MARGEAUX ERASMUS
Why did you become involved in Student Politics?
When I came to Tuks I wasn’t accepted into Res, and I struggled to get into Res. So I went to SASCO and they helped place me in Res. In January they usually have this thing called the Right to Learn Campaign that helps place students in Res and also helps with their admissions. And so, I have been helping people ever since and that is how I became involved in Student Politics. Nicholas Zwane from SASCO helped me and told me that it would be good if I could help others now that I was in Res, and so I have been helping students get into Res for three years now.
What is your personal philosophy?
My personal philosophy is that we are members of the community before we are students.
How will this affect your actions as SRC Secretary-General?
The community also involves students. It is not just people from outside. You will be surprised to find out how many students are in need. So my personal philosophy will affect my actions because I will definitely give back to the community, and this includes giving back to students. I will also assist people in the community to gain access to the University of Pretoria
Why did you run for SRC Secretary-General?
I ran for Secretary-General because of the influence that the position had in assisting students. While I was in the TSC, the SG said in the Senate Appeals Committee that I need to help students. Students come to my office everyday with problems regarding res. These are things that I have been doing in SASCO, and we felt that we could better assist students if we had someone from SASCO serving in the SRC.
What have you achieved so far for students?
With SASCO we placed a lot of students in res. We also assisted students financially. When I was in the TSC, we helped to place more than 50 students in res. We also assisted students who have been excluded academically.
What are your goals as SRC Secretary-General?
We plan to have a transport system that will go to Sunnyside and Arcadia. We also want to solve the issue of aircons in Kloostersaal, which has become a crisis. And then we also want to keep working with reses to make sure that we get as many people into res as possible.
What legacy would you like to leave behind as SRC Secretary-General?
I would like people to look back and say: ‘This guy promoted academic excellence.’ That is why we are here after all.
