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Three Years at DU Beat: A Purpose, A Family, A Constant – Shubham Kaushik, Editor (2016-17)

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Writing has never been difficult for me. I am better with words on paper than I am with words in speech. That was the idiosyncrasy that led me to DU Beat as a disillusioned first year student undergoing an identity crisis. However, as I sat down to write this Farewell note at the end of my time with this platform, I found myself at a loss for words. It’s clearly not easy saying goodbye to something that has been an integral part of my identity for the past three years.

DU Beat has continued to grow by leaps and bounds since its inception ten years ago, and it was an absolute honour to have had the chance to influence this growth during a period that saw great tumult and radical changes in the world, especially in the student community. We were at the forefront of covering important issues around the University throughout the year, including the DUSU elections and the events at Ramjas College earlier this year, and proudly stuck to our motto of ‘Freedom of Expression’.

What makes DU Beat great, apart from the fact that we are the one of the biggest campus publications in the country, is the amount and diversity of the opportunities it has to offer. Some apply looking for an internship experience, others do it for the want of a platform that gives space to their talent which their academic life has no scope for, and yet others – like yours truly – do it in search of a purpose to keep themselves engaged and energised during the course of their otherwise drab college lives. Everyone gets what they are looking for, and more. Working at DU Beat isn’t just writing articles, meeting deadlines and covering events. It is also finding yourself in unexpected situations and learning to adapt in order to come out at the top. It is on-ground, real-world experience that’s hard to come by for 20-year-old students so early in their career. It is finding kaleidoscopic minds coming together for riveting conversations who become teammates to work with and friends to depend on and meet outside of work. It is gruelling, challenging yet rewarding work, and laughter, appreciation and unwinding with a team that starts feeling like family. It was all of that for me for the past three years – a purpose, a family, a constant. By the end of your time here, you don’t realise most of the voids you came with because this place finds a way to fill them.

Out of all the things we achieved this year – from the increases in our readership to experimenting successfully with live platforms – I am the most proud of the team we’ve managed to put together. It is with a heavy heart but immense confidence that I leave this team we built in the capable leadership of Vineeta Rana, as the Editor for the year 2017-18, and Srivedant Kar, as the Associate Editor. With the satisfaction of having seen everyone in the team grow not only as journalists but also as people, I sign off from my duties as the Editor for 2016-17.

 

Shubham Kaushik

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DUB Speak

JEE: The Great Indian National Dream or Another Herd Mentality at Play?

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“Do you know that the majority of the people who attended the programme were IITians?” asked one of my friends, a humanities student from the University of Delhi who recently returned from a winter school at a premier business institution of the country. I was left wondering whether the presence of engineers from premier engineering colleges was something from which the programme drew its value or vice versa.

Last year, the Ministry of Human Resource Development approved six new IITs. This was in spite of the fact that the existing IITs face a 40% shortage of faculty members. Earlier in 2014, when the BJP-led NDA government came to power, it declared the formation of new IITs. The same declaration was followed before the elections in Jammu in 2016. The parents, teachers, politicians, and the entire country seem to have fallen in love with IITs. So much so that students start preparing for the entrance from Class 8th and even below. Every year, the placement reports of students bagging packages in crores, national media coverage of toppers, and several other factors play their roles in creating this beautiful picture of IITs as the institutions which would make your life all set once you enter them.

But the inside picture is something no one pays attention to. Recently, another student committed suicide in one of the premier institutions of the country. From the towns that have virtually turned into factories in the name of coaching centres to the placements after entering premier institutions, this entire journey of a student is filled with pressure and stress which becomes too difficult to handle.

Every year India produces engineers who are as many in number as the entire population of Singapore. However, only 7% of them are employable. These engineers often start their journey as science students after Class 10th because they are perceived to be ‘good students’ and then the journey never ends.

This year a total number of 11, 98,989 people applied for the JEE mains exams across the country. The huge number implies that this is no less than a national dream.

But is it?

The number of IITians cracking the UPSC, IIMs, and other jobs has increased in the last five years. This shows that IITians are looking for alternative career options than engineering. A few days back during a casual chat with one of my hostelmates who studies at DSE, he mentioned that the number of engineers getting into economics after engineering has increased over the years. Similar pictures can also be drawn for the Faculty of Law.

Every student dreams to be recognised, get a good job, achieve greatness, contribute back to the country, or simply make his parents happy. Satisfaction in life plays a huge role in determining the quality of life that we live and share with everyone around us.

This is another year when in the coming days 1.5 lakh students from the 12 lakhs who applied for the JEE mains would be sitting for the JEE advanced paper. As students from IITs break into the 100 percentile clubs of CAT, go ahead into environment conservation, crack the UPSC, or explore humanities, all I wonder is that if these jobs were appealing career options in the first place, then why spend four precious years doing engineering.

Herd Mentality at play
Herd mentality at play

Maybe these engineers realised this in the later part of their engineering courses. Or maybe they never thought about it in their earlier years because they didn’t see it as an option. Or maybe the picture above is the answer. I don’t know.

 

Feature Image Credits: CollegeDekho
Image Credits: Pinterest

Srivedant Kar
[email protected]

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DUB News

Once a DUBster, Always a DUBster: Riya Chhibber (Associate Editor Print 2016-17)

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“Chaahe jo tumhe poore dil se, Milta hai woh mushkil se
Aisa jo koi kahin hai, Bas vahi sabse hasin hai”

In 2015, one sunny afternoon, eating in the college canteen, a colourful newspaper in the hands of many students caught my eye. I applied to work there, got selected, and that decision of sending a very nervous and grammatically unsound email changed my life forever. That newspaper was DU Beat. Cut to two years hence, when I was bestowed with a leadership role and was given the post of the Associate Print Editor, I never thought that the newspaper that I recall as my first memory of DU Beat would become my baby one day.

Like the line I quoted above, my journey at DU Beat has been like a movie. It had a powerful plot that built my way to the future, a story with a purpose, individuals and characters who I fell in love with, and a heartwarming ending that brims with emotions I will fail to express here. Just like a movie is memorable because of its characters, my time at DUB gave me the chance to know and work with some of the finest correspondents, photographers, and designers. Working here gave me friends I will cherish for a lifetime and it gave me a family that I know has always got my back. But like all movies, my association with this place had its own ups and downs.

While I had my share of achievements and fun by writing some popular Bazingas (some of them were believed to an extent that we got in trouble sometimes), political pieces, took some unbelievably cool interviews and attended outstation fests (a shoutout to my Mood-I mini family), my leadership role most of the time didn’t allow me to write as much as I would have wanted to. The pressure that comes with this responsibility sometimes got the better of me and left me frustrated, stressed, and sometimes even self-critical. But my time here can never be replaced and the experience can never be recreated. My college life and DU Beat were pretty much synonymous. DU Beat gave me an identity. The sense of association, love, respect, and adoration that one develops for this place and its people is a feeling that not many get to feel in their college life and I feel blessed that I was one of the few lucky ones who got to experience the magic of this place firsthand.

From allotting articles, solving doubts post midnight over WhatsApp, making the Print layout to heading Print meetings every Monday, unlike the rest of the world, I developed an unusual liking for the most hated day of the week and always looked forward to it. I am terribly going to miss the 200+ notifications on the 60+ WhatsApp groups, I am going to crave the feeling of being able to put up an urgent post on all the social media handles and then see it trend and get likes, I am going to miss the feeling of using my DUB ID and toggling between multiple social media platforms and mixing passwords each time. Most of all, I will never have an excuse to skip awkward social gatherings and ignore my friends saying, “I have DUB work.”

Riya’s journey at DUB

 

In life, one must always have something to look up to, something to look forward to and something to chase and in my case, for two consecutive years, DU Beat filled all the blanks. Not being able to work here anymore is going to leave a void in me that is never going to be fulfilled, it will leave a thirst that will never be quenched.

 

But as Shakespeare rightly said,

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

 

In my entire college life, DUB was my world, my stage, and I guess I played my part. It is time I make my exit.

Wishing the new office bearers all the very best. Keep our baby growing.

 

Signing off

Riya Chhibber

Associate Print Editor

2016-17

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DUB Speak

The Art of Binge Watching (and how to hold it off)

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As the exam season engulfs us and we find a myriad of ways to escape from studying, we often gravitate towards the ever-inviting TV screen or website. This allows us to deviate from our study schedules and escape reality for a more comforting cocoon of pillows and blankets in which we can sip our hot tea and watch our favourite shows.

The only problem with this fantasy is that it is leads us into a spiral of watching entire seasons in a week, when we should be focusing on our semester exams. It is therefore imperative to hold off watching the latest TV series whilst caught up in the eye of the tornado, or as we know it, DU exams. This is, of course, easier said than done. We give you these handy tips to refer back to whenever you have a moment of weakness this exam season:

  1. Work on an incentive-reward basis

Schedule your episodes in a way that you only watch them after having completed a significant portion of your work. Set yourself a goal – finishing a chapter, or making notes for a reading, etc. Study for a couple of hours, then take a lunch break and watch a couple of YouTube videos or a 20-minute sitcom episode to reward yourself. If you feel you’ve been extraordinarily productive, go ahead and watch a 40-minute drama series, or two back-to-back episodes. This not only positively reinforces your work ethic, but also incentivises you to work towards completing your goal.

  1. Don’t download or make a list of pending TV shows

If you’re planning your summer binge list and note down all the TV shows you’re desperate to watch, it’ll be a constant reminder of everything you can easily access. You’ll fall down a rabbit hole which is almost impossible to get out of. So refrain from downloading all the shows you’re planning to watch and don’t have torrent links ready for these. Instead, work on a moderation basis (see Tip 1) and then go berserk on the final day of exams.

  1. Scare yourself

If all else fails, keep reminding yourself how terrifying it is to fail. Put up post-its around your room, block certain entertainment websites, and hold on to the comforting fact that your TV shows will always be there for you (unlike these exams). This works even better if you tell your friends to remind you constantly of this reality. Make it an exercise to positively reinforce (and scare) each other on a regular basis.

Good luck following these tips. Happy studying!

 

Feature Image Credits: BuzzFeed

Vineeta Rana
[email protected]

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DUB News

Saying Goodbye to Family – Arushi Pathak (Associate Editor Web 2016-17)

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The most difficult goodbye you ever say is to your family: the family that moulds you into a person that is ready to face any obstacle head on. No matter how hard you try to prepare yourself, you just cannot come around to say it to them. And when the moment is finally there, all you can do is stand and admire how beautiful your family is, reminiscing all the beautiful memories you’ve gathered with them.

My three years in DU Beat have been the most awarding and inspiring years in life. The slightly scared enthu-cutlet, as called by her seniors, who begged the HRs to let her be a part of her dream team at DU Beat within the first month of joining college; is now graduating as a proud Associate Editor of the same. My college life has been all about DUB- the source of all of my happy memories. From coping with deadlines to drinking games at DUB parties, DU Beat has been every happy memory I have of college life. I’ve seen my mentors becoming my friends, my friends becoming my guides and my juniors becoming family. If given a chance, I’d redo all of it with as much affection and effort, if not more.

I have always boasted about being the oldest member of the DU Beat Editorial team. And very proudly so. But being the oldest member comes with its own responsibilities- people look up to you for everything, everyone expects you to be the know-it-all. I have, not once, felt these expectations to be a burden and responsibilities to be unrealistic. DU Beat has pushed me to challenge my limits and strive for the best performance I can bring out of me.

I walked into this organisation as a fresher looking for a purpose. I couldn’t be happier that I chose DU Beat, more importantly, DU Beat chose me; to design my college life into the enigma that it is today. I have made friends I know will last a lifetime, I’ve learned from people and experiences. The perks, you bet, have been nothing less than a plate full of Vanilla Oreos. Standing inside the barricades with a press card hanging around my neck has to certainly be the best incentive DU Beat gave me. From getting all close up to star performers to being pushed and shoved and stomped upon in stampedes, it’s been a pleasure.

There are a lot of emotions I am experiencing right now. Knowing that I won’t have a 100 messages in my phone from DU Beat groups, leaving 60+ WhatsApp DUB Groups, not getting to make the Web Layout every week, not having to reprimand correspondents and copy-editors to adhere to the deadline and most importantly, not having DU Beat next to my name.

Will I get through this? I’m not sure. But DU Beat has made me into a person who sure can deal with these emotions amidst all possible challenges life decides to throw at me. And to cope, I certainly have some informal DUB WhatsApp groups to hold on to and I am willing to be the creepy stalker of DU Beat on Facebook. Whatever keeps me close to this family.

Words will fall short in explaining the gravity of DUB in my life. And so, is it a goodbye yet? Well, it will never be. DU Beat shall always occupy the most comforting spot in my heart.

 

Signing off,

For the last time,

Arushi Pathak,

Associate Editor Web (2016-17)

DU Beat

 

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DUB News

CBSE to scrap off marks moderation, Board scores anticipated to drop

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In a meeting organised by the Central Board of Secondary Education on April 25th, 2017, thirty two school boards reached a consensus to scrap off the “marks moderation” policy from this year onwards. The pivotal reason behind this decision was to put a cap on the soaring Class XII results witnessed over the past few years.

The marks moderation method, first undertaken in 1992, leads to a spike in the marks scored in the Board examinations and was followed to bring about uniformity for an equitable distribution of marks. The policy constituted a marginal tweaking in scores to allow it to compensate the evaluation parameters of different examiners, the parity of pass percentage, and the difficulty of the question paper. Under this, the examinee can be awarded upto 15% extra marks if the question paper is deemed difficult. However, taking into account the high-scoring performance by students in the last few years, the CBSE has agreed to undertake measures to avoid an inflation of scores this year onwards.

It has adopted a policy of full disclosure with regards to awarding of grace marks. These marks will be disclosed on the mark sheet of student, and this policy shall be immediately implemented in the academic circle.

In addition to this, the CBSE will discontinue the practice of setting varied question papers for different boards, and set up a common question paper for all CBSE-affiliated schools. Previously, there was a discrepancy seen with regards to the level of the paper in the Delhi region and ?hat of the rest of the country and abroad. A safeguard measure complementing this change is also proposed by the Centre wherein the school boards grade a students’ performance in extra-curricular activities, in addition to the conventional academic module. Such an evaluation is sought to bring about a holistic result of the student.

The School Education Secretary, Anil Swarup, on speaking to a popular national daily commented that CBSE will lead by example by not artificially “spiking” marks scored by Class XII students in Board results expected next month. He also tweeted, “In the meeting held with State and Central Education Boards, consensus arrived at doing away with “spiking” of marks through moderation.” The implementation of such a strategy will have a direct effect on the Board results of this year, with an anticipated decrease in academic performance. This is expected to also lead to a reduction in the soaring cut-offs of the college admissions, a trend which has been the reason of anxiety and stress on students appearing for undergraduate admissions.

The meeting saw the attendance of the representatives of the ICSE Boards, NIOS, states of Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. The Boards also agreed to adopt the NCERT curriculum for core subjects. To execute these policies and resolve issues concerning their implementation, a working group headed by the CBSE chairman and with other members from the ICSE Board and other states was set up by the Centre. The decision to implement these changes in evaluation is set to affect the curriculum from this year onwards.

With inputs from The Indian Express

Image Credits: Zee News

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

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Uncategorized

‘Project Jyoti’, Devika’s story of bringing a change

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img_20170331_160227
Through Project Jyoti, Devika has affected the lives of many underprivileged children.

Having conducted a number of programs/ events as the Child Rights Leader (CRL) for Jesus and Mary college, 2016-2017, Devika Chopra’s journey is a tale of dedication and commitment towards bringing a change in the lives of underprivileged children. As the CRL for Child Rights and You (CRY), Devika undertook a wide array of events with a simple desire of adding a little something to the lives of those who were a part of the programme. From holding ‘Book Collection Drive’, setting up a bake sale, to organising a plethora of after-school workshops such as clock making, origami and animal sensitization sessions, the Child Rights Leadership Program (CRLP) under Devika’s leadership has gone a step beyond spreading awareness amongst college students.  As a member of the JMC Education Program (an after-school tuition program for underprivileged children), Devika and her team were able to establish an association between the two programs with the sole aim of providing the few means that are required to foster creativity amongst children, in turn making the college a safe space where children could express themselves freely.

“Project Jyoti”, a ray of hope and a door to endless possibilities for underprivileged kids is an initiative envisioned by Devika. For her, it has been a journey of reinforcing the very idea of giving children space and time to be creative as she holds the firm belief that all children have the ability to innovate. With the support of the JMC Education Program, she strives to polish the creative skills of underprivileged children.

The children participate in one of the many educational activities that 'Project Jyoti' offers to them.
The children participate in one of the many educational activities that ‘Project Jyoti’ offers to them.

The execution of the program is simple as it involves conducting arts, theatre and other extracurricular workshops for children within the college campus. Devika and her team meet the children post their school hours and hold a variety of workshops every fortnight. The team focusses on making these workshops meaningful by combining arts with themes of environmental sustainability, animal sensitization etc.

The volunteers with the children of 'Project Jyoti.'
The volunteers with the children of ‘Project Jyoti.’

The inspiration behind “Project Jyoti” is an interesting story that goes back to the summer of 2015 when Devika was an intern with CRY. Sitting at a girls home in Delhi, never did Devika imagine that she would be inspired by talent which technically came all the way from the North-east. Devika never actually got the opportunity to meet Jyoti but feels she met a part of her through the many drawing sheets she found while cleaning the office. As an artist herself, Devika was completely taken aback by Jyoti’s work.

Jyoti's artwork that proved inspirational to Devika.
Jyoti’s artwork that proved inspirational to Devika.

 

Such is the power of art. Despite never having met Jyoti, Devika felt a strong connection with her work. Devika tells us it was her bold use of colours that was most striking, for who would think blue and orange flowers would turn out to be this pretty. While one could go on dissecting Jyoti’s work from a creative perspective, it’s the simplicity and purity of it that made it so beautiful. Each and every drawing was unique and inspiring.

 

Jyoti’s imagination, like all children, knew no boundaries. At the home, Jyoti found herself in a place that gave her the few means that were necessary for her to put this imagination on paper, and the result is in front of us- work that is absolutely priceless and touches a chord deep within. This meeting with Jyoti’s artwork is the inspiration behind the project. By understanding the importance of creativity in the lives of children, how it shapes their intellectual abilities and allows self-expression, Devika believes we can truly transcend the boundaries placed by the current education system. But more importantly, by launching this project on her campus, Devika hopes to give each and every child an opportunity to explore their creative sides.

img_20170403_160959_01

 

Signing off, Devika says, “The word ‘jyoti’ literally translates into light, and Jyoti truly lived up to her name, creating artwork which I sincerely hope will inspire each and every person who has the fortune of coming across it.”

*The child’s name has been changed to Jyoti for confidentiality purposes.

 

Compiled by
Priyal Mahtta- [email protected]

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Campus Central

DU to teach “How to write a Facebook post” as part of English Literature

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Looks like Delhi University is in the middle of updating its curriculum for several courses. It’s only been a day since the speculations of Chetan Bhagat’s bestselling book, ‘Five Point Someone’s inclusion as English Generic Elective floated that another interesting addition (proposal) has also come to light.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Delhi University is planning to include ‘Facebook post writing’ as part of its English literature curriculum.  This change was recommended by a core committee of the Choice Based Credit System at Delhi University’s English department. The proposed components will be part of the Skill Enhancement Courses. Alongside the Facebook posts, other generic but important and frequently used writing such as, blog posts and cover letters are also included.

The English department has sent the proposed changes to all colleges and the teachers are suppose to send in their feedback by May 1st. Since there is no particular plan on how to conduct the course, any further instructions will be given once initial feedback has been received.

Many people are critiquing the addition of Facebook post writing in English Literature on the grounds that this is juvenile and unimportant. Besides, Facebook is sort of an informal platform where people choose to express freely and therefore it is not feasible to add it in the academics.  However, in their defense the core committee resonates that social media is an important tool of communication and it will advantageous for students to learn how to use it effectively.

On being asked about how this new step is going to affect the academics Dr. Siddhart Kanoujia of Hindu College said ” Important aspect is if we are making it a part of our syllabus then isn’t there a danger of homogenization and stratification in terms of correct language, grammar and other norms which the educator deems fit. I don’t think there is any intervention required except a few lectures on net ettiquettes, but then that doesn’t remain within the purview of academic writing.” He also said the attempt would turn futile because facebook is a platform that allows freedom of expression and this exercise would be imposing set of rules on written form which would create homogeneity and would turn out to restrict the freedom of thought.

Whether or not these proposed changes will be implemented or not, we will get to know only after the new syllabus is released.

 

Image Credits: Vanity Fair

 

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

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News

Websites of Indian educational institutions hacked by Pakistani group

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The official websites of over 10 Educational Institutions were hacked by a group of Pro-Pakistan hackers on Tuesday, who claim to have done no harm to the data stored. As per The Hindu, one of them was also quoted, “Just here to deliver my message to Indians.”

Websites of educational institutions including University of Delhi, University of Kerala, IIT-Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University were hacked, wherein the group barred public access to them by putting up a page displaying pro- Pakistan slogans. The page also displayed videos showing alleged brutality of Indian soldiers towards Kashmiri residents.

The group, claiming to be the ‘PHC Pakistani 133t w4s h3r3’, says that the move was in response to Code-Man’s hack of railways.gov.pk and in solidarity with innocent Kashmiri people being killed by Indian Army.

The time being around the admission season in various institutions, these websites draw significant attraction from aspirants, parents alike which might be one of the reasons why the hackers chose to deface the websites. Meanwhile, the unrest in Kashmir has taken new turn with students joining the stone pelting groups in school uniforms.

Later reports from the Registrar of University of Delhi, Tarun Das, claim that the access to the website been initially barred from outside.However, responding to the urgency of the admission process of the University, that entirely takes place online, problems were detected and successfully rectified.The Director of University of Kerala’s Computer Centre made similar claims, saying that the website had not been affected by the hackers.

 

Priyal Mahtta

[email protected]

 

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News

DU to invite applicants for vacant teaching positions

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With officials asking colleges to issue advertisements in order to invite applicants, the University of Delhi (DU) is soon going to begin the process of filling up its vacant teaching posts. On 5th April, 2017, a letter has been issued to the colleges to begin the application process by 19th April. A link has also been sent to a website for generating a centralised application form. Since the procedure has been shifted online, no offline forms from the applicants will be accepted.

“This time, the form is so designed that a candidate needs to only change the college name and apply to all colleges where his/her subjects are taught. Earlier, the API score of a particular candidate used to differ from college to college, creating a huge amount of grievances and complaints. Now a candidate has to fill the same form and it will automatically calculate the API score of candidates,” DeveshSinha, the Dean of the colleges, told Indian Express.

Furthermore, the University has also asked the 28 colleges which do not have a Principal to advertise for the position. DU has a total of 4,000 vacant posts for teachers, which shall be allotted to ad-hoc teachers, each appointed for a period of four months at a time. The governing bodies of the colleges will be sending the details of their vacant positions and reservation rosters, and following their approval, take appropriate steps to screen applications and fix interviews. A few colleges have already begun the application process.

With inputs from the Indian Express
Deepannita Misra
[email protected]
Image credits:sarkarijobnews.com

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