Song of the Week

I Try - Macy Grey

GradStar Awards Celebrate Top 100 Students

The Top 100 undergraduate students in South Africa were celebrated this week at the GradStar Awards, hosted by the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg on the 27^th and 28^th of September.

The GradStar Awards is an annual event produced by BlackBark Productions (creators of the Rising Star Awards) and GradConnection that recognises the Top 100 students across South Africa and connects them with potential employers, and in turn giving employers a a chance to develop long lasting relationships with the top talent.

Out of 3,500 other applicants, a strict and rigorous selection process decided the Top 100 students who not only excel academically, but who are also well rounded and possess leadership skills.

The assessment process was designed to select candidates based on readiness for and ability in the workplace. The initial selection process involved students submitting application forms, then completing psychometric tests, and based on the results of the test, they were then invited to complete an online interview.

Six of Monash University South Africa students were part of the Top 100 including Tsholofelo Gomba, Seannah Head, Mamodikwe Kungoane, Wura Makinde, Muhammad Raafay Siddiqui and Kirsten Olivia Smith. For their full profiles, click here.

Mamodikwe Kungoane, who is completing her Bachelor of Public Health degree says, “GradStar 2016 was one of the most beautifully overwhelming experiences. I feel honoured to be amongst so many bright stars. One of the things I appreciate the most is binding with stars from my very own campus.”

Seannah Head, a second year student who is double majoring in Business Management and Psychology says, “I thought it was such an eye opening experience that really made me feel inspired and energised to take on new challenges. I felt awesome being surrounded by such excellent minds and felt really grateful to be blessed to take part in such an amazing experience.”

Wura Makinde, who is completing her Bachelor of Business Science in Accounting says, “I found that GradStar was an extremely enlightening, empowering and humbling experience. I got to meet and learn from so many phenomenal people. It reignited my desire to succeed and made me realise that I want to do more, care more and contribute more to our society.”

Tsholofelo Gomba, a second year student double majoring in Applications & Network Development and Business Systems says, “I enjoyed meeting all those wonderful people from various universities. I’m disappointed that there weren’t many organisation focusing on IT though.”

In agreement, Kirsten Olivia Smith, who is double majoring in Journalism and Psychology says that she was disappointed that there weren’t more exhibitors and potential employers present at the event. “I was expecting the SABC or Tiger Brands companies to be at the event because I’m interested in marketing and journalism. But it seemed like the event only focused on accounting firms, banks and law orientated companies” says Smith. However, she states that “the GradStar Awards was an amazing opportunity to connect with students from other universities” and that she is honoured to be part of the Top 100 undergraduate students in South Africa.

The programme patron, Dr David Molapo, was recently tasked by the Office of the President and the Department of Education with the responsibility of putting together 16 events celebrating the 40^th Anniversary of Youth Day on 16^th June 2016. Dr Molapo fully endorsed the GradStar Awards by saying, “This is a worthy programme, designed to uplift the student youth at this time of unrest and provide an aspirational platform to assist them in achieving their potential. I urge you, as the employers and educators of South Africa, to support this initiative and help create this exciting network of young people.”

The ’10 of the Finest’ were then selected of the Top 100 students in a four phase judging process conducted during Day 1 by Dell Young Leaders Programme, Fasken Martineau, PwC and FNB. The winners were then announced during the Gala Dinner and formal award ceremony.

Students were then able to stay overnight at the Protea Hotel in order to rest up before the second day of the GradStar awards which involved numerous workshops, talks by guest speakers and exhibitors, and meeting with mentors from the Rising Star Awards programme.

Raafay Siddiqui says, “It’s one thing to achieve and another to be recognised for it. To be recognised as one of the Top 100 university students in the country is incredible. Not only does it allow for one to feel appreciated but to become motivated to always excel and pursue the most enlightening of goals.” Siddiqui then commented on the event saying that the programme was wonderful and that “it created a space to learn and network with some of the best business minds in the country.” However, Siddiqui mentioned that the programme lacked speakers and individuals from non-business related entities and thus some students could not connect with the leaders they were presented with. He then commented on the Rising Star Mentorship programme saying that it is “a great idea and will definitely be of benefit to students looking to enter the workplace.” Overall, Siddiqui says that he enjoyed the stay, the workshops, as well as the company of the other Top 100 students and will forever “cherish the opportunity to network and create friends with the cream of the crop of South Africa.”

South African Wins Moto3 Championship

Brad Binder has won the 2016 Moto3 World Championship at the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain. The South African is the first to win for his country since Jon Ekerold in 1980, 36 years ago.

Brad Binder proudly waving the South African flag on the podium (Picture: Getty Images)

The 21-year-old qualified fifth on the grid before the race, leading with a total of 229 points in the championship, 111 points ahead of Jorge Navarro. Binder needed either a second place finish or race win in order to become world champion.

Binder had a good start which gained him a position up by the fifth corner of the track. Soon after, he made his way up to third before the end of the opening lap, with Spaniard Jorge Navarro leading the pack and Italian Enea Bastianini in second position.

Gabriel Rodrigo then started chasing Binder down for third place, but Philipp Oettl was the one to make a bold move and separate the two, overtaking Rodrigo and slipping in behind Binder. It didn’t take Oettl long to then overtake Binder, forcing him to trail behind in fourth place.

The battle then continued between Binder and Oettl, with Binder relying on a slipstream in order to keep up with Oettl’s pace. However, after Oettl and Bastianini ran slightly wide, Binder was able to grab second position behind Navarro, but then passed him on the main straight of the track at the end of lap 9, the halfway mark of the race. Binder then led the race with a battle between Oettl, Bastianini and Navarro taking place behind him. But just as Binder thought he was safe, Bastianini overtook him on the corner while Ottel fell behind into tenth place. The two championship contenders continued to battle it out until the penultimate lap, when Navarro overtook them as they both ran wide.

It wasn’t until an extremely tense and exciting last lap of the race that Binder’s championship win was truly reliant on Binder’s skills as a rider. Binder, Navarra and Bastianini all showed dedication towards their fight for the championship, almost head-to-head on the final corner, but it was Navarro who took the win with a time of 39:56.973, followed by Binder in second, behind by only 0.030 seconds. Bastianini finished in third.

Brad Binder told The Times that he would have liked to win the championship with a race victory, however, he had to settle for second place. Even so, Binder was crowned the Moto3 champion of 2016. Still celebrating his victory with the rest of South Africa cheering him on and his parents who had flown out to Spain to watch the race, Binder says, “We lost the battle but won the war.”

Dave Petersen, a former MotoGP racer, told Eyewitness News that Binder deserves every inch of success and that he worked his way up to international glory. Petersen says that “Brad started at the very bottom end of the ladder in terms of motorcycle racing and he’s been an incredible inspiration.”

Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula, says that Binder has been working towards this for years and that his victory is historic for South Africa. He says, “We can only be proud as the nation salute to him, to his family and to his friends. It’s a great weekend for South Africa, our flag is flying very high.”

Brad Binder will be racing in the Moto2 series in 2017, after it was announced that he had signed a deal with Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport. The next Moto3 race will be held at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday, 16^th of October.

Diversity in sports should be based on merit, not quotas

The issue of quotas in South African sport has been a topic of discussion on campus this past week amongst sports clubs and sporting fans. Racial diversity in Monash South Africa sports has been compared to the enforced quota laws that attempt to increase the number of ‘non-white’ players in South African teams. 

During the Apartheid era, ‘non-white’ athletes were banned from participating in sport and teams were selected based on race. As a result, South Africa was excluded from international sports due to sanctions. However, after 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic elections, the playing fields were levelled and South Africa could compete globally once again. Quota systems were then introduced to ensure that black players were included and given opportunities to participate, especially in most traditionally race-skewed sports such as rugby and cricket. 

In April, the Sports Minister of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula, announced to press that he will no longer beg for racial transformation but will start forcing the country’s sporting federations to fulfil racial quotas. He publicized this during the release of the third Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport Report for 2014/2015. Even though the system imposes equality within sports teams, the methods have been met with mixed reactions. Due to some sporting bodies failing to include more black players in their teams within the past year, Mbalula told press, which included Stephen Grootes from the Daily Maverick, that he has “resolved to revoke the privilege of Athletics South Africa (ASA), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Netball South Africa (NSA) and South African Rugby (SARU) to host and bid for major and mega international tournaments in the Republic of South Africa as a consequence of the aforementioned federation not meeting their own set transformation targets, with immediate effect.” Mbalula concluded by saying that he will review his decision when considering the results of the 2016/2017 Transformation Barometer next year.

The controversial South African Springbok rugby team in 2015 – Photo by Rajesh Janilal/AFP/Getty Images

Johan Smith, the Head of Sports and Wellness at MSA referred to the quota system saying that “if you look at the representation in sport codes like rugby, cricket and netball at national level, you will notice that quality players are being selected from all race groups. So, I will say that the process is necessary and successful.” Siya Mnyanda of The Guardian also agrees with the purpose of the quota systems saying that they are a way to “reverse the apartheid policies of racial division and systemic disadvantage”.

In contrast, Samo Nxumalo, the Student Representative Council Sports Officer says that “no one ever wants to stick out like a sore thumb and that’s exactly what these quotas are doing”. Nxumalo explained that teams are ‘forced’ to include black people in their leagues and that “it just gives the impression that it’s not that they want them there, it’s because they have to have them there.” She added that South Africa prides itself in the diversity it offers but it now seems like “pretend” diversity. Nxumalo commented saying that players want to be part of the team simply because they are good enough and not because the team doesn’t want to face law suits.

MSA is known for its diversity amongst students and has a vast variety of sporting clubs and societies. However, when the diversity was called into question, Nxumalo explained that sports clubs are diverse “but not diverse enough”. She elaborated saying that rugby is one of the only sports that break the stereotype as majority of their players are black. 

Considering what solutions could be proposed to address the issues against the quota systems, Nxumalo says that sports should be promoted as a whole and that every race should be treated “based on merit and not colour of their skin.”

As the controversial topic of the quota systems is still continuously met with mixed reactions, especially in the eyes of rising sports stars who want to be noticed for their talents, sometimes the agreement over sporting merit while pushing ethnicity aside is all it takes to get people to come together and join as one with a positive future-orientated attitude for South Africa.

For Fikile Mbalula’s full speech, click here.

Swimmer Kevin Paul Of SA Wins Gold

South African swimmer Kevin Paul has won a gold medal on Day 1 of the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Kevin Paul and Denys Dubrov competing for the gold (Photo courtesy of Bob Martin/EPA)

Competing in the Men’s 100m breaststroke, Paul started in the fourth lane after going strong in the heats leading up to the final race. With a strong start off the block and a good streamline under the water, Paul lead the race. However, Ukrainian Denys Dubrov on Paul’s right in lane 3 and Duncan Van Haaren of the Nederlands in lane 5 were catching up to the South African with a good pace.

Dubrov touched the wall first ahead of Paul at the 50m mark and Paul was put under pressure as the white cap of the Ukrainian had the advantage over him. However, in the final 15m, Dubrov and Paul were neck-and-neck, with Paul giving it all he had.

Just 8 years on from winning his first Paralympic medal, Paul reclaimed the title he lost in the 2012 London games in a thrilling finish just outside of World Record time at 1.04.86, just 0.0.24 milliseconds ahead of Dubrov. Paul won gold, Dubrov won the silver and Van Haaren claimed the bronze.

The 2016 Rio de Janiero games will continue until 18 September.

Song of the Week

Sugar Man - Rodriguez

Monash SA students selected for Top 100

Six Monash South Africa students have been selected as part of the Top 100 undergraduate students in South Africa as part of the GradStarAwards. The Top 100 students were announced on the 15^th of August.

The GradStar Awards is an annual event produced by BlackBark Productions (creators of the Rising Star Awards) and GradConnection that recognises the Top 100 students across South Africa and connects them with potential employers, in turn giving employers a chance to develop long lasting relationships with the top talent.

The MSA students include Tsholofelo Gomba, Seannah Head, Mamodikwe Kungoane, Wura Makinde, Muhammad Raafay Siddiqui and Kirsten Olivia Smith. For their full profiles, click here.

The top 100 were selected above 3,500 other applicants, based on a strict and rigorous selection process which focuses on not only academic excellence, but well-roundedness and leadership skills.

The assessment process was designed to select candidates based on readiness for and ability in the workplace. The initial selection process involved students submitting application forms, then completing psychometric tests, and based on the results of the test, they were then invited to complete an online interview.

Kirsten Olivia Smith says, “The psychometric tests were so difficult, I was shocked when I received an email saying that I had passed and could move on to the next stage of the competition. I am so honoured to be part of the top 100 students in SA and it just goes to show that hard work finally pays off.”

Raafay Siddiqui says that he first heard of the GradStar Awards through an email forwarded to him by Tulani, the Student Leadership Officer at Monash. Seannah Head as well as Mamodikwe Kungoane, however, first heard about the event from Dr Natasha Mwila, the International Business lecturer at Monash.

Wura Makinde says that she stumbled across the GradStar webpage when searching for South African bursaries online and decided that it would be fun to try her luck and apply.

Both Kirsten Olivia Smith and Tsholofelo Gomba heard about the GradStar Awards via the online social networking platform for students, GradConnection.

The GradStar Awards, hosted by the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg, will take place during the mid-semester break, on the 27^th and 28^th of September.

For the complete list of the Top 100 students, click here.