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07 May 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Charl Devenish
Noko Masalesa
Noko Masalesa, Director of Protection Services, in conversation with students and stakeholders to plan a safe way forward.
Safety and security are human rights that constitute social justice. At the centre of the agenda at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Social Justice Week held on the Bloemfontein Campus from 17-22 April 2019 were discussions about off-campus safety. Stakeholders agreed on an upgrade to security measures in order to ensure the success and wellbeing of the student population.

A call to students

Prof John Mubangizi, Dean of the Faculty of Law, in his capacity as representative of the UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, expressed his view on institutions of higher learning no longer functioning as ivory towers. “For any initiative to succeed, collaboration is necessary between key roleplayers,” he said.

He aptly pointed out that: “We cannot underscore the importance of safety and security, not only for the university but also for the communities around us. What the university does benefits the community and vice versa. I pledge the university’s commitment to play a leading part to ensure that the collaboration works,” said Prof Mubangizi.

Beefing up security: Who is involved?

In view of the collaborative effort Prof Mubangizi alluded to, the engagement was twofold. First was the roundtable discussion facilitated by Protection Services which then escalated into a public dialogue where students had the opportunity to interact with external delegates.

The South African Police Services, Community Police Forum, Private Security, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Provincial Commissioner, and Deputy Minister of Police were well represented in this critical conversation. Internally, members of Protection Services, Housing and Residence Affairs, Student Affairs, Institute for Social Justice and Reconciliation, Student Representative Council, and the Department of Criminology heard the plight of off-campus safety faced by students.

Changes in the horizon

The discussions culminated with recommendations which will see the future of student safety take a different direction. According to Skhululekile Luwaca, former SRC president, these include “the municipality’s commitment to immediately address issues such as street lights and enforcing by-laws, ensuring an integrated accreditation system, and drafting a policy for off-campus accommodation, running more crime awareness campaigns, and giving police patrols more visibility.”

In addition to resolving to set up a student safety forum with all the stakeholders, the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality has invited the UFS to join Reclaim the City – a safety forum where practical solutions to crime are devised and implemented on a weekly basis.


News Archive

Prof Van den Oever gives students a different perspective
2016-05-06

Description: Prof Van den Oever gives students a different perspective Tags: Prof Van den Oever gives students a different perspective

Prof Annie van den Oever from the Netherlands presented a series of guest lectures on media technologies to students of the Film and Visual Media Programme at the University of the Free State (UFS). Here from left is Chris Vorster, lecturer in Drama and Theatre Arts, Prof Van den Oever, and Dr Pieter Venter, Senior lecturer at Drama and Theatre Arts.
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

She played a part in conceptualising the Film and Visual Media Programme at the University of the Free State (UFS), and sees film from a perspective different from most young South Africans.

According to Chris Vorster, lecturer of the UFS BA Honours degree in Film and Visual Media, this is one of the reasons why Prof Annie van den Oever’s visit is of such great value. The actor, who is a lecturer in Drama and Theatre Arts, believes it is important to expose his students to influences outside their normal experience.

Prof Van den Oever, an extraordinary professor at the UFS since 2011, presented a series of guest lectures on media technologies from 11-14 April 2016 at the Audio Visual Studio on the Bloemfontein Campus. She is a senior researcher for Film at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and an Associated Researcher for Film at Paris 1, Panthéon Sorbonne, in France.

Another milieu

“It is invaluable for students, in any field of study, to receive as many influences from the outside. Therefore, it is important to have someone here from another milieu and context. And academically, she is outstanding,” says Vorster.

Vorster’s students are also exposed to practical expertise from the industry in the country, not only academics.

Relationship with UFS

Prof Van den Oever says she usually visits the UFS twice a year. Her recent lecture series on media technologies was about the power of visual and film culture today, and how you can understand its powers. “Why strange effects work strongly and why the strange is inserted, because people respond strongly to them,” she says.

Prof van den Oever enjoys meeting new people, and often works with colleagues from the UFS on various projects. She also is full of praise for the management of the university. “It is great to work across cultures, and be part of a university in transition.”

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