Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Archive

August 2014

Browsing
Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

A Botched Situation at the SOL 

By

Delhi University’s School of Opening Learning is plagued with a plethora of problems. A study suggests that teachers have oft been missing classes while a few of them haven’t even attended a single class. Reportedly, Mrs. Preeti Goel, wife of BJP leader Mr. Vijay Goel’s, who teaches Nutrition and Health Education, didn’t attend any of the invigilation duties assigned to her.

Study materials such as notes, audio and video lessons as well as the web-based packages are not being prepared on time by the teachers. This is possibly because of the fact that the student-teacher ratio at SOL is 35 teachers to about 4.5 lakh students that makes it quite absurd for Opening Learning to function. It has also been reported that the study material provided hasn’t been revised since the last five years. And if 30 minutes are required for each audio lecture, a minimum of 30 hours is required to prepare them all.

According to the minutes of the SOL staff counsel meeting to a Deccan Herald correspondent, “typically, preparation of study unit of about 5,000 words would involve 150 hours of academic work.” Administrative work also becomes a must for the teachers due to shortage of staff. The only sign of hope is that if more staff is recruited, this august body can function well and provide proper study materials on time.

Image source: sol.du.ac.in

Keep Reading
By
Spo(r)tlight

Super Frank retires from international football

By

The man famously referred to as “Super Frank” retired from international football yesterday. Frank Lampard decided to pull the plug on his international career at the age of 36 with 106 caps for the national side.

 

The Englishman debuted internationally  against Belgium in 1999, which the English won 2-1. He scored his first goal for the national side in 2003, cruising past Croatia 3-1. He was also the top scorer for England in the World Cup qualifiers in 2006, the campaign which unfortunately ended in the quarter-finals against Portugal.

Lampard was involved in a huge controversy at the South Africa World Cup of 2010 which saw his team crash out of the tournament in the Last-16 round. England played Germany in the first knockout round and being 2-1 behind, Lampard’s shot hit the underside of the crossbar and clearly bounced behind the goal line. However, the goal was not given and England was eliminated with the final score as 4-1. Many believe that this was the final straw in the goal-line technology debate.

Lampard surpassed David Platt in March 2014 to become the highest scoring midfielder ever for the English side with 28 goals in his kitty. He was given the final farewell in the 2014 World Cup as he captained the side in a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica in the group stage.

Lampard’s collection of trophies at the club level outshines his contribution to the English side. The man won three Premier League titles, the Champions League, Europa League, four FA Cups and two League Cups for Chelsea. Lampard made his debut at the club level for West Ham United but moved to Chelsea in 2001 and burst onto the scene in Mourinho’s reign.

Frank Lampard’s decision to quit international football comes after a number of veteran footballers quit their respective national sides. Andrea Pirlo, Miroslav Klose, Steven Gerrard and David Villa are among many others who decided to end their international career.

Lampard is currently at rival club, Manchester City on a loan from New York FC after leaving Chelsea in the 2014 summer transfer window.

 

Keep Reading
By
Features

Project LEAP- Be an Educator, Be the Change

By

Poverty, population and illiteracy are perhaps the biggest hindrance in the progress scale of India. There are thousands of children in our nation who either have no accessibility to schools or are a target of social and economic problems that hinder them from continuing their school life. Project LEAP primarily trains sincere and active volunteers as Educators, who further help in educating these  children.

Here are a few details about how this organization is effective at large measures. LEAP is a one year project that requires volunteer presence in school every working weekend (on the basis of specific school calendar).

Becoming I Foundation

Each Becoming I member is carefully trained to spearhead as well as create projects, the main idea behind it being to connect young people with community development projects on an international level. To instill the audacity to bring about powerful, sustainable change from within- remains the prime objective of this project LEAP.
Project LEAP

Project Leap is a planned and innovative intervention aimed at providing a wholesome learning and growing environment to every child in India. Students with underprivileged backgrounds are provided with a specialised curriculum which focuses on integrating dance, music, theater, art & craft, sports and public speaking with the NCERT curriculum

Thanks to its dedicated volunteers trained as ‘Educators’, this special integrated course helps to achieve a  three-fold impact:
– Increased Admission rates

– Decreased Dropout rates

– Greater learning outcomes

Volunteer role in LEAP

The Project Leap volunteer program is designed to provide an immersive leadership experience to young people interested in diving deep into the Impact Space. Volunteers, who have expertise in any one of the art forms mentioned above, should definitely be a part of such an effective and dedicated project. One must be equipped with qualities like utmost sincerity, professionalism and commitment to be an Educator. Those who wish to take up this challenge do sign up at:

http://www.becomingifoundation.org/apply-for-project-leap/

The meeting schedules will be created based on your convenience.

 

Image source: www.becomingifoundation.org

Surbhi Sharma

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

DU students receive scholarship for King’s College London Summer School

By

King’s College, London, one of the premier colleges of the world, held the second season of its Summer School in London for students who had received scholarships at the King’s regional summer schools. Held from July 28 to August 15, the three week programme was attended by 1200 students from 72 nationalities. The college provided a variety of modules ranging from International Business to Art of Leadership.

The King’s College Summer School had its first stage in India in two DU colleges, Lady Shri Ram College and Miranda House, for two weeks, from June 2 to 13. Under various modules, the students gained an enriching experience by learning from the esteemed faculty of King’s. On the basis of the classroom performance in the Delhi Summer School which included a 2500-4000 word thesis on specified topics, a few students were selected and were awarded with full or partial scholarships to continue their summer study in London.

The meritorious students, who went for the programme, felt that it was a mesmerizing and breathtaking experience. They say that the diversity of their class added a lot to the learning experience.

Sahil, who opted for International Business in London said, “The tutors made the classes very engaging with a lot of case studies, videos and personal experience. It was a opportunity of a lifetime.”

Vaishali, who studied Strategic Management, too felt the same as she told us that every moment was worth cherishing. Another scholarship holder, Chirutha, who did a course in Art of Leadership and International Marketing, said, “The courses gave me a deeper insight into exploring myself more as an individual and provided me with different aspects of conceptualization.”

Ishita Sharma
[email protected]
 
Image source: www.kcl.ac.uk
Keep Reading
By
Biblio

Harsh Agarwal shares his experience with ‘Nazaqat’

By

The KNC Book Club held its first book reading session for this semester with Harsh Agarwal, author of three books the most recent being ‘Nazaqat’.

The session started out with Harsh talking about what it took to get where he is, his experiences along the way and also what it means to be an entrepreneur and author in the present day scenario. He talked about his transition from an engineering student from the National Institute of Technology (Silcher) to an author and how he dealt with problems along the way, what was expected of him and what people thought of him. In fact, he has published the book ‘Nazaqat’ under the name ‘Sasha H Singhal’.

Students present shared their  views on why they write and what it is like to share their writing on social media platforms. Harsh also went on to talk about his previous two books ‘An Incursion of Insight’ and ‘Life In A Nutshell’. He read out short excerpts from ‘Nazaqat’, giving  an idea of the trajectory of the storyline and introduced  the main protagonist- Nazaqat, a prostitute turned entrepreneur who documents her need to have her biography written and also deals with issues like legalization of prostitution.

The book reading was followed by a question and answer session and a book signing session where the students got a chance to interact with the author on a personal level.

Keep Reading
By
Bazinga

DU introduces attendance perks for students who take the Ice Bucket Challenge!

By

Seems like the (literal) fever from pouring ice water on your own self is catching up, DU being the newest addition to the list of the drenched that includes several Indian and foreign celebrities! A notification issued by the Registrar instructs colleges to give extra marks and bonus attendance to students who take the famous Ice Bucket Challenge in their colleges or post a video of themselves taking the challenge on Facebook. The hashtags to be used are #DUforALS and #IceBucketChallengeDU.

This is a movement aimed at raising funds for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association. Widespread cheer has met the announcement. “There is no AC in my college, so my classmates are very eager to take this up. It’s something! ” said a freshman. Many students who had already taken the challenge are re-sharing their videos with the hashtags assigned by DU.

Cafes and restaurants around colleges are also capitalising on the opportunity by making ice available for sale. “The McDonald’s in front of my college has ‘McIceBucket’ written right below ‘McFloat’ on their menu. Even the nearby KFC is selling a new bucket called the Ice Bucket.

DU Beat asked the Vice-Chancellor of DU about this decision of the University. He explained that students who take the challenge will be awarded 5 marks of internal assessment for each of the subject they’re studying this semester as well as 6 days’ worth of attendance. “DU believes in matching pace with the world,” he said.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost believable fake news.

Keep Reading
By
Spo(r)tlight

US Open 2014: The last major of the season gets underway.

By

The Grand Slam of the Big Apple is back! The US Open starts on Monday, 25th August in New York. This is the last major of the 2014 season and is played on synthetic grounds. Stars from all around the world have arrived to the Flushing Meadows during this two-week long tournament.

Looking at the men’s roster, it is equally star-studded as before. However, last year’s champion Rafael Nadal has been ruled out of the tournament due to a wrist injury. This might just mean an opportunity for a rising star to bank on this chance. The youngsters, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic might put up quite a show at this year’s competition after strong performances from each of them this season. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray still remain the top guns that exude high chances of featuring in the last two rounds of the tournament. However, Djokovic’s performances have been dropping this year as he went out in the early stages of the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Cup. Andy Murray too, has been rustic after his surgery. Roger Federer is said to be in top form at the moment however, it might be difficult for him to cope with the high energy action considering his age. Federer was close to winning his record-breaking 18th Slam at the Wimbledon this year but was defeated at the last hurdle by Djokovic.

The woman’s competition can be full of surprises after the last year’s champion and the usually dominant; Serena Williams is showing signs of sluggish form this season. Serena has not even made it to the quarterfinals of any major this year. Ana Ivanovic, who many people forgot after a short spell of good tennis, is showing strong performances again. Maria Sharapova won the French Open this year while Li Na conquered the heat at the Australian Open. Romanian, Simona Halep has been the talk of the season as she was ranked no. 2 in the WTA rankings and is sure to be a big threat. Eugenie Bouchard can also come out on top as the Canadian has entered the semis of every major this season.

The tournament ends on the 8th of September. Ten Sports is the official broadcasting partner of the tournament for the Indian subcontinent.

Image source: patdollard.com

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

The Curious Case of the E Rickshaw

By

E-rickshaws, initiated by former CM Sheila Dixit around the time of the Commonwealth Games, have been flourishing ever since. Be it Delhi University’s North Campus or outside metro stations all around the city, the e-rickshaw is what stands out amongst the rickshaw lot. E-rickshaws, due to their fixed, convenient cost of rupees 10 per person and by virtue of being faster than their non-electronic counterparts, have been a favored option.

However, with rising prices, the e-rickshaw drivers have been soaring their prices to up to Rs.30 making them unattractive to commuters who would rather take an auto for the same cost. In addition to this is the question of safety in these “eco-friendly” vehicles. Although fit to be included in the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 due to its battery of up to 650 watt, these light weight, open rickshaws are not only excluded from many legal implications but are neglected to the extent that they do not even possess a number plate, neither are they registered.

As a result, it is almost impossible to even register an FIR in case of an accident which seems very likely as the drivers are mostly inexperienced, non-licensed profit-seekers who ferry an overload of people in the vehicle meant for four. Furthermore, they refrain from spending on battery maintenance which makes these rickshaws even more prone to fatal accidents.

Amidst allegations from the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) and the NDA government’s effort to keep its promise of legalizing them, e-rickshaws have become subject to a ban and await a final decision from the High Court. In my opinion, this ‘humane’ alternative to manually pulled rickshaws can become the star of ‘extra-mile’ transport if systematically regulated by the government.

Ishani Rajkhowa

[email protected]

Image source: www.thehindu.com

Keep Reading
By