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This story about Julius Malema’s first visit to Rhodes campus caused quite a stir. People thought it was a rumour at first but then as soon as posters were put up confirming the arrival of the ANC Youth League leader, people started to believe.
There were concerns that the event would be too big for Rhodes Campus Security and Grahamstown police to handle, with many saying that it could turn into a rally, with COPE and ANC supporteres clashing. The event was scheduled to be held at the Rhodes General Lecture Theatre which proved to be an unwise choice as it was too small to host the number of people that were expected to come. Students and lecturers alike were left stranded outside the venue as the GLT was filled to capacity. As journalist, we also found it difficult to get inside with security being very stringent on the amount of people allowed into the venue. We eventually did get inside because we pitched up quiet early and decided to set up our camera befoe the evnet had got under way.
Filming inside the actual venue was a diffucult process. We knew the venue would be packed with people: students, lecturers, journalists of all the kinds. There was hardly a clear space to even set up our tripod to get the visulas we wanted for the story. There was a constant movement of people up and down the aisles and people dancing everywhere, that getting good, quality visuals became quite tricky. The great thing though about a small venue with many people is the feeling of being close to the action. You are able to concentrate on indivulas as well as the group with ease. There was hardly a person we were unable to talk to. Everyone was accessible.
The man of the hour however, the one everyone had come to see, was a no-show. There were rumours swirling around that he had done this before on other campuses. There would be advertisements plugging his arrival, only for him not to show up. This had happened at UCT and UKZN, and many students were not surprised that he did not pitch. The fact that he did not come then became the story angle. It was just as juicy a story as one had he pitched. the various parties that were bringing various excuses as too why he was not there also proved interesting, with Rhodes admin and the ANC having a go at each other about him not arriving.
The final story proved to dfficult to edit as various subplots within the story could have been further expolored: the protest by the GAP members, the young dance group that encouraged people to vote for the ANC, the talk given by Young Commiunist League General Secretary, Bhuti Manamela, the small venue which left many disappointed people still waiting outside… I could go on. But ultimately the focus was on the non-arrival of Malema which proved to be the big selling point.