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11 May 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Edmund de Wet
House Ardour
Students of House Ardour along with other dignitaries cut the ribbon as they launch their new name.

The Health Sciences residence on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), commonly referred to as SHU 8, has been renamed House Ardour. The official launch of the residence name took place on Saturday, 7 May 2022 in the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus. “This is really a historic moment for us in Residence Affairs, Student Affairs, and I think for the university at large,” expressed the Assistant Director of Student Life at the UFS, Pulane Malefane. The launch takes place after two years of planning and discussions about an appropriate name for the residence. As such, the launch was well attended by some of the students living in the newly renamed residence, along with other dignitaries such as Prof Colin Chasi, Director of the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice, Quintin Koetaan, Senior Director of Housing and Residence Affairs, Prof Mpho Jama, Associate Professor in the Office of the Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences, and Nthabiseng Mokhethi who serves as Ardour’s Residence Head, among others.

Embracing a New Name

The name Ardour means to love, and to do something with great passion and enthusiasm. Malefane says the name is symbolic of the fact that many of the students in this residence will go out into the world and delineate those very values through their servitude. There has been a deep yearning from the student body for the renaming of the Health Sciences residence for quite some time. As such, the launch and celebration of this name is acknowledging the residence as part of the UFS community. “Names are important, names can carry deep personal, cultural, and historical connections, it also gives us a sense of who we are, the communities we belong to, and our places in the world,” Malefane highlighted during her speech in the Callie Human Centre.

The Importance of the Residence

Although this co-ed residence is not restricted to students within the Faculty of Health Sciences, the residence is a response to some of the problems that students in the faculty have been facing. “During recess when all the other students have to go home, some of our students still need to remain on campus or even come back earlier. This has created the need to say that we cannot allow our students to move between residences when they have such an academic workload that requires them to be in a space in which they don’t have to worry about where they are going to stay,” indicated Prof Jama. As such, the residence is also an essential way of ensuring that students from the Faculty of Health Sciences focus on developing academically as well as socially in the university space, without worrying about accommodation. 

Subsequent to a few remarks from the dignitaries at the Callie Human Centre, some of the guests descended to Ardour for the cutting of the ribbon. The ribbon was cut by Emily Chikobvu who serves as Ardour’s Prime, along with Quintin Koetaan, and Nthabiseng Mokhethi. “Moving forward, we do not want to hear the name Shoe 8 – that name is in the past – from now on we shall be referred to as House Ardour,” stated Vusimuzi Gqalane, Senior Assistant in the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice.


News Archive

New student leaders for UFS
2013-08-29

 

Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs (centre), with newly elected president of the Bloemfontein Campus SRC, Phiwe Mathe (left) and Matlogelwa Moema, president of the Qwaqwa Campus SRC.
Photo: Sonia Small
29 August 2013

  Photo Gallery
2013/14 Student Representative Councils: YouTube video

Phiwe Mathe and Matlogelwa Moema, both third year students, have been elected as presidents of the 2013/14 Student Representative Councils (SRC) of the University of the Free State’s Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses respectively. They now also serve as the presidency of the Central SRC and will take up their seats as voting members of the UFS council in September 2013. Thirty-eight candidates contested the 19 elective seats of the campus SRCs, for which 83 nominations were received.

Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, announced the completion of the elections at the two campuses as successful.Buys deemed the elections highly significant, considering it is the third year of peaceful elections since students adopted changes in student governance in 2011. These changes included, among others, the introduction of independent candidacy for elective portfolios and organisational candidacy in SRC sub-councils that hold ex-officio seats on the campus SRC. Changes also included the establishment of student representative seats in faculty forums and the adoption of reviewed SRC constitutions, Buys said.

The SRC elections at the Qwaqwa Campus were completed on 23 August 2013, while the elections at the Bloemfontein Campus took place on 26 and 27 August 2013. Elections at the Qwaqwa Campus showed a voter turnout of 44% and at the Bloemfontein Campus a turnout of 31.5%, which is among the highest in the country.

Both campuses reached the required quorums and the campus elections bodies, the IEA (Bloemfontein Campus) and IEC (Qwaqwa Campus), declared the elections free and fair and announced the results as a true reflection of the will of the student bodies at the campuses.

This year also saw the piloting of a central SRC elections oversight committee (CEC) to strengthen independent oversight of all elections. The CEC monitors the elections as free, fair and democratic and consists of senior academics and former student leaders of the Student Elders Council. Prof Loot Pretorius, inaugural chair of the CEC, announced the CECs confirmation of the SRC elections across campuses as free, fair and democratic.

Celebrations marked a mass meeting on the Bloemfontein Campus where the new student leaders were announced on Thursday 29 August 2013. There were cheers and singing as Quintin Koetaan, Head of the Bloemfontein IEA, on behalf of the two elections bodies, read the names of the newly-elected student leaders of both campuses. Delivering his victory speech, Phiwe thanked competitors for running a good debate, saying it was not about characters or personalities, but rather the ideas that would best serve a Kovsie. “Students will remain central and the ‘R’ is back in SRC,” he told the resounding crowd. Matlogelwa reiterated this message and said, "the SRC is for students and will serve all students equally."

Following on the heels of the SRC elections, voting for residence committees will take place next week with 618 candidates contesting 231 available positions. The elections of association executive committees will also take place in September.

The new SRC members of the Bloemfontein Campus are:

President: Phiwe Mathe
Vice-President: Tshepo Moloi
Secretary: Masiteng Paul Matlanyane
Treasurer: Willem du Plooy
Arts andCulture:Hlonipa Matshamba
Accessibility and Student Support:Anastasia Sehlabo
First Generation Students: Nthabiseng Malete
Legal and Constitutional Affairs: Mosa Leteane
Media, Marketing and Liaison: Callie Hendricks
Sport: Laurika Hugo
Student Development and Environmental Affairs: Bataung Qhotsokoane
Transformation: Christopher Rawson
Assosiations Council and Ex officio:Ntakuseni Razwiedani
Academics Affairs Council and Ex officio: TBC
Residence Council and Ex officio: Andricia Hinckermann
Commuter Council and Ex officio:Clarise Haasbroek
Postgraduate Council and Ex officio: Oluwatoba Fadeyi
International Council and Ex officio: Brian Hlongwane
Student Media Council and Ex officio: Keabetswe Magano
RAG Fundraising Council and Ex officio: Jaco Faul
Rag Service Council and Ex officio: Suzanne Maree


The new SRC members of the Qwaqwa Campu are:

President: MP Moema
Deputy-President: NT Mndebele
Secretary General: JC Mosiea
Treasurer General: NT Zuma
Politics and Transformation: IT Dube
Media and Publicity: ZF Madlala
Student Development and Environmental Affairs:SS Mtetwa
Off-Campus Students: TSJ Sithole
Arts and Culture: S Mabele
Academic Affairs: NE Litabo
Sport Affairs: TSG Mohlakoana
Religious Affairs:TW Mofokeng
Residence and Catering Affairs: A Ndabankulu
RAG Community Service and Dialogue: S Yende

Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication

Telephone: +27(0)51 401 2584
Cellphone: +27 (0) 83 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za

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