Background

A lot of things are unique to the University of Johannesburg Auckland Park campus and Afslaan Men's Residence is one of them. As the first residence to be established on the old RAU Campus, which was opened on March 12, 1969, Afslaan is known for their honourable and interesting Roman culture and exceptional spirit.

The residence derived its name from being situated on the first tee of the golf course it was built on. As the oldest residence on campus, Afslaan is also the "Afslaan" when it comes to residence accommodation. They are the only residence on campus that offer single rooms to all first year- and senior students. This unique setup of the residence accommodates 6 students in a complex, which includes an open-plan kitchen, a bathroom and a public telephone. The residence is situated on the southern side of campus and is barely 200 meters away from the nearest classes.

History

Throughout the history of Afslaan, the buildings provided the "homes" away from home for many a student. Afslaan was erected as a temporary residence with a life span of only 10 years but stood tall for 28 years! The old buildings were bulldozed at the end of 1997 due to the degrading condition of the structures.

General Information

Titles

Since the tradition of this residence is based on that of the ancient Roman culture, it is only fitting to apply the titles used in that period as well. Some of the titles include:

First year - Pleb

Second year - Mandator

Third year and non-graduate - Senator

Graduate - Pator

Guardian - Mentor

SRC Member - Praetor

House Committee Member - Consul

House Vice-Chairperson - Princeps

House Chairperson - Rex

House Master - Pater Famileas

Ex-Afslaan Member - Sensor

Monuments

There are also great Roman Monuments on Afslaan, which remind the house members of their ancestral heritage.

Uxor Aphrodite - Longest living virgin of Chain Valley.

Aquila Empiri Afslaan - Largest Bird on RAU, Symbol of the Roman Empire.

Casseus Caesar - Symbol of Masculinity, Fertility and Abundance.

Peet Plein - It was named after the House Master of 1975, Mr. Peet Oeschger.

Forum - Symbol of the New Roman Empire (The community hall).

Afslaan also has a very interesting club, called the Wild Boar. This club offers the weary Afslaan student the chance to relax, with a big screen, some rugby memorabilia and lots of tradition.

Leadership

House Committee

The Afslaan Consulate(i.e House Committee) has through 35 years of building experience, evolved into the Senate which ensures pro-active transformation of all Afslaan managerial systems. This ensures a stronger and growing Roman culture in the rapidly changing environment at tertiary institutions.

This change brought about by external, mostly political influences, challenge the Consulate to revise it's goals for Afslaan on a very short term basis. This short term revision keeps the vision of an immortal Afslaan culture alive in all current and previous house members.

The Rex (better known as the Primarius) is the Chairperson and is responsible for all activities in the residence. He, together with the second in charge, known as the Princeps (Vice-Primarius) or Vice-Chairperson, the treasurer and the secretary form part of the executive committee of the consulate. The rest of the consulate consists of 5 additional consuls (members) which in total forms the consulate consisting of 9 members.

The consulate is responsible for all orientation activities regarding the first years. This involves the strict implementation of the orientation program as approved by the dean of students. Together with the Mentor-senate (guardians), the consulate ensures optimal individual achievement by the first years.

Each Consul is also in charge of specific activities involving all Afslaan house members. Some of these activities, require intense organization and therefore a senate, consisting of voluntary house members, is chosen to assist the Consul in the task.

The main objective of all the house senates is to create an environment of camaraderie, where friends encourage each other to achieve success in all fields, individually or as a team!

A number of portfolios are assigned to each member of the consulate to organize and complete in his term. Some of these portfolios are done through the senate structures as explained earlier.

Mentors

When the Greek warrior Odysseus went of to fight in the Trojan War, he left his young son, Telemachus, in the care of a trusted guardian named Mentor. The siege of Troy lasted ten years, and it took Odysseus another ten years to make his way home. When he arrived, he found that the boy Telemachus had grown into a man - thanks to Mentor's wise tutelage.

Afslaan has a unique system called Mentors (Roman for guardians). A Mentor in Afslaan is like a "big brother". The job of a Mentor is to ensure that all first years fit in at Afslaan. In other words, it is their duty to ensure that each first year develops academically, emotionally and most of all socially. Their doors are always open, their listening abilities are of the highest standards and they are always there for advice, opinions and empathy.

Leonard Pitts refers to "the unforgiving wilderness that stretches from boys to men". Afslaan's Mentors believe that this wilderness can seldom be handled alone. For the Plebeians, there is a Mentor team working in a pro-active, practical way to help reach the highest goals together, not only in achievements, but also in person.

House Parents

The House Parents are generally a family that oversee the overall administration of the residence. They represent the residence at a higher institutional level and serve as a communication link between the house members and the University.

Contact Information

If for any reason you wish to contact them, do so by any of the following means:

Tel: 27(011) 489-2516</br>
Fax: 27(011) 489-2516</br>

E-mail: afslaan@webmail.co.za

Mail:</br>
The House Committee</br>
Afslaan Men's Residence</br>
P.O. Box 524</br>
Aucklandpark</br>
2006</br>
South Africa</br>

External Links

Afslaan Men's Residence Homepage

University of Johannesburg