Beating around the Bosch

with

Dear Reader,

Ahead of yet another societal ritual, Mother’s Day, we ask the question: why? What sparks this need for humans to set aside certain days of the year, labelling them neatly and dedicating them to something we deem important? If these things are so important, why do we need a reminder? What it comes down to is that we live our lives too quickly to pay attention to what is truly important. Life has become a constant game of catch-up, working hard and fast so that we feel we deserve a moment of rest (which more often than not turns into a two hour nap with scenes of our favourite TV show cast pointlessly onto our closed eyes and a gaping mouth).

But, when a day like Mother’s Day comes around, we finally get our reprieve. For this day, we are permitted a moment to set aside our daily stresses without guilt. For this day, we have the energy to be present. For this day, we have the excuse to gather our loved ones in one room and celebrate them. In a giddy fog, we let loose temporarily… Then, the next day, we put ourselves back together again (perhaps with a slight headache), and start all over again.

Instead of dedicating this newsletter to mothers or to any person that fills this role, let this rather act as a reminder of the human needs that sit at the core of these rituals. For even though many of our lives resemble treadmills willfully or unwillfully serving the ends of capitalism, the powers that be have still recognised and permitted sporadic moments for us to return to our roots. We all have the need for family and community and connection.

Nicola Amon, newsletter editor

Visual of the Week

📸Some BTS from SMF News’ Abigail Baard:

I woke up early on Tuesday morning to get to the Welgevallen experimental farm by 7:30. It was a fresh morning, and I was excited to see what goes on behind the scenes at Stellenbosch University’s Material Recycling Facility. Banothile Khuboni Senior, the supervisor of the recycling facility, was showing me around the plant when I noticed the transparent trash bags full of coffee cups and other campus waste. I instantly thought of the Neelsie, with long queues trickling out of various coffee establishments, with students waiting for their daily caffeine fix. It also made me think about the number of times I had bought coffee from one of these trusted caffeine suppliers, throwing away the cardboard or plastic cup once I had finished and never thinking about where it would go. Here sat a fraction of our campus’s waste, not only revealing SU’s addiction to coffee but the reality of the mess we leave behind.

Read the story here

Motherless Day

The colour green.

The sound of a hairdryer.

The smell of Estée Lauder face cream.

I'm reminded of her absence every day.

It's a loneliness impossible to describe.

It hits you in waves.

Sometimes the most mundane things trigger it.

An old song, the smell of Ceylon tea, the blue hue of the mountains.

Mother's Day, for me, is a quiet day now.

No flowers or chocolates or brunches.

Just myself, a dusty photograph, and a loving voice

- slowly fading from my memory.

Antoinette Steyn

A few things that make us human:

From Abigail Baard: Other people, living a life for and with others. Living between tensions, one where joy and pleasure are often defined by sadness and pain. Thunderstorms, flowers, walking in the mountains, soup on a cold day, the beach on a hot one, art, music, and humour.

From Mia Oliver: The depth of feeling, often dancing between the realms of love and loss. Our relatability to one another on the authenticity of these sentiments. 

From Alison Hermanus: Humans are the only animals that have chins. We are the only animals with the concept of nudity. In addition to that, we are the only animals that choose to wear clothes. We are the only animals that naturally have an upright posture. Finally, we are the only animals that use language to gossip. 

From Nicholas Gleeson: Making mistakes. As humans, we are inherently flawed. No one is perfect and we can't do everything right all the time. That's okay. Also, watching sport. 

From Ntokozo Khumalo: What makes me human is umphefumulo wami ohlangene nenyama yami (my spirit that is connected to my body).

From the newsroom

Introducing: What the Frog?

with Maliza Adendorff

📚Good reads from SMF News this week📚

SU music student raises funds to replace stolen flute

Ntokozo Khumalo spoke to a fourth-year music student following her fund-raising concert to replace her stolen flute. The concert reflected camaraderie in the music department, as everyone pitched in to help organise and facilitate the concert.

Waste towers reveal the mess we leave behind

Waste towers seen on the Rooiplein were designed to raise awareness of Stellenbosch University’s weekly waste. Abigail Baard spoke to Christine Groenewald, environmental sustainability engagement coordinator at SU’s Facilities Management, about the goals of the waste towers and the role of recycling in society.

🎶What we’re listening to:

Word of the Week

Monophobia (mon-uh-FOE-bee-uh)

~an abnormal dread of being alone

We all have monophobia and we don't even know it.