NWU Vaal first-year students battle it out at carnival

The Arts and Culture Student Campus Council (SCC) on the Vanderbijlpark Campus in North-West University (NWU) hosted their annual Carnival event on Wednesday 2 March with great success, to make first-year students feel part of the NWU community and get a full campus experience.

The event was also a platform where the students got to socialise with each other and showcase their talents. As this was the first major event in a long-time it paved way for other social events that are yet to take place in the future.

Lungile Nkomphela (21), arts and culture officer at the Vaal Triangle campus, managed and organised the event. Through hard work, determination and effort he made sure that the university’s RAG farm was filled with supporters.

“My responsibilities as the organiser were to make it a point that there was participation, ensure that my council was up to speed and they were ready to deliver. It was to ensure that everything was in place to give first years the wonderful experience of their lives,” said Nkomphela.

Nkomphela also added that for the first-time in the history of NWU, participation from both senior and first-year students increased to an extent that the venue was filled to capacity and could not accommodate others. They did not expect such a huge audience.

The night started with a choreographed dance performance and other forms of entertainment included music, poetry and drama. Each respective residence had a chance to showcase their talent and battle it out for the first prize.

Tshifhiwa Ramotombu (23), third-year BA Communication student, was one of the judges. Her responsibilities were to make sure that points were allocated fairly to the seven groups.

“I was looking for creativity amongst the performers. The competition was tough, but I would say Moahi, Kumba and Faranani were the residences that stood out for me, even though they somehow struggled to balance their performances,” said Ramotombu.

Towards the end of the evening, everyone was waiting in anticipation for the top three positions to be announced. Faranani Residence came in third place and was awarded a prize of R2 000 for “Best hot chakalaka”. Second place went to Kumba Residence for men and women for the “Best drama performance” and was awarded R3 000 prize money.

Oracia Residence, the biggest private accommodation at NWU for both men and women won and took home the R5 000 prize money for “Best poetry”. This was their first big win in a long time and one of the greatest comebacks after losing to Faranani Residence last year.

Kamogelo Mokabane (21), a student leader of Oracia Residence, said that because they are a large residence, their ability to manage and lead made them unique contenders.

“It was a lovely process to watch the idea come together. Everything seemed doable at first, but as time went on, everything seemed hopeless. We kept hoping that we would make it. My projects are usually my passion, and it is quite rewarding to get recognised for this award,” said Mokabane.