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DU Flash Mob Fights Corruption

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DU Flash Mob Fights Corruption
The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) took a stand against corruption in a new and novel way: flash mobs. Like typical flash mobs, they assembled in public, performed unusual acts and then dispersed. This Flash mob took place on the 27th of January at Rajiv Chowk, where students and teachers
danced and sang about the evils of corruption, and the need to combat it.
This Flash mob was basically an event to get people interested in the annual DU marathon. The DU marathon will be held on the 8th of February, 2011. The decision to take up the fight against corruption as the main cause was the magnitude and number of scandals that have surfaced in the recent past. All the students participating in the Flash mob sported T shirts which read, “I will fight against corruption”.
Additionally, the performers carried posters and banners to spread their message more effectively. This flash mob consisted of students from many colleges like Kirori Mal, Khalsa, Ramjas, and Hindu, among
others.
Devika Dutt
[email protected]

The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) took a stand against corruption in a new and novel way: flash mobs. Like typical flash mobs, they assembled in public, performed unusual acts and then dispersed. This Flash mob took place on the 27th of January at Rajiv Chowk, where students and teachers

danced and sang about the evils of corruption, and the need to combat it.

This Flash mob was basically an event to get people interested in the annual DU marathon. The DU marathon will be held on the 8th of February, 2011. The decision to take up the fight against corruption as the main cause was the magnitude and number of scandals that have surfaced in the recent past. All the students participating in the Flash mob sported T shirts which read, “I will fight against corruption”.

Additionally, the performers carried posters and banners to spread their message more effectively. This flash mob consisted of students from many colleges like Kirori Mal, Khalsa, Ramjas, and Hindu, among

others.

Devika Dutt

[email protected]

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A Rap on the Wrist for DUTA

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A Rap on the Wrist for DUTA
The Delhi High Court on 15th November reprimanded the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA)
for striking work and not holding classes in protest against the implementation of the semester system.
The court directive comes after a large portion of the academic year being interrupted by recurring
strikes and demonstrations.
The Division bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, “Education cannot be thrown into the
ocean by these teachers, who are taking the law into their hands by going on strike. The rule of law
has to prevail and teachers are bound to follow the instructions of the University administration”,
while directing teachers to return to their classes and conduct classes in accordance with the semester
system. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Professor M R Gupta against the
teachers who had been on an indefinite strike since October 25th. DUTA was a respondent in this
particular PIL.
Even though this is an interim order, members of DUTA expressed their dismay at the court’s orders.
Said Ms Ujjaini, “We are definitely disappointed since the court has failed to recognize our motive. We
have been against the Semester System for two reasons. The first was the fact that it would lead to the
dilution of the academic standards and its implementation is seen as a ruling out of skilled technicians
from India’s premier league universities.”
The High court also put on hold the semester exams which were scheduled to begin on the 6th of
December, in light of long strikes and the controversial issues concerning the new system. This
prolonged the uncertainty shrouding the exams and prompted confusion among the students of several
colleges. As late as Saturday, reports of some colleges holding exams in January, while others continuing
with the December schedule kept trickling in. A clearer picture will emerge after the University sends
all colleges a communiqué in the matter. Internal exams are likely to be postponed by at least a week, if
not more.
As far as the allegations of procedural and legal violations in the implementation of the system are
concerned, the High Court adjourned the matter till the next hearing which is to be held on the 13th of
December. A member of DUTA, who did not wish to be named said, “DUTA will file their complaints
regarding the violations of law and procedure by the administration in the semester system before the
next hearing. As far as future course of action goes, there are two things that need to be done. Outside
the court, we will continue to spread awareness and sensitize all the stakeholders about our stand
against the semester system. Inside the court, the legal recourse that DUTA now plans to take has not
been decided. We are consulting our lawyers in the matter and can take any action necessary, whether
it is approaching the Supreme Court or filing a separate plea in the High Court itself.”
In the meanwhile, some teachers also expressed their dissatisfaction with the recent events. Said
Mukul Manglik of the History Department of Ramjas College, “In the last 6 months, the University has
gone to court over an academic issue. This is a most disturbing trend. For the University to support a
PIL lodged by an outsider is equally unsettling. An issue that affects the intellectual and academic life
of the University should be resolved within the University itself. A University is a place for debate and
discussion and the semester issue should be resolved in a similar manner. The lack of discussion sets a
dangerous precedent for the University, and for the society at large.”
-Surabhi Mall
[email protected]
Devika Dutt
[email protected]

The Delhi High Court on 15th November reprimanded the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA)

for striking work and not holding classes in protest against the implementation of the semester system.

The court directive comes after a large portion of the academic year being interrupted by recurring

strikes and demonstrations.

The Division bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, “Education cannot be thrown into the

ocean by these teachers, who are taking the law into their hands by going on strike. The rule of law

has to prevail and teachers are bound to follow the instructions of the University administration”,

while directing teachers to return to their classes and conduct classes in accordance with the semester

system. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Professor M R Gupta against the

teachers who had been on an indefinite strike since October 25th. DUTA was a respondent in this

particular PIL.

Even though this is an interim order, members of DUTA expressed their dismay at the court’s orders.

Said Ms Ujjaini, “We are definitely disappointed since the court has failed to recognize our motive. We

have been against the Semester System for two reasons. The first was the fact that it would lead to the

dilution of the academic standards and its implementation is seen as a ruling out of skilled technicians

from India’s premier league universities.”

The High court also put on hold the semester exams which were scheduled to begin on the 6th of

December, in light of long strikes and the controversial issues concerning the new system. This

prolonged the uncertainty shrouding the exams and prompted confusion among the students of several

colleges. As late as Saturday, reports of some colleges holding exams in January, while others continuing

with the December schedule kept trickling in. A clearer picture will emerge after the University sends

all colleges a communiqué in the matter. Internal exams are likely to be postponed by at least a week, if

not more.

As far as the allegations of procedural and legal violations in the implementation of the system are

concerned, the High Court adjourned the matter till the next hearing which is to be held on the 13th of

December. A member of DUTA, who did not wish to be named said, “DUTA will file their complaints

regarding the violations of law and procedure by the administration in the semester system before the

next hearing. As far as future course of action goes, there are two things that need to be done. Outside

the court, we will continue to spread awareness and sensitize all the stakeholders about our stand

against the semester system. Inside the court, the legal recourse that DUTA now plans to take has not

been decided. We are consulting our lawyers in the matter and can take any action necessary, whether

it is approaching the Supreme Court or filing a separate plea in the High Court itself.”

In the meanwhile, some teachers also expressed their dissatisfaction with the recent events. Said

Mukul Manglik of the History Department of Ramjas College, “In the last 6 months, the University has

gone to court over an academic issue. This is a most disturbing trend. For the University to support a

PIL lodged by an outsider is equally unsettling. An issue that affects the intellectual and academic life

of the University should be resolved within the University itself. A University is a place for debate and

discussion and the semester issue should be resolved in a similar manner. The lack of discussion sets a

dangerous precedent for the University, and for the society at large.”

-Surabhi Mall

[email protected]

Devika Dutt

[email protected]

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Accommodating the CWG: Displacement of hostel students

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Delhi University is accommodating a lot of changes in its campus for the Commonwealth Games at the cost of not being able to accommodate its students in the hostels of various colleges. The hostels of almost all north campus colleges have been or will be vacated for the Commonwealth Games delegates. However, some north campus colleges have made alternate arrangements for the evicted students.
Daulat Ram College has offered to put up 45 of its hostelers in its air conditioned seminar room and provide them with three meals daily. The seminar room has attached bathrooms. All these services will be provided free of cost. The girls will also be provided other amenities like television, an electric iron and drinking water. Similarly, Kirori Mal College is accommodating 25 students who face financial constraints or are physically challenged and are hence having difficulty finding alternate accommodation. They are being allowed to stay in the warden’s quarters which are currently unoccupied.
Miranda House has also assisted its students to find temporary lodging till October. The college administration helped the evicted hostelers by identifying suitable rented flats and Paying Guest Accommodations in the vicinity of the college which provide their services at reasonable rates. The college has agreed to provide basic furniture and meals to these students. While they can have breakfast and lunch in the college mess, dinner will be delivered in meal boxes to the students.
On the other hand, several other colleges have been completely apathetic towards its students and their accommodation needs. In some cases, the students were unceremoniously displaced without complete information. Says a student of Hindu College, “Right up till February, there was no official information from the college as to whether our hostel rooms have to be vacated or not. It was believed to be a rumour. We were then informed informally that we should start looking for alternate accommodations. So several out-stations students had to spend a sizable portion of their summer vacation looking for PGs and flats to rent. The college did not assist us at all.” Students of St. Stephen’s College are similarly clueless about when they have to vacate their hostel rooms, if at all. The first years have been made to sign a bond saying that they will have to vacate their rooms whenever it is demanded of them. The students of the Hansraj College hostel faced a similar plight and have not received any assistance from the college authorities. Says an aggrieved hosteler of Hansraj College, “We weren’t even told till the end of May whether we would have to vacate our rooms or not. We thought we would have to find someplace else to stay for at most 15 days. Most of us had to pay security for 2 to 3 months, which will only be refunded to us if we stay in the hostel for 11 months. Rates outside are also skyrocketing. Are we supposed to study or look for places to live?”
Lady Shri Ram College for Women has not asked its second and third year students to move out. However, the first years, despite being allotted hostel rooms, have not been allowed to move into them before October. Says a student of LSR, “While I have been allotted a hostel room, I cannot occupy it before October. I had to make my own arrangements for living in Delhi and the college provided me with no assistance whatsoever in finding alternate accommodation.”

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Hans Raj College

HRC: Ceiling Comes Apart

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Third Year students of Hansraj College faced quite a shock when the chunks of ceiling of their classroom started falling during the course of a class on Wednesday, the 28th of July. Fortunately, everyone escaped unhurt.
The classroom in question, Room 5, of Hansraj College is located on the first floor, above which a whole new floor is under construction. This is not the usual classroom for Third year Economics students and was allotted to them temporarily as their usual classroom had been given to the new larger batch of first year students. A lecture was in progress when the plaster started falling on the students. An eyewitness said, “We rushed out of the class as soon as we realized that the plaster was falling from the ceiling. Soon after, a large chunk of the ceiling fell where one of our classmates had been sitting”.
Classes were suspended for the day due to the lack of a classroom. The next day, after much chaos and confusion, a new classroom was allotted to the students. However, there were only two fans in the room. Also the warm air from the vent of the auditorium AC flowed directly into this room, making it highly uncomfortable. “The new room given to us was an even bigger nightmare than the previous one. It was very hot which made it very difficult for us to sit inside, let alone concentrate on our lectures”, complained another student.

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Chariots of North Campus

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In collaboration with Delhi Transport Corporation, Delhi University has launched a low floor bus service to and from the Vishwavidyalaya metro station in North Campus.
The bus service began with the new session on 21st July. It charges a flat rate of Rs 5 and plies from Monday to Saturday on three routes. These three routes cover all the colleges in North Campus and have provided the students and teachers an alternate means of travelling to and from the metro station, which until now was the monopoly of the rickshaw puller.
This bus service started just in time as, in keeping with the rising prices, rickshaw pullers have also upped their rates. As opposed to charging Rs 10 for one person till the red light on Chattra Marg, rickshaw pullers now agree to provide their services for Rs 15; that too after some haggling. This might be an opportunistic temporary rise in prices to try to make a better living for a few days at the expense of freshers who are still learning the ropes of campus life and are not very aware of the prevalent rates. Even though some students sympathise with the rickshaw puller, they are glad for the availability of an alternate means of transportation. Says a student of Hindu College, “These rickshaw pullers work very hard in the heat and deserve whatever they are charging. In these inflationary times, it is difficult for them to make ends meet. So a rise in rates seems justified. However, it is difficult for us as well as we have to make do in a fixed amount that we get as pocket money. So the bus service is definitely a blessing”.

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Uncategorized

CWG2010- Progress Review

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For 12 days, Delhi will be the venue for one of the biggest sporting events India has ever hosted. After 66 days, Delhi’s makeover will, hopefully, be completed. Delhi is slated to emerge from its cocoon of blue Delhi metro barricades and grey cement and sand at under-construction sites, into what we hope will be a world class city; a world class city which would be ready to host 8000 athletes and officials from 71 Commonwealth countries, representing one thirds of the world’s population. Keeping in mind the mammoth task that is to be accomplished, DU Beat undertakes a reality check as to the state of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games.
The website for the Commonwealth Games boasts of the Games being held in 23 world class competition venues and 32 Training venues. The Ministry of Youth Affairs claims that most venues have been completed, while the Games Village, the Table Tennis facility at the Yamuna Sports Complex, the renovation work at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Dr. S.P.M. Swimming Pool Complex, among several other training venues, ‘will be completed shortly’. All the games venues are to be handed over to the Organizing Committee on August 1, so that crucial overlaying work can be carried out. Given the deadline, the incomplete works are a cause for concern. Also, some of the projects that have been completed on paper have incomplete accompanying projects like landscaping, approach roads and clearing of debris.
The pace of ongoing work and the obvious level of incompletion that can be seen in supporting infrastructure projects have the responsible authorities scrambling for cover from the opprobrium they face. The Barapullah elevated road corridor which will provide a link between the Games Village and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is slated to be completed latest by August end. But there are still very wide gaps in the basic elevated structure as it passes near Defence Colony and even bigger gaps near Nizamuddin. The renovation work at Connaught Place is also far from complete, adding to the traffic and parking woes in the area. Even the blue-eyed boy of infrastructure projects, The Delhi Metro seems to be running behind schedule. The Violet line, which will link Badarpur to Central Secretariat is supposed to be completed by August. However, several portions of the basic elevated structure have not been completed in areas like Sarita Vihar. Another thing that calls into question the quality of work being done, if at all, in the de silting of drains is the current state of water logging due to the rains.
While all this gives us a lot to worry about, solace can be found in completion of the swanky new terminal of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Another encouraging thing that can be seen is the introduction of the new low floor DTC buses on several routes in the city. While the significant progress that has been made in the past few months cannot be denied, many loose ends still need to be tied up.

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Features

Delhi University at a Glance: Evolution of a Student

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First Year

First year in college is, as some already know and some of you will eventually get to know, unlike any other. You can feel it on your first day, when you realise that the first division your school was so proud of is shared by fifty other people in your class.
Also, unless you’re in Stephens’ or Miranda and the like, you can’t help but notice that your college is definitely less glossy than had been shown in the national daily. And hereon you know you’re on your way to busting a few good myths about college life by the end of the year. Your mind constantly oscillates between a “Look at me!” and “What next?” which in a few month boils down to “So this is how it’s really like? Gulp!” And don’t be surprised if you soon find yourself discussing philosophical nothings with your lecturers in class and on facebook alike.

First year is all about whirlwind evolution, where in one year you go from being a restless juvenile to being comfortable in your skin; the means to that end consisting of real workload, attendance blues, societies, new discoveries and meeting people from all spheres to teach you a new thing or two along the way.

Second Year

First year turns out to be a year of unexpected surprises, unmet expectations, new-found freedom and acclimatization to all of this. Come second year, everyone looks back at the year that was, and are proud of some things and regret some others. Everyone resolves that this year is going to be different. This year, we will study more. This year we will do something we should have done last year, for sure. And it turns out to be like one of those typical New Year Resolutions, made to be broken. So for a few days, things do look a little different, but then most people move down that slippery slope of first year.
Second year is still very different from first year in several ways. By this time, most people find their niche in their classes and in the college and become much more comfortable. Also, now you move up the pecking order as you become seniors and have juniors who can bossed around. It’s a big break from first year, when everyone is trying very hard to remember everyone’s name and at being amicable to everyone. People now approach you about advice on which college or course to choose, which subsidiary to opt for, which texts to follow; you know: the works.
It turns out, without exception, to be a whirlwind of a year. But before you know it, it’s over.

Third Year

Strike final year and you know your third year passes you by before you utter the word graduate. You suddenly realize how many unfinished things still remain to be ticked off your to-do list before college ends. It also means you barely find the time to complete it or study your course because you are too busy preparing for your entrances all year round. It’s a tough act to balance but you don’t have a choice because you know it’s your last year to pass off as a kid in a grown up’s body. And when reality hits a home run, you can’t help but wisen up.

Teachers become friends. Friends become teachers. Your increasing fondness for college makes you want to be more regular and you start missing it months before it’s actually over. It’s but natural, since the constant research on post graduation options, search for new universities, scholarship queries et al keeps you quite ahead of yourself.

You can’t help but wonder and be amazed at the magnitude of change and potential that has become a part of you in three years and this year helps you to channelise it all in the right direction. And when it is almost over and everyone has bid farewell, you know that college was never just about a degree. It was about growing up and facing life head on. And you learnt it all here in these three years of college.

–
Devika Dutt and Kritika Kushwaha

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FTD DEBATE

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As part of their much awaited annual debating festival Gift of the Gab, Kirorimal College held the Frank Thakur Das (FTD) parliamentary debate from the 10th to the 13th of February 2010. Siddharth Thyagarajan and Aachal Kappoor from Ramjas College bagged the award for the best team. The award for the best adjudicator went to Mahima from Hansraj College while Neelakshi Tiwari from Hindu was judged the second best adjudicator.

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DUB Speak

Too Little, too Late

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Isaac Newton found enlightenment when an apple conked him on the head into action and he discovered gravity and formulated the laws of motion which literally form the building blocks of physics. However, Newton’s laws are applicable in almost every field, even beyond physics. His first law talks about how a body continues it its state of rest unless acted upon by an external force. Basically, it says, in a way, that everything tends to be a little lazy unless it is jolted into action. And I’m sure that almost everyone is familiar with this sentiment.
It seems ample time is something we do not want to work towards something. We want that time to laze around, yes. But we do not want to use that time to comfortably finish the task at hand. Only the impending doom of deadlines serves as impetus enough for us to pull together a show at the eleventh hour. However, the protracted inaction and procrastination sometimes proves too costly. Every subsequent effort, more often than not, seems way too little way too late. Take for example the Commonwealth Games. It has been common knowledge for quite some time that we will have to put up a huge show for the world. Every branch of the government and bureaucracy knew for several years now that in October of 2010, Delhi will be the cynosure of all the attention of sports fans all over the world. The heat was especially on India after Beijing played host to a spectacular Olympics. Every branch of the government and the bureaucracy was congratulating themselves over their successful bid to host the Games that we actually forgot that the bid alone isn’t going to build our stadia, fix our roads and provide accommodation for the thousands of people expected in the city. And now, just 8 months from the Games, workers are literally burning the midnight oil with work on the projects going on round the clock. Such urgency has led to overlooking safety standards and several mishaps, as was the case with the Metro construction. It took almost three years and a visit by a delegation from the Commonwealth Games Federation to make the authorities hear the ringing alarm bells. It is because of this tardiness that a very large portion of Delhi-ites are actually preparing for worldwide humiliation.
New Delhi isn’t the only epitome of this lackadaisical attitude. The entire country is testimony. It is only now, when a mere 1411 tigers are left in the country, that such a massive campaign to protect these big cats, formerly the pride of our nation, has been launched. Tigers have been fast disappearing from our forests and from within protected areas like tiger reserves and sanctuaries. Poaching has posed quite a predicament for many years now. But until now, it did not seem a big enough problem to put in place and implement a disincentive mechanism to stop poaching. Now, that tigers face the very real threat of extinction, have we woken up. Only time can tell how effective or ineffective this campaign is going to be.
The government is often the bull’s eye of opprobrium for their lethargy. But let’s not forget the judiciary. There are nearly 1.7 lakh under-trials languishing in jail for committing petty offences. A large number of these under-trials have actually stayed in confinement- without the privilege of the freedoms ensured by our democracy- for a period longer than the term they would have had to serve had they been convicted! It is only when this number took on such alarming proportions was some relief guaranteed to these victims of severe miscarriage of justice.
But this article would be incomplete if we didn’t look closer home. How many of us actually start studying for exams when we have the time? How many of us actually start working on assignments and tutorials when the assignment is given rather than waiting for the last moment? Not many. But it seems a rather unintelligent thing to do. It is not like we are apathetic towards our exams, or the commonwealth games, or the tigers. We just are apathetic when the time is right, when the iron is hot. It’s as if we’re waiting for something to shock us out of our stupor. The inertia seems just too much to overcome otherwise. Sometimes, at least at an individual level, last minute efforts do pay off. However, when a large number of people have their staggered awakenings, things may not go as planned. Why does it always have to take Jessica Lal , a Ruchika Girhotra to cozen us of our complacency. The grind of the judicial machinery, seems to be getting a few illiberal lubricating drops but a lot is left desired . And it seems one such mishap is what is needed to make us get rid of this inertia. But do we ever really learn? Why does a Priydarshini Mattoo have to be followed by a Ruchika Girhotra , Delhi blasts by Jaipur ones and then the infamous 26/11. Take the case of Aakriti Bhatia , a student from a posh South Delhi school who allegedly died due to the school’s lack of medical facilities while suffering from an asthma attack .The expected hullabaloo was created but what really comes of it other than the school in questioning sprucing up its medical facilities a tad . What about other educational institutions in the country . Take our own varsity for example, a microcosm of the much bigger macrocosm .The lesser said about on campus medical aid in most colleges, the better. In the past week , during the sports day of a certain south campus college , little assistance was given when a few students collapsed during march past. The store keeper who coincidentally doubles as the college nurse , seems poorly equipped for facing emergencies of such a small magnitude let alone dire ones. Have we become used to sitting on time bombs , waiting for one disaster to strike after the other
.We need to disprove Newton, at least outside the realm of physics.

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