Women’s Day 2007
Mother, Muse, Nude and Virgin
page 6
By Lionel Faull, Simon Allison, Claire Carr and
Mma-tshepo Mokgoko
f come together,” Johnson said. He stated
The charges date back to the
beginning of 2007, although Johnson did
not specify which staff member had laid
which charge. He also declined to specify
the substance of the allegations, because
no final decision has been reached.
However, from information gathered
during the course of The Oppidan Press’s
investigations, we can confirm that the
Job applications for Oppi Press are now open. Visit www.TheOppidanPress.com for application forms.
The
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Oppidan Press
Press
non-execution of responsibility charge
was laid by de Klerk and the racism
charge by Adesina.
The matter has come before a
specially-constituted disciplinary board,
which has made its recommendations.
“The next phase is for the two parties to
that he was keen to have the matter
resolved in the shortest possible period
of time, but “both parties are involved
in different activities which make it hard
for them to come together”.
Neither de Klerk or Adesina would
comment to The Oppidan Press.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Saleem Badat was
similarly circumspect.
SRC Vice-President Evan Ford
expressed concern that the ongoing
disciplinary process is undermining
the Dean of Students’ position: “In her
position, she has the racism charge
hanging over her head in her everyday
interactions with students and staff.”
However, Johnson said that the ongoing
PG GLASS wishes Rhodes the best of luck
for up-coming TriVarsity.
53 Bathurst St Grahamstown. Tel 046-622 2950/622 8700. Tim: 082 800 9276 Kevin: 082 772 0400
page 10
Read your lease
Edition
Edition 4,85,
Edition
disciplinary process has not interfered both panels returned a verdict of
with the fulfilment of either party’s insufficient evidence. Shishuta can still
responsibilities. take her grievance through departmental
Ford said that tensions were evident disciplinary structures.
between de Klerk and Adesina during a SRC President Fatema Morbi was
series of meetings earlier this year, which critical of Dr Johnson’s handling of the
Ford attended, to discuss the expansion panels’ reported recommendations:
of Kimberley Hall. “By refusing to release both panels’
reports, the issue is being swept under
the carpet.” However, Johnson said: “It
is up to the staff member in question to
decide what can and cannot be released.”
Shishuta declined to comment.
Johnson revealed that the university’s
Harassment Policy (which deals with
racism) is currently under review, after
A second racism grievance, laid last both disciplinary panels deliberating
year by Sociology lecturer Babalwa Shishuta’s grievance, pointed to
Shishuta against a student, has recently shortcomings in the current policy
been resolved at disciplinary panel document.
level. The grievance was brought before The Vice-Principal recently
two separate disciplinary panels, after approached heads of academic
Shishuta expressed her reservations departments and challenged them “to
about the first panel’s recommendations. develop a common approach on how to
The Oppidan Press understands that manage racial incidents”.
At a glance
Dr Saleem Badat,
Vice-Chancellor: No comment
Dr Colin Johnson,
Vice-Principal: Interview
Dr Vivian de Klerk,
Dean of Students: No comment
Professor Jimi Adesina,
Professor of Sociology: No comment
Babalwa Shishuta,
Sociology Lecturer: No comment
Gordon Barker,
University Prosecutor: No comment
Sarah Fischer,
HR Director: No timeous response
Etienne Ferreira,
CB&S Manager: awaiting Fischer’s
return before commenting
Fatema Morbi,
Illustration: Alex Dubb
SRC President: Interview
Evan Ford,
SRC Vice-President: Interview
(don’t get fleeced!)
7, 25 9April
May 2007
August 2007
Constitution passed
using “big stick”
By Mike Winn
The meeting followed an
unsuccessful sitting of the Student
Forum on 4 August which did not
reach quorum. Only 59 interested
parties attended of the required 83.
At this meeting, Evan Ford, SRC
Vice-President and Chairman of
the Student Forum, responded to
the apparent lack of interest: “We
are going to have to get out the big
stick.” Ford made moves to terminate
the membership of those student
representatives that were not attending
the Student Forum. Defending his
move at the time: “I don’t see any
other way forward and I regret that it
has come to this.”
Terminating memberships reduced
quorum to a manageable level,
allowing the Constitution to be ratified
on Monday evening. The Constitution
radically changes the SRC structure,
giving Oppidans the chance to run for
all but one position on the committee.
This year only one position was held
by an Oppidan.
Katherine Furman, the SRC chair
of the constitutional working group,
explained that the Constitution will
be rubber stamped by the University
Senate before being instituted for the
coming SRC Elections at the end of
this month.
SRC President Fatema Morbi said:
“It’s been a long process. I’m so glad
it’s done.” This correspondent is as
well.

 Buying and selling clouds
Ed’s view point
What would you prefer: a well-
fleshed, accurate and balanced report
detailing as many sides of the story as is
feasible; or an anaemic piece of bit-part
reporting, slowly asphyxiated in an
atmosphere of suspicion and distrust?
Full credit to Dr Johnson, Fatema
Morbi and Evan Ford for engaging with
us in an open and honest way. While
we understand that much is at stake
for two of Rhodes’s most talented and
successful academics, the fact remains
that both Dr Vivian de Klerk and
Professor Jimi Adesina are accountable
to large numbers of students under
their respective jurisdictions and public
scrutiny comes with the territory.
Another factor has been the wor-
rying tendency of a number of players
in the story to attempt to intimidate
this newspaper with threats of legal ac-
tion or to coerce us into revealing our
sources of information. There’s nothing
like a threat to make a journalist’s hack-
les rise and send him or her plunging
headlong into an investigation. We’ve
been around long enough to know that
there’s no smoke without fire.
Be this as it may, we call upon both
de Klerk and Adesina – whatever the
merits or demerits of their respective
cases – to come to a genuine under-
standing of one another’s grievances.
We sincerely hope that the likes of
Badat and Johnson are moving hell and
high water to get both parties to see
eye-to-eye.
It’s not just de Klerk and Adesina’s
personal pride and reputation at stake.
What about the effect of this fall-out
on the university’s ability to function
properly? As Ford pointed out, how
can de Klerk carry out her day-to-day
duties as Dean of Students when there
is even the remotest possibility that she
is guilty of racism? How can Adesina
hope to command respect among his
colleagues if there is even the faintest
likelihood that he might be guilty of
failing to carry out his own responsi-
bilities?
The charges have been in the
Rhodes disciplinary pipeline for the
better part of this year; it’s time for both
de Klerk and Adesina to settle their
differences and move on. At the same
time, Rhodes’ disciplinary officers need
to create the conditions for reconcili-
ation to happen. We’ll all be better off
for it.
Lionel Faull
editor.oppipress@gmail.com
The Oppidan Press Staff
Editor: Lionel Faull
Deputy Editor: Ines Schumacher
Managing Editor: Mike Winn
Advertising Manager: Tasmin Vosloo
Marketing Manager: Julia Housdon
Assistant Chief Designer: Stefania Origgi
Assistant Pictures Editor: Leon Schnell
Editorial
The Oppidan Press: sensationalist, vindictive dragons
Dear Editor,
The field of journalistic reporting is
a tough and treacherous one, where
reputable journalists must keep the
public informed of significant events
while striving to maintain a degree
of objectivity. There are dragons that
live in the field of journalism, called
sensationalism, vindictiveness, bias and
willful misdirection, who sally forth to
do battle with journalists everywhere,
and I’m sorry to tell you that in the
last edition of The Oppidan Press, the
dragons won (see “Murky Waters”, 23
May edition).
As a student at Rhodes University
who attended the Cheese and Wine held
by the Underwater Club, I have been
bemusedly watching the back and forth
between The Oppidan Press staff and the
Underwater Club committee members,
The Ombud: complaints don’t hold water
Pic: Gaynor Barnard
By Robert Brand
The following facts are not in dispute:
The Oppidan Press’s journalist went to
the function to take photographs of
what was expected to be a routine social
event. During the event, graduates were
fed beer through their snorkels. After
the journalist had photographed four
of these drinking rituals (for want of
a better phrase), the club chairperson,
Andrea Bernatzeder, asked him to
stop taking photographs and not to
publish those he had already taken. He
consented, and the photographs were
not published. The Oppidan Press did,
however, run a front-page story under
Arts Editor: Sarah Laird
Business Editor: Shingirirai Chaza
Chief Designer: Jacky Smith
Chief Sub-Editor: Jade Fernley
Chief Sub-Editor: Simon Allison
Entertainment Editor: Kele Scheppers
Features Editor: Michael Kaeflein
THE OPPIDAN PRESS
Letters to the Editor
over what I considered to be a fairly
trivial celebration event.
Unfortunately, after reading the
article, I have realised that alcohol at the
Underwater Club has now become the
soapbox from which they wish to preach;
pity the front page wasn’t devoted to
something of more consequence, like
the rape allegations. I am more than
a little disappointed by the willful
misdirection and single-minded pursuit
of sensationalism shown by both Leon
Schnell and Lionel Faull, who wish to be
respected as journalists, but appear more
concerned about getting a story than
reporting one.
It seems that they wish you to believe
that the Underwater Club misbehaved
at the Cheese and Wine and are now
trying to cover it up, which is, of course,
a bit ill-planned on their part, as anyone
attending the event would disagree. I
the headline “Murky waters”, in which
it described the drinking ritual and
questioned whether it complied with
alcohol use policy at Rhodes. The story
stated that Bernatzeder and the diving
instructor (and residence warden)
who had instigated the ritual, Phanor
Montoya-Maya, had been “cleared of
wrongdoing” by Rhodes University.
It went on to call for greater clarity in
the university’s alcohol abuse policies
relating to students and social clubs.
There are four main complaints:
one, that The Oppidan Press had no
right to report the event as it saw it,
because it had been invited to cover a
social function; two, that the coverage
was unfair because it singled out the
Underwater Club, while ignoring similar
or worse behaviour at other clubs; three,
that the report was inaccurate because it
labelled the drinking ritual “funnelling”;
and four, that the newspaper had
“sensationalised” a trivial issue and thus
unfairly brought the Underwater Club’s
name into disrepute.
The first three complaints I can
dispose of fairly easily. The journalist’s
right to report what he saw cannot
be disputed; indeed, it would have
been a dereliction of his journalistic
duty had he ignored what he believed
– mistakenly or not – to be a breach
of the university policy on alcohol at
social events. For the same reason, the
second complaint doesn’t hold water.
The journalist was covering what he saw.
He gathered and reported comments
from all the parties involved. He
contextualised the story by referring
to and explaining the university’s
policy on alcohol abuse. There was no
obligation on the newspaper to ensure
that similar practices at other clubs
immediately receive similar coverage.
Was the newspaper wrong to describe
the ritual as “funnelling”? Yes, said
News Editor: Claire Carr
Opinion Editor: Lara Faris
Pictures Editor: Gaynor Barnard
Political Editor: Claire Waterhouse
SciTech Editor: Andrew Slaughter
Sports Editor: Saint-Francis Tohlang
Web Manager: Bonele Lusithi
The war on weather
find it somewhat amusing that after
acknowledging that drinking a beer
through a snorkel is not considered
funnelling – a practice forbidden on
Rhodes campus – they still managed to
repeat the word a further 11 times in
the article, drawing the focus away from
actual events, and instead capitalising
on the association of funnelling with
alcohol abuse. I also note with some
exasperation that drinking at a societal
function is by no means unique to the
Underwater Club and I am consequently
unsure what The Oppidan Press hoped
to achieve with this article, beyond
attacking the Underwater Club, but I
sincerely hope that their next attempt
at reporting news will not be quite so
comparable to tabloid journalism.
Sincerely,
Jaclyn Hill
Head of Sports Aziez Madatt, because
funnelling involves large amounts of
alcohol, which was not the case here.
That is his opinion, but others may differ.
Most dictionaries define funnelling as
the act of pouring something through
a funnel-shaped instrument, and that
description certainly applies to what
occurred at the Underwater Club
function. But whether it should be
labelled “funnelling” or not is really
a moot point, since the university
doesn’t explicitly ban funnelling and
offers no definition of the practice.
The real issue is whether the club was
encouraging alcohol abuse (which would
undoubtedly be against university rules).
The complainants believe not, and that
is why they claim that The Oppidan Press
had “sensationalised” the issue.
They may be partly right. The
intention, according to those involved,
was not to encourage excessive use
of alcohol. But to an outsider, the
initial impression could not have been
otherwise. Club chairperson Bernatzeder
must have realised this, which is why she
asked the photographer not to publish
the pictures. Montoya-Maya, too, clearly
felt uneasy, because he apologised to
the newspaper (before later retracting
his apology, claiming that he had
since realised that the drinking ritual
did not amount to “funnelling”). The
Contact details
Letters to the Editor:
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Editorial complaints: r.brand@ru.ac.za
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Distribution queries:
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page 5
New liquor by-law
Dear Editor,
Just thought I’d try add my two cents
with regard to the proposed new liquor
by-law.
Once the law has been implemented,
I think Grahamstown can once again say
hello to its notorious reputation as the
drug capital of South Africa. Students no
longer being able to drink will turn to
the next viable option in a town lacking
in entertainment: drugs. So instead
of loud, drunk students roaming the
streets late at night, Grahamstown will
be teeming with drug dealers and their
customers.
So I hope the law does not pass
and students are allowed to carry on
drinking late into the night.
Cheers,
Alex Lenferna
Dean of Students, Dr Vivian de Klerk,
commented: “Staff at the university must
remember that they are role models”,
and confirmed that she had spoken
to Montoya-Maya about the incident.
(According to The Oppidan Press, she
also reassured him that the incident
would “blow over”, perhaps the sanest of
all the responses to the controversy.)
In the circumstances, I cannot fault
The Oppidan Press for running the story
in the way it did. As the editor explained
in the accompanying editorial: “When
a public figure at our university, in this
case a res warden, is photographed at
a sports club function pouring beer
down students’ snorkels, a newspaper
should ask questions.” That is what The
Oppidan Press did. It may be criticised
for choosing what journalists would
describe as a ‘hard’ angle (and others
may call sensationalism), but it produced
a story that is substantially accurate
(the only fact in dispute boils down
to semantics); fair (it gave everyone
concerned the opportunity to comment,
and published those comments
prominently); and that raises important
questions about conduct at officially-
sanctioned social functions and about
the implementation of alcohol abuse
policies at Rhodes.
As The Oppidan Press ombud, my role
is to act as an independent adjudicator
of complaints from readers about content
in the newspaper and the conduct of its
journalists. I undertake to investigate
complaints to the best of my ability, to
gather the opinions of all involved, and
report my findings honestly. In return,
the editor has undertaken to publish my
findings in full, without editing. Whether
he takes any advice I offer is up to him.
Please email your complaints to
r.brand@ru.ac.za.
Letters

Perfect 10s, pretty posteriors and other
prickly problems with porn
By Amanda Strydom
The one, let’s call him Dave, wants a
girlfriend who loves cooking, watching
rugby and indulging in pornography.
Have you considered a boyfriend yet
or are you planning on being single
forever?
The next man, Scott, reckons women
should watch porn to pick up some tips
and techniques to please him better. Gee,
Scott, I don’t know how many gymnast
Barbies with all the correct proportions
you’ll actually find out there.
The next school of thought, that
being of Jim and Peter, is that women
need to see the beauty and perfection in
the act and not be so critical. Okay fine,
except that porn movies are rehearsed,
edited and redone until they reach so-
called perfection and they don’t show
the gritty side of the act. They’re not true
reflections of reality.
Then, finally, there’s Fred. He thinks
that it could be really sexy for both
boyfriend and girlfriend to watch porn
because both would be in the mood at
the same time; therefore, less work for
the male. Great ideas, Fred, except that
women aren’t really as turned on by
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Opinion
visual stimulation as much as men and
that he is imagining himself with the
woman in the movie, not the woman he
is with.
By this time, I was seriously worried
that these men have converted to a fan-
tasy world where all women are perfect
10s, C-cups, with derrière’s to die for and
not an inch of cellulite.
These unrealistic ideas have filtered
into popular culture; music videos,
fashion shows and even Barbie dolls
promote an idealistic and improbable
vision of the female body. Barbie is the
perfect example – if Barbie was a
real person, made with her current
proportions, she’d be over seven
feet tall and unable to stand.
By exposing women to more airbrushed
Barbies, in a world where physical per-
fection seems to be the biggest driving
force behind bulimia, anorexia,
unnecessary
plastic surgery
and low self-es-
Soné
THE OPPIDAN PRESS
teem, does it not add to those unrealistic
goals? By knowing that these kind of
women are what turn men on, does
it not exacerbate women’s feeling of
self-loathing?
So men: go ahead and watch
your pornography, but keep in
mind what it can do to your
girlfriend; and remember, you’ll
have to come back to the real world at
sometime or other.
Antidote to African apathy
By Lara Faris
The world is selfishly focused on glo-
balisation, global warming and global
politics. The world is trivially focused on
Iraq, women’s corporate power, interna-
tional sport events, Bush’s intellectual
levels, currency exchange rates, oil, and
Oprah.
What about Africa? Starvation, po-
litical genocide, child soldiers, exploita-
tion, poverty, civilian war casualties,
drug trafficking, rape and mutilation of
women, rebel group terrorism, HIV/
Aids, and meagre education facilities
don’t even nearly explain the injustices
suffered by our neighbours.
I have read stories of a fourteen year
old girl in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) gang raped by 16 soldiers,
numerous quiet villages devastated by
rebel groups, children of nine years old
abducted from their homes, turned into
soldiers and brainwashed into killing
their own families. In Africa alone,
19,000 children die each day, 75% of war
casualties are innocent civilians and 26
million people are threatened by acute
hunger, while greedy governments, if
they exist, keep all the development aid
to fund their luxurious lifestyles. After
much analysis, economic specialists
claim that debt relief is not enough and
Africa needs to push for trade liber-
alisation with open markets and fair
trade. The final verdict: Africa has the
resources but not the ‘know-how’ to
help itself.
Hollywood has fed us with movies
addressing the harsh realities in Africa:
The Constant Gardener, Blood Diamond
and Hotel Rwanda. What gets to me is
the natural indifference that follows. We
d
plie
Sup
s
Pic:
may shed a few tears, feel really sorry
for the characters (not the real people),
and then either change the channel
to South Park or go out for a piece of
chocolate cake washed down with a
frothy cappuccino. We feel better and
forget about the situation. The problem
is: what can we do? I know that I am
unable to donate and, as much as I
would like to, 4X4-ing to Uganda as a
volunteer in an upliftment project is a
bit unrealistic.
John Mayer sings that we are waiting
for the world to change, and we are do-
ing exactly that. What we don’t realise is
that we are the world, and we can make
it change. I might not be able to actively
do something right now, but the only
way for the world to change is just to
care. The way that the Western world
looks at us, we are looking at the rest of
Africa in the same way. Don’t postpone
watching eye-opening movies like Hotel
Rwanda, start reading about the history
of Somalia, Rwanda, Liberia, Sudan and
the DRC, talk about your findings, and
start feeling. When on Facebook, start
to support and talk about causes like
fighting the exploitation of the Third
World. Educate yourself now, so that in
your bright future you can make a large
donation, or have the means to fund
upliftment programs. You’ll be in the
‘know’ to help Africa with the ‘know-
how’.
To start with, look these up:
http://cosmoseducation.org/
www.africare.org
www.unitus.com
www.AMREF.com
The Oppidan Comm ent
Pic: Lindsey Riddin
Events with meaning
By Xoliswa Dzakwa
We have recently held two
workshops aimed at improving and
relieving some of the stresses of digs
life. On Monday 13 August we will be
holding a movie night at Roxbury to
raise funds for HIV/Aids Awareness
Week. Three exciting movies will be
shown: The Bourne Ultimatum, The
Simpsons and Die Hard 4. Oppidans
can come buy a ticket at the Oppidan
Secretary’s Office for only R10.
We also have the famous Cheese
and Wine on 23 August at the Op-
pidan Dining Hall. The main purpose
of this Cheese and Wine will be to
allow those Oppidans, running to be
on the SRC next year, to campaign
and make themselves known to the
rest of the Oppies so that they can
vote for them.
On 3 September there will be a
Security Awareness Day. On that day
people can go for a free self-defence
lesson and attend workshops on se-
curity tips and guidelines in Graham-
stown. We really encourage Oppidans
to attend as these events are aimed at
improving your digs life.
The Oppidan Committee and
sub-wardens are working really hard
to arrange useful events for Oppi-
dans and now it is up to you to get
involved and enjoy yourselves this
term.
Dates to diarise:
13 August — Roxbury Movie Night
23 August — Cheese and Wine
3 September — Security Awareness
Day


Features
Place of prayer and peace
By Michael Kaeflein
Brother Andrew is a monk at the
Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery,
Pic: Leon Schnell
which is situated on a hillside on the
mountains outside of Grahamstown.
The Monastery’s name means ‘Mary,
Mother of Hope’ in isiXhosa, and has
a magnificent view of the valley with
neatly ordered gardens teeming with
greenery. There is a heavenly peace here.
“The Monastery was established
in late 1998,” says Brother Andrew.
The idea took shape when one of the
Anglican brothers from America was
on a retreat in South Africa in 1989 and
was staying with Archbishop Desmond
Tutu. Tutu mentioned to him that when
apartheid fell the country would need
religious-based community models.
Pic: Leon Schnell
After apartheid, the brothers tried to fill
this gap, which tied in well with their
philosophy.
“We are a Benedictine order, which
THE OPPIDAN PRESS
means that our philosophy is based
on community life.” This aspect and a
desire to pray with others was what drew
Brother Andrew to the Order.
Based in the United States, the Order
is acceptable in Africa because there
were no colonial overtones that came
with it. Brother Andrew says that this
means that they “would be more easily
accepted in the country”.
He, and all the other brothers, do a lot of
praying. In church five times a day, their
morning starts with vigils at six o’ clock.
All of their services are open to the
public. The four monks at the monastery
spend up to two and a half hours a day
in worship, which mainly entails singing
psalms.
Among the other activities that keep
the brothers busy are administrative
tasks, errands, and in the case of one of
the monks, writing poetry.
The guest house, which is run by all
Pic: Leon Schnell
the brothers, is religiously antiseptic and
contains only the barest of essentials.
It can accommodate 25 people. After a
tour of the guesthouse, Brother Andrew
explains that it offers unrivalled peace
and quiet — except during Fest and
graduation, when it becomes just as busy
as Grahamstown itself.
There is one area that is off limits to
me. Brother Andrew explains that only
monks are allowed in their communal
residence, which allows them to
experience ‘enclosure’. It sounds rather
secretive, and seeing the bemused
expression on my face he quickly
explains: “We believe that if we live
together closely without distractions
from the outside world we will hear
God speaking to us,” he says.
Directions to Maria uMama weTembu
Pic: Leon Schnell
Monastery
Head out of Grahamstown to the
N2. Turn right, as if going to PE. Go
past the turn-off to the Monument,
and take the next exit right onto
Rautenbach Road. Turn immediately
left into Highlands Road (before the
Pic: Leon Schnell
railway line) and keep going. The road
will become gravel after a while, and the
Monastery will be on your left (opposite
Cold Springs Farm).

The terrorist
and the veil
Misconceptions of Islam
By Claire Waterhouse and Simon Allison
In the last few years, Islam’s profile
has risen dramatically – unfortunately,
this is a result of the killing of
thousands of civilians worldwide.
Bearded terrorists, car bombs and
the oppression of women seem to be
inextricably linked with Islam in the
minds of much of the Western world.
But how fair is this perception?
“Islam is a peaceful religion,” says
Muhammad Shiraan, MSA treasurer.
He added that the Qur’an, Islam’s holy
book, is often taken out of context by
extremists. He’s got a point. The Qur’an
is notoriously difficult to interpret, as
this has to be done from the original
text, which is written in ancient classical
Arabic – a far cry from the modern
language. Extremists take advantage of
this, using isolated quotes to support
their causes, where a thorough reading
of the Qur’an would undermine their
positions.
“Jihad [Holy War] is only permitted
as a last resort in Islam,” says Shiraan.
“And even then, the killing of innocent
women and children is not allowed.
Even trees are protected in the Qur’an.”
Oppression of women is another
controversial issue the religion has
to contend with. For many, this is
characterised by the wearing of the
veil, which is seen as demeaning
and discriminating against women,
preventing them from participating
fully in public life. For some, the very
opposite is true – the veil is in fact a
symbol of freedom, as it allows women
to leave the house and engage with the
outside world while maintaining their
chastity and virtue. Many women also
choose to wear the veil as a statement
of the strength of their faith, in much
the same way that a Christian wears a
crucifix or a Jew wears a yarmulke.
The issue is so contentious that not
even predominantly Islamic countries
can agree on it. In some, such as Iran
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Pic: Mike Dexter
Rhodes students before worship.
and Saudi Arabia, women have to be
fully covered by law. In others, like
Turkey, the veil is actively discouraged
because it’s considered to be subversive;
a threat to secular democracy.
In South Africa, it is very much a
personal choice, as Samina Anwary, the
MSA media officer, relates: “I don’t feel
under pressure to wear the veil. I wear
it because I feel more comfortable. I
can go out without eyes following me
wherever I go. I feel protected.”
She is adamant that the veil is
not about being oppressed. “I don’t
understand the logic of people who
link the veil with oppression. How is it
oppressive to not advertise your body?
Surely it is more oppressive to have your
half-naked picture on some billboard
with everybody looking at it? My
body is for myself and, one day, for my
husband, and I should not have to share
it with just anybody.”
Muslims all over the world have
faced increased persecution for
their beliefs since the 9/11 attacks.
Misconceptions are rife and followers
of Islam are having to justify
themselves more than ever. Luckily,
this discrimination does not seem
to have penetrated at Rhodes. “It’s a
good platform, and probably the most
tolerant campus in South Africa,” says
Shiraan. If only the rest of the world
showed the same level of tolerance.
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Politics
THE OPPIDAN PRESS
The rainmakers
By Simon Allison
We’ve also started messing with the
weather. Obviously, the weather can have
a large and often unpredictable impact
on our lives. If it rains too much, rivers
overflow and houses, businesses and
people are destroyed. If it rains too little,
nothing grows, water runs out and more
people die.
This is a bit of a problem for countries
like Bangladesh, Sudan, India and China,
who suffer greatly from the vagaries
of rainfall. So it was only a matter of
time, really, before some solution to this
problem was found and one of nature’s
final frontiers was tamed.
The solution is called rain-seeding,
and it’s a technique that’s been around for
a few decades already. It involves putting
chemical silver iodide into certain types
of clouds to precipitate rainfall. This is
done either by sending up planes to spray
the clouds with the chemical, or shooting
it into the clouds with rocket launchers.
Ski resorts sometimes do it to increase the
chances of snow; Stalin did it to make the
rains come early, so it wouldn’t rain on his
May Day parade.
But there’s never been any proof that it
actually works, because it had never been
tried on a large scale. That is, until the
Chinese realised their Northern provinces
were getting a bit dry, and decided to
do something about it themselves. In a
massive weather modifying campaign,
involving nearly US$100 million, 32,000
people, 30 aircraft and thousands of
anti-aircraft guns and modified rocket
launchers, pioneering Chinese scientists
claim to have markedly increased
precipitation in dry areas of the country.
In Beijing alone, scientists are claiming a
10-20% increase in rainfall over the year
as a result of weather modification. The
organisers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics
have so much faith in the technique that
they plan to seed the clouds before the
games begin, emptying them of rain to
ensure that the opening ceremony takes
place under clear blue skies (or a grey
haze of pollution, given Beijing’s patchy
environmental record).
This is all well and good for those
who have benefited from the increased
rainfall. But there is a finite amount of
rain in the world at any one time, and if
it rains more than it should in one place,
it means somewhere else is not getting
any. Already, there have been rumblings
of discontent from some of China’s
cities and provinces. “Meteorological
officials in Zhoukou were soon accusing
their counterparts in Pingdingshan of
overusing available natural resources by
intercepting clouds that would have likely
drifted to other places, say, like Zhoukou,”
wrote the China Daily. South Korea has
also started asking questions about the
Chinese rain-making practise.
While rain-seeding remains in its
infancy, and its effects are marginal at
best, it seems unlikely that the actions of
one area or state will have a significant
impact on another. But, in a world where
acute water shortages are predicted in
some places as early as 2020, and science
continues to develop at such a rapid
pace, it is conceivable that controlling
the clouds
will soon
turn into
China’s updated version of the traditional rain dance.
a matter of international importance. If
China develops the technology to the
extent that they can meet their own water
needs, this will undoubtedly be at the
expense of neighbouring countries such
as South Korea and India, which have
water problems of their own. Moreover,
this will provide China with political
leverage over these countries, and could
even become weapons of war. What
better way to weaken an enemy than to
turn off the taps? Tanks can’t roll without
water, soldiers can’t fight; it could cripple
opposition.
There are also the economic
ramifications. If clouds can be controlled,
that means they can be bought and sold.
More important than the price of oil
will be the price of rain, giving countries
with large territories (and lots of clouds),
such as China, Russia and Canada, a
huge financial advantage, as well as the
political capital which accrues from such
an advantage.
Of course, if controlled, it could be
a force for positive change. Bangladesh
gets way too much rain – if these clouds
could be precipitated before they get
there, it could put an end to the floods
which habitually devastate the low-lying
country.
If history is anything to go by,
however, rain-seeding will be used as
a source of state power rather than
international development.
Pic: Supplied
 “
THE OPPIDAN PRESS

Arts
Art is not what you see , but
 what you make others see.
– Miles David ”
The Big Screen
The challenges of
Woman from Muse to Artist
By Sarah Laird
small town cinemas
Pic: Leon Schnell

In early times, such as during the

Renaissance, women were rarely encour-
aged to adopt the role of the Artist.
Johnny Kluivers, the owner of Roxbury. Art schools preferred to accept male
students, as they were allowed to be

By Hayley Mueller
Following the closing down of
the Odeon in 1998, run by Johnny’s
father, Johnny pursued his life-long
dream of opening up his own cinema.
“I grew up in the cinema,” explains
Johnny, “and I’ve always loved it.” His
passion began when he was in high
school and he worked for his dad in
the projectionist booth.
Opening up your own cinema
often proves challenging, especially
in Grahamstown, where your biggest
competition isn’t a rival cinema, but
a file-sharing computer program.
Johnny explains that this is why he
stopped Roxbury’s half-price special.
exposed to more life experiences than
the ‘constrained’ females, such as being
allowed entry into brothels to paint nude
courtesans. The few female artists who
were known had to focus their artwork
on subjects ‘suitable’ for the female sex,
including still-life and domestic scenes.
Thus, their works were controlled by
societal pressures, in terms of both imag-
ery and meaning.
While few women are well known
for actually having created the art, it
was very common for them to feature
as either the cause or the subject of the
works. The idea of the ‘Muse’ has been
attributed with helping a male artist
reach his creative abilities since as long
ago as the time of gods and goddesses
in Ancient Greece. Depictions of Venus
or Eve have always been popular motifs;
however, they are often viewed through
the prism of eroticised interpretations,
as the works were made for and by men.
Mostly, women within artworks were
shown as allegories of desired feminine
Woman as Venus.
virtues, such as embodying virginal in-
nocence or maternal instincts. Famous
illustrations of feminine purity include
those representing the Virgin Mary
holding the baby Jesus. Religious icons
have long formed a big part of tradition-
al depictions of the female form.
One of the most notable subject mat-
ters throughout art history has been the
female nude. The nude was seen as either
representing prostitutes in eroticised
poses, or depictions of the neo-Platonic
concept of ideal beauty, where viewing
the artwork would lead one into the
space of the Divine. The female form was
fast considered to be the ultimate per-
sonification of beauty, and many male
artists sought to depict this ideal.
Coming somewhat full circle, the
Feminist and Post Modern movements
Woman as Virgin.
allowed for women artists to take more
control of their creative outlets. Women
began to critique the very constraints
that had previously been placed upon
Pics: Supplied
them. Dealing with issues such as sex,
violence and identity, female artists
became self-conscious of the roles they
were expected to play, especially those of
doting wife and mother. These elements
that once restricted women’s ability to
be allowed to create art, now form the
actual subject of their oeuvre.
Within today’s society, gender bound-
aries have been blurred. It is difficult to
pinpoint one specific role that the female
artist, or subject, should take on. Rather,
the very concept of what it means to be
a woman is being dealt with, allowing
for countless ways in which they and
their works can be defined. There is no
doubt that women have always played
an integral part within the history of the
Arts, and today they continue to form a
vital cog in the art world.

EVENTS DIARY
“There simply weren’t the num-
bers coming in to warrant a special
because students get the films off
ResNet anyway.” However, people
still prefer watching their favourite Friday 10 August Saturday 11 August Wednesday 15 August
films on the big screen. Popular
features such as Harry Potter are 13:15: Lecture by 18:00: RUPSA Ball, 20:00: The Battle of
sold out in the opening week, which Gillian Slovo on Nadine themed ‘A Touch of the Bands series be-
shows that the love of cinema is still Gordimer’s Burger’s Midas’ at the Protea gins at De Taphuijs,
alive and well. There will even be a
Daughter at Zoo Major Hotel. Tickets from continuing every
loyalty program sometime next year
where members can receive special as part of African Book committee members Wednesday for the
discounts. Week. at R90. For non-mem- next few weeks. Free
Johnny explains that NuMetro bers, single tickets cost admission for mem-
and Ster-Kinekor are exhibitors and 20:00: Sharc HIV R100. bers, R10 for non-
distributors – they both receive and Aloud Concert at members.
show the films first, and then dole Barratt Parking Lot.
them out to other cinemas. These
films are rented, never owned, and
Prices valid till 19 August Featuring Cassette,
Goldfish, Newtown and
because there are only a limited
Razzmatazz. Tickets at
number of them, there is a priority
chain according to the turnover each Tassenberg 750ml Jumbo Burgers the Kaif for R35.

R12 R9
cinema makes. As Grahamstown is
99 Thursday 16 August Friday 17 August Friday 17 August
so small, Roxbury is near the bottom, 99 – Sunday
resulting in it getting films a little each
later than other cinemas. 19:30: The Soccer Club 19 August 17:00: stART student
However, the advantage of owning will be hosting its art exhibition at Saint
a private cinema is that there can be Cheese and Wine and TriVarsity weekend at Aidan’s Chapel. stART’s
more nuanced catering for the needs St. Raphael 1.5l White/brown bread the first ever Rhodes Nelson aim is to encourage all
of its community. Roxbury manages

R2999 R2 99
Soccer Club auction at Mandela Metropolitan young artists to speak
to screen a number of art films to the Soccer Club House. University up, to express their
satisfy Grahamstown’s cultural ap- per loaf in Port Elizabeth.
Six soccer players will ideas and expose their
petite. “I think it’s just because I really
prefer art films,” laughs Johnny, who be auctioned off and talents. R10 submis-
encourages this genre. In recognition winners will receive sion fee. Contact Carla
of the loyal art movie-lovers, Roxbury movie and meal vouch- on g04l3081@campus.
will be holding a mini festival of ers. Members and non- ru.ac.za or 082 318 6358
foreign art films from 17 to 30 August members are invited. for more information.
with a line-up including many award-
winning films.

The secret of style is in the hair
By Nomaphelo Dlayedwa and Solomzi Khoza
For many, a woman’s beauty relies
on her hair, and women spend lots of
money and time trying to perfect their
style. But men also get creative with hair
options, especially around TriVarsity.
At this time, guys around campus will
be sporting purple slashes in their locks
and highly-greased mohawks stuck up
in midair.
Most guys use Gentian Violet to
colour their hair purple. This is not
recommended, however, because it is
Pic: Catherine McDonald
Pasta Napolitana
Entertainment
actually a type of medicine and could be
dangerous for your scalp. Since purple
hair dye isn’t generally stocked in shops,
the best way to ‘purplify’ yourself is at
a salon. But this is really pricy, costing
from R200 to R400, depending on the
length of the hair and the intensity of the
colour.
If dying your hair purple is not to
your taste, a mohawk may be the next
best option. Ask a friend to help you
chop your locks off. But be warned,
walking around campus with half your
head shaved off for two weeks following
TriVarsity is not a wonderful experience.
Similarly, the female fad of going
hairless may not be to every lady’s taste.
Those who braved the bald trend last
year quickly learnt that hair (or lack
of it) is the first thing to be noticed on
anyone, no matter their gender. Candy
Guvi, a third year student, says that since
grade seven she has been keeping her
Has Fat Cat got the cream?
By Takondwa Nyasulu
The Fat Cat coffee shop is located on
African Street just opposite Peppergrove
Mall. It’s a good place to go if you’re looking
to try something different and get away
Sudoku
Sudoku is a simple
game with a single
rule:
Complete the grid
by placing digits one
through nine in each
cell in such a way
that only one of each
Puzzler Media Ltd. 2007
digit is present in
every row, column
and box.
THE OPPIDAN PRESS
hair short: “I love it. I think it’s got to
do with being different. It’s also easy to
maintain and I think it suits me.”
Of course, if going bald is not to your
taste, there are many different options
available. The most popular of these are
hair extensions. Braids, cornrows and
weaves are just a couple of the choices
around, though they do cost a fairly
hefty sum. This type of beauty not only
costs in coins but in comfort too. Hours
after a new hair extension has been
inserted it is still painful to laugh and
sleep. But it does look good, as long as
you stay out of the rain.
Almost everyone who passes through
university has experimented with their
hair colour. The best way to change your
hair colour is to blend in highlights at
first, slowly building them up to become
more drastic over a few months. If
getting your hair dyed professionally is
not financially viable, then you could
from the usual cafés and restaurants on
High Street.
The former digs – previously known as
the rather dodgy Blue House – in which Fat
Cat is located, has been transformed into a
relaxing escape from the usual humdrum
of life in this town. The cacti that fill the
front yard are up for sale, but also create
a beautiful and unique background for
those who prefer to enjoy their food and
coffee outside in the sun. The area inside is
equally inviting with an unpretentious and
homely feel to it.
The menu is quite varied and prices are
do it with a friend at home. Make
sure, though, not to leave the dye on
too long during application, or your
scalp could be discoloured. Catherine
McDonald, a second year student, says
that she dyes her hair every four weeks:
“It only takes about thirty minutes,
and I do it myself whenever I have free
time.” Dyeing your hair yourself will
be more difficult with long locks, but
there are a variety of shades available
from different product ranges with
non-drip formulae.
Siyabulela Hoboshe, the owner
of First Class Hair Salon in Queen
Street, started working with hair in
1996. “I always loved working with
hair. It makes me happy and proud
of myself,” he says, smiling. Hoboshe
says both genders need to take care of
their looks: “Everyone comes to my
salon. There are a lot of guys keeping
me busy.”
reasonable. Breakfast is served all day and
you’re looking to pay between R30 to R37
for a burger, but look out for daily specials.
The staff are friendly, though you may find
yourself a little frustrated if you’re on the
run because the food does take a while.
Fat Cat is not licensed to sell alcohol yet,
so you are allowed to bring your own wine
and there is no corkage fee. The restaurant
is open from 08:30 till 17:00 and closes
late on a Friday and at 15:00 on a Saturday.
Ultimately, it’s a great place to go if you just
want to enjoy a bit of solitude or a quiet
chat with your friends over coffee.

Hitting the G-spot
Diary of the
other woman
By Takondwa Nyasulu
It’s like a little routine we have. Off
come the clothes, on goes the condom,
and with enough intensity to make a
small tear seep through the corner of
my eyes, he enters me. “What about
foreplay?” I hear you asking. What about
it? There’s no time for that. The room is
filled with the sickly sweet smell of hot
sweaty sex. I think it smells like honey
and almonds. When I’ve caught my
breath long enough to put my clothes
back on, I blow him a kiss and leave.
My lover and I have been playing
this game for as long as I’ve been here
and yet we’ve never spent an entire night
together. We can’t, because he has a
girlfriend and I’m the other woman.
You could say that in a way we
have an open relationship. I’ve seen
girlfriends come and go and I’ve
remained the only constant figure in
his love life. He does not like the idea of
me being with other men, so when I’m
in a steady relationship, our affair is put
on ice and we avoid each other. I avoid
him to escape the temptation and to give
my new relationship a fighting chance.
When that fails, I’m back in his bed.
We’ve discussed the idea of us becoming
a couple, but we know each other too
well, and I know from experience that
he’d never be able to be faithful. As Dr
Phil would say: “If they’ll do it with you,
they’ll do it to you.” Strangely, I couldn’t
handle that. We also wouldn’t want to
give up the thrill of being aware that we
could get caught; a steady relationship
between the two of us would take away
the excitement.
In the beginning, it was hard being
the other woman and feeling like I was
second best. I was bent with guilt at the
thought of how his girlfriend would
feel if she ever found out. My intention
was never to hurt anyone. When I first
slept with him I wasn’t aware that he
had a girlfriend and by the time I did I’d
fallen for him. I tried to break it off, but
I suppose I didn’t try hard enough. He’s
become a habit and we’re attached to
each other for different reasons. Maybe
I want the ironic security in knowing
that he’ll always be there for me, and the
comfort of knowing that he’d never lie to
me because he has no reason to. He’s an
open book and so am I.
I’m aware of what people might think
of me because of what I
do. A large part of me
actually doesn’t care.
I’m single; he’s the
one who’s breaking a
commitment he made
to someone else. But
he’s clearly not
worried so why
should I be?
The sex and relationship column of The Oppidan
Press, Hitting The G-Spot, is intended to explore
sex and sexual relations in a responsible and
informative way. Sex – whether you’re getting it
Pic: Leon Schnell
or not – is a big part of being a young adult and
Hitting The G-Spot is here to promote personal
safety, physical health and emotional wellbeing.
 THE OPPIDAN PRESS


SciTech
SciTech shorts
Modern prosthetic
Researchers quizzed on climate change
By Andrew Slaughter
medicine outdone
By Andrew Slaughter
Concerts such as Live Earth saw
prominent musicians performing in ven-
ues around the world in July as part of a
campaign to highlight climate change.
But what do local experts think of
climate change and how it will affect
us in South Africa? The Oppidan Press
asked prominent researchers at Rhodes
Researchers are currently testing University, with interests ranging from
the functionality of the prosthetic, water research to geography to the
but the chances that the prosthetic Southern Oceans, what their perception
worked are good as it appears to of climate change is.
have a functional design and it When asking the researchers
shows signs of wear. The toe is whether they had seen any signs of
currently on display at the Cairo climate change in their own research,
Museum in Egypt. the common response was no, as most
interviewees were not specifically
Engineered lettuce looking for signs of climate change in
their own research. Dr Denis Hughes,
to cure diabetes Director of the Institute for Water
Research, stated that any signs of long-
By Seranne Howis term climate change in his research are
being masked by short-term variability
in climate at the moment. Dr Des Pyle,
a research associate with the Geography
Department, found that the severity
and impact of severe thunderstorms on
Pic: Gaynor Barnard
Dr William Froneman, a researcher
with the Southern Oceans Group, did
however highlight some evidence of the
climate change in the Southern Ocean.
Sub-Antarctic islands have experienced
a drastic drop in annual rainfall in
recent years. In addition, changes in
sea temperatures have affected ocean
currents in the area, which in turn have
limited food availability for some of the
top predators that feed in the immediate
vicinity of the islands.
So how will climate change affect
Southern Africa? A common response
was that the Western Cape fynbos biome
is particularly vulnerable to changes in
climate and could be encroached on by
Karoo vegetation as the area becomes
more arid.
Dr Pyle stated that the economic
consequences of a changing climate
could be dramatic in the long term,
with rainfall and temperature changes
patchy but severe in some places. He also
stressed that the western parts of South
Africa will be affected the most in terms
of increasing temperature and decreasing
rainfall, but that there may be increases
in rainfall in other areas and more severe

poor rural populations in the Eastern
Cape is increasing, but stressed that
although this may be linked to climate
change, it can be more probably ascribed
to the increasing vulnerability of rural
Cacti will be less affected by the decreased rainfall associated with global warming. populations.
Researchers at the University
of Central Florida think that they
weather events. Dr Hughes stressed that
not enough is known yet about what the
affects will be, and that speculation could
be more disastrous than any changes due
to climate change in the short to medium
term.

How things work:

may have found a permanent cure.
Genetically engineered tobacco
plants that possess the gene to

Aspirin
create insulin were grown and fed BRAND NEW
to diabetic mice. The researchers
working on the diabetic mice have 2 BEDROOMED UNITS TO RENT 2008
found that feeding freeze-dried

King’s Gardens
plant tissue to the mice for eight
weeks caused the mice’s own cells to
By Seranne Howis
start producing insulin.
A modified form of lettuce is
64 Freehold “Edwardian” Look Double Storey Townhouses
now being created to achieve the
same effect. Lettuce is cheaper to
produce than tobacco, and avoids
the negative stigma associated with
smoking. The lettuce-produced
insulin would be delivered in
capsule form to carefully control Prostaglandins are hormones
the dose. that transmit pain signals and
control body temperature.
100 dollar laptop Thromboxanes control
blood clotting, which is
By Andrew Slaughter why long-term low doses of
aspirin are used to prevent
heart attacks and blood clot
formation.
Aspirin irreversibly
changes the structure of • Security guards • Private garden
these hormones. This ac- • Security cameras • 3 carports
The laptop, worth approximately tion differs from that of • Swimming pool • Stove/fridge/washing ma-
R700, has a rugged waterproof other similar painkillers, • 2 bedroom, 2 ensuite chine
casing, and no moving parts and such as ibuprofen, in that bathrooms • Prepaid meter
therefore no hard disk, DVD or CD with ibuprofen changes are • Guest toilet
drive. Instead, the laptop has 1GB reversible. • Open plan living
of flash memory. The processor is a Aspirin has been shown
relatively slow 433Mhz. The operat- to reduce the occurrence
ing system is Linux based, only 130 of several types of cancer
MB in size and is free. The screen (including prostate, colon,
uses very little power and has dual mouth and throat). How-
colour and black-and-white modes. ever, regular doses of aspirin
In areas without power, the laptops may lead to intestinal bleed-
Charmaine van Staden
will come with either a solar panel, ing, and if blood clotting is 079 491 8355
a hand crank, a foot pedal or a pull- reduced, serious bleeding
string recharger. The laptop also has from injuries can occur.
a built-in camera for video commu- ied
Suppl
nication or for taking photographs. Pics:

economic indicators
Exchange Rate (2 August 2007)
Weighted average of the banks’ daily
rates at approximately 10:30am.
Rand/Dollar R7.1177
Rand/Pound R14.4529
Rand/Euro R9.7289
Interest rates (31 July 2007)
Repo 9.50%
Repurchase rate: rate at which the
private banks borrow rands from the
SA Reserve Bank.
Prime 13.00%
Benchmark rate at which private
banks lend out to the public.
The interest rate benchmark was
increased by half a percent to 9.5%
on 7 June, due to concerns that
increasing food and fuel prices were
also increasing wage demands and
adding to inflation pressure.
Inflation Rate (June 2007)
CPIX 6.4%
Consumer Price Index excluding
interest rates on mortgage bonds (for
metropolitan and other urban areas);
12-term % change.
CPI 7.0%
Consumer Price Index (metropolitan
areas); 12-term % change.
Pic: Supplied by SIFE
South African inflation exceeded
the Reserve Bank’s 6% ceiling for the
third month in June, thus increas-
ing the pressure for new interest rate
hikes.
Business
Commerce in the community
By Shingirirai Chaza
One of these is SIFE (Students in Free
Enterprise), a non-profit organisation that
aims to integrate real business issues with
community concerns.
Four months ago, Rhodes opened a
SIFE branch, and is already beginning to
reap the rewards. Sitting at the Centre for
Entrepreneurship, in a blink-and-you-
miss-it office, is Bonginkosi Mamba, the
Rhodes SIFE Director. Having recently
returned from the 2007 SIFE South
African Nationals, where Rhodes came
The Compost and Firewood Project has been one of SIFE’s successes.
THE OPPIDAN PRESS
fourth, he told me about how the branch
has already found important projects to
involve itself in.
“The students pick a few different
projects within Grahamstown which
they feel will benefit from having support
from SIFE,” says Mamba. Students often
have some prior knowledge in business
or economics, although this is not a
prerequisite to join the society. Skills such
as business ethics, business literacy and
entrepreneurship are brought into the
community where they are needed, and
in turn help business owners gain the
most from their ventures.
There are four particular projects
currently receiving support within the
Grahamstown community: financial
literacy workshops; the Municipality
Flea Market Project; an initiative to
develop brand awareness for a group of
women making Xhosa beadwork; and
helping to administer the finances of the
Mzam’omhle Compost and Firewood
Project.
To date, the last project has had the
most success, with students helping
the Project to create and administer
an effective business plan, and
teaching members how to use
and manage a bank account. It is
hoped this will lead to increased
customers and revenue and,
eventually, more jobs.
Students interested in being
part of SIFE can sign up free
of charge at the Centre for
Entrepreneurship
in the Student
Administration
building.
Business shorts
A slap in the face
By Shingirirai Chaza
A group of former Harvard
University students claim that Mark
Zuckerburg, who started Facebook,
stole the concept from them after
they had asked him to work on
internet coding for their website,
which is now known as ConnectU.
The lawsuit against the founder is
based on breach of contract and the
misappropriation of trade secrets;
the creators of ConnectU claim
that Zuckerburg never finished the
work he said he would do, and this
gave him a head start in the market,
which was the major factor in the
success of Facebook.
Interestingly, a separate lawsuit
is being filed by Facebook against
ConnectU. Facebook alleges that
ConnectU hired programmers
to hack into Facebook’s site, stole
thousands of email addresses and
used them to invite Facebook
members to join ConnectU.
Facebook is one of the most
successful Internet players, with
membership recently surpassing the
30 million mark. Speculation is rife
as to whether it will soon be taken
over or made open to a public stock
offering.

SA boosts broadband
By Shingirirai Chaza
The cable will be split into two
parts: the first leading to Brazil, and
the second to London. Currently,
South Africa has only one cable
connecting it to the world. This
cable is subject to the sole control of
Telkom, whose monopoly over it is
due to end in September.
This situation has led to
South Africans paying about ten
times more than their European
counterparts for broadband/
Internet. The new cable should
rectify this discrepancy, allowing
companies faster and cheaper
Internet access. It could also help to
attract investors.
All telecom operators would
have access to the cable, which is
supposed to link up with another
planned cable around the east of
Africa, which is being built by
the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (Nepad).
Funding for the proposed cable
will be split between private firms,
Telkom, and other large telecom
companies who are thinking of
buying parts of it. The rest will be
funded by the state.
 Digs Hunt 2007
THE OPPIDAN PRESS

10

Digs hunting: 10 things you need to know Read your lease;

and never thought to ask
By Simon Allison
1. What furniture comes with the
house?
Some properties come fully or semi-
furnished, and some are completely bare.
Furniture can be expensive, so be sure to
factor the cost of whatever you need to
buy into your budget. Ask the landlord
or landlady exactly what comes with the
house, because tenants have been known
to sell furniture that doesn’t belong to
them.
2. Is the property well lit?
Coming back late at night to a dark
house can be dangerous. Make sure
there is sufficient light from the street to
cover your potential digs, and whether
the property is equipped with outside
perimeter lights. If not, ask to include
the installation of these in the lease.
3. How far away from campus is it?
If you’ve got a car, this is not much
of a problem. If you don’t have a car,
make sure you walk from the house to
the university and to town before you
commit. Distances are deceptive, and it
can often be a lot further away than you
realise. It’s also a good idea to make sure
the route is well lit, for those times when
you come back home after dark.
4. Is the house connected to (or near)
Telkom’s ADSL grid?
Be aware that Telkom takes months to
install Internet in areas that have yet to
be equipped with an Internet backbone.
Go down to Telkom and find out if and
when such a backbone is planned for
your area; otherwise dial-up might be
your only option, which is very difficult
when four or five digsmates want to be
online simultaneously.
5. What kind of power supply does
your digs have?
Many houses in Grahamstown are
equipped with old, low-wattage power
supplies which are not designed to cope
with modern electricity consumption,
especially in winter when heaters draw
lots of power. This can lead to almost
daily power outages, and electricity
use has to be managed carefully – for
example, the geyser and the oven can’t
both be on at the same time. While this
is not insurmountable, digs with an
underground power supply are likely to
be less problematic.
6. How efficient is the geyser?
This is a vital question, especially for
winter. You need to make sure that the
geyser will be big enough so that each
digsmate can have a hot shower at night.
Also, find out if the geyser is insulated.
If not, it will add a significant amount to
don’t be fleeced!
your electricity bill.
7. Does the house have any leaks?
The estate agent and the landlord
probably won’t mention this, so ask the
current digsmates if they’ve had any
problems. If so, get them fixed as part of
the contract. Also look out for mould.
8. How hard is it to regain your
deposit?
Typically, one month’s worth of
rent is required upfront as a deposit to
secure the house and for any damages.
Some landlords/ladies are notorious for
confiscating the entire deposit for any
minor things that are wrong with the
house. Find out from previous tenants
what your landlord is like.
9. What’s the parking situation?
Try and find a digs with enough
indoor parking. Although Grahamstown
is safer than other places, it is still
dangerous to leave cars parked outside
overnight – there have been plenty of
smash and grabs and wheel thefts.
10. Does the house have Hi-Tec?
It is vital that your digs has an alarm.
Hi-Tec are usually fast and efficient,
and are a definite deterrent. This is
particularly important during the
holidays when your digs can be standing
unoccupied for weeks at a time. For
insurance purposes, most companies
require a security system before they are
willing to insure your property.
By Gordon Barker
1. If there is anything that you do not understand in the lease agreement,
ask for a copy and a day to seek advice. Then seek advice. Some sub-wardens
are law students and could easily assist. If they can’t, they may refer students
on to me. Another option is to go to the Legal Aid Clinic in New Street. Or
simply corner a law student at the tea table outside the Faculty of Law at 10:30
or 15:00 Mondays to Thursdays — Friday is not a good day for finding law
students there. Students may even be offered a cup of tea as well as advice!
2. Check the duration and dates of occupation. Some digs must be vacated
over the festival period. This is not necessarily a bad thing if it suits you and if
the rental reflects this fact.
3. Check who pays for electricity, water, Hi-Tec, garden service, etc. — don’t
get a nasty surprise because of a wrong assumption.
4. Remember that a lease agreement is not a sacred document. If any
promises are made by the landlord/agent that are not recorded in the lease
agreement, then add them with your pen and ask the landlord/agent to kindly
initial the amendment to the lease agreement.
5. If possible speak to those who have stayed in the digs before. What
problems did they encounter — security? blocked drains? insufficient off-
street parking? disinterested landlord/agent? unreasonable neighbours?
6. If you decide to take the digs then inspect the property carefully
immediately upon taking occupation and provide the agent/landlord with a
written, detailed list of defects. Keep a copy, signed on receipt by the agent/
landlord, to avoid later disputes.
Gordon Barker is the Oppidan Warden.

Pam Golding Properties Re/max Frontier Properties Drostdy/ERA Real Estate Homelet Rental Agency
Agent name: Matthew Strydom Agent name: Charmaine van Staden Agent names: Jillian Tyson, Soné Nel Agent name: Doug Read

Pics: Simon Capstick-Dale and Leon Schnell

Contact details: (046) 636 1075
082 583 5385
Location: 32 New Street
Services offered: Transport for digs
viewing
Contact details: (046) 622 6061
Location: 22 African Street
Services offered: Transport for digs
viewing
and Carolyn Ford
Contact details: (046) 636 2455
Contact details: (046) 636 1388
Location: 39 New Street
Location: Peppergrove Mall
Services offered: Emails digs list to
Services offered: Transport for digs interested students;
viewing assists with lease signing.

Estate agent information and details compiled by Jade Fernley. For more details, please visit the Oppidan Committee website, http://oppies.soc.ru.ac.za.

BUDDY’S LIQUOR STORE Open Deliveries

Good luck to students for this semester 9am - Late 6pm - 12pm
Tel Deliveries Fee
Russian Bear: R39.95 (046) 622-3042 R2-50
St. Pettie (sparkling wine):
R24.75
Hot Sex: R54.65 The bigger, better burger
We now have an
instore ATM! “You Ring We Bring”
Open 7 days per week Telephone
Mon - Sat: 8am - 8pm (046) 622-3042
Sun: 8am - 1pm 28 New Street

Job applications for Oppi Press are now open. Visit www.TheOppidanPress.com for application forms.

Rhodes hockey coach drags SA to victory
By Samantha Dormhel
As a high-flying hockey player in a
little town, one wonders what Carr is
doing in Grahamstown? “I spent six
months in the UK playing hockey and
then came back to South Africa for
our season. I was put into contact with
Rhodes and landed up coming here to
coach and play to make money whilst
back in South Africa.”
Carr has achieved 43 Test Caps
playing for South Africa and has scored
a total of 25 goals since 2003, when he
played his first test against Malaysia.
The hockey field has always been like
a second home to him as he grew up
watching and learning from his father,
Jake White’s B-Team gamble for World Cup success
By Richard Moor and Anesu Chingono
For the first time, a South African
team was crowned champion. It was
Pic: Supplied
Nothing else than victory in the World Cup
will vindicate White’s build-up strategy.
Typing &
transcription
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073-386-1887
who he says has had the most significant
impact on his hockey career. Carr
attended Maritzburg College and first
represented South Africa at U16 level
in 1997 and then went on to play SA
school’s hockey in 1998 and 1999.
When asked about the neglect of
hockey as a sport in South Africa, as
opposed to the more popular games like
cricket or rugby nowadays, Carr says:
“These days money and sponsors control
the game, and with no TV coverage,
the sponsors are not exactly going to
come running, even if the results we are
getting at the moment are good!”
Carr is said to be the number one
drag flicker in the country, but when
asked about any specialisations, he
shrugs it off, saying: “Nothing really
special in terms of international hockey.
I do drag flicks for the team, and
occasionally enjoy the quiet beer!”
The defender admires Lance
Armstrong for “what he overcame and
how he never gave up, and just the way
he used to compete, never lying down
no matter the odds stacked up against
him”. The highlight of his career was
winning two Africa Cups, and scoring a
a huge morale boost for rugby in this
country, especially in light of the upcom-
ing World Cup in France.
Some rugby analysts have attributed
this success to the omission of many All
Black players being rested for the early
weeks of the tournament. (Trust cynics
to downplay the upward trend of SA
rugby.)
In almost identical fashion, Spring-
bok coach Jake White surprised rugby
supporters worldwide by excluding the
majority of his senior players for the
Tri-Nations campaign. This decision has
been met with both praise and criticism.
Key South African players such as
Jean de Villiers, Jacques Fourie and
Percy Montgomery were rested for
most of the Tri-Nations matches down
under. This enabled fringe players such
as flanker Wikus Van Heerden to prove
themselves (Van Heerden, incidentally,
has now been included in South Africa’s
Sport
THE OPPIDAN PRESS
Gareth Carr has come to share his Springbok hockey expertise with the Men’s Firsts.
12 minute hat-trick against France.
Despite winning this year’s Africa
Cup, the South African Men’s hockey
team wait in earnest to hear if the
Olympic Committee will send them
to Beijing next year. Carr says that
final World Cup squad). Young players
such as dynamic fly half Derek Hou-
gaard were also able to gain further in-
ternational experience and demonstrate
the depth of South African rugby.
The so-called B-team that played in
Australia demonstrated that they were a
match for the Wallabies by leading 17-0
at half time, although they eventually
lost 24-17. The result showed the tenac-
ity and die-hard attitude of the lesser
players who played their hearts out.
Many rugby players will never have the
pleasure of playing on Rugby’s premier
stage, and these B-team players were
playing for the chance to be included in
Jake White’s final World Cup squad.
Nonetheless, criticism came from
the Australian Rugby union who felt
that the Springboks were tarnishing
the reputation of the tournament by
sending an under-strength team. The
Australian players, in protest, refused to
Pic: Supplied
realistically the team has a good chance
of finishing with a high enough ranking.
And for all the ladies out there, Carr
would like to add that he really enjoys
candlelit dinners and long romantic
walks on the beach.
lift the Nelson Mandela trophy at the
presentation ceremony.
Certain rugby analysts also criti-
cised the decision, noting that although
players may be rested, match practice
is crucial for the preparation of the
World Cup. When New Zealand play-
ers returned from their prolonged rest
period at the beginning of the Super 14
season, they struggled to rekindle their
form, which inevitably contributed to
the poor form of New Zealand teams
in the Super 14.
Springbok fans will be hoping for
a change of luck and it must not be
forgotten that Jake White won the U21
World Cup in 2002 with some of the
same players currently representing
South Africa. Hopefully he can work
his magic again, and his policies will
be praised; but failure in France could
place his resting policy under scrutiny
and ultimately cost him his job.
Pic: Leon Schnell
11
Razza’s Ramblings
Another sport
disgraced by drugs
By Shiraz Jogee
To all cyclists, the Tour de France is
the world cup of cycling, the ultimate
title one could achieve, and when you
look back on how Lance Armstrong
created such hype and awareness around
the event and the sport, it’s hard to
casually dismiss what took place this
year.
“I believe it equals getting a Picasso
painting stolen. I was working on the
greatest piece I could achieve and it
was taken away from me,” said Michael
Rasmussen when he was kicked out of
his team on the Tour when, firstly, he
tested positive to doping, and, secondly,
lied about his whereabouts the week
before the event. He was leading the tour
at the time of his expulsion.
The other big event was the
suspension of pre-race favourite
and Astana team captain Alexander
Vinokourov. Vinokourov, who had
been dogged by injury since falling
early in the race, was removed from
the competition on 24 July after two
different types of red blood cells were
found in his sample, suggesting that
he had received a blood transfusion
contrary to rules. Team Astana
subsequently also withdrew from the
competition.
These incidents have shocked me to
say the least. We hear about doping and
similarly linked performance-enhancing
procedures more and more these days,
in sports like rugby, American football
and sprinting. This may be linked to
an improvement in doping-detection
procedures, but also seems indicative of
more athletes willing to take the risk.
These athletes disgrace the face of
their discipline. Their actions bring into
question the entire philosophy behind
competitive sport, which is to see top
sportsmen competing against each other
on a level playing field. I have always
been amazed and have given due respect
to athletes that do these seemingly
impossible feats, especially the ones that
come out on top – but as a sportsman
myself, I look at doping as nothing less
than stealing and cheating, and have a
no-tolerance attitude towards it. Those
who can’t keep up with the pace of it all,
and feel they need to cheat to get ahead,
don’t deserve the talents they’ve been
blessed with.
The Oppidan Press
is looking for writers
to cover the sports
they play in or really
enjoy.
Contact
sports.oppipress@gmail.com
 THE OPPIDAN PRESS
Sport inside: page 11
Jake’s
OlympicSpringbok
10
selection
dream for hockey headache
coach News
Getting by on debt
Part One: A soft man in hard times
On upturned crates and sagging
couches we drink Umqombothi
(traditional African beer) and brandy.
The Umqombothi is thick and good, but
the brandy sours in my stomach. It is
the ukuvelwa kweNdlu (a welcoming
ceremony) of my friend Thandeka* and
his father’s family. I did not want to sit
on the couch. I am a young girl and it is
not right. But Thandeka’s uncle insisted
and I sit on the edge, eyes downcast, as if
I can look my whiteness away. Thandeka
wants to know if I am happy, and I am,
grateful for the warmth of a family that
does not mind too much about my
skin or my broken Xhosa. But the story
Illustration: Nimi Hoffman
Thandeka is about to tell is not easy to
hear.
“If you do not pay the skoppas back,
they will kill you and take everything
you own. My name is Thandeka Nquza
and I live alone with my two children
An artist’s impression of Thandeka Nquza. in Grahamstown East. My mother
is old and like a child; she lives with
my younger brother. My brother and
The Credit Act (2007) prohibits registered creditors from granting credit reck- his girlfriend stole my mother’s ID
lessly and allows consumers to apply to a debt counselor to have their debts and pension card. They took it to the
restructured if they have taken on too much debt. The majority of skoppas or skoppas and got money and alcohol in
micro-creditors will not have to register with the National Credit Regulator return. They drink most of the time.
because they have less than the stipulated 100 credit-agreements or a balance
below R500 000. The Act stipulates that skoppas may not levy more than 40
percent interest on a loan. If you have obtained credit from a registered micro-
They did not do this once. They keep on
borrowing money and alcohol and meat.
lender who has charged more than 40 percent, or you cannot repay the loan,
you can contact the National Credit Regulator on 0860 627 627 (Toll Share) or
The last time they owed R500. Every
info@ncr.org.za. The NCR may be able to force the creditor to restructure the
loan so that you are able to repay it.
De Klerk relinquishes Prof. title
By Lionel Faull and Claire Carr
De Klerk was a professor in the
Department of English Language and
Linguistics.
A Doctorship is a formal qualification
earned by an academic, usually awarded
on the basis of a Doctoral thesis; a Profes-
sorship is conferred on an academic in
recognition of long-term academic ser-
vice and is generally more prestigious.
Although de Klerk declined to com-
ment, it is understood that the Commit-
tee voted unanimously on the issue.
The Committee minutes, dated 22
May 2007, state: “The committee nem con
[without dissent] did not recommend
for approval the request of the DOS to
The Peppergrove Mall Tel: (046) 622 5579
month, the skoppas charge 50 percent
interest on the last month’s amount. So
this month they owed R750.
“The skoppas take the pension card
and ID and on pension day, at the
Makana halls, where the old people
come for their pension, they stand
outside. When my mother comes to get
her pension, they give her the ID and
pension card back. She goes inside and
collects the money. When she comes out,
she must give them back the money and
the pension card and ID. The pension is
R820 per month. Last month they took
some of her pension, but I do not know
how much because the skoppas would
not tell me and my mother is too old to
understand. She did not have food to eat
and her electricity was almost finished.
Her family is very small: two sisters
from my mother’s side passed away and
the only brother I have is a skelm. So
nobody on my mother’s side could help.
My father’s family is not related to my
mother, so they could not get involved.
My brother and his sister could not go to
a bank to borrow money, because they
are unemployed. I could not go to the
police because if the skoppas find out
they will kill me. Anyway, who would
trust the police?”
He laughs and then looks away. “How
will the skoppas get their money back?
I fear for the lives of my brother and
his girlfriend. And I fear for my life.”
Thandeka has not lied, but he does not
say “I also steal my mother’s pension
card”. He does not say “I also get alcohol
from the skoppas”.
*The name has been changed to protect
Thandeka’s privacy.
retain the title Professor, and further
recommended that the Vice-Chancellor
approach the Dean of Students and to
request that she withdraw her request.”
According to Vice Chancellor Dr
Saleem Badat: “The main issue was not so
much the title, but a recognition that at
this university it is a tradition to give up
your professorship if you no longer pro-
fess...if you are no longer involved in the
teaching, learning and research function
of a university. If the Dean of Students
wishes to keep her professorship, surely it
should be the same for the VC? The Sen-
ate decision was a rational approach to Dr
de Klerk’s situation.”
Badat explained de Klerk’s reasons
for making the request: “There were two
parts of her argument: on the one hand,
she felt it would make interaction easier
with parents and students [to remain a
Professor]. On the other, it was because
she still wanted to make a commitment to
doing academic research.”
- Great 21st gifts:
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News shorts
Zimbabwe protests
will march on
By Paul Harris
The Rhodes SRC headed
a nationwide initiative for all
universities to hold a march in
protest of the human rights abuses
in Zimbabwe. The main event was
due to take place in Cape Town with
protesters presenting a statement
to Parliament. However, the police
refused permission at that time,
as other marches concerning the
public sector had already been
organised along the same route.
Despite the setback, Xolani
Nyali, treasurer of the SRC, said
that plans to reschedule the march
are underway: “The march is still
on the cards in our internal office,
now it is just a question of when.”
SAUS are also in agreement that
the march should happen, given the
increased turmoil within Zimbabwe
at present.
With much media attention
expected at the march, Nyali
wanted to assure students that once
organised, the SRC would publicise
it widely in hope of a big turnout.
A new round for
liquor by-law
By Lionel Faull
The proposed by-law seeks to
reduce liquor trading hours to
midnight on weekdays and 2am on
Friday and Saturday nights.
All written input from stake-
holders has now been received by
the Municipal Council, including an
SRC submission. In it, the student
body calls for 2am liquor trading
hours on Wednesdays, Fridays and
Saturdays and midnight on all other
nights.
Before the by-law can be passed,
the municipal lawmakers need to
redraft it. The next step is to call
another public participation meet-
ing, where the community can hand
in more submissions. Finally, a vote
will be taken in Council and the
by-law sent to Bhisho to be gazetted
as an official law.