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14 October 2020 | Story Thulaganyo Molebalwa | Photo Supplied
Thulaganyo Molebalwa recently graduated and is looking forward to entering the workforce and learning from the best in the different industries.
My name is Thulaganyo Molebalwa. I recently graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Governance and Political Transformation from the University of the Free State (UFS), and I am currently job hunting. I am looking forward to entering the workspace and developing as an individual while learning from the best in the different industries that I will hopefully become exposed to. 

When I reflect on my varsity career, I cannot help but remember the beginning of the second semester of 2018. I thought that I had one more semester left at the UFS, but then later found out that I still had a full academic year ahead of me in 2019. Learning this news nearly broke me; I was told that I still had a few outstanding modules to complete, and that I did not have enough credits to graduate. 

This was the beginning of a downward slope that left me in a very dark place in my life. At the time, it felt like everything was working against me, and it didn’t help that all my peers were graduating and progressing while I felt stuck. I developed a very negative mindset and slept a lot in an attempt to cope with my stress; I avoided people/public spaces because I just wanted to be alone. 

I started confiding in my family and friends about how I felt, and how everything had taken a heavy toll on my mental health and well-being. 

Look, it was not easy, but having someone to talk to has made a big difference and helped me get back to my normal daily routine, doing things I enjoyed. I even started a YouTube channel.

As students, we are often faced with different challenges. The university environment can become quite stressful for most people, because we are forced into vulnerability through our academics, methods of studying, and our social lives. 

I think it is important to prioritise your mental health at university by using resources such as the UFS Department of Student Counselling and Development to learn and be more aware of issues around mental health. I believe this would help a lot of students to realise that they are not alone and that there is help available.

News Archive

Ecofeminism a possibe solution to impending famine
2016-05-12

Description: Ecofeminism Tags: Ecofeminism

Dr Inge Konik (right) is pictured with her postdoctoral supervisor, Prof Bert Olivier, Senior Research Professor at the Department of Philosophy.
Photo: Valentino Ndaba

In view of the environmental and social problems faced in South Africa today, researchers such as Dr Inge Konik are hard at work mapping these issues and seeking long-term solutions. Dr Konik,  a lecturer in the Department of Journalism, Media and Philosophy at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) shared her views in a presentation on 6 May 2016. She spoke about revaluing indigenous ways of life and subsistence-focused lifeways, linking this to materialist ecological feminism, or ecofeminism for short.

Dr. Konik’s presentation, hosted by the Department of Philosophy at the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), was entitled: “Transversal reflections on ecological feminism and ubuntu.” The research underpinning the presentation derived from Dr Konik’s doctoral thesis which was supervised by Ariel Salleh (University of Sydney) and Andrea Hurst (NMMU).

Dr Konik’s research suggests that ecofeminism - which is a convergence between environmentalism and feminism - may hold the answers to the question of how we may work against environmental and social injustices. She also proposed that society look back toward subsistence communities of the past, and those currently being marginalized in our industrial societies, and linked the values evidenced in the practices of these communities to the African philosophty of ubuntu. In order to solve  complex contemporary challenges Dr Konik suggests that we combine these seemingly disparate theoretical frames - ubuntu and ecofeminism - by applying a transversal approach, which involves openness to dialogue  between traditions.

“My focus was on ecological feminism and critical theory and very specifically on South Africa, given the challeges South Africa faces - the environmental and social challenges and what kind of frameworks would be helpful,” said Dr Konik, who will officially become a postdoctoral research fellow at the department as of July 2016.

Prof Pieter Duvenage, Head of the Departement, stated that compelling research outputs are anticipated from Dr Konik as a fellow.

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