Incoming Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela arrived on a stage filled with gown-clad academics to a standing ovation.

Dr Nomalanga Mkhize, a lecturer in the Rhodes University History Department, has been the subject of much debate

Dr Sizwe Mabizela has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University.

Edition 12 of The Oppidan Press. The Transformation Issue. This is our final edition for the year, thank you for your support and look out for our O-Week Edition in February 2015.

Incoming Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University Dr Sizwe Mabizela commanded the award recipients at the Rhodes Investec Top 100 ceremony to change the demoralised and morally corrupt South African society for the next generation in his key note address at the event.

The Rhodes Investec Top 100 recipients have been chosen for 2014.

The Student Academic Freedom discussion aimed to address issues that students are currently being faced with such as low confidence, financial aid and the racial diversity of Rhodes University’s campus

Edition 10

Show Me Your Roots took place in the Great Hall on 24 September 2014 as part of Heritage Day and gave students the opportunity to experience diverse cultures.

Shackles and Bones, and Words Untame performed live at Champs on 26 September to an enthusiastic crowd. Both bands have recently been signed by Silver Cup Records. Words Untame’s first full album is set to be released within the next few weeks.

Edition 9, 2014

I must confess to being rather fond of potholes. They express something fundamental about life that many of us wish to conceal, to keep in the background not affecting our daily routines. And they are a good excuse for reflecting on mindsets that should, I think, be transcended.

The Titans finished off their football season with an ecstatic 3-1 win over Phoenix Knights in the Internal League Final last night.

A visual summary of the events, both large and small, that made up just some of student and town life in August 2014.

Issues of environmental conservation in South Africa and the nation’s economy were on the cards at the book launch of ‘Breakthrough: Corporate South Africa in a Green Economy’ which was edited by Alumnus, Professor Godwell Nhamo.

A ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict was announced on Tuesday 26 August as intellectuals, academics and students debated the media portrayal of said conflict in the African Media Matrix for a live broadcast by OppiTV.

At 19:30 on Tuesday 26 August OppiTV will be hosting a live debate on the topic Gaza and the Media: Interrogating Representation, History and Analysis.

Rhodes University will hold its annual Multilingual Colloquium early in the fourth term. This year, the Rhodes University Language Committee, under the School of Languages, is hosting their inaugural Multilingual Writing Competition as part of the colloquium.

Hi-Tec security guards allegedly locked out local Grahamstown social grant beneficiaries from using the ATMs at the Steven Biko Union on 31 July.

CORRECTION: The original article published under this headline neglected to mention one of the candidates running for the Secretary-General position.

The Titans have won yet another trophy by beating Retief Renegades by 3 goals to nil.

Students filled the seats and aisles of Barratt Lecture Theatre 2 for the Grazzle ahead of the elections for the 2015 Student Representative Council (SRC).

Since the resignation of former Dean of Students (DoS) Dr Vivian de Klerk, Rhodes University has seen a number of changes in the leadership of the institution. For one, the Director of Student Affairs division has replaced the DoS division as of 1 July 2014, led by Acting Director of Student Affairs Dr Colleen Vassiliou.

The Rhodes University Student Representative Council (SRC) is currently looking at a tender with Blunden to implement a new transport system for students.

"You strike a woman, you strike a rock?' This saying has come to be associated with the march by South African women to the Union Building in Pretoria in 1956.

0ver 1700 people in Grahamstown participated in the annual Silent Protest last Friday. Joining Rhodes University staff and students, residents in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape were taped in an act of solidarity with rape survivors throughout South Africa.

With Young Directors Season (YDS) around the corner, Honours student Megan Grace Wright’s devised theatre piece Blue Moon is set to steal the stage.

Rhodes University Palestinian Solidarity Forum (RUPSF) are hosting a vigil for the children killed in the recent conflict in Gaza on Friday 8 August on the Drostdy Lawns at 18:00.

Rhodes University first team hockey player, Cody van Wyk has been chosen to represent South Africa at the Youth Olympic Games tobe held in Nanjing, China this month.

The Rhodes University Student Representative Council (SRC) Elections are currently underway. The highly anticipated Grazzle will take place at Barratt Lecture Theatre 2 at 18:30 on Monday 11 August. Three members of the 2014 SRC are running for President this year.

Edition 7, 2014

Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ) is back for its fifth iteration on Rhodes University soil, parented by a committee from Rhodes’ GameSoc.

GALLERY: Women’s Soccer: RU vs WSU

It was tries galore on a Dunedin-like Great Field as the Rhodes Internal Rugby League continued last Friday evening.

“[The] green economy is growing like a mushroom,” said Professor Heila Lotz-Sistka at a recent event hosted by the Career Lounge as part of Rhodes University’s Environmental Week.

TRIGGER WARNING In breaking the cycle of silence, Dave Luis and Andy Kawa shared their stories of rape and their stories of survival.

A recent discussion about the current Gaza crisis revealed that the issue has generated much concern within the Rhodes University community.

On Saturday 26 July, the closing night of its Grahamstown run, the Rhodes University theatre production Solo was in high demand.

The bodies of two Rhodes University students who went missing this weekend have been found in Settlers Dam by a South African Police Services (SAPS) Search and Rescue team.

The Spur restaurant on High Street was robbed at gunpoint on the night of Monday 21 July.

Finding Beauty, an exhibition by children in Grahamstown aged 11-18 years old is running throughout the National Arts Festival at the Carinus Annex on Donkin Street and will be on display as part of the parade on 13 July.

Edition 6 of The Oppidan Press, 2014

Many people recall the hilarious South African sitcom The Coconuts, but few students realise that the enthusiastic young actor from the hit TV-series has been attending Rhodes in order to fuel his ambitious plans for a career in the film industry.

OppiTV Soapbox asked some international students about the extent to which they feel Rhodes is a “home away from home”.

Gallery: Africa Ball

Gallery: Battle of the Acoustics

The recent exit of the Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko was a major talking point in a presentation by acclaimed political analyst and best-selling author Eusebius McKaiser.

Music, colour and passion emanated from the annual International Parade as it wound through the streets of Grahamstown

Rhodes University’s soccer team was defeated 1-0 by rivals NMMU in Sunday’s USSA league game.

The annual Teach-In is organised by the Department of Politics and International Studies at Rhodes University.

Having been born in Switzerland, growing up in Zimbabwe and finishing high school in Kenya(with stints in New Zealand and Germany in between)means that Victor de la Rey has had his fair share of travel experience.

Singer/ Songwriter Michael Lowman played at Champs Action Bar on the 19th of April and Oppi TV was there to capture it!

Rhodes Alumni and former speech writer for former president Thabo Mbeki, Prince Mashele, gave a talk analyzing this year’s elections.

Rhodes anthropology lecturer, Dr Patti Henderson, plays a rarely seen instrument called the ocarina.

ViceChancellor Dr Saleem Badat reflected on his time at Rhodes as he addressed the Student Forum on 8 May.

The partnership between universities and the community was placed under the spotlight in a recent panel discussion at Rhodes University.

The 2014 Women's Academic Solidarity Association's (WASA) Great Debate was supposed to focus on fire pools, berets and quick divorces quickly changed course

With Oppi TV's Election Debate on the 30th of April, we sat down with some Rhodes students to find out their thoughts on voting in next month's national election.

The so-called “water crisis” in Grahamstown last year alerted many students to problems within the Makana Municipality.

Carmalita Naicker suggested in her seminar that the Marikana saga was portrayed by the media through a narrow lens that excluded the community that was directly influenced.

For as long as it has been around, Rhodes University has been tightly intertwined with the arts.

A recent blood drive by the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) saw Rhodes University students donate over 100 units of blood in one day alone. The drive also raised awareness of the importance of donating blood.

Two new SRC councillors have been elected to the positions of Academic Councillor and Community Engagement Councillor.

Grahamstown is set to be serenaded by the best of the city’s choral talent in two performances of Masicule – Let’s Sing!

Art and Grahamstown, two things that just seem to go together. Local Grahamstown artists

Dr Dawn Farber held a discussion on influential psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion’s contribution to clinical thinking about trauma

For as long as it has been around, Rhodes University has been tightly intertwined with the arts.

Student eye-care is set to receive a boost with the opening of the new Rhodes Eye Clinic. The clinic is the result of a partnership between Rhodes University and Dr Davies Optometrists. It is located in the Rhodes University Sanatorium (the San) and is open on Mondays from 10am to 12pm.

Saturday afternoon 15 March saw the EP Kings open their Vodacom Cup season by thrashing the Border Bulldogs 60-6 on Rhodes University’s Great Field.

A panel led by Rhodes University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela discussed the possibility of creating an ethical educational institution governed by morality earlier this week.

I had never imagined that since I am living in a house with 80 other girls it could be possible to feel lonely.

Rhodes University students and staff walked over hot coals in bare feet in order to raise money for the Pocket Money Fund on the evening of 7 March.

I am not what you would call social. My idea of a good time is relaxing with a good book or a movie, not going out and drinking until 3am.