The SAMWU strike raised feelings of heartbreak and even hatred for some, as a beautiful town was turned into an open rubbish bin for the last two weeks.

For some citizens it didn’t end well as they were either violently attacked or threatened.

On 13 April 2010, the second day of the strike, rubbish bins continued to be turned over and thrown all over the town.  One of the citizens, Phillip McDougal was extremely disturbed by the dumping that had been taking place on High Street particularly outside his restaurant, Mad Hatter’s. As a result of being sick and tired of the mess he threw a bucket of water at the strikers.  This proved to be a mistake as he was then violently attacked but fortunately walked away with no serious injuries.

Even though there was only bruising, one can’t help but wonder where the police were during this attack. According to some witnesses there were police present but when McDougal was asked about it he replied, “I didn’t see any. The only time I was contacted by the police was the next day after lunch. They wanted to know if I wanted to make a statement.”

Unfortunately McDougal is not the only person that has experienced the violent side of the strike. One of his customers had been driving past the fire station and had rubbish thrown deliberately at their car. When the driver got out of the car to check for any damage he was then violently threatened by one of the strikers. Another incident that McDougal remembers is a friend of his that was driving into town, when the strikers saw that he had refuse bags in the back they began to chase after the car. Luckily for the driver he was able to get away in time.

When McDougal was asked about his opinion on the strike he replied, “I don’t have a problem with protesting but I do have a problem with the way it’s going about. The trashing and the violence, it’s not fair.”

The town is now back to its usual state now that the strike was declared over on the 21^st of April 2010.  However there is still trash, glass and other rubbish that is yet to be cleaned up around town.

The Red Elephant Project is a new competition that the theoppidanpress.com is running in hopes of encouraging students to ‘go green’.

This competition is based on the saying that ‘there is an elephant in the room that no body is talking about’. We have called it the Red Elephant Project as we want to represent ‘going green’ Oppidanpress.com style.

The idea is that you, the students, send in proof to REDelephant@theoppidanpress.comof doing ‘green things’. Photos and short videos are both acceptable.

We will then ‘pop in’ to check up on you at any given time with an under-cover camera crew to make sure that you really have turned ‘green’.

The reward will be a surprise-prize sponsored by one of our friendly, Grahamstown businesses.

Our resident DJ Andy (or DJ Chop) will be running the competition.

Please listen to our RMR advert above!
Or download it here:
Red Elephant (600KB)

In this edition we ask you what you thought of Valentine’s Day and got some interesting responses!

We also sent a reporter to the Health Suite to ‘get fit’ for you and give you the low-down on all the best exercises to do when you eventually make it to the gym.

We’ve covered everything from campus fashion to thoughts on social entrepreneurship so get surfing and check out our latest content!

In the spirit of ‘going green’ we have launched a competition where you send in ‘proof’ of doing ‘green things’. Check out our podcast advert on RMR and the website for more information. We could be paying you back for your green deeds before you know it!

Till the next edition kids!

Lisa Brigham

The Oppidan Press.com Editor

A university degree is no longer a guarantee of future security; and it is highly likely that this generation of graduates will be engaging with the survival tactics of entrepreneurship.

While it is easy to feel slightly overwhelmed by society’s current confusion, don’t forget that chaos represents opportunity.

I recently watched ‘Che: The Argentine’ at Pepper Grove and realized that today’s revolution is no longer armed struggle, but rather [r]evolution of the mind. The strongest thread running through this revolution is social entrepreneurship.

Today’s revolutionaries are demanding Uhuru on the level of possibility. They are social entrepreneurs using entrepreneurial principles to organize and create social change.

Forerunners in this thought revolution include South African Bodyshop founder Anita Roddick, Kenyan democracy activist Wangari Maathai, and, perhaps surprisingly, rebel billionaire Richard Branson.

Branson would agree that entrepreneurial mindset represents this generation’s biggest potential investment for both our collective and individual future.

Today’s engaged citizens are no longer, by definition, barefoot and broke. Realistically, cash funds dreams.  There would be no Branson School for Entrepreneurship or Carbon War Room had Branson chosen to spend the rest of his life chaining himself to trees.

That’s not to say, however, that we don’t need people chaining themselves to trees. It was estimated in 2001 in the scientific journal New Scientist that proposed developments at that stage would leave only five percent of pristine Amazon rainforest intact by 2020. But my point, aside from the value of ‘direct action’ such as that I experienced at the 2007 Climate Camp outside Heathrow airport, is that wealth increases an individual’s leverage for social change.

It’s not all about the money though. In today’s entrepreneurial language wealth is a mindset. Wealth emerges from a personal investment in your own capacity to act and through investing time in creating a network of relationships. Social visionary Roger Hamilton defines wealth as being “what you are left with when you lose all your money”.

This relates to fellow Rhodes student Lowell Scarr’s quote at the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation’s recent orientation weekend, “To really develop a country, you need to develop its people”.

Over the next two weeks I will be looking into the ‘carbon war room’ conceptualised by Branson and the phenomenon of an emerging ‘democratic nation’ of entrepreneurial change makers spearheaded by Roger Hamilton.

Very interesting times!

Bruce Haynes is a Rhodes University Student, Allan Gray Fellow and Capestorm-sponsored spoken word artist. You can follow him on his MySpace and his twitter feed. You can also check him out on his blog at:http://mental-guerilla-warfare.blogspot.com/

Want to build muscle? Want to look slim and sexy? Or do you just want to keep fit, while socialising and meeting new people? Well then the Rhodes Health Suite is the place to be!

Situated just behind King’s Field and next to the university’s tennis courts, the Rhodes Health Suite has something for everyone, boasting a weight and cardio section, aerobic and spinning classes as well as a Personal Training Program.

Gym members are able to train at their own leisure, with numerous classes available at differing times each day of the week, while the weights section is open from 5am to 10am, and 12pm to 9pm on weekdays, and 2pm to 5pm on weekends.

To get you started, personal trainer Pete Moores-Pitt demonstrates 5 different work-out moves that both guys and girls can try out:

Barbell Squat:

For this exercise, place the barbell on your shoulder, push your traps back while keeping your back straight. Then squat down until your quads are horizontal to the floor, before slowly returning to the starting position.

This work-out will target your lower back, quads as well as your hamstrings.

Dumbbell Lunges:

Holding a dumbbell in each hand, place one leg forward, bending your trailing leg in the same motion. Keep your back straight, and ensure that your front knee does not extend past your front foot. Alternate between left and right foot.

This exercise will strengthen your core, quads and hamstrings.

Barbell Bench Press:
While in a horizontal position, hold the barbell just outside shoulder width apart above your chest. Then lower the barbell to roughly a fist distance above your chest, before slowly pushing it back up again.

This will work your major and minor pectorals, as well as your triceps.

Stability Ball Crunches:

For this workout, sit on a stability ball with your feet against the wall for balance. Lower your back until it is parallel to the floor, and then gradually come back up again. This will build your core and abdominal muscles, which are constantly engaged throughout the exercise.

Power Clean and Press

Place your legs just outside shoulder width apart, with your hands in an overhand grip on the bar. Starting with the bar at hip-height, fling the barbell up to shoulder height, and then raise it up over your head, before returning to shoulder height, and then back down to the starting position. You should feel a burning sensation in your shoulders and traps.

So there you have it, a full body workout that will have those muscles pumping in no time!

Sign up for the Health Suite will take place on Tuesday, 23 February at the Health Suite itself. For students wanting personal training, you can email the PT Manager at ruhspt@gmail.com.

My brief is to provide you, the fresh meat, with some meaningful advice. Impart my hard earned knowledge and invaluable life experience to your malleable first year brains. Well kids, that was lesson one. People like me and anyone not a first year will think it their divine right to give you their often crappy and condescending opinion. I will freely admit that I don’t know anything for certain. I barely made it through O-week, scraped through first year, tenuously maintained my sanity through second year and cruised through third year. All I can offer are a few of my observations. Like the insane amount of finger food that you will be offered during this great week, feel free to gorge greedily or pass, rather dejectedly.

The purple O-week helpers are a little scary. Their absolute joy at getting an O-week do-over can make them seem like very nice crack addicts. Little do they know, they won’t spend their week enjoying the nocturnal entertainment Grahamstown has to offer, but will, plastic bag in hand, be doing a lot of cleaning up. Lesson two, under no circumstances become an O-week helper. If the next few days aren’t your best, come back next year, with a digs or a friend in digs. Don’t completely write off Rhodes’ little purple elves though – they can give you directions, help with administration et cetera.

Lesson three, residence social mixers and O-week events are awkward. Perhaps I’m just socially challenged. The intentions are admirable, but after the usual “Where are you from?” “What are you studying?” conversation fillers are exhausted, you’ll be left staring at your shoes. Or maybe not, make the awkwardness your friend. Relax a little and go with it.

I wouldn’t bother with the walking tours or those lecture introduction things. You’ll eventually find your way around, Rhodes isn’t that big. Most of the stuff they say in those introductory lectures is in the handbook. Maybe if you’re not certain about that last subject choice give it a try. You can always change after the first week of lectures anyway. The only tour worth taking is the library one. Do it!

Now to address ‘going out’. Many Rhodents spend more energy applying themselves to maintaining our raucous reputation than their final term essay.

Why shouldn’t they? Grahamstown has so many fine establishments, all of which cater to a varied range of tastes and personalities. However, I would rather have spent my first O-week nights cradling my duvet in the fetal position. The crowds, the projectile vomiting, Friars – memories I need to let go of. Again, maybe I’m socially challenged. Second last lesson – tailor your experience to how you’re feeling. Go out, don’t go out. Go to Slipstream instead of Rat. Cuddle your teddy or cuddle a random.

I have no great words of wisdom for my final lesson. Don’t try too hard. Enjoy it – even the shitty terrible parts will make for good stories. The truly hard part is the Monday after O-week, the beginning of the rest of your year. Do what you have to do. Be happy. Be safe. Have a smashing good time kids!

]]> http://www.theoppidanpress.com/2010/02/campus-help-2/feed/ 1 http://www.theoppidanpress.com/2010/02/campus-sport/ http://www.theoppidanpress.com/2010/02/campus-sport/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:38:30 +0000 Editor http://www.theoppidanpress.com/wordpress/?p=200 In this edition of the website, Chelsea Nelson, notes why joing the Rhodes Sailing Club might just be the society for you.

If you sail or you don’t, by trying something new and joining the sailing club, you are sure to be blown away.

The perks of such a club? You can practise kite surfing and sailing, sports are seldom offered to such a wide range of people as it is so exclusive in most other universities or clubs.

Not only can you learn something new but you will also get the opportunity to escape the valley and spend some weekends practising at Settlers Dam, going on road-trips to Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred which are all included in the society’s training for beginners and experts. Training which will be put to the test later on when members take part in annual regattas and USSA
(University Sport South Africa) events all over the country.

According to Ania Barma,the sailing club commodore, the benefits of joining the sailing club are “getting out to scenic places, learning new skills in sailing and kite surfing and meeting new people”.
With the club developing, garments have been organised for members this year. It will have the sailing clubs’ new logo on which is a rather stylish image of a Greek wind god.

Even when there is no wind to harness, trips to the beach still occur and other exciting social events take place regularly.

Keep an eye out and an ear open during O-week about trips down to the beach with the Sailing Club.

By Chelsea Nelson

Slideshow:

During the 2009 December vacation I travelled with my family to Zimbabwe. Not an ideal holiday destination but nevertheless I kept my eyes open for the beauty that still remains in the country that was once so renowned for its landscapes, life styles and raw resources.

Slideshow:

In this edition, Tim Hurrell reviews Jericoacora in Brazil and gives the low down on how to make the best of a trip to one

On the northeastern coast of Brazilian in the state of Ceará about 300 km West of Fortaleza is Jericoacoara (pronounced Jeri-kwa-kwa-ra). This little fishing village has become know as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Although becoming popular with backpackers it has kept it’s wonderful charm. This is mainly because it is situated in the middle of a national park and its strict building regulations, restricting buildings in size and to within the village limits. The streets that meander amongst the modest houses are all of sand, like out of a day dream. Due to strong winds that blow from mid morning to sunset everyday it from June to January it has drawn windsurfers and kitesurfers from all over the world. Being surrounded by freshwater lagoons amongst the sand dunes and situated on a coast that stretches into the horizon there is no shortage of space. Surfing is good in Jercoacoara as well, although those looking for larger waves should look further south on the coast. Not only water babies enjoy Jericoacoara as it is a place of outstanding beauty. Every evening the locals preform Capoeira to the sound of the berimbau, a simple string instrument. Capoeira is a gravity defying, martial art that is unbelievable to watch. For those keen to learn there are lessons done on the beach front. With no shortage of sand dunes around sand boards can be rented from the middle of town. All the fun of snowboarding in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. There are numerous sand buggy tours that take you to the out lying lagoons and surrounding area. Fancy a trip to a simple lagoon side restaurant and a delicious seafood lunch, followed by a laze in a hammock suspended above the bath warm lagoon? Horses are brilliant for visiting places close by and can be rented by the hour. Visit Pedra Furada (the arched rock), the nearby hills, dry mangroves or simply gallop along the beach. For a small village Jericoacoara has lively night life, which starts with the famous Caipirinha from one of the many drinks carts that line the beach front in the evening. From here on to dance the night away with live music at one of the local bars. With the mix of locals and travelers it definitely makes for a good night. The best part of Jeri is just simply doing nothing, the chilled out relaxed attitude of everyone rubs off very quickly. With the many Pousadas, or bed and breakfasts,  in town it is very easy to find cheap and comfortable accommodation. Getting to Jericoacoara is fairly simple as there are regular buses, which are very good, from the international airport in Fortaleza. For those who would prefer a bit more peace of mind there are private transfers that can be arranged to and from the airport as well.

By Lisa Brigham

AVATAR

Sci-fi

* * * * *

This is the movie that has kept everyone talking for the last few years and finally has been released to the big screen at the end of 2009.

It is probably the best movie that I have seen in the last few years. It is dynamic and it merges fantasy with life lessons and hidden meanings. It approaches cinema in a whole new light and takes animation to the next level. If you have yet to see this movie then watch it in its full glory in 3D as this will heighten the whole experience immensely.

We give this a full star rating because of James Cameron’s awesome production and also for making us want to be 10 foot avatars ourselves. If you are an avatar fan and want to see what you would look like as a tall blue warrior then visit http://www.avatarizeyourself.com/ .