3rd Edition 2009 - University of Namibia

Campus News Edition 3
14 BLA BLA BLA Exero 01, 5555
Office of the Dean of Students takes priority
*Anna Salkeus
The office of the Dean of Students took
the initiative to address student issues and
concerns at an assembly held in the gym
hall for first year and day students.
Only having been in their first semester,
the first year students raised issues ranging
from academic issues to accommodation
issues.
ACADEMICS
Concerns were raised about the cancellation
of Saturday and Sunday classes, which
are always done at the last minute. Students
felt that if a lecturer was to cancel a
class, it should be done in advance. They
said that lecturers not only did not show
up for the lectures, but students lost out
on transportation money as they have to
cough up more than they had budgeted
for the month.
Another concern raised was that of the
loss of continuous assessment marks and
test papers. This was especially common
in the department of humanities. Students
complained that their test papers
for the core module ‘Social Issues’ had been
thrown out in the open had either been
blown away by the wind or had been stolen.
SECURITY
Reports from the bag counter were
thrown in all directions regarding bags that
went missing and only reappeared much
later in the afternoons. This is especially
an inconvenience to the students , as they
spend their day looking for their bags and
missing out on lectures.
Another issue was that of the taxi drivers
grabbing students at the gate near the taxi
rank. “Security guards do nothing, except
stare at the drivers as they grab us,” said
one student.
GENERAL MAINTAINANCE AND HEALTH
“The internet service in the library has
too many restrictions. One can’t even do
proper research on certain topics, because
pages on that topic either have an error
or are apparently unavailable”. An issue
raised by a first year student, who says she
constantly has to do research and one of
her sources she says is the library.
The technology systems in lecture halls
did not go unmentioned. The first years felt
that the systems were ‘barely functional’
and that instead of depending on only
those to get through a lecture, lecturers
should be trained to teach or work without
them. They waste a lot of time on these
equipment.
When it comes to health facilities, some
of the most disturbing feats is that there is
either no nurse on duty or that the clinic
closes too early. Students felt that at least
one nurse should be available when it came
to lunch time.
Amongst the above mentioned issues,
students also raised concerns regarding
tutors that did not deliver on time or were
unavailable when students needed help.
The queues at the copy centre got students
frustrated and tired. They said that the
services provided were bad and that the
queues were too long. They requested that
another copy centre be opened to accommodate
students.
ODS RESPONDED BY SAYING;
The Office of the Dean of Students responded
to the concerns positively and
assured students that they would look
into the matter of security on campus and
advised international students to submit
their physical addresses and details of their
landlords to the ODS. They also advised the
students not to sign any agreements without
consulting the ODS. ODS also promised
to have a word with lecturers from all
faculties to try and improve (change) their
methods of test papers distribution.
Is Campus really
safe?
*Mathilda Shiweda
Some UNAM students are notoriously
known for their booze guzzling tendencies
and their detrimental puffing habits, and
proudly go around displaying their un-admirable
“skills”.
Unam has seen an influx of students in the
2009 academic year, and along with these
students came a whole set of new challenges
for the university management and
security. During the 1st semester , Campus
News ran stories on UNAM security and gave
them praise for a job well done, as well as applauded
them for maintaining the order and
professionalism, but one now has to wonder
whether we spoke too soon. Crime on campus
has been on the increase with students
reporting stolen property ranging from cell
phones to laptops. If one sits at the UNAM
gate, you will see how the majority of vehicles
arrive and leave campus un-searched.
This leaves a gap for thieves and chance takers
to easily make off with the hard earned
belongings of students and University equipment
as has previously been seen.
Another major problem that also arises
because of poor security is the influx of drugs
and alcohol onto our Campus. It is a well
known “secret” that the stadium has for long
been the haven for eager smokers. These
guys smoke substances ranging from ‘weed’
(marijuana) to other harder substances that
are illegal at both institutional and national
level.
The ‘dope boys’, as we have dubbed them,
freely sit around and engage in their pass
time activity without fear of being caught or
punished. It would not be surprising at all if
a booming drug trade were to erupt on campus
because people have for so long turned
a blind eye to the very things that threaten to
destroy the students and the entire respectable
name of the University of Namibia.
The security company on campus has on
various occasions been accused of manhandling
students and becoming vulgar towards
innocent and dedicated students. It’s
about time that they re-direct their energy
to more pressing matters and those include
safeguarding the lives and property of the
Unam community.
Four food poisoning cases
reported on campus
*Matilda Shiweda
Recently, it has come to the attention of
Campus News that several students at the
University had fallen victim to not only bad
service, but also off-food.
Several cases of food poisoning [Up to
four (4) students] have been reported to
have suffered from food poisoning. Two
being so serious, with students having to
be admitted to the Windhoek Central hospital.
Upon being interviewed, one of the
students who is doing a month long law
course at UNAM, expressed their outrage
at the unhygienic conditions that the students
are being subjected to. The office of
the SRC has received several complaints on
various occasions from aggrieved students
about the unhygienic conditions at several
food outlets.
One case that stands out is that of a
young lady who took a picture of a cockroach
that was found in food bought at the
- Diana Amunyela
It has been exactly ten years since the
launch and opening of the University’s
radio station, Unam radio. That is a great
achievement and would suggest that our
radio station would be well known and
that it surely is achieving its aims to inform,
educate and entertain.
The station is a community radio
station yet it can be compared to the
bigger and more commercial radio stations.
Many people have fond memories
of what Unam Radio used to be a few
years ago and how it always managed
to keep its listeners logged on with their
ability to play good music, and their ability
to create charismatic and professional
presenters. Lately though, an even big-
most popular food outlet, which is also
known for its crowd of pool players.A
health inspector had been called in to
inspect the outlet during the first semester,
but was unceremoniously sent
back. Reasons cited were that, students
have no mandate to call in a health inspector.
The four recent cases that were
all reported within a space of a week
came from students that all allegedly
bought hotdogs at an outlet on the
far side of the campus near the netball
courts. The hygiene problem does not
only end with food outlets, but also
spreads out into the sanitary facilities.
The toilets on campus are well known
for being filthy and highly detrimental
to the health of the students that use
them.
Every institution has the responsibility
of protecting their students and
looking out for their wellbeing, ensuring
that they are not subjected to any
ger number of people are quick to air their
disappointment with the radio station and
the dramatic (negative) changes that have
taken place there.
Unam Radio is known for having been
the starting and rising point of so many
of the top presenters in the country. The
likes of Cutie-PRO/Presenter at National
Radio, Chi-Chi, Mufaro, Tafanji, CJ, Ueja, Angel,
Lloyd, Destiny, Mimi and Q-base the
magician are some of the well known and
talented presenters that have gone on to
make a name for themselves because of
Unam Radio.
The past two years have been particularly
rocky for the radio station, and a lot
of questions are being raised about what
went wrong and what is being done to rectify
the problem. Unam radio is a long way
harmful conditions, especially not if they
are unavoidable. A second health inspector
was called in and inspected all the food
outlets with the exception of the dining hall
who’s administrators allegedly refused to
have their facilities inspected. The inspector
was very disappointed by the state of the
university as whole and pointed out that it
is very filthy. The Grub was ranked number
one on the list of ‘uncondusive’ areas with
Independence coming in second. Recommendations
have been made to the SRC and
food samples have been taken in for testing.
We will all be awaiting the results.
If the health inspector had not been sent
back during the first semester, we might not
have had more cases reported this semester.
One should not always wait for disaster to
strike before taking action. The students
make up this University and pay exorbitant
fees to make sure that they receive the best
possible service, and it’s up to UNAM staff
and management to make sure that they
Campus Radio- The voice of the future?
from where it could have and should have
been in terms of growth and expansion,
and it leaves a lot to be desired. Some of
the former employees attribute their departure
from the radio station to factors
such as a low income and stagnation. The
station currently has about nine presenters
and complaints have been made that at
most times playlists are left on the system,
presenters are inconsistent with their shifts
and that some of the new presenters are
unfriendly and rude, sentiments that are
also echoed by the media students that
who do practicals there.
What remains to be seen is whether the
new presenters will be able to resurrect the
station from its current state or whether
new management is in order at the radio
station.