AmaTuks sealed promotion to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Wednesday 9 May with a 2-0 win over FC Cape Town at Absa Tuks Stadium. AmaTuks will now compete against all of the country’s top clubs including Supersport United, Mamelodi Sundowns, Ajax Cape Town, Kaizer Chiefs and Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates in the Absa Premiership next season. AmaTuks coach, Steve Barker, spoke to Perdeby exclusively following his team’s victory about the magnitude of the achievement and his ambitions in the PSL.

How does it feel to finally have secured promotion after several failed attempts?

It’s obviously a great feeling. It’s very satisfying for the club to finally be in the PSL. I have been here since 2007 and in that time we have come close a few times, so to finally have done it is a special feeling.

How proud are you of your players considering the successful season you have had?

Obviously I am very proud of the boys. They have done very well and all credit must go to them. We’ve been very consistent this season, only losing two games in 2012 and going 17 games unbeaten. So I’m very, very proud of them.

Do you think you can be competitive in the Absa Premiership next season?

Yes, I think that we will definitely be competitive. We are definitely not just going there to make up the numbers. We had a speaker here a few years ago from Australia, Wayne Goldsmith, who told us that yYou need to plan, you need to train, you need to prepare, you need to do everything better than the teams in the league above you, so that when you get there, you stay there. We already do things better than many teams in the PSL. We’ve got the best facilities, and we have great management and support structures, so I’m sure we will be very competitive in the PSL.

This season saw several changes in the National First Division (NFD) structure and rules. Do you think the change to a single national stream and the new rules regarding the minimum amount of u/23 South African players have benefited your promotion challenge?

Yes, I think the change to a national stream as opposed to two coastal streams was a positive step by the league. The change regarding the minimum required u/23 players didn’t really affect us too much, as we already had a number of players that fell under that category, so we didn’t need to make as many changes to our squad as other clubs did.

Are you worried about losing your top players to bigger clubs during the transfer period?

No, I’m not worried about that. I think the players need to make up their minds. Obviously there are a few players at the end of their contracts, but they need to decide if they want to stay or not. However, I am confident that all our players would want to stay here, because we’re in the PSL now, so I’m sure they think that this is the club to be at.

TuksFootball is one of the biggest football clubs in the country with over 1000 registered players. Will you be looking to showcase this on the national stage?

Yes, we are obviously very proud of the development structures we have at the club, from the junior programme to the academy to Res league and then the senior teams, so we’ll definitely be looking to continue our development and hopefully improve as a result of being in the PSL.

This is self-explanatory: the top ten reasons why I would rather be abducted by aliens than be a Canadian:

1. Alien sex is better than Canadian sex (trust me). Canadian sex must be really boring.

2. Aliens come in a variety of cool colours. Canadians come in only one colour: dull.

3. If I get abducted by aliens, I no longer have to be exposed to Justin Bieber. Justin Bieber is a Canadian.

4. Same goes for Celine Dion.

5. Chances of getting mauled by a bear in space are pretty low, whereas in Canada, bears roam freely and kill everything all the time.

6. Moose. What the hell kind of an animal is a moose? Whereas, aliens have pet Heffalumps and Woozles, of course.

7. Aliens don’t have that awful, blood-curdling, makes-you-want-to-vomit-everywhere, accent.

8. Aliens have exciting, never-tried-before booze. Whereas, Canada wouldn’t know a Long Island Ice Tea if it came at them wearing nothing but a Mounty’s hat.

9. Hockey. Hockey is super Canadian. Therefore it is automatically stupid. Space doesn’t have hockey.

10. If the apocalypse comes, Canada will no doubt be the only place that survives. If you’ve been abducted by aliens, you wouldn’t have to go and live in Canada when the world ends, which would just have made the whole getting-eaten-by-zombies thing so much worse.

Three former Tuks students and one current Tuks student will be taking part in the Mongol Rally on 14 July this year.

They will be travelling from London to Ulan Bator in Mongolia to raise money for the Lotus Children charity and Project Rhino KZN. They are aiming to film the entire adventure in hopes of completing a full-feature documentary.

The participants of the Mongol Rally are only allowed to make use of a vehicle with an engine size of approximately one litre and the teams will have to take on some of the worst roads in the world. The team will be driving a 1.3 litre Daihatsu Terios to the finish line in Mongolia.

Shane van Breda, a final-year MSc Biochemistry student, is one of the founding members of the team. Van Breda told Perdeby, “I was talking to a friend of mine about how life lacks adventure and how everyday is the same routine. He started telling me about the Mongol Rally and I was totally sold. This is what I needed, the lust for adventure.” Van Breda said, “I followed up on the Mongol Rally, put together a team and now we are going.”

The other team members are Waldo Buchner, a former BA Information Design student, Damon Civin, a former BSc and MSc Applied Mathematics student and Meline Joaris, a former BSc and BVSc Veterinary Science student. The team aims to raise £500 for the Lotus Children charity and another £500 for Project Rhino KZN.

Van Breda said, “Currently we are funding ourselves. We have all saved enough money for the event. However we are [looking] for sponsorships to help us fund our trip by offering them advertising on our car, Facebook page, Twitter profile, website and of course our film, once it is released.”

Van Breda said that if Tuks students want to make a donation, they can like their Facebook page, which has all the links to their fundraising platforms and websites with all of the relevant information.

Image: Provided

Perdeby caught up with TuksFM DJ, Alex Caige, who was recently awarded the Best Daytime Presenter award at the MTN Radio Awards 2012. Caige shares his thoughts regarding his award and gives us a brief peek into the workings of the radio industry.

What did you want to be when you were younger?

From a young age I wanted to either work in radio, be a pilot or be a Formula 1 driver, but more specifically just media. The opportunity to entertain people has always appealed to me, which gave me [an] incentive to go into radio.

How did you get involved in radio?

I’ll never forget it. A former TuksFM DJ, Kenzy Vinco, allowed me to give it a try when I was on matric holiday. It looked really cool. I knew that you would have to be quick on your feet so I decided to give it a try. After I told her that I had applied at Tuks, she recommended that I apply for a position at TuksFM.

Who are your radio DJ influences?

Starting out as a youngster, I enjoyed listening to Revin John from 94.7. BBC radio DJ, Chris Moyles, is also right up there, but I think my favourite DJ would have to be Gareth Cliff from 5FM. He’s a brilliant DJ. He does what radio should always do and entertains his listeners.

How did you feel when your name was announced as the winner of Best Daytime Presenter?

It was surreal. I was really hoping for it, just being nominated for the award was mind-blowing itself. I can remember the adrenaline rush surging through my body after Jeremy Mansfield announced my name as the winner. I was over the moon and everything seemed so surreal at the time. Very few people know how much hard work goes into radio and into creating a good show and it was good to see the hard work paying off.

What do you look forward to the most when you enter the studio?

Knowing that even if there’s one person, ten people or ten thousand people listening to my show, I have the opportunity to entertain people and to have some sort of influence over their thinking or the course of their day. To walk into the studio every day, speak behind the microphone and gain the attention of any listener is extremely powerful.

In a nutshell, describe what it’s like to work for TuksFM?

I think it’s the best station in the world in the sense that we accommodate not just for our students but also for outside the university, and we’re able to do that with people who can relate to being a student. I think that’s priceless in the sense that a listener’s ability to relate to what the station is all about.

How do you like to deliver your show to listeners?

It’s [all] about fun and energy. It’s a privilege being able to give people commentary about what’s going on in politics and the world, and while I’m doing that I want to bring a sense of fun and energy which results in an entertaining show. If I’m able to put a smile on a listener’s face or evoke a positive feeling within them while they listen to my show, then I’ve done my job.

What are your future plans in the radio industry?

I’m very happy at TuksFM. It’s taken four years of hard work to get to where I am and I want to build on that and take TuksFM to new heights. With the help of my show, I want TuksFM to take its listenership to a record high. My ultimate goal would be to one day work at BBC1, one of the biggest radio stations in the world.

What advice do you have for any aspiring radio DJs out there?

Being a radio presenter is simply about being yourself. So be yourself, work hard, and if you’ve got a dream, do it.

Photo: Eleanor Harding

University of Limpopo

Approximately 100 students will face murder and assault charges following an attack which left a man dead at the University of Limpopo on 3 May.

The students assaulted a group of eight men accused of robbing a student of a cell phone on the university’s Mankweng campus, reported The Citizen.

Students attacked the men with sticks, stones, and other weapons after a female student raised the alarm that her cell phone had been stolen. Three of the men managed to escape whilst five others were badly injured. One man died in hospital on Friday.

Mankweng police spokesman, Constable Moses Molepo, said that the students also stoned the ambulance that was called to take the injured men to hospital.

Molepo told The Citizen that investigations revealed that the men were merely visitors at the university. The student who was robbed was unable to identify any of the accused men.

Student Representative Council Secretary at the University of Limpopo, Langu Shiviti, told the Sowetan: “But while the police said they could not link the men to any crime, the cell phone [stolen] from the female student was found in the possession of one of them.”

Reacting to the allegations, Molepo said, “It has not been communicated to us that one of the men was found in possession of the stolen cell phone.”

“At this stage police are trying to establish who the involved students were in order to charge them,” Molepo said.
Rhodes University

A breakthrough in the murder of Rhodes University student, Lelona Fufu was made when detectives linked the case to a rape suspect arrested last week.

Lelona Fufu was stabbed to death on 12 April while hitch-hiking to her graduation ceremony in Grahamstown.

According to The Herald, it was during the rape case investigation that a Motherwell policeman started to suspect a link between the rape suspect and the Fufu murder. The breakthrough came when police allegedly found proof that the suspect had been in possession of a “personal belonging” of the murdered woman.

Police are not revealing details, but it is suspected that Fufu’s spectacles are linked to the development. Fufu’s mother, Bongeka, told The Herald that when police informed the family of the new developments they had asked about a pair of spectacles which had belonged to her daughter.

The 28-year-old suspect is currently being held at St. Albans Prison in connection with an unrelated rape charge, allegedly committed after Fufu’s murder.

University of Witwatersrand

Students at the University of Witwatersrand are boycotting university cafeterias because of 17 catering company workers who have been dismissed.

The boycott began on 7 May with approximately 875 students taking part. The students claim that the catering company, Royal Mnandi Solutions ill-treated its former employees, according to the Times Live.

The workers, referred to as the “Wits 17”, were allegedly dismissed without a written warning by the catering company. SASCO Gauteng Chairperson, Ndumiso Mokako, told News24 that “the workers were dismissed for refusing to move to other dining halls off campus, due to a lack of consultation and the additional financial burden they would incur as a result of relocation. We condemn the unfair dismissal of the Wits 17.”

According to News24, Royal Mnandi Solutions confirmed that the workers had been dismissed and that the behaviour of the employees was addressed in terms of the company’s code of conduct. “We believe we have followed due process throughout the dismissal of these employees, both procedurally and substantively,” said Royal Mnandi’s Human Capital Executive Pauline Mahlangu.

SASCO is calling for free education because many “of [their] people, largely from poor and working-class backgrounds, are denied access to higher education simply because they do not have the monetary means to buy education.” This is according to a statement released by the organisation.

SASCO’s statement uses the Polokwane Congress (the ANC’s 2007 National Conference) to support its demand. According to Resolution 44 adopted in Polokwane, the ANC must “progressively introduce free education to the poor until undergraduate level.” Resolution 46 acknowledges that “education must be prioritised as one of the most important programmes of the next five years.”

SASCO has expressed disappointment that, in spite of these resolutions having been adopted by the ANC, Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training, has not yet implemented “a cogent plan on how free education is to progressively be realised.”

The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) issued a statement expressing their support of SASCO’s march. The statement echoed SASCO’s concern of the lack of implementation of the resolutions adopted at the Polokwane conference.
The ANCYL encouraged its members to join SASCO in their march “as a means of demonstrating to our government and society that we do champion the interests of young people.”

According to the statement, student protest indicates that students are concerned about the social and economic problems which South Africa faces.

The call for free education “is a good initiative, which addresses the injustices of the past, while arming the majority of South Africans with the most pivotal tool to assist them in addressing their struggles: education,” COPE@Tuks chairperson Thabo Mdlalose told Perdeby. Mdlalose also pointed out that it may be “unrealistic” to demand free education, and questioned the ability of the South African government to provide it. “COPE@Tuks believes that free education should only be granted to those who need it most, but how can we trust the government to ensure that this is the case, when corruption has infested itself within the ruling party?” he said, adding that “it is impossible to envisage free and fair education being efficiently and correctly implemented by the current government.”

DASO Chairperson at Tuks, Thorne Godinho, told Perdeby that “free tertiary education is not a reasonable or affordable option.” He also said that DASO supports the use of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, as well as other forms of financial aid, to provide youth with the opportunity to attend university. In April, Minister Nzimande said that government is still committed to providing the poor with free education. See “Free tertiary education for the poor” on page 5 for more details.

The shortage of student accommodation has left students vulnerable to the exploitation of landlords.
Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande released a report in March acknowledging that thousands of students across the country have to live in appalling conditions and that he saw it as a “miracle” that they managed to pass any academic course while living under such conditions.

The main reason identified for the countrywide shortage of student accommodation is the growing number of student enrolment into universities. The report found that nationally only 30% of students in need of accommodation were catered for by their universities. The report further recognised the problem that the provision of private student accommodation is unregulated in South Africa, thus allowing widespread exploitation of students and exposure of students to various levels of risk.

UP SRC Secretary-General Kleinbooi Legoabe told Perdeby that the SRC knows of many students coming from places as far as Venda and Bizana in the Eastern Cape who cannot afford private accommodation. The SRC then tries to negotiate with TuksRes on behalf of these students. Unfortunately, not all these students can be accommodated and are forced to live in surrounding areas like Sunnyside, Arcadia, Mamelodi and Tembisa. Legoabe told Perdeby that “last month the SRC compiled a document to the City Council that states the challenges of UP students living in Hatfield or surrounding places.”

Professor Roelf Visser, Director of Residence Affairs and Accommodation at UP, confirmed that “it is a major concern that landlords are in fact exploiting our students on high rents, contractual agreements, day-to-day maintenance, support in general, sub-standard quality of facilities, health and safety issues, [and] security.” According to Prof. Visser, the UP executive has appointed his office to oversee the accreditation of private student accommodation in the area. He added that students who are in need of support are welcome to contact him.

An engineering student told Perdeby that she had a problem with accommodation in the past month. She lived in a communal house with 11 other students (males and females) and had to share two bathrooms with only one toilet. They paid a woman, who they thought was the owner, a deposit and two months’ rent. Two months later a man claiming to be the real owner of the house arrived at the commune saying that he knew nothing about the contract that the students had signed. The man requested that the students pay him a deposit and two months’ rent if they wanted to continue living there. When they tried to reach the woman who had claimed to be the original owner of the house, she did not answer her calls and was nowhere to be found. The woman had allegedly rented the house from the man and was sub-letting it to the students.

Jacolien Barnard, a senior law lecturer at UP, said that students who find themselves in these situations are protected by the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the Rental Housing Act. Landlords who have entered into a contractual agreement (verbal or written) with tenants have a duty and obligation towards the tenants to maintain the accommodation and provide undisturbed use and enjoyment of the property. Students who feel they have been exploited by their landlords or feel that they are not in compliance with the CPA can take legal action.

In Johannesburg, students are resorting to sub-standard illegal commune accommodation because of a shortage in student accommodation. Mail and Guardian reported that students felt defenceless against slumlords who allegedly charge exorbitant rent and ignore the City of Johannesburg and the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) policies to regulate accommodation.

John Mukwena, a student at UJ, told Mail and Guardian that students are charged huge amounts of money by landlords for rooms that are not up to standard. He said they take them because accommodation is rare and students want to be near campus.
Metro newspaper reported that in Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban, the shortage of student accommodation at universities and tertiary institutions has led to some universities outsourcing their accommodation to private developers to assist students who need accommodation.

It was indicated in the report released in March by Minister Blade Nzimande, that an immediate response to the infrastructure backlog has been implemented where an amount of R3.8 billion has been allocated as an infrastructure and efficiency grant for universities over the next two financial years to assist in alleviating the student accommodation problem.

Photo: Charné Fourie

Born Villain is the eighth studio album from Marilyn Manson, the follow-up to the disappointing High End of Low. The shock-rocker described the new album as having a heavier tone when compared to previous albums. He classifies it as “suicide death metal”, evident in the macabre lyrics and general dark feel to the tracks. This isn’t a relatively new concept when dealing with Manson, but you cannot help but feel that he drew heavily on his older work to record Born Villain.

The first single, “No Reflection”, perfectly blends simple chord progressions used by Manson in his older albums, accompanied by his signature growl, to create a dark song rich with emotion. 

“Slo-Mo-Tion” opens with a catchy bass riff-and-drum beat but the moment Manson adds his vocals to the mix, the song fails. It becomes painful to listen to, due to Manson’s off-tune whining, which ends up sounding more like a choir of drowning cats than a rock icon. By the song’s end, even the solo is off-tune, leaving you to wonder whether the band even listened to the song before releasing the album.

With “The Gardener”, Manson mumbles lyrics depressing enough to drive Oprah to suicide, and the song lacks the power and emotion to deliver lyrics that speak of Manson’s view’s on of life, love and creation. 

The best performance on the album comes with “Murderers Are Getting Prettier Everyday”. It showcases the band’s potential with the heaviest riff on the album and Manson delivers his strongest vocals. After listening to the track, it leaves you wanting more of the same. This is Manson at his best.

The band continues their tradition of covering older songs with their version of “You’re So Vain”.  This collaboration with actor Johnny Depp on guitar and drums adds the signature Manson feel to a classic song. The only disappointment is that the band seems better at performing someone else’s songs than writing their own material.   

After listening to Born Villain, one cannot help but wonder if the rocker has run out of ideas. On the whole, the album feels like a collection of greatest hits with a few new effects and lyrics. His voice also fails to impress. This might be a testament to the hard lifestyle he has become associated with. He relies on his band to carry him through the album, but even this is not enough to save the album from being disappointing.

See the “No Reflection” music video below or @Perdeby7411b.

RATING: 6/10

Image: www.loudwire.com

“While the ex-gay ministry believes we can be healed of our homosexuality, I realised that this ‘healing’ was actually the repression of my feelings and desires,” says Clive Vanderwagen, a South African man who was once part of the ex-gay ministry – one of many practices aimed at “changing” sexual orientation. “Like any form of repression, it has the potential to erupt at any time and, when it does, it can do damage.”

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) condemns these so-called “conversion therapies” which attempt to change the sexual orientation of a person from homosexual (or bisexual) to heterosexual. The APA argues that these therapies are based on the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder, despite the fact that it was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1986.

The majority of those seeking treatment cite religious convictions as their main reason for wanting therapy, while others report a lack in emotional satisfaction from gay life and social pressures as factors which influence their choice.

Eugen Steinach, a twentieth-century endocrinologist from Austria, first attempted to change the sexual orientation of gay men by transplanting the testicles of straight men into them. Despite the failure of this experiment, Sigmund Freud was greatly influenced by Steinach. Freud believed that homosexuality could be cured through psychoanalysis and hypnosis and so started a trend which has survived into the 21^st century.

Early forms of behavioural modification made use of aversive conditioning techniques which included the use of electric shocks and nausea-inducing drugs while exposing the individual undergoing treatment to erotic images of a homosexual nature. Later, the patient would be exposed to images of the opposite sex, without the negative conditioning, in an attempt to decrease their aversion to heterosexual feelings. According to psychologists at the time, this had a 58% cure rate.

American psychologist, Douglas Haldeman, maintains that such therapy endured by anyone other than the gay community would be considered “torture” and that this form of treatment does not promote heterosexuality, but instead leads to homosexuals becoming “shamed, conflicted and fearful about their homosexual feelings.”

“Reparative therapy” is a term which was coined in 1991 by well-known clinical psychologist Joseph Nicolosi. Nicolosi, the former president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) – the largest organisation for practitioners of ex-gay therapy – maintains that homosexuality can be cured by conditioning a man to his traditional masculine gender role. These forms of conditioning include participating in sports, avoiding contact with women unless it is for romantic reasons, learning how to mimic “masculine” ways of behaving, attending church, engaging in heterosexual sex and fathering children. These forms of conversion therapy are all based on the idea that homosexuality is a learned behaviour, despite criticism from the mainstream medical industry which refutes these claims.

Conservative religious groups which offer support and treatment are called ex-gay ministries. These groups remain the most outspoken advocates of conversion therapy. According to Vanderwagen, ex-gay ministries are very direct in their approach to conversion. “There are no claims that you will be straight and find women attractive: the belief is that God does not replace one lust for another but that you choose to walk away from the lifestyle of homosexuality. You are never straight, you become ex-gay.”

The APA warns against ex-gay ministries for fear that they could cause further social harm by reinforcing stereotypes about homosexuals and thus increase prejudice and stigma about homosexuality in society.

The most contemporary and controversial study of our time is that of Robert Spitzer, former Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. In his study “Can some gay men and lesbians change their sexual orientation? 200 participants reporting a change from homosexual to heterosexual orientation”, Spitzer reports that 66% of men and 44% of women had been cured and experienced what he called “good sexual functioning” after undergoing treatment.

However, Spitzer’s study has been criticised for a number of reasons. Not only was it unclear what the treatment consisted of, but there was no control group nor were follow-ups conducted and there was a belief that participants may have been bisexual before undergoing the treatment. In 2012, Spitzer renounced his study and apologised to the gay community. In an interview with Gabriel Arana, former patient of Joseph Nicolosi and writer for The American Prospect, Spitzer said, “In retrospect, I have to admit I think the critiques are largely correct. The findings can be considered evidence for what those who have undergone ex-gay therapy say about it, but nothing more.”

Advocates for conversion therapy maintain that the treatment works for highly motivated individuals and that those seeking the treatment should be allowed to undertake it. Critics, on the other hand, have labelled any practitioners offering the treatment as unethical and as a result, it is considered a violation of the Hippocratic Oath. Jack Drescher, a psychiatrist and member of the APA, says that any supposed obligation to allow a patient the freedom of choice to undergo therapy is “outweighed by a stronger ethical obligation to keep patients away from mental health professionals who engage in questionable clinical practices.” Many would argue the questionable practices of treatment when they consider the amount of controversy surrounding advocates for conversion therapy. On 4 May 2010, the Miami New Times reported that a Baptist Minister and NARTH board member, George Alan Rekers (who previously testified in court that he believes homosexuality is a sin), was caught hiring a gay male prostitute to accompany him on holiday.

On 2 May of this year, The Christian Post reported that a law is currently being amended in California which would make conversion therapy more difficult to practise, by banning treatment of anyone under the age of 18.

“People should realise that LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual] people are not ill,” says Lerato Phalakatshela, Vice-Chairperson of Up and Out, Tuks’ s official LGBTI society. Phalakatshela reiterates the belief that these therapies only offer false hope and could do more harm than good. “Being gay is not a choice. We really were born this way.”

Illustration: René Lombaard