MARKO SVICEVIC: Picture the following: you have three assignments due this week, are writing two semester tests and are preparing for an upcoming exam. To top it off, you have a social with friends and are going clubbing on the weekend. A busy schedule is nothing new to students, but then again, neither is sleep deprivation. Although it is often not seen as a serious concern, lack of sleep has several detrimental effects.
DESRÉ BARNARD: Zahra* is a 23-year-old Tuks student. Last year she got a phone call from her gynaecologist. “They phoned me and said my pap smear showed it was cervical cancer and they had to operate immediately,” she says. Zahra’s cancer developed under exceptional circumstances attributed to stress, but she is just one of the countless women who have developed cervical cancer.
CARMI HEYMAN: For most students, university life can be directly linked to drinking alcohol – legally, that is.
However, if Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has his way, students who are 21 years old or older may be the only ones who are allowed to drink legally. At a recent World Health Organisation meeting in Boksburg, Motsoaledi addressed numerous issues concerning alcohol and said that raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 is one of a range of measures being considered to reduce the harm caused by alcohol consumption.
ANLERIE DE WET: Single people are known as the third wheels, the best friend or the brother or sister. They dread being asked about their supposed love lives at family gatherings and sometimes respond with a tilt of the head or an “ag, shame” when they hear about the problems of others in committed relationships.
NOLWAZI MNGADI: Social media and social-networking websites were created with the idea of giving people a platform on which to express opinions, share thoughts and ideas, and to create platforms in which people around the world can connect with each other. Social media not only benefits individuals but businesses too.
According to SocialMediaExaminer.com, 65% of small business owners believe that social media helps them to engage better with their customers. The freedom that people have online allows a large number of opinions, whether positive or not, to be expressed, sometimes with far-reaching consequences.
Perdeby investigates some of the negative aspects of social media.
Last week, Perdeby wrote about the issue of rape in South Africa. We were interested in knowing why students think people rape and what could be done to prevent people from committing rape. We start our debate with a note from the University of Pretoria’s head of Student Support Dr Madeleine Nolte about rape and abusive relationships.
MARGEAUX ERASMUS: Before discussing the issue fully, Dr Nolte wanted to point out that even though violence and rape are linked, they are actually two different issues. She said that Student Support deals with trauma and that they have a lot of students coming to them after they have been raped. She said that crimes of physical violence and rape are increasing and that it is becoming a big problem (as has been evident in recent media reports).
DITSHEGO MADOPI: Students only hear or read about methods of adjusting to life away from home when they begin their tertiary education. However, there is also the less explored idea of adjusting to home again after years of studying and living away from parents or guardians.
Some students may cringe at the thought of becoming a permanent resident at their parents’ house again, while others may enjoy the luxuries of home and may choose to settle there for longer.
DEON BOTHA: What could wild warrior chiefs possibly have in common with film star Angelina Jolie?
Initially, you might think that this is a trick question. However, the answer lies skin deep. They have both succumbed to ancient practices, known to satisfy those who decide to undergo permanent body alteration.
In 1991, archaeologists found a 5 000-year-old frozen corpse in the mountains between Austria and Italy. The corpse had over 30 tattoos and both its ears were pierced. Permanent alterations such as these are older and far more culturally significant than most would think. Perdeby investigates where and when these sometimes controversial practices began.
MARGEAUX ERASMUS: Coffee could be considered a staple food of the typical student’s diet. It gets us to those pesky 07:30 classes and it might even be the only way we make it through wrist-slitting lectures. Coffee also spurs us on all night when we have to finish assignments that count almost half of our semester mark and it comforts us as we study for exams or tests.
Here at Perdeby, the words “Can I get you some coffee?” surpass banal phrases of love and admiration. A student’s week, however, would not be complete without some form of alcohol to help them unwind on Thursday nights. This is the time when coffee taps alcohol into the ring to get the party started. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of reasons to fuel your coffee and wine addiction.
BERND FISCHER: “Oh, I thought lesbians like you only existed on television,” is the kind of reaction and male chauvinism towards “lipstick lesbians” that has women such as Jincey Lumpkin, a writer for the Gay Voices blog on HuffingtonPost.com, infuriated. Her response to these men: “I’m a lesbian, I’m married and I deserve respect. Period.”
“Lipstick lesbians” is a slang term used to describe lesbian women who do not display stereotypically lesbian characteristics – simply put, it’s difficult for people to determine their sexual orientation because of their “straight-acting” behaviour and appearance. What further distinguishes lipstick lesbians from other lesbians is that they are almost exclusively attracted to feminine lesbians.
