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03 March 2021 | Story Giselle Baillie | Photo Supplied
Residence members who led the project, included: Bohlokwa Rantja, the Residence Prime, and Transformation Committee members Nsuku Mutemela, Ofentse Motlakeng, Phindile Tjale, Madinku Mabala, Mmapopi Motshoso, Karabo Shuping, and Tagane Sekete.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Council approved and adopted Lehakwe House as the new name for the NJ van der Merwe residence on the Bloemfontein Campus. The approval on 26 November 2020 followed a lengthy process of deliberation, consultation, and public engagement that has taken place since November 2019 and is aligned with the UFS Policy on Naming and Renaming. The name-change process was initiated by the Prime and Transformation Committee of the residence, guided by the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice and supported by a multi-stakeholder committee representative of the residence, the Housing and Residence Affairs Office, the Department of Student Affairs, the Student Representative Council, and alumni.

Lehakwe – a precious gem

Following a lengthy evaluation process of the names submitted through a public voting and recommendation platform in July 2020, ‘Lehakwe’ – a Sesotho word referring to a ‘precious gem’ – emerged as the front runner. As many current and past members of the residence attest, this womxn’s residence has come to occupy a significant space within the hearts and minds of UFS students and the UFS community, given that its spirit has always been closely aligned with the constitutional values of dignity, equality, and freedom and with the human values of ubuntu. In this vein, the new name of ‘Lehakwe’ presents a consolidation of constitutional and university values into the day-to-day thinking, learning, living, and legacy spaces of students, as well as everyone who interacts and engages with the UFS. 

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Department of Communication Science tour to Asia
2013-09-10

The group of Communication Science students who will be heading to Singapore soon.
10 September 2013
Photo: Linda Fekisi

A group of 18 students from the Department of Communication Science will be leaving the African continent soon for a tour to Asia. The students, who will share this experience with some of their lecturers, will be visiting Thailand and Singapore.

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, will be the first pit stop. The tour will not only be fun and leisure, however, as the students will be attending classes at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Mrs Van der Walt, a lecturer in the Department of Communication Science, will be among the lecturers who will accompany the students. She believes that tours of this nature are important, because people who are in the communication and media industry should not live in a South African box. “They need to think internationally because we are competing internationally,” she adds. 


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