From a silent disco to exploring the thorny issue of stereotypes, a recent Department of Student Affairs event left more than a few guests questioning their own mind sets.
Themed ‘Surfing the Suffix’ the event held at the Marimba restaurant at the CTICC also saw staff and students celebrate leadership and excellence at CPUT.
Organiser Anette Grobler says her motivation for the event was to allow students to interact and challenge their own pre-conceived ideas around issues of stereotyping.
“Discrimination is one of the social ills in our society and all institutions of learning. Attempts to deal with discrimination need to be as sophisticated as the problem itself,” she says.
And the event certainly met her expectation, starting with a novel ice-breaker called Secret Sunrise all guests donned music headsets which encouraged them to explore the space around them using dance and to interact with strangers. Some of the unpretentious exchanges saw guests hug a stranger, make a funny face and fly like an eagle.
Student Affairs Head of Department Malinge Gqebe says racism and sexism is often perceived as being “other people’s problems”.
“We sometimes like to look at others and see problems like racism, we do this without introspection and considering our own faults,” he says.
Speaker for the evening Brett Anderson-Terry is a white, Jewish, gay man who works in the film industry. He challenged the audiences perception of him when he revealed that he was also HIV positive. In an emotional 30 minute chat Anderson-Terry asked the guests to confront their own inner demons and live a more inclusive and positive life.
