Luke Waltham

This opinion piece was originally written by Luke Waltham, Paul Joubert and Priyanka Govender and was published on iLizwi. You can read the original piece here . On “Victimhood”:  the Realities and Fictions O On 16th November 2018, an  opinion piece  by Mariné Bothma was published on Netwerk24. In this piece, Bothma attributes the emphasis on transformation and inclusivity on campus to students’ unwillingness to adapt to difficult situations. While she fails to name or characterise the group perpetuating the victimhood culture, it takes no stretch of imagination to know she is referring to people of colour, along with other marginalised groups. The iLizwi team felt compelled to respond to Bothma’s article because of the growing popularity of her line of argument on South African campuses. We used the opportunity to elucidate why marginalised groups rightfully express outrage at being consistently characterised as lacking in logic and accountability for their l...

This opinion piece was originally written by Luke Waltham and published on iLizwi. You can read the original piece here . Mental Health Needs to be Prioritised on our Campuses,  2.0 A year later and nothing has changed – the deadly crisis is still developing on our campus with little to nothing being done. Due to the nature of mental illnesses and the situation on university campuses, this piece may be triggering to some. In November 2017, I wrote a rather scathing article for the  Huffington Post , expressing the extremity of the mental health crisis on our campuses in South Africa. Since that piece, nothing has changed in terms of structural or policy reformation to solve the dire situation that Stellenbosch University’s students and staff members are in, and the situation will only worsen if we do not act now. The “Best Time of Your Life” Student life is often referred to as the “best time of your lives” because of the sudden apparent independence, freedom t...

This article was originally written by Luke Waltham and published on Celeb Mix. You can read the original article here . BTS ARMY Made a Difference for Jimin’s Birthday ARMYs continue to be inspired and motivated by BTS to make a difference, and once again, they have achieved uplifting, heartwarming results! A project organised by  One In An ARMY  and  Jimin Global  launched a charity project called #FlowWithJimin. This project encouraged ARMYs to donate money to Mind Leaps, an organisation that helps impoverished, underprivileged children in countries that are still recovering from past conflicts. Mind Leaps prioritises education, and finds creative ways to teach young children to learn academic content such as dancing. The project lasted throughout the month of October, which ARMYs refer to as Jimin’s month, since Park Jimin’s birthday is on the 13th October. In addition to this, One In An ARMY stated that the project not only raised a lot of money for th...

This article was originally written by Luke Waltham and published on Celeb Mix. You can read the original article here . ARMYs Speak Themselves BTS’s passionate, loving and supportive fandom, ARMY, spoke out against bullying and violence on Wednesday following reports that members of the fandom were being bullied by haters of BTS. There were two stories that the fandom was made aware of. The first story involved a student ARMY being bullied by someone at university for being a proud ARMY. The bully, who claimed to be a member of another KPop group’s fandom, intentionally wanted to cause drama between the fandoms by attacking a proud ARMY. Regardless of her affiliation, the bullying was disgraceful, and ARMYs were quick to respond. The second story involved an ARMY recently passing away. In response to this, antis of BTS made a joke about the ARMY’s death. This initiated ARMYs to trend the hashtag #EndViolence which is a key part of UNICEF and BTS’s campaign: The End Violence,...

This opinion piece was originally published on News24 and was written by Luke Waltham. You can read the original piece here . Why I left the DA and have empathy with De Lille On Wednesday, October 31, residents of Cape Town bid farewell to Patricia De Lille as she resigned from her position as executive mayor. In addition to this, De Lille also resigned as a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA). De Lille's resignation as DA member should come as no surprise. During 18 months of political infighting, she has been a victim of abuse and inconsistent accusations by various leaders in the party, ranging from the city council to national level. Time and time again, she won court cases that involved attempts to drag her name through the mud. After watching the ongoing battle between the DA and De Lille, I admittedly feel complete empathy for her. I used to be an active member of the DA and led the DA Youth in the West Durban constituency in 2014/2015. Certain experiences in ...