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05 September 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
New Era Editorial Team
New Era editorial team comprising the Editor-in-Chief, Prudence Mkhari, flanked by editors, Mosia Rasekwane (left) and Monti Mosebi (right).

Qwaqwa Campus has a new student newsletter. According to the Editor-in-Chief, Prudence Mkhari, New Era aims to project content that is written from a student’s perspective. 

“We want students to easily relate to the content as opposed to being written by a staff member. It focuses on student-life events and the university as a whole. The content ranges from student life to university events and milestones. In essence, it is the voice of the students and the watchdog of the campus,” says Prudence.

She says response to the newspaper has been good, considering that they have had only two issues plus an SRC election special that carried candidates’ manifestos. “We are constantly being asked when the next issue is coming out. A lot of students have even come forth with stories that they would like us to cover in the next issue,” she added.

Some of the comments about the very first edition includes this one by Rosie Senoko, final-year BA student: “Congratulations on your publication. One would swear that you have written many pieces, not aware it was your first! All the best to you and your team.” A BSocSci final-year student, Sibonginkosi Ngcongwane, wrote: “Great job! Well done!”
It has not been an entirely smooth sailing process for the paper. “There is still room for improvement in terms of writing and editing, because almost no-one on the team has writing experience. So, additional training is still required. Meeting deadlines is also another area that needs major improvement,” says Prudence.

The team comprises 14 students who write a variety of pieces, from news to sports and from opinion to lifestyle, while some provide technical support such as editing and photography. 

Going forward, the plan is to digitise the newspaper and make it accessible to a broader online market. To advertise, send an email to newera@ufs4life.ac.za 

News Archive

Prof Habib addresses inequality at public lecture
2014-08-06

 
One of South Africa’s leading political commentators, Prof Adam Habib, gave a public lecture and launched his latest book on the Bloemfontein Campus on Wednesday 30 July 2014. The event was hosted by the Department of Philosophy in association with Wits University Press and The Southern African Trust.

Prof Habib started his lecture by summarising his book, ‘South Africa’s Suspended Revolution: Hopes and Prospects’. “It is basically about: how did we get where we are today, and how do we get out of the mess we are in?” he said.

His book focuses on South Africa’s transition into democracy and the country’s prospects for inclusive development – which formed the basis of his talk. Prof Habib stressed the issue of inequality facing South Africa and discussed the different approaches to addressing the matter.

“The one approach is that it is simply something we have to live with,” he said. “People who believe this live in a bubble. For example, service delivery protests do not happen because of poverty – it happens because of inequality.”

Prof Habib cautioned against not taking the matter seriously. “Inequality went up consistently in South Africa over the last 20 years. This is however not solely a national challenge, but a global challenge. And South Africa is the frontline of the war on inequality.”

He proposed that the expectations of the rich, rather than the poor, should be addressed.
“We need to moderate expectations. But we can’t moderate the expectations of the poor, if not the rich. We can’t ask the poor to sacrifice what the rich won’t.

“South Africa is once again at a moment of reckoning, where we are forced to make hard choices – in order to make the right choices.”


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