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Safety First flyer

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Safety First flyer

Putting your safety first as a student

16 July 2020 | Story Valentino Ndaba

BSafe Emergency Contact Information copy_read more 1 — Add these emergency safety contacts to your speed dial.

Staying safe during the coronavirus pandemic extends to ensuring that students at the University of the Free State (UFS) are safe from crime. Crime in South Africa remains an unfortunate reality which continues to affect students, staff and the institution in general.

“Crime requires constant vigilance from the community and this can only be achieved through initiatives that are aimed at informing the community on what to do and what not to do. To this end the BSafe Safety First flyer is geared at informing specifically the student community on safety measures that must be taken,” said Cobus van Jaarsveld, Assistant Director: Threat Detection, Investigations and Liaison at Protection Services.

The Safety First flyer is a guide for students to be crime-conscious whether at their accommodation, on the street, or in their vehicles. It also offers tips on how to act responsibly as far as alcohol and drugs are concerned.

Engaging students on their safety

UFS Protection Services recently engaged with off-campus residence students in Bloemfontein in order to provide tips on how to stay safe in their neighbourhoods. During the engagement, the new Safety First pamphlets were distributed, and students were encouraged to join the Student Crime-Stop Brandwag WhatsApp group.

As from 15 June 2020, Nissi Armed Response was deployed from 18:00 to 06:00. This initiative has already led to them responding to several suspicious persons and vehicles, as well as some minor incidents and disturbances. Two arrests were made on different occasions as a result of the deployment. In the first incident, a suspect was arrested on 27 June 2020 after a burglary in Brandwag, and the second relates to a suspect who was arrested on 10 July 2020 after threatening students at Universitas.

These successes were the result of student and community participation in providing information, coupled with excellent response from private security companies, including Nissi Armed Response, VR Security, and BloemSec.

News Archive

Theatre, photography, literature, and lectures: TFR Studies to showcase their success

2016-11-29

The end of the year usually introduces a mood of reflection on what was and what could have been. For Trauma, Forgiveness and Reconciliation (TFR) Studies at the University of the Free State, the past year recalls a flourish of achievements worth celebrating.

Therefore, TFR Studies held an end-of-year event to showcase the successes of 2016. This comprised lectures from leading researchers in social sciences and housing rights, the release of three new books, a theatre production, and a photo exhibition.

Description: TFR Studies to showcase their success Tags: TFR Studies to showcase their success

Lectures
Prof Anthony Collins – a leading scholar in identity and culture – will speak about violence in contemporary South Africa. Prof Collins, who holds a PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz, has extensive knowledge in the interdisciplinary area of critical social sciences and won two national awards for teaching and learning.

In addition, housing rights activist Faeza Meyer will share her experiences of forced eviction and violence in Kapteinsklip, Western Cape. She will also talk about the process of documenting these experiences and working together with feminist historian Koni Benson.

New books
Breathe in the smell of fresh ink as Dr Samantha van Schalkwyk, Dr Kim Wale, and PhD candidate Naleli Morojele introduce their books to the public. Themes of violence and gender – pertinent to South Africa – thread through each of these books in unique ways.

Theatre
The award-winning play, AVU – directed and produced by Michelle Hoffman who is a master’s student at TFR – will be performed. The story dances between the blurry lines of reality and fantasy, between Boer and Bantu.

Photo exhibition
Lerato Machetela, a PhD candidate with TFR, has featured as one of SA’s Heroes for her work among the youth of Jagersfontein. Through an innovative method, Machetela is employing an arts-based approach to research through PhotoVoice. The result: a photo exhibition by the youth of Jagersfontein – and a rare opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a child.

Photo: Jagersfontein Diamonds in the Rough gumboots group, production still of AVU, and Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela with the PhotoVoice exhibit.

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