KATLEGO MKHWANAZI
This year’s Serenade competition has been surrounded with a bit of controversy. It’s alleged that Zeus Ladies, who are the winners of Serenade, have broken a Serenade rule. The runner-up, Madelief, brought the matter to light after Zeus Ladies were announced as the winners of Serenade 2011. According to Wynand du Plessis, Stuku Chairperson, Madelief’s concern was that Zeus Ladies had members in their Serenade who were too old to compete, according to the Serenade rules. A meeting with all the stakeholders was then held on 18 August. The stakeholders present at the meeting were Prof. Roelf Visser (Director of Tuks Res), Prof. McGlory Speckman (Dean of Students), Madelief, Zeus and the SRC. “We ensured that we had all the information and facts from everyone before making a decision,” said du Plessis. Du Plessis explained that the Serenade rules were edited in order to allow residence students to participate for their residence even if they have left their residences. Before, students who had left res could only participate within a year after leaving res. But it has now been extended to three years. It was concluded at the meeting that Zeus Ladies didn’t break any rules. “Zeus Ladies are the fair and final winners of Tuks Serenade 2011,” said du Plessis. However, “Madelief will receive the highest possible amount of marks for Serenade that will count towards residence of the year, seeing that they were the best residence in the female category of this competition,” explained du Plessis. “People should make sure that the rules are known,” said Barend van der Schyff, Zeus Chairperson. “I haven’t heard of a year where a res won and there were no complaints. It becomes unpleasant when people complain and Serenade is supposed to be fun,” added van der Schyff.
“There is always some unhappiness from the residences/day houses who did not win after an important competition such as this. Again, we are not here to judge or disregard any query a student may have. We will always try our best to accommodate the student(s) in whatever concern they may have,” said du Plessis. Zeus Ladies and Boekenhout will represent Tuks at the ATKV “Universiteite Ser” on 3 September. Du Plessis said that students should expect the highest quality Serenades from across the country.
Photo: Esther van Eeden
