“SPOOF” 2006
The NRF/DST Centres of Excellence are tasked with arranging functions and activities to build up team spirit within the group. FABI is comprised of students and staff from different
faculties and has already built up a very strong team building culture through various social functions held during the course of the year. Over the past two years the CTHB at FABI, while
maintaining its strong identity, has merged and integrated very easily into the culture and spirit of other teams in FABI.
“SPOOF” – the Society for the Presentation of Outrageous Findings” - is one such team building activity, which has been in operation at FABI for eight years. It is dedicated to the proposition that no research is too trivial, mundane, useless, misguided, asinine or insane to deserve form for intellectual discourse. In that spirit, reports of original or partly original research, real or fabricated, from any discipline or from those totally disciplined are invited.
In 2005 the CTHB team, made up of students, administrative and technical staff, put on an item entitled “A new approach to determine the mysterious death of the baobab trees in Africa” at the SPOOF evening and won prizes for the best team presentation and for the best-costumed group.
This year the rowdy, raucous get-together of the Annual Meeting of SPOOF took place at FABI on the evening of 30 June and the theme chosen was “Pirates”. Members of the CTHB team took part in two of the five presentations. The title of the presentation of the group working under Dr Gert Marais, core team member of the CTHB, was “Crucibulum eggantus: The quest for gold”. Three of the five members of the group are students supported through the CTHB. The parrot, Pritty Boy, was ably played by Francois van der Walt, Ariska van der Nest played the part of “Parrot-Got-Me-Eye”: Alena and Aisha Mahomed Ali played Madam Adelpha. After great machinations to the hilarity of the audience, the conclusion was that gold can be extracted from Crucibulum eggantus.
Bongani Maseko, a PhD student supported through the CTHB, continued his 2005 role of Dr Fugani Fungarium and again had the audience in stitches with his Journal of Sucker Theory about the “so-called light sources being really dark suckers and that light is nothing more than the absence of darkness”.
The social club committee made a wonderful job of decorating the auditorium and the FABI courtyard in keeping with the “pirates” theme. The sheep braai and party after the presentations was enjoyed by everyone. Even our CTHB mentorship students who attended the SPOOF evening have been enthused to take part in future SPOOF evenings when they are honours and/or post-graduate students.
One of the new CTHB supported MSc students, Vuledzani Muthelo, who studied previously at the University of Venda, said that she had felt rather lost and lonely at UP before taking part in the Kwalata Team Building day on 23 June and the SPOOF evening on 30 June. She now feels that she has really become part of the CTHB/TPCP team and is a very happy FABIan.
The “performance” by CTHB team members assisted by others from FABI, was fun and certainly added to a growth in team spirit – fortunately no-one was forced to “walk the plank” by Captain Cook!. Having set a precedent in 2005, and continuing again in 2006, the CTHB team will have to keep the CTHB flag flying at SPOOF evenings in future.
The winners of the best-dressed prizes – Derian Echeverri and Draginja Pavlik
“SPOOF” – the Society for the Presentation of Outrageous Findings” - is one such team building activity, which has been in operation at FABI for eight years. It is dedicated to the proposition that no research is too trivial, mundane, useless, misguided, asinine or insane to deserve form for intellectual discourse. In that spirit, reports of original or partly original research, real or fabricated, from any discipline or from those totally disciplined are invited.
In 2005 the CTHB team, made up of students, administrative and technical staff, put on an item entitled “A new approach to determine the mysterious death of the baobab trees in Africa” at the SPOOF evening and won prizes for the best team presentation and for the best-costumed group.
This year the rowdy, raucous get-together of the Annual Meeting of SPOOF took place at FABI on the evening of 30 June and the theme chosen was “Pirates”. Members of the CTHB team took part in two of the five presentations. The title of the presentation of the group working under Dr Gert Marais, core team member of the CTHB, was “Crucibulum eggantus: The quest for gold”. Three of the five members of the group are students supported through the CTHB. The parrot, Pritty Boy, was ably played by Francois van der Walt, Ariska van der Nest played the part of “Parrot-Got-Me-Eye”: Alena and Aisha Mahomed Ali played Madam Adelpha. After great machinations to the hilarity of the audience, the conclusion was that gold can be extracted from Crucibulum eggantus.
Bongani Maseko, a PhD student supported through the CTHB, continued his 2005 role of Dr Fugani Fungarium and again had the audience in stitches with his Journal of Sucker Theory about the “so-called light sources being really dark suckers and that light is nothing more than the absence of darkness”.
The social club committee made a wonderful job of decorating the auditorium and the FABI courtyard in keeping with the “pirates” theme. The sheep braai and party after the presentations was enjoyed by everyone. Even our CTHB mentorship students who attended the SPOOF evening have been enthused to take part in future SPOOF evenings when they are honours and/or post-graduate students.
One of the new CTHB supported MSc students, Vuledzani Muthelo, who studied previously at the University of Venda, said that she had felt rather lost and lonely at UP before taking part in the Kwalata Team Building day on 23 June and the SPOOF evening on 30 June. She now feels that she has really become part of the CTHB/TPCP team and is a very happy FABIan.
The “performance” by CTHB team members assisted by others from FABI, was fun and certainly added to a growth in team spirit – fortunately no-one was forced to “walk the plank” by Captain Cook!. Having set a precedent in 2005, and continuing again in 2006, the CTHB team will have to keep the CTHB flag flying at SPOOF evenings in future.
Group of FABIAN pirates at SPOOF
Warming up at SPOOF
The winners of the best-dressed prizes – Derian Echeverri and Draginja Pavlik
A party scene in the FABI courtyard
