Student life

Residential lifeedit

Residence is provided to students in 24 undergraduate and postgraduate residences and 3 postgraduate-only residences spread over the University's campuses. The first students of the Transvaal University College resided in the Kya Rosa, a Victorian house in Skinner Street. In 1915, the first male residence, Kollegetehuis, was constructed on the Hatfield campus and the first female residence, Asterhof, in 1925. Students not living in a University residence can join one of four Day Houses ( Docendo, Dregeana, Luminous, and Vividus Ladies) which gives them the opportunity to partake in organised student life activities.

Student organisationsedit

More than 100 student clubs and organisations operate on the university campus. These include numerous student government, service providers, and service organisations. The most prominent amongst these are the Student Parliament, Student Representative Council, and Constitutional Tribunal (Student Court). The Student Parliament is the plenary body of student governance and determines the wider mandate for student governance. The Student Representative Council (SRC) is the executive body of student governance and subsequently charters and provides most of the funding for other student groups, and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration. The SRC is the residential student government, specialising in programming, policy, and facilities and services. Societies are registered in the following categories as catering for religious, political, social, cultural, academic and other. The Constitutional Tribunal is the judicial body of student governance and adjudicates disputes primarily between student organisations. Its judges sit on the panel of student disciplinary hearings. The various service providers are the university's primary programming organisations, serving as a centre of social, cultural, intellectual and recreational life.

Student activitiesedit

The university has a long tradition of student activities and traditions. It is common belief that if a blossom from a Jacaranda tree falls on your head, you will do well in the end-of-year exams. Other traditions and customs vary by residence, day house and faculty.

The university started the tradition of Rag (student society) (Afrikaans: Jool), a student-run charitable fundraising organisation, in South Africa in 1925. During Rag, students take to the streets in a parade of floats whilst collecting money for charity.

The university's Springday celebrations are a declared university holiday and are held annually on the second Wednesday of September.

Students' song and dance competitions include Insync (formerly Ienkmelodienk), Serenade and Serrie. In addition, the university's Drama Department hosts the annual week-long Krêkvars Arts Festival each July in the intimate Bok, Lier and Masker theatres on Hatfield campus. The festival has transformed from an event started in 2000 and centred around the drama honours students’ directing course to an open festival where other students and the public at large are encouraged to put on productions.

The amphitheatre hosts the annual Insync song and dance competition between the first years of the various residences and day houses in January. The annual Serenade and Serrie singing competitions between the residences and day houses are held in the Musaion and Aula theatres in July/August and April/May respectively. The winners of the Serenade competition go on to represent the university at the National Serenade competition.

The university maintains the: UP Symphony Orchestra (UPSO), the only comprehensive student orchestra in Pretoria frequently performing symphonic repertoires, UP Chorale, UP Brass Band, Tuks Camerata, UP Children's choir, UP Concert choir and the UP Youth choir. The university supports, and has been host to the annual National Youth Orchestra course for a number of years.

In addition to cultural activities, students participate in several other non-cultural activities. The university organises the annual SAE International sanctioned student automotive engineering Baja SAE competition in South Africa sponsored by Sasol. Baja SAE is an intercollegiate and interuniversity design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) where teams of engineering students design, build and race small off-road cars.

Mascotedit

Oom Gert (translates affectionately to Uncle Gert, from Dutch and Afrikaans) has been the official university mascot since 1929 and has been the object of perennial attempted kidnappings.

Student mediaedit

The Perdeby (lit. The Wasp), the official university newspaper, was founded in 1939 and has a readership of approximately 30 000. Tuks FM (107.2 FM), the campus radio station, was established on 9 February 1981 and is hosted by university students and broadcast to the Northern Gauteng area.

Civic serviceedit

Civic service and outreach programmes are performed in the fields in which the University has proven competencies. These fields include professional associations, business and management and are performed in underdeveloped or developing communities.