Luke Waltham

This opinion piece was originally written by Luke Waltham and published on Medium. You can read the original piece here . Bi and Pan Erasure: Can it end? Our society is still deeply stuck in the binary: that an opposite sex couple must both be straight and a same sex couple must both be gay. Can we dismantle this bi erasure? A few days ago, I was taken aback when a friend of mine asked if I had a partner or significant other. The reason for my sheer surprise was two fold: 1. I had never been asked about partners without genderised pronouns being used, and 2. The friend clearly acknowledged my bisexuality and who I am. You may wonder why I took it so personally and have kept this conversation in my mind for so long. You see, I am usually questioned about my love life by people who only ask whether I have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Notice the ‘or’ in between. People tend not to include the two in a question and instead, only refer to the one. This is an obvious cas...

This opinion piece was originally published on News24 and was written by Luke Waltham. You can read the original piece here . All universities should have mental health policies In 2017, I wrote a blog piece for  HuffPost  regarding the need for mental health to be prioritised at universities and colleges from a South African perspective. Two years later, after research and engagements with students around the world, I believe a global, all-inclusive perspective needs to be applied to this serious matter. Mental Illnesses and issues involving mental health have become an international crisis which is often ignored and neglected from a state/national level to a local level. This is notable at universities and colleges where there has been a serious lack of attention to identifying, treating and assisting students who are suffering from mental illnesses. A  study  conducted by the University of Cape Town in South Africa, in 2017, revealed that at least 12% of...