According to a report the repositioning of Rag has been on the university’s agenda since 2011 stating “financial shortfalls, suboptimal functioning of the central committee, extremely negative public perception and institutional reputational risks” as some of the problem areas within Rag.
A focus on sustainable community engagement along with the alignment of Rag within the university’s 2025 strategic vision has been identified as significant factors in the reevaluation of Rag’s function at Tuks. Although the residences has already moved toward more sustainable community engagement, it was suggested that there could be a better synergy with Enactus in identifying suitable projects and ways in approaching them.
Dr Rina Wilken, head of Student Development, said that she felt very positive with the progress made during the meeting saying, “I’m glad that everyone got a chance to speak.” Dr Wilken said it is good that the residences generally want to continue with both the long-term and short-term projects.Residence HKs agreed that change was necessary and that a proper assessment on the relevance of certain Rag events and programs needed to be done before it would be decided to scrap them completely. Spring Day is one such an event that will no longer be facilitated by Rag as it now falls under the SRC.
According to Dr Wilken, a proposal is being drafted that will be circulated to students for input and then be sent to the executive. Dr Wilken hopes to finalise the action plan before the end of exams.
