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Delhi, now christened as the ‘rape capital’ of the country, witnessed the most horrific rape, even by its own standards, last week. For the public records, this was ‘just another rape’, like the numerous in the past and the numerous to follow. But for the citizens of this city, led by its youth, this was the tipping point. Delhi University students made international headlines when they turned Vijay Chowk into their Tahir Square. Hundreds of students gathered, and egged on by their courage, lakhs of supporters poured into Central Delhi to show their solidarity. DU Beat wants to engage all students of the University to share their opinions, experiences, suggestions etc with the world. For those of us not physically sitting there, let us endeavour to start an online revolution which will jolt the political class into action. Make yourself count towards this movement. Comment here with anything and everything relating to this case in particular as well as the issue at large. Let the world know what the youth of this city thinks. Write in your experiences at Vijay Chowk, your views for the future, past experiences of such incidents, your message for victims and their families, etc. You can also send us photographs clicked by you, illustrations, articles or even poems. Whichever way you wish to express yourself and give a message to everyone.
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The administrative block of JMC is unlike any other found in the university colleges. Located within the corridors of the main JMC building, the administrative block has the look of a well-established private office. As you enter the office you will definitely stop to admire the false ceiling, sophisticated wooden cabinets and the working desks. The room temperature, because of the air conditioning, is so comfortable that it makes you want to stay longer in the office.

The administrative clerical in JMC is definitely a pampered lot and remarkably this is not accompanied by any slack in work. The proceedings are carried out in a very organised and systematic manner. Chaos and long queues are a rare sight. Most often, happy faces can be seen coming out of the office doors. Students remain contended as their work gets done quickly and efficiently. A third year student, Shinny exclaimed, “The staff is very friendly and helpful, and I have always had a good experience while getting my work done.”

The work environment here in JMC is very conducive and healthy. Nevertheless, some students do feel differently and commented, “We admit that our work gets done proficiently, but the clerks have an immense attitude problem, they rebuke us and always bring us down complaining against our casualness”. However, the atmosphere that is very typical of a college administrative office is to a very significant degree absent here. The head clerk sincerely expressed, “It is our duty to ensure the timely completion of accounts and it gives us great satisfaction to resourcefully assist the students”. She further added on by saying, “Our attitude is very straight forward. We tackle different students according to their varied requirements, and we appreciate the fact that everybody’s time is precious”.

It is very evident that JMC’S administration block is a composed place where students and officials voluntarily cooperate and co-exist.

The administrative block of JMC is unlike any other found in the university colleges. Located within the corridors of the main JMC building, the administrative block has the look of a well-established private office. As you enter the office you will definitely stop to admire the false ceiling, sophisticated wooden cabinets and the working desks. The room temperature, because of the air conditioning, is so comfortable that it makes you want to stay longer in the office. The administrative clerical in JMC is definitely a pampered lot and remarkably this is not accompanied by any slack in work. The proceedings are carried out in a very organised and systematic manner. Chaos and long queues are a rare sight. Most often, happy faces can be seen coming out of the office doors. Students remain contended as their work gets done quickly and efficiently. A third year student, Shinny exclaimed, “The staff is very friendly and helpful, and I have always had a good experience while getting my work done.” The work environment here in JMC is very conducive and healthy. Nevertheless, some students do feel differently and commented, “We admit that our work gets done proficiently, but the clerks have an immense attitude problem, they rebuke us and always bring us down complaining against our casualness”. However, the atmosphere that is very typical of a college administrative office is to a very significant degree absent here. The head clerk sincerely expressed, “It is our duty to ensure the timely completion of accounts and it gives us great satisfaction to resourcefully assist the students”. She further added on by saying, “Our attitude is very straight forward. We tackle different students according to their varied requirements, and we appreciate the fact that everybody’s time is precious”. It is very evident that JMC’S administration block is a composed place where students and officials voluntarily cooperate and co-exist.]]>

Taking the concept of innovation further, the Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) at Delhi University, will now be setting up a Design Innovation Centre after receiving approval from the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

This decision was taken to foster creativity and innovative education among undergraduate students while also focusing on research. As of now, the centres are only available to students who have taken up courses at the CIC, like B.Tech in innovation with mathematics & IT and B.Tech in Humanities. Officials hope to expand accessibility of the same to other DU colleges in the future.

The Centre will provide under graduate and post graduate diplomas in Design Innovation as well as facilities for planning and implementation of various projects. It will cover areas such as Electronics, Communication, Urban Infrastructure, Transport and Education, while laying emphasis on concept generation, image development, prototype development and so on. The labs that will be set up under this system include Media and Graphics Lab, Rapid Prototype Lab, Software Lab, Modelling and Simulation Lab, amongst others.

In the era of growth and cutting edge technology, this step is definitely in the right direction to help provide students with a conducive and well equipped environment for innovation and creativity.

Many students and teachers marked their presence outside Gandhi Bhavan in the North Campus on Thursday to put forward their complaints and grievances. Delhi University Vice Chancellor, Dinesh Singh, organised a public meeting in the midst of protests by students and teachers against rejection of 32 applications for special chance and evaluation system.

Grievances of students and teachers were heard by the VC and Singh also promised to resolve attendance-related issues of a batch of students from Dyal Singh College who, after being allowed to write three semester exams, were suddenly detained from writing the fourth due to lack of attendance. He also heard another student who was detained from writing her law exam for lack of attendance due to pregnancy

Later DUSU brought the protest to the door of Gandhi Bhawan. “Vice-Chancellor haihai,” said a group of students holding black flags. After about half-an-hour of negotiations between the students and the Proctor, the Students Union’s office-bearers were allowed inside. Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) President Arun Hooda argued why they were not informed about the durbar and why they needed to fight to get inside and participate in durbar.

The Union also questioned the decision of denial of special chance to students which allows them to take exams they earlier could not during the time of their graduation due to any emergency, in reply to which Mr. Sigh said that special chance placed a tremendous amount of pressure on the exam branch. He also added that  such a provision could be allowed again if the students could give him in writing that they will have no objections to the results of those currently studying in DU being delayed because of special chance. Singh’s team explained that the provision was withdrawn to give “relief to exam branch”. To accommodate re-testing of students who took admission years ago the university has to dig up years-old syllabus, set question papers and then find people to evaluate them accordingly.

Anger burst out after Academic Council’s standing committee rejected all 25 cases of “special chances” which the Delhi High Court earlier this week had recommended to the panel to be “reconsidered”. The Vice Chancellor later assured that the 25 cases were rejected in their present form as the documents were insufficient and will be reconsidered later.

VC called this meeting a bit of success and said that “this is not a one-off public discussion, but will be happening every Thursday whenever I am in the city.” He further added that everybody was welcome and no prior appointment was needed.

However Saikat Ghosh, a DUTA member said, “Having a cup of tea with us will not make everything alright, we will soften our stand only if he is genuinely interested in sensitively addressing our concerns”.

Image source: The Hindu

Sakshi Gupta
[email protected]

Many students and teachers marked their presence outside Gandhi Bhavan in the North Campus on Thursday to put forward their complaints and grievances. Delhi University Vice Chancellor, Dinesh Singh, organised a public meeting in the midst of protests by students and teachers against rejection of 32 applications for special chance and evaluation system. Grievances of students and teachers were heard by the VC and Singh also promised to resolve attendance-related issues of a batch of students from Dyal Singh College who, after being allowed to write three semester exams, were suddenly detained from writing the fourth due to lack of attendance. He also heard another student who was detained from writing her law exam for lack of attendance due to pregnancy Later DUSU brought the protest to the door of Gandhi Bhawan. “Vice-Chancellor haihai,” said a group of students holding black flags. After about half-an-hour of negotiations between the students and the Proctor, the Students Union’s office-bearers were allowed inside. Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) President Arun Hooda argued why they were not informed about the durbar and why they needed to fight to get inside and participate in durbar. The Union also questioned the decision of denial of special chance to students which allows them to take exams they earlier could not during the time of their graduation due to any emergency, in reply to which Mr. Sigh said that special chance placed a tremendous amount of pressure on the exam branch. He also added that  such a provision could be allowed again if the students could give him in writing that they will have no objections to the results of those currently studying in DU being delayed because of special chance. Singh’s team explained that the provision was withdrawn to give “relief to exam branch”. To accommodate re-testing of students who took admission years ago the university has to dig up years-old syllabus, set question papers and then find people to evaluate them accordingly. Anger burst out after Academic Council’s standing committee rejected all 25 cases of “special chances” which the Delhi High Court earlier this week had recommended to the panel to be “reconsidered”. The Vice Chancellor later assured that the 25 cases were rejected in their present form as the documents were insufficient and will be reconsidered later. VC called this meeting a bit of success and said that “this is not a one-off public discussion, but will be happening every Thursday whenever I am in the city.” He further added that everybody was welcome and no prior appointment was needed. However Saikat Ghosh, a DUTA member said, “Having a cup of tea with us will not make everything alright, we will soften our stand only if he is genuinely interested in sensitively addressing our concerns”. Image source: The Hindu Sakshi Gupta [email protected]]]>

The Central placement cell has been one of Delhi universities most successful initiatives. It has been started to bridge the gap between the bright, energetic and aspiring young talent of the University of Delhi and the Industry for meeting their personnel requirement. It is surely a great platform for students of those colleges which don’t have their own placement cell. ”CPC not only helped me to get recruited in a world class bank like Citi bank but also helped me in boosting my confidence and further developing my personality”, exclaims Paras Khanna ,an alumnus of Deshbandhu college.

The main endeavour of CPC is to get students placed in reputed Multinationals, government jobs, NGO’s and the private sector and enable them to reach the top echelons of the society. All registered students with CPC are also entitled to placement assistance, counselling for employment and even self-employment. This year the CPC went online and enabled both students and companies to register online itself. The registration started on29th September and ended on 2nd November.

The placement process mainly comprises of three major steps, the first being the pre placement process where placement presentations and slot allocations would take place, the next major step would be of placements where students would have to go through written tests, group discussions and personal interviews  and this would finally be followed by the job offers and monitoring.

The CPC website also contains the important guidelines and do’s and don’ts for students who are willing to sit for placements. CPC also held workshops to groom the students, brush up their communication and analytical skills.

Delhi University has decided to revoke its decision regarding the issue of students being asked to write their personal details on answer sheets. The decision to include this information had come under fire from both students and teachers. It was finally cancelled following protests by the student community and the threat of an agitation by DUSU.

Authorities admitted that a committee of college principals and officials met on the 29th of October to discuss the issue. Following negative reactions of students, it was agreed to go back to the earlier system wherein only an identification code would be visible on the answer booklet.

Teachers also cheered the annulment, feeling that with the earlier decision, there was scope for discrimination. Said Dr. Rekha Dayal, associate professor, Jesus and Mary College, “I’m very happy that the earlier decision’s been revoked. It would have definitely caused unwanted subjectivity otherwise. “

With this semester, DU has also decided on other reforms with respect to exams. This time, instead of one, three teachers would be evaluating different parts of one single answer sheet. DU feels this would lessen the burden of administrative department as there would be less scope for mistakes. In the earlier system, one teacher checked the answer sheet and two others rechecked it. Due to this reform, rechecking will also be scrapped as authorities feel there would be no mistakes.

With these reforms, DU seeks to redeem itself and at least seem more efficient.

For someone who has had to endure as much as Burmese pro-Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for such an extended period of time, it is no less than fascinating that she still retains a youthful charm, made even more potent accompanied now by an ethereal aura. One would imagine that the unrelenting crackdown on their cause, the innumerable attempts at their life, the taxing period of house arrest and the pain of separation from their loved ones would be adequate to crush anyone’s spirit. But like a phoenix that rises from the ashes, she has risen again, with a renewed vigour towards the realization of her cause for democracy for her people. This was something that was visible to all this morning, at her alma mater, Lady Shri Ram College.

Suu, as she was lovingly called during her college days studying Political Science here, arrived at the college for an emotional ‘homecoming’ just past 9.30 am. Accompanied by Hon’ble Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor and several other dignatories including former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, she was greeted by current students of the college sporting traditional Burmese skirts or longyis, staff as well as her former teachers, as she made her way through a packed college auditorium up the stage for the commencement of her felicitation ceremony. After welcome addresses by the Principal, Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath, the Chairperson Mr. Arun Bharat Ram and Dr. Shashi Tharoor, the Nobel laureate renowned for her intransigent fight for democracy, was honoured by the distinguished panel.

Perhaps the most riveting of the moments was her stirring unrehearsed speech, in which she reached out to ‘her girls’, and all young people at large. She acknowledged the support she always received from the institution, even in times when she had little contact with the outside world and remarked, “… My faith in the oneness of human aspirations is justified.” She further touched upon the “emotional connection” she had with the people of India, and thanked them for their support through trying times. “I feel myself partly a citizen of India”, she said. Addressing young political aspirants, she warned against “unprincipled politics”, urging them to never compromise on their principles if they were to enter the political arena. She concluded by asking for continuing support in the last few steps that Burma had left towards democracy, effectively consolidating all the hearts she had already conquered.

 

Tanya Dua
[email protected] 

On 7th and 8th November, 2012, Gargi College hosted a multidisciplinary conference on the themes of ‘Conflict to Convergence: Building Holistic Perspectives’. The invitees for the inaugural address were Mr. Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development and Professor Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University.

Understanding the need for balanced perspectives that integrate views from all fields of Sciences, Humanities and Commerce especially when one is dealing with complex and vital issues in a conflict-ridden world, the aim of this conference was to build leadership skills among students by making them aware the various elements that need to be analyzed to see an issue in its totality. This includes the techno-science angle, the commercial prospects as well as any humanist concerns.

For this, speakers were invited from varied fields including Prof S.K Saha to speak on the topic of Artificial Intelligence and its Impact. A talk dealing with the ‘Paradoxes of Consumption’ saw speakers such as Mr. Gurcharan Das and Mr. SK Tendon debating out the issue. The sessions in the seminar included engaging discussions on topics such as the ‘Conservation of Heritage’, ‘Ethical Science’ and the ‘Contours of Citizenship’ with panelists including Prof. Patrick Heller, Ms. Anupama Roy, Mr. Biswas Mohan Padhy and Mr. A.G.K. Menon.

Resolving the conflicts between all that is and all that could be is the first step towards progress. The conference sufficiently dealt with that, leaving the audience of the packed auditorium with much food for thought.