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Preliminary opening of commuter lounge on UFS Qwaqwa Campus

05 August 2024 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Yonela Vimba

commuter lounge Qwaqwa Campus — The new commuter lounge is designed to provide off-campus students with a comfortable and conducive environment for studying, socialising, and relaxation.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus recently celebrated a significant milestone with the preliminary opening of its new commuter lounge. This dedicated space is designed to provide off-campus students with a comfortable and conducive environment for study, socialising, and relaxation.

A diverse crowd gathered to witness the historic event, including university staff and students from the off-campus community.

In his opening remarks, Vice-Principal: Support Services, Teboho Manchu, expressed his enthusiasm for the project. He highlighted the challenges previously faced by off-campus students who lacked adequate study spaces on campus. The new commuter lounge addresses this issue by offering a welcoming environment where students can connect, collaborate, and engage in intellectual discourse.

Quintin Koetaan, Senior Director: Housing and Residence Affairs, shared insights into the journey of bringing the lounge to fruition. He emphasised the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders and expressed gratitude to Coke for its generous sponsorship through the Alumni Office. The lounge also features a laundry facility, a valuable addition for students residing off campus. “Sitting here today really gives me goosebumps, because it is a dream come true for quite a number of people. This student lounge reflects an identity of what it is to be a Kovsie. It reflects us as the university, which is underpinned by the principles of diversity and accessibility. We want to give every one of our students access to a facility they can feel proud of, a facility where intellectual engagement can happen outside of class. This is a dream in terms of Vision 130, which demands of us to create these kinds of spaces that allow for positive interaction to encourage academic success,” expounded Koetaan.

A member of the Student Representative Council (SRC), Potela Zimvo, expressed the SRC’s appreciation for the new facility. He emphasised that the commuter lounge symbolises the university's commitment to inclusivity and support for all students, regardless of their residence status. The lounge is expected to foster a strong sense of community among commuter students and provide a much-needed space for social interaction and academic engagement. “To the university and campus management, thank you for recognising this initiative and providing the necessary resources. We hope that this place will become a central hub for our commuter students and that it will establish a sense of belonging for them. We appreciate the fact that this commuter lounge is equipped with laundry facilities, which will be helpful to our commuter students amid the water and electricity crisis that the Qwaqwa community faces,” said Zimvo.

The official opening ceremony of the commuter lounge is scheduled for later in the year, when it will be officially opened by the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State, Prof Francis Petersen. However, the university has decided to make the facility available to students immediately to allow them to benefit from the amenities.

This new commuter lounge is a testament to the university's dedication to creating an inclusive and supportive campus environment for all students. It is a space where students can thrive academically and socially, contributing to their overall university experience.

News Archive

Research project gives insight into the world of the deaf

2005-11-30

Mr Akach in conversation (using sign language) with his assistant Ms Emily Matabane. Photo: Lacea Loader

UFS research project gives insight into the world of the deaf

The Sign Language Division of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Afro-Asiatic Studies and Language Practice and Sign Language has signed a bilateral research project with the universities of Ghent and Brussels to write a book on sign language.

“We want to compare the Belgium and South African sign languages with each other. The book will be about the deaf telling us about themselves and how they live. It will also focus on the use of story telling techniques and the grammar used by deaf people. We want to see if the hand forms and the grammatical markers and other linguistic features that deaf people from these two countries use are the same or not,” said Mr Philemon Akach, lecturer at the UFS Sign Language Division and coordinator of the research.

According to Mr Akach, the sign language community in South Africa, with about 600 000 deaf people who use South African Sign Language (SASL) as first language, is quite big. “Over and above the deaf people in South Africa, there are also the non-deaf who use SASL, like the children of deaf parents etc. This book can therefore be used to teach people about the deaf culture,” he added.

Another of Mr Akach’s achievements is his election as Vice-President of the newly established World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI). The association was established earlier this month during a conference in Worcester.

Mr Akach has been actively involved with sign language interpretation since 1986 and has been interpreting at the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) since 1987. “My appointment as Vice-President of the WASLI is an emotional one. I have been involved with deaf people for so long and have been trying to create awareness and obtain recognition for sign language, especially in Africa,” said Mr Akach. WASLI is affiliated to the WFD.

According to Mr Akach there was no formal structure in the world to support sign language and sign language interpreters. “Now we have the backup of WASLI and we can convince governments in other African countries and across the world to support deaf people by supporting WASLI and therefore narrow the communication gap between the deaf and the hearing. My main aim as Vice-President is to endeavour for the recognition of sign language and spoken language interpreters as a profession by governments,” he said.

According to Mr Akach the formal training of interpreters is of vital importance. “Anybody who has a deaf person in his/her family and can communicate in sign language can claim that they are an interpreter. This is not true. It is tantamount to think that all mother tongue or first language speakers are interpreters. Likewise students who learn sign language up to whatever level and are fluent in signing, should still join an interpreter’s programme,” he said.

“Sign language interpreting is a profession and should be presented as an academic course alongside other spoken languages. The UFS has been taking the lead with sign language and spoken language interpretation and was the first university on the African continent to introduce sign language as an academic course,” he said.

“Although sign language has always been an unknown language to young people it has become quite popular in recent years. This year we had a total of 160 students at the Sign Language Section of the UFS and the numbers seem to increase steadily every year,” he said.

Mr Akach’s assistant, Ms Emily Matabane, is deaf and they communicate in sign language. Ms Matabane also handles the tutorials with students to give them hands-on experience on how to use sign language.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
30 November 2005

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