RAG of Hope Day 2022 took place on 26 February on the UP RAG farm and it was the first RAG event since 2019. The event is organised by RAG (Reach out And Give) with the purpose of collecting donations for the charities of each participating student structure’s choice. The student body running the event was mostly comprised of students who had never been to a live RAG event, even amongst the most senior students in their third year, and so the event saw some interesting developments. These “newbies” steered their efforts towards donating to worthy causes like the Guide Dog Association.
If one had to try and explain the appeal of hanging out with a bunch of strangers on a miserably hot Saturday after two years of being physically (and socially) isolated from other humans, it would be incredibly difficult explain the sense of euphoria that accompanies an experience that seems so out of place now, when it was a staple feature of human life only two years ago. The only possible way one could attempt to capture even an aspect of this experience, is by describing it as: the socially awkward trying to reckon with itself, and maybe that’s a good thing. It is precisely within this paradigm that RAG of Hope Day set the precedent for making something beautiful out of our bizarre modern reality.
The day featured different stalls, competitions and more, that “brought back student life”. PDBY explores these devastatingly daring and uncompromisingly bizarre event that is RAG of Hope Day 2022.
The stalls
Hundreds of students worked hard to create products from recycled materials, and in true student fashion everyone believed their stall to be the best. Reasons for their superiority complexes ranged from College having ‘the hottest girl’s residence (Madelief) and the best day house (Luminous) with [them]” to Ecomm (EBIT and Commercii collaboration) suggesting that due to the variety of goods on offer, their stall was “sophisticated”. All egos aside, the stalls at RAG 2022 had plenty to offer. They all tended to occupy three levels: mediocre, innovative and purposefully positive. The brutally mediocre and overdone can be seen in the metric ton of pot plants for sale, in addition to the forest of succulents on offer. If humans could subsist on bracelets and scrunches alone, RAG 2022 would be the site where humans solve world hunger.
Moving on from the mediocre we find the truly innovative, such as the products sold by Bokhutcendo’s (Docendo and Khutso collaboration) which Abigail Jansen van Vuuren described as, “ethically recycled wine cork coasters” (coasters made from at least 15 wine corks). Bokhutcendo were selling a lot of coasters because, as Jansen van Vuuren put it, “O-week was rough”. Another standout was Law House and BOLD Society’s “ICY BOLD LIPS lemon flavoured lip ice” which was made using coconut oil and honey with a container fashioned from 2-litre Coke bottles. Finally, the Stars Mentorship stall featured cardboard canvases that anyone could ‘paint their feelings away’ on to further their message of “being able to speak up about how you feel without judgement”.
Similarly, Erikhaya’s (Erica and Tuks Ekhaya) stall featured inspirational letters and decorative items that are meant to be given out as gifts or pick-me-ups, featuring exclusive art with inspirational quotes packed with meaning. As Lizamari Fuhri and George Marias put it, “we wanted to make something that was personal.” An item on sale at the Erikhaya stall that stood out was an image of the world map with the words “go where you feel most alive” written in cursive. Given the times we live in these stalls were a perfect addition to RAG of Hope Day.
Welcome back, we’ve missed cheering you on: Sport
Live sports events made a come-back between student structures at RAG of Hope Day. Two sports that noticeably, albeit unsurprisingly, received a lot of attention were touch rugby and soccer. The Tower’s house committee member for sport, Devon Nell, welcomed the inclusion of sports at RAG 2022 and said, “sport is a cornerstone for student life, we are happy to see mixed [gender] teams participating and getting to know each other through sport, [everyone] really like[s] it.” In addition, House Ikageng’s Kaogelo Mounye said that “participation in sports this year was easy to find, it shows how people want to get together again. Look at me, I am not even a sport person and even I love to be here.” Sports has been a missed aspect of student culture and was warmly welcomed back. The day culminated in Mopsterhof (Mopanie and Asterhof collaboration) winning the award for best participation in sport at the RAG award ceremony.
Vibes, jives and big feels: UP’s Got Talent
The closing event of RAG of Hope Day was the talent show, creatively titled: UP’s Got Talent. The show ran for over four hours and featured a variety of performances in the following categories: singing/music, dancing, acting, poetry and comedy. In addition to this, the show made a distinction between formal entries and ‘wildcard performances’ which are entries made on the day at the tail end of the event. Needless to say, those in attendance were blown away by some performances from Innocence Masango, who placed first in the category for singing, Fezile Luthuli, who placed first in dance for their varied dance performance, and Miecke Liebenberg, whose emotional performance placed her first in acting category.
When asked why they decided to perform, a variety of answers emerged. Innocence Masango said “I really enjoy performing and I am glad I got to perform in front of a live audience” and Stephan Smith, the drummer of second place band Kiash and the Decent Ou’s, said “charity and music always bring people together, if you can couple that with some good vibes then what can one lose”. On that note, special mention must be made to the wildcard performance featuring the dynamic duo of Caitlin Arries and Jarrod Staples and their acapella hula-hoop rendition of Lil’ Naz X’s hit song ”Industry Baby” in the category of comedy. When asked why they decided to enter as a wild card performance Jarrod Staples said “we had a social. I loved the song. I woke my friend to the best sound on earth, my voice. Saw I had a passion for music, and that was when I decided to take it to the stage.”
A step closer: The way forward
It goes without saying that this was a significant step toward re establishing student culture at UP. SRC secretary, Tarik Lalla, said, “these events are important as it normalises things that would be considered unnatural for two years. It is important for people who have been feeling alone and isolated to have a space to interact with one another again.” SRC president, Thato Mashila, added, “we are indeed one step close in establishing a new normal for students, as all registered students have access to campus meaning we can organise more social gatherings. From our side as the SRC we can guarantee more social gatherings”.
Overall RAG of Hope Day, was largely a success with welcomed quirks. All in attendance wore masks and were mostly compliant with the level one COVID-19 regulations, adding to the weirdness to all of this. As Busisiwe Yabo, UP RAG Ex Officio, said, “it was really a great turn out, that we did not expect […] with COVID and everything, but as you can see, it is packed! RAG 2022 was the big step that we took, we are moving to a place that is closer to normal. It is good to see so many students together having fun.” RAG 2022 was a success and a welcome sight. Be it, the stalls, sport or the talent show; one thing is for sure, we found a way to make something beautiful of this bizarre modern reality.
Photo 1: Sharon Dumba
Photo 2 and 3: Masehle Mailula
Photo 4 and 5: Anneke Laaks
