After the student striking and the campus closing all of my classes have started up again. I now have a seminar paper, presentation, midterm exam, and final exam for every class all needed to be accomplished in three weeks. I have no clue how I am going to be able to pull all of it off. I am going to have to the hardest I’ve worked in a long time. I have nine written assignments all due before the ninth of December. I am stressed and part of me does not know how I will be able to accomplish all the work I need to get done, but I’ll do it. I will take it one assignment at a time. I have never not turned in an assignment and I am not going to start now. I will get everything done and it will be done to the best quality I can do. It is going to be tough, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to still be on the campus and being able to take classes. I ran into a first year student yesterday and she was asking me about why we are still able to take classes and if she knew when the University was going to reopen. I started thinking to myself “why am I so entitled that I still get to take classes?”
Even though I am stressed an the next three weeks I have a lot of stuff to get done and will not be sleeping a lot. I am lucky, I get to go to school and take the classes I need to go towards graduation. I’m lucky and blessed that the reason why I am not sleeping is because I am working on school work, while my peers are not sleeping because they are out on the streets. Last night their was a virus on my flashdrive and I lost six pages of my journal entries and at first I was upset and close to tears, but looking back on it I realize that it will all be okay, I can retype it. A professor from Concordia told me that our best work is when we type it all up once and are forced to retype it because our thoughts are more complete the second time around.
I feel like I have been complaining about such simple things that I take for granted. I have nothing to be upset or stressed about. I’m broke and in debt from a western view point, but I am one of the richest people I know because I am able to get a higher level education, I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and a family who will be by my side to support me in anything that I may need. What ever happens will happen and I know that at the end of everyday everything will work out okay. I just have to remember to keep counting my blessings and even though I might be going through a hard time with classes, I’d rather be stressed because of assignments than stressed with wondering where my next meal will come from or when school is going to reopen and if I will be able to afford to go back to school.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Aftermath
Now that everyone has left campus and things are quite I am starting to realize the affect that closing the school has on the students, administrators, staff, and even on the community of Dar es Salaam. The students get a stipend for the school year and it comes in four installments for the year. They have only received the first stipend when the school closed. Most of the students are broke and have no money. When the school shuts down and all of the students have to leave campus many of them will move in with family or friends who live in Dar es Salaam. Other students who have money will move into a hostel until they find out for sure when school will reopen. If is it is going to be two or three weeks they will just stay around Dar es Salaam because it will be cheaper to live here then it would be to travel home. Most of the bus companies raise their prices when school is shut down because they know their will be a greater demand for tickets. Then there are the students who do not have any money and most of them will end up on the streets. As on Tanzanian put it, the girls will resort to prostitution and the men will go hungry. On Thursday as we were walking to the bus station heading for Arusha the streets were lined will students just sitting and hanging out because they have no place to go. Everyone is just waiting for word when and if the University will reopen.
My roommate, Monica and I were talking about the affects it has on her studies as we were packing up her things. She is a third year students and this is her last semester before she graduates. She had three months till she was done and could start applying for her masters, but now she has to wait for maybe up to three months. It was so hard and frustrating for her because she is so close to being done. She can not continue on with her masters, and she cannot go out and start working because she does not have her degree and since no one knows when school is going to reopen she can not get a short term job. These same frustrations are the same for many of the third year students. They are all so close to being done and now have to put their lives on hold because of some students. Not all students wanted to strike, it was only about ten percent of the students, but it had a ripple effect and caused all of the students to be impacted.
The closing of the university also affects the cafeteria workers because they had to shut down the main two cafeterias leaving about a fifty workers without jobs until the school reopens. We have become friends with the fruit vendors at the cafes and then many of the workers and it is hard to think that they no longer have jobs and are just sitting idol until the University reopens. The impact also goes beyond the University, the daladala drivers also lose a lot of business because there are not students around the University and city who will take the daladalas. All of the dukas on campus and near by will also lose business, because no one has money to buy anything. There are so many people who are affected by this on the university, and also all around the community. I don’t think I fully understand the full affects it has on everyone in the community, or what it is like to be living at the university and then four hours later be homeless.
My roommate, Monica and I were talking about the affects it has on her studies as we were packing up her things. She is a third year students and this is her last semester before she graduates. She had three months till she was done and could start applying for her masters, but now she has to wait for maybe up to three months. It was so hard and frustrating for her because she is so close to being done. She can not continue on with her masters, and she cannot go out and start working because she does not have her degree and since no one knows when school is going to reopen she can not get a short term job. These same frustrations are the same for many of the third year students. They are all so close to being done and now have to put their lives on hold because of some students. Not all students wanted to strike, it was only about ten percent of the students, but it had a ripple effect and caused all of the students to be impacted.
The closing of the university also affects the cafeteria workers because they had to shut down the main two cafeterias leaving about a fifty workers without jobs until the school reopens. We have become friends with the fruit vendors at the cafes and then many of the workers and it is hard to think that they no longer have jobs and are just sitting idol until the University reopens. The impact also goes beyond the University, the daladala drivers also lose a lot of business because there are not students around the University and city who will take the daladalas. All of the dukas on campus and near by will also lose business, because no one has money to buy anything. There are so many people who are affected by this on the university, and also all around the community. I don’t think I fully understand the full affects it has on everyone in the community, or what it is like to be living at the university and then four hours later be homeless.
Student Striking Day III (Wednesday, October 12)
I did not have class today till nine o’clock so I was going to stay clear of campus until then and just see what happens. We were ordered by the prime minister to go to class and from talking to other students we were supposed to go to class. Stacey had gotten a text from her professor that her 7:00am class was being held and that attendance was mandatory. When I woke up at 6:00am we could hear some students singing from other dorms, so I made the decision that if Stacey had to go to class she was not going to go to class by herself. There is no way I would have let her walk through campus alone. Stacey, Monica, and I set out for campus at 6:45am and it was completely dead. It was like the calm before the storm. Stacey went to class and they were going to have a lecture so I met up with Chris to go get breakfast and then went to the Links office to talk to Mama Kaaya to see what was going on and what we should do if they close campus. She didn’t have any answers for us or advice it was frustrating because we were at a loss of what to do. I later understood that no one really knew what was going to happen. It was all up to the students and if they decided that they were going to continue with the strike. Around nine o’clock there was no sign of the strikers so Chris and I walked to my seminar to see if there was any chance of having class, but there were no students or professor. On our way back to meet Stacey, and Kate at the Link’s café we saw the students who were striking walking through campus. It was a smaller group than the previous days only about three hundred students. They most startling part was that they were walking in complete silence no one said a word. They walked up to the outside of the administration building and soon as everyone was there they joined hands and started singing the Tanzanian national anthem and then the familiar chant of “solidarity forever.” That was all it took, within an hour signs had gone up that campus was being closed indefinitely and students had to leave campus immediately.
During the next four hours on campus there was a lot of tension. The military was present and ready to spring into action all it would take would be one student to slip up or get angry. I felt like I was walking through a scene from the movie Hotel Rwanda with a pickup truck with speakers in the back making announcements that all Tanzanian students were ordered to leave campus by 2:00pm. That truck was followed by another truck that was full of military personnel fully equipped and ready to use tear gas and water cannons if a riot broke out. There were also military teams, with tanks and tear gas launchers up by Hill Park who were on stand by waiting for the order to move if anything happened. Soon as the announcement was made that campus was shut down I went back to my room to help Monica pack and to lay low for the rest of the day. By two o’clock all of the Tanzanian students were gone, 16,000 students had left campus in four hours. It was over . . . UDSM is closed indefinitely. I had to say a quick goodbye to my roommate and was not able to see some friends before they left. It sucks because I don’t know if I will every see them or Monica again.
During the next four hours on campus there was a lot of tension. The military was present and ready to spring into action all it would take would be one student to slip up or get angry. I felt like I was walking through a scene from the movie Hotel Rwanda with a pickup truck with speakers in the back making announcements that all Tanzanian students were ordered to leave campus by 2:00pm. That truck was followed by another truck that was full of military personnel fully equipped and ready to use tear gas and water cannons if a riot broke out. There were also military teams, with tanks and tear gas launchers up by Hill Park who were on stand by waiting for the order to move if anything happened. Soon as the announcement was made that campus was shut down I went back to my room to help Monica pack and to lay low for the rest of the day. By two o’clock all of the Tanzanian students were gone, 16,000 students had left campus in four hours. It was over . . . UDSM is closed indefinitely. I had to say a quick goodbye to my roommate and was not able to see some friends before they left. It sucks because I don’t know if I will every see them or Monica again.
Student Striking Day II (Tuesday, October 11)
I did not have class today till eleven so I was going to stay in my room and get some work done and study for an exam and hear about what was happening on campus before trying to go to class. My roommate, Monica was still going to try and go to her eight o’clock class because she had an exam and could not afford to miss it. Her class was in one of the lecture theaters that seats about six hundred students and it is always full. Since the class is so large people can not tell who is actually in the class. The professor showed up and told them that they were still going to have the exam and hopefully that they would not be interrupted by the boycotters. Soon as she started handing out the exam half of the students stood up and started singing, pounding on the tables, and yelling at the students to get out of class. When Monica got back to our room she was so frustrated and angry because she just wants to go to class, but after this she had given up. She was no longer going to try and go to her other classes.
After hearing her story I made the decision not to go to class today and to leave campus. So a group of us decided to go to the beach. At first I felt really bad for going to the beach because I felt like I was skipping classes, even though I knew that they were not going to happen and that it would have not been the best decision to try and go to class. Once, the students who are striking get riled up things can get out of control really fast and it is just safer off campus for the day. When we got back to campus after the beach we went to eat dinner in the cafeteria and they were packed full of students watching the news where the prime minister of education made an announcement that all students are expected in class tomorrow at seven in the morning. Soon as the announcement was over the entire cafeteria erupted with the singing of “solidarity forever!”
When I got back to my room after dinner, my roommate had taken out her suitcases and was starting to pack. She had a feeling that the students were still going to strike tomorrow and if they did the university would be shut down. Monica was hopeful that they students would take what the prime minister said to heart and go to class, but she had a feeling that it would continue. At about nine o’clock a large group of students were running all over campus singing and trying to get students riled up for tomorrow. They ran into the courtyard of our dorm and starting singing and shouting up at the buildings telling people not to go to class and to join them. We stood out on our balcony and were able to see the silhouettes of all the students below yelling and chanting.
After hearing her story I made the decision not to go to class today and to leave campus. So a group of us decided to go to the beach. At first I felt really bad for going to the beach because I felt like I was skipping classes, even though I knew that they were not going to happen and that it would have not been the best decision to try and go to class. Once, the students who are striking get riled up things can get out of control really fast and it is just safer off campus for the day. When we got back to campus after the beach we went to eat dinner in the cafeteria and they were packed full of students watching the news where the prime minister of education made an announcement that all students are expected in class tomorrow at seven in the morning. Soon as the announcement was over the entire cafeteria erupted with the singing of “solidarity forever!”
When I got back to my room after dinner, my roommate had taken out her suitcases and was starting to pack. She had a feeling that the students were still going to strike tomorrow and if they did the university would be shut down. Monica was hopeful that they students would take what the prime minister said to heart and go to class, but she had a feeling that it would continue. At about nine o’clock a large group of students were running all over campus singing and trying to get students riled up for tomorrow. They ran into the courtyard of our dorm and starting singing and shouting up at the buildings telling people not to go to class and to join them. We stood out on our balcony and were able to see the silhouettes of all the students below yelling and chanting.
Student Striking Day I (Monday, October 10)
Today was the first day of the students strike. We had heard a little bit about it from some students around campus, but it was not talked a lot about. It did not really hit me that it was actually going to happen or that it was something I should be concerned about until yesterday when we were at church and Pastor Travis asked the congregation of students, who was afraid of tomorrow. At first I thought it was just a general question, like who is afraid of what the future might bring, but then I realized that he was talking about the strike. We then started praying for the campus and it will be peaceful and will not be very long. It was not until we started talking about it and praying about it that I realized that this was the real thing. The strike we had heard about all semester was finally going to happen. I was not sure what to expect because I have never experienced anything like this before. We were not sure that it was even going to happen because last week there was “student strike” that only involved about one hundred students and nothing really happened and classes still continued.
This morning I was able to go to my nine o’clock class that was in a department that was further away for campus so we were still able to have class. When I was walking back from class up towards the main road I ran into the student who were striking marching through campus. I’m not even sure how many students there was who were involved. It was almost like a parade, walking through the streets singing and chanting, it took about ten minutes for all of the students to pass where I was standing. I did not feel unsafe, but I was a little bit uncomfortable. I tried to go to the rest of my classes, but they were not happening. Most teacher and students know what has happened in the past and how fast things can get escalated so they just do not go to classes. I know that the classes were more than likely not going to happen, but there is still the little part of me that thinks that maybe it will happen and I would feel bad missing a class.
After we had all attempted going to class we decided that we needed to get of campus for the afternoon so we went down to the Mwenge, the woodcarvers market. It was nice just to be able to escape from the questions that were running through our minds. Questions like, are classes going to happen tomorrow? If the students actually strike for three days will the university actually shut down? If the university shuts down will I be able to get the credits I need for graduation? How can I afford another semester at Concordia if I can get the classes? There are so many unknowns, but the biggest was what is going to happen tomorrow? No one really has a plan of what is going to happen or if the students are going to strike or if they are going to stop and just go back to class. Around midnight we found out the answer to our question of if the students were going to continue on with the strike tomorrow because a guy came around the outside of all the dorms with a megaphone and made the announcement that they were going to strike at 8am tomorrow and that to go to class betraying your fellow students. These announcements woke both my roommate and myself up, and Monica tells me not to worry because “this is normal.” How is this normal? I feel like I am living in a movie, there is no way that this is my actual life.
This morning I was able to go to my nine o’clock class that was in a department that was further away for campus so we were still able to have class. When I was walking back from class up towards the main road I ran into the student who were striking marching through campus. I’m not even sure how many students there was who were involved. It was almost like a parade, walking through the streets singing and chanting, it took about ten minutes for all of the students to pass where I was standing. I did not feel unsafe, but I was a little bit uncomfortable. I tried to go to the rest of my classes, but they were not happening. Most teacher and students know what has happened in the past and how fast things can get escalated so they just do not go to classes. I know that the classes were more than likely not going to happen, but there is still the little part of me that thinks that maybe it will happen and I would feel bad missing a class.
After we had all attempted going to class we decided that we needed to get of campus for the afternoon so we went down to the Mwenge, the woodcarvers market. It was nice just to be able to escape from the questions that were running through our minds. Questions like, are classes going to happen tomorrow? If the students actually strike for three days will the university actually shut down? If the university shuts down will I be able to get the credits I need for graduation? How can I afford another semester at Concordia if I can get the classes? There are so many unknowns, but the biggest was what is going to happen tomorrow? No one really has a plan of what is going to happen or if the students are going to strike or if they are going to stop and just go back to class. Around midnight we found out the answer to our question of if the students were going to continue on with the strike tomorrow because a guy came around the outside of all the dorms with a megaphone and made the announcement that they were going to strike at 8am tomorrow and that to go to class betraying your fellow students. These announcements woke both my roommate and myself up, and Monica tells me not to worry because “this is normal.” How is this normal? I feel like I am living in a movie, there is no way that this is my actual life.
Things I love about Tanzania (Part I)
When I first got to campus I was having a tough time adjusting because of homesickness and was really looking towards December. In the pre-study abroad class at Concordia they told us to make a list of the things that you like about where you are studying and post them in a place where you will see them everyday. That way you will keep looking at the positive things. I decided that I would give it a try. This is the beginning of my list and it is only the beginning because I have not updated it in a while. It has been a big help for me on some of the harder days because then I remember some of the positive and exciting things about Tanzania.
- Blue skies
- Moneys running around campus are equivalent to squirrels on Concordia’s campus
The miniature bananas - Chapati
- Kennedy’s fruit stand on the way to Mlimani
- Friendly people
- Markets!
- Public transportation and how easy it is to use
- Animals
- Artwork
- Beaches
- Mars Bars
- Chocolate biscuits
- Peter (Concordia Scholor)
- Steven Ndosi
- Pendo (Concordia Scholor and Kiswahili teacher)
- Mama Macha
- Avocados
- Making new friends
- Trying new things
- Climbing Mt. Rungwe
- Running with Kate and Stacey every morning
- Random cows and goats roaming the streets
- Pendo’s purple chickens. (They dyed the chickens purple so they would no be eaten by other animals)
- Chipsi Maiyi
- Wali na Maharage
- Learning and discovering new things about myself
- Over coming obstacles by myself
- Learning to trust myself
- Tanzanian children
- Maasai
- I am alive!
- Independence
- Learning that I can depend on myself
- Fabric Market and going to the Tailors
- African Drumming and Dancing shows
- Finding a church where I feel accepted
- Ulitmate Frisbee on Wednesdays with the missionaries and Pastor Travis
- Finding God again
- My amazing roommate!
- European film festival-Free movies for a month!
- Doughnut Runs on Saturdays!! – We run down to the BP station by Mwenge and buy the best doughnuts in Dar es Salaam and then walk back to campus.
- Bounty Bars and the Ice cream bars
- Going to shopprite and buying a liter and a half of ice cream and splitting it between Kate, Stacey and I.
- MANGOS!!!!!!
- Cold showers after running
- The amazing breeze on the eight floor.
“How goes it, my malaria Mama?” –Kate
For some reason whenever I get sick it happens to me during the time when there is no water. I started getting sick on Thursday. I was just having very bad stomach pains and did not want to eat anything. The stomach issues lasted until Saturday when I should go down to the health clinic and see what was going on. At the clinic they told me that I had a bacterial stomach infection and gave me antibiotics and some other drug that I think was a muscle relaxer for the stomach cramping. The medicine helped for the rest of Saturday, but Sunday I started getting the stomach cramps again and by Sunday night I had a fever and was feeling sicker. I ended up getting sick twice that night. The worst part about getting sick was that there was no water so the toilets had not been flushed for a couple of days and they were disgusting.
I was still planning on trying to go to my nine o’clock class on Monday, but I decided last minute that I should really take it easy. It was a good thing I did not go to class because by nine I had gotten sick again and had a fever. I talked to Kate who convinced me that I should go back down to the health clinic and see what was going on. We only made it down to seventh floor before I had to go back up because I got sick again. My roommate came in to the restroom and told me that if I did not think I could make it down to the health clinic I should let her know and she would be able to call someone who would come pick me up and take me. I thought that I would be able to make it. Kate and I headed down to the clinic again and this time we made it half way before I had to stop and wait for the nausea to pass before we could continue going. While I was leaning up against a tree trying not to get sick a guy who was cutting the grass came up to us and started trying to create small talk. Neither of us were in the mood to deal with the random males, but he asked Kate if I was sick and that I should go down to the health clinic. Kate told him that is where we were headed. He then very respectfully told me “Pole sana dada, (I'm very sorry sister)” it was very sweet if I haden't been about to throw up.
We finally made it down to the health clinic where one of our friends was waiting for us. I must have looked like the walking dead because they still gives me a hard time for not stopping to say hi to, but I just kept on going. If I would have stopped to talk I either would have gotten sick again or started crying because I was miserable. When we got to the waiting are there was about forty students waiting to be seen. I ended up waiting for only about forty five minutes, but during that time I got sick again. When I finally say the doctor he sent me to get a malaria test so I had to go outside and all the way around the building where I ended up waiting for a half an hour to get my finger pricked and then we had to wait another hour and a half before I got the results back and there was a big stamp that said, “Malaria Seen” I had to go back up to see the doctor, who told me I had malaria. I cannot fully remember, but I am pretty sure I started laughing. Not because it was funny that I had malaria, but because he had said it like it was some big shock even though I had read it on the paper. He told me “Pole sana (I'm very sorry)” many times and after about the fifth time of replying “Asante (Thank you)” I finally told him “pole sana” and we both started laughing.
I finally got back to my room about three and a half hours later. My roommate, Monica, was taking a nap and woke up when I came in and started freaking out asking me if I was okay. Apparently, that morning when I got sick she had called her uncle that lives in Dar es Salaam and told him that I was sick and that she did not think that I would be able to make it down to the health clinic so he offered to come all the way over to campus to drive me about 600 meters to the clinic. It was so sweet of her to worry and him to offer to come pick me up. I am so lucky and blessed that I am surrounded by so many caring people that are looking out for me. Kate ended up missing a group meeting and our other friend missed a half day of work so that they could come with me to the doctors and make sure that I was okay. I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay them for their time. It meant so much to me especially since I do not like asking for help when I am sick. In the past I have almost looked at being sick as a weakness and refused to let other people know that I was not feeling well. Being in Tanzania I know that there are some things that I can not try to deal with on my own and this was one of them and I am learning that it is okay to ask for help and that there are people who are more than willing to help out.
I was still planning on trying to go to my nine o’clock class on Monday, but I decided last minute that I should really take it easy. It was a good thing I did not go to class because by nine I had gotten sick again and had a fever. I talked to Kate who convinced me that I should go back down to the health clinic and see what was going on. We only made it down to seventh floor before I had to go back up because I got sick again. My roommate came in to the restroom and told me that if I did not think I could make it down to the health clinic I should let her know and she would be able to call someone who would come pick me up and take me. I thought that I would be able to make it. Kate and I headed down to the clinic again and this time we made it half way before I had to stop and wait for the nausea to pass before we could continue going. While I was leaning up against a tree trying not to get sick a guy who was cutting the grass came up to us and started trying to create small talk. Neither of us were in the mood to deal with the random males, but he asked Kate if I was sick and that I should go down to the health clinic. Kate told him that is where we were headed. He then very respectfully told me “Pole sana dada, (I'm very sorry sister)” it was very sweet if I haden't been about to throw up.
We finally made it down to the health clinic where one of our friends was waiting for us. I must have looked like the walking dead because they still gives me a hard time for not stopping to say hi to, but I just kept on going. If I would have stopped to talk I either would have gotten sick again or started crying because I was miserable. When we got to the waiting are there was about forty students waiting to be seen. I ended up waiting for only about forty five minutes, but during that time I got sick again. When I finally say the doctor he sent me to get a malaria test so I had to go outside and all the way around the building where I ended up waiting for a half an hour to get my finger pricked and then we had to wait another hour and a half before I got the results back and there was a big stamp that said, “Malaria Seen” I had to go back up to see the doctor, who told me I had malaria. I cannot fully remember, but I am pretty sure I started laughing. Not because it was funny that I had malaria, but because he had said it like it was some big shock even though I had read it on the paper. He told me “Pole sana (I'm very sorry)” many times and after about the fifth time of replying “Asante (Thank you)” I finally told him “pole sana” and we both started laughing.
I finally got back to my room about three and a half hours later. My roommate, Monica, was taking a nap and woke up when I came in and started freaking out asking me if I was okay. Apparently, that morning when I got sick she had called her uncle that lives in Dar es Salaam and told him that I was sick and that she did not think that I would be able to make it down to the health clinic so he offered to come all the way over to campus to drive me about 600 meters to the clinic. It was so sweet of her to worry and him to offer to come pick me up. I am so lucky and blessed that I am surrounded by so many caring people that are looking out for me. Kate ended up missing a group meeting and our other friend missed a half day of work so that they could come with me to the doctors and make sure that I was okay. I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay them for their time. It meant so much to me especially since I do not like asking for help when I am sick. In the past I have almost looked at being sick as a weakness and refused to let other people know that I was not feeling well. Being in Tanzania I know that there are some things that I can not try to deal with on my own and this was one of them and I am learning that it is okay to ask for help and that there are people who are more than willing to help out.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Student Strike
UDSM students sent packing
BY DAILY NEWS ReporterDaily News;
Wednesday,November 12, 2008 @21:15
The University of Dar es Salaam yesterday sent away all undergraduate students at the Main Campus on an indefinite suspension, ending a three-day strike at the Hill, Vice-Chancellor Prof Yunus Mgaya has announced. Prof Mgaya told reporters yesterday that the students were ordered to vacate the premises by 6:00 pm – after which they would be removed by force. However, the order does not affect students at the Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication (IJMC), where normal classes were still in progress, Prof Mgaya said. However, the fate of students at the premiere education constituent college at Chang’ombe Campus - the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) – remained unclear, and Prof Mgaya said the University administration was still awaiting details of student attendance reports there before a final decision could be made. Prof Mgaya said the University administration had summoned the Dar es Salaam University Students Organization (DARUSO) leadership since Sunday in vain efforts to stop the strike and ongoing demonstrations, which he said posed a threat to ‘peace and harmony’ within the campus. “The students have contravened the university’s by-laws … whose penalty is suspension,” Prof Mgaya said. The students went on strike to press the government into doing away with the cost-sharing policy, arguing that criteria used to determine the amount the students should contributedoesn’t work. At the IJMC, studies were meanwhile suspended yesterday to allow safe-keeping of personal belongings of students living at the Mabibo and Main Campus hostels, but classes are expected to resume today. At the Main Campus, the affected students started packing – ready for peaceful exit – soon after the announcement was made, even though some complained of the notice being “too short.” However, they should have seen it coming – since the University bylaws provide that any cessation of classes for three days running meant imminent closure. On Tuesday, the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, ordered the students to resume classes by early morning yesterday, all in efforts to allow the government time to resolve some of the sticky issues around costsharing in institutions of higher learning. Cost-sharing was first implemented in 1992 following a government decision requiring parents and guardians to contribute towards the running costs of social services such as education, health, water and energy. So far 254bn/- has been spent sponsoring some 145,970 students between 2005 and June, this year. Meanwhile, DARUSO President Anthony Machibya said the students would respect the suspension order, but added that the students leaders would remain within Dar es Salaam a while “to ensure that everything is under control.” “It is not that we have cancelled our demands … we stand by them and should they not be sorted out, the situation would not change when we resume studies,” he said. He also said DARUSO would be on standby to provide “help and guidance” to any students who might have difficulty in meeting “any conditions” set by the University administration before classes resume next time round.
http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/home/index.p hp?id=8379
http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/home/?id=8393
All international students will still be able to live on campus and classes will continue being held.
BY DAILY NEWS ReporterDaily News;
Wednesday,November 12, 2008 @21:15
The University of Dar es Salaam yesterday sent away all undergraduate students at the Main Campus on an indefinite suspension, ending a three-day strike at the Hill, Vice-Chancellor Prof Yunus Mgaya has announced. Prof Mgaya told reporters yesterday that the students were ordered to vacate the premises by 6:00 pm – after which they would be removed by force. However, the order does not affect students at the Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication (IJMC), where normal classes were still in progress, Prof Mgaya said. However, the fate of students at the premiere education constituent college at Chang’ombe Campus - the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) – remained unclear, and Prof Mgaya said the University administration was still awaiting details of student attendance reports there before a final decision could be made. Prof Mgaya said the University administration had summoned the Dar es Salaam University Students Organization (DARUSO) leadership since Sunday in vain efforts to stop the strike and ongoing demonstrations, which he said posed a threat to ‘peace and harmony’ within the campus. “The students have contravened the university’s by-laws … whose penalty is suspension,” Prof Mgaya said. The students went on strike to press the government into doing away with the cost-sharing policy, arguing that criteria used to determine the amount the students should contributedoesn’t work. At the IJMC, studies were meanwhile suspended yesterday to allow safe-keeping of personal belongings of students living at the Mabibo and Main Campus hostels, but classes are expected to resume today. At the Main Campus, the affected students started packing – ready for peaceful exit – soon after the announcement was made, even though some complained of the notice being “too short.” However, they should have seen it coming – since the University bylaws provide that any cessation of classes for three days running meant imminent closure. On Tuesday, the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, ordered the students to resume classes by early morning yesterday, all in efforts to allow the government time to resolve some of the sticky issues around costsharing in institutions of higher learning. Cost-sharing was first implemented in 1992 following a government decision requiring parents and guardians to contribute towards the running costs of social services such as education, health, water and energy. So far 254bn/- has been spent sponsoring some 145,970 students between 2005 and June, this year. Meanwhile, DARUSO President Anthony Machibya said the students would respect the suspension order, but added that the students leaders would remain within Dar es Salaam a while “to ensure that everything is under control.” “It is not that we have cancelled our demands … we stand by them and should they not be sorted out, the situation would not change when we resume studies,” he said. He also said DARUSO would be on standby to provide “help and guidance” to any students who might have difficulty in meeting “any conditions” set by the University administration before classes resume next time round.
http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/home/index.p hp?id=8379
http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/home/?id=8393
All international students will still be able to live on campus and classes will continue being held.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Theater major for a day...
*I went to the drawing class the next Monday to see if it was going to start. I asked another student where the classroom was and they pointed me in the right direction. I sat down and a guy came in behind me and asked me my name and if I was excited to take Directing . . . I didn’t want him to know that I was in the wrong class so I said “yes” and then he told me that he was a theater major. I sat in the class for what felt like ten minutes. Finally, I got up enough courage to ask him again what class it was and where the drawing class was being offered. I had the right room that was posted on the time table, they just rearranged the timetable to fit their needs so the classerooms were switched. I was so close to sitting through the entire directing class because I did not want to stand up and have every one look at me as the crazy mzungu who had the wrong classroom, but I also did not want to sit through an hour of directing at seven in the morning.
First Day of Classes
The “first day of classes” was very confusing and a big flop. Luckily, I was told by the students who were here last year that it would be hectic and classes would more than likely not start on time. I went to find my drawing professors who informed us that classes may not be starting at all till net week and will more than likely not follow the time table, because students show up on the first day of class and then they discuss who has conflicts with the meeting times and will rearrange classes to make sure that everyone can attend. I was also informed that we will not have class either, Wednesday, Thursday or Thursday, Friday, depending on the moon. I was also told that this was a possibility of happening, but I thought that the students from last year were just kidding about moon, but it was actually true.
Peter and his new baby
This past week we went over to Peter’s (Last years Concordia Scholar) house for dinner. We were warmly ushered in by him and his sister and offered the best mango passion fruit juice. He asked how classes we going. After about ten to fifteen minuets of small talk he showed us his wedding pictures and the picture of his wife. He apologized that his wife would not be able to make it to dinner because she was at the hospital. We got really concerned and asked him if everything was okay and he calmly answered like he said it everyday, “Yeah she’s okay, she just had a baby.” We were all excited and couldn’t believe how calm he had been telling us. I knew that his wife had been pregnant because she had been in and out of the hospital for the past month, but I did not want to ask too many questions because I know that it is not something that is usually talked about. Peter and his wife had a baby boy!
The next question we had for Peter was, “What are you doing here?” He just became a father, his wife and child are still in the hospital and he is at home entertaining guests. Peter told us that his wife still wanted us to come over to their house for dinner since the date and time had already been set. Peter’s sisters prepared the dinner for us and Peter came home for a little bit to greet us and then during dinner he left again for the hospital. This really enforced the idea of Tanzanian hospitality where the guest is always important. I do not think I would be able to do the same thing. I would want my husband next to my side regardless of who was coming to visit.
Peter and his wife have been married a little under a year. They were married in December and he left in January or February to go study at Concordia. According to Peter he did “good work,” and now he has fulfilled the social traditions expected of him. It was so interesting to hear this because it was so blunt, but also probably very true. Traditions put a large emphasis on getting married and having children, especially boys. We are hoping to make a trip back down to their house later this week to go visit the baby, but we need to wait a little bit because she had a caesarian birth and is taking some time to recover.
The next question we had for Peter was, “What are you doing here?” He just became a father, his wife and child are still in the hospital and he is at home entertaining guests. Peter told us that his wife still wanted us to come over to their house for dinner since the date and time had already been set. Peter’s sisters prepared the dinner for us and Peter came home for a little bit to greet us and then during dinner he left again for the hospital. This really enforced the idea of Tanzanian hospitality where the guest is always important. I do not think I would be able to do the same thing. I would want my husband next to my side regardless of who was coming to visit.
Peter and his wife have been married a little under a year. They were married in December and he left in January or February to go study at Concordia. According to Peter he did “good work,” and now he has fulfilled the social traditions expected of him. It was so interesting to hear this because it was so blunt, but also probably very true. Traditions put a large emphasis on getting married and having children, especially boys. We are hoping to make a trip back down to their house later this week to go visit the baby, but we need to wait a little bit because she had a caesarian birth and is taking some time to recover.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)