The Law House Faculty Festival (Fac Fest) is an annual event that forms part of the Law House social calendar. This year, Fac Fest is scheduled for 29 September. Due to COVID-19 and the lockdown restrictions, the event will not take place on campus. The Law House executive committee , therefore, decided to move the event online. Lindo Shongwe, co-head of Law House social, told PDBY that the decision to continue with Fac Fest was made to give students a sense of consistency and stability. Shongwe continued by saying that “it just would not feel right to not have it”.
Students will be able to stream the event on various social media platforms. Shongwe said that these platforms include YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Zoom, and potentially Blackboard. Raisha Ramkhelawan, co-head of Law House social, told PDBY that “an online faculty festival is not going to be the same as a live faculty festival, however, we are trying as hard as possible to make it seem as if there is no difference.” Ramkhelawan added that the night will be ended off with a DJ, and it is considered “as it would have been under normal circumstances”.
“It just would not feel right to not have it”
Regarding the events of the day, Shongwe told PDBY that the events are still the same, but “with a twist”. These events include the Mx Law House competition and a talent competition that will be judged online. There will also be other competitions on the day and Ramkhelawan emphasised that each event will have a cash prize and continued by saying, “we believe that these cash prizes, which are in the form of Takealot vouchers, Bookmark vouchers, and Pick ‘n Pay vouchers, would greatly assist families and students who are in need during this time”.
In the past, students paid an “entrance fee” in the form of sanitary pads or canned food. This year, however, there will be no such requirement. Law House recognises that this is a difficult time for students financially and, therefore, the event is open to all students. Elaborating on the topic of an entrance fee, Ramkhelawan mentioned that “there is also no way to ensure that this is actually enforced”. Another reason for this decision is that students will need to use their own data and “we don’t want to pose any more restrictions on [students]”.
Shongwe mentioned that “virtual events are not as popular as actual events”, and for this reason, the marketing of the event “had to be twice as much”. Ramkhelawan agreed with this statement and added that it has been a challenge to get students to participate during this time, because “data is a real issue with students.” Both Shongwe and Ramkhelawan agreed that the biggest challenge with reinventing the Fac Fest was marketing, especially “marketing the event as similar to an actual live Fac Fest”.
Regarding the streaming of the Fac Fest, Shongwe that Law House already had all the platforms set up and that test sessions were done “to make sure everything runs efficiently and it’s the same on every platform”.
The links to the different streaming platforms will be shared across social media and all students are invited to join in the festivities.
Image: Madhuri Rambaran
