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28 August 2018

The Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof Francis Petersen, comments on recent articles in the media and posts on social media alleging that white students and their history are not welcome at the UFS.

“I would like to explicitly state that white students are welcome at the University of the Free State, the same as any other student.”

“The university has been firm in its commitment towards diversity and inclusivity and this applies to all our students – irrespective of race. To make statements that white students and their history are not part of the UFS, is irresponsible. It is important for all our students – including the student leadership – to demonstrate tolerance towards each other so that everyone feel part of the university community,” said Prof Petersen. 

Antagonistic behaviour towards students or staff is not aligned to the vision and values of the university, and such behaviour will therefore not be tolerated at the University of the Free State.


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Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
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News Archive

Kovsie fencers dominate the Free State Fencing Closed Competition
2015-10-19


The ultimate clash of the fencing titans Photo credits: Robynne van Zuydam.

Willem Brink and Wanda Verster fenced their hearts out at Free State Closed Competition, winning gold medals in the men’s and women’s category, respectively. These University of the Free State students dominated opponents from the Vrystaat Amateur Skerm Klub (VASK).

Fencers from the VASK retaliated bravely in defense of their honour on Saturday 12 September 2015, with Jurgen Schroder taking home a Silver medal. His team mates, Ruan Coetzee-Schroder and Shaeffer Georgiou, shared the Bronze medal. A winning performance placed VASK’s Danielle Ceronio and Stella Heyns in the Bronze realm.  Kovsie Fencing’s Kayla de Gouveid shared the spot with Stella as a bronze recipient.

It was a clash of the titans as 27 participants formed opposing teams. The University of the Free State (UFS) team, who hosted the competition, showed the guests no sign of mercy as they triumphed.

Wanda was impressed by the UFS’s performance. “The students performed very well, especially considering that most of them started fencing just this year.”

“Willem Brink, who finished with gold, started fencing in 2012.  He finished with a Bronze medal at the Free State Closed competition held earlier, in May 2015 The first fencer to reach 15 wins,” said the Kovsie Fencing representative.

The club will represent our university at the University of Pretoria (TUKS) Open where fencers from the entire country will compete on 25 and 26 September 2015.  The club is also preparing for the University Sports South Africa (USSA) tournament and the Limpopo Open that take place in November and December, respectively. These competitions serve to pave the way for the July 2016 nationals, where Kovsies hope to make their mark as champions.

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