How diverse is residence life?
The North-West University (NWU) Potchefstroom campus is known for having long-standing traditions and family-oriented residence life, leading to the question: “how inclusive are residences”?
For many prospective students, living on campus appears to be a preferable option, as it includes aspects such as being in a space of potential “lifelong friends”, safety and the campus generators that make load shedding easier to live with.
Immeul Brussel (20), student in sport coaching with human movement at the NWU and resident of a men’s residence on campus, said that if circumstances allowed, he would have chosen to stay off-campus (private accommodation).
“I would have my privacy, and there wouldn’t be many restrictions because first and foremost, residences have curfews for Covid-19 safety regulations. I don’t think I’m cut out for the residence life, especially now that I am in my 20’s, I feel I want more of my private space”, said Brussel. Living in a residence requires an individual to recognise that it is a shared place, with 30 to 60 people sharing a kitchen, and an even smaller number of people sharing the bathroom.
Anchen Bisschoff (22), postgraduate student in advanced corporate communication, said one of the obstacles she faced was how people had to accommodate one another. “You’re used to leaving your dishes in your house for like seven days, but now you’re in a residence, and you can’t do that. You have to wash your dishes and accommodate other people”, said Bisschoff.
While residences have general house rules, students are also given opportunities to participate in aksies (events). According to a student who would like to remain anonymous, these gatherings are “made for certain groups“. “The music selection and general atmosphere is not inclusive, forcing me to either go hang out with my off-campus friends or remain in my room and not participate”, said the student.
Former houseparent of Heide women’s residence from 2017-2020, Dr Thalyta Louw Swanepoel, said, “when I first started there and it was not that long ago, we were already quite integrated at the NWU, but there were some traditions that I just felt were outdated”. She continued by saying that the traditions did not necessarily exclude anyone, rather only certain groups remained a part of the residence while others were not, with the majority of the time this being a voluntary choice made by students.
“There are students who have left the residence because they didn’t “fit in”, or enjoy the concept of the residence as a whole,” said Rigardt Hug (22), masters in astrophysics student. However, the pro’s, as Hug describes them, include the fact that there are people everywhere, which he values as he dislikes being alone, and the fact that he has met people who he now considers his best friends.
When asked whether his residence was diverse, Hug said, “I definitely think it tries to be. I don’t think any residence on campus is as diverse as they possibly can be, but I recognise that the challenges they must tackle are as diverse as the world wants them to be”.
Hug mentioned that, as much as residences try to include different religions for example, the foundation of certain residences is rooted in Christianity which ultimately means the majority of the residence will follow that route.
Sarah Chauke (21), BsC biological sciences with biochemistry and microbiology student, said she would recommend living on campus. “I am personally someone who likes to participate and thus I believe living in a residence opens those doors. You get to build easier relations with people from different backgrounds because you live together as opposed to living off-campus where you choose your crowd and forget about the rest”, said Chauke.