Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) will join forces with the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) to raise awareness of the dangers of substance abuse through a face-to-face dialogue with students. The dialogue will take place on Monday, 10 October 2022, at MUT’s Dining Hall from 10h00 – 13h00.
The event is organised by the Student Counselling unit at MUT as part of the unit’s student wellness programme.
“Substance abuse is a serious dilemma that we are facing as a society,” said Lindiwe Chamane, a Student Counsellor at MUT. “We want to raise awareness on the dangers and dynamics of substance abuse.”
Chamane explained that one of the contributing factors to substance abuse was peer pressure, where students adopt the mentality that “if everybody does it, just do it”.
Chamane added that the plan was to have a heart-to-heart conversation with students about substance abuse, to allow students the opportunity to reflect on what drives individuals to use substances and their dangers.
This is not the first time that MUT identified the need to tackle substance abuse. Earlier this year, the university hosted a public lecture on the evolution of substances and their intersection with issues of employment.