During the month of December, the three main gates of the campuses of the North-West University (NWU) in Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark will be illuminated in purple as a symbolic gesture of perseverance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lighting will start on Wednesday, 1 December for the duration of the month. Since the introduction of purple as the NWU’s official colour in 2018, the colour has become a sign of excellence and unity for every staff member, student and stakeholder who enter any of the NWU’s campuses.

The NWU also illuminated its main gates last year in remembrance of the sacrifices that were made and challenges that were overcome, and the resilience and excellence displayed in the various challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year it is especially poignant when we take into account the lives of students, staff and stakeholders lost due to the pandemic as South Africa braces itself for the fourth wave of the pandemic. The discovery of the Omicron variant and the uncertainties associated with it are further cause for concern.

Despite the challenges, the illumination of the gates mainly carries a message of hope, not only in the light of new developments in science in the battle against Covid-19, but also the role the NWU and its staff and students have played in promoting the message of the importance of vaccination and as outreach vaccination sites where thousands have received their vaccinations.  

The illumination also celebrates the NWU’s ability to adapt and thrive during the extraordinary times of the pandemic. It pays homage to the university’s resilience in taking up the challenge, discovering new opportunities to learn and creating support systems.

Prof Alida Herbst of the School of Psychosocial Health initiated the illumination of the main gates in purple in 2020 as a symbolic gesture to demonstrate the NWU’s ethic of care and to acknowledge losses and express grief amid the pandemic.

She says the purple illumination also emphasises hope and care as contained in the meaning of the colour purple, which includes nobility, power, ambition, creativity, wisdom, dignity, devotion and pride.

As of 1 December, when you pass the main gates of any of the three campuses of the NWU in Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark, remember to pause and reflect not only on the impact of the pandemic but also on the hope associated with overcoming its challenges.