Oh my this is awkward. Having to tell you who I am is a whole ordeal because I am still trying to figure that out myself lol. The most I know at this point is that, I am an unhinged hillbilly from a small town in Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal; My first love had “Petronella” as a middle name (gross right?); I will on occasion get dressed in a onesie, using my red blankie as a cape to live out my fantasy of being the caped crusader of justice: Captain Tanuki; Finally, I have an obsession with owls that should get its own section in the DSM-V. On that owl thing, I feel like in one of my many past lives as a shrew somewhere in the world, I met my end to one of those majestic birds and that specific bird reincarnated as my first love who, at the time of writing, has not killed me…yet! Talk about a circle of life, neh. My goals? Well right now, I have but one very simple goal: to be the best human I can possibly be. Achieving that would make a hillbilly like me, a better person and growth is always good. My time at the paper has made sure I stay on this path. Should a lost soul wanting to know about the paper, stumbles across this bio, I want you to know that I will totally be a radically different person in the best way possible. Who knows, I might have reincarnated as an owl, by then.
In honour of women’s month, PDBY interviewed the current chairperson of House Humanities, Okuhle Mpepo, on the many accomplishments of House Humanities in various cultural areas and innovative long-term policy positions.
Mpepo’s career in student governance began with her position as culture external in the 2021/2022 executive committee of House Humanities. In Mpepo’s year as culture external, she ensured that House Humanities participated in Step it UP for the first time. Furthermore, House Humanities was the only faculty house structure to participate in UP Archives during her term as culture external.
In 2023, her term as chairperson of House Humanities began with a bang. “We won Stuku’s debate competition… where I coached a team to an undefeated victory, winning seven out of seven rounds.”
Currently, House Humanities is collaborating with the Department of Speech and Language Pathology to offer sign
language as a module for Humanities students. And Mpepo’s next feat concerns sexual education for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, since “sex education in schools is taught through a heteronormative lens”. This initiative landed her the Innovator Award of the 2023 JGF Change Maker Project.