Showing posts with label #Grazzle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Grazzle. Show all posts

Saturday, February 23, 2013

SRC reopens poster design contest


In a move that has been met with widespread approval, the Student Representative Council of Rhodes University has today reopened its infamous yearly competition for poster design, also known as an "election".

“Starting today, we’re opening up the competition for entries,” said SRC Competitions Councillor Lota Ree. “We’ve already had three entrants, and the competition is heating up! May the best poster win!”

The competition, which runs every year, judges contestants off a stringent set of criteria. However, the competition completely breaks established convention in that the judges are the students themselves.



Last year saw a flurry of big contenders who really pushed the limits on good design.

"We put all the posters up around campus for a few weeks, clog up their facebook feeds with our designs, and then we have a big campus-wide election voting process where students themselves decide which poster they love best," said Ree.

The competition has, in the past, been marred by low voter numbers. 

"Sometimes we have to run the competition two or three times a year," said Ree.

According to Ree, the panel takes into consideration where the pictures are posted and how many times they are stuck up. 

"The best contenders are often stuck up in the most obnoxious, in-your-face places, with the big-league competitors being pasted up as much as five times in a row. You know, just in case you didn't read the incorrect spellings of 'accountability' and 'Councillor' and how they're the candidate who will change the whole world the first four times," she said.

...by leaving res and resigning.

According to inside information, especially powerful submissions are those that make use of REALLY LOUD AND AGGRESSIVE BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS EVERYWHERE BECAUSE IT REALLY MAKES PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU’RE SAYING.

Our insider, who we made up because we can't be bothered going out on a Saturday and finding real sources to interview, also said that models in suits and short pink dresses pulling sexy or quasi-confident, pseudo-impressive power poses are a powerful tool in the competition.
"The judges also look for certain Key Words, such as 'accountability', 'honesty', 'transparency', 'change' and 'transformation'. Bad spelling and a horrific and utter disregard for grammar is a plus," he said.


Pink worked in 2012 - some students speculate that it'll be just as effective in Round Two. or Three. Or whatever.

The competition will award each of the winners with a slot in the SRC. First prize is the title of Media Councillor, with second and third being awarded Student Benefits and Residences Councillors respectively.


Due to its lack of bright colours, stupid typeface, bold lettering, Key Words, and its usage of clean photo-cropping and good layout, Sekele's poster was immediately discounted from the entries.

Unfortunately, professional designers and design students are not allowed to enter. The posters submitted are also restricted to being made with only Microsoft Paint and terrible Photoshop, with some small allowances for windows word-art and poorly cropped photos.

According to Will Bhevhoting, a first-year Bachelor of Arts student, the decision for this year’s winner is harder than ever. 


“One makes me feel like my eyes have been maced with a mixture razor blades and Autumn Harvest Crackling, and the other makes me want to vomit until I die. They really went all out this time,” he said.


Voting starts next week.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

SRC hit by councillor resignations




In a frankly unsurprising sudden shock development yesterday the Student Representative Council for Rhodes University lost three of its key members in the space of a week. The sudden resignations have left gaping holes in the Council, with the remaining members scrambling to restore order.

“We’re doing everything we can,” said hopefully not temporary Student Relations Councillor Will Mysguideu. “We should be back to our old self in no time at all.”

The council now has just four members, making it the largest working SRC since the infamous 1948 SRC that had four members and one guy who sort of did his job, kind of.

The first announcement came forward when Student Benefits Councillor Gohta Newjob and Kanpullout Firi, the Residence Councillor, both submitted their resignations. According to Noah Moorapathy, a third-year student who went to one grazzle and a student body meeting (thereby making him a relative expert among his peers), the move was not well received. 

“Miss Firi announced that she was not in residence anymore, which was strange because that’s kind of the whole the point of the job she took on  last year, isn’t it?” he said. Sources close to the ex-Councillor have pointed fingers at Tuesday's braised club steak for the sudden dramatic turn of events, citing its gross unchewability as the cause for her move.

“What with that hard meat being served with a gooey sauce over hard potatoes, I don’t see how the SRC could have avoided this catastrophe,” said Jerick Hoffay, who asked not to be named but screw him because he didn’t reply to our emails quickly enough.

The two resignations were almost immediately followed by the resignation of the council’s Media Councillor. In 2012, she ran a campaign aimed at trying to convince everyone that she could do the job, no problems. Yesterday an apology was posted by the ex-Councillor, saying that she didn’t know the job of Media Councillor involved such a heavy media focus.
She has since reportedly been nominated for the prestigious Sod Murphy prize for irony.


Upon learning that there is no Interacting With Students On A Personal Basis, Not Virtually Via Facebook, Twitter, Etc Councillor position, she decided to take the position of Student Benefits.

However, the SRC has been quick to assure fretful students that they needn’t worry. In what is being called the quickest SRC post ever on the SRC’s facebook page that totally hasn’t been hijacked by people looking to buy textbooks for their various courses, SRC President Willhyre Anybahdi reacted to student outcry by saying that the SRC was immediately looking to fill in the positions.

“After the grazzle, voting process, failed voting process, renominations and resubmissions of manifestos, second grazzle and second voting process that only just makes quorum, we should have a full SRC in time to wish us all a merry Christmas,” he said. Student Politics commentators have responded by calling it the boldest plan of the SRC since getting Jack Parow to Tri-Var, which, let's just be honest, was flippin' awesome.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Why the SRC Grazzle doesn’t matter

For those of you expecting my usual satirical poke at Rhodes’ or the SRC’s latest shortcomings, I apologise in advance: this post is a departure from my recent tongue-firmly-in-cheek style, and for good reason. The SRC elections, I have decided, are a subject that warrant serious consideration. As much as many students would want me to believe, these elections are no joke. We are in the process of choosing people who would represent us, the entire student body, speaking with our voice.

The Grazzle last night was… long (4 hours long). Long, I say, but not a waste of time. Rather to the contrary, I found it to be crucial in my making an informed decision about who I want speaking for me next year, instead of just picking the best poster, nicest smile or catchiest catchphrase.

Though there were some fantastic candidates up on the podium, there was a lot at the Grazzle to be disappointed about. Overall, it showed the general lack of maturity on the part of us students. We complain about ineffective or ineffectual leaders in the SRC, who (as much criticism pointed out) don’t deliver on their promises, delay societies’ much-needed funds, and generally contribute to and justify the prevailing mindset of student apathy at Rhodes. But we have to remember one disconcerting fact: we’re the ones who chose these leaders.

Now, I say “immature” because that is what the air at the Grazzle was. I say “immature” because much of the Grazzle was just a spectacle: of jibes, of emotionally-driven arguments, and sometimes even personal attacks stemming from presumptive natures. One guy in front of me had even brought popcorn for ‘the show’.

We are, it seems, a student body that is easily tricked and blind-sided by demagogy and this new-age obsession with highfalutin, largely irrelevant revolutionary vocabulary. Take, for example, Malaika Mahlatsi’s opening salutation: “greetings, sons and daughters of the earth”. Her being in first year and having no real leadership qualifications, as well as her claims that “the people don’t need liberators, they shall liberate themselves” are concerning, as is her opening line: “I promise nothing”. She says that she will change the agenda to meet the needs to the people, and engage with students via various communication channels (ad SRC naseum, blah blah blah), but what kind of office will operate effectively without having a defined, clear goal that doesn’t beat around the bush?

Another problem (and one that I’ve been rightfully chided on by Jean-Michel Gaud) is loyalist voting. I’ll admit, Brad Bense is a friend of mine. Gaud’s criticism made me realised that I – no, all of us at Rhodes – need to be more critical about whose name we tick come the election day. At the Grazzle, there was much screaming and cheering for candidates whom, I’ll be honest, I hadn’t seen anything about but posters. We’re in danger of this becoming a popularity contest where unlimited printing credit is key.

We’re also immature because we get played so easily by emotionally-charged appeals. Take, for example, Carey Frazer. Running for SRC Projects Manger, she all but begged the audience for their votes in an emotionally-charged tone of near desperation. Her campaign promised to highlight “social events” and touched on that old, cliché Dean of Students chestnut of No Alcohol. What, I wanted to ask, is her drive to make campaigns and projects that matter? For the past year I have been trying – and mostly failing – to succeed in my desire to erect a Reverse-osmosis filtration unit on campus, allowing everyone at Rhodes safe, clean water and freedom from the maybe-toxic, we-don’t-really-know municipal water that tastes like an iron bar dipped in mud. The thing is, I lack the resources, official backing and contacts to make such a project simple and possible: Carey could do much more than I, and yet her biggest concern is turning the SRC into the Hellenic Society or some other such Mare central.

Another problem: “AH! SHEE! YOH!"
Words to this effect punctuated almost every response and question. Mohammed Shabangu (who really, really did a fantastic job chairing the Grazzle, his clipped and no-nonsense tone forcing questions to be concise, relevant and to-the-point) has his work cut out for him trying to keep decorum. The problem with this is that firstly, it wasted time, and secondly, it makes valid, reasonable questions seem personal attacks or it overemphasises the usefulness/relevance of the candidates’ responses. “Well, if you’d read my manifesto…” said one candidate to massive, unwarranted and unsolicited outcries, making the member of the audience seem a moron and totally deflecting the question posed. These outbursts also makes everything seem melodramatic: simple questions become massive critiques, and lead to a few storm-outs. We need, in future, to be more level-headed. This is our future, not a Drama production.

Another worry was the tendency of “When in doubt, say ‘Purple Thursday’”. A question I got to ask (to Ndana Tendayi, running for International Councillor) was, “Apart from a few intermittent celebratory weeks and the International Week celebrations, there is very little in place to fully celebrate the diversity of nationalities at Rhodes. What do you intend to put into effect to change this, and celebrate diversity more fully?”. She seemed confused for a second, as if my question were stupid, and then simply said “Purple Thursday”, to a massive, “YOH” and general, unnecessary cheers from the crowd. She had, it seemed from the audience reaction, answered the question fully. Or entertained them. I’m not sure which mattered more.
Sure, Ndana approached me after the Grazzle and discussed the matter further with me, giving me a more useful answer, but by that stage the damage had been done. Words in private will never sway the power of public words.

On the subject of answers to questions, some did their utmost best to just not answer the question, or answer with a question, or just waffle on (the French have  a nice verb, “palabre”) until the audience are too bored to care that they haven’t been answered.

There was also an unbelievably drunk guy at the back. Always a nice touch. You, sir - whoever you are - who would make a mockery of this election, are a mockery of a man. You should be ashamed of yourself.

However, the most disappointing thing about the Grazzle is that even if it changes the vote, it will only shift the results slightly. This Grazzle was one of the most attended in a long while: there were maybe just under 200 people who witnessed the proceedings, and this is only a slice of the 7000-odd students that go to Rhodes and vote. The biggest shock to my system was Sarah Price Jones, the infamous Pink Link candidate whose pink-centred campaign and controversial video caused much debate (and, I’ll warrant, was the reason so many attended the Grazzle). 


Her video paints her as ditsy and not-to-be-taken-seriously-at-all. Her speech, presentation of her values, confidence, and her responses to the questions posed, however (at least to my reckoning), were great, to-the-point and a real eye-opener. However, though I now believe that she could actually do a good job as Media Councillor, I fear that the vast majority of voters - the haters, internet trolls and incredulous students who saw the campaign but did not attend the Grazzle - will never see this side of her. In effect her campaign, I feel, has damned her, a promising candidate.

The War of SRC Elections is not won at the Battle of Grazzle, but instead at the Battle of The Poster, Catchphrase and Video.

*----------------------------------------------------------------*

Here endeth the post: you may read on, if you wish, to see a little bit more detail on each candidate and my personal appraisal of their suitability for office. If you missed the Grazzle, this wouldn’t be a bad opportunity to get some notion of what they are like behind the poster.

SRC President
Brad Bense
“Umlungu”
Brad operated from a strong position of experience following his successes as 2012 Media Councillor. He is, I feel, more on-the-ground and cares passionately about student issues. His track record make him a promising candidate, and he has experience in the SRC. Only down points? His presentation was slightly flustered, and his campaign very controversial - though we have yet to be sure if it’s in a good or a bad way.

Sahke’ Badi
“Everybody needs some Badi”
Sahke’ is also an experienced individual, and didn’t seem as flustered as Brad. His speech was level, clear and to-the-point, and his answers (except for one, which was in the form of a question) were informed and relevant.

SECRETARY GENERAL

Mathaabe Thabane
A strong, promising candidate in an uncontested portfolio. An Honours student, Thabane appears experienced, outspoken and no-nonsense. Her vision for next year is thorough and builds on accountability. Flaws? Appears brash: presumed Bense was being arrogant and called him out publically on this, totally misinterpreting his words where she should have first sought clarity.

TREASURER

Alyssa Shawntay Williams
Not present at the debate.

Ntiskelelo Qoyo
Appears loved by the crowd. Promises reform on Societies funding processes, and claims that he will aim for full accountability next year. Also promised to publically publish the Financial Report in the various student media, but this is a promise that has been made and broken in the past.

ACADEMIC

Vuyolwethu Toli
An outspoken candidate who seemed popular with the audience, Vuyo seems to have a good idea of where this Portfolio should be heading if he is elected.

Victor Mafuku
A strongly-worded individual, Victor’s promises were many. However, his manifesto doesn’t say with any specificity just what he intend to do to solve the issues of academia at Rhodes (such as the abysmal Accounting 3 pass rate), and his conduct in the SRC facebook page has been less than savoury and not indicative of a clear-headed, mature candidate who can respond to criticism.

STUDENT BENEFIT AND SPONSORSHIP

Naledi Pholo
Naledi aims at increasing the student Bail-out fund and the pocket money fund for students on grants. She seems on the ball, with clear ideas as to fund-raising initiatives and corporate sponsorship. She did not, however, adequately respond to an audience member’s question concerning better transport systems (the questioner was forced to live in town, closer to the University and at a much higher rent, thanks in part to inadequate transport initiatives).

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Thabo Seshoka
Thabo is running for his second year in this portfolio, and has a host of initiative that he wants to expand, continue and build upon. His presentation and responses to questions were good, but questions still remain (at least in the audience’s mind) as to why he says there is “still so much left to do”. “Why haven’t you done it already?” they retort.

ACTIVISM AND TRANSFORMATION

Mbongeni Ngwenya
Mbongeni seems confident and has plans for the years ahead, but falls a little flat with the cliché argument that he “wants to engage more with the students to find out their needs” (a promise made by several candidates). His responses to questions wasn’t fully up to scratch, and seemed a bit waffle-y.

Malaika Mahlatsi
Prone to silly phraseology (“greetings, sons and daughters of the earth” – said not once, but twice), Mahlatsi’s campaign built on one confusing opening statement: “I won’t promise anything”. A first-year student who claims much experience in “various NGOs”, Mahlatsi’s suitability for office is questionable, especially as she hasn’t yet had a full year at Rhodes. Her response to Michelle Solomon” (a huge woman’s rights and sexual violence activist) questions were not, in my opinion, sufficient. “The people don’t need liberators; they shall liberate themselves”. One can only hope that her apparent popularity with the audience is more an indication of her suitability than her campaign, which seems to lack a unified direction and clear-cut goal or mission.

MEDIA

Sarah Price Jones
“Your link to pink”
Building off a hugely controversial campaign, Sarah’s presentation at the Grazzle was nothing short of surprising. Clear, driven and confident, Sarah responded quickly and easily to questions (especially tactfully to the question concerning her inability to handle criticsm), and admitted that she had erred a little in her judgement, saying that the video was “made out of amusement” and apologising.  I would have to say that Sarah was one of the more promising individuals at the Grazzle (maybe because of my prejudice towards her stemming from her campaign?). One can only hope that her presentation at Grazzle can overcome the image that students have ingrained in their heads following her Pink campaign.

Lulama Qongqo
Speaking to the point, Qongqo aimed for more work between the various media at Rhodes to allow for full accountability. She seemed set on maximising full communication between the SRC and students (especially those who lack internet), and promised many things: a text message service, a new website, and other social media platforms, such as BBM. However, when questioned as to how she would do all this and where the money would come from, she couldn’t answer properly.


Kirsten Allnutt
Coming in strong off a very clean, professional campaign of well-designed posters, and giving a strong speech that seemed to rub well with the audience, Allnutt seems to be a promising candidate who is taking the election process seriously, giving a clear vision of what she would do if elected (and not once mentioning Purple Thursday, thank god). The only two criticisms I can direct to her was her slight flusteredness at the podium, and her inability to fully deal with two (very difficult) questions asking her what she would do in her position to stand against the proposed Protection of Access to Information Bill. However, a strong campaign should work in her favour.

PROJECT MANAGER

Carey Frazer
Giving an appealing, lively speech and seeming to win the audience’s favour, Frazer outlined many possible projects for the future in the SRC. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she is trying to focus too much on social events and projects, and is totally ignoring the possibility to create lasting, useful initiatives and projects that benefit students for more than one crazy night. Her speech also, in my view, seemed a little too emotionally-charged, relying more on begging the voters than convincing them.

SOCIETIES

Amanda Green
Amanda, for some strange reason, didn’t give a speech, opting to play an audio recording of her speech and then expanding on it. Though she aims to change a lot if elected, I couldn’t help but feel that her method of interaction was a little ineffectual. Her speech also built on the idea “what a man can do, a woman can do better”, which is highly sexist (reverse sexism is okay, it would seem). Had a male candidate stood there and said “what a woman can do, a man can do twice as well”, how would the audience have reacted? Having a person in leadership who cannot see these nuances would be risky, to say the least, even if her promises to overhaul the societies’ funding appear credible.

Mufundo Makana
Calm and level-headed, Makana showed his ability to deal with criticism. Many of the questions directed at him drew on his apparent failures in office this year (it is set to be his second year in this Portfolio, if elected), and he handled them with grace. However, the question still hangs in the air: do we want someone in office for a second term who has, in effect, not succeeding in fulfilling his previous promises and who allowed the huge problem of societies’ late funding to go unchecked for such a long time?

INTERNATIONAL

Ndana Tedayi
Speaking confidently, Tendayi gave a lot of good points on what she would do if elected to ensure that International Students are helped. She responded well to questions (one directed at the “unfair” extra fees that International Students have to pay) but failed to address mine own, almost fobbing me off with a “Purple Thursday”. Though she approached me afterwards to clarify further, I felt that she should have instead answered my question publically and usefully, not privately and inconsequently.

ENVIRONMENT

Luke Cadden
Another promising candidate, Luke’s presentation was simple, effective and convincing. When I posed a question about wasted food, he answered in a way that was informative and showed that he had a clear direction in his head. He addressed several issues, including paper wastage and adding that Rhodes lacks separate, easy recycling measures. With a campaign that doesn’t build at all on personality (his poster – the few that he has, citing them to be “incredibly wasteful” – doesn’t have his face on it) and not perceivable downsides in his Grazzle presentation, Luke promises to be a good candidate for office.

OPPIDAN

Sixolile Timothy
Sixolile means well. She has a lot of ideas as to how to improve Oppidan relations and to ameliorate the dire security problems faced by students in digs, but some of these seemed, at times, a bit unrealistic. She aims to improve communication between the police and the university, but was unable to respond properly to a student’s claim that she had personally been robbed, and had had almost no police support whatsoever.

RESIDENCE

Khanyisile Phiri
Khanyisile built on the ideas of improving residence hygiene, nutrition, safety and security, and accessibility. However, personally, I found her attitude to be a bit presumptive: she singled out my residence (of which I’ve been a member for three years now) and said that it was dirty and unhygienic – a fact that could not be further from the truth. Our main cleaner (affectionately known as “Pinkie”) has done a fantastic job over the past three years, though I suppose I cannot speak for other residences. Otherwise, Khanyisile had some good ideas for nutrition and safety (always two big problems in res, though I’ve never personally had an issue with either).

Tendai Mapuranga
Tendai’s manner of speech-giving is all fire and brimstone. Speaking out strongly against “rules made in hell”, Tendai seeks to establish standard rules across the board (making both female and male residences stick to the same rules). I personally feel, however, that the rules don’t matter, but rather the enforcement: if one residence operated on a laissez-faire style of management, and another on a strict, tyrannical iron fist, no amount of official standpoint can change that.
Tendai (responding to a question about the university packing up all the rooms every holiday and renting them out) also seeks to “favour Rhodes students over businesses”, failing to take into account the way in which this Rhodes ‘Hotel’ system helps to keep fees much lower than they would otherwise be.

**** That’s all, folks! Happy voting!****