this income is often greatly reduced by “bay fees”, a daily cost paid to agencies or shopping mall managers which ranges from R20 to R50 a day. Car guards are often required to hire their own equipment from agencies for an additional R10 to R30 a day.

The general car guard demographic consists of black or coloured men between the ages of 20 and 40. This coincides with the largest proportion of unemployed people in South Africa.

Furthermore, it was found in the 2014 study that South African car guards generally have not completed secondary level education, while foreign car guards have often completed tertiary level education in the form of a degree or diploma. Despite the adverse and unappealing conditions, 94% of car guards in the study felt that they make a meaningful contribution to society.

Car guarding has developed as a response to car theft, but also acts as a solution to uplift those in poverty due to unemployment.

The area around UP serves as a place of work for many car guards as thousands of students travel to its campuses every day. Many students find their presence annoying and an unnecessary daily

Jospeh is a car guard in Hatfield. Photo: Ciske van den Heever

expense. Most students do not pay them every time.

Michael Nel, a second-year BSc Zoology student, says he only pays the car guards if they actually assist in looking for parking and reversing and are close by when he returns. Third-year LLB student Roxanne Dickson said, “I generally do everything I can to avoid parking where those car guards would be, like paying for parking at engineering or coming a couple of hours early so that I can park in the secured student parking, because I’ve had so many bad experiences with them.” She says that she has experienced a lot of harrasment from car guards, and says, “At this point, if I’m going to pay for parking every day, I’d rather do it at the engineering building, because I know my car will be safe and I won’t be harassed.”

Other students view the car guards more favourably. “Since I drive to campus every day, you get to know the car guards, and I have a friendship with the one guard where if he sees my car he will recognise it and help me with parking. Also, he will wash my car and just allow me to pay him later on. Also, what I have seen

specifically, people have left him their keys so that he can clean on the inside and also if they can’t find parking they would leave their car keys with him and he will put your car in neutral and push the car into a parking space for you,” said Andrew Wheeler, a second-year Bcom Investment Management student.

Perdeby also spoke to some of the car guards around the Hatfield campus. Jacob, who has been a car guard outside the university since 2000, said that although students don’t give him money every time, they don’t give him any problems either.

Another car guard, Jack, who has been along Prospect Road for seven years, says his income fluctuates depending on whether or not students pay him and how much he is given. He says often they give him R2 to R5 every time but occasionally drivers will give him larger sums of R20 to R50 if he takes special care of their cars. He takes home R45 to R60 a day on average. Jack also told Perdeby that he is looking for other employment and has been arrested for informal car guarding by the metro police at least ten times.

8

Entertainment | 14 March 2016

Image: ScreenAfrica.com

Tuks Camerata and UPSO to feature in new film KOJO ESSAH Free State is the result of a cross-border, co-production effort among South African production company Bosbok Ses Films, Utkarsh Entertainment, and Indian-based entertainment company ParNam Entertainment. The film, written and directed by acclaimed South African director Sallas de Jager, tells the story of the forbidden love between an Indian man and a white Afrikaans woman in the Free State during apartheid in 1979. Piet de Jager, one of the film’s producers, spoke to Perdeby to shed some light on the film.

The film portrays the love of two people of different races in a period of South Africa’s history where it was against the law.

When asked if this was a difficult topic to make a film about, De Jager said, “I don’t think so. In fact, it’s reality. This movie tells a human story.” Although the film is set during the apartheid period, English is mostly used throughout the movie, and subtitles are used whenever any other language is used. This was done because “in a multicultural society, we follow reality.”

The film producers involved UP in the creation process of the musical score for the film. Tuks Camerata and the University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra provided the music for the final theme for the movie, which is “Nessun dorma”, from composer Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot. This collaboration, according

SA prepares for Nicki Minaj’s Pinkprint Tour Image provided.

KOJO ESSAH Trinidad-born American pop and hip-hop superstar Nicki Minaj is set to bring her Pinkprint Tour to South Africa in March 2016.

The Pinkprint Tour is the third tour by the artist in support of her third studio album, The Pinkprint, released in December 2014.

The Pinkprint tour started in March 2015, with Minaj visiting Europe, North America and Asia, and with her upcoming shows in South Africa, the tour will have had 54 shows in total by its end date in March 2016.

to De Jager, came about as a result of the production company wanting to use young, local talent for the film. Stéfan Louw, an internationally acclaimed tenor, was also part of creating the theme with the orchestra and the choir. The movie uses original music, and Grammy award-winning South African flute player Wouter Kellerman was also a part of the original recording.

De Jager believes that this movie has a universal appeal, meaning it does not have a specific demographic that it caters to. “The film affects families across the board and has a good measure of suspense in it,” he says.

The film stars Nicola Breytenbach and Andrew Govender as the leading couple in love. Other actors include acclaimed Indian actor Mangesh Desai, renowned South African actress Leleti Khumalo, and accomplished South African actor Deon Lotz, best known for his role as Kobie Coetsee in the international film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

Free State has already achieved official selection for several international film festivals. The film has been shown at four Indian film festivals – the Kolhapur, Chennai, Bangalore and Sangli International Film Festivals. It was also shown at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. It is set to screen at the fifth Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt, The Garden State Film Festival in New Jersey, and the Cameroon International Film Festival. Free State is set for national release in late April 2016.

The Pinkprint album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 244 000 units in its first week. The album has sold 682 000 units in the United States alone since December 2015.

The pop sensation recently made history when she simultaneously occupied four top 10 spots on the mainstream R&B/hip-hop chart with the tracks “Feelin’ myself” featuring Beyoncé, “Truffle butter”, “Only” featuring Drake, Chris Brown and Lil Wayne, and Rae Sremmurd’s “Throw some mo’”, a track that she featured on.

She is the first female artist to achieve this feat.

Minaj is known for putting on unique and unforgettable concerts. As a result of this, she has sold out iconic concert venues such as London’s O2 Arena, The Staples Center in Los Angeles, and Brooklyn’s Barclays Arena, to name a few. Minaj, to date, has sold 50 million singles and five million albums worldwide, which is evidence of her popularity. Another sign of the artist’s popularity is the astonishing number of followers she has across her social media accounts, which is approximately 96 million.

In addition to her music career, Minaj has other ventures, like acting. She has starred in movies such as Ice Age: Continental Drift and The Other Woman. Minaj has also been a judge on the American Reality show American Idol. She is set to star alongside famous rapper and actor Ice Cube in the upcoming film Barbershop: The Next Cut, slated for release on 15 April 2016.

Minaj will perform in Johannesburg at the Ticketpro Dome on 17 March, in Durban at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on 20 March, and in Cape Town at the Grand Arena in the GrandWest Casino on 22 March.

Image: StereoGum.com

untitled unmastered Kendrick Lamar HUVASAN REDDY Just over two weeks after scooping five Grammy awards at the 2016 ceremony, including Best Rap Album for To Pimp a Butterfly, a shared Grammy with album of the year winner Taylor Swift, and not to mention a ground-breaking Grammy performance that had the whole world talking, Kendrick Lamar’s latest offering came as a surprise, as he dropped his newest project, untitled unmastered, on 4 March.

Describing the project as “Demos from To Pimp a Butterfly.

In Raw Form. Unfinished. Untitled. Unmastered.” on Twitter, Lamar’s 34-minute long album consists of eight untitled tracks, which are simply numbered and include the date of recording.

The album feels raw and rough around the edges, but is full of energy. “untitled 01” begins with an unsettling yet intriguing spoken word intro that is deeply sexual, then launches into the chaos that Lamar experiences around him: the spiritual turmoil, the inequality, and the materialistic and capitalistic society that is America. His words are delivered against deep, neo-jazz and funk basslines, extending the jazzy effect created on To Pimp a Butterfly, with mainstream hip-hop production taking a backseat.

There’s a dark, self-reflective, almost brooding tone created at the beginning of the album, which brings forth Lamar’s criticisms of mainstream society and the government, with lines such as “They say the government mislead the youth, youth, youth, and welfare don’t mean well for you, you, you …” sung by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) label-mate SZA on “untitled 04”. The album gives the listener a glimpse into Lamar’s creative process and the type of music created and experimented with behind the scenes, while simultaneously celebrating the critical and commercial success of To Pimp a Butterfly.

The final track on the album, “untitled 08”, makes mention of Cape Town, with Lamar saying in an interview with MTV that his visit to South Africa in 2014 was a turning point for him, and that he wrote a lot of records “out there”.

There’s an array of guest-stars on the album, including TDE label-mate Jay Rock, familiar collaborator Anna Wise, who appeared on Lamar’s debut album good kid, m.A.A.d city and To Pimp a Butterfly, as well as Cee-Lo Green contributing his smooth neo-soul vocals on track 6.

Numerous producers worked on the album, most notably Swizz Beats and Hit-Boy, while the second half of “untitled 07” was apparently produced by Swizz Beats’s five-year-old son Egypt Dean. The untitled unmastered album pushes the listener to reflect on the situation around them and engage with their surroundings.

It not only gives context to To Pimp a Butterfly, but shines on its own, and is well worth a listen.

Calendar

DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! CALLING HEALTHY YOUNG WOMEN AGED 21 – 32: Donate some of your eggs to a childless couple and be well rewarded for your time and effort – you might even be part of a miracle!

17 March: Mopanie St. Patrick’s Day – Papa’s Real Food 17 March: St Patrick’s Day Party with Boekenhout - Tennessee 17 March: St Paddy’s Experience - Aandklas 17 March: Nicki Minaj: The Pinkprint Tour – Ticketpro Dome 14 May: Oesdag 2016 – Pretoria High School Old Boys Club

Contact colleen@babymiracles.co.za or on 083 380 2354 to find out more.

www.babymiracles.co.za

To get your event listed in our event calendar, send the date, event name and venue to entertainment@ perdeby.co.za or tweet us (@PerdebyE). UP societies are welcome to send their events, too.

14 March 2016 | Entertainment

Radlyn Naidoo: music puts Tourette’s in the back seat

Photo: Shen Scott

AAISHA KALLIER Radlyn Naidoo, a second-year BCom Informatics student at UP, has achieved great popularity through his brief participation in Idols, his YouTube videos and his various interviews – most

9 notably with Gareth Cliff. Perdeby asked him about his journey with Tourette’s syndrome and how music and singing has helped him overcome many struggles in his life.

Many people think they know what Tourette’s syndrome is, but they might have many misconceptions. Briefly, can you explain what this syndrome entails?

In general, it is a neurological disorder due to the [amount] of dopamine in the body. So there’s either a lack of it or too much of it … Around ten percent of global patients that have Tourette’s actually swear out loud, [which is] called coprolalia, but a lot of people just assume based on what’s been circulating in the media in the last two decades that Tourette’s is all about cursing. It can be very misunderstood.

In your daily life, how does your condition affect the things you’re able to do and the goals you’ve set for yourself?

Campus can be quite agonising in general ... [the] University of Pretoria has made it very comfortable for me with the Disability Unit. I usually surround myself with people that understand my situation … I dislocate my left wrist maybe five or six times a day, so in an exam room when I’m stressed, I’m probably dislocating three times in that hour or two. [But] I just click it back and carry on writing. I’ve broken a few tables on campus. [I’m] not proud of that but they understand ... I tend to sit away from people, like if friends tell me to chill with them, I’d sit [with] them but not directly next to them.

What made you enter Idols?

I wasn’t supposed to, and then a lot of people were telling me to go and there was also one of the people who work as a part of Idols who said I should become a part of this season … It’s okay because I didn’t progress to TV auditions, but I enjoyed the experience. I met a lot of good people.

You’ve become somewhat of an internet sensation. What made you post your first video?

A lot of friends and family had been telling me to do so, but I was always scared because society can be quite cruel ... My ticks were becoming unbearable because my mother got diagnosed with cancer two weeks into January [and] I decided, considering my ticks are this bad, [that] I enjoy singing. When I sing, my Tourette’s just vanishes. I wanted to make a video to show people how something I’m passionate about assists me with my ticks.

How do you use music to deal with your illness?

I was told that singing and talking come from two different parts of the brain, and even when I talk I twitch. I always use the analogy of “have you ever been on a vacation or had a moment in your life, where you’re completely content and happy at that exact moment?” So when I sing, that exact moment is all that matters and my Tourette’s just takes a back seat.

What specific music do you prefer to perform?

In general I like singing pop, hip-hop, [and those] types of things, but I am a fan of a lot of different genres. I can appreciate [from] local house to old school ‘80s or ‘90s [music], Lionel Richie, The Bee-Gees, [Michael Jackson], Chris Brown – a lot of mixtures. I just appreciate music overall.

Who is one your biggest current musical influences?

Well, this might [sound] strange, but Lionel Richie, Chris Brown and Mi Casa. So from the old to now, those are my influencers.

And [Michael Jackson], definitely.

Do you have any plans for furthering your music career?

I would love to establish a career in music, though I lack the necessary resources to do so. But [I will] if an opportunity does arise. It just means [that my] exposure and reach would be more [and] in that process I can help more people.

Photo: Alex Travers

Death Panthers: the new kids on the garage scene JULIA BAIN Death Panthers, a Cape Town based two-piece garage rock band, describes their genre as “garagey, noisy, surfy punk rock”. Fresh out of high school, the band that established itself only two years ago released their first EP titled Pizza on 22 February. The duo consists of Oliver Thomas (vocals, drums) and James Nevin (guitar).

Death Panthers is a fairly new band. Does this fact influence your music and/or the band itself?

Oliver: I guess so, as we are still pretty raw. The songs are loosely structured, and I think that influences us as band members because it keeps us from getting too stressed about the small things and lets us focus on making the music and/or playing the shows.

James: I suppose it kind of influences the fact that we don’t take ourselves too seriously or whatever, but we’re slowly reaching the two-year mark, so we’re not that new in our minds (laughs).

What was the inspiration behind your EP, Pizza?

Oliver: A friend of ours pretty much forced it upon us because he liked our music so much. Other than that, literally because I like pizza (and cigarettes) so much, which you can hear in the songs’ lyrics.

James: We wanted to make an album that sounded like Crackling, Black Label and Stylos, and I feel like we nailed it. Musically, the influences were just what we happened to be listening to, we didn’t try [to] sound like anyone of them though.

Is there a song on the EP that stands out to the band?

Oliver: For me, I’d say “No teeth”, purely because it was the first song we wrote and it’s completely meaningless, which makes it quite funny. Other than that, it’s sort of one of those songs that all our friends know now and it’s nice when it’s brought up in conversation.

James: I like “Peter sloth” [be]cause we still play it and it’s [kind of] fun to play.

What has been the most interesting part of the creative process for this EP? Oliver: It was probably all the fun we had recording live in Dave’s (David Gabriel Thorpe from Beach Party, Gateway Drugs

and The Dollfins) bedroom. Talking to all the different people from other bands who just walked in and sat on the couch for a bit to listen to what the noise was.

James: The actual tracking. We just sat in Dave’s room and got drunk and recorded songs we didn’t even know how to play. It was a party.

What has the response been to the release of your EP? Oliver: I think it’s been pretty good, actually. Fans of ours who have been around since the beginning really love it and people discovering us also do. I’m fairly certain that’s because it’s easy to listen to and it’s not some sort of poetry. [It’s] rather just James and I banging drums and guitar and shouting.

James: No idea, but people seem to be asking us questions about it more than usual, so something must be working.

What makes Death Panthers stand out in the Cape Town garage scene?

Oliver: [There are] two reasons: [firstly], we came out of nowhere, really, and got to skip out all the sh*tty bar gigs, and instead went straight to Cape Town’s bigger clubs. [Secondly], we genuinely are doing this to have a good time and make people laugh. It’s not really about being a huge famous band for us, rather just being a band our friends want to play at their house parties.

James: Very little. We were 16 when we wrote and recorded the Pizza EP, so I suppose that is something. We’re still pretty young, not many of our counterparts are in their first year out of school.

We’ve got a lot of time on our hands.

Do you have any plans for the band in the near future?

Oliver: We’ve got a gig at The Assembly on the 12th, I think, but yeah, we are busy working on some recordings we did at Kill City Blues (George Van Der Spuy’s recording studio) and we are due to release that fairly soon. Then probably around mid-year we are releasing our first full full-length album, which we are working on with Maxime Alexander from 1991. Other than that, just a few more shows around and just general loitering around Cape Town James: Yeah, a lot of growth planned. We’re releasing an EP soon and then after that our first full-length album will be almost ready.

We’re really excited for that. Maybe a tour, we’ll see. We want to play at more festivals this year [be]cause Rocking The Daisies was heaps of fun last year.

Image provided.

The Seeing Place Aziza Eden Walker SHAUN SPROULE Romance novels can be predictable and, as a result, uninteresting. The Seeing Place by South African author Aziza Eden Walker is an exception to the rule, providing more than the average romance, in terms of storyline.

The story follows rich entrepreneur and socialite Thuli Poni as she flies to Cape Town from her comfortable life in Johannesburg to start working on her newest project. In the middle of the bustling Long Street Festival, she meets Andile Sebe, a struggling actor from the heart of Gugulethu. It seems the stars are aligned for the perfect romance, but unfortunately they are from two very different worlds. Their chance meeting in a coffee shop out of the raucous crowds at the festival seems to be a brief, one-time meeting of the unlikely two.

Sebe tries to make sense of his feelings during the first encounter, dragging his roommate, the humorous and energetic Yandi, into the mix. While he battles with his feelings for the beautiful Thuli, his far-from-successful acting career takes unexpected turns and life as he knows it starts to unravel. Through it all, dark secrets about his past lurk in the background.

The Seeing Place is Eden Walker’s first published novel, but in it she presents a modern romance in a truly South African setting, complete with load shedding and too-popular soapies.

Her writing draws the reader in and the story is full of surprises with unexpected twists and turns.

The novel provides everything a romance lover needs, and does so with a well-woven story. Comedy in the form of Sebe’s roommate and his friend, Mpho, breaks the seriousness of Sebe’s home life with his ageing grandma and his troubled sister, Karabo. Drama, sadness and unbridled romance complete the tale, rounding it up into an enjoyable, relaxing read.

10

Fun and Games | 14 March 2016

Pssst...

Pssst… is both relieved and a little bit sad about the upcoming recess. On the one hand, Pssst… will be happy to take a break from the tedious task of having eyes and ears everywhere, but on the other, this lack of excitement will probably leave Pssst… quite bored. Luckily, this week’s res gossip is anything but boring, and Pssst… hopes it can keep you all satisfied until Pssst… returns after the holidays.

As if that’s not enough suffering for the Magrietjie ladies, Pssst… hears that Taaibos (read: House Hatfield Studios) has been clearing out the food at Magrietjie’s dining hall. Brakke, have the previous editions of Pssst… not warned you against the dangers of resembling Boekenhout? Who knows, maybe Taaibos will be the next res to storm out of the Amphi after finding out that they did poorly at Serrie.

else?

Pssst… would like to correct the statement in last week’s edition, in which Pssst… said that Madelief have dropped off the res radar since Ienk. It turns out that the Knolle were actually too busy getting drunk and practicing their skipping techniques in front of Magrietjie to worry about any sort of res activities. Keep it classy, Knolle.

Pssst… wonders what the cause was for the premature separation between Rag partners Olienhout and Klaradyn?

Could it be due to the fact that the Houte have been too busy cajoling with Magrietjie to pay any attention to the Welpies? Or perhaps the fact that the Welpies are too interested in themselves to pay much attention to anyone

Mopanie and Katjiepiering seem to have been warming up to each other lately – or trying to, at least. Pssst… hears that their Alien Invasion event was more of a feline migration, since there wasn’t a Kat in sight at the Mopanie clubhouse, and the poor Peppies were left singing drunkenly to themselves. Whether this was due to the

Pssst… would like to know who thought that a joint Olympus-Curlitzia talent show would be a good idea.

Pssst… could only sit through so many dancing Kloekies before trying to find some chloroform on med campus.

Then, to the Olympus first years who performed the Justin Bieber medley: yes, it is too late now to say sorry.

fact that some Peppies were singing lewd songs to a few Katjie ladies earlier in the week, or because of the poor spelling on their advertisement flyers, Pssst… can’t really tell.

While all this was happening, Lilium tried to have a bake sale (Pssst… isn’t sure if anyone actually showed up or if the ladies ended up eating all of the products themselves), Zinnia’s senior week passed without Pssst… even noticing, and Inca did…stuff.

Pssst… will be missing you all over the recess, and Pssst… hopes that you will use your last week on campus wisely (by this, Pssst… means that Pssst… hopes you will send any and all res gossip to pssst@perdeby.co.za, of course).

Crossword Across

Down

2. Fruit used in jam (3)

1. Very small, 60 seconds (6)

4. Use a pen (5)

3. Soft white limestone (5)

6. Occur in turn repeatedly (9)

5. Go or come back (6)

8. Written work, make reservations 7. Headline material (4) (4) 8. Tinkler, telephone inventor (4) 9. Distinctive, particular (7)

Poll Are you registered to vote in the upcoming municipal elections?

36.20%

63.80% Yes

No

14 March 2016 | Sport

11

Sascoc dashes Olympic hockey dreams

Image provided.

THANDO CELE On 1 November 2015 the SA men’s and women’s hockey teams were crowned African champions after winning the Greenfields African Hockey Championships. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Hockey Federation (FIH) standards, winning the tournament meant that the hockey Proteas automatically qualified for this year’s Rio Olympics.

However, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), the largest sporting body in the country and the body that oversees all sport issues in South Africa, has deemed the competition within the continent to be too easy a route for the Proteas to qualify. They have therefore insisted that the teams need to finish in the top three of their rounds of the Hockey World League to qualify, instead. Both teams narrowly missed out on their targets, which has led to Sascoc preventing them from competing in Rio. The South African hockey community has

been upset, directing their frustrations and anger toward Sascoc. Hockey in South Africa receives the least amount of funding, sponsorship and marketing, in comparison to South Africa’s more traditional sports of cricket, rugby and football. The lack of investment in the sport locally makes the possibility of pursuing hockey as a sustainable career in South Africa difficult.

Players who find themselves in this situation have not taken the Sascoc announcement well.

Many have put all other opportunities on hold for the past four year Olympic cycle, with the hope of breaking into the top ten world rankings in Rio. When questioned about their decision, Sascoc CEO Tubby Reddy said, “We commend the SA men’s and women’s teams participating in the African Championships being held in Johannesburg, giving their best and competing for world ranking points. However, the Sascoc board firmly believes that the qualification criteria, which have been agreed between the international sporting federations and the International Olympic Committee, and based

SA deaf cricket team competes internationally

on World Olympic Qualification, is in line with Sascoc’s policy of producing world class athletes who will compete at the highest levels.”

South Africa not going to the Olympics has been predicted to have a snowball effect on hockey’s future in the country. The Olympics are the pinnacle of the sport, and South Africa can only improve its stature and world rankings if it competes at the highest level consistently.

The South African women and men are currently ranked 11th and 15th respectively in the world, and if SA is unable to participate in the Olympics, their rankings will drop. South African hockey professionals would not be able to possess a sporting visa or work permit if their country is not ranked within the top 12 nations of the world. This puts South Africa in the position of losing their international credibility.

Hockey plays a large part in the sporting culture at UP. The current manager of the UP Hockey Club is SA women’s hockey captain Nicolene Terblanche, who has expressed her disappointment and sadness at the possibility of not going to Rio. UP also has a representative in the men’s national side in Stephen Cant, who along with his team shares the same sentiment.

The performance of the SA men’s and women’s hockey teams recently could arguably prove their ability to compete against Olympicstandard teams. The ladies beat Scotland in a series last month, and more recently managed a 2-2 draw against the much-favoured Germans.

The men won against Olympians Canada and Spain. These performances have led to the creation of an online petition to support the SA hockey teams to send them to Rio. This petition has been endorsed by Springbok veteran Victor Matfield, Scottish women’s hockey player Nikki Lloyd, and SA women’s cricket captain Mignon du Preez .

Catching up with the captain Colin Venter ERIN SLINGERLAND Besides being the captain, what is your position in this team?

I am player number five and I play as the opening bowler.

How long have you been a part of this team?

For about five years now.

What does it mean to you to have your dad as the former captain?

He is a big part of my life and was the start of

Photo: Stefan Stander

Vodacom Bulls make a Super Rugby comeback THORISO PHASHA The Vodacom Bulls looked eager to bounce back when they hosted the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday 5 March at Loftus Versfeld. After the team endured a tough start to the 2016 Super Rugby season with a defeat against the Stormers, they won back the hopes of disgruntled fans with a 45-25 victory.

For Perdeby’s in depth match review visit our website www.perdeby.co.za

my love for cricket.

Is there any particular reason that you do not play alongside hearing players?

Obviously communication is one of the factors.

Deaf cricketers tend to play with a deaf team.

But I played for Wits, which is a hearing team, and I managed fine.

Do you find it more challenging working with this team or with your Wits team?

I have been a part of this team for so long that it is easy to work with them now, because I know how to deal with them. But I have also played with a hearing team, so I know how to deal with them equally as well. So I would say that working with either team is not a big issue for me at all.

Five-minutes with the physio Lihane Weyers ERIN SLINGERLAND Image provided.

ERIN SLINGERLAND On 5 March the South Africa Deaf Cricket Association held a capping ceremony for the players who represented South Africa in Dubai at the first Deaf International Cricket Council World Championship from 8-14 March. South Africa played against England, Pakistan and India.

The team consists of 15 men. Many of the players were born deaf, and range between the ages of 22 and 38 years old. Edward Khosa, the senior cricket manager, started off the evening by highlighting the opportunity the players had been presented with and said, “Deaf cricket tournaments are limited.

The deaf cricket team last played against an international team [England] in 2013. Now in 2016 they have once again been offered the opportunity to showcase [their] talent and compete against the world’s best in [their] fraternity.”

Steven Venter, former captain and a South

African Deaf Cricket Associations Honorary Life Member, attended the event and handed his blazer over to his son, the current captain of the team, Colin Venter.

A deaf tournament follows the same game procedures as normal cricket tournaments.

In order to qualify for a deaf cricket team, a player has to have a hearing threshold of 50 decibels or lower. No hearing aids may be worn on the field during a match. A deaf cricket player cannot become a professional cricket player and they do not get paid to play, although in cases such as this, the trip will be sponsored.

The tournament was described as a foundation that would create opportunities for deaf cricket, working toward the day where perhaps the mild difference of the team could be overlooked to allow them to compete with hearing teams at a professional level. The possibility of realising such a dream is not out of reach, with the development of hearing aids.

Perdeby sat down with the South African deaf cricket team physiotherapist and medic Lihane Weyers.

Currently studying at UP to become a registered physiotherapist, Weyers has completed many internationally accredited sport massage courses that have equipped her with everything she needs to help sport teams, such as the South African deaf cricket team.

How did you get involved in deaf cricket?

I was very involved in Northerns deaf cricket and then they pulled me up to a convention where I learned more.

Where did you learn to use sign language?

I have a lot of deaf friends, so it was very easy.

I spent time catching up on how the language works and now I can speak both.

Is this the first international tournament for most players in the team?

Yes. There was another conference three years ago against England when they toured here, but about half of the team is new and most of them have never even been out of South Africa or even on an aeroplane.

How are the players so good at communicating and understanding one another?

They have learned a different way of communicating, and have become accustomed to this way for quite some time because many of them were born deaf.

Although there might be a few tricky logistics, is there any particular reason why deaf and hearing teams cannot play together?

There are absolutely no reasons why they cannot play together.

Do deaf and hearing teams not play together at all?

On club level it is allowed and it functions as a normal game. Even the umpires are the same.

Do you think it would be possible to mix a team with hearing and deaf players?

Yes. That would be very interesting and I would really recommend it. The hearing players would find a way to communicate with the deaf players, and the deaf players would be forced out of their comfort zones to communicate with the hearing players.

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Akani Simbine: South African Olympic hopeful CARLI-ANN FURNO

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Varsity Cup returns, but at a price CARLI-ANN FURNO Varsity Cup returned on Monday 14 March at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, following an agreement reached in Cape Town last week between the committees of all universities involved and the sponsors of the tournament, Steinhoff and FNB. A decision was made to resume the tournament, with the condition that all matches be played at neutral venues.

FNB Stadium and Newlands will be the grounds that are set to host most of the fixtures, many of which will be broadcast live on SuperSport channel 201. The venues of the remaining group stage matches of the tournament are still to be confirmed and will be held on 21, 24 and 28 March. Although fans were able to attend Monday’s catch-up rounds at the FNB Stadium, it is unclear at this stage if they will be able to spectate every game. TuksRugby executive Gert van Coller commented on the decision and said, “In light of the tension that surrounds campuses across the country, Varsity Cup cannot take the risk of hosting matches in the same way that it did before. This is a bittersweet moment. The tournament must go on as an opportunity for the players involved, but at the cost of the enjoyment of a live game [at local sports grounds] for the supporters.”

Fixture lists have been adjusted to pack in

more group stage matches before the semi-final and final in April. Varsity Cup CEO Duitser Bosman took into consideration academic concerns that were raised by Stellenbosch and UCT following this decision, and is attempting to keep those matches in Cape Town for the first two Mondays of the event. “The support of the universities and fans over the past few weeks has been tremendous and is greatly appreciated. We invite everyone to continue following the action through the live updates on our digital platforms, as well as through the SuperSport broadcasts of various matches,” said Bosman.

Varsity Cup supporters have expressed their disappointment about being unable to “back their boytjies” at their local sports grounds. UP rugby supporter and second-year LLB student Roxy Paans said, “I am personally very sad about this.

What I enjoy most about Varsity Cup is being able to watch UP-Tuks play and experience the atmosphere of our homeground stadium.

That’s something many people will miss. We [the fans] play a big role in what the tournament is all about.” The captain of UP-Tuks, Ruan Steenkamp, has reassured Varsity Cup supporters and said, “We are very glad the competition is going to continue. I want to thank every fan that has supported us at our home games, and I am glad that they will still be able to watch us play on broadcast games. Without our supporters, rugby will be a dull sport to play.”

Hatfield Studios win first ever women’s touch rugby tournament DYLAN JACK Hatfield Studios was victorious in the first ever Bragging Rights Touch Tournament held on Saturday 5 March. The 15 competing teams consisted of the UP women’s residences, which were divided into three pools. The winners of the three pools then competed among each other in a shortened round robin format.

The standard laws of touch rugby applied.

The matches were played across half a rugby field and were five minutes a half, with a two minute half time. Possession of the ball could be turned over by six touches in a row, letting the ball touch the ground and passing the ball forward.

The day was played out in a friendly format, with many of the teams cheering each other on.

Hatfield Studios won the overall tournament after their try difference in the pool stages

separated them from Tuks Village, who finished in second place. Asterhof finished in a hardfought third place.

The tournament was of special significance to most players as this was the first time that they had played rugby of any kind. The players started the day struggling to fully grasp the rules, but soon adapted and ended the day playing some much improved rugby.

UP women’s sevens coach Riaan van der Merwe was present to scout many of the players. The top 20 players would be handed a golden ticket and a chance to try out for the UP sevens team. The team will be touring France from 5-15 May. Van der Merwe said, “It was very difficult to choose just 20 players,” and that “many of the players had shown remarkable improvement throughout the day.”

UP speedster Akani Simbine has broken the 100 m ten-second barrier for the third time in his career, running 9.96 s at the ASA Nite Series meeting in Pretoria on Tuesday 8 March. Having previously shared the South African record of 9.97 s with sprinting rival Henricho Bruintjies, Simbine will be pleased to claim the title as the country’s fastest 100 m sprinter for himself. With a personal best time that will certainly boost Olympic hopes, Simbine has been deemed the fastest 100 m athlete in the world so far this year.

Athletes in the 100 m sprint aspire to dipping below what many call the “magical ten-second barrier” at some point in their professional career. Once an athlete has achieved such an honour, they will find themselves ranked within an elite group of sprinters in the world. This dream first unfolded for Simbine last year when he ran 9.99 s at a meeting in Slovenia. He was soon overtaken by Bruintjies, who set a new South African record by shaving 0.02 s off of Simbine’s time. Simbine then equalled his competitor’s time at the World Student Games later that year in Gwangju, South Korea.

Having achieved a great start to one of the most important years in his career, he commented on his hopes for the Olympics, saying, “It is a great thing to be a frontrunner in a big year for South Africa’s sprinting nation. I have been blessed with a talent, and I am very grateful to be able to pursue it. I hope to run a PB that will get me into the final, and then achieve a good place in the final.”

When asked about whether the sprinting

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giants he will face in Rio intimidates him, he said, “No, anybody can be beaten. We are all human. I am going to Rio with the confidence that I can challenge every competitor I face.”

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