Vetnuus | October 2024 31 OP Res Traditions An old tradition was to hang on the second floor gutters and try to make your way around Old Res. It was banned because the gutters were bending…nevermind the two-story drop. OP’s first drinking club, Club 21, started in 1977. Bull’s Horn is where they hold their meetings and keep their archives. The wall has a list of the members of the club as well as each year’s Arthur (the chairperson of the club). We would love to tell you more, but what happens in Club 21 stays in Club 21 and its little black book. Miss OP started in the 80s and ended in the 2000s. Those who got to witness it know that seeing the guys parading up and down dressed up as girls ensured a night full of laughter and fun. Ysbokjol is now known as OP On Ice and is a tradition still going strong. It used to take place at the Kolonnade ice rink but has since moved to The Grove. This consists of vet students racing around on the ice in greens and gumboots...what could possibly go wrong? (except of course the yearly injuries and hospital visits). Nevertheless, a couple of hours of music, games, shopping trolleys and sliding around always proves to be a treat. Many traditions started in the 90s and ended in the early 2000s, including the Mafia Evening, Minators Drinking Club, Taverns of the World, Foam Party, and the Braai Competition (the latter being an excuse to braai the most revolting food as the lecturers were obligated to taste it all to choose a winner). With the only drinking club at OP being solely for boys, the girls decided to make their own group in 1993. They were nicknamed Fan Club by the boys and their logo at the time was an upsidedown club as an ode to Club 21. They quickly became known as Club 12 but it wasn’t long until they chose their current name, Catz, a haven for all the “animal loving, wine drinking, jol going” girls of Onderstepoort. They now have meetings in Koei se Gat where the names of cats, Queen Cats (chairperson of the group) and Funnel Masters are written over the walls. The ‘Catz shanty’ goes as follows: In 1996, the 100s Club was started by the Arthur of Club 21 at the time. The challenge was a part of the welcoming week and involved drinking 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes. This is still hosted annually by Club 21 and Catz with some new rules along the way. However, anyone can join in on the fun and see how far they get. A New Era The start of the new century brought the start of many new traditions: Pot en Pons (now called FITS (Fun In The Sun)), Wine Tasting, Barn Dance, 10-in-1, Rainbow Party, Kinky Pinky Tightey Whitey, and the second year vet students started being called NoVs and later NewVs. As with most of the events on the OP calendar, their start is somewhat of a mystery, but we would love to learn more if you know some of the stories! Serrie started in 2004, the annual showcase where the residences, houses and faculties battled it out to find the ultimate winner based on their singing, dancing, band, and story. This highly anticipated competition is now known as Step It Up. Alcatraz, a girl’s corridor that named itself after the famous prison, started in 2005. Their members are nicknamed ‘inmates’ and the chairperson their ‘warden’. It used to include the entire B block but was later limited to the B2 corridor (Alcatraz’s main corridor), B2 extension (AKA Dithering) and the first two rooms of C2 (AKA isolation cells). Alcatraz has since expanded to include ladies throughout our residence, with their ‘cells’ now indicated with a mugshot on the door. When ‘Poison’ by Alice Cooper is played, you can be sure that all the inmates will be singing along to their anthem. Some of the yearly traditions include the conjugal visits from the NewV boys (their cheeky way of meeting the new arrivals), games evenings, pool days, movie nights, cocktail competitions, sip and paints, pool competitions, yoga sessions, karaoke evenings, bowls days, bull riding nights and their informal events. Helshoogte started in Block C3 in 2007. A group of girls decided that they wanted to attend Res events and enjoy activities such as Ginbledon vs Old Res, camp weekends, karaoke nights, baking competitions, pool days, NewV ‘ken mekaar’, and an Annual Dinee. At the Dinee the new Hels Angels (the two new ladies in charge) get announced. In the C3 corridor, there is a HelsHOOGTE and HelsLAAGTE area where the highs and the lows of the Helsies are captured with photos on the walls. The corridor is always decorated and made to feel like a home away from home. Most Helshoogte festivities start with some crackling and candy floss. Their other traditions include the Helshoogte jacket, blue lips and the Helshoogte whistle. The Naked Calendar started as a fundraising initiative in 2007. What better way to raise money for charity than vets posing in gumboots…and nothing else? Every year, the residents of OP Village gather together to take a ‘family photo’ in front of the Old Res building. It was in the late 2000s that the tradition of throwing water balloons at everyone during the house photo started, and still continues today. Corridor Crawl is an annual tradition that started in 2009 when the HC at the time wanted to build up some ‘gees’ for OP Village. Each corridor has the opportunity to compete based on its theme, decorations, music, general vibe and of course punch. This year, even the house parents joined in on the fun! We were blown away by their décor and their punch was easily voted the winner of the evening. What was once G block is now referred to as Easy Company, established in 2009. With corridor crawl came the need for a corridor name. The boys got their name from the World War II series ‘Band of Brothers’ that they were watching at the time. They enjoyed, and often still enjoy, the simple things in life: playing pranks, lawning the NewV corridor, dismantling entire bathrooms, stealing corridor mascots, photobombing the house photo by putting their banner on the roof of Old Res, playing paintball against Old Res, shooting condom water balloons at the NewV girls during the Girl’s Rugby, watching movies projected onto the side of Kampala, and serenading Alcatraz on Valentine’s day. They also started the Fruit and Veg social night with the veterinary nursing students in protest of Old Res’s ‘meat market’. The head of the corridor is called the General and their common room is referred to as ‘My Pants’. >>> 32 OP Village Traditions <<<30 Two pints of beer, a fine and that’s your bloody lot Heading down to Koei se Gat to take another shot So putting on our painted pinks, We’ll go out for some more Cause a Catz girl’s just a Catz girl if she’s passed out on the floor
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