The Bubble

Having come from a town smaller than Grahamstown, I thought that I would settle into the small community life of Rhodes without any problems. Orientation week and the whole of the first term proved to be an amazing experience and went beyond all my expectations. I relished on the thrill of exploring my new found surrounding, which included the most exciting and fun filled nights out, while making the renowned ‘Rat and Parrot’ one of my local and frequent destinations. My friendships with my wonderful, unique and amazing new found friends were growing stronger by the day. The students, the atmosphere and Rhodes life soon found a special place in my heart.

However, as soon as the excitement and thrill of the new surroundings from the first term had come and gone, life at Rhodes continued to be special, but I soon noticed that something was missing. I realised that I was living right in the middle of a bubble, and a very small bubble at that. This was a very strange and uncomfortable living condition. The ‘bubble’ was thick, hazy and yet had a delicate view on the outside world. I was living in ‘the big scary world’, yet the only world I now knew was that of Rhodes University.

This ‘bubble’ is not only seen by me but also by many of my fellow students. It is frustrating and leads to unfair assumptions that all Rhodes students do not care about politics and issues concerning South Africa and the outside world. It may be true that some students just do not care about their surroundings; however I believe that this statement cannot be generalised. There are many who do care, but the knowledge is not readily available, they have to go looking for it.

Rhodes students are confined to the small town of Grahamstown, and to make matters worse Grahamstown itself is located in the middle of nowhere. Therefore there is even more reason for students to be more aware of what is happening outside of Grahamstown. One would think, with Rhodes having the best Journalism department in South Africa, that the students would be well informed about the local and national issues concerning the country. However this is not the case, as I soon found out.

As I grew more and more comfortable with my surroundings I started to feel more excluded from the outside world. I and other students who share similar views to me feel there is a lack of knowledge owing to the little immediate media available to us. Yes it is true that there are well run campus newspapers available as well as the local newspaper; however I do not believe that these newspapers expose themselves to the students as much as they ought to. Even though I come from a small town in Kwa Zulu Natal our street lamps are always adorned with ‘The Witness’ headline posters, which inform me about the country’s current affairs. In Grahamstown I battle to spot a headline poster, if there are any at all.

We need to make Rhodes less of a ‘bubble’. I believe we can do this by using forms of communication such as something as simple as headline posters. The fact is that most students don’t want to go on a mission looking for information; they want it to be readily available to them. For example: a few days ago there was a mini hurricane, but I only managed to find this out from a friend who found out from a friend who lives in Port Elizabeth! Each residence is equipped with DSTV, however very few have a 24 hour news channel! The local newspapers should also start to include more national and international news.

The bubble in which I live has been punctured by my own initiative to seek information from different forms of media. I became feed up with finding out the news second to everyone else back home. However for those who don’t do this, their bubble is bursting to pop, and it just needs some help. Most students do care about current affairs; they just do not have it readily available to them. I believe that is is time to pop this ‘bubble’ before it becomes any smaller than it already is.