Shake Me Up Will You!

It was barely the beginning of O-week, when I, together with my newly formed acquaintances decided to explore High Street. It was a sunny day, and the town was sprung with excited first years, who were grasping their status as university students. It was during this day when I was exposed for the first time to the radical nature of some students here at Rhodes.

While walking quietly and absorbing the heat, my friends and I were greeted by two ladies of a charismatic religious society here at Rhodes. Being conservative when it comes to religion, and respecting my personal relationship with God, I was sprung back by the aggressive approach of one of the two ladies, who questioned me if I was saved, or if I wanted to accept God into my life. My mind exploded when she asked if I would be interested in joining her church, and if my friends and I were willing to pray with her and her accomplice on the street, amongst the rush of people walking past. This episode shook me up badly, as I did not appreciate some of the questions which were raised to me by the ladies, and the forceful manner in which they approached us, seemingly preying on our vulnerabilities of being new-comers at Rhodes, left a bad taste in my mouth about the religious society. I may have been too negative in associating the lady’s forceful approach to my friends and I to the rest of her society, but as the months progressed, I came to learn of many first years who had gone through the same experience as me during O-week.

My motivation to write on this experience, was raised by an episode this week, where a person from the same religious society as the two ladies who confronted my friends and I, asked to tell me a few things about the Bible. These approaches upset me, as I possess two Bibles (one in isiXhosa and another in English), so I am equipped to educate myself about religion, and should I see the need to explore more into religion, I could make queries to the relevant people.

The radical nature of Rhodes students has also been evident through the different political and cultural debates I have witnessed amongst students. Maybe their anger-filled opinions could be understandable on some quarters, but I believe that some political student societies here at Rhodes are radical. With their desire to be heard, and desperation to make a change to the university, some of these societies have gone through radical lengths to get their points of view heard. Perhaps they are fuelled by the inconsiderate, indifferent, and disappointing attitudes of some students, but I feel that these societies should play smart in their public appearances and rants, and represent the true essence of an educated future political scribe. Instances amongst students, where cultural differences would be raised in debates between two parties, and hidden behind the accusations of racism and xenophobia, have also caused quite a stir and numerous unsavoury relationships amongst some students. This is an unfortunate occurrence in an environment which nurtures learned individuals, and opened my eyes to the possibility that university is a first hand experience of the “real world”.

As a first year at Rhodes, one is emphatically exposed to the radical nature of some students and societies, and it is a test for one not to succumb to those who prey on their vulnerabilities, and to keep a level head in heated and impassioned displays of anger brought about by cultural and political differences.

Mpondz