August 20, 2015

DUB News

SFI conducts referendum on CBCS, more than 90% vote ‘No’

By Sidharth Yadav August 20, 2015

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI), CPI (M)’s student wing, conducted a referendum last week on the widely debated Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) which was implemented at the undergraduate level this year by the Delhi University. The referendum was conducted through polling stations at 12 major colleges of the varsity. These included Kirori Mal College, Hindu College, Shri Ram College of Commerce, SGTB Khalsa College, Miranda House, Laxmi Bai College, Satyawati College, Satyawati College (Evening), Zakir Hussain College, Zakir Hussain College (Evening), Motilal Nehru College, Ram Lal Anand College, Aryabhatta College, Dyal Singh College, Dyal Singh College (Evening), Aurobindo College and Aurobindo College (Evening).

The students voted in considerable numbers at all the centres leaving the final vote count at 12,769. Out of the number of votes casted, 11,734 voted against the system by selecting the ‘No’ option on the ballot papers while 1,016 voted for it. 19 votes were deemed invalid. The counting was done on Wednesday evening outside the Arts Faculty by a three member teacher panel. 91.89% of the votes were against the system.

SFI, which claims to be constantly battling for a fair higher education system in the country, faced resistance from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in various colleges as the former was eventually garnering a lot of support during the lead up to the referendum. The Federation now plans to do a nationwide referendum on the nature of higher education in the country and accordingly report the results to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Image credits: SFI

Sidharth Yadav

DUB News

Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences protests for a union

By DU Beat August 20, 2015

Like a last scintillation emerging from the massive political blackout surrounding the students of Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, the 12th August strike was yet another ‘student-demonstration’ striving for constitution of a Students’ Union. The protest by 500 students was unruffled, until lathi charge dispersed them. The principal lodged an FIR with respect to vandalism which the students purported false as they were 20 meters away from the college gate. The protestors counterclaimed that they had already taken permission from the DCP to protest for their rights as long as it was a ‘peaceful demonstration’ and they had no idea what made their confidence ebb that they arrested their leader.

Notwithstanding the unanimous filing of memorandum and college ID cards of 300 students, for this proposal to be passed, the principal indignantly declared that all the ‘co-conspirators’ will be awarded a zero in their internal assessments for degrading the esteem values of a science college in pursuit of political activism and furthermore precluded them from college placements as well.

“Two years ago, a referendum was demanded for establishment of a representative body of students but the authorities tackled it deftly by imposing a 75% criteria (which originally had been 67%) and subsequently intimidated the Food Technology department from casting their votes,” said a student. The administration had approved the union in the following year but on being questioned, the principal raised his hand as if to swat the conversation away.

“We tried seeking help from ABVP, NSUI and CYSS but they all seem engaged in pre-election campaigning and had no time for an issue so trivial. We will fight for our right to form the union which shall be accountable to the common mass and give all the students the right to choose their leader, unlike faculty nominations,” said Ashu Bidhuri, leader of the Students’ Reform Group. In spite of objection from students, the college authorities decided to hold a Students’ Advisory Meeting to discuss the dispute further.

Featured Image Credits: Ravi Pratap Dubey

Tamanna Goel

DUB Speak

Reasons why you don’t need an internship this Summer

By Surbhi Arora August 20, 2015

Having completed an entire month in office, if I were given a choice again, chances are I might never choose to do an internship at all. In hindsight, whilst doing an internship is sometimes enriching and enlightening, not doing an internship also has its merits. Yes, internships are a part of your college experience, but not doing one doesn’t mean you haven’t lived your college life well. Yes, doing an internship is a good way of having a productive summer, but not having one is not the end of the world. So, here we are bursting the bubble, and breaking the myths.

Internships are overhyped

Contrary to popular belief, not getting an internship is NOT the end of your career. If you haven’t applied for an internship at some big ass corporate house, you will not end up living in your parent’s house forever. There are a bunch of other ways to kickstart your career. I am, in no manner implying that internships are completely futile. But they are not the only avenue for you to build your resumes or pick up skills and learnings. Don’t just do what everyone else is doing. If you utilise your summer well, you can work on defining your personal brand effectively too!
Internships won’t solve the perpetual existential crisis

There are other, far simpler ways to discover your potential and work on your skills. You could translate a new interest into a hobby, or take up some projects to hone your existing skills. You can enrol in an online course, or take up some research work based on your educational background.So stop panicking, or wallowing in jealousy. Just breathe.
Internships might be a costly affair

Keeping aside the fact that most of the internships available are unpaid, most paid internships too are a farce and often a trap. In case of unpaid internships, you need to finance your commute, eating expenses, inter alia. In case of paid internships, while the stipend will only barely cover your travel and lunch expenses, it might not necessarily bring life back to your wallet. And then there are internships for which students have to pay to intern with a company. Now that is another issue altogether.Hence, it becomes extremely difficult for an outstation student, particularly, to do an internship. If however, you do decide to take one up, be mindful of the return on your investment.
It gets tiring

With 12 hour days everyday, I am not just I’ll-take-a-nap-and-be-okay-in-the-morning tired, I am more like I-need-to-sleep-for-an-entire-month tired. How I wish to sneak away each weekend to recharge my batteries. Overtime, what I have realised is that I would have liked travelling uninterrupted for an entire month more than spending most of my days in office. Taking care of those pangs of wanderlust is a whole lot easier during the break than during college days. Plus, when you travel you’ll always have a cooler story to tell later on!

College offers an interesting proposition of permutations and combinations of fun and learning, and sometimes you really ought to choose well. My internship has taught me a lot of things, of which the most important lesson is: If I hadn’t taken this internship; I would have been just fine.

Image Credits: giphy.com

Surbhi Arora

QWERTY

QWERTY: SOCI’ASM, THE APP THAT MAKES YOUR PHONE LIGHTER

By DU Beat August 20, 2015

Have you ever ended up purchasing an overpriced application from the mobile store, an application which is good for nothing? It turns out to be heavy; consumes a lot of memory; space and crashes while making your cell phone practically unusable.

Social applications are really heavy and consume a lot of battery. This is where our app of the week, Soci’asm, comes into play. This application is a life saver for those who are very active socially and always run out of battery just because of heavy usage. Also, it does not put any load over the cell phone. Soci’asm is an android based application which integrates three major social platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This integration is really fast and reduces the pain of downloading three different applications which ultimately saves a lot of space on the cellphone. This results in making the phone much faster. Soci’asm is easy on the battery life of the cell phone. It’s really light and updates content under different tabs with a simple thumb swipe.

The user interface of the application is also really simple and friendly. The app combines different social platforms in one window under three different tabs which are easy to access. We reviewed it by using the app on a Samsung E-7 and it worked without any crashes or lags. The app had no issues while multitasking. Soci’asm is very small in size as well (under 2 megabytes).

Final Verdict: Soci’asm is light, fast, and saves battery and memory. What else does a smartphone user need? The app is available for free on the Google Play Store and an iOS version will be rolled out soon.

Sahil Siddiqui

DUB Speak

Reasons to get off the couch this Summer!

By Surbhi Arora August 20, 2015

In between the season finale of Game of Thrones and the return of Suits, a major chunk of our summer break has gone by. While we all started the break binge watching our favourite shows, some of us went ahead and started drafting a plan for our career. Some started to complete their bucket list of summer plans they made during exams. And then there are some who are still hiding behind their laptops, parked in front of their TV, doing absolutely nothing. If you belong to this category of people, jolt your bones awake!

Here are 5 reasons to get off your beloved couch this summer!

No one likes a couch potato, not even themselves

Waking up around noon and taking a nap right afterwards seemed fun in school. In college, it’s not quite so. Summer break is a perfect opportunity for you to introspect and hone your talents or discover new possibilities altogether. It’s the time to be proactive and enthusiastic about the future without the hustle and bustle of college life. If you want to have a stalker-worthy Instagram feed, do something other than napping and watching TV. A little of this introspection and hard work, will go a long long way.

Get a Summer Job/Internship

In between the internet bills, college tuition, lunch money and other innumerable expenses of a college student, there is hardly any money left to do anything else. Taking up a summer job or an internship could possibly bring your wallet back to life. To top it all, these internships will also add some colour to your resumes.

Hit the gym!

Use the calm time of the break to lose that “examination weight” already. Hit the gym or do some yoga, do something! Go for a walk,get together with a bicyclist group,enrol in a swimming class or join a sports team.

Here are some tips to get you started!

Travel is non-fattening and flying helps the economy

If you are fortunate enough to vacation in luxury hotels and resorts, then I might strongly dislike you, stalk your Facebook feed and wallow in jealousy almost all the time. If you ever get an opportunity to discover a new place, seize it! Start with discovering your own city, or travel a brand new place. Travelling is multidimensional, exploration is educational. It moulds your life in a way that you envision things with a clearer mind, and it helps you understand your own self better. Plus, you’ll always have a cool story to share about your adventures and escapades later on. If you wish to discover Delhi, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Turn a new interest into a hobby

If there’s a certain thing you like to do, follow it up religiously. If you love to read as well, you could start a blog and connect with other bookworms. If you wish to volunteer with your local organizations, you can do it now without the daily interruption of college. If you love to draw, you could build up an entire portfolio of sketches ready before college! Here are some projects to help you get started.

Here’s to a more productive summer, whatever is left of that anyway. Cheers!

Image Credits: giphy.com

Surbhi Arora

DUB Speak

LinkedIn: Your link to career growth

By Surbhi Arora August 20, 2015

The dynamics of landing your dream job have changed drastically. Earlier, to land that perfect job, you were only required to show up for an interview with a printed resume. But now, even bagging that interview has become highly competitive. In an increasingly difficult job market, any edge you have over your peers, technical or otherwise, will help you distinguish yourself from the rest. Companies are always looking for employees who are willing to take an extra step, a tad bit more initiative than their peers. And in a highly advanced job market like this, a thorough research about the company and their job profile is imperative. LinkedIn provides the perfect platform encouraging its users to strategically network.

Apart from connecting a user to potential employers, LinkedIn is the leading provider of various services. From University finder to job openings, this social media platform offers a lot of services to engage its users effectively. Plus, it helps a user establish their personal brand. With innumerable advantages as these, I am surprised LinkedIn still goes unnoticed. LinkedIn is truly your link to career growth and advancement. Here’s why:

LinkedIn is your online resume

An effective LinkedIn profile is a preferred means of shortlisting candidates over going through tons of hardcopies of resumes. You can continue updating your profile as and when you acquire a new experience/skill and a potential employer can learn about it in real time. Any interview you give, chances are the companies will surf through your social media presence before delivering the final verdict. A profile on LinkedIn, if correctly edited, can help you get past those glassdoors.
LinkedIn helps you connect with people with similar career trajectories

with a plethora of career choices to choose from, a little help from an experienced professional can go a long way. With Directors, Partners and Managers of huge companies on LinkedIn, a user has a chance to directly contact the employees of a particular company. You can also constantly update your “Interests” column and meet like-minded people and exchange your view points with them. With a similar user interface as Facebook, LinkedIn is also easy to use and understand. And you can connect and network with important people easily. LinkedIn is slowly, but surely, becoming an effective platform to build mentor relations with professionals. If that’s not incentive enough to create a profile on LinkedIn, I don’t know what is.

In addition, you can also learn of job vacancies and volunteer opportunities before most people do if you keep in touch with your network. Interested employers also contact you regarding job offers, hence increasing the multitude of job opportunities for you.
You can shortlist Universities and create personal websites for free
There’s no denying the fact that a positive social media presence not only helps increase your visibility, but it also helps you connect with your employers directly, before and after the job experience. Many people opt for jazzy, personalised websites for themselves, but chances are these might just cost a lot. LinkedIn provides its users the platform to create user-friendly, free of cost branded.me websites by converting the user’s profile into a customised website in a span of two minutes.

As per their database, LinkedIn also helps a user to shortlist universities and colleges for further studies based on the company they want to work for and the location the user would prefer, hence helping a them make the right career choice.
LinkedIn is the ultimate platform to stay connected and network with people

Companies are always looking for employees who are self-starters and people who are motivated and enthusiastic. Exactly the kind of skills you can list in the “Skills” section of your profile. From Microsoft excel to Financial forecasting, you can list whatever experience you have and explain how you applied an existing skill in a professional environment. A user can list ‘Projects’ that they undertook in college or in a job as well. I know it seems frivolous at times, but it is essentially important to convince a potential employer of your worth. And LinkedIn is a far simpler way in order to do just that.

LinkedIn is an effective way to advance your career not only because you can connect to thought leaders, think tanks, corporates and professionals and seek professional help whenever required but also because it gives you the freedom to build your personal brand. And it helps you leverage and capitalise on this personal brand and move towards the right career path. You can aid your peers, endorse them and ask for recommendations in real time. You never know who might stumble around your profile. If you haven’t updates it in a while, you should definitely go do it. And if you don’t have a profile yet, what’s the hold up?

Image credits: www.colby.edu

Surbhi Arora

Features

St. Stephen’s College joins hands with Teach for India for Project Vidyajyoti

By Arindam Goswami August 20, 2015

The Social Service League (SSL), St. Stephen’s College, is all set to flag off Project Vidyajyoti- an annual initiative which involves student volunteers from the college teaching children of a basti in GTB Nagar after college hours. But this year the volunteers, prior to their interaction with the children, are being trained and moulded into great teachers at the expert hands of Teach for India Fellows.

Benoy Stephen, a volunteer with the SSL, who was instrumental in bringing Teach for India to St. Stephen’s, says, “Through Project Vidyajyoti, we hope to help a child, not just academically, but also to become a good human being. We realised we needed professional help in structuring our sessions and improving the quality of the programme. Who better than Teach for India to turn to?”

With a meticulously structured teaching module, the training session ensures that the volunteers are prepared. Spread over two days, the session is divided into two sections- culture and content, each for a period of two hours. The training includes everything from how to teach the children elementary Math and English to how to keep them motivated and confident. “It was a highly interactive and wholesome session,” says Nayantara, one of the volunteers who participated in the training. “We were told how to interact with the children on every level. The realisation that elements like body language and rewards are also key factors struck home.”

Setting down rules and compromising on some of them and ensuring that the children do not feel humiliated or excluded, were just some of the key points that Vani Valson, one of the Teach for India Fellows who conducted the training, focussed on. “Since we have hands on experience, we can give the volunteers an idea about the problems and challenges they are likely to face,” she says.

Here’s hoping that Project Vidyajyoti is a great success!

The Teach For India Fellowship Program is a 2 year full-time salaried commitment in which the most promising graduates and professionals are placed as full-time teachers in under-resourced and low-income schools.

Applications for the 2016 Fellowship Program are now open at apply.teachforindia.org. The deadline for applications is 11.59 PM, August 25th. To learn more about the Fellowship Program, go to www.teachforindia.org.

Abhinaya Harigovind

DUB Speak

Porn ban in India: Moral policing at its worst

By Tarushi Varma August 20, 2015

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know what #PornBan is. Although the ban has been partially lifted to block sites with child pornographic content only, it is a poor attempt to cover the main motive of the Modi government.

It is common knowledge that the standard book on human sexual behaviour, the Kama Sutra, came from India, countless sculptures at the Khajuraho temples celebrate sex as a sacred deed, and depict homosexuality. It is then nothing but ironical that the only argument our MPs gave is that “pornography is against the Indian culture.” Should we ban a World Heritage site, ancient scriptures and books, shun our rationale in favour of this baseless argument?

A ban on porn is a direct attempt to control the rights of individuals. The Chief Justice of India has been quoted as saying that it is a direct violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, the Right to Life. Being an adult, one should have the right to his/her body and privacy. In today’s world, concepts such as sexual and gender fluidity are becoming acceptable, but such a stance by the Indian government reflects upon the redundant thinking they wish to impose upon all citizens. In India, where the issues domestic violence, recurrent rapes and sexual abuse still persist, imposing a ban on porn seems satirical and trivial. Instead of promoting consent, equality and unbiased thinking, this is further aggravating the taboo and shame around sex in our society.

Porn is not all good, agreed. It does show violence and child pornography in some cases, not to mention the unrealistic depiction of sexual situations, but as adults can we not differentiate right from wrong? Each individual can decide whether to support or oppose porn, we certainly don’t need our government to police even our personal space now.

Image credits: gizmodo.com

Tarushi Varma