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18 September 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
Students urged to help combat crime
What to do in case of an attack? The UFS taekwondo team taught students a trick or two.
Speaking at the official opening of Safety Week, newly elected Student Representative Council (SRC) president of the Bloemfontein Campus called for students to come to the party in the fight against crime. “We encourage students to participate because it cannot just be the SRC, university management, and the police. Students need to join the Community Police Forum because these platforms are there for us to engage in. You must not die in silence, if there is a problem, raise it,” said Sonwabile Dwaba.

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Protection Services in collaboration with the university’s BSafe campaign hosted the Safety Week from 3-6 September 2018 on the Bloemfontein and South campuses with the objective of keeping students and staff members informed on the measures in place, addressing pressing safety-related concerns, brainstorm ideas on how to beef up security, and distributing safety souvenirs.

Collaborative efforts encouraged

Brigadier Maehlo Lento, reporting on behalf of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Provincial Commissioner, said: “Robbery incidents have subsided but we still need to make sure that we continue and collaborate with students and all other roleplayers to make sure that we sustain the safety.”

The collective participation sentiment was also reflected by Prof Prakash Naidoo, Vice-Rector: Operations. “We are hoping through our annual Safety Week to reiterate our commitment to the safety of students, as well as bringing all roleplayers together to reflect on areas of cooperation and collaboration in an effort to improve the safety of student.”

Not just physical safety

Issues of mental health were discussed by the Next Chapter student organisation, while Embrace a Sister student organisation spoke about femicide and the safety of women. The scourge of gender-based violence formed the focal point of the Gender and Sexual Equity office’s address. In addition the Student Counselling and Development division offered invaluable advice on where those who exhibit symptoms of depression can seek help.

Other stakeholders who contributed to the success of this year’s Safety Week were the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Department of Police, Roads and Transport, as well as Sector 3 Community Police Forum. 

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Study shows that even cheating monkeys alter their behaviour to avoid detection and punishment
2013-03-12

 

Dr Le Roux sharing a moment with the geladas (Theropithecus gelada).
Photo: Supplied
11 March 2013

A recent article headed by Dr Aliza le Roux from the University of the Free State Qwaqwa Campus’ Department of Zoology and Entomology, asserts that cheating and deception is not only a human phenomenon - it is also found in non-human animals.

“Our specific study investigated cheating and punishment in geladas. While human beings are known to deceive one another, and punish cheaters that get caught, it is actually very rare to find proof of this kind of behaviour in non-human animals,” said Dr Le Roux.

“We don't know if this is because humans are uniquely deceitful, or if it is just that animals deal with cheating differently. Our study was therefore the first to demonstrate that gelada males and females try to deceive their partners when they are cheating on them. This means they try to hide their unfaithful behaviour.” This is therefore the first investigation to document tactical deception in primates living in a natural environment.

“We also showed that the cuckolded males then punish the cheaters, but could not determine if the punishment actually caused cheaters to stop cheating,” said Dr Le Roux.

This on-going and long-term study continues to observe the population of wild geladas in the Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia. The study investigates primate hormones, cognition, genetics, social behaviour and conservation, and is done in collaboration with the Universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

The full version of the article can be accessed on (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n2/full/ncomms2468.html).


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