File this story under “Evil: Thwarted”

[PLEASE NOTE 2OCEANSVIBE IS THE ONLY PUBLICATION TO HAVE TRANSLATED THE AFRIKAANS ORIGINAL]

Sometimes a headline makes you literally stop walking and do a double take in the middle of the pavement, and this morning’s new edition of Die Matie, the student newspaper of Stellenbosch University, carried just such a headline.

Before we get into it. Play this video, and while the ambience chills your soul, read on…

According to today’s edition of Die Matie, Stellenbosch University’s Management and Communications division were alerted of an incident that occurred about two weeks ago in the Dagbreek mens’ residence when a first year student had some form of psychotic breakdown, and instead of being rushed to hospital, was apparently treated to a group exorcism led by the residence’s spiritual head student.

According to Die Matie, the events proceeded as follows.

At about 15h00 on 24 April, the first year student (not named by the paper) went to see the residence’s head student, Pieter Nel, because he had heard he was about to lose his bursary on academic grounds. He also allegedly told the head student that he wanted to change course.

Later, he let other students in the res know that he was going out to see his girlfriend (despite being known to be single), and he was apparently seen walking naked through the res, on his way to the entrance. He did not respond to efforts to stop him until the head student for spiritual affairs on the residence head committee (ah, res bureaucracy…) allegedly ordered him to return in Tswana. He was taken to the head student’s room where they attempted to calm him down for a couple of hours, while he apparently struggled and swore at the student’s trying to help him.

At this stage, the spiritual affairs guy apparently assembled a group of similarly spiritual students in the room where allegedly, according the Die Matie, “they tried to drive the evil spirits” out of the student, “with prayer”.

Note, at no point up until then was any professional assistance called in, not the University Protection Services, nor the campus’ trauma and counselling unit, both of which stand ready to assist in such circumstances.

After the mock “exorcism” the student was apparently returned to his room, where he later started acting out again, hitting the walls and breaking a window. Finally, records the paper, at 23h00 that evening, six hours after the student first approached the Head Student, the Campus protection services and trauma and counselling unit at the Centre for Student Counselling and Development were alerted. The student was subsequently hospitalised in Stellenbosch and given treatment.

The University made it known that it has been in contact with everyone involved in the incident, including the student and his parents, and wish him a speedy recovery. Sources in the residence, who wished to remain anonymous, told Die Matie that they were shocked at the way the incident was handled, and also by the length of time it took for someone to reach out for the professional help the campus has at the ready.

Dagbreek’s Head Student refused to release further details of the incident, other than to say an investigation into the events of 24 April was underway. The residence made headlines earlier this year when another student on the Head Committee of the residence told a group of first years that he “did not agree with homosexuality,” during an orientation session.

Dagbreek is the largest only mens’ residence on Stellenbosch Campus

[Source: Die Matie – 9 May 2012, Myproperty.co.za, Stellenbosch University]