April 2017

Exams

A Guide to Writing the Perfect Assignment

By Saumya Kalia April 7, 2017

Amidst the academic maelstrom, pacify your hearts with our tips and tricks of writing an apt assignment, as they might just be your saving grace.

Between incubating fond remembrances during the months of February and March which are huddled with the fest season and reminiscing back on the months/years gone by in April, the home of the farewells, there comes a brief stretch of time when all that remains are social media feeds full of hyperventilating posts of being stressed with internal submissions. Here’s a list of don’ts to ensure that your assignment is received with satisfactory scores!

Don’t start sentences before knowing where they should end

Start your assignment with a generic thesis about what your essay endeavours to entail. Let the top sentence of a paragraph explain what the next few lines are about. If you still choose to type down random words flowing out of your intellectual space, then may the force be with your teacher.

Don’t end up copying verbatim

If you haven’t been scared off by the ethical advisement against plagiarism, then chances are your attendance marks are zero. The temptation to copy and paste from the online reading material is unparalleled, but in perspective, it’s just a different shade of stealing.

Don’t mistake critical readings for décor

Remember the bunches of photocopies of essays and readings lying somewhere in your bag or between the ruins of your study table? Yes, they are supposed to be transcended into the depths of your mind so that those ideas can be presented in your papers. Unusual concept, is it?

Don’t take deadlines for granted

Dates circled on the calendar or reminders by friends are not frivolous spams which are out to vex you. If you plan to stick by the deadline initially, there’s a good chance you might actually end up submitting on time.

Don’t end up doing the opposite

These are they key ingredients to prepare an almost-perfect assignment. A dash of carelessness and a spoonful of laziness might end up giving you low scores. Tread this path carefully; for the road to writing assignments is dark and full of terror.

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

Image Credits: All About Comprehension

Harry Styles releases his new single: Sign of the Times

By DU Beat April 7, 2017

After a global speculation build-up which can only be termed masterclass, with a flash teaser commercial during the U.K.’s X Factor on March 25 and the title and cover art reveal on March 31, Harry Styles has finally rolled out his debut single Sign of the Times today. Releasing the song on his pal Nick Grimshaw’s radio show only to be followed online, Harry formally ended his music hiatus. And as expected for the half of the world population and unexpectedly for the rest, this is an absolute killer from the One Direction frontman.

Things can be pretty easy if you are Harry Styles. Keep holding to your safe zone, bring out something sweet and cheesy, and you can well expect a chartbuster.

But Harry Styles does not like it easy. With this new ballad, in what can be seen as a major departure from the “boyband culture”, Harry has justifiably taken the musical fraternity on fire.

“If we never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from..The bullets?”

A meticulous lyrics, penned down in the span of months by Jeff Bhaskar and Harry himself, combined with an electrifying background piano sequences in the opening seconds, leading to the slow rock crescendo in something similar to the 90’s music, all in a brilliant sync with Harry’s heartthrob of a voice, relatively soft in the opening lines with awe-inspiring thundering high notes progressively; Sign of the Times is easily the best rock ballad we have heard this year.

Later in the day amid music critics related Harry’s latest vocal lament venture to David Bowie, the single debuted #1 on US Billboard.

“Just stop crying

Have the time of your life

Breaking through the atmosphere

And things are pretty good from here

Remember everything will be alright

We can meet again somewhere

Somewhere far away from here”

Nikhil Kumar

[email protected]

Image credits- nme.com

Is there any ‘art’ in propaganda posters?

By Abhinaya Harigovind April 7, 2017

From Mao to the Nazis, propaganda posters have been a significant aspect of politics and mobilisation. Merriam-Webster defines propaganda as the spread of ideas, information or rumour for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, is often quoted as saying that ‘propaganda’ is used to refer to something inferior and despicable, always leaving a bitter aftertaste. Ironically, much of this ‘bitter aftertaste’ may be attributed to Goebbels himself and his manner of seeking popular support for the policies and decisions of the Nazi regime.

Though broadcast media like the radio and television are increasingly used to garner support for a specific agenda from a large set of people, various forms of art have also been used to reach out to the masses. King Tut’s gold mask, the pyramids of Giza, and the statues and pillars that almost every emperor, from the Romans to Akbar, erected to mark their victories are often seen as methods of propaganda. Visible signs of grandeur and power serve the purpose of bolstering the image of the ruler as an infallible one, in whom the subjects must place their utmost trust and devotion.

Since they can be cheaply reproduced, posters have been an important part of political propaganda. Posters belonging to the period of Mao, Hitler and the Soviet era all reflect a clever use of colours, images and visual symbols to promote an idea. The mass reach of a poster is largely due to the fact that the message it conveys does not hinge on literacy. Further, images have an almost subconscious effect with regard to normalising and internalising certain ideas.

poster-1 — A World War II anti-semitic poster in Russian, which says ‘Who’s winning the war? The Jews are! Nations are fighting and dying for them and Jews make money on their deaths.

Communist propaganda poster from Russia, 1919. It says "Death to capital, or death under the heel of capitalism." The representation of capitalism as a wealthy, obese man is significant. — Communist propaganda poster from Russia, 1919. It says “Death to capital, or death under the heel of capitalism.” The representation of capitalism as a wealthy, obese man is significant.

poster-3 — A smiling Chairman Mao was often represented with children and families on posters in order to portray him as a father and teacher figure.

Whether propaganda posters can be considered ‘art’ is something to consider. ‘Propaganda art’ seems almost like an oxymoron to me. They are two words that appear to contradict themselves. Referring to propaganda as ‘art’ would restrict the meaning of art to merely anything that is visually represented. However, ‘art’ has a deeper implication-that of allowing pluralities and multiple perspectives to exist, while propaganda seeks to eliminate all such multiple views.

Image credits:

Poster 1: iCollector.com

Poster 2: modernworldhistory-levelfive.blogspot.com

Poster 3: maospropaganda.wikispaces.com

Abhinaya Harigovind

Beauty & the Beast and the Queer Sex

By DU Beat April 7, 2017

The Beauty and the Beast maybe a ‘tale as old as time, true as it can be.’ However, the reactions of some conservationists over a singular ‘gay moment’ in the movie is perhaps, further behind time.

The Alabama Theatre has banned the screening of Disney’s latest live action adaptation of ‘The Beauty and the Beast’ over the featuring of Disney’s first gay character.

The musical score has also faced a setback in Russia where it has been slapped with a 16+ restriction. Even though the Russian Box Office has agreed to distribute the film’s license without any restriction, the ‘adult only’ viewership has stripped away a large section of the movie’s intended audience.

A Progressive attempt by Team Disney

In what is being hailed as a watershed milestone in the world of entertainment, Disney is finally embracing diversity. In an attempt to educate children on the different forms of love and equal representation in a pluralist society, the character of LeFou has been given a homosexual twist in the Beauty and the Beast.

LeFou, who has been dubbed as Disney’s first ‘unambiguously gay character’ is the chubby sidekick to the villainous Gaston. He is confused about what he wants and is just coming out of the enchanted wardrobe.

‘Just a Little Change, Small to say the Least’

Disney history has its fair share of ‘queer coding’ as villains like Scar from “The Lion King” , Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” and Jafar from “Aladdin” were modelled after drag queens and given effeminate undertones.

Despite several examples of Disney using queer coding to demonize its villains, there are other positive characters that have a large gay following. The iconic Genie from ‘Alladin’ has been adored and admired for his cross dressing tendencies and pop culture references.

The beautiful Elsa from “Frozen” is also speculated to be gay and the Oscar winning song “Let it Go” has been hailed as the ‘coming out anthem’ to break free from the shackles of confinement. A huge Disney fan base is rooting to #GiveElsaaGirlfriend to prove that a princess does not always need a prince to find her happily ever after.

Even though “The Beauty and the Beast” is not a giant leap for LGBT representation, it is however the first time that Disney has acknowledged that a character like LeFou is homosexual and has taken a small step towards inclusiveness.

Anahita Sahu
[email protected]

Image credits: Broadway.com

Bazinga

Bazinga- Patanjali College to be started under DU this year, admissions begin in August

By Riya Chhibber April 6, 2017

Having launched a range of herbal and organic products like Patanjali shampoo, conditioner, face wash, oil and even noodles, the list of Baba Ramdev’s products under Patanjali Ayurved is longer than Shankar Mahadevan’s song, Breathless. Therefore, with his never-ending determination to promote traditional remedies and culturally rooted practices, his new mission now is to provide remedy for the dysfunctional and diluting education system of the country by opening a college under the University of Delhi. Already being touted as an innovative venture, the college will be called YUVA, short for Yoga and Ayurveda Academy and will be located near the newly built DDUC campus area in Dwarka.

From B.A with Yoga Science, B.Sc in Yoga to PG Diploma in Yoga, M.A in Sanskrit Literature, Tourism Management and more, the college promises a variety of off-beat courses for students to enrol in. Speaking to us on a condition of anonymity, an administrative staff member of the soon to be established college said, “Guru ji has started a great social change and bringing that change from Haridwar’s holy city to a metropolitan like Delhi was necessary seeing the social fabric of India diluting day by day. We are going to revolutionise the sphere of education with this college. Here traditions, culture and the ‘Bhartiya sanskriti’ will not only be preserved but also practiced.”

Since sanskriti must begin at home, in order to engage in the ’swadeshikaran’ of the youth’s ‘pehnawa’ boys will have to drape saffron robes while girls will adorn salwar-kameez as uniform., our sources tell us. The canteen will be ‘shuddh shakahari’ and insiders tell us that instead of having a college fest like other DU colleges, YUVA will have an annual ‘Yoga Shivir’ . To compensate for the star night, the yoga exponent’s ardent fan Shilpa Shetty Kundra will grace the stage, showcasing yoga asanas for her fans.

At this crucial hour, when many colleges are wanting to gain autonomy from DU, with this, we sincerely hope that by providing a remedy for anything and everything, Baba doesn’t end up getting a taste of his own medicine.

Image credits: Youth Ki Awaaz

**Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is a humorous, light hearted column that should only be appreciated and not accepted.

Riya Chhibber

Cluster Innovation Centre

Matrix 1.1 brings back games of numbers and shapes in Cluster Innovation Centre

By Srivedant Kar April 6, 2017

Often numbers and shapes of mathematics give schoolchildren their most scary days. To dispel this fear around mathematics the students of Mathematics education have been organizing an annual event ‘Matrix’ which organises games, rangolis and employs several other creative ways to help school and college students fight their fear of mathematics. This time ‘Matrix’- the mathematics education society of Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) organized its second event, Matrix 1.1, on 29^th and 30^th March 2017. The two day long fest featured several games, activities, competitions and film screening which saw participation from students from across various colleges of Delhi.

Participants of Kolam explaining their work to the judges

Day 1

Day one of the fest begun with Rangoli (KOLAM), a team affair which was judged on the basis of design and creativity. This was followed by a talk titled “Let’s discuss Math” by Prof. V. Ravichandran, head of department (Mathematics), University of Delhi. After a small break, the next competition that followed was ‘Tangram & Pentominoes’ which required players to arrange tans to form a given shape in the first round and form rectangles of given order using pentominoes in the second round. The participants were pitted against their own self and were evaluated through both rounds. The day drew its closure with a small snacks party.

Day 2

Day two of the fest started with the events ‘Dimension Destination’ and ‘Tarsia Puzzle’. While one required participating pairs to cross a maze using mathematical vocabulary and relied heavily on players’ coordination with each other, the latter demanded sound conceptual knowledge and members to work in teams in order to emerge victorious. Another innovative highlight of second day was “Mathematical Storyboard” competition, where teams had to think of a mathematical story and posturize it with help of handmade storyboards. A treasure hunt based on guessing answers and deriving directions from clues that were completely mathematical was organised and had the maximum participation and participants jostling around to find the treasure.

Apart from these competitive events, several others were also held throughout the day. Games like ‘Magic Polygon Puzzles’-requiring players to arrange natural numbers along the sides of given polygons to get a specific sum, ‘Mathematical Ludo’-incorporating strategy and binary operations, ‘Hope to 100’- a game of luck and content knowledge, screening of inspirational movie based on life of women mathematicians titled ‘Hidden Figures’ kept the visitors engaged throughout the day. The event drew its curtains with musical performances and prize distribution ceremony.

With a smiling face a participant replied that “We need more of such events in many other colleges and schools, because it’s in schools where children are most haunted by mathematics” when we asked him about his experience of the event. Priyankesh Dixit, one of the organisers of the event said ” We at Matrix look towards hosting more such events in future and would try to keep working for removing the dread and stigma associated with mathematics in society.”

Image Credits: Matrix Team

With inputs from Robin Sharma and Priyankesh Dixit

Srivedant Kar

Legends and Hues of Dreamcatchers

By DU Beat April 6, 2017

Have you ever given a thought about the pretty dreamcatchers that you hang on the walls of your room?

Dreamcatchers are spidery ‘sacred hoops’ with feathers and have long been a part of Native American religion, lore, and art, originating with the Ojibwe, or Chippewa, and the Lakota, a confederation of seven Sioux tribes. Dreamcatchers were gradually adopted by some neighbouring nations through intermarriage and trade. As one might suspect, the purpose of a dream catcher is to catch dreams—that is, to trap bad or evil dreams and channel good dreams to the sleeper. Dreamcatchers are usually placed in a window or above the bed, allowing the good dreams to drip down the feathers onto the sleeper. Some consider the dreamcatchers a symbol of unity among the various Indigenous Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. An Ojibwe legend recounts that the dreamcatcher originates with Spider Woman, known as Asibikaashi who took care of the children and the people on the land. As the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America it became difficult for Asibikaashi to reach all the children and the mothers and grandmothers wove magical webs for the children, using willow hoops and sinew, or cordage made from plants. According to many, using a dreamcatcher in its intended purpose is nothing more than a form of practicing occultism as Native people can sometimes see into the spiritual world of darkness, dreamcatchers, or anything to do with the occult, merely attract evil spirits and demonic activity and provide no protection from them.

Essentially, a dreamcatcher is intended to manipulate the spirit world. Some people believe in the efficacy of dreamcatchers. Others are unsure but are superstitious enough to keep one in the bedroom. Still others see dreamcatchers as part of a cultural history or a piece of art that looks good dangling from a rear-view mirror. Though dreamcatchers are available in all pretty colours, there are underlying meanings in the different colours which will help you decide what coloured dreamcatcher you would like to hang in your bedroom. Colour can indeed influence a person; however, it is important to remember that these effects differ between people. Not every colour is your colour.

A Red Dreamcatcher: Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense colour. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage.
An Orange Dreamcatcher: Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

A Yellow Dreamcatcher: Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter.
A Green Dreamcatcher: Green is the colour of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money. Green has great healing power. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance.
A Blue Dreamcatcher: Blue is the colour of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquillity and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.
A White Dreamcatcher: White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection. White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. White has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.
A Black Dreamcatcher: Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown. It usually has a negative connotation. Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious colour. In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.

Choose for yourself, what colour you want to symbolise for your emotions. This has a psychological effect, and colour influences perceptions that are not obvious. Colours can also enhance the effectiveness of placebos.

Radhika Boruah
[email protected]

Image credits: etsy.com
Feature Image credits: wikipedia.com

Uncategorized

Department of Computer Science, Shivaji College hosts Techelons’17

By DU Beat April 4, 2017

Techelons– the Annual Cultural Festival of Department of Computer Science, Shivaji College was organised on 30th and 31st March 2017. Mr Anuj Agarwal, Chairman, Centre for Research on Cyber Crime and Cyber Law delivered the inaugural address. The festival flagged off with Logics, Turncoat, Lan Gaming.

The second day saw various colleges competing for events such as Code Cracker, Play with SQL, What zipper and Brain Twister-IT Quiz. Students from DUCS, SGTB Khalsa College, Ramjas, Bhaskarcharya College of Applied Sciences, Vivekananda College, BVICAM, Satyawati College, IITM etc participated with great enthusiasm and zeal. The department congratulated the students for their contribution in making the festival a success.

Winners of events

Code Cracker

Ist Prize – Gaurav Narang, Jayant Lal Mahawar from DUCS

2^nd Prize- Gaurav Sehrawat, Gaurav Arora from DUCS

Play with SQL

1^st Prize: Rajat Tyagi from SGTB Khalsa College

2^nd Prize: Gaurav Narang from DUCS

IT Quiz

Ist Prize: Prince Soni, Himanshu Zelaya from Shivaji College

2^nd Prize: Shivam, Chirag Malhotra from GB Pant Engineering College

Logiks

1^st Prize: Gaurav Narang DUCS

2^nd Prize: Gaurav Arora from DUCS

Whatszapper

1^st Prize: Harshita Rastogi from Vivekananda College

2^nd Prize: Suraj Sharma from Shivaji College

LAN Gaming

COD

1^st Prize: Bipin Kumar, Nishant Kumar, Rahul Kumar Tomar, Prateek from BVICAM, Satyawati and Shivaji College

2^nd Prize: Ankit, Vikas, Jatin, Yash from Shivaji College

NFS

1^st Prize: Ankit Kumar from Shivaji College

-The Techelons team

DUB Speak

Of lessons learnt-Musings of a final year student

By Kriti Sharma April 4, 2017

With effectively just a month to go before I face the semester-end examinations and graduate from college (fingers crossed!), the following lines from Shakespeare’s sonnet ‘The Seven Ages’ seem to constantly reverberate in my pensive mind, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances ,and one man in his time plays many parts; His acts being seven ages.”

Indeed, Shakespeare in his infinite wisdom was accurate in suggesting that life is nothing but a collection of various ephemeral phases. There is something to gain and lose from each phase: each ‘act’ leaves a little bit of itself with you, and such learning then reflects in the attitudes, opinions and perceptions you demonstrate going forward.

As a fresher I had always hoped that college would change me in fascinating ways and that by the end of three years, I’d walk out an improved version of myself. As the curtains to graduation draw to a close, I can say that I have changed, as I had hoped I would. And it is the following revelation that has contributed the most to my personality: It’s not what your college does for you that changes you. It is what you do for your college (and in your college life) that brings out the best in you.

I learnt this lesson after months of sulking over not making it to my dream college. I’m sure a lot of you dealt with such feelings of inferiority as well. It is true that some institutions provide you more exposure than others. But true triumph exists in seeking opportunity, creating it even, and then succeeding in it by giving it all you’ve got. A majestic creature like the Phoenix rises from the ashes. Passion and ambition always shine through in even the darkest of times.

In hindsight, I’d say that college is all about self-exploration and discovery: things that come only when you immerse yourself into the world of possibilities. One needs to step out of one’s comfort zone and disregard limitations. Because honestly, in these prime years, limitations are nothing but a deceitful ploy of a timid mind.

Thus, invest your all for three years, and you’ll be rewarded in handsome dividends worth cherishing over a lifetime.

Good Luck!
Image Credits: picturesdp.blogspot.co.in

Kriti Sharma