Student & National - Newspaper

Friday, 24 May 2013
Friday, 24 May 2013
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Student &
National
Like a mullet: Business in the front, all fun at the back.
The funeral of Chinua Achebe
Friday, 24 May 2013
Will Habib heal Wits?
7th annual Silent Protest goes national
4 8
20
Affirmative action: is your government colour-blind Olympics: Masai style
14
SRC at wits end with Pro-Israelis

Molebogeng Mangoale
Burning tyres blocked the entrance to the University of Fort Hares Alice campus on Thursday. Picture: Michael Pinyana
Poor conditions at Fort Hare prompt protest

Zisanda Nkonkobe Protest action began Thursday at the University of Fort Hares Alice campus with hundreds of students singing and chanting outside the student affairs building. Student Representative Council (SRC) president Bulale Rawane said the protest action had been spurred by a number of complaints the students had brought forward. These included: 1. A fee increment of around 90% for residences where fees went from R9000 to R19000 between 2012 and 2013; 2. Double bunk beds the university wants to place in the residences which will mean students live in groups of four in rooms designed for two; 3. The outsourcing of the university residences to a private company for 10 years to recoup money spent on renovations within the residences; 4. Lack of security at residences; 5. Harmonisation of residence fees between the East London campus and the Alice camtpus as the fees are equal when the services provided are not; 6. Discrepancies within the fee structure; and 7. A plea to accommodate students who are still in the application and registration process. The outsourcing of university residences affects the students negatively because these companies expect to make a profit. These private companies then employ other private companies and thus residence fees keep rising, Rawane said. We are still faced with major challenges. For instance, there are only two stoves per corridor [about 40 students] and students are not allowed to bring their own. Rawane said the increase in the fee structure was not justified as the quality of the services on their campus was no where near the standard of those offered in East London. On Monday we will close the gates. No one is going to enter and no one is going to leave. The only person allowed in will be the Vice-Chancellor, said Rawane.
South African Minister for Higher Education and Training, Dr. Blade Nzimande. Photo: Bea Uhart
Nzimande calls on Hawks to investigate NWU drowning

Minister Blade Nzimande wants the Hawks to investigate alleged suspicious circumstances under which a first-year student drowned last year.
Bongani Nkosi
lade Nzimande, minister of higher education and training, has enlisted the services of the Hawks to investigate the death of a North West University student. First-year student Thabang Makhoang drowned at the North West Universitys (NWU) Potchefstroom campus last year. The higher education and training ministers call on Wednesday follows the concerted effort by the lobby group Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) to have Makhoangs death probed thoroughly. The HETN rejected a 2012
investigation by advocates Lourens de Koning and Vusi Pikoli that ruled out foul play. The group alleges NWU management hid some key evidence about how Makhoang died in a 4m-deep pool at Potchefstroom campus in January 2012. In a letter to Nzimande last week, HETN claimed the university has thus far successfully concealed a video footage its surveillance system captured the night Makhoangs body was found. HETN reiterated the claims in a press briefing in Pretoria on Wednesday. The organisation called on Nzimande to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged
complicity of the NWU management in the concealment of information. The Hawks should investigate if such evidence exists, said Nzimande in a statement. These are still allegations but to put them to rest, there is now a need to hand over this investigation to the Hawks. The allegations contained in this new information from the HETN are quite serious and cannot be ignored. We have to get to the root of this, a young life was lost here and unless these are thoroughly investigated, this will remain a dark blot on the institution and the sector generally, said Nzi-
Continues on 9 Zulu closes Cannes
What are universities really for anyway?

Like many first-order questions, this one is all too readily answered by the everyday routines of university life. Here, the confident answer of many perhaps most is that the universitys purpose is to grow the economy by training a skilled and efficient workforce. In this particular telling, however, much is hidden, even from
Apple nabbed for tax diversion
T
Go to 9
he film premiered at the close of the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday and is directed by Largo Winchs Jrme Salle, co-starring Orlando Bloom as a free-wheeling
Continues on 9
Continues on 9
Wits SRC (Student Representative Council) is demanding an investigation into racial profiling, violence against students, external security and a boycott of Israel. This follows a protest by student activists, in support of Palestine, against a scheduled performance of Israeli musician Yossi Reshef on 12 March. Pro-Israeli supporters, including Reshef and Wits University professor Zaidel Rudolph, retorted by calling the students barbaric, hooligans and Muslim agitators. Wits SRC wants a full investigation into the matter and also a report on what happened on 12 March. The SRC wants a university investigation into incidents of physical violence and assault against Wits University students by organisers of the pro-Israeli event, external security being used by the organisers of the event on their campus (in violation of Wits University practice and recommendation), the response by Wits University Management to student requests prior to the event as well as conduct of the Wits University Management to the actual protest and cancellation of the pro-Israeli event. It is alleged that on the day of the concert, a black Muslim student, who had a valid ticket, was denied entry into the concert venue by pro-Israeli supporters. Moreover, students who protested inside the concert venue were dragged on the ground, pushed against walls and sexually assaulted by the Israeli concert goers, their private security members as well as by one Wits University staff member, a statement by the SRC revealed. According to the statement, they continued to hurl racial and verbal insults at the student protesters such as you monkeys go back to the jungle. Tasneem Essop, Wits SRC secretary general, said, Rather than investigating the racism, violence and misconduct by the hosts of the Israeli concert at Wits, the Wits University Management has indicated that it wishes to punish the Wits students for their protest. This is regrettable as it chills Freedom of Expression. Wits University has an obligation to protect student rights to free speech, protest and others forms of expression. The Wits University also has the obligation to protect students from racist speech and violence. The SRC insists that their university should not allow the Pro-Israeli supporters to host events on their campus due to their disrespect and disregard of Wits practice and protocol.
News
Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013
Cape Town clamps down with brand new liquor by-law

Hangula Lukas A new bylaw regulating the purchasing and consumption of alcohol came into effect on April 1st. The new regulations came as quite an upset to moderate drinkers who feel they are being punished in an attempt to resolve the
Heres the low-down:
Retail: Pubs & Clubs:
after 6pm after 2am
If youre caught with more than
150 litres 20 cases

of booze I hope youre either loaded or look good in orange overalls because theres a
UCT shuttle safety compromised

Krysia Gaweda
or
or your posterier is going to the box for
R100k fine
6 months
so you wont pass Begin and collect R200.

larger issue of hard-core alcoholism. The law could see a change to the way Capetonians celebrate big events like weddings and parties. According to South Africas constitution, laws regulating the liquor industry fall under the jurisdiction of the various local municipalities across the country. As a result, the new laws have brought about several legal contradictions between different regions. Some people feel the new regulations are unworkable and unrealistic, while others see it as a solution to widespread social ills like drunk driving and indecent public behaviour. Lloyd Cummings, an electrical engineering student, said there were pros and cons related to the new laws, adding, I think its a good thing, I mean the less alcohol out there the betterit will cut down on irresponsible behaviour, but it might be bad for the businesses. Quinton Du Plessis, a supervisor at a Pick n Pay liquor store, said that the new law would affect sales quite significantly. Our business only starts to pick up at about six, and thats when the curfew kicks in forcing us to close, Du Plessis said. This will also not stop alcohol enthusiasts as they would just purchase their alcohol at an earlier time. Sunup Itsou, a second-year finance student, said the new laws would affect his lifestyle, adding that there were other ways of deterring alcohol use. Its not going to work, how will I be able watch my soccer matches not being able to drink alcohol along with it, Itsou said. They should rather focus on the policing and maybe even increase the tax on it.
ammie shuttle drivers have been caught on two separate occassions endagering the lives of their passengers by violating safety regulations and the law. Thousands of UCT students rely on the Jammie Shuttle transport system to take them to and from various UCT campuses every day, making this transport system an integral component of the university. UCT has outsourced their transport system to Sibanye, whose role is to provide safe and efficient transport to UCT students and staff. UCTs contract with Sibanye makes provision for ensuring that the used vehicles are safe for students and that the drivers are competent []. It ensures that complaints about Jammie Shuttle drivers will be dealt with, ensured John Critien, UCT Executive Director of Properties & Services. However, Jammie drivers have still been caught violating their contracts, which raises an alarming question how safe are students and staff while travelling on Jammies? Earlier this year, second year students, Lucie Irving and Kathryn Rawson, both caught
Jammie drivers using their cell phones while driving on two separate occasions. Irving and Rawson reported the first incident to the Sibanye bus service stating that it was illegal and unprofessional and puts the students lives at risk and other drivers on the road. Irving and Rawsons complaints were heard, and they were assured that the driver would be disciplined accordingly. However, the driver denied all allegations. This resulted in a hearing where all witnesses had to be present and testify; otherwise all allegations would be dropped. Irving and Rawson agreed to this request with caution as they had personal concerns regarding their safety, fearing that the driver may retaliate to their testimony outside the hearing. The behavior of that Jammie driver was unsafe and illegal and I am only attending this hearing to make sure he does not get away with it, Irving explained. Despite their on-going queries into the matter, the date of the hearing was postponed three times. It was at this point that we realised the absolute incompetence and shocking ability of the Sibanye management to not only discipline their drivers, but
to create an atmosphere of responsibility and accountability, continued Irving. The second incident occurred on March 11th, when Irving produced photographic evidence of another driver driving whilst using their cellphone. Irving felt that it would be despicable if this case and other related cases were not handled with appropriately. Once again, Irvings complaint was met with great concern and was assured that the situation would be addressed further. The hearing took place on March 19th, just over a month after the original complaint. Throughout the process, we were further shocked by Sibanyes appalling management as it was nothing short of a laid-back disciplinary process, Irving and Rawson said. Antoine Smith, the Director of Sibanye stated, Each Sibanye employee has a contract of employment, which incorporates the UCT Code of Conduct directly into their employment contract itself. This approach regards the purpose of discipline as a means for employees to know and understand what standards are required of them. Efforts are made to correct employees behaviour through a system of graduated
disciplinary measures such as counseling and warnings. Critien confirmed this, stating, As the employer of the drivers, Sibanye is responsible for dealing with complaints about their behaviour. UCT urges staff and students to report any instances of unsafe behaviour to UCT, and we will follow it up, continued Critien. The SRCs involvement pertaining to Jammie Shuttle Services is to ensure that students are taken to their destinations safely and efficiently by holding Jammie Shuttle management accountable, said Lwazi Somya, SRC Services & Labour Coordinator. Despite the SRCs concerns, Sibanye refused any member of the SRC to sit in on the disciplinary hearing to ensure that the due process was followed. Smith continued to say that the safety of the drivers and passengers are of extreme importance to Sibanye and, as a company, they strive to maintain a standard of excellence in this regard. Despite Sibaynes concern of student safety, Irving and Rawson felt that the management of [the] hearing and of the entire Sibanye business [was] shocking, disgusting and shows utter incapability.
41 year old cleaner gets a BTech

Vincent Cruywagen staff member at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology employed as a cleaner has obtained a bachelor of technology degree in public management. Mfusi Zonke, a 41 year old Eastern Cape man who started working at the university in 2008 said he believes greater things will happen for me here and Im confident that I will get a post as a lecturer. Zonke was greeted by a jubilant crowd when he walked on the podium of the universitys hall to receive his degree. Now
his dream is to get a masters degree. Im doing this to show my kids and other children from impoverished communities the importance of education and how it will lift you out of the mud and mire, Zonke said. I come from a very poor background but that doesnt mean I have to die poor and raise my kids in poverty. Ive decided to make a change to improve the quality of life for my entire family. Zonkes remarkable road started 10 years ago when he gave up his cleaning job in the
Eastern Cape and moved to the Western Cape to better his life. But things were not as rosy as he anticipated. Life was tough in Cape Town and as a matriculant the only job I could find was a cleaner here at the university. I took the job but after a few weeks was inspired by how education changed the perception and attitude of students. But when Zonke took up the decision to enrol for a public management diploma, he first had to convince his wife to sacrifice a months salary of R1800 for registration.
My wife was furious and was obviously worried about how we were going to survive with our two kids. I told her to just wait for three years and see how we would reap the benefits of the sacrifice we made. Then in 2010 when he became a permanent employee as a caretaker, Zonke received a bursary from the university to further his studies. Zonke told his wife he was waiting patiently for a better job and had sent his CV to the universitys human resources offices.
News
loods of embarrassing publicity in the run-up to Adam Habib taking up his position as the vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand in June have prompted him to concede both that he will inherit an institution fractured by long-standing discontent and that demands for a more responsive management are legitimate. Media this week reported on complaints that spending R9-million to renovate the vice-chancellors official residence was unjustified when some students could not afford proper accommodation. Habib moved fast to pour perfume on this potential stink-bomb. In a high-profile press conference on Monday, he said the result of the universitys paying R9-million for repairs was that it would now own the property, worth R30-million. For the 40 years the house, called Savernake, has been the residence of the vice-chancellor, it has been owned by a family trust. But this weeks reports were only the latest in a long wave of bad news that includes allegations of sexual harassment of students by staff, a lengthy and still unresolved staff strike and bitter complaints of apartheid-type
treatment of outsourced workers (see Rifts and reparations). It is true that ... theres been some significant tension between academics and management, Habib told the Mail & Guardian this week. That has created a desire that there be some change in management and that management become more responsive to the needs of staff, whether they are academic or support workers. Far from being disconcerted by this weeks poor publicity, Habib appeared to welcome it: I will not conduct witchhunts about who disseminates what information, he said. This is a public institution. We have to be transparent and open. Pressed on whether such bad press might actually suit any incoming vice-chancellors agenda for radical change, Habib replied: Im happy to be held accountable by council and all the stakeholders. Certainly, in talking about the need
Wits vice-chancellor designate expresses sympathy with angry staffs grievances.

for a more responsive management, Habib seems to have done his homework. In almost identical language, the Council on Higher Educations audit on Wits, published in 2008, found that the universitys model of decentralised management had some unexpectedly negative outcomes on staff morale, an observation that chimes with more recent staff perceptions of executive management as remote and unresponsive. Tension between central management and academic collegiality may be ... discouraging innovation and creativity, the audit said. There is a lack of operational connectedness and no institutionally co-ordinated system to manage teaching and learning. A less than adequate number of full-time academic staff gave many lecturers heavy workloads and compromised research and postgraduate supervision. Habibs acknowledgment of such concerns explains why powerful constituencies still warmly look forward
Will Habib heal Wits?
to his tenure. Relations between incoming management and unions have started on a progressive note, said David Dickinson, the president of the Academic Staff Association of Wits University. We think the change of leadership is positive, he said. Were hopeful well reach an agreement on competitive salaries. We already have an [informal] agreement with Habib and Tawana Kupe [the new deputy vice-chancellor responsible for finance] to benchmark salaries [to those of other universities]. The magnitude of the challenge Habib faces and the size of the step forward that Dickinson signals is indicated by the fact that, for the first time in Witss 101-year history, all unions representing constituencies from academic to support staff united in striking. These tensions will not disappear overnight, Habib said. The institution is divided, yes. But you have to give us some time to
fix that. I want to break the cycle of union-management tension that has existed for the past year. On allegations of sexual harassment by staff, Daryl Glaser, the head of the political studies department where some of the allegations are focused welcomed the universitys appointment of attorneys Bowman Gilfillan to investigate. He and fellow academics initially felt we were left in limbo when allegations were levelled against a member of the department and the universitys management advised extreme legal caution in investigating them. There was accumulating frustration [regarding the case], he said. But were happy the university is now taking bold steps. Tokelo Julius Nhlapo, the outspoken deputy president of the student representative council, blamed fractures in the university squarely on the outgoing management. Everyone is unhappy with management, from the gardener to the professor, he said. We hope Habib will be more transparent and wont sit on the 11th floor [of Senate House, where the vice-chancellors office is located] and drink whisky.
Wits ills highlighted

Sibusiswe Nyanda SRC president Sibulele Mgudlwa told guests at the annual Charlotte Maxeke lecture that all is not well at Wits. Mgudlwa spoke about the charges laid against him and fellow students after their peaceful protest a few weeks ago. The protest action took place during Israel apartheid week when Mgudlwa and other Witsies disrupted a performance by an Israeli pianist at the Great Hall. Mgudlwa called Wits management structures reactionary and said the institution is known for clamping down on students who raise important issues. This is an institution known for academic and financial exclusions. An institution where students sleep in libraries, he continued. Mgudlwas words were met with cheers and applause and the audience broke into liberation songs after his address. The SRC president ended his speech by appealing to the spirits of former ANC leaders Charlotte Maxeke, Lilian Ngoyi and Albertina Sisulu. The lecture was held by the ANCWL, the PYA and Wits SRC. VIP guests at the lecture included members of the Mannye and Maxeke families. Mirriam Mannye, a high school student, recited a praise poem on behalf of the families. The program co-ordinator, Nkhensani Kubayi, said she was pleased to see a young woman take pride in her heritage after Mannye said her clan names in SePedi. Its good to see girls as young as yourself knowing where they come from and taking pride in it, Kubayi said. ANCWL president, Angie Motshekga and ANC national chairperson Baleka Mbete were keynote speakers. Also in attendance were Susan Shabangu (Minister of Energy and Minerals) and Mildred Olifant (Minister of Labour). The youth leader was speaking at the lecture which was attended by members of the ANC Womens League Leadership (ANCWL) at the Great Hall on Friday afternoon.
Ahmed Areff South Africa needs to produce more academics to match the path set out by intellectuals such as Bernard Magubane, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said on Wednesday. One of the unintended consequences (of bringing democracy to South Africa) is that we took out all of the academics in 1994, he said at
South Africa needs more intellectuals, Nzimande

Magubanes memorial service in Johannesburg. A similar calibre of intellectuals are not being reproduced in our institutions (now). Magubane, a prominent author, activist and anthropologist, died at his home in Fourways on Friday, at the age of 83. He was born in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, studied at the then University of Natal, and received his PhD in anthropology from the University of California, in Los Angeles. He was also an African National Congress activist, who at one time worked in Zambia and lived with former ANC leader Oliver Tambo. He and his wife returned to South Africa after 1994, and he was appointed head of the Democracy Education Trust. Nzimande said that if Magubanes parents had not fallen out with a farmer when he was younger, and moved to Durban, he would not have become an academic. History moves in strange ways. This would have meant that this youngster, so full of potential, would not have had the opportunity to go to school and university and we would never have had a Professor Bernard Magubane, he said. ANC Gauteng secretary David Makhura said Magubane remained an activist until the end of his life. He was one of those... intellectuals who really asserted ideas. He was very prominent on issues of race and class, he said. He was an activist to the end. Former Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad said Magubane was a committed ANC member. We went through many difficult times in our history - Ben never wavered, he said. Let us remember him for his extraordinary efforts. A professor, freedom fighter and deep thinker... whose work lives on.
South African Minister for Higher Education and Training, Dr. Blade Nzimande. Photo: Sthembiso Sithole
Facebook comments get Wits debating president banned

Nokuthula Manyathi President of the Wits Debating Union (WDU), Jamie Mighti, has been banned from a tournament in Durban following allegations of sexism. The Howard College Debating Union (HCDU) executive committee banned Mighti from participating in its second annual debating tournament on April 26 after receiving an anonymous complaint. Mighti was accused of making sexist remarks on the Nationals 2011 Facebook page towards HCDU members Kimera Chetty and Lindelwe Dube. The war of words followed a Facebook post comment that Chetty had written about the Jozi Rumble, a debating tournament hosted by WDU earlier this month. Chetty asked about television coverage of the tournament, which she said had been promised by Mighti. Mighti responded to Chetty with a post accusing her of using sexual favours to succeed in debate and made other explicit comment to which Chetty fired back calling him an arrogant sexist. Lindelwe Dube then joined the Facebook conversation to defend Chettys honour. Mighti responded to Lindelwe Dubes comment by claiming she was bitter because he had refused her advances. Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela that Chettys comments were attempts to undermine the work the WDU had done in hosting a successful tournament. He added that his online argument with Chetty was not an isolated incident. Me and Kemira have had many, many differences over the yearsand even on that wall [The Nationals 2011 Facebook Page] there we have many interactions where we will shout at each other. Wits Vuvuzela tried to reach Chetty for comment but received no response. In an official email to the WDU, the HCDU executive committee announced Mightis exclusion from the tournament. Due to Jamies utterances on Facebook page, he falls into that category of individual that the HCDU wishes to dissociate itself from. This ban is applicable only to Jamie and does not attach itself to WDU, read the email. Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela that he felt his comments should not reflect badly on the WDU and said he acted out of anger and frustration. He also turned to Facebook to offer apologies to Chetty and Lindelwa Dube. However, he denied that his comments were sexist or untruthful. The WDU has since decided to withdraw from attending the tournament. WDU Treasurer Gwinyani Dube said a double-standard had been applied to Mighti as the two HCDU debaters had not been suspended despite having also made insults. Dube defended Mighti from accusations of sexism and said they were a matter of perception. Mighti said that the exclusion from the tournament would not affect the WDUs ranking as number one in Africa and 23rd in the world. The tournament hosted by HCDU was a friendly and not mandatory to attend, he added.
He falls into that category of individual that the HCDU wishes to dissociate itself from
Jamie Mighti, banned President of the Wits Debating Union. Source: Facebook.com
News
The African literary legend, Chinua Achebe. Photo: Craig Ruttle
A mans life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors.
~ Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart Monica Mark fore capitulating to the three hour-long service in the white-washed St Philips Anglican church in Achebes hometown of Ogidi. The writer was no stranger to such irony. His first manuscript was nearly lost to history when publishers in London thought the handwritten pages from Africa were a joke. Fifty years later, Things Fall Apart, an anti-colonialist anthem with a title borrowed from a Yeates poem, is still the biggest-selling novel from Africa of all time. It tells the story of his Igbo tribes disastrous first experience of European colonialism. Despite his success, Achebe turned down all offers to teach creative writing courses, saying: I dont know how its done. In 2004, he declined a national award. He refused again a second time, in 2011, saying: The reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed, let alone solved. But this time the author was in no position to resist the state honours being conferred on him. President Jonathan reminded funeral attendees of the authors criticisms of politicians and corruption. After the singing, the long speeches and prayers, this was a moment about which many had been holding their breath. For those of you that read The Trouble with Nigeria, Achebe told us that there is nothing wrong with Nigeria. The problem is the political leadership, he said, waving a copy of the novel. A toe-curling pause followed and Achebes family looked on with unreadable expressions. Jonathan went on to read a passage that highlighted the political corruption and manipulation that had afflicted the African oil giant since independence. That was in Chinuas last book, the former professor said. All of us must work hard to change this country. The audience applauded cautiously. Ghanas president, John Mahama, seated beside Jonathan, waved as his own name was read out among a long list of political dignitaries. During a recent discussion about Achebe, a political contemporary asked me if I felt as though I had somehow become part of the system that we so bitterly decried in our youth, Mahama wrote in a recent tribute. No, I replied without hesitation. I entered politics because I wanted to be a part of changing that system. Whether people across Africa agree or whether, once again, Achebe may have slyly exposed a ruling elite is a question for history. Still, only the most hardened cynic could fail to have been moved by some of the celebrations of Achebes life. For days, young people have marched in the sweltering heat with banners commemorating the author. As they sang lilting hymns at the funeral, some of the redgowned choir members put their arms around each other. Three women held photos of a smiling Achebe as they sang an operatic re-enactment of traditional theatre. At one point, one knelt in front of the gleaming coffin topped with white roses. Behind all the gloss, what was left for many was a simple celebration of a deeply admired man. I have never seen so many people, even white people, dancing to our [Igbo] music. I cannot tell the number of people, but they are more than 10 villages put together, said 52-year-old farmer Ike Dimelu. The world is in our village today because of Chinua Achebe. I may never see a lot of people like this in one place again. Ive danced and I still want to dance, he said over the noise of drumming and honking cars. Like hundreds of others, he wore one of the blue prints emblazoned with a serene-looking Achebe, red cap atop his head, bearing the message: The literary icon lives on.
he red carpet was rolled out, the dignitaries arrived in a whirlwind of helicopters and armed guards, and the obituaries poured in as Nigeria buried the revered writer Chinua Achebe on Thursday. There were dancing troupes, a choir, redbow-tied trumpeters, keyboard players and people darting around filming on their tablets. At one point, keen not to miss any opportunity, the grieving audience was counselled to buy a documentary on the celebrated author, whose terse prose did perhaps more than any other writers to project African realities into the minds of westerners. It was exactly the sort of pomp the literary titan hated, and often ripped apart with the witty, acerbic tip of his pen. Achebe died on 21 March, aged 82. If he avoided a state funeral, it wasnt for lack of trying from the government. Despite rebuffing national honours twice over his distrust at an oilfed elite who left the country a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom, the administration of Goodluck Jonathan tried to hold a state funeral, be-
News Features
A sample of Cannabis Sativa. Photo: David McNew
Men and women of all ages, working in the open cast Marange diamond field, one of the largest in the world. Photo: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi
Shabangu calls for sanctions on Zim diamonds to be lifted

South Africa and Namibia have called for an end to sanctions on Zimbabwean diamonds imposed after human rights groups said hundreds of diggers were killed by the police and army, and sale proceeds were being channelled to the military. Speaking at the inaugural Zimbabwe diamond conference yesterday, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said South Africa was committed to lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. Namibian Mines Minister Isak Katali also called at the conference for an end to sanctions on the Zimbabwe gem trade. The discovery of diamonds in Zimbabwe has been a thorn in the flesh to those that have issues with Zimbabwe to exercise its sovereignty over its minerals and other natural wealth, Katali said. They tried to block the export of diamonds and vilify this country and its diamond sector. Meanwhile, former president Thabo Mbeki said Zimbabwean natural resources should benefit locals and not a group of elites. In his address at the Zimbabwe Diamond Conference yesterday, where he was the guest speaker, Mbeki said the countrys political leadership have to ensure that the benefits cascade to the masses. Mbeki said, all the parties in the global political agreement must absolutely ensure that the diamond mining industry is not governed by a predatory elite which uses its access to state power to enrich itself, against the interests of the people as a whole, acting in collusion with the mining companies. Zimbabwes mines minister told the same conference that at least $30 million is trapped by international institutions under the antiMarange diamond campaign. As a result, the countrys mines minister said, there is no need for full disclosure in Zimbabwes ongoing mining transparency initiative. How can you be transparent when there are hyenas chasing after you? They want to know who is buying your diamonds, which country they are coming from, which bank they are using and which flight they are on. Chaim Even-Zohar, the president of Tel Aviv-based diamond consulting service Tacy Limited, told the conference Zimbabwe is earning 75% of potential diamond value due to economic sanctions as it cannot get the best market prices. Zohar added Zimbabwe has potential to produce 8 to 10% of global production but is hamstrung by restrictions, which has seen it selling the gems at a discount.
New study tries & fails to show marijuana use is linked to crime
Justin Peters - Opinion On Thursday, Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, announced the results of a study thatat least according to himdemonstrated a link between marijuana use and crime. The study analyzed data collected via the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program (ADAM II), which took urine samples from arrestees in five cities over a 21-day period last year. Marijuana remained the drug most often detected in ADAM II arrestees in all five sites in 2012, ranging from 37 percent of ADAM II arrestees testing positive in Atlanta to 58 percent testing positive in Chicago, the study reported. In three of the five sites, over half of the adult male arrestees tested positive for marijuana. Kerlikowske, who opposes marijuana legalization, said in a speech Thursday that the study showed that America needs to acknowledge and come to grips with the link between crime and substance use. But correlation is not causation. Just because a high percentage of arrestees tested positive for marijuana does not mean that smoking marijuana made them commit crimes. Here are other things that over half of the adult male arrestees probably had in common: pants, food in their stomachs, a mother who loves them, an impoverished background, an affinity for one or more of the local sports teams. As Steve Fox of the Marijuana Policy Project told a McClatchy reporter, We could release a study tomorrow showing that 98 percent of arrestees in the United States drank water in the 48 hours before they engaged in criminal behavior. Does that mean that water causes crime? Now, Kerlikowske only said that drug use and crime were linked, not that drug use causes crime. But still, the implications are obvious. Kerlikowske is not a stupid man, and hes not actually a terrible drug czar. He has argued that drug abuse needs to be treated as a public health issue, not just a matter of criminal justice, and I couldnt agree more. In his speech, Kerlikowske mentioned the need to move the drug policy reform debate beyond bumper stickers. One good way to do that is to move beyond studies that dont necessarily say anything at all.
No one noticed her drown

mande. Nzimande said he would also get the university on board, so that we can all cooperate in the interests of justice, getting to the truth and putting the matter to rest so that the family of this young man can also find peace and closure on this sad and tragic incident. De Koning and Pikoli concluded through their investigation that the drowning was an unfortunate accident for which no blame could be levelled against any individual or entity. The circumstances surrounding the death of the deceased were, in our view, free of any foul play and/or negligence on the part of any individual and/or entity. But the investigation could not explain how [Makhoang] drowned in the presence of many other participants without the incident being noticed by anyone, said Nzimande. NWUs media office declined to comment to the Mail & Guardians specific queries about the alleged video footage, but referred it to a statement vice-chancellor Theuns Eloff released in response to Nzimandes call. In the statement Eloff said the university would cooperate with Nzimande and the Hawks. But he urged Nzimande to take cognisance of the findings by De Koning and Pikoli.
Continued from 1
The outcome of this independent investigation and the subsequent report was given to the deputy director general at the department of higher education and training, who acknowledged the receipt thereof, Eloff said in a statement. The university also published the findings of the investigation on its website, which is open for public viewing and is still available. Eloff said NWU is not aware of any new, concrete evidence or information related to Makhoangs death. If there is, the university will greatly appreciate it if such information is made available to us. HETN said Makhoangs death was never investigated properly. Police investigations have not yielded anything a year later, Lucky Thekisho, HETNs president, said at Wednesdays press briefing. All were saying is there should be an investigation into this matter. We will not rest until justice is done. A lot of evidence was concealed, said Thekisho. We commend Nzimande for heeding to our letter. The organisation also wrote to the presidency, public protector Thuli Madonsela, the South African Human Rights Commission and the Independent Police Investigations Directorate over the matter.
We could release a study tomorrow showing that 98 percent of arrestees in the US drank water i n the 48 hours before they engaged in criminal behavior. Does that mean that water causes crime?
Work smarter, not harder

Harry Slater Put everything into perspective and university is 95% note-taking, 5% all the other stuff. If you can take good notes, youre on track to make the academic side of things much easier for yourself. Technology is doing a lot to sort out our note-taking. One big advance is that lecture presentations are usually uploaded to a universitys intranet for all to see. On the downside, this guarantee of availability gives you an excuse to zone out and let the lecturers words drift over you. While this is tempting, its better to listen out for the
News Features Exam Special

in-depth explanations that arent on the presentation the bits you cant access later are usually the most valuable. When it comes to the note-taking itself, dont try to write everything down. Its an obvious point, but interesting lectures can make you want to record everything being said. This never goes well. By the time youve finished writing one point, the lecturer has already made another three and moved on. If youre determined not to miss a single syllable, use a recording device. Handouts are just as unhelpful, especially if theyre a breakdown of the lecture slides (this kind is of handout is so boring its potentially fatal).
During the lecture, its best to put the handouts to one side and make your notes without them. Maps and graphs can be made more useful with a few annotations, but make these crystal clear for future reference. Once youre outside a lecture theatre, notes have a tendency to lose all meaning, so make yours detailed and explicit at the first opportunity. Shorthand is one way of ensuring speedy note-taking. Charlotte, a history student at the University of Leicester, recommends coming up with your own system for abbreviating and shortening key words and ideas. For example, civil rights movement becomes CRM; politburo becomes PB; between becomes btwn.
Symbols are also useful: arrows, for example can be used to indicate concluding points. Type up your shorthand notes as quickly as possible. As Charolotte says: The longer you leave it, the less sense your markings will make. If youre making notes from a source for an assignment, include page numbers and basic bibliographical information. You will never regret it, says Amy, a literature student at UEA. Likewise, use colours or a different font to distinguish between your ideas and the authors or lecturers. This helps avoid accidental plagiarism. Once youve put time and effort into producing a good set of notes, be
sure to back-up your hard work. This can be as simple as emailing your notes to yourself, or using a free tool like Google Drive or Evernote. Both let you edit uploaded documents and you can access what youve saved onthe-go. Having a copy of your notes also means they are easier to share, and digital copies make this easier still. Google Drive is again useful, but if youre sharing notes with a revision group, something more natural, like Facebook, may be a better option. A note-taking routine that suits your style takes a while to establish, but given that youll probably be taking notes daily, its worth getting into good habits from the start.
Claire Shaw
ot many students would admit to enjoying taking exams or writing essays, but if you want to get a degree, theyre an ordeal you have to survive. So weve worked out how to make the whole thing a little less stressful. Weve persuaded four academics from a range of subject areas to tell us the top 10 things students get wrong in exams and coursework. This is what theyve told us:
Take the first five to 10 minutes to read through the paper and plan the questions youre going to answer in order of how confident you feel in that subject area, says Bhavik Patel, lecturer in physical and analytical chemistry at University of Brighton. Make sure you secure the marks on the questions that you find easiest to answer first, before attempting questions that are more difficult. The latter often make you lose confidence and time during exam conditions.
ment and critical thought. To fulfil these criteria, you must favour analysis.
Getting characters names or other basic factual details wrong just smacks of not caring. If you dont care enough to do this correctly when youre paying to be at university, what will an employer think when he or she is paying you?
Carelessness
When revising, students often rehearse answers in their head. says Roy Jackson, course leader in religion, philosophy and ethics at the University of Gloucestershire. Although we dont deliberately intend to catch them out in exams, we do set questions that requires them to think and reflect under timed conditions. But instead students will often pick up key words in the question and write out a rehearsed response. This can be avoided by taking some time to reflect upon the question, rather than seeing that as wasted time and rushing to fill the pages.
Misreading the question
Universities have a standard academic English in which you should write. The best way to become proficient at this is to read a great number of academic journal articles and books and mirror the register, language and tone (but not the content: never plagiarise!). It can also help to write a small amount every day as a form of practice.
Spelling, grammar and register
In English we are looking for excitement and originality of thought backed up by evidence and we dont want you to take our formulations as gospel truth, says Martin Eve, lecturer in English literature at the University of Lincoln. Challenge and think for yourself.
Regurgitating in-class or lecture material
Sometimes a task can feel so overwhelming that its difficult to begin, says Amber Regis, lecturer in 19th century literature at the University of Sheffield. Procrastination takes over and you just cant seem to get anything done. The bare white page is a formidable foe when it stares back at you, untouched, from the library desk. Try not to panic, protect and manage your preparation time, and dont put off getting started.
Panic and procrastination
In both exam responses and coursework, students are often more concerned with quantity rather than quality. The best essays are those that demonstrate evidence of personal reflection and are not just trying to achieve a word limit.
Focusing on word count
Poor planning
In exams its vital that you dont jump the gun.
It can be tempting to parrot everything you know when writing essays and exam answers. But to demonstrate your understanding you should engage critically with your source material. Always assume an informed reader they do not need a plot summary or biographies of key figures. Read through the marking scheme used by your department. You will notice some very telling words and phrases attached to the highest marks, for example: originality of interpretation, astute engage-
Lack of anlysis
During revision time, students are too selective in what they choose to read, selecting one or two books and remembering as much from those as possible. What comes across in a good essay is confidence, and this can only be achieved by demonstrating plenty of reading on a subject, so that you can be prepared for any question that you come across. This also requires giving yourself plenty of time to read, and not leaving it until a few days before an exam or assignment.
Insufficient reading
Always make sure your statements are specific and show self-awareness. Do say: There is no one single representation of working-class life in post50s British fiction. Dont ever go for something like: Novels that feature the working class show us that these people...
Over-generalisation
Real Life
T h e Milwaukee School of Engineering reports that because women have more body fat and less dehydrogenase (the enzyme that metabolises alcohol) than men, alcohol flows through the bloodstream in large quantities and remains in the blood longer. Thus, women experience worse effects than men which increases their risk for alcohol poisoning and organ damage because their bodies metabolise alcohol much faster. According to Palme, young women aspire to be sexually attractive. He says that drunkorexic behaviour is a dangerous and unhealthy way to be slim and fit as excessive dieting and alcohol abuse can result in brain damage, Korsakoffs psychosis (a neurological disorder caused by a lack of vitamin B1) and loss of memory. When Perdeby spoke to nurses Winnie Sekhukhune and Nonky Letsae from Student Health Services, they said that although drunkorexia is still in its baby years, it is a rising problem among students. Sekhukhune and Letsae mentioned that they had two reported cases of drunkorexia in March this year, where students collapsed on campus and confessed to have engaged in drunkorexic behaviour. According to the nurses, when they asked one of the students why she indulges in this behaviour, she didnt give a reason but admitted that she has been doing it since high school. Sekhukhune and Letsae say that drunkorexia affects a students concentration and causes fatigue. Why arent people informed about drunkorexia if some of the earliest drun-
Drunkorexia
Despite its glamorous appeal (for those of you who aim to be model thin), drunkorexia is not a healthy way to have a good time, even if it saves you some cash. Drunkorexia, as defined by Prof. Jacob Palme of Stockholm University, is the combination of not eating almost any food during the day (anorexia nervosa) with drinking a lot of alcoholic beverages during night-time partying (alcohol abuse). However, Kobus du Plooy, a clinical psychologist at UP Student Support, says that drunkorexia is only a social term and not an official clinical diagnosis. Although it is a new term and not a medical diagnosis yet, it has a connection with alcoholism and eating disorders. [The] trend to be skinny and the fact that drug and alcohol use are socially acceptable are part of the problem, says Dr Douglas Bunnell, the director of outpatient clinical services for the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia. Anorexia and drunkorexia are not exactly the same thing. Drunkorexics starve themselves to compensate for the calorie intake found in alcoholic beverages whereas anorexics would avoid drinking alcohol because of its high calorie content. Du Plooy says that drunkorexics use calorie counting to work out how many calories foods and alcoholic drinks contain. They then use this information to steer away from certain foods with a high amount of calories in order to drink alcohol without picking up weight. According to the Huffington Post, of 1 000 students surveyed by the University of Missouri about drunkorexia, the three most common reasons for engaging in this behaviour include saving money, controlling [...] weight and getting drunk faster. It was also found that mostly young women at university engage in drunkorexia and that the majority of men that do engage in this behaviour, do so not to control their weight but to save the money they would have spent on food for alcohol instead. Du Plooy argues that students in general may be most at risk when it comes to drunkorexia, as they typically wish to maintain a slim thin figure while also wishing to engage in binge drinking. Furthermore, he says that because this kind of behaviour is often seen as part of university culture, it makes all students, including those at Tuks, susceptible to drunkorexia. korexic behaviours have been reported by publications such as The New York Times in 2008 already? Palme says that for years this type of behaviour has been observed in the clinical field (outside of university). However, more research must be done before it can be classified as a medical disorder. Sekhukhune and Letsae agree that drunkorexia is on the increase around the world and that people should learn more about it. They believe it is important for high school learners and university students to be educated on this matter. Pressure from society to be skinny seems to be a trend that isnt going to disappear anytime soon. With this new phenomenon is affecting our youth, we must pay more attention to this problem so that we can find a solution sooner rather than later.
Photo: Reinhard Nell
Business
Its time to scrap affirmative action

Governments should be colour-blind
bove the entrance to Americas Supreme Court four words are carved: Equal justice under law. The court is pondering whether affirmative action breaks that promise. The justices recently accepted a case concerning a vote in Michigan that banned it, and will soon rule on whether the University of Texass race-conscious admissions policies are lawful. The question in both cases is as simple as it is divisive: should government be colour-blind? America is one of many countries where the state gives a leg-up to members of certain racial, ethnic, or other groups by holding those to different standards. The details vary. In some countries, the policy applies only to areas under direct state control, such as public-works contracts or admission to public universities. In others, private firms are also obliged to take account of the race of their employees, contractors and even owners. But the effects are strikingly similar around the world. The burden of history Many of these policies were put in place with the best of intentions: to atone for past injustices and ameliorate their legacy. No one can deny that, for example, blacks in America or dalits in India (members of the caste once branded untouchable) have suffered grievous wrongs, and continue to suffer discrimination. Favouring members of these groups seems like a quick and effective way of making society fairer. Most of these groups have made great progress. But establishing how much credit affirmative action can take is hard, when growth also brings progress and some of the good for example the confidence boosting effect of creating prominent role models for a benighted group is intan-
gible. And it is impossible to know how a targeted group would have got on without this special treatment. Malays are three times richer in Singapore, where they do not get preferences, than in next-door Malaysia, where they do. At the same time, the downside of affirmative action has become all too apparent. Awarding university places to black students with lower test scores than whites sounds reasonable, given the legacy of segregation. But a study found that at some American universities, black applicants who scored 450 points (out of 1,600) worse than Asians on entrance tests were equally likely to win a place. That is neither fair on Asians, nor an incentive to blacks to study in high school. In their book Mismatch, Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor produce evidence that suggests affirmative action reduces the number of blacks who qualify as lawyers by placing black students in law schools for which they are ill-prepared, causing many to drop out. Had they attended less demanding schools, they might have graduated. Although the groups covered by affirmative action tend to be poorer than their neighbours, the individuals who benefit are often not. One American federal-contracting programme favours businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people. Such people can be 87 times richer than the average American family and still be deemed disadvantaged if their skin is the right colour. One beneficiary of South Africas programme of Black Economic Empowerment is worth an estimated $675m; he is also the deputy president of the ruling party. Letting members of certain groups charge more and still win public contracts is nice for the few who own construc-
tion firms; less so for the many who rely on public services. The same goes for civil-service quotas. When jobs are dished out for reasons other than competence, the state grows less competent, as anyone who has wrestled with Indian or Nigerian officialdom can attest. Moreover, rules favouring businesses owned by members of particular groups are easy to game. Malaysians talk of Ali-Baba firms, where Ali (an ethnic Malay) lends his name, for a fee, to Baba (a Chinese businessman) to win a government contract. Although these policies tend to start with the intention of favouring narrow groups, they spread as others clamour to be included. That American federal programme began by awarding no-bid contracts to firms owned by blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans; now it covers people with ancestry from at least 33 countries. In India 60% of the population are eligible for privileges as members of scheduled castes, tribes or other
backward classes. Such policies poison democracy by encouraging divisions along lines drawn by discriminatory rules. The anger thus stoked has helped stir bloody conflicts in India, Rwanda and Sri Lanka. And such rules, once in place, are almost impossible to get rid of. In 1949 Indias constitution said quotas should be phased out in ten years, but they are now more widespread than ever. Americas policies have survived decades of legal pushback, though not unscathed. The content of their character The University of Texas (UT) justifies discriminating in favour of black people not on the ground that society owes it to them, but because, it claims, a diverse university offers a better education to all its students. That is a reasonable argument some companies benefit from understanding a variety of customers, for instance, and the police probably keep order better if enough of them share
a culture with the neighbourhood they patrol but it does not wash for most institutions. In UTs case, although colleges benefit from a diversity of ideas, to use skin colour as a proxy for this implies that all black people and all Chinese people view the world in a similar way. That suggests a bleak view of the human imagination. Universities that want to improve their selection procedures by identifying talented people (of any colour or creed) from disadvantaged backgrounds should be encouraged. But selection on the basis of race is neither a fair nor an efficient way of doing so. Affirmative action replaced old injustices with new ones: it divides society rather than unites it. Governments should tackle disadvantage directly, without reference to race. If a school is bad, fix it. If there are barriers to opportunity, remove them. And if Barack Obamas daughters apply to a university, judge them on their academic prowess, not the colour of their skin.
Sam Gustin
or Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, the number appears to be $1.1 billion. Thats how much cash Yahoo plans to pay for New Yorkbased social-blogging platform Tumblr, according to multiple reports. Yahoos board approved the transaction on Sunday, and an announcement is expected on Monday, according to AllThingsD. Although $1.1 billion seems like a massive amount to pay for a company that generated only $13 million in revenue last year, its not hard to see Mayers logic: Tumblr has become a cultural phenomenon with over 100 million intensely loyal users reading and posting on over 100 million blogs each month. That said, the deal carries risks for both companies. Tumblr is extremely popular with the highly coveted 18-to-24year-old demographic. The question is whether Tumblr can burnish Yahoos image with younger users, some of whom werent even born when Jerry Yang and David Filo founded the company in 1994. For many users, Tumblrs independence and casual approach to generating revenue have been part of what made the site popular. For years, Tumblr founder David Karp resisted plastering ads on the site. But Yahoo, a public company, will face pressure to monetize Tumblr, and if Mayer acts too aggressively, she could alienate the sites users, who feel a deep sense of community and ownership in the network. Already, many Tumblr users are less than thrilled about the Yahoo deal: when TIME wrote about the impending offer on Friday, hundreds of Tumblr users took to the comments section to voice their objections. In short, for many users, the question is not whether Tumblr will make Yahoo cool, but whether Yahoo will suck the coolness out of
Yahoos billion buck Tumblr gamble

Tumblr, as my colleague Harry McCracken observed. That sentiment was captured by TechCrunch co-editor Alexia Tsotsis, who told one of her colleagues that if Yahoo buys Tumblr, she will seriously consider moving her blog to another platform. I dont know exactly why, but my Tumblr is a part of my identity, Tsotsis said. And for whatever reason, I dont want to identify with Yahoo. Tumblr users have good reason to be apprehensive, because Yahoos track record with acquisitions has been decidedly mixed. Remember GeoCities or del.icio.us? Even Flickr, the photo-sharing site Yahoo purchased in 2005, has languished in the shadow of upstarts like Instagram, which was purchased by Facebook last year for $1 billion in cash and stock. Mayer would be wise to follow the example of that deal, in which Facebook took a very hands-off approach to Instagram. And it sounds like shes gotten the message, according to AllThingsD, which reported that the Tumblr brand will remain intact and Karp will continue running the platform. As one Tumblr source told the website: This will be a very delicate dance, since so much could go wrong if done without care. The truth is that its going to take a lot more than a splashy acquisition to reverse Yahoos multiyear slide. For nearly a decade, Yahoo has been adrift, lacking a clear vision and strategy, as its been eclipsed by Google as well as social-media giants like Facebook and Twitter. For years, Yahoo seemed intent on becoming a new media-and-entertainment behemoth, particularly under former CEO Terry Semel, who spent over two decades working in Hollywood for Warner Bros. before joining Yahoo. He left the company in 2007. Since then, the Internet giant has had a series of chief executives who failed to reverse the companys slide. The situation reached a nadir earlier last year during a bizarre episode involving former CEO Scott Thompson, who admitted he didnt have the computer-science degree he listed on his rsum when he got the Yahoo job. Thompson, who had replaced the outspoken Carol Bartz as CEO, was soon jettisoned. Veteran media executive Ross Levinsohn was named interim CEO, but Yahoos board clearly felt that more drastic change was needed and hired Mayer, an accomplished engineer with computer-science degrees from Stanford, who was Googles 20th employee.
Since assuming command of Yahoo in July, Mayer has made clear that she wants to incorporate Yahoos products like Yahoo Mail, Flickr and its popular home page into the daily habits of its users. In order to achieve that goal, Mayer is trying to refocus Yahoo on the user experience, which was her specialty at Google, where she played a major role in developing Googles famously minimalist searchbox layout, and would eventually spearhead Googles most successful products, including Gmail, Google News and Google Maps. Tumblrs focus on design clearly dovetails with Mayers aesthetic sensibility. Yahoos $1.1 billion deal to buy Tumblr is Mayers largest acquisition to date, and represents something of a high-stakes gamble, because the purchase price constitutes over one-quarter of the cash and short-term investments on Yahoos balance sheet. Its hard to imagine Yahoo undertaking another billion-dollar acquisition anytime soon, and it will likely be years before it will be possible to assess whether the deal is successful. Mayers challenge now is to begin leveraging Tumblrs massive user base to boost Yahoos bottom line. But she needs to act carefully. Internet users are fickle, and teenagers doubly so. If Tumblrs loyal users feel Yahoo is messing with their beloved community, the site could face an exodus. And that definitely wouldnt be cool.

the trained eye. This is because, these days, far too few questions are asked about what kind of thinking let alone (what many call) knowledge is closed off by placing the university at the service of what economic historian Emma Rothschild calls a society of universal commerce. Within the daily life of the university, this understanding is further complicated because the market template which underpins the economic-centered society is used to make academic choices. So government bureaucrats and university managers make decisions, such as how many music students society can afford, on the basis of the purported impartiality of the market without asking the prior question: Can there be a genuine market in such matters? No matter how many indices economists and bureaucrats dream up, the answer is that there cannot be not now, not ever. However it is packaged, the self-styled free market is rigged by the grubby world of interests (read: politics), but this is hidden by, among other things, the habits of accepted speech. This certainly is the view of Cambridge don Stefan Collini, whose recently published book of the same title has won him both acclaim and criticism in the United Kingdom. It will do the same, I confidently predict, wherever it is read, which is the reason why this book should be read by all university people and urgently, too. But there is also a more immediate reason why South African academics should read it. The restructuring of higher education in this country has all too easi-
Business
Continued from 1
Making business from Universities

ly followed the reform of the sector in the UK. Indeed, the language of this reform language that reveals a kind of mercantilism of the intellect, in Collinis words has seeped into every conversation on South African higher education. Cut from the same cloth This should be no surprise, of course. Not only are our universities cut from the same traditional cloth as Britains, but since apartheids ending there has been a thickening network of old connections and the building of new ones. This explains, incidentally, why more than a few local vice-chancellors have taken on successful second careers by heading up British universities. Moreover, a residue of British expertise in higher education and its crusade of reforms is scattered across the local institutions many of them are refugees from the cult of transformation that followed apartheids ending. So there is a clear resonance between Collinis brilliant analysis of the situation in the UK and what faces South Africas ever-turbulent university sector. But be warned that this book for all Collinis appealing prose is not an easy or comforting read. Nor, indeed, was it meant to be. Like all university people should be at what has happened to the institutions that carry us and our craft, Collini is angry angry, yes, but wonderfully measured in his anger. For the managerially inclined reader, be warned: Collini offers little comfort. His intention is not to provide an answer to the average deans myriad management puzzles: How can I increase the through-put rate? How can I cut salary costs? How can I up the research output? How can I change the racial composition of the faculty? For Collini, these kinds of questions are the very problem of the modern university and answering them only entrenches a sense of intellectual bankruptcy that has allowed the ern ... [as used here] means using the market model. And he draws on an old term guff, a word with Nordic roots that means gobbledygook to describe the market-centered discourse that shapes everyday talk about the purpose of the university. This suggests that Collini, a professor of intellectual history and English literature, is not sympathetic
Stefan Collini addressing the University of Cambridge. Photo courtesy of Youtube.com
modern university to drift perilously close to emulating the business corporation. HiEdBizUK, as he dubs it in a dedicated chapter, has many forms of surveillance, notwithstanding the claim of its human resource experts that good performance should always be rewarded. A close reading of policy documents reveals that human resources departments are more interested in protecting the university budget than in preserving forms of deep scholarship. On all this, Collini is clear: Mod-
to (what far too many lovingly call) applied knowledge. Instead, his purpose and his technique are critique. This, he believes, is not only in and of itself an authoritative form of knowledge, but it serves a practical purpose by allowing a consideration of more adequate principles of behaviour and organisation. Missing the contradictions This kind of thinking will unsettle South African debates on higher education in which, sadly, most (if not all)
conversations believe that the only thing that matters in higher education is policy-speak, which quickly returns to the diktat of the market. The result is that an abundance of deep-seated contradictions in the South African higher education policy framework to deliberately choose the way in which invariably the conversation is teed up is simply passed over. Although critique can, and does, point to many practical problems, its purpose is to persuade by allowing, in Collinis words, more adequate principles to infiltrate public debate and engage society. So, following this thread, critique can set a research agenda for real higher education reform, both in South Africa and elsewhere a reform that is not dominated by a single, arbitrary notion such as the market. If we are truthful, our solutions, like his, will be that all academic work must begin with the assumption that there can only be interim reports. This is because we live in an underexplored world; all knowledge is tentative, which is why the market that commands so much space in the lives of universities and society can only and always only be a provisional answer to the question. The idea of the market has taken on an ideological patina like apartheid once did. Breaking this will not be easy, as Collini recognises. But his plea that universities need advocates is surely a call to arms for all university people. Our defence can no longer be that our work supports the economy, because this argument only plays into the discourse that has brought universities to this sorry point. Like Collini we need instead to ask some first-order questions in very public places.
Uncovering Apples mighty tax diversion

Senators beat up a U.S. success for following the tax laws they wrote.
ou almost have to admire Carl Levins timing. Amid a furor over politicized IRS tax enforcement, the Michigan Democrat on Tuesday tried to change the subject to a hardy Washington perennial corporate tax loopholes. Too bad his designated business piata, Apple, demonstrates instead the insanity of the tax code that Mr. Levin has done so much to write. Mr. Levin unveiled the results of his monthslong investigation into Apples corporate taxes and accused the American business success of employing alchemy and gimmickry to lower its tax bill. What Mr. Levin did not do was present any evidence of anything illegal or even inappropriate. He did prove that Apple has smart accountants and tax lawyers. Mr. Levin is outraged that Apple subsidiaries in Ireland pay little or no corporate income tax on profits generated from Apples international sales. Ireland has a laudably low corporate tax rate of 12.5% to attract jobs and capital, but it turns out that for certain corporations controlled by entities outside Ireland, the deal gets better. The Apple units are based in Ireland, so U.S. law does not consider them to be U.S. corporations subject to U.S. corporate tax. But since they are managed and controlled by Apple in the U.S., Irish law doesnt consider them Irish companies and thus they are also not subject to the 12.5% Irish corporate tax. This isnt alchemy; its accountancy. Mr. Levin claims that as a result one Apple subsidiary reported net income of $30 billion from 2009-2012 but didnt pay any corporate income tax. Apple says that since 2003 its Irish subsidiaries have paid a corporate rate of 2% or less, though it has also created some 4,000 Irish jobs. None of this required a Senate investigation to discover because Apple is constantly inspected by the IRS and other tax authorities. These tax collectors are well aware of Apples corporate structure, which has remained essentially the same since 1980. An Apple executive said Tuesday that the companys annual U.S. tax return adds up to a stack of paperwork more than two feet high. We wonder what the Irish think of the spectacle of an American Senator expressing outrage that an American company doesnt pay enough Irish taxes. As Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson pointed out on Tuesday, Americans are better off when U.S.
Quickie: Advertising
% share of worldwide ad spending in 2012. The electric fish-bowl takes the most cash.
Outer ring: World Inner ring: South Africa
companies pay less in taxes to foreign governments. That includes Americans who are invested in Apple through their mutual and pension funds. And it includes Apples U.S. workers who benefit when the company is able to sell more iPhones and iPads overseas. Roughly 50,000 of Apples 75,000 employees are in the U.S. Its also amazing to behold Democrats who routinely claim that high tax rates dont matter to business behavior denouncing a business for engaging in behavior to avoid paying higher tax rates. Which brings us to the real scandal that Mr. Levin has exposed: the folly of Americas corporate tax code. The genuin utrage is that Apples profits in the U.S. are subject to ombined state and federal statutory tax rate of 39.1% that is the developed worlds highest. Corporate taxation is so heavy in the U.S. relative to other countries that even while enjoying its near-zero rate in Ireland, Apple ends up with roughly the same overall effective tax rate, 14%, as South Koreas Samsung, its main global competitor. Yet Samsung still enjoys a tax advantage, because it has more flexibility to allocate those profits to the most promising investments anywhere in the world. Like other U.S. companies, Apple pays an extreme tax penalty for bringing its foreign profits home to invest in the U.S. This is due both to the punitive U.S. tax rate and the fact that the U.S. is virtually alone in refusing to embrace a territorial tax system that applies corporate income taxes only in the jurisdiction where the money is earned. So its no surprise that Apple keeps $102 billion of its roughly $150 billion cash pile overseas. The repatriation tax penalty is so absurd that Apple chose in April to borrow $17 billion to pay a prospective dividend to shareholders rather than pay out of its overseas cash hoard. All of which argues for a corporate tax reform that would at the very least cut the combined U.S. statefederal rate to the mid-20s to be comparable with many of our trading partners. Wed suggest something closer to the Irish model ideally zero but 12.5% also works to turbo-charge growth and coincidentally generate lots of new revenue for Mr. Levins beloved IRS. Speaking of which, Mr. Levin is one of those Senators who wrote the IRS demanding that it inspect the tax-exempt status of Americans for Tax Reform, the Club for Growth and other groups that are his ideological opponents. Why does the IRS allow 501(c)(4) organizations to self declare? he roared in July 2012. The IRS seems to have followed his orders, so no wonder he is trying to change the subject.
World Total: $ 557bn S.A. Total: $39.5m
World Television Print Radio Outdoor Internet Cinema 62.8% 27.5% 5.2% 2.3% 1.9% 0.3%
S.A. 46.2% 30.9% 13.9% 4.2% 2.5% 1.8%
% share of spend by industry.
Automotive
Telecoms Media
7.5 11.2
5.7
8.0
3.3 5.2 4.9 11.7 5.3
Clothing & Accessories Distribution Durables
Industry & Services Healthcare
9.9
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
25.1
Enterntainment Financial
10
Motoring
Fiat 500
Legends: Reincarnated
Fiat 500
1957
VW Beetle
2007
VW Beetle
1958
Mini Cooper
2012
Mini Cooper
1959
2007
Aaron Bragman
he last big auto show of the global season is upon us, and it is shaping up to be perhaps the biggest. Mercedes-Benz which wants to sell more cars in China like every other global automaker chose the Auto Shanghai 2013 motor show to unveil a new concept: the Concept GLA compact crossover. Not just a show car, it is built off of the same platform as Mercedes-Benzs A and B-Class vehicles that which we will see in the U.S. as the 2014 CLA sedan and B-Class Electric Drive, so it has a good chance of making it into production in some form. It uses a 2.0-liter, 208-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a seven-speed automatic transmission and M-Bs 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. So mechanically, the Concept GLA is certainly feasible, and given the Chinese markets thirst for small premium compact crossovers, it makes sense. Styling is more concept-car fantasy than the mechanicals, though its exterior could easily be translated into a production vehicle, once the GLA loses things like laser-beam headlights and 20-inch wheels. The company says that not only do the lasers help shine more light on the road, but they can also operate as projectors, displaying any visual media played through the cars entertainment system. While it may be fun to bring your own drive-in movie wherever you go, M-B says that it also could be used as a kind of nextgeneration head-up display, projecting things like navigation arrows on the road to help the driver and surrounding pedestrians know where the car is going. Inside, a layered approach to the dash is attractive, featuring interesting white, but if they get any warmer or colder, they glow painted plexiglass control buttons. Mercedes-Benz is red and blue, respectively. going for the image of an expensive saddle with color Tone down the concept-car fun, and what you see and leather choices; theres 65 feet of hand-stitched here could easily be a new GLA-Class small urban cowhide in the four-passenger interior. Another crossover to complement Mercedes-Benzs push into out-there show car features: The air vent surrounds entry-luxury market segments. are temperature sensitive at 71 degrees they glow
GLA:
Simply Vicious
Mercedes Benz GLA unveiled at the Shanhai 2013 motor show. Clockwise around centre: Stationary front view; stationary rear view; headlight detail; taillight detail; interior detail; rear view. Centre: Side motion view. Source: Daimler AG
Technology
Technology Agency (Sita), which hosts the SAPS website. Auditor Gen. Terence Nombembe, who has been warning national and provincial departments about poor IT security, said that until recently government did not have a framework to deal with vulnerabilities in its IT systems. Thats where the loophole is at the moment. Its basically rolling out the initiatives to those recommendations we made to departments. But vulnerability [to hackers] is still there because not all the departments have been able to respond with speed to this level of vulnerability, he said. Crime Intelligence cybercrime experts have been tasked with tracking. Sita executive for ICT service delivery Mmakgosi Mosupi said the agency was now reviewing security mechanisms on all the government websites it hosted. The process involves doing penetration tests and vulnerability scans to close any loopholes. Sita has joined forces with other government institutions to mitigate against hacks and we are continuously monitoring websites for any abnormal activities, she said. Recent cyber attacks on stateowned web properties include last Januarys cyberheist of R42m from Postbank and an attack on the Sanral e-tolls website. Craig Rosewarne, chairperson of the Information Security Group Africa, said his group had repeatedly warned government decision makers of the importance of data security. Unfortunately, were just going to have to wait for more incidents to take place and more public pressure around these issues before we see the urgency needed.
11
Fighting fire with fire

Government has brought in its own band hackers to fight DomainerAnon
Jeane van der Merwe, Andrew Trench, Thanduxolo Jika and Xollani Mbanjwa
ohannesburg - The states IT agency has brought in its own hackers to protect government websites from international cyber attacks after the website of the SA Police Service (SAPS) was cracked two weeks ago. In possibly the biggest cyber attack against government, the names, numbers and addresses of thousands of crime whistle-blowers were published on the internet. In the same week, following a tip-off, City Press alerted the City of Johannesburg to a serious security hole in a key online database, which exposed thousands of ratepayers personal and account information to prying eyes. Network-security experts warn that South African government sites and servers are ripe targets for cyber attacks, with the exploit against the police by a hacker named DomainerAnon simply a taste of what could come. DomainerAnon - who said the hack was to avenge the 34 miners shot at Marikana - released 16 000 crime whistle-blowers details online. The details were extracted from the police website, where crime tipoffs and other information is submitted to the police. The hacker also publicly released a further 800 login and contact details of police officials, including cellphone numbers. Police spokesperson Brigadier Phuti Setati insisted that no confidential or case information was r eleased and said the security hole had been plugged by the State Information
U.S. universities open doors through online courses

Tamar Lewin
azzled by the potential of free online college classes, educators are now turning to the gritty task of harnessing online materials to meet the toughest challenges in American higher education: giving more students access to college, and helping them graduate on time. Nearly half of all undergraduates in the United States arrive on campus needing remedial work before they can begin regular credit-bearing classes. That early detour can be costly, leading many to drop out, often in heavy debt and with diminished prospects of finding a job. In California alone, higher education cuts have left hundreds of thousands of college students without access to classes they need. To address both problems and keep students on track to graduation, universities are beginning to experiment with adding the new massive open online courses, created to deliver elite college instruction to anyone with an Internet connection, to their offerings. Although millions of studends around the world enrole, most never attempt a single assignment and very few actually complete the courses. To combat this, universities have turned to adding extra support to the online materials in hopes of improving suc-
cess rates. Were in Silicon Valley, we breathe that entrepreneurial air, so it makes sense that we are the first university to try this, said Mohammad Qayoumi, the universitys president. In academia, people are scared to fail, but we know that innovation always comes with the possibility of failure. And if it doesnt work the first time, well figure out what went wrong and do better. San Jose State has already achieved remarkable results with online materials from edX, a non-profit online provider, in its circuits course, a longstanding hurdle for would-be engineers. Usually, two of every five students earn a grade below C and must retake the course or change career plans. So last spring, Ellen Junn, the provost, visited Anant Agarwal, an M.I.T. professor who taught a free online version of the circuits class, to ask whether San Jose State could become a living lab for his course, the first offering from edX, an online collaboration of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The results were striking: 91 percent of those in the blended section passed, compared with 59 percent in the traditional class.
Traditional teaching will be disappearing in five to seven years
Were engineers, and we check our results, but if this semester is similar, we will not have the traditional version next year, said Khosrow Ghadiri, who teaches the blended class. It would be educational malpractice. It is hard to say, though, how much the improved results come from the edX online materials, and how much from the shift to classroom sessions focusing on small group projects, rather than lectures. Until now, there has been little data on how well the massive online courses work, and for which kinds of students. Blended courses provide valuable research data because outcomes can easily be compared with those from a traditional class. The results in the San Jose circuits course are probably the most interesting data point in the whole MOOC movement, Mr. Jarrett said. Dr. Junn said, We want to bring all the hyperbole around MOOCs down to reality, and really see at a granular level thats never before been available, how well they work for underserved students. On Wednesday, San Jose State announced that next fall, it will pay a licensing fee to offer three to five
more blended edX courses, probably including Harvards Ancient Greek Heroes and BerkeleysArtificial Intelligence. And over the summer, it will train 11 other California State campuses to use the blended M.I.T. circuits course. Traditional teaching will be disappearing in five to seven years, Dr Qayoumi predicts, as more professors come to realize that lectures are not the best route to student engagement, and cash-strapped universities continue to seek cheaper instruction. The online mentors work in shifts at Udacitys offices in nearby Mountain View, Calif., waiting at their laptops for the bing that signals a question, and answering immediately. We get to hear the aha moments, and these all-caps messages THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, said Rachel Meltzer, a former clinical research manager at Stanford and mentor who is starting medical school next fall. The mentors answer about 30 questions a day, like how to type the infinity symbol or add unlike fractions or, occasionally, whether Ms. Meltzer is interested in a date. The questions appear in a chat box on-screen, but tutoring can move to a whiteboard, or even a live conversation. When many students share confusion, mentors provide feedback to the instructors.
What attracted us to Udacity was the pedagogy, that they break things into very small segments, then ask students to figure things out, before youve told them the answer, said Dr. Rogers, who spends an hour a day reading comments on the forum for the worldwide version of the class. Were approaching this as an empirical question, Dr. Rogers said. If the results are good, then well scale it up, which would be very good, given how much unmet demand we have at California public colleges. Any wholesale online expansion raises the specter of professors being laid off, turned into glorified teaching assistants or relegated to second-tier status, with only academic stars giving the lectures. Indeed, the faculty unions at all three California higher education systems oppose the legislation requiring credit for MOOCs for students shut out of on-campus classes. The state, they say, should restore state financing for public universities, rather than turning to unaccredited private vendors. Im involved in this not to destroy brick-and-mortar universities, but to increase access for more students, Dr. Rogers said. If short videos and embedded quizzes with instant feedback can improve student outcomes, why should professors go on writing and delivering their own lectures?
12
Thinkification
Water W
Simply put, a water footprint is the total amount of water stand the implications of thess insights, youll never look at products the same way again. Heres an example: used in the production of something. Provided you under- uses 35 litres in the production process. How did we get that figure? Well,
35 litres =
Packaging 7 litres Ingredients 28 litres
But thats not the end of the story. The clever people at Pegasys Strategy and Development say that there are three types of water: Blue, Green and Grey. Blue water is garden variety H2O from a surface or ground sources, Green water is rainwater and Grey water represents the volume of freshwater that is required to dilute or assimilate he load of pollutants Combined they make up the total water foot-print.
Packaging
13% 4% 13%
Ingredients
20% 28% 34%
Total
23%
52%
43%
13
World
Coffee 142.8l
The hidden reality behind everyday consumables
800ml Take-away Coffee

Cup 5.7l Water 0.8l Sugar 7.6l
Lid 2.4l
Milk 49.5l
Total litres of water used in production of one 800ml cup of take-away coffee:
208
1 litre Wine:
Other interesting everyday examples:

1 kg Chicken:
155 litres
1 Microchip:
1 litre Beer:
3.5k 5.7 litres
16k litres
960 litres
15k - 70k litres

Source: Pegasys Strategy and Development
1 kg Beef:
14
Sport
And now for something a little different
Maasai Olympics New Traditions

Vanessa Knight
ecember 22nd saw man made dust devils spin wildly across the parched plains of the Kimana Wildlife sanctuary as scores of traditional Maasai Moranis, (warriors) gathered to take part in the first Maasai Olympics. Men from four dispersed villages, namely Kuku, Mbirikani, Olgulului and Rombo congregated at the foot of the majestic Mt. Kilimajaro in high anticipation. Sponsored and well represented by ATE (Amboseli Trust for Elephants), Big Life Foundation, Chester Zoo and MWCT (Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust) this event was the first of its kind in attempt to protect the nations endangered wildlife. Clad in their traditional and time-honoured attire, the sons of the menye-laiok sought a reprieve from the blistering African sun amongst the shadows of the leafy acacia. Each Moran was expected to compete in all of the five set events in attempt to make evident and prove his warrior potential. By similar token to the world renowned Olympics, this occasion would consist both of track and field events. The 800m and 1500m run,
rungu and spear throwing (similar to the recognised discus and javelin events respectively) and of course, the high jump. Smeared across each face was the distinctive red ochre war paint, although smudged in places through the occasional rolling bead of sweat, each Moran stood proud and ready. Through the persistently oppressive winds, a notably harmonious jingle was still apparent, and floated effortlessly from the radiant regalia that hung from every limb. As individuals readied themselves for each event, distinguished hums and the characteristic ululating shrieks pierced the air adding to the already exhilarating atmosphere. Under the watchful eye of Kenyas recent gold medallist Olympian, David Rudisha, Jacob Parmuyu through gritted teeth, sweat and tears secured first place position in the mens 1500m race. Armed with this achievement Parmuyu will travel to New York City later this year to compete in the momentous and challenging New York marathon. In addition to this, his entire trip will be fully funded to the tune of 1.2 million shillings and he will also walk away with a substantial cash bonus.
In preparation for the upcoming challenges, Rudisha has further extended Parmuyus opportunities by pledging his commitment to the cause, offering the young Moran a chance to join Kenyas elite athletes in one of the nations leading training camps. With the on-going onslaught of our precious wildlife, often caused by human conflict, it has become increasingly apparent that we need to take action. In earlier days Moranis would only progress into manhood having successfully slaughtered one of natures beasts. A lion was the most respected kill and the tail was often kept as a trophy and used as a fly swish. This past Maasai Olympics was one of many attempts to limit the often barbaric killings with an aim to promoting a more sustainable and accepted way of proving their skills, along with conservation through sports. As the unsettled dust catches the magical evening light, a clear message resonates across the parched lands and a nation in its entirety. Boys have become men with no blood spilled and our wildlife heritage remains intact to witness another dawning day, a new tradition.
Sport
15
Photos: Vanessa Knight
16
Grub
Winter Food:
Creamy Tomato & Basil Soup
Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 45 mins Serves: 8
Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup olive oil 1 1/2 cups chopped onions 3 pounds tomatoes - cored, peeled, and quartered 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves salt to taste ground black pepper to taste 1 quart chicken broth 1 cup heavy cream 8 sprigs fresh basil for garnish Directions: 1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Mix in tomatoes and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking 15 minutes. 2. Transfer soup to a blender (or use an immersible hand blender), and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and gradually mix in the heavy cream. Pour soup through a strainer before serving. Garnish each serving with a sprig of basil.
Classic Cocktails:
Mojito
Ingredients: 10 fresh mint leaves 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges 2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste 1 cup ice cubes 1 1/2 fluid ounces white rum 1/2 cup club soda Directions: Place mint leaves and 1 lime wedge into a sturdy glass. Use a muddler to crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils and lime juice. Add 2 more lime wedges and the sugar, and muddle again to release the lime juice. Do not strain the mixture. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with carbonated water. Stir, taste, and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge.
Arts & Entertainment
17
Duncan McLeod Just as the music industry was getting used to the idea of another shift in formats from compact discs as the distribution mechanism to digital downloads over the Internet another huge change in the way people listen to music looks set to shake the business to its foundations. A decade after Steve Jobs revolutionised music delivery by creating Apples iTunes Music Store offering consumers digital downloads for US$0,99 a pop and providing consumers a legal alternative to sites like Napster a new era of music streaming based on an all-you-caneat monthly subscription model is about to upend the status quo again. Its a development whose outcome could make previous format shifts look trivial by comparison. It could also represent the final format shift in a long line of formats that started with the phonograph cylin-
Streaming killed the download star

der and the gramophone record more than a century ago. This time around, its not Apple thats led the charge but a Swedish start-up called Spotify. Spotifys business model is simple: pay us a fixed monthly fee, and in return you can listen to millions of songs streamed over the Internet as often as you like, from your phone, tablet or PC, with no need to pay for individual downloads. Spotify ensures that record labels and artists receive their dues based on how often tracks or albums are streamed by subscribers. The Swedes have, however, suddenly found the market they pioneered very crowded indeed. Music streaming has drawn the attention of the worlds biggest technology companies, including Microsoft and Google, both of which are keen to use media content and other value-added services music is just one of many to entice users to their mobile platforms. In some respects, the music industry is becoming little more than a pawn in the smartphone war. Its future may be determined by forces now largely out of its control. Google became the latest tech giant to enter the market. At its annual developer conference in San Francisco this month it took the wraps off Play Music All Access, a streaming service costing $9,99/month. Its only available in the US for now, though its possible for non-Americans to sign up using a little technical trickery. Microsoft launched Xbox Music in October 2012 in some markets, with the companys local office promising to offer the service in South Africa, though its introduction has been delayed several times. Nokias been quicker to market, offering its Nokia Music+ streaming service to South Africans since last month, with access to 15-million songs at an aggressive price of just R25/ month far below rivals prices. And there are a raft of start-up hopefuls, from Germanys Simfy, which was launched in South Africa last year in partnership with Primedia, to Frances Deezer, which has partnered with Orange, the French telecommunications giant that has expressed an interest in launching a telecoms business here in competition with Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom Mobile. Apple is uncharacteristically late to the streaming game perhaps because its milking its lucrative iTunes downloads business for as long as it can, or perhaps because its playing hardball, as it has in the past, in its negotiations with the record labels. Nevertheless, it is strongly rumoured to be planning an iRadio service
this year. It has no other choice. Of course, streaming music has its drawbacks, especially in countries, like South Africa, where broadband coverage is spotty and expensive. The last thing most users will want to do is burn through their meagre mobile data allowances listening to streaming music. In homes with fixed-line broadband unfortunately, only a small minority in South Africa the proposition is quite different: on uncapped connections, streaming makes absolute sense. The developing world may take a little longer to adopt streaming on a mass scale. It will happen, though. The broadband situation in South Africa will improve, especially when additional radio frequency spectrum is licensed to operators to build fourth-generation networks. This should help reduce the per-megabyte cost of bandwidth dramatically in the years ahead. Now thats music to anyones ears.
Zulu closes off Cannes 2013

Continued from 1
white officer and South African actor Conrad Kemp. As a child, Whitakers character Ali narrowly escaped being murdered by Inkhata, a militant political party at war with Nelson Mandelas anti-apartheid ANC. Now, as chief of Cape Towns homicide branch, his quest to bring the perpetrator to justice leads him on a path that uncovers the unhealed wounds of post-apartheid South Africa. Zulus explicit and, at times even gratuitous, depiction of violence and inter-human relations paints a highly cynical picture of post-colonial Cape Town, one in which authorities are corrupt and vigilante justice is king. Whitaker won the Oscar for his mesmerising portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 2006s The Last King of Scotland and is known for adopting a method-acting approach to his roles. In preparation for Zulu he met with real-life Zulu gang members some just out of prison and went inside local communities to immerse himself in the character who suffers personal tragedies both in childhood and as an adult. I met the actual gang members from the different communities: the Zulu gang leaders and the different members out of the prisons ... I find that it helps to find the source of the character, the actor said. The violent crimes unit took me around quite a bit ... which helped me understand what it was like to be around the townships, he said, adding that he also learned Zulu and Afrikaans in the weeks up to filming. Though the films barbaric depiction of torture and murder has been panned by some critics as too showy severed heads, rapes and graphic mutilations Whitaker said the film is accurate in its portrayal of gangland violence. There were a number of necklacings in Khayelitsha, even while we were there, said Whitaker, referring to the summary execution and torture carried out by forcing a rubber tire, filled with petrol, around a victims chest and arms, and setting it on fire. There is that bubbling undercurrent exploding in different ways, he added, saying that while filming in South Africa he saw communities losing faith with local law enforcement and taking justice into their own hands. This mirrors very closely the denouement of the film, where Ali is gripped by thirst for revenge and bloody personal justice. In preparation for the role, I was dealing with officers and people in the community were saying: Theyre not listening to us. Theyre not helping us. Theyre allowing people to do these horrible things in our neighbourhood. We have to take charge. We are the elders of this community, and we are not going to allow certain things to happen. And where does all that come from? Where is the pain that brings out these things? I think thats whats going to have to be addressed, he said. Conrad Kemp, the films only South African actor, said vigilante justice is widespread in the country and linked to people thinking that regular justice is simply failing them. For Whitaker, however, the real picture is not as bleak as the film might make out. He said slow, apartheid-related forgiveness is occurring. Its related to the history of colonialisation those issues which have to do partly with forgiveness and being able to move forward, the actor said. It is slow ... [but] the continent is full of potentiality, its growing, its changing, its moving.
18
Travel
Kijiji
F
ound just 25 kilometers south of Mombasa, Kenya, and situated along one of the worlds most breathtaking coastlines (Diani Beach) lay Kijiji cottages. Nestled amongst the leafy palms and just off the main Diani drag are three privately owned sea facing cottages that make up the Kijiji collection. The name Kijiji is derived from the widely spoken, local dialect of Kiswahili and literally means small village. The close proximity and cosiness of the cottages paints a charming picture and gives the complex its unique name. Positioned at the very top of the property and close to the entrance, is an inviting crystal blue swimming pool bordered by reclining sun loungers, ideal for the sun worshippers among us! The cottages are perched on a coral outcrop that overhangs the glistening white beach. To warrant easy beach access, steps have been painstakingly carved into the ancient fossilised headland. The 10 cottages that comprise Kijiji share both the pool and beach access with its sister compound, Warrandale, Almond, Bonde and Spring are the three chalets available for rent and can each respectively, accommodate between five to six guests. The cottages are all adequately furnished and tastefully decorated to a coastal theme thus making your stay a truly home from home experience! Traditional funzi beds draped in local vibrant kikoy material add to that classic coastal feel, perfect to kick back on with a book after a succulent seafood lunch. If your cravings are for the freshest fish, tender calamari, crab, colossal prawns or even the ever elusive lobster you need dream no further for, Hamisi, one of the many local fishermen is just a phone call away and will deliver his fresh-from-the-sea catch, right to your door step! If you are not big on mornings, you will find that waking up in one of these cottages is more than just bearable. Open your eyes to the panoramic sea views visible right from the comfort of your own bed. For your added comfort and guaranteed relaxation, each cottage comes with a smiley and willing maid plus an experienced chef to conjure up some of your favourite seafood and international dishes. Whilst you are out and about, the house is shined spotless, beds are made with freshly starched-white linen, and laundry can be done on request at no extra cost. Roaming the grounds you will discover an array of indigenous animals including the endangered Colobus monkey. These relatively shy, caped primates co-habit quite comfortably with the cheekier Vervet monkey and his more mischievous and inquisitive counterpart, the Sykes monkey. To avoid unexpected encounters with these curious creatures (and speaking from personal experience) I would advise you lock away any valuables and tempting food stuffs whenever you are out. For the bird-watchers there is a large spectrum of avian fauna that can be seen from the comfort of your veranda. A truly magical experience not to be missed! For more information on Kijiji cottages visit their website at www.kijijicottages.com or for a direct enquiry or booking send an e-mail to kijijicottages@gmail.com
Photos: Vanessa Knight
19
20
BackPage
he seventh annual Sexual Violence = Silence protest took place on Friday 19 April and has gone beyond Rhodes Universitys campus for the first time as awareness efforts are raised in other parts of South Africa. Wits University, the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, a Speak Out Cape Town event, UCT and Fort Hare are also a part of the initiative which stands in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence. At 6am protestors at Rhodes University in Grahamstown gathered in preparation for the Silent protest. The Wits protest kicked off at 8am outside the Wits Matrix where purple t-shirts were distributed and mouths were taped. A large amount of the
protestors will be gagged for the entire day, sacrificing food, water and speech as a symbolic embodiment of the silence endured by the many survivors of rape. Others will don shirts with rape survivor printed on the front and an explanation on the back. There are also participants who wear shirts declaring their solidarity with survivors of sexual violence. The silent protest started at Rhodes 6 years ago where about 100 people joined. This year 1500 protesters marched from Alec Mullins at Rhodes and 1150 showed support at Wits University. In a media statement released by organisers, focus was drawn to how greater public attention needs to be directed towards rape as an issue while addressing the services provided to survivors.
Government crime statistics reveal that 65 000 sexual assaults were reported in SA last year. Of these only 6.5% are successfully prosecuted and less than half of 1% of perpetrators will serve any jail-time, the statement read. The analysis and statistics paint a grim picture of how South Africans from all walks of life are affected. All studies agree that the vast majority never report the crime to the police and there are many statistics available focusing on the ratio of reporting to non-reporting of rape survivors: the most conservative estimate comes from Rape Crisis (1 in 4) and the most shocking comes from the SAPS (1 in25). These statistics translate to anywhere from 260 000 to over 1.5 million rapes annually, continued the statement.

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Friday, 24 May 2013

Friday, 24 May 2013

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Friday, 24 May 2013

Will Habib heal Wits?

7th annual Silent Protest goes national

Affirmative action: is your government colour-blind Olympics: Masai style

SRC at wits end with Pro-Israelis

Poor conditions at Fort Hare prompt protest

Nzimande calls on Hawks to investigate NWU drowning

Continues on 9 Zulu closes Cannes

What are universities really for anyway?

Apple nabbed for tax diversion

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Cape Town clamps down with brand new liquor by-law

Heres the low-down:

Retail: Pubs & Clubs:

after 6pm after 2am

If youre caught with more than

150 litres 20 cases

UCT shuttle safety compromised

or your posterier is going to the box for

so you wont pass Begin and collect R200.

41 year old cleaner gets a BTech

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Wits vice-chancellor designate expresses sympathy with angry staffs grievances.

Will Habib heal Wits?

Wits ills highlighted

South Africa needs more intellectuals, Nzimande

Facebook comments get Wits debating president banned

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

The African literary legend, Chinua Achebe. Photo: Craig Ruttle

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

A sample of Cannabis Sativa. Photo: David McNew

Shabangu calls for sanctions on Zim diamonds to be lifted

No one noticed her drown

Work smarter, not harder

News Features Exam Special

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Misreading the question

Spelling, grammar and register

Regurgitating in-class or lecture material

Panic and procrastination

Focusing on word count

In exams its vital that you dont jump the gun.

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Its time to scrap affirmative action

Yahoos billion buck Tumblr gamble

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Making business from Universities

Stefan Collini addressing the University of Cambridge. Photo courtesy of Youtube.com

Uncovering Apples mighty tax diversion

World Total: $ 557bn S.A. Total: $39.5m

S.A. 46.2% 30.9% 13.9% 4.2% 2.5% 1.8%

% share of spend by industry.

3.3 5.2 4.9 11.7 5.3

Clothing & Accessories Distribution Durables

Industry & Services Healthcare

Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Student & National Friday, 24 May 2013

Fighting fire with fire

U.S. universities open doors through online courses

Student & National - Newspaper

Student & National - Newspaper