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DU SOL Postpones Annual Examinations for B.com and B.A Courses

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Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (DU SOL) has postponed the annual mode examinations for the students of B.Com and B.A. (Prog) courses due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

An official notice on the DU SOL website, uploaded on 25th March declares a postpone in the annual examinations of B.Com and B.A.(Prog) courses. As per the previous date sheet the examinations for B.Com and B.A (Prog) courses, were respectively scheduled from 4th and 5th April which now stands withdrawn till any further notice. The students are advised to regularly check the official website for the upload of the revised date sheet.

The official notice on the website reads, “In accordance with the office order No. F.No. Estab.II(i)/330/COVID-19/M/2020 dated 19th March, 2020, the examination of B .Com. (Annual Mode) scheduled to be held from 4th April, 2020 and B.A. (Prog.) (Annual Mode) scheduled to be held from 5th April, 2020 stands withdrawn. The date-sheet for both the above examination will be notified later. All concerned are requested to please stay connected through website for latest updates.”

Riyansh Gupta, a first-year student of B.Com (Prog) course, “We already have to cope with the first and second semester simultaneously and further delays are just increasing the burden. But, in this current situation delay was obvious and much needed so we can’t do anything except for just waiting for the situation to get better.”

He further informed of DU SOL of not being very responsible for passing important information. He said, “One other thing is that DU SOL does not know how to communicate with its students, every time anything happens, DU SOL is the last to respond plus the official site is also not that good.”

Feature Image credits : DU Beat Archives

Kriti  Gupta

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Arts & Culture

Coronavirus and Capitalism: A Deadlier Virus

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In times of a pandemic with a majority of economies being capitalistic in nature, is it time to rethink the existing economic structure, thus affecting both socially and politically?

 

Ravi, a vegetable seller on the streets of Delhi panics, fears that his family of four would starve to death, well-aware that essential services are available, the real question for him is, can he afford it? In a similar case of the namesake, Ravi, an employee of an international MNC overlooks the silence in his city from his 18th-floor balcony, the real question for him is, how to spend his free time.

A global recession seems inevitable owing to the large-scale nationwide shutdowns all over the globe. The economies are experiencing serious shocks and close-downs. As Angel Gurría, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Secretary-General, says, “Even if you don’t get a worldwide recession, you’re going to get either no growth or negative growth in many of the economies of the world, including some of the larger ones, and therefore you’re going to get not only low growth this year, but also it’s going to take longer to pick up in the future.” With a majority of economies being capitalistic in nature, is it time to rethink the existing economic structure, thus affecting both socially and politically?

The announcement of a nationwide lockdown brought about massive hysteria and panic thus exaggerating the existing lockdown situation. Panic buying or buying large amounts of commodities in advance expecting a shortage or crisis in the near future. A 20% upsurge is estimated in buying domestic items and food items. It is sad that it takes a global pandemic to question the public healthcare system.

The pandemic has given some people the leverage and privilege of working from home, with hot-shot MNC jobs with several benefits. While the poor of India walk miles and miles without any public transport in the aspiration of reaching their homes, safely. Migrant workers, daily-wage earners and businesses have been severely affected with individuals left in the dark about their coming future. Shruti Gupta, daughter of a businessman says, “My dad seems pretty worried about the crisis that’s going to have its repercussions on us. Even though it’s going to affect us as much as many others, we do have our daily needs but we are not getting money out of anywhere for now.”

The stark division in class is apparent, more so, due to the pandemic. The inflation rate of necessary items like sanitiser and masks are sky-rocketing. Apparently, single Dettol hand sanitiser would easily cost over INR 160! However, it should also be pointed out that the government (both centre and state) have put a cap on the price of essential items like sanitizers and masks.

In times of crisis, surely the laws of economics remain an exception, however, it is crucial to understand and introspect the ingrained capitalism in profiting and pandering to the rich while the poor suffer, drastically. COVID-19 is a gross reminder of the dark inequality plaguing the world.

Prabhanu Kumar Das, a critique of capitalism and a politics student, says, “With the spread of coronavirus as a global pandemic, we can clearly see the difference in how capitalist and socialist countries are handling the situation, with countries such as Italy, UK, or the USA facing the brunt. The harm of capitalisation and privatisation of basic human needs such as medicine and healthcare has been shown during this pandemic. While the approaches of communist and socialist governments such as Kerala in India, or Cuba sending doctors to Italy even after Italy supported the American embargo on Cuba shows the difference between capitalist and communist/socialist nations.”

As the elite receive the first tests, the first results, get to do repeated tests, where does the remaining world go? Why such disparity in basic healthcare and a pandemic which affects everyone? Remember, the rich are tired of sitting at home, while the poor walk miles and miles without any respite!

 

Feature Image Credits: The Week

 

Anandi Sen

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Campus Central

A Study under Quarantine

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Where to find a recluse when a physical world is at bay? Perhaps, the crevices of the books might provide a substantial answer to our skepticism and nervosity.

It was beyond human comprehension to imagine a state where the fast paced connectivity and communication in this universe, cosmopolitan encapsulation would be limited to the four walls of our homes. The global COVID-19 outbreak has certainly compelled the entire human race to rethink about its place and destination. While almost everything in this world is under a halt, to ensure the prevention of transmission of virus, governments all over the world have adopted lockdowns as a measure to tackle this pandemic. Markets, offices, public places everything has been shut down and so are the schools, universities, and institutions.

With the closure of many workplaces people have been asked to work from home and try to keep the chain in continuation; many educational institutions have also turned to online mode of teaching, with its effectiveness at such scale under the question radar, what needs to be reiterated here is that our studies and learning that must be identified as one of the most important things can be put in a better status than the quo.

In an unrestricted environment, studies can not only get more utilitarian but can even garner the interest and passion it deserves. When a major portion of our learning approaches tend to be towards the qualification of examination and other parameters, the actual purpose of understanding often gets killed to rote learning and mechanical trends as designed notes and selective study.

Without any doubt, our normal lives are intensely packed under the clock with tight schedules and deadlines, where a passionate study gets extremely difficult, but in a situation where we are struggling to keep ourselves busy- a completely dedicated study doesn’t seem like a bad option at all.

Utilize these times for in-depth study and subscribe to ideas and questions that matter the most, prepare notes and write papers, try a different way to do things, focus on areas where you are underperforming – not to perform better but introspect the fallacies and development of interest, read suggested texts refer to additional texts as well, learn all that you possibly can and put the quarantine to best use.

While many students are preparing for their entrances, one can utilize this to cover the most of it. Srajit Kumar, a final year history student of Jamia Millia Islamia feels that, “this is the best time to study. Being in the last year of graduation, a lot of people like myself are facing an uncertain future in every sense of the word. So, this is the best time to buckle up and study as much as we can. There are no external distractions, the climate is suitable, and this is the best time to strategize and get to the books.” Kumar even feels that because of the uncertainty of the world around us and the scramble for finding our own selves, it’s very essential that we find some semblance of sense in these crazy times and studying is just a part of a routine, which is the first principle of survivalism.

Although, there are various ways to achieve this mode of studying one can opt for techniques like – Pomodoro Studying, where one can engage in other activities at fixed intervals to continue the study for a long time those who aim to memorise multiple things can resort to ways like Spaced Repetiton as well, the idea is to use flash cards to highlight the key points and could be a good option for medical and history students.

Education has no boundaries and caters to an open methodology but in these constricted circumstances, studying can certainly provide us the necessary. So, pick your books, sit on your desks and fall in love with learning.

 

Feature Image Credits: Mayank Gulati for DU Beat

Faizan Salik

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Campus Central

DUSU Requests Authorities to Look After Hostellers

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Owing to the threat posed by the spread of COVID-19, DUSU has requested the Dean of Students’ Welfare to take necessary steps for the safety of students living in hostels.

In order to ensure the safety of students living in Hostels of various colleges and departments, Ashish Lamba, Secretary of the Union, sent a letter to the Dean of Students’ Welfare (DSW) on Thursday. He requested the Dean to take necessary steps in order to ensure the well-being of these students, as the threat of infection looms large over everyone.

Through the letter, the Secretary informed the Dean about the complaints he received from students living in hostels. Such students might have complained about inadequate facilities to counter the dissemination of the disease. He requested the authorities to look after the living spaces, meals, sanitation, and availability of medical equipment for the safety of all students. The NSUI leader also requested the authorities to prepare themselves for a health emergency of any kind.

Chetna Tyagi, Leader, NSUI said, “NSUI did send a letter to the Dean of students welfare regarding the students who are stuck in PGs and hostels for proper food facilities and sanitation, and to provide them with travelling facilities to reach their hometown after the lockdown since the situation is getting serious these days. So there is a need to help the students urgently”.

NSUI also issued a public statement regarding the same, which demanded the authorities to ensure proper arrangements for students residing in hostels. It also demanded the DSW to ask the Government of Delhi for special permission for the students who wish to go home.

Dev Narayan, a student of Ramjas College, said, “I am a hosteller. My train got cancelled amid COVID-19. Circumstances compelled me to stay in the hostel. Firstly we were not allowed to stay by college authorities despite the risk that if we step outside the hostel, we might expose ourselves to the virus. The notice from MHRD saved us according to which we were allowed to stay. Still, we are facing issues of sanitation and mess  facilities.”

Another student, in the condition of anonymity, said, “We completely agree with the statement made by NSUI. Students should be provided with all the basic necessities during this lockdown period.”

NSUI National Secretary Nikhil Kamble states, “We know this is tough time for all but we are trying our level best to resolve it. We have demanded universities to provide proper meals and sanitiser for the students who have been stucked in hostels and PG’s. soon we will start to raise volunteering students relief fund from NSUI office bearers to provide help for socially and economically backward class students who have been affected during this corona virus lockdown.”

Numerous students are stuck in Hostels as there is a complete lockdown in the capital. Restrictions on public transport have disabled these students from going back home. A video made by residents of the hostel of Ramjas College surfaced online about a week ago, through which the students complained that they were being forcefully evicted, despite the unavailability of public transport.

Several hostels were shut and students were asked to leave before the lockdown itself. This includes hostels of Hansraj, IPCW, Venkateswara and LSR, among others. The letter sent by the secretary requests the relevant authorities to look after the students who are still living in these hostels, as the nation is under a blanket lockdown now.

Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Kuber Bathla

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Sinister Scarlet Maligning Young Lives

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When a 17 year old is convicted in one of the most horrifying gang rape cases or when a 19 year old goes on a shooting spree, killing 17 people in his school after getting expelled; we must ponder over how and why these youngsters have homicidal tendencies.

Jaques in Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ beautifully explained the different stages of life, from infancy to death in the form of monologue. He associates the stage of youth with peart, passion and an innate push to build one’s reputation. That’s the beauty of being young – untouched by world’s pessimism and on the way to discover new horizons with ‘Carpe diem (seize the day)’ as the battle cry.

The foundation and progress of every state lies in the hands of its vigorous, vivacious youngsters, who are the torch bearers of the present and trustees of the future. They are crucial for national development as it is their toil and dynamic vision that runs the nation. It is observed that India has the relative advantage at present over other countries in terms of distribution of youth population. According to ‘World Population Prospects: The 2015 revision’ Population Database of United Nations Population Division, India has the world’s highest number of 10 to 24-year-olds, with 242 million—despite having a smaller population than China. As per predictions in 2017 by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India; India is expected to have 34.33% share of youth in total population by 2020. Thus, it is evident that India has been blessed with the most valuable human resource for fostering economic, cultural and political development, quite magnanimously. But with such a huge youth population, there comes the onus of making them constructive parts of society. And, the whopping rise in juvenile crimes brings out a dark side of our ‘developing and flourishing’ society.

In recent years, juvenile delinquency has emerged as a disturbing trend world over. Petty crimes like pickpocketing, shoplifting etc. as well as heinous crimes like murder, rape, scams, etc. are being committed by juveniles increasingly. As per National Crime Record Bureau, a total of 41,385 juveniles were apprehended during 2015 out of which 40,468 were boys and 917 were girls. More worrisome is the fact of age- crime relationship, which states that these jostle between youngsters and the law and order peaks in adolescence. Subsequently, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded that in 2013 of the 43,506 crimes registeredagainst minors; 28,830 had been committed by those between the ages of 16 to 18, which is more than 60%. Also, most of these crimes were categorized into heinous criminal acts. Owing to increasing brutality of juvenile crimes; in 2015, the Juvenile Justice Act was passed by the Parliament which allows for juveniles between the ages of 16 to 18 years to be tried in adult courts, if they are found to commit any heinous crimes.

It is true that adolescence is an age of thinking abstractly, developing our own views and yearning for identity and independence. Peer influence, acceptance and sexual curiosity get the better of their natural reasoning. But these physical and mental changes are not the only determinants that push them into the dark world of crime; rather it is largely the social and psychological factors that work behind the curtains. Sociologists Richard Clowardand Lloyd Ohlin expounded that juveniles develop different delinquent tendencies depending upon what opportunities areavailable in their surroundings. Consequently, some of the most common causes which are associated with juvenile crimes are – poverty, drug abuse, anti-social peer group, abusive or negligent parents, family violence, and child sexual abuse. These negatively affect the persona and psyche of the individual during the most vital years of his/her growth. Herbert Hoover quoted, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” Due to the limitation of opportunities, many youngsters fall prey to fascist and wicked ideologies of a few and act as their foot soldiers. Our education system and traditional family values also seem to be not making much difference when it comes to juvenile delinquency as according to the report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on ‘Crime in India’ released in 2017, juveniles who went to school committed crimes more than those who did not. Media especially, social media also has given impetus, among the youth to the feeling of being noticed and recognized through any means.

All these facts and figures should alarm us as citizens of society as they highlight how we are failing to build a secure future for the youngsters. Intervention at an early stage is essential to make a significant difference. Governments as well as local citizens must initiate educational programmes that educate, enable and empower the youth to become productive elements of the society. A healthy family environment must be made a fundamental right of every child. Dogma regarding mental health issues must be completely removed. Sexual education as a part of health education; awareness about risks in substance abuse and the exposure to inappropriate explicit content must be imparted to every adolescent.

‘Nobody is a born criminal. Circumstances make him so.’

The family, society and the state must work together to provide a nurturing and healthy socio-cultural environment. Every youth is entitled to care and protection with an atmos of equality and social justice. The sooner we realize this truth, the stronger and more virtuous a society we will build and thrive in.

Image credit: Press Trust of India 

Ipshika Ghosh

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Arts & Culture

Hunters: Al Pacino’s Foray into an Ott Media Series

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A look at one of Amazon Prime’s latest offering, Hunters, a show which is fictional in nature but is based on reality.

 

The story of this web series takes into account many historical factors, such as the holocaust, Operation Paperclip, which was a post World War 2 american operation in which around 1600 Nazi scientists were brought to the U.S.A, wih the legacy of nazi hunters such as the Mossad and Simon Wiesenthal. The show features many familiar faces such as Al Pacino, who needs no introduction, Logan Lerman, who played Percy jackson, and Josh Radnor of How I Met Your Mother. The show revolves around how Jonah (played by Logan Lerman) sets out to seek revenge for the death of his Grandmother and encounters Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) and his crew of nazi hunters, and the story revolves around the uncovering and foiling of a nazi plot to establish a fourth reich.

 

Before getting into specifics about the show, it would be remiss not to point out the major controversy around the show. In the first episode, Meyer describes an incident to young Jonah of human chess in Auschwitz. The gruesome and dark incident had been made up by the director, perhaps to elicit an emotional response from the audience. The Auschwitz memorial called out the show on twitter stating “Auschwitz was full of horrible pain and suffering documented in the accounts of survivors. Inventing a fake game of human chess for Amazon Prime’s Hunter is not only dangerous foolishness and caricature. It also welcomes future deniers. We honor the victims by preserving factual accuracy.” This certainly brings into question ideas of responsibility even in the realms of fiction, especially if borrowing factors from history, even more so when these are based on the pain and suffering of real survivors.

 

Coming to the show itself, it follows most tropes that you would associate with a show like this, a young protagonist being led by an older mentor/ father figure, a group of rag tag individuals fighting a great menace, the antagonists and their henchmen being completely one dimensional. Where the show does differ is that there is a sense of self awareness about it, not in terms of over the top violence or gore, even with several torture scenes, the gore is not excessive. Where the show is self aware is in little skits placed around every episode which divert completely from the show while explaining a plot point or social commentary, an example of such is the use of a game show in the episode to look at the reasons for anti semitism in America.

The plot line of the show was interesting and well written, and It is definitely a good and easy watch to waste away the hours in quarantine, but prepare to be left with a cliffhanger which is an glaring indicator of a season 2.

Feature Image Credits: Techradar

 

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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Hunters: Al Pacino's Foray into an Ott Media Series

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A look at one of Amazon Prime’s latest offering, Hunters, a show which is fictional in nature but is based on reality.   The story of this web series takes into account many historical factors, such as the holocaust, Operation Paperclip, which was a post World War 2 american operation in which around 1600 Nazi scientists were brought to the U.S.A, wih the legacy of nazi hunters such as the Mossad and Simon Wiesenthal. The show features many familiar faces such as Al Pacino, who needs no introduction, Logan Lerman, who played Percy jackson, and Josh Radnor of How I Met Your Mother. The show revolves around how Jonah (played by Logan Lerman) sets out to seek revenge for the death of his Grandmother and encounters Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) and his crew of nazi hunters, and the story revolves around the uncovering and foiling of a nazi plot to establish a fourth reich.   Before getting into specifics about the show, it would be remiss not to point out the major controversy around the show. In the first episode, Meyer describes an incident to young Jonah of human chess in Auschwitz. The gruesome and dark incident had been made up by the director, perhaps to elicit an emotional response from the audience. The Auschwitz memorial called out the show on twitter stating “Auschwitz was full of horrible pain and suffering documented in the accounts of survivors. Inventing a fake game of human chess for Amazon Prime’s Hunter is not only dangerous foolishness and caricature. It also welcomes future deniers. We honor the victims by preserving factual accuracy.” This certainly brings into question ideas of responsibility even in the realms of fiction, especially if borrowing factors from history, even more so when these are based on the pain and suffering of real survivors.   Coming to the show itself, it follows most tropes that you would associate with a show like this, a young protagonist being led by an older mentor/ father figure, a group of rag tag individuals fighting a great menace, the antagonists and their henchmen being completely one dimensional. Where the show does differ is that there is a sense of self awareness about it, not in terms of over the top violence or gore, even with several torture scenes, the gore is not excessive. Where the show is self aware is in little skits placed around every episode which divert completely from the show while explaining a plot point or social commentary, an example of such is the use of a game show in the episode to look at the reasons for anti semitism in America. The plot line of the show was interesting and well written, and It is definitely a good and easy watch to waste away the hours in quarantine, but prepare to be left with a cliffhanger which is an glaring indicator of a season 2. Feature Image Credits: Techradar   Prabhanu Kumar Das [email protected]]]>

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Fake News Shall Only Worsen the Crisis

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With the danger of an outbreak looming upon us, the news we share on social media becomes even more important. 

A study by Microsoft found that over 64 percent of Indians have encountered fake news online, the highest among the 22 countries surveyed. A public health crisis can shoot up the dissemination of irrelevant and fake news, which may include hoaxes to prevent or cure the virus. Famous Chinese messaging app, TikTok and WhatsApp have frequently been victims of videos and messages that claim to provide solutions to stop the virus.

The problem is not limited to facts. A large proportion of messages shared by people have little to do with verifiable facts and peddle prejudiced opinions. This includes influential people as well. Union Minister of State for Health, Ashwini Choubey, claimed that sunlight can improve immunity and kill coronavirus. There have been instances of people claiming that cow urine can cure people of the disease, which has been denied by scientists and the World Health Organisation (WHO). This vividly reflects that people choose to ignore facts owing to a repetition of certain messages within their circles.

Most of such messages reach the least informed people. They are prone to believe the things that they come across. Research published in 2018 has shown that during the Zika Virus outbreak, most popular messages contained fake headlines and content. Rumours obtained three times more shared than verified stories. Interestingly, rumours (20% of them) also portrayed Zika as a conspiracy against the public. This largely captures the behaviour of people when faced with a disease outbreak.

However, stories like these only worsen the situation. People fail to understand government policies and credible news, which do not reach people owing to an overwhelming number of irrelevant news in their inboxes. In a huge pile of messages and articles, the relevant ones are either ignored or are discredited.

By curbing down on such stories, right and requisite information can reach the people. With a dense population, India can get fatally affected by an outbreak, if it ever happens. One form of prevention lies in our hands, by selectively sharing information from verified sources. This boosts our self-interest as well

This obligates media houses as well. As the world of news has become faster due to the internet, media houses rush to get their hands on anything that can pacify their readers. They are notorious for capitalising on unverified stories using captivating headlines and vocabulary. As a need for legitimate news grows, media houses should act as India’s first line of defence to counter fake and irrelevant news.

The Press Information Bureau, along with other fact-checking organisation should work towards curbing the circulation of news and messages that claim unverified prevention measures. People should share correct preventive measures which are verified by organisations like the WHO or the Indian Council of Medical Research.

A truly reliable source of information these days is the WhatsApp contact of the WHO. It is a chat-bot that answers all queries pertaining to the novel coronavirus. Government websites are also equally effective.

The need to change our behaviour is immediate and intense.

 

Featured Image Credits: The Guardian

 

Kuber Bathla

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DUTA Releases Set of Demands Regarding COVID-19

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In a press release dated 19th March 2020, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) released a set of demands for the Vice-Chancellor regarding COVID-19.

In the midst of the global pandemic, DUTA has released a set of demands for the working conditions of the DU faculty regarding COVID-19. The statement contained five sets of demands brought forth by DUTA, pertaining to the management of the faculty and teaching done by the university regarding the pandemic.

DUTA has requested the administration of a few colleges that are still insisting that teachers working on ad-hoc and guest basis should necessarily be present in the College to desist from doing so and not request the physical presence of the teachers, and instead adhere to e-learning and online resources to continue with the teaching in the university, and to not discriminate ad-Hocs and guest teachers in relation to the preventative measures put forth by the university to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They have also asked for financial compensation for guest teachers who are making themselves available through e-resources during their assigned teaching hours, and to use the online resources and assistance that they’re providing to students as a record for the payment. DUTA also insists that the semester exams and activities be pushed back and rescheduled accordingly, as e-resources and online classes can not compensate for in-class lectures and that various students of the university residing in other parts of the country do not have access to a stable internet connection. The organisation has, therefore, urged the administration to make an example of the other universities who have pushed back and/or rescheduled their exams and semester schedule for the same purpose. They have also urged the administration to think of the students and teaching faculty of SOL and NCWEB, and ensure that the stipulated contact hours are met, and also to keep in mind the financial need of the guest-teachers of these organisations. Lastly, DUTA has urged that the University implements similar preventative measures to reduce the contact points of non-teaching staff as it has for its teaching faculty and to decrease in theworking days and staggered working hours for those on duty, to prevent the spread of the disease for this section of the workers of the university as well.

“We hope that the University responds by providing necessary institutional help to all sections of the University in this hour of crisis,” the press release stated.

The university has suspended classes till 31st March to provide relief and prevent the spread of COVID-19 amongst students and faculty and urges students to practice social distancing to stay healthy.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Shreya Juyal

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Democracy, Conservatism and Echo Chambers

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As we shut our ears to the cacophony of the other side, the institution of democracy loses its ability to hold people together. 

If the numbers are right, we are moving towards a world where everything is stretched and tied to two ends. Cass Sunstein, a Professor at Harvard University, argued whether the new public sphere woven by the internet acts as ‘echo chambers’ or not. In a paper published in 2002, Sunstein uses activities on Facebook to quantify people’s engagement with the other side. Several studies suggest that while interactions across the ideological divide are almost negligible, the ability to selectively exclude certain pages and people to pop into one’s feed can lead to both polarization and convergence.

 

Birds of a feather flock together

The idea of homophily is intrinsic to human beings. There’s a tendency to bond and associate with similar others. That is why people of a community tend to hold together in foreign lands. It is also the reason why Indians and Pakistanis bond so well as immigrants in a western country, particularly due to a South Asian affinity.

The feathers begin to rot when they’re painted with political colours. People begin to ignore facts and constantly attempt to prove the other side wrong. Political polarization then extends to sensitive issues like LGBTQ rights, climate change and abortion. The Red states in the US actively deny climate change, even after being exposed to facts which claim the opposite. Groups, therefore, have shared opinions on most issues.

Political Echo Chambers allow think tanks and entrepreneurs to exploit voters by fooling them using certain tactics. They help leaders to present different images to different people, which helps them to secure a place in the heart of every voter. A single leader can be present at many places ideologically, by presenting themselves differently to different kinds of voters.

 

The Internet as a ‘Public Space’

The bricks of these chambers are placed by the invisible hands of the Internet. With its invention, people believed that the world will now be able to interact with each other in a better manner, thereby filling chests with tolerance and empathy. As a fact, on Facebook, 99.91 per cent of the two billion people on it belongs to a single huge component, and hence everyone is connected to everyone in some manner. Unfortunately, none of this has led to fruitful conversations among people.

For one, sites like Twitter and Facebook function as echo chambers. The design of such websites allows people to adopt a homophilic approach, which narrows the divide between the Internet and the real world. A study of 2.2 million politically engaged users on Twitter in the US finds that while there are roughly 90 million network links among these users, 98 per cent of first retweets of Republican voters come from conservative voters. The corresponding number for Democrats is 86 per cent.

 

Offline Polarization

But polarization is not limited to the internet users. Fake news was invented long before Facebook, and partisanship existed through newspapers and TV channels. News Channels, to maintain their viewership, picked sides and broke their supposed vow of remaining unbiased. While Fox news moved towards the right, channels like MSNBC started appealing more to liberal voters of the US. A homogeneous audience pushed them towards their extreme sides, something that these channels might not have anticipated. Polarization has increased the most for an older audience, who are least likely to be on the internet and consume articles produced by traditional media houses.

 

Effect on Preferences

Economists like to assume that preferences are both stable and coherent. But the former might lose ground if the idea of Echo Chambers yields the expected results. Absurd preferences, such as a hatred for blacks, can get intensified with repetitive exposure to similar views. Such peculiar opinions keep persisting due to limited exposure to the other side. Furthermore, the opportunity to choose the news one consumes adds fuel to the fire.

 

An Ailing Civic Discourse

An understatement would be to say that Echo Chambers do not encompass matters of civic importance. Social media has made it easier for news to originate and circulate, which means that virtually anyone can produce a rumour within seconds, and these chambers can, in turn, empower such people. It kills the production of reliable news and analysis. Moreover, original pieces aren’t credited, since copying something is easier than ever now.

Facts cease to matter after a point. Constant repetition of certain ideas targeted at certain people pushes them into a cult. Ideas become elements of belief for people, an ideology they must hold onto to ‘prevent’ the other side from attacking them. Conversations become violent and stop yielding results. Lack of confrontation in the virtual world erodes mannerism, which encourages sharp language that only results in chaos. As Plato pointed out in Allegory of the Cave, ridiculing the uninformed is the worst form of enlightenment, and radicalization is the only fruit.

 

The Democracy of the Future

As people get disconnected over a network of connections, the idea of democracy weakens. Polarization, as is evident, happens offline as well, which affects people of all ages. Radical views are supported by numerous people now, and the truth loses its value. Democracy, which is supposed to work for everyone, folds itself into the world of a group of self-conforming individuals who hold mirrors and reflect similar ideas. The walls prevent interaction with the outside world. An example of how a Radio company’s actions in Rwanda led to a mass genocide of fifty thousand people is chilling. The way out of these chambers is unknown since people can customize what they view.

But this choice itself can be a saviour. Experiments show that people choose to move towards the centre when informed about the leanings of all media houses. But such laboratory customized experiments can only reveal a little about this world. We are yet to solve most of our problems.

 

Featured Image Credits: BBC Future

 

Kuber Bathla

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