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Anoushka Sharma

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Major Water Shortage in JMC

By Muskan Sethi September 22, 2018

Jesus and Mary College (JMC), faces an immense water shortage everyday in terms of drinking water and water in washrooms. DU Beat brings to the extent of the problem and the reasons why.

The students of Jesus and Mary College (JMC), Chanakyapuri have been facing major problems due to the lack of availability of drinking water and water in washrooms. The college, undergoing continuous constructions since the past many years, has two washrooms for girls located on each floor and a water dispenser for drinking water outside those washrooms. However, the washrooms run out of water in a couple of hours in the morning everyday and so do the drinking water dispensers.

“Jesus and Mary college does not have pipelines installed in the college which is why there’s always a water shortage in the college. The entire college has just one tank installed which gets exhausted within very less time,” says a second year student of Jesus and Mary College who wishes to remain anonymous.

“Our college has plenty of water available, except it’s not in the taps but on the floors,” says Ananya Chopra, a second year student of Jesus and Mary College. The washrooms reek of an unbearably strong odour and a dozen sanitary infections caused by the lack of hygiene. The flush installed barely ever works, there is no provision for soaps and the floors are always wet.

The inadequate washroom facilities are matched by the lack of availability of free drinking water. “Since drinking water is not available in our college, we have to go buy a bottle of water every day. Only half the washrooms are generally open and by the afternoon, there is no water available,” says Shiyona Biju, a second year student of B.Com. (Hons.) at Jesus and Mary College.

“Everyday, I am faced with water-less toilet facilities. Juxtapositional to dysfunctional flush, spray and basin systems are the perennial tap-leakages, wet floors and oh-so-wet wash basins; water at unusual spaces, basically. It’s needless to say yet I’ll say that our toilets are unhygienic, smelly, and highly dysfunctional. I’d really like to find out what degree of cash-crunch the college is facing to not be able to employ effective maintenance resources,” says Devanshi Jindal, a second year student of B.Com.(Hons.) at Jesus and Mary College.

DU Beat tried to reach out to the administration for a comment but was unable to get a response. The students of Jesus and Mary College wait with bated breath for some form of structural or tangible change and wonder why the college exposes them to such an inadequacy of basic necessities such as drinking water and hygienic washrooms.

Feature Image Credits: Ranjit John Architects

Muskan Sethi

An Ode to the College Canteen : A Multicoloured Umbrella

By DU Beat September 21, 2018

Hailing it as the ultimate institution of equality and diversity, our correspondents pay their ode to the college canteen.

The University of Delhi (DU) is a world of its own. It is a world inhabited by different people with different interests, from different backgrounds. At the onset, DU might not be the most inviting place and the differences that it accommodates may be starkly visible. The most evident point to this is how different groups mark different territories of the college. However, one safe haven which unites everyone at a DU college is the canteen. Apart from satisfying appetites and being the gossip point, the college canteen is surely an epitome of accepting diversity. There is diversity in the menu and the people, and nobody feels left out. Thepseudo- intellectual girl who might have a hardcore accent and an education from a posh school would be busy getting her fingers messy devouring a buttery aloo parantha and at the same time, the small-town boy from a Hindi- medium background who is trying to master the colonial tongue will also be helping himself to a plate of white sauce pasta with a plastic fork. Out here in the canteen, people are mostly busy enjoying the little things in their college life making it a sort of equality- promoting, no-judging zone.

Anyone and everyone can step in this ‘Demilitarised Zone’, this neutral territory, to order food, socialise or get chutta for a 500 rupee note. The geeks, the freaks, the politically active students, the students who choose None of the Above (NOTA) in elections, the jeans wearers, the kurta wearers, the jeans and kurta wearers, all welcomed by the canteen doors. Some might say the library is a similar institution but with a look at the smiling faces, the colours, and the energy in the canteen and one will realise that the canteen is truly unique. Although students might hardly realise this uniqueness as it has become a part of our everyday lives. Some of the canteens have outdoor tables with umbrellas, while some sport hues of the rainbow. In today’s world, a college canteen can be symbolised by a multicoloured umbrella. Maybe, that is what the college canteen is, a multicoloured umbrella providing space for all students, all states, and all shades of opinion. DU Beat spoke to Brijlal Sir, the manager of the Ramjas College canteen about his experience of managing and running a canteen. He was asked, “How long have you been running the canteen at Ramjas college? How has the general experience been?” He answered, “I have been working here for eight years. In these eight years, I’ve pretty much seen everything, the most important and significant thing I have witnessed though is change. I have seen and served all kinds of people here. Students from dramatics, dance, music societies, studious kids, and even ladki ghumane wale, all come here. I see them as budding vibrant colours, and every year new colours are added into the mix.

Once, a boy came to me and said, ‘Sir bus agar yahan hone ki attendance lagti na toh classes se bhi zyada hoti meri’ (If only I would get attendance for coming to the canteen, I would have more attendance than I do in classes right now!). This made me very happy. One more interesting thing to note here is, the difference between the professor and the student diminishes, they all are alike. Yeh alag alag pehlu mujhe maano jaise kadhai main dale alag alag masalon jaise lagte hain, alag but ek jut, ek jagah.” It’s true, DU canteens become a safe haven for all without bias, a home for friendships, fights, protests, campaigns, love, sadness, and everything else. It has become a staple rule upon entering DU to visit canteens, especially those in the Faculty of Management Studies, or Hindu College, or Delhi School of Economics. It is so because these places have transcended the stature of just canteens but have become a place of memories.

Feature Image Credits: The Outlook

Shaurya Singh Thapa
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Haris Khan
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DUB Speak

“Community” in Delhi University

By Kinjal Pandey September 5, 2018

An account on how Greendale College from the hit series Community is somewhat similar to your DU college.

Out here in India, we can hardly relate to American college movies or shows. Leave that, even their booze drinking, virginity losing high school films seem too edgy for majority of Indian high schoolers who are busy mugging up stuff in their Akash tutorials. The only edginess they experience is perhaps the school farewell and “conti”.

In this context, the cult NBC show “Community” is a different entry in the college sitcom genre. Not only is the six season saga a gem of postmodern humour and a mine of pop culture references, the show is also a vague reflection of majority of DU colleges. Here’s how…

Funding and autonomy issues now and then.

The Greendale College in Community is no architectural masterpiece. The community college often shows signs of cracked walls and washrooms needing repair just like our many “sarkari” colleges of DU.

Image Caption- Greendale , an imperfectly perfect college

Image Credits- Community Wikia

Diversity

A Middle Eastern boy who wants to be a director. A Jew girl who has bouts of anxiety. A single black mother wishing to start her own business. These are some of the few main characters in the show so naturally it has a lot of diversity and casual racist and ethnic jokes. That’s what happens amongst our colleges too. DU is a hub for people from all over India. Getting along with such different people, understanding their culture, joking on each other’s cultures (of course, non offensive humour) and having each other’s back, that’s what Community and DU is about in the end.

Image Caption- Different levels of skin shade, same level of happiness

Image Credits- Community Wikia

Every college has a bunch of Brittas

Britta, one of the female protagonists in the show, is a feminist, atheist and any other -ist that you can think of. She’s one of those who might jump at every protest at Arts Faculty (even if it’s for a trivial reason) and share social awareness related hashtags on her social media stories. Now, sometimes Britta might stand for the charged up social activist friend in your group or a pseudo intellectual from DebSoc; that’s for you to decide.

Image Caption- Britta, the epitome of “edgy”.

Image Credits- Community Wikia

Elections

Elections at Greendale College or a DU college, they both are marked by a sense of pomp, show and ridiculousness.

For an instance, let’s take up the case of names of the candidates fighting elections. DU election norms specify the scale and limit of campaigning and expenditure for each contesting candidate. Now, often this is not the case and our student netas have figured out a smart strategy to escape charges by the court. The NSUI candidate Rocky Tuseed’s name was often displayed as Rocky Tuseer in posters and pamphlets scattered all over North and South campus. Just a replacement of the letter “d” by a plain “r” has shushed the court, even though we all know it’s the same person!

Coming to Community, one of the students Leonard also pulled a cheap trick to win the votes of all Mexicans in the college. Leonard is an aged student who’s young at heart and always up for pranks and cracking racist jokes. Ethnically speaking, Leonard is a white male but he runs his college elections under the name Leonard “Rodriguez” (and surprisingly he emerges victorious too!

Ah! The election time is always filled with such entertainment.

Image Caption- Electoral campaign or electoral drama?

Image Credits- Community Wikia

The Troy Barnes complex

Many of us might have been our school superstars, the school council president of a topper. But in college, you’re like a new baby in a new world and your school achievements would hardly matter. That has been the exact case with Community’s Troy Barnes (played by a young and fresh Donald Glover) who was a high school jock but at Greendale College, hardly anyone raises a brow seeing him. It’s initially disappointing but eventually Troy finds his weird bunch of friends and enjoys his life of leading the “not so popular” student life in college. This is something which many of us would relate to while joining college as we are to survive in a new campus, a new world. But over time, we learn to blow peacefully with the winds of change and the Troy Barnes complex wanes away (this complex needs to be taught in Philosophy courses!).

Image Caption- College life is a metamorphosis for which one needs to shed the caterpillar skin back from high school.

Image Credits- Community Wikia

So in the end, Greendale College and your generic DU college might be several miles away but in the end, it’s all about the inhabitants of these “not so high scale architecture” worlds having the best of moments, experiencing cheap thrills and making even the imperfections seem perfect…

News

DSJ Controversy: All You Need to Know

By DU Beat August 29, 2018

After more than 48 hours of continuous protest and withdrawal of the suspension of 8 students by the administration, students have been assured that their grievances will be addressed on 14th September 2018.

On Monday, 27th August 2018, the students of Delhi School of Journalism staged a protest outside the Arts Faculty demanding a meeting with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi. The protest began when Professor JP Dubey on Friday, 24th August 2018 told the students that the administration cannot give a deadline to any of the demands of the students and they should do whatever they want to in their capacity. The students have time and again protested about the poor infrastructure facilities, unavailability of the media lab and the high fees and wanted to meet the VC regarding the same.

Arts Faculty Protest Pic — Image Credits – DSJ students

The protest was then shifted in the DSJ campus where the students protested against the administration and their behaviour towards the charter of demands issued by the students on 2nd August 2018.Mohd Alishan Jaffri, a second year student of DSJ says, “We launched a complete non co-operation movement against the DSJ administration and organized a sit-in in the college premises. The whole act was peaceful and Gandhian in nature. The administration tried to move us, but since no written assurance was provided, we continued the protest.”

On the same day, a meeting was organized by the administration to look into the matter again, but the meeting ended in a deadlock. The students continued their sit in demonstration in the evening and few stayed inside the college campus overnight.

The agitation continued on 28th August 2018. The administration agreed to send a delegation of 6 students to meet the VC and present their grievances to him. However, in the evening, this proposal was rejected. The students were also locked inside the college campus. The situation worsened when the students were manhandled by the security guards of the college. Ambuj Bhardwaj, a second year student was hit by one of the guards. Delhi Police was called in to intimidate the protestors both in afternoon and in the evening.

A suspension letter was issued to 8 students of DSJ around 8 p.m. on 28th August 2018 for repeatedly violating the discipline of the Delhi University while disrupting the classes since August 27 and not letting administration to carry on their official work by blocking the entrance to the Director’s room.
However, the revocation to the suspension came in half an hour after protest was called off by the students. The same was conveyed to the students through an e-mail late at night.

Neeta Sehgal, Proctor, University of Delhi came and discussed the matter with the students. She also gave a written assurance to the students to look into the matter and solve the grievances of the students. She has promised to meet the students on 14th September 2018.

Manasvini Yogi, OSD, Delhi School of Journalism informed the students on 29th August 2018 that a media lab has been arranged for the students in the School of Open Learning. The practicals will be held in the lab from 15th September 2018 onwards.

Feature Image Credits: Neerav Yadav

Anoushka Sharma

Spo(r)tlight

National Sports Day: What DU has Contributed to the Realm of Sports

By Bhavya Banerjee August 29, 2018

On the occasion of National Sports Day, i.e. 29th August 2018, let us look at how DU has managed to influence and produce sportsmen in various fields.

National Sports Day is celebrated throughout India on 29th August 2018. The day also involves the celebration of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand. Often referred to as ‘The Wizard’ he had incredible hockey skills. To commemorate his birth anniversary, in 2012 the Government of India designated 29th August as the country’s National Sports Day.
On this day, the President gives out all the sports-related awards like the Arjuna award, Dronacharya award, and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna to honour sportspersons and coaches who have made the nation proud with their service in their respective sports.
The University of Delhi is a varsity that recognises the importance of sports in everyday life. The University has produced world renowned sportsmen like Unmukt Chand, who is a graduate from St. Stephen’s College, and plays for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, and also plays domestic cricket for Delhi. Naveen Jindal, former Member of Parliament and the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited, is a graduate from Hansraj College. He is a national record holder in skeet shooting, and has won many national and international awards for the same. Apart from this, he has also excelled in Polo. Gautam Gambhir, the well known cricketer who represents India at the international level, is a graduate from Hindu College. Anjum Chopra, former captain of the Women’s National Cricket Team, is also a graduate from Hindu College. These are a few amongst the many DU graduates and current students who have been achieving international success.
Manish Adhikari, a football player from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) who represented India in the 43rd Asian Football Championship held in China says, “From playing football with my neighbourhood friends to being selected for the school, and then getting selected in my dream college SRCC, football became a huge part of my life. Representing India at the international level was a once in a lifetime experience which I will cherish forever. DU has helped me emerge as a player by giving me a platform to train and compete with the best players in the country. Football has taught me to be a responsible and disciplined individual. It has also helped me understand the importance of teamwork and leadership. Some of the best memories of my college life are on the football ground with my team mates.”
Playing a sport in college is somewhat similar to having a job- if you do not show up to practice, your position in the team is in jeopardy. Sometimes it is hard to choose to stay in when your friends are going out because you have practice in the morning, or you wish you could go to the movies, but you have a game. However, as a college athlete you must be dedicated and committed to the team.
Admission to the University of Delhi through sports quota is a long process. The candidates who apply are given marks based on their certificates. The next step is a fitness test, and later trials, which include both individual skills and team matches. The cut off is then released by different colleges that have vacant seats for the respective games and positions. After the admission, the students are required to go for practice sessions every day. Proper diet coupons are provided by the colleges to maintain the health of the hardworking sportsmen and sportswomen. Despite its questionable sports infrastructure, DU has time and again given great gems to the nation in the field of sports.

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat.

Anoushka Sharma

What to Expect from the University of Delhi

By DU Beat August 15, 2018

I’m pretty sure that all your dramatic expectations from college (courtesy of Bollywood) have been shattered by now, and you’re one with reality. Honestly, life at the University of Delhi (DU) is beyond estimation. It’s too thrilling to draw generalisations about. One moment, you may be sitting in your college lawns enjoying utter serenity, the next moment you’re part of a protest to get the back gate of your college re-opened for students.

Here is a skeleton of what you can expect during your three years of undergraduate study at the University:

Elections:

If you have been to college, you must have seen people reaching out to you with “May I Help You” cards. That’s mainly a precursor to the Annual General Elections to the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU). Each year, the student cabinet is democratically elected, the politics and campaigning of which remain a burning issue throughout the year.

Fests:

While the odd semester is dominated by elections, even semesters are dominated by cultural fests organised by colleges affiliated to the University. These fests give students an opportunity to have some fun after their strenuous battle with the semester exams of the odd semester. Now, what’s interesting is that these fests are marked by guest appearances by celebrities and entries to these are open to all. A totally fantastic way to while away your time, that is!

Strikes:

Student politics being a very important part of the varsity, the latter witnesses strikes from the student as well as staff associations on matters carrying mammoth importance to the stakeholders. These along with other factors form the essence of life at DU.

Exposure:

Apart from the aforementioned points, the University offers ample opportunities to all those who are looking for it. With college societies covering extensive realms and participating in intra-University competitions, there are also some out-of-college (external) societies and groups that extend opportunities to those who are scouting for them. With a full-fledged democratic political set-up existing in the university, there’s also necessary exposure to those willing to venture out into that field. We really need some educated politicians, don’t we?

Feature Image Credits: Reacho

Aashish Jain

Advisory To Freshers: A Narrative of DU’s Student Politics

By DU Beat August 15, 2018

The student community in the University of Delhi (DU) transcends state borders and every year welcomes lacs of students from all over the country. This dynamism has over time allowed rampant exploitation of students by political parties.

In one of the premier universities of India, every discipline teaches us to be more aware, opinionated and accepting. What no discipline teaches us is political correctness. Politics in DU is a facade of Red Ford Mustangs and bribery; an avenue for the rich. Money is power. If you are a returning wanderer to this political front of DU, well and good. But if you are another impulsive fresher, you need to be wary. For our sake of safety, I shall endeavor to advise you about the complexities of politics in DU.

Politics conventionally is supposed to represent concerns of the general public. But in recent times, politics has been attached with a more morbid connotation consisting of blame game and dark plays. In DU, the election season is around the corner. While the campaigns are yet to gain the requisite fervor, more apparent are the posters on Wall(s) of Democracy in North Campus. The misspelled names convey the message of the mystery related to the candidacy. As per the section in the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act 2007, such posters are unacceptable. Not only that, they are also punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may amount to INR 50,000, or both. But laws are bothersome, why fret?

Expressing alarm over the momentum gained by caste politics, an Indian news and media website had stated, “The Political front is increasingly becoming the battle of Jats versus the Gujjars.” While the success of a student-party is attributed to the money it spends on polls, Independent candidates are generally beaten and downtrodden. According to the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines, a candidate can spend up to INR 5,000 during polls. But it is known that during election campaigns, lavish parties and visits to water parks are funded while free movie tickets, pizzas, cosmetics, and alcohol are distributed to buy favors of the student voters. More desperate measures are not unheard of, as bribery takes the front seat. Justice is promised, not delivered. A platform for simulation becomes one that is stigmatised.

The Ramjas College incident of last year offers us lessons. Here are some ideas to guide you through the election season:

Stay cautious. Do not hesitate with your interactions, but be on your guard.
Do not fall for fancy promises. Judge the candidacy wisely.
Stay well-informed about the events happening around.
Practice diplomacy. Since your views are your own, express them. But learn to hold them back too (if need be).

Protests and campaigns will begin soon with the hurling of stones, soap-bars and blame on each other. Remain true to yourself. If you are intrigued by politics, seek some reliable guidance before you enter it. The ideas of sedition, nationalism and patriotism cannot be set for you by anyone. This independence day, break free from the unnecessary indulgence. Your will is your own, so long as you are true to yourself.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Kartik Chauhan

Hindu’s Hostel Residents Protest Against the Fee Hike

By Bhavya Banerjee August 14, 2018

On 4th August 2018, 40-50 residents of the Hindu College Hostel staged a strike to protest against the recurrent hike in the yearly fee. The students demand a decrement in the yearly fee, or they wish to see tangible benefits in the living conditions of the hostel.
During the first week of August, the students residing in the hostel of Hindu College staged a protest against the recurrent hike in the yearly fee of the hostel. The protest was in the form of a strike, which began at 9 a.m. on the 4th of August, according to the sources who participated in the protest.
As per the sources, the students who are vehemently against the fee hike settled themselves outside the hostel, in order to peacefully get their concerns heard and resolved by the authorities. After protesting in front of the hostel gates, the crowd went outside the Principal’s office. The sources have revealed that the Principal, Dr. Anju Srivastava, readily listened to the issues the students were fighting against.
Inputs from numerous residents of the Hindu College’s hostel can be used to understand that the 40-50 students who sat for the strike are in opposition of the lack of transparency in the monetary matters. A student, on the condition of anonymity, told DU Beat that the ceilings and the ‘renovations’ in the hostel could be used as a clear evidence of the dearth of justification for the fee hike. The students are appalled by the yearly increment in the fee, when there have been no improvements whatsoever, in the way the students were housed.
The sources conferred that the yearly fee, for the first-year resident students, has increased from an approximate of INR 51,000 to INR 70,000 within a duration of three years (2016-2018). A collaborative account of the protesters inferred that the yearly increment in the fee has been attributed to the government’s policies pertaining to the workers’ daily wages. Since the policies are revised on a regular basis, it allegedly becomes inevitable for the authorities to adjust the residents’ fee accordingly.
On the condition of anonymity, a source revealed that despite the allocation of a yearly fund of INR 62 lakhs by the University Grants Commission, the hostel runs into a deficit almost every year. There had been a surplus amount on certain occasions, a few years back, and the authorities had hired more workers. The reasons behind the hiring remain unclear and the students have no idea as to why the hostel must employ two managers in one mess, unusual for any college hostel.
To resolve the mentioned issues, the source claimed that the students met with the warden and both the parties have been thinking of possible ways to accommodate the extra workers, four to five in number, instead of terminating them. The students think that the surplus hiring occurred in order to please certain groups or individuals. The clear explanation or understanding for this has not been provided to the students.
A meeting will take place on 13th or 14th August, where the Hostel Managing Committee and the Principal would attempt to meet the student’s demands- to either reduce the fee or to justify the hike by showing tangible results in the hostel’s conditions.
A student told DU Beat, “She (Dr. Srivastava) wasn’t in denial. She agreed that the reasons for the protests are genuine, and she was keen on helping us. The overall response has been very positive.”

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Anushree Joshi

Bazinga

BAZINGA: Attendance Compulsion Eliminated from Indian Universities

By Bhavya Banerjee August 11, 2018

On 30th July 2018, the UGC had released a press statement that declared the removal of attendance compulsion for Bachelor’s and Master’s courses in Indian universities affiliated to it.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had released the press statement on Monday, 30th July 2018. The same had declared that from the forthcoming semester, there would be no compulsion of maintaining a particular percentage of attendance in order to be deemed eligible to sit for the semester examinations. According to a statement of UGC Chairman, Mr. D.P. Singh, several dialogue exchanges between student bodies, and the UGC had led to the ultimate decision.

Back when Rocky Tuseed’s Presidency in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) was not yet disqualified, he and other senior members of the DUSU had been in talks with the UGC and had also filed petitions with regard to the unfairness of the system of compulsory attendance.
Before the new guidelines were announced, the University of Delhi (DU) had in place strict regulations and norms to detain those students who had attendance below the margin of 66.66% from taking their semester exams. Many schools of thought had argued that the operandi of attendance compulsion at the college-level blatantly shielded poor teaching methods.

Saugata Bhaduri, a Professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), told The Telegraph in 2016, “In JNU where I teach, and which is generally considered the best university of the country, it is officially stated that attendance is not required. Yet we run classes to full capacity and more, with students, not only coming to every scheduled class on their own without any rule asking them to do so, but actually seeking out every opportunity for extra classes and additional academic opportunities. That is what educational institutions should aspire for.”
When the notice by the UGC was released, Shashi Tharoor, a Member of Parliament, had immediately expressed his delight on the piece of news by tweeting, “A move to move from over-regulation to quality learning.”

However, many quarters within India wonder whether it will improve the quality of education whether it will improve the quality of education in India or if it will lead to an increase in complacence in students. Lavina Mulani, a first-year student pursuing B.Sc. (Hons) from Miranda House, responded to the new UGC guidelines, by saying, “It may be true that students will attend the classes that interest and stimulate them. But in colleges, the dilemma between skipping classes and participating in cultural activities will also be highlighted by the new norms. It is upon the student’s will to choose the course of his or her education. The question is are we truly ready for the responsibility?”
With the UGC’s populist move to remove attendance mandates, students now have the freedom of choice. Whether this choice aggrandises indiscipline or enhances the quality of learning, only time is equipped to answer.

DISCLAIMER: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times
Anushree Joshi