Peter Kamlongera, the TuksRag chairperson, was the first to speak and dealt with “the various students needs that exist based on different factors such as cultural backgrounds, income levels [and] gender.” Kamlongera also addressed the need for student mobilisation. He explained that part of the discussion’s aim was to remind “students of their individual moral obligations to better their communities as a whole through a mobilised movement”. Anthonieta Boni, a Legal Shebeen representative who attended the discussion, said that what did come out of the discussion was that “there is a great responsibility on us as students to engage more in community programs aimed at bettering the lives of our fellow students.” Boni added that during the discussion UP’s constitution was questioned as to whether the constitution “represents students holistically or if it only represents a particular group.”
The second presentation was done by Raphael Chitambira, a co-director of the Legal Shebeen. Chitambira spoke about “the statutory considerations and hindrances that should be taken into account when addressing community engagement and student needs.” Chitambira said that “when TuksRag approached us to give a legal perspective on the issue of community engagement and social consciousness, we were naturally inclined to assist them.”
The last speaker was Gernia van Niekerk, from the Department of Community Engagement, who spoke to students about UP’s current initiatives that address student needs and about their approach to community engagement. Van Niekerk explained what the idea of “charity starts at home” means and the importance of charity starting at home. From the people that Perdeby spoke to, most felt that the discussion had a positive outcome despite the poor turnout. However Simphiwe Madungandaba, third-year LLB student who went to the discussion, thought that it was relatively progressive but “felt that there was a lack of representation, that the audience was not a true representation of the student population.”
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