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25 April 2018 Photo Supplied
UFS Debate Society to compete in upcoming World Championships
The UFS Debate Society is a diverse, cross-boundary team of UFS students who are not strangers to success, and who are exceptionally brilliant at what they do. Before winning the largest open debating competition in Africa in 2018, the team had qualified and competed in the finals for three consecutive years since 2015. The society has now been selected to compete in the Cape Town Open Debating Competition this coming weekend from 27 to 29 April, in a build-up to the World Championships taking place in December 2018.

According to the UFS Debate Society Chairperson, Tshiamo Malatji: “Thinking artistically about debating requires one to make use of creative reasoning, and essentially, lateral thinking is of importance, even in your everyday life conversations, because you will never fundamentally agree with someone who has opinions which are opposed to yours, but you will be able to appreciate where they are coming from.”

The team is also involved in organising dialogues on our Bloemfontein Campus, such as the Student Rights Dialogue, which brings together various stakeholders of the university for a discussion about human rights. They also conduct debating workshops and, together with the Department of Basic Education, function as judges for debates in the broader Bloemfontein community for less advantaged schools in Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu, Tweespruit, and Dewetsdorp.

The Debate Society is set to host a Global Politics Seminar that will analyse and explain the forces that influence international politics, and South Africa's standpoint in the global perspective. This seminar, taking place in October, will focus on the activities of chief global actors, and some of the core crises that can shape students’ understanding of current foreign affairs. The seminar will comprise presentations from knowledgeable local students and Debate Society alumni, which will conclude with a fiery debate by the society on the dynamic and controversial topic of South Africa's future in the international political arena. 

Access to the seminar is reserved for donors who will pledge their support to the society’s journey to the upcoming World Championships. For more information on how to pledge, visit the World Championships Pledge.

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News Archive

Kovsie student aims for the record books
2011-10-11

 
Potential Guinness World Record-holder, Hermann van Heerden
Photo: Phelekwa Mpono

The Guinness World Record for the longest continuous wheelie in a wheelchair was achieved by Michael Miller of the United States, who covered a distance of 16,12 km on the rear wheels of his wheelchair on 8 August 2009.

On 11 October 2011, Hermann van Heerden, a second-year Kovsie student, will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the longest wheelie in a wheelchair in a stationary position. The 22-year-old disabled student from the University of the Free State (UFS) will manoeuvre his wheelchair so that the front wheels lift off the ground.

Hermann, who is studying for a BEd degree, was born with spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. He has been in a wheelchair since he was a toddler.

Hermann’s Guinness World Record attempt forms part of the ten-year celebrations of the Unit for Students with Disabilities (USD) at the UFS. The unit was established in February 2001, with fifteen registered students, but currently supports 143 registered students. The USD focuses on promoting equity for students with disabilities, including access to courses, buildings, learning materials, residences, leisure and sports activities and the opportunity to succeed in such activities.

The unit supports students with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder); mobility–impaired students (wheelchair users and amputees, as well as those suffering from cerebral palsy, muscle dystrophy, spina bifida and multiple sclerosis); visually-impaired students; hearing-impaired students, students suffering from “other” conditions (mental impairment ((schizophrenia)), epilepsy, panic disorder) and those with temporary impairments (broken hand).

Hermann said that he would like to use his record attempt as a means of raising money for the USD and welcomes sponsorships. “The USD has only been good to me ever since I registered at the UFS. Every time I had a question, they answered it. Every time I had a problem with a class, they resolved it. This year, the unit has its ten-year anniversary and I thought it was time for me to give back.”
 

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