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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

Breeding of unique game requires a balance between conservation and sustainable use
2014-05-20

 

Game bred for qualities such as unconventional hair colour or horn quality, may on the long term have unexpected consequences for biodiversity and game farming.

This is according to the inaugural lecture of Prof Paul Grobler from the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof Grobler feels that the consequences of selective breeding should be examined carefully, as there is currently much speculation on the subject without sound scientific information to back it.

“At the moment, colour variation invokes much interest among game farmers and breeders. Unusual colour variants are already available in different game species. These unusual animals usually fetch much higher prices at auctions compared to prices for the ‘normal’ individuals of the species.”

Examples of these unusual variants are springbuck being bred in white, black or copper colours, the black-backed or ‘saddleback’ impala, and the gold-coloured and royal wildebeest.

A black-backed impala was recently sold for R5,7 million.

“Based on genetic theory, good reason exists why these practices need to be monitored, but one should also take care not to make the assumption that selective breeding will inevitably lead to problems,” warns Prof Grobler.

Grobler says that negative characteristics in a species can sometimes unwittingly be expressed during the selection process for a unique colour. “It is seen, for example, in purebred dogs where the breeding of a new race sometimes brings underlying genetic deviations in the species to the front.” He also believes that some of these animals may not be able to adapt to changing environmental conditions.

“However, one should also look at the positive side: because of the good demand for game, including unusual variants, there is much more game in South Africa today than in many decades. Balance should be found between the aims of conservation and the sustainable utilisation of game.”

Research at the UFS’s Department of Genetics is now trying to establish the genetic effects of intensive game breeding and predict the impact on biodiversity.

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