Assistant Deans

I decided to clean out a cupboard in my office that has been full of unidentified objects since I became dean.

I came across the following photos.

I have met many of these gentlemen personally. It is abundantly clear that the Assistant Dean position is usually filled by great leaders. The position probably also does a lot to prepare a person for leadership. I would love to hear some of their stories.

It would be wonderful if these men, or other Assistant Deans and Resident Assistants who might come across this blog could send me a photo of themselves and tell us something about their experiences in Salisbury House and about their lives after living in Salisbury House.




Jannie Bekker 1975-76

Anton van Wyk 1977-78

Braam Oberholster 1979

Werney de Lange 1980

Monty Muhl 1981-82



Peter Krumpschmidt 1983

Martin Bradfield 1984

Jonathon Stockil 1985

Shane Blake 1986

Richard Lovemore 1987-88 (He is currently farming in Paterson in the Eastern Cape)

Sean Botha 1989-90

A Rear View

Picture taken by Simone

Student Drinking on Adventist Campusses

I have not often heard frank discussion on this topic in the Adventist schools and colleges that I've been involved with. Our focus is usually on the unambiguous rules at our institutions that prohibit any use of alcohol. It was refreshing when the Spectrum blog posted two vcasts from Pacific Union College in which students and dormitory deans talk frankly about the fact that students on Adventist campuses sometimes have issues with drinking and how they attempt to address the issue.

On Sunday, The Sunday Times published an interview with the newly appointed head of Stellenbosch University about challenges facing this university. (Stellenbosch is a traditionally Afrikaans university with approximately 20 000 students. It is situated about 20 km from Helderberg College.) One of the major themes of this interview was the problem of student drinking. The university of Stellenbosch is currently engaging with student clubs and entertainment spots to close at "reasonable" hours of the night and to co-operate in limiting student drinking.

Why am I mentioning these facts on this blog?

1. There is certainly a temptation to be proud about the fact that student drinking is not such a wholesale problem on our campuses. Adventist campuses are still a safer environment to live and study in if a person wants to make healthy lifestyle choices.

2. But I am under no illusions that we do not have students who drink. In all likelihood we have students who abuse alcohol. (In fact, according to the discussion on the Spectrum blog, it is likely that some Adventist students who come from conservative homes are likely to abuse alcohol more seriously than students who grew up with alcohol being used commonly around them) I am not convinced that we have adequately dealt with this fact. Students who struggle with this issue are usually afraid to raise the issue because they expect immediate punitive action or stigmatization. There is a shortage of communal knowledge of the problem and how to deal with it.

3. So I've started to do some research. The field is very wide. My interest is to try to come to some conclusions of what my role should be as a professional responsible for the health and wellbeing of a number of students.

In the process I found a number of facts that I feel every student should be aware of. Some basic knowledge of the effects of alcohol could save somebody's life:

Alcohol Overdose is a life threatening situation.

Alcohol overdose becomes apparent when a person consumed more alcohol than their body needs to create a pleasant euphoria, and the negative effects of alcohol begins to display themselves. What physically happens is that there is more alcohol in a person's body than the liver can process and get rid of. Levels of alcohol build up in the blood stream and negative effects of alcohol begin to present themselves.

How would a person recognise signs of an overdose?

It usually begins with slurred speech, problems with balance, loss of memory. These symptoms seem common, but they can very quickly become life threatening. Knowing the signs of a life threatening overdose can save somebody's life:

If a person is passed out or semi-conscious and cannot be awakened
If a person vomits while sleeping or passed out and does not wake up
When the rate of breathing seems slow or irregular.
If a person has cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin colour.

Why are these symptoms life threatening?

Alcohol has the ability to shut down centers in the brain that control functions like breathing, heart rate, and the gag reflex, which normally helps prevent you from choking on things like your own vomit.

What do you do when you suspect that a friend suffers from an Alcohol Overdose?

Get help immediately. This is not the time to try to hide it away. Your friend needs help.
Stay with your friend.
Lay your friend on his/her side to keep them from choking on their vomit.
Once help arrives, tell them everything that you know about what the person drank, when they had their last drink, whether other drugs were ingested, etc.

Facts and Myths about sobering up:

There is really only one way in which a person sobers up. The person's liver needs to process the alcohol and get rid of it. This will take time.

The following will not help at all:

Drinking coffee. All you get when you give coffee to a drunk person is a wide awke drunk person!

Taking a cold bath or shower. This could help with hiegiene and the person might smell better, but the will not sober up.

Sleeping it off. This could be very dangerous. It is possible to still have alcohol in the stomach that has not been absorbed, meaning that the person could become even more intoxicated while they are sleeping.

Walking it off. It might help burn off some calories but that's about it.

(Reference: In doing research I downloaded some pamphlets by an organisation, Outside The Classroom. This information comes from one of their pamphlets.)

Another useful resource on student alcohol use is: Facts on Tap.

I would love to hear my readers opinion on this issue. I would also like to offer my service and time to anybody who needs help in dealing with this issue. Would anybody else like to become involved in raising awareness of these issues on campus?

More about Vision

It is really stimulating and interesting to be so integrally part of the development of a vision statement for the College.

We've published potential version of the vision statement and received some feedback from students and staff. Now we feel that it is important to publish a second possible version as there is some debate. I would love to receive your feedback.

Below is a copy of the two possible versions:

Option 1

Helderberg College will be the institution of choice,

setting the standards of Seventh-day Adventist higher education in Southern Africa,

equipping its students:

to fulfill their calling, to dream great dreams, serving noble causes, and

living fulfilled productive lives.

Option 2

Helderberg College will be the institution of choice, setting the standards of SDA higher education in Southern Africa.

We seek to produce highly skilled, reflective professionals, qualified for effective and compassionate service in church and society.

Here is some of the debate that we've had about the versions:

I received the following e-mail in support of Option 1:

I am going to elucidate a little on the thoughts that I presented before - what
more could an institution want than for its students in Christian context
to fulfill their calling - to be equipped to fulfill their calling as well
trained pastors and ministers, for teachers to be fulfill their calling by
being well equipped to teach with passion and vision, for business men to
be ethical and far sighted in doing their business, for secretaries to be
faithful, supportive of the work done for the institution etc. In other
words - by equipping them to fulfill their calling - we would be fulfilling
our vision as a Christian Adventist institution. Is it not our vision
amidst all the stuff we teach to open up windows for students, to see what
they can become - to dream great dreams. How many great causes have
started because someone helped them to dream - helping students to feel
free to dream - to open those windows of opportunity, to see beyond the
classroom of tests and examinations to what they may be! Is it not part of
our vision to help our students to serve noble causes, not just to waste
their time on pifling things but to dedicate their lives to the great
Christain causes - whatever their calling. Finally our vision is to equip
them to live fulfilled productive lives. That their lives will reflect the
great values that we espouse and that this will lead to living fulfilled
productive lives. It seems to me in a vision statement these ideas do have
merit and should be considered, but if it we find that it does not resonate
with any one else then they need to be discarded and forgotten.

I paraphrase the argument for Option 2 below:

Option 1 is very general. It could be appended to the vision of a Pathfinder club or a women's group, or to almost any community organisation, and it would still sound good and be relevant. It does not really establish a distinctive niche for us to develop a specific identity as a Christian higher education institution.

It would be useful for our vision statement to allude more specifically to the particular product that we would like to produce at the College. What will they do? What values will they have? What impact will they have on society? (Are they entrepreneurs or good corporate citizens? Are they consumers or activists? Can they take empowering initiatives to bring about positive social change? Are they prepared to stand for principles even if they are not popular? etc.

The only question is if option 2 fits best within a vision statement, or is it already encapsulated in the Mission of the College.

I would love to hear the opinions of others who have an interest in the future of Helderberg College. (Please comment).

Vision Statement: Draft One

They say that Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.

So here is our first draft of a vision for Helderberg College. This draft emerged over a period of a few weeks.

See some more discussion here.

We are not sure that we are happy with it yet, but we feel that the Helderberg College community, and those closely related to the community should be involved in formulating the vision. Please send us your feedback, comments, questions.

Vision Statement, Draft 1:

Helderberg College will be the institution of choice, setting the standards of Christian (or SDA) higher education in Southern Africa.

We seek to produce highly skilled, reflecting graduates, qualified for effective and compassionate service in church and society.

We would love to have your feedback.
(Vision Statement Committee)

Cafeteria: Menu for April

This may not really classify as entertaining reading, but the cafeteria has requested that we look at their menu and see if we can make any improvements. Perhaps we can think of other kinds of food to include. They will appreciate our input.

Menu

Monday 2 April – Sunday 8 April 2007

	Monday, 2	Tuesday, 3	Wednesday, 4	Thursday, 5	Friday, 6	Sabbath, 7	Sunday, 8
Breakfast	Baked Beans	Cheese	Polony	Hotdog ‘smoor’	Mushrooms		Scrambled Egg
Lunch	Rice, Breyani Dhal Schnitzel Tomato Gravy Roast potatoes Potjie Mix Banana & Coconut Onion & Tomato Egg Salad	Rice, Pap, Samp Beans Burger Tomato Gravy Spinach Pumpkin Sweet Potatoes Pasta	Rice, Spaghetti Bolognaise Nuggets Mushroom Sauce Baby Carrots Peas Gem Squash Corn & Cucumber	Rice Beans Curry Mince Pie Roast Potatoes Broccoli Butternut Carrot & Pineapple	Burger/Cheese Chips	Rice Macaroni Pie Lentil Curry Patties Broccoli Pumpkin Pasta	Rice Ribbon Noodles Chicken A la King Roast Potatoes Peas Carrots
			Guavas			Peppermint tart
Fast Line		Burger Potato Wedges
Supper	Mashed Potatoes Sausage Brown Gravy Mixed Veg Salad Bread Fruit	Potato stew Hotdogs Peas Carrots Salad Bread Fruit	Baked Pasta Strips Mixed Vegetables Salad Bread Fruit	Samp & beans Sausage Carrots Peas Salad Bread Fruit	Baked Potatoes Chilli con carne Pumpkin Peas Salad Bread Fruit	Roll Egg Hotdogs Baked beans Salad Bread Fruit	Stewed Potatoes Sausage Mixed veg Salad Bread Fruit

Menu

Monday, April 9, 2007 – Sunday, April 15, 2007

Monday, 9	Tuesday, 10	Wednesday, 11	Thursday, 12	Friday, 13	Sabbath, 14	Sunday, 15
Breakfast:	Baked beans	Scrambled Egg	Cheese	Polony		Sausage smoor
Hotdog smoor
Lunch:
Main Meal:
Rice Lasagne Sausage Green Beans Pumpkin Roast Potatoes Coleslaw	Rice, Pasta Lentil Stew Schnitzel Broccoli Julienne carrots Corn & Cucumber	Rice, Samp, Pap Beans stew Patties Tomato gravy Spinach Pumpkin Carrot & Pineapple	Rice, Egg noodles Oriental Stir-fry Strips Burger Baby carrots Peas Mixed Bean	Sausage rolls Chips Salad Bread Fruit	Rice Cheese & Onion Pie Lentil Curry Gluten Carrots Broccoli Potato	Rice Beans curry Burger Baked Cauliflower Pumpkin Peas Pasta
Fast Food Line:
		Pineapple Dessert			Peach Pudding
Supper:
Savoury rice Hotdogs Peas & corn Salad Bread Fruit	Pies Mashed Potatoes Brown Gravy Mixed Vegetables Salad Bread Fruit	Vetkoek Mince Salad Bread Fruit	Rice Egg curry Mixed Vegetables Salad Bread Fruit	Rice Cottage Pie Brown gravy Gem Squash Peas Pumpkin Egg Salad	Fried Egg Baked beans Chips Roll Salad Bread Fruit	Mashed potatoes Hotdogs Mixed Veg Salad Bread Fruit

Menu

Monday, Apr 16, 2006 – Sunday, Apr 22, 2007

Monday, 16	Tuesday, 17	Wednesday, 18	Thursday, 19	Friday, 20	Sabbath, 21	Sunday, 22
Breakfast:	Scrambled Egg	Cheese/Polony	Baked Beans	Braised Mushrooms		Hotdog smoor
Polony
Lunch:
Main Meal:
Rice, Fried Rice Ratatouille Lentil Pie Schnitzel Creamed spinach Diced carrots Egg	Rice, Samp, Pap Beans stew Patties Tomato gravy Spinach Pumpkin Corn & Cucumber	Rice, Macaroni Cheese Lentil curry Burger Potjie mix Carrot & Pineapple	Rice, Breyani Dhal Strips Broccoli Baby carrots Banana & Coconut	Hotdogs Chips Salad Bread Fruit	Rice Savoury Rice Beans Curry Mushroom Pie Patties Peas Baby carrots Pasta	Rice Cottage Pie Gem Squash & Sweetcorn Broccoli Pumpkin Mixed Bean
Fast Food Line:
	Pies Chips
		Peppermint Tart			Chocolate Cake
Supper:
Vetkoek Mince Salad Bread Fruit	Spaghetti Tomato Gravy Mushroom Gravy Nuggets Peas & Carrots Salad Bread Fruit	Samp & Beans Sausage Mixed Vegetable Salad Bread Fruit	Rice, Umphokoqo Mince Peas & Carrots Salad Bread Fruit	Rice, Ribbon Noodles ‘Chicken’ A la King Pumpkin Peas Corn & Cucumber	Pies Mashed Potatoes Mixed Vegetables Salad Bread Fruit	Fried sausage Egg Baked Beans Salad Bread Fruit

Menu

Monday, Apr 23, 2007 – Sunday, Apr 29, 2007

Monday, 23	Tuesday, 24	Wednesday, 25	Thursday, 26	Friday, 27	Sabbath, 28	Sunday, 29
Breakfast:	Braised Mushrooms	Scrambled eggs	Baked Beans	Polony	Sack Breakfast	Braised sausage
Cheese
Lunch:
Main Meal:
Rice, Egg noodles Oriental Stir-fry Lentil Stew Burger Sauce Baby carrots Peas Corn & Cucumber	Rice, Samp, Pap Beans Stew Burger Tomato gravy Spinach Pumpkin Pasta	Rice Spaghetti Mince Green Beans Pumpkin Carrot & Pineapple	Rice, Scalloped Potatoes Lentil Curry Patties Potjie Mix Gem Squash Julienne carrots Waldorf	Pies Chips Salad Bread Fruit	Rice Fried Rice Beans Stew Mushroom Pie Gluten Broc/Cauli Julienne carrots Potato	Rice Strips Roast Potatoes Peas & Corn Pumpkin Coleslaw
Fast Food Line:
	‘The Works” Burger Chips	Guavas & Custard			Pineapple Dessert
Supper:
Rice Nuggets Mixed Veg Salad Bread Fruit	Samp & Beans Sausage Peas & Carrots Salad Bread Fruit	Pasta Hotdogs Mixed Veg Salad Bread Fruit	Rice Egg curry Salad Bread Fruit	Rice, Mashed Potato Sausage Gem squash Peas Carrots Corn & Cucumber Salad Bread	Hotdogs, eggs Baked beans Salad Bread Fruit	Pasta Nuggets Peas, Corn & Carrots Salad Bread Fruit

Menu

Monday, Apr 30, 2007 – Sunday, May 6, 2007

Monday, 30	Tuesday, 1	Wednesday, 2	Thursday, 3	Friday, 4	Sabbath, 5	Sunday, 6
Breakfast:	Braised Mushrooms	Scrambled eggs	Baked Beans	Polony	Sack Breakfast	Braised sausage
Cheese
Lunch:
Main Meal:
Rice, Samp, Pap Beans Stew Burger Tomato gravy Spinach Pumpkin Pasta	Rice, Mashed Potatoes Pies Brown Gravy Lentil Stew Diced carrots Peas Coleslaw	Rice Bobotie Schnitzel Tomato gravy Mushroom sauce Pumpkin Peas Banana	Rice Beans Curry Nuggets Gem Squash Carrots Broccoli	Subways Chips Salad Bread Fruit	Rice, Potato Bake Mince Curry Patties Broccoli Pumpkin Broc/Cauli Coleslaw	Rice Lentil Stew Schnitzel Roast Potatoes Green beans Pumpkin Carrot & Pineapple
Fast Food Line:
	Pies Chips	Peaches & Cream			Walnut Cake Custard
Supper:
Baked Potato Chilli con carne Mushroom Sauce Salad Bread Fruit	Vetkoek Mince Salad Bread Fruit	Spaghetti Bolognaise Green Beans Carrots Salad Bread Fruit	Potato Stew Pap Burger Salad Bread Fruit	Samp & Beans Sausage Mixed Veg Corn & Cucumber Bread	Hot Pasta Burgers Mixed Vegetables Salad Bread Fruit	Rice Egg Curry Peas Carrots Salad Bread Fruit