by Chelsea Geach

by Chelsea Geach

Having always been a fan of Douglas Adams and the quirks of Hitchikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, I was immediately intrigued by a blog entitled “The Number 42 is Purple”. The number 42, to those who have not yet indulged in Adams’ wacky world, is the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything. The colour purple, for those even more alienated from the fundamental truths of our universe, is the patriotic colour of Rhodes University.

This blog goes beyond the demands of assigned articles to express the personality and spunk of the writers. One contributor in particular, Catherine Cunningham, shows a maturity of opinion that is at once refreshing and entertaining.

The standard of writing on this blog is consistently high, with regular flashes of genius. One example is the headline for a story on animal rights: “When did beauty need a beast to be fashionable?” For student journalists, the amount of character and wit woven into the writing is impressive, and makes for a capturing read.

These bloggers have made good use of imagery to accompany their posts, creating a visual as well as intellectual experience for the reader. The clean-cut appearance of the blog is user-friendly, but could be improved with the addition of a few gadgets in the sidebars.

I think this blog has been used as a forum for well-developed opinions and is definitely worth a read.

http://thenumber42ispurple.blogspot.com/

insects are my worst fear, well Ants are even worse. i have decided to spend some time watching and playing with Ants, at first it was scary but eventually i overcame my fear. watching Ants is amazing, they are capable of doing great suff, imagine an Ant carrying a big Insect. i enjoyed being around them and i think watching them is something i will do more oftern from now on.

Entering the lecture I am suffocated by a tension in the atmosphere. The Zoo Major lecture theatre seems to be encapsulating a thousand brainwaves and thoughts. My experiences in this lecture theatre are very different. Having attended English literature lectures in this same venue this year, Zoo Major has become a place where I have been introduced to revolutionary thoughts. It has been a zone which has brought out much of my unfound creativity. Yet, the energy of the lecture theatre now, when walking in on a Mathematics 1 lecture, is very different.

I trod into the lecture, late as usual, looking like a mix match of BA creativity. My daisy imprinted gumboots clomping, my numerous charm bracelets jingling and untamed hair bellowing everywhere. This is obviously the incorrect dress code for so serious a lecture. Feeling the eyes of the resident Maths-goers, I quickly take up a seat. I find myself next to a younger version of Bill Gates. Sensing his confusion (a feeling I expect these young geniuses are not accustomed to) I break the ice with a quick, “Hey, is this the Maths 1 lecture?” He simply replied: “Yes.” Yet, from his facial expressions it was clear that he was still questioning my presence. To put his mind at ease, before the abuse that Pythagoras was about to be release on it, I quickly added that I am a “journ” student here to immerse myself in a foreign environment. A smile came to his face, filled with the delight that he was about to watch a “journo” drown in their complex sea of theories, formulae and numbers.

“Now I’ve put the formula up on the board, so completing this question should be easy” came from the young lecturer, Kate Koch. I looked up from my notepad and found this on the board: V = π _c ∫ ^d (f/y)² - (g(y))² dy

My first reaction was to laugh. Solving this equation looked like an archaeologist’s mission of decoding an ancient script. However, I knew that if I were in their position my reaction probably would have been a more tearful one.

While it took me a few minutes to take down this exotic equation, the students around me were tackling the question as they were the detectives and this was a new exciting case. I could feel a strange enthusiasm as ideas were swopped and an answer was finally found.

After experiencing the intensity of a Mathematics lecture I have a new respect for these people which we stereotype as nerds. Their abilities to think, reason and use these complex formulae to solve what I would deem the unsolvable is remarkable. It would, however, be interesting to chuck one on these “mathletes” into the creative depths of an English literature lecture or even a “journ” immersion exercise. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to see these experts of logic thrown outside their box? Let the faculty swopping begin...

When choosing one of the many first year blogs to review I couldn’t help but be drawn to ‘I know what you wrote last semester’. The title jotted my memory back to the 1997 slasher film ‘I know what you did last summer’ which provided comedians with more than enough material to exploit and was the centre of attention of the first scary movie.
The blog itself can be argued to rival the humour created by the movie. Its writers have the ability of finding the truth in a witty manner that students are sure to appreciate. The point of view from another student is an effective attention grabber and while the blog’s layout leaves much to be desired it must be emphasised that it’s what’s written that counts the most.

Local politics is discussed extensively within the blog, a factor that I’m sure would go down well with Rhodes students given the extent to which it is discussed on campus. Racism also features and given the recent events of Tri Varsity as well as Free State University, it is a relevant area for blog analysis. But again what makes it worth reading is how the writers manage to carry through their humour while dealing with issues that too often command straight faces. For us as students the blog sends a basic message for students to recognise that we shouldn’t always take things seriously.

By: Justin Archer

My residence was on Sunday rattled to find me wandering around the corridors walking backwards. I decided an interesting test to find if I was able to walk in the incorrect direction for an hour and at the end review if I had improved.

While it sure seemed peculiar it definitely wasn’t too difficult to get used to as I grasped the feel for it rather quickly. Obviously it wasn’t to the effect that it became natural to me but well enough for me to compete with any other backward walking citizens, if there are any out there.

If you do decide to try it do be aware. While walking on the flat ground may seem easy, walking down or up stairs is another thing altogether. It is as challenging as tasks could come. I stumbled; I twirled and can’t say I’m in a rush to do it again. Insisting on walking downstairs should be accompanied with an IQ test because it simply is looking for trouble and the hospital will not smile with the beds you take up.

All in all though it was an interesting hour for me and my housemates and I can say I learned a new skill in the end, although a very useless one at that.

A world of shame

South Africa the democratic country seems to be failing its being Democratic. Is it because the meaning of Democracy has long been forgotten? Well I can not answer that, but how do u explain the corruption that is leading at the police stations? How can anyone explain the issue of the corrupted policemen who are involved in drugs schemes? Amazing enough these police is never arrested or punished, well how can anyone explain that? A policeman whose job is to protect is destroying, whose job is to arrest the criminals is the criminal him self. This makes me wonder if what kind of a country South Africa is. Where is its future? What is it done to make it a better country, less corrupted and safe? How are we going to trust the police services if it’s so corrupted? I wonder why the government allowed the abolishment of the scorpions. Well if you are wondering if what this article is referring to, it is about the three senior West Rand officers accused of seizing drugs trafficked into the country and selling them to drug lords.
Besides it all the three pleaded not guilty to 13 charges against them on Monday morning. Can you believe it, even thou there is someone who is testifying against them with the valid evidence? South Africa something has to be done.
To read more about this story log in to
Informant bust 'Drug cops'

by Chelsea Geach

In the 1960s, Feminist movements swept the world claiming equality for both sexes. Slogans such as “equal work, equal pay” demanded equal employment rights for women, while bra-burning and chants of “the personal is political” pushed for respect in the home and the right to birth control and abortion.

While these movements were desperately needed in the 60s and 70s, I believe they achieved their aim and have outlived their usefulness. Women in contemporary Western society have equal political, social, cultural and legal rights – so why the need for ongoing radical Feminism?

It can be argued that gender inequality still exists in the world today, a favourite example being the conservative religious culture of the Middle East, in which women are expected to conceal their skin at all times and obey their husband’s orders. I would like to argue that British women were subjugated in a similar way prior to the suffragette movement of the late 19th century. However, they did not suffer in silence, but used the means allowed to them to fight for and eventually claim their right to legal equality.

It is not the place of the Western world to judge that Islamic or Arabic women are victims of gender discrimination or feel inferior in their societal roles. If these women do in fact feel outraged and frustrated by their position, they are perfectly able to organize their own protests and campaign for their own rights. The notion that it is our responsibility to ‘free’ them is in itself discriminatory and condescending.

I believe women are hiding behind the guise of gender inequality. It functions as an excuse for every woman who is not successful in the workplace or who feels cheated out of opportunities in life. Women of the 21st century, the law has granted you your rights – only you can put them into practice!

By Justin Archer

Julius Malema has for a long time been saying some quite remarkable things. I believe his latest rant takes the cake. Malema, president of the ANC youth league, now wants the international association of athletics, more popularly known as the IAAF, to declare null and void the results of Caster Semenya’s gender tests.

Why Malema is allowed to involve himself to the extent that he does is a question that will almost certainly remain unanswered, but for somebody in his position he certainly likes to make a nuisance of himself, and in so doing is making a right fool of himself. His latest rant comes straight out of nothing, giving no explanation whatsoever as to why he is demanding the results to be declared null and void.

Politics seems to be married to sport in South Africa, even when those politicians involving themselves in sport are meant to have no involvement in the proceedings. But to honest not too many people are aware of the role that the youth league is meant to play, and it seems the youth league itself doesn’t know either.

Malema has rather ironically come out saying that the ANC youth league is going to campaign for Semenya to run as a girl. What exactly Malema aims to do to campaign for the disgraced athlete, especially given the scientific nature for the judgment is beyond me but it’s certain to discredit his profile further. And one should also remember that by being involved in Semenya’s struggle he is at least keeping himself from meddling in other South African politics.

Then there is the advantage of keeping him from getting involved in other South African politics, a great advantage given the mans reputation.

by Chelsea Geach
Zapiro is both loved and hated as a notoriously sharp-witted satirical cartoonist. His puppet show, ZNews, has been in the creation phases for 11 years, and has just been refused air time on SABC. This refusal has prompted many debates over freedom of speech, as well as numerous comments from political figures who are satirized in the show. Mainstream media covered the events, but are expected to stick to factual content rather than passing judgement on the ethics of the show, which ridicules many prominent South African leaders.

The most interesting article I read on the topic can be found at http://www.hayibo.com/articles/view/1151/Zapiro_puppets_accused_of_being_puppets.htm.

Hayibo.com is a satirical news site, which sticks loosely to the facts but incorporates fabricated quotes for humorous effect. The value of this style of journalism is that while it may not provide readers with hard facts, it provokes questioning and challenging of both authority figures and mainstream media.

Instead of focusing on the development of the story, the Hayibo article ridicules the reaction of government. Fictional government spokespeople are quoted as saying “Zapiro [is] a ‘puppet-master’ hell-bent on spreading a subversive doctrine called ‘comedy’.” In a mainstream report, no quotations would be fabricated and emotive language would not be used to exaggerate the comments of sources for the sake of hilarity.

In addition, Hayibo coverage does not stay within the bounds of the story, but uses it as a tool to comment on other aspects of the South African political stage. For example, the article states that “the SABC already has a dedicated news satire show, in which parodies of government ministers behave outrageously without consequences. It is broadcast nightly at 7pm and is called The News.”

I believe that although such journalism cannot function without the complement of mainstream factual coverage, it is vital in order to fulfil the role of the media in a democratic society.

Glen Agliotti whom is known to be a friend of the recently accused Jackie Selebi, seems to be backing up for his friend. He says that scorpions have always wanted to bring Selebi down. agliotte believes that the Scorpions are so obsessed in discrediting Selebi and discrediting Saps [SA Police Service] Agliotti says this in footage being viewed in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg as evidence in the corruption trial of former top cop Jackie Selebi.
To him the whole thing is politically related and the scorpions are doing it in order to remove the top cop Selebi. Seemingly agliote and Selebe are partners in crime, no wonder Agliotte is trying by all means to back up for his partner (Selebi). i find the report made by Agliotte ridiculous, he is not handling the case as a professional. Basically he has shown his true colours. To red more about these articles on news24 go to
http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/8408e601327f4b59929ef11811d5c68d/15-10-2009-02-34/Scorpions_obsessed_with_Selebi

Glen Agliotti whom is known to be a friend of the recently accused Jackie Selebi, seems to be backing up for his friend. He says that scorpions have always wanted to bring Selebi down. agliotte believes that the Scorpions are so obsessed in discrediting Selebi and discrediting Saps [SA Police Service] Agliotti says this in footage being viewed in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg as evidence in the corruption trial of former top cop Jackie Selebi.
To him the whole thing is politically related and the scorpions are doing it in order to remove the top cop Selebi. Seemingly agliote and Selebe are partners in crime, no wonder Agliotte is trying by all means to back up for his partner (Selebi). i find the report made by Agliotte ridiculous, he is not handling the case as a professional. Basically he has shown his true colours. To red more a bout these articles on news24 go to http://tinyurl.com/ykxuupu.

By Justin Archer

From Wednesday’s tutorial I learned that the further away from the people I have relationships with, the less that I am going to know about them, their daily lives and the happenings within their lives. Although I am a lot closer to my family, I know a lot more about the daily lives about people at Rhodes even those that I don’t have a close relationship with. I also learned that a judgment that is made about a person prior to meeting them is probably going to be a shallow judgment.

By Justin Archer

I’m sure the name Caster Semenya does not need an introduction. The unfortunate athlete has found herself in the media a lot of late and this through no fault of her own. Today it carries on as The Times website announced that the investigation into South Africa’s handling of the debacle is to last at least three weeks.

Effectively the investigation is to discover whether Athletics South Africa approved of the gender tests on Semenya before the Berlin championships where she went on to blow away her competition raising the concerns about her gender.

Unfortunately this latest investigation means that the spotlight is going to remain on the athlete for a while to come, even though the latest investigation isn’t involving her gender whatsoever. As long as Semenya remains in the headlines, she remains a victim, particularly for the politicians to prey on to further their own political goals. We have witnessed it already; Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema have spoken of how disgraced they were at the treatment of Semenya and rallied support for the athlete, but it was for their own selfish aims of rallying support for their own party.

The investigation won’t be the last that we hear of Semenya and we can only imagine how it is all affecting her. This cannot be changed, but what can be are our attitudes towards the politicians that unfairly take advantage of the situation, we need to send a message that it is not right.

by Chelsea Geach
TAKE THE LEAD: Dancers from the Ballroom and Latin crew practise their routine. Pictured here are Bianca Perry and Byron Rowe.

A rhodes students bedstide table, complete with bottle of wine with glass included

by Chelsea Geach

Write Side Up is a group of four journalism students from Rhodes University, South Africa. We hope to open up discussion about the world of journalism, compare reading lists with other students and, of course, share stories about life as a ‘journo’-in-training.

Before wading into the world of journalism, however, I’m going to kick off with an introduction, written in a blog-appropriate tone of self-centredness:

Writing a personal blog is narcissistic and self-indulgent – and, if done right, incredibly entertaining! I am a fearsomely opinionated individual, but only with regards to highly important matters such as res food (I reject sautéed streetchild!), BCom students (down with popped collars and white loafers!) and Rhodes slang…bru.

On other important matters such as politics, literature, theatre and the Meaning of Life, I prefer to explore rather than rant. Being opinionated is (in my opinion!) overrated. I would far rather discuss, debate and hopefully discover exciting new perspectives that can challenge and illuminate the views I have of the world.

To cast my geeky explorer’s headlamp over a few personal interests, I would like to use this blog to talk about literature; as aspiring journalists we all have reading material to comment on and recommend. Another relevant and (I hope) fascinating topic is the influence of journalism in modern societies, and, by extension, in popular culture. From here, we can saunter into the realm of politics, and the function of journalism in modern democracies. Alternatively, we can pry into the role of journalism and reading in general in shaping individuals and cultural identity.

Rather than a proclamation of my beliefs and world views (although those will certainly be included), I hope for this to be a forum of discussion, exploration and the sharing of good writing.

So, dear reader, I would love to entertain you with generous helpings of Bill Bryson-esque humour on a bed of wit and thrilling experiences. Unfortunately for us both, all I have to offer is a staple of sarcasm, a side of cynicism and, if we’re lucky, the odd dash of intelligence.

Read on!

What kind of a blogger am I?

By Sinethemba Pani

Sinethemba Pani is an 18 year old female who is currently doing her first year in Bachelor of Arts at Rhodes University, majoring in Anthropology and journalism. People usually describe her as talkative, ambitious, hard worker and kind. Out of all the characteristics that people associate with her she sees her self as a shy, ambitious, determined girl. The Girl I am writing about is me.
During my high school years I participated in many sports including debate, poetry and public speaking. Being shy never stoped me from doing what I wanted to do. During those years I exactly knew that when am at Varsity I will study journalism. Growing up in previously disadvantaged community, town and schools made me realise that I can do better in improving disadvantaged places. I realised that there are so many untold stories about rural areas and ordinary people. I believe that being a journalist is not all about going around chasing Elites, politicians and people whose voices can be heard rather it is about making the unheard heard, improving places and people. I believe that journalism can contribute to a change.
The kind of journalism I would love to be one day, is the one who is free, the one who is able to write about what she things will benefit people. The one who is free to write about whatever she wants to Wright about; with out being afraid of what the SABC board members will say. With being afraid of what the politicians will say or do. Rather with the concern of how many people I am equipping, encouraging and motivating.
The aim for my group blog is to tell all the journalism students about our experiences during our first year at varsity.

I write my first personal post in more than just a little bit of a crushed mood. Several days ago I was so excited to see that the weather forecast for Saturday was going to be sunny with a max of 28 degrees. Here I am on Saturday and all I see when I look outside are clouds, along with a few trees swaying in the wind. While the transition from Cape Town to Grahamtown has been met mostly with smiles from my point of view it is the weather that I have the biggest problem with. I am nonetheless very happy where I am now and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in this country.

While my room and residence may by no means be the largest on campus, I have overcome these potential difficulties along with others by blinding myself to the negatives and instead finding positives, and I have indeed found plenty. Another thing that people constantly ask me is why I would come all the way from Cape Town to Grahamstown, emphasising how little there is to do in my new home compared to Cape Town. It is a fair question as I have to agree there is very little to do here, but at the same time I am in the company of thousands of people in my same position and it is never too difficult to find a friend and make something out of nothing. And furthermore where else would I be able to meet people from every corner South Africa has let alone outside the countries borders.

When it comes to academics Rhodes is the perfect platform for me. Being around so many aspiring journalists is an encouraging environment to be in considering I come from a family that are all in the financial sector and my friends from home see things a little different to me as they aspire to become business moguls and architects. The opportunities here are also so exciting and I will never forget my early experiences behind the microphone of a live radio station.

As one of the authors of write side up I look forward to sharing my views on a range of different aspects that first years encounter. Most of which are seen by students in a negative way, but my goal is to turn that view the write-side-up…the positive side and indeed the side that I prefer.

After selecting one or more options out of the lists of various physical characteristics, I thought I would be described fairly accurately, but no; even my friends wouldn’t recognize me just from those criteria. Perhaps a selection of distinctive features and habits may narrow it down, but those are also not exactly what defines a person. In my choices from a list of adjectives I came closer to the truth: I filter my personality according to my company, keeping only my independence, competence, articulation and (alas!) criticism constant.

During this week's tutorial we were asked to spend the hour doing nothing but think and talk about ourselves; a task which admittedly nobody felt completely comfortable about. It was interesting to see because as human beings we are generally innately self obsessed yet when it comes to revealing these true feelings about ourselves we become shy.

It appears that we have learnt that it is frowned upon to talk about ourselves. Many of us expressed our discomfort and how we felt we were being vain.

While society has taught us the importance of modesty it is unfortunate, and potentially problematic, that we are so scared to focus on ourselves. Without having a full understanding of whom you are and what makes you how can anyone ever wish to achieve in life? As aspiring journalists and first time bloggers, it is especially important to be completely sure of outselves. Unless you are certain about where you stand in life how can you portray your opinions to the rest of the world?

As well as this, this exercise, if it did not reveal truths about who you are, it definately exposed the person you would like to be. When answering the questions I often felt that my responses were true but exaggerated. I am not entirely diplomatic or hardworking or generous, but I do feel that they are things that I do contain and should strive to develop.

At the end of it all, regardless of what society preaches, I think it is important for us all to have a little narcissistic moment. Without knowing, respecting and loving ourselves how can we ever wish to do that unto others?

After the tutorial on Wednesday I learned that what I may feel about myself may not be the same in times to come. Even the space of a few seconds can change the opinion of myself.

Also it is difficult for me to describe my own features; its something I have never really had to do before so it was quite a weird experience.

Finally I learned that it is hard to recognize qualities about ones self instead it is a lot easier to let others recognize your talent, unless you just really can't help yourself like Kanye.