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16 February 2018 Photo Supplied
Miss Mamelodi Sundowns First Princess a proud Kovsie
Thato Mosehle was recently crowned Miss Mamelodi Sundowns First Princess

“True beauty is how you make a person feel, and I believe that I’m very beautiful,” said Thato Mosehle; Miss Mamelodi Sundowns First Princess and UFS medical student. When asked what she thought her edge was over the other contestants in the competition, Thato replied: “I will not speak about them. I will speak about myself and say it was the fact that I was true to who I am.” It is clear that Thato’s zealous character and clear sense of identity are among the determinants of her victory. Thato explained that her journey began when she could no longer play for the provincial netball team due to an injury she incurred on the court. She was very disappointed because she was relying on her netball skills to help her obtain a bursary to fund her studies. Despite this adversity, Thato was determined to be active and do something significant and profitable with her time. She began entering beauty pageants in and around Bloemfontein, such as Miss Glamorous 2016, Miss Armentum 2017, and Miss Environment.

“True beauty is
the ability to
give someone a
sense of warmth
when you arrive.”
—Thato Mosehle
Miss Mamelodi Sundowns
First Princess.

She said her prime motivation for entering this particular pageant was the prize money she could win that would help fund her studies. She described how the UFS facilitated her triumph through the challenging analysis methods from which her studies and overall knowledge and confidence derived. Thato explained that she respected the Miss Mamelodi Sundowns pageant as it promoted the empowerment of women. As a final-year medical student and Mamelodi Sundowns brand ambassador, Thato is smart enough to understand that with a specific title comes a definitive responsibility that you owe to yourself to fulfil. She explained that the essence of her win was that in the Free State, she was not just the 1st princess, she was the queen. Thato added that if students had a vision they should plan effectively and go for it.

News Archive

UFS can lead SA in race relations - Ramphele
2010-08-06


 

 
Pictured are: Dr Boesak and Dr Ramphele
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

The University of the Free State (UFS) could well be a perfect model of excellence in race relations that the whole of South Africa could emulate.

This was said by Dr Mamphela Ramphele, the first African to be a Managing Director of the World Bank, during the Anti-Racism Network in Higher Education (ARNHE) Colloquium held at the UFS recently.

“Healing circles need to be constructed on this campus to address issues raised by the Reitz incident,” she said.

“You might yet be the pioneer of what needs to happen on a nation-wide level.

“Can we confidently commit today to go on this quest for a true humanity and walk together as fellow citizens and strive for a more human face for our society? That is our challenge. That is what the UFS is called to give leadership to.”

“It is this human face which has the power to liberate us from the body of death and strengthen us in our struggle for meaningful life together in South Africa,” added one of the main speakers, Dr Allan Boesak, a cleric and former anti-apartheid activist.

However, said Dr Ramphele, this could only be achieved if all South Africans, black and white, abandoned the fear for each other that was hindering, if not stalling, progress in this regard.

“Fear of each other is the most important impediment to the sustainability of our journey into a society united in our diversity,” she said.

“People in this country are afraid to stand up and be counted, including many vice-chancellors and clerics. They are afraid of being seen to be difficult, and that is a major problem. Fear is the most destructive emotion that you can have because it makes you really incompetent and unable to respond to challenges.”

She said the biggest impediment, though, to ending racism was denial. “White people deny vehemently that they are or have ever been racist,” she said.

“We need to go through a process of acknowledging our wounds and scars from our racist past and present missteps in public policy.”

“Instead of saying they are sorry, those who are conscious of their whiteness should rather say what they are sorry for,” said another main speaker, Prof. Dennis Francis, the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the UFS.

On the other hand, according to Dr Boesak, blacks were and still are, to a large extent, also to blame for their own ongoing oppression. “The key here was the acknowledgement of our sheepish timidity, our complicity,” he said.

The Chairperson of ARNHE, Prof. Norman Duncan, had this to say: “If we are to confront and eradicate racism in higher education institutions, we should not do so to create comfort zones for ourselves.”

The theme of this ARNHE Colloquium was Black consciousness and those conscious of their whiteness. It was presented by the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the UFS.

Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za 
6 August 2010


 

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