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Arrangements for silent march on Bloemfontein Campus and Prayer Service on Qwaqwa Campus on 6 September 2019

04 September 2019

In support of the current national movement opposing violence against women at South African universities, the following activities will take place today:

• Silent march – Bloemfontein and South Campuses:

All staff and students on the Bloemfontein and South Campuses are requested to gather in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus at 11:00; the silent march will commence at 11:30.

The route is as follows:

The group will walk from the Main Building to the Flippie Groenewoud Building, and to the Thakaneng Bridge towards the Winkie Direko Building. From there, the group will walk past the UFS Sasol library to the Theology Building, and then to the George du Toit Building, where statements will be read.

Staff and students are also welcome to join the march anywhere along the route.

• Prayer Service – Qwaqwa Campus:

The prayer service for all staff and students will be held in the Physics-Geography Auditorium of the new Science building at 12:00.

UFS suspends all academic activities on Friday 6 September 2019

The University of the Free State (UFS), through its executive management and the Institutional Student Representative Council (SRC), today decided that all academic activities on its three campuses will be suspended on Friday 6 September 2019 as a gesture of solidarity with the current national movement opposing violence against women at South African universities.

Staff and students are encouraged to wear black tomorrow to highlight advocacy around sexual and gender-based violence.

Essential services and activities that are scheduled and cannot be postponed or cancelled, will continue. These will be communicated by the relevant faculty.

As a university, we condemn all forms of violence against women in solidarity with other institutions of higher learning in the country.

A silent march for the Bloemfontein and South Campuses will take place tomorrow at 11:00. All staff and students are requested to gather in front of the Main Building of the Bloemfontein Campus at 11:00; the silent march will commence at 11:30.

A prayer service for staff and students will be held on the Qwaqwa Campus tomorrow at 12:00. The venue will be communicated.

Situation on the Bloemfontein Campus on 4 September 2019 (21:00)

This afternoon, members of the senior leadership group provided feedback on the memorandum of students protesting against gender-based violence on the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus.

The students did not agree with the feedback and a meeting subsequently took place between members of the senior leadership group and the Bloemfontein Campus Student Representative Council (SRC). Matters discussed during this meeting and which are part of the memorandum, included: on-campus security; gender-based violence; off-campus student safety; transport – especially a free shuttle service for off-campus students; evening classes; facilities and lighting on campus.

Disruption of some of the activities on campus continued this afternoon, despite the continued engagement with the student leadership. The university supports peaceful protest by students or staff about matters that are of concern to them. However, the university does not support violent protests. The university also cannot allow coercive disruption of classes and other activities such as those that happened during the past two days. This kind of conduct is not only illegal, but also runs counter to the essence of what the university is.

Protection Services is continuing to monitor the situation closely and additional security measures are still in place. A protocol during protests document has been compiled, which provides guidance to staff and students on how to act during protests. Our staff and students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the document.

4 September 2019: Situation on the Bloemfontein Campus on 4 September 2019

On 3 September 2019, a group of students protested against gender-based violence on the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus causing disruption of some university activities. A memorandum was subsequently handed to members of the senior leadership group the same afternoon.

A meeting took place between members of the senior leadership group and the Bloemfontein Campus Student Representative Council (SRC) late yesterday afternoon. The memorandum was discussed, and a list of issues were tabled. It was agreed that feedback to the student body took place today at 12:00.

The executive management is aware of the disruptions that occurred this morning despite our engagement with the student leadership. The necessary additional security measures are in place and Protection Services is monitoring the situation closely. Staff and students will be updated of any development in this regard as soon as possible today.

3 September 2019: No Incident of rape on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 2 September 2019

No incident of rape took place on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) yesterday (2 September 2019). No proof of the alleged incident has been found, and no incident of this nature was reported to the university’s Protection Services or the university’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) since yesterday.

This comes after posts and comments on social media last night indicated that a rape allegedly took place in the restrooms of the Examination Centre (EXR) on campus yesterday.

What did happen yesterday, was an incident at the EXR when a student fainted while writing a test at the EXR. The student was attended to by the staff members on duty and was transported from there by ER24 to a hospital in the city to receive further medical care.

Issued by:
Lacea Loader
Spokesperson
University of the Free State
+27 83 645 2454 | loaderl@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Agriculture must adapt to change

2008-11-28

At the launch of "50 years of agriculture" at the UFS were, from the left: Mr Corwyn Botha: Chairman: Agri Business Chamber and Managing Director: Cape Agri Group, Mr Motsepe Matlala, President of NAFU, Mr Hans van der Merwe, Executive Head: Agri SA, Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk: Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS, and Mr Sugar Ramakarane, Head: Department of Agriculture, Free State Province.
Photo: Lacea Loader

“The biggest factor driving agriculture today is change. Our major challenge is to adapt to this changing environment.” This was stated by Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) during the recent celebration of the faculty’s “50 years in agriculture”.

Prof. Van Schalkwyk stated that the most important changes include power relationships in supply chains, consumer demand, new products and technology in agriculture, government action and developments in neighbouring states. “At the moment there is very little cooperation between small-scale farmers, small-scale farmers and commercial farmers and farmers and processors. There are also low levels of processing, low levels of value adding and a lack of creative thinking in agriculture," he said.

“This must change – we need comprehensive agricultural support and new business ideas in agriculture. We need better infrastructure, value chain financing and improved institutional support,” he said.

Speaking about agriculture and institutional co-operation in the Free State, Mr Sugar Ramakarane, Chief Director of the Free State Department of Agriculture, said that the UFS plays a vital role in bringing together organised agriculture in the province. “The responsibility of transforming our economy cannot be done by government alone. We need partners like the UFS to assist us with bringing together the two most important stakeholders of the agricultural sector, namely the National Farmers’ Union (NAFU) and Free State Agriculture. You can assist us with harnessing co-operation and providing practical solutions," he said

Mr Ramakarane said that his department is aware of the university’s good work with emerging farmers. “But, I want to encourage the university to help us with skills transfer and the development of the emerging farmers. You can play a vital role in developing a mentorship programme. Yours remains a central and critical role of being torch bearers in guiding the transformation agenda of our country," he said.

In his contribution on the challenges of small scale farmers in South Africa and the role of the university, Mr Motsepe Matlala, President of NAFU, said that unity in organised agriculture and working together with other stakeholders has become even more crucial with regard to the global challenges now faced by the country. “The university should take the lead in guiding all farmers on how to respond to, among others, the global financial turmoil and politics, developments in trade negotiations, food prices, input costs and the availability of energy," he said.

“If the UFS, and more specifically the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, is to continue to play a leading role in academia as well as in the production of research that matters to the growth and development of this country, it must adopt an approach that seeks to harness the capacity of everyone in an inclusive manner. The strides already made in this regard must be applauded,” Mr Matlala said.

Speaking on the future challenges in agriculture and the role of universities, Mr Hans van der Merwe, Executive Head of Agri SA said that South Africa has not spent money on agricultural development in a long time. “We must increase our product capacity in the agricultural sector. Universities must focus on cultivating enough expertise and the skills necessary to manage the resources and capacity needed," he said. In his view, South Africa must also focus on technological advancement in agriculture as this has also been neglected in the past. He urged universities to provide best-practice education and to look at international trends in agricultural training. “That is why we should not only focus our attention on South Africa, but on southern Africa,” Mr van der Merwe said.

In conclusion to the day’s programme, Mr Corwyn Botha, Chairperson of the Agricultural Business Chamber, Managing Director of the Cape Agri Group and former Kovsie stated that: “If you want to be an example of leadership, people around you must do better because you are there. A university should evaluate itself in this context. You cannot create solutions to problems with the same attitude in which the problems were created."

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
28 November 2008

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