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Everything you need to know about the 2021 Student Affairs Week

26 July 2021 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Supplied

Temba_web read more — Mr Temba Hlasho, newly appointed Executive Director of Student Affairs.

The value proposition of the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Student Affairs (DSA) is to create a socially just student-life experience that is conducive to student academic success, student engagement, and critical thinking.

Join the 2021 Virtual Student Affairs Week to learn more about UFS student support services

Student Affairs Week is an annual event that showcases the division’s wealth of student support departments – from Student Counselling and Development to Social Support to Student Governance – and many more useful support tools that students can make use of throughout their university careers.

This initiative was established to improve an awareness and understanding of all Student Affairs divisions, and to also encourage participation in the programmes offered by the department.

Student Affairs Week will run from 2 to 5 August 2021 on Blackboard, where students will be able to participate and engage according to their respective campuses.

Students further stand a chance to win cash vouchers of up to R500 if they complete the Student Affairs quiz below.

UFS Bloemfontein Campus: Click here.

UFS Qwaqwa Campus: Click here.

UFS South Campus: Click here.

Message from the UFS Executive Director of Student Affairs

According to the University of the Free State (UFS) Executive Director of Student Affairs, Temba Hlasho, a first-years’ experience at university is very critical for their academic journey. Hlasho encouraged students to be responsible, to continue to make themselves proud by embracing the privilege of being at university, and to continue to calibrate themselves into better persons for the South African society.

“To senior students, thank you for remaining loyal to the University of the Free State. Your perseverance and continued productive association with our institution will culminate into you becoming better future citizens,” Hlasho remarked.

Hlasho further explained the division’s goal to ensure that students’ lived experiences on all three UFS campuses are equal and memorable through the diverse range of services and co-curricular activities offered.

He further encouraged students to continue to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols in order to preserve their health and livelihood.

For more information on Student Affairs Week, contact Annelize Visagie visagiea@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Reflection should stimulate action – Prof Petersen

2017-05-25

Panellists at a discussion held by the Institute for
Reconciliation and Social Justice were, from the left,
Prof Elelwani Ramugondo of the University of Cape Town,
Prof Melissa Steyn from Wits, Prof Francis Petersen,
Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, and SK Luwaca,
president of the Student Representative Council on the
Bloemfontein Campus.
Photo: Johan Roux

Photo Gallery

The University of the Free State (UFS) should be a place of belonging, a place where staff, academics and students belong and can make a contribution to a democratic society.

This is according to Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS. He was one of four panellists at a discussion, titled Diversity, inclusivity and social justice and the renewed call for decolonisation, hosted by the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ). Prof Elelwani Ramugondo from the University of Cape Town, Prof Melissa Steyn from Wits, and SK Luwaca, president of the Student Representative Council on the Bloemfontein Campus, were the other panellists.

The IRSJ facilitated the discussion, which formed part of the inauguration proceedings for Prof Petersen as new Vice-Chancellor and Rector, in the Albert Wessels Auditorium on the Bloemfontein Campus on 18 May 2017.

Renewed thinking about decolonisation
Prof Steyn said: “We can develop our vocabulary to understand our real differences.” She noted that we are all part of reproducing, resisting and reframing the current order.

Universities should be a place where questions can be asked, Prof Ramugondo said. She elaborated on the term decolonisation, saying we needed to investigate how we related and reflected on it, mentioning the myths that surrounded the term. “We should renew our thinking [about decolonisation] at universities,” she said.

“We can develop our vocabulary
to understand our real differences.”

What does a transformed UFS look like?
According to Luwaca unity isn’t something that can be faked, but everybody should work towards it, building a rainbow nation together. It is important for everyone to be on the same page: “We have to ask ourselves what a transformed university looks like.”

Prof Petersen said it was important to often pause and reflect: “Reflection should stimulate action. Reflection is not something without action.”

After the discussion, a lively question-and-answer session with the panellists took place. Prof André Keet, director of the IRSJ and facilitator of the discussion, suggested the gathering should be the start of many similar engagements.

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