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A Love Letter to Delhi University

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This letter would have ideally been written on a giant maple leaf from Mohabbatein, being ‘the last leaf’ from a third year student to the University of Delhi (DU).

Dear DU

These letters were an emotion I was feeling while I was burning the midnight oil during my Class XII board examinations. When I first visited Delhi after the first cut-off list was announced, I was fascinated by the tall standing of your (University of Delhi) colleges and the charm you exuberated on my parents. For me, Delhi was only about you and honestly, I did not care much about the city in the beginning. I immediately fell in love with you when I realised that there are more food joints in North Campus than the number of colleges. Your warmth was expressed to me right from when I realised that one Identity Card of my college will allow my entry in as many colleges as I want, sometimes with tiffs with the security guards. Your candour about politics, your emancipated campus lawns, your roads of liberation, were all a part of the magic. You resonate with the buzz of the city, and the Delhi Metro enjoys a significant portion of its commuters because of you. Your charisma shares the credit of giving an amazing source of employment to all the brokers and owners of flats and Paying Guest Accommodations’ (PG’s).

There were rough times with attendance issues, homesickness, mental breakdowns, internal examination pressures, 8.30 a.m. lectures and low SGPA. But you retained your aura whenever I freely debated in your classrooms, performed on the stage of the auditorium, used the ‘Delhi University’ Snapchat filter, and ate the best and cheapest ‘samosa’ with ‘chai’. The e-rickshaws that ever so proudly zoom on the roads of your campus and I share a special bond. They seem to be more familiar to the roads of the campus that any other vehicle. You showered your affection on me in the fest season but the election season’s traffic jam and litter took a toll on both of us. At all times, you were always beautiful, caring, and welcoming. You have witnessed my tears and heard my giggles; you have nodded to all the whispers wherein I have thanked God for allowing me to spend three of the most splendid years of my life with you.

While I have entered the last leg of my relationship with you, I do not wish to break away and frankly, Delhi is still about you, and ‘DU’ still equates to an emotion for me, even after the three years. The way I get to show you off in front of my relatives in my hometown has made me grow fonder of your existence.

I have to bid adieu to you now, but I want to tell you that whenever in future, I hear the term “Vishwavidyalaya”, my heart will beat and flutter a little more in your name. The spirit of ‘Vishwavidyalaya’ will always ignite my soul, and your name will never be forgotten.

From

A graduating student.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat.

Oorja Tapan

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DUB Speak

How to Deal with Entrance Examination Results

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With many entrance examinations and their final rounds of interviews culminating, those who are eagerly waiting for their results must be feeling distraught and anxious over their future as the final semester closes off. While all the final year students await their results with their stomachs in knots, we need to remember that our lives have much more to offer even if we fail.

The tension is palpable in the month of April in every third year student’s life. Some students wait for their Indian Institute of Management (IIM) or Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) interview results while many others wait for results of Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Exam (JNUEE), or other post-graduation programmes’ entrance results. The minds of final year students are in a constant state of dilemma as to where exactly they will land up after leaving the comfortable contours of University of Delhi, where they have spent a very facile three years because of great grades in Class XII. Alas, third year students find themselves at the crossroads of another segment of life, breaking away from another cocoon, yet again after school. Also, many future plans for further entrance examinations are contingent upon the clearance of previously given entrances and the question of whether to take a gap year lingers.

The period in between the exam and its result is the most difficult period in any one’s life and this is where resilience, patience, and sanity of the student are tested. The distractions that are employed to deal with the stress, like last minute hangouts with friends, studies for the end semester examinations, farewell dress preparations, or starting a new sitcom are all half-hearted and the tension is always there at the back of the mind.

The panacea here is to understand the very basic fact that lives won’t shatter if you are unable to make it to our dream college or varsity. The world would not come crashing down if just one small entrance result is not in the affirmative. These words must sound hollow but the reminder that ‘this is not the end’ and there is always a ‘plan B’, is imperative. It is sometimes best to have failure happen earlier in life because it awakens the phoenix inside, and one can learn how to rise from the ashes.

In the end, while students wait for their results and apply to other places, just remember to hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

 

Feature Image Credits: Tutorhub Blog.

Oorja Tapan

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Campus Central

How to Cure Fest Hangover

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With almost all the major college fests in DU wrapping up, all of us are suffering from a fest hangover. With just one month left to cover up the attendance, emerging internals, and pending assignments, we are officially beleaguered with banality.

Yes, the University of Delhi again signed off with a splendid fest season. Yes, we all clicked lovely pictures and captured as many digital memories as possible. Yes, we all managed our calendars to tackle the friction between the fest bonanza and the internal season. Yes, roaming around the campus dressed in the most stylish attires, everyone managed to cross the threshold of almost all the colleges buzzing with excitement. And yes, the reality is seeping in and we now realise that we are trapped in the cycle of attendance and submissions. Plus, how can we forget the most wonderful semester exams which are creeping towards us with their ever fast and furious pace. We are still reminiscing the fest euphoria and we abhor the vacuum it has left. The big void asks us “What Next?” and we have no answer in return to tell our minds that the next fest is this weekend. Of course, few department fests await us but they are also on the verge of pack up.

The final year students still have few stimulating events left to enjoy, for example, farewell, graduation dinners, but to be frank, they are busy wiping their tears filled with nostalgia while getting their clearance dues filled. Besides, the entire stimulation of entrance tests and interviews is just too much to handle. So what should we all do to cure the fest hangover?

The answer is simple- Study. As ridiculous as it sounds, it is a very sound advice because let us face it, the strike has given us enough of free time and mass bunks wherein we have had two long weekends and our syllabus is now surmounted with some more syllabus to cover up. So please, get out of that ‘void’, otherwise, our marks will leave a big void in our mark sheets. Kindly study!
P.S. – Sorry for disappointing you, but what else were you expecting?

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Oorja Tapan
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Campus Central

IISC Bengaluru Declared as the Best University, Miranda House Tops the College Category in NIRF India Rankings 2018

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The Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD), Prakash Javadekar, announced the 2018 National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings at an event in Vigyan Bhawan.

The Ministry Of Human Resource Development’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru as the overall best institution in the country. At an event in the Vigyan Bhawan, the Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD), Prakash Javadekar announced the NIRF rankings wherein, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad was declared the best management institution and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras bagged the position of best engineering college. In the University Rankings, IISC Bengaluru stood first, followed by Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU), and Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The premier healthcare institute All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, was ranked the number one institute under the medical college category. University of Delhi’s Miranda House, situated in North Campus, was announced as the best college, and National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bengaluru, stood first in the law school category.  Other eminent colleges of Delhi University, like, Hindu College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, and Shree Ram college of Commerce were also part of the top 10 colleges in India for the year 2018.

This year, NIRF added medical, dental, architecture and law categories in its rankings, apart from the other four categories of 2016, Universities, Engineering, Management and Pharmacy. A total of 4000 institutions had applied this year, in comparison to the 3000 that were considered last year. The rankings have acquired much significance as the performance of the institutions is linked the “Institutions of Eminence” scheme.

The top 5 colleges given are:

1. Miranda House, University of Delhi

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Image Credits: Miranda House.

 

2. St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi

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Image Credits: St. Stephen’s College.

 

3. Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli

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Image Credits: The Hindu.

 

4. Hindu College, University of Delhi

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Image Credits: Hindu College.

 

5. Presidency College, Chennai

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Image Credits: DNA India.

 

Feature Image Credits: Miranda House.

Oorja Tapan

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DUB Speak

A Guide to Managing Internal Assessment Examinations

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Students of University of Delhi (DU)  are well equipped to deal with the smaller version of end semester exams, but many a times, internal assessment examinations take a toll on our daily routine and social life, due to which, better time management is required.

There comes a time when a student’s schedule becomes packed with only assignments to be submitted, project presentations, and tests lined up back to back no matter how hard they try to negotiate with teachers to shift the dates. In even semesters, the crowding up of internal assessments drains the frolic and euphoria out of the fest season, when one has to compromise on their social life and devote time to complete the mundane assignments and projects.

To deal with the internals in a more comprehensive way, the realisation of the fact that internals definitely contribute in our exam grade point, but do not encompass the entirety of it is important. The end term examinations actually play the most significant part in the final grade point.

However, every internal exam test or assignment adds to the preparation for the final exams. Recalling the renowned saying,” A stitch in time saves nine”, and understanding this simple fact that the burden of studies is reduced if at least a few portions of the syllabus is prepared beforehand, is important.  Doing the assigned project work with full sincerity and creativity adds to the critical understanding and analysis of the subject of study, and it also helps heed and further the interest of those who wish to pursue a career in academics.

The aforementioned advice is not unheard of. Mental preparation and recognition of what is required of one’s capabilities is imperative. Maintaining a healthy balance between our academics and social life in accordance with our sleep is also something that can help reduce stress and pressure that is caused due to these examinations. Studying for internal exams with proper time management surely adds to your knowledge bank and makes you better-armed to keep your sword ready for the final exams. Be smart, prioritise, and deal with them in a healthy way.

 

Feature Image Credits: Off-Campus Student Services

Oorja Tapan

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Bazinga

DUSU Announces a Farewell Festival for Graduating Students This April

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In a surprising move, Delhi University Students’ Union 2017-18 has invited the final year students of all DU colleges to be a part of ”Congraduation 2018”, to celebrate the final semester of the seniors of University of Delhi.

University of Delhi (DU) is renowned for its fest season, which is queued with celebrities in various colleges in the months of February and March. With multiple department fests and society fests around the corner, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) recently announced to celebrate the euphoria of the last leg of the varsity for final year undergraduate students, currently studying in the sixth semester. This farewell fest is going to be one-of-its-kind, as it is separate from the graduation dinners and farewell parties offered by the respective individual colleges of the varsity. Naming this initiative of as ”Congraduation”, DUSU’s step of congratulating all the graduating studentsis being welcomed and applauded by diverse sections of the University.

Professors who have been DU alumni have appreciated DUSU’s idea of hosting a finale fest for the seniors and expressed regret over losing this opportunity during their senior years. Final year students are enthused over this event, and the sophomores and fresher’s are eager on celebrating their very own last year, once the legacy of ”Congraduation” commences.

The DUSU President informed DU Beat that the tentative dates for the same are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd April, 2018. Presently, the union is deliberating on conducting the festival in Arts Faculty of north campus of the university. DUSU has deployed a sponsorship cell to invite as many sponsors for the event as possible. No comments have been made on who will be gracing the ‘Star Night’ on the last day of Congraduation, but rumours of inviting Arijit Singh on star night and DJ Chetas on the DJ night have already sprung up. The final year students are definitely looking forward to this finale hoopla and surely, Congraduation 2018 has added much charm to their last semester.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Oorja Tapan

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News

Not a Single Student Member in DU Academic Council Since the Last 10 Years

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An RTI has uncovered that the highest academic body of the University of Delhi, Academic Council, has not seen a single student as a member in the last 10 years.

Advocate Mohit Kumar Gupta’s RTI reply as received from the Delhi University read that “No student member has ever been elected/ nominated in the last ten years and even presently, there is no student representative in the Academic Council.” It further mentioned that no amendments have been made to the varsity’s Academic Council’s statute 7(I) (xiii), which would have introverted the membership of students in the Council.

The highest academic body of the varsity, Academic Council, is responsible for the preservation of standards of instruction, education, and examination within the University. In a statement made to the Sunday Guardian, Rocky Tusheed, President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) said, “Ever since 2010, we have been trying to put this across to the administration, but nothing seems to have worked so far. Universities are for students and it is very unfortunate that there is a lack of representation of students in a body that decides their own future.” DUSU has been preparing a Students’ Charter in consultation with all the student bodies of the varsity that would include the demand for representation of students in the Academic Council.

The Vice-Chancellor, Principals of various colleges, Deans and Director of School of Open Learning and South Campus, and the Registrar are also intended to be members of the DU’s Academic Council apart from students.

 

Feature Image Credits: Sharda University

Oorja Tapan 
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DUB Speak

Do Student Journalists Feel Safe?

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Nowadays, free speech and safety of student journalist are at stake. The internet, while being one of the most convenient and easy tools of communicating one’s opinions, has become a breeding ground for all sorts of ugly trolling and young student journalists are being coerced into self-censorship and presentation of mild and soft opinions. 

George Orwell once said, “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” If liberty could actually be reiterated in Orwell’s locution, then maybe today is not a very liberal time. It has always been presumed that student journalism is a product of a hobby, enthusiasm, or just a part of résumé. When young minds actually do come out to pursue this avocation, they want to speak out their minds, feel liberated and important in penning down opinions, and be vigil about their surroundings. Social media can be seen both as a boon and bane for all the students who want to express, but the ‘bane’ factor is now showing its true colour in all forms.

As a young writer myself, I feel unsafe. Why? Because of the fear of trolling, online harassment, or being tracked down to express slightly radical or anti-establishment views. Almost all the student writers now undergo the pressure of self-censorship, that is, before publishing anything online or elsewhere, we need to deliberate upon who will get offended with which statement and how will it be seen in whatever context. Ugly trolls on any opinionated piece creep out from anywhere and the writer is excessively abused/mocked at for being even slightly leaning towards any side. For female students, it’s even worse.

I duly understand the vital fact that freedom of expression works both ways and if a young journalist has expressed one’s views, then the people who read/hear them are also entitled to express counter views and opinions. What goes wrong is the mockery in the form of filthy abuse and threats (rape threats, too) being associated with the counter views expressed in a journalist’s piece. The art of intelligent and less verbally violent disagreements based on facts and logically consistent arguments is being lost out in this growing illiberal world. Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., “Our lives begin to end when we become silent about things that matter”, young independent student journalists should not lose their spirit of expressing and being opinionated while what the society can do is to create a safe space to counter those opinions in less derogatory manner.
Feature Image Credits: Tech Crunch
Oorja Tapan
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Bazinga

Bazinga: DU Beat Awarded DU Chakra by University of Delhi for Contribution to Student Journalism

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On 31 January 2018, DU Beat organised Mushaira 2018 in collaboration with Hindu College. A literature and journalism fest, Mushaira also commemorated the benefaction of DU Beat as India’s largest student-run newspaper. The ceremony took place under the dignified presence of the esteemed administration of the University of Delhi.

Journalism requires the highest code of ethical conduct with integrity being its cornerstone. Student journalism, though sometimes considered irrelevant, is a creative pursuit of young minds who want to indulge into their campus surroundings and explore the innovative contours of their mind and their pens. Students, by traversing through layouts, stories, coverage, and graphics, learn to appreciate the spirit of integrity which is concomitant with journalism. With the DU School of Journalism being inaugurated this year, the University of Delhi has decided to shoulder efforts of student media outlets and presented its first-ever DU Chakra. The award was given to DU Beat on its completion of 10 years on 31 January at Mushaira.

DU Beat started as an experiment in 2007 with only a few print copies distributed at Lady Shri Ram College for Women and St. Stephen’s College. It achieved full shape in 2008, undergoing several shifts in form and display, be it through print or web. The team eventually came to consist of the University’s best talent as correspondents, graphic designers, photographers, and videographers, aided with a full functioning team of human resources and marketing from the various colleges of the varsity. The independent student newspaper went through its own trials and tribulations, striving to bring out the real and core issues of the campus and serve as the youth’s mouthpiece. Vineeta Rana, editor of DU Beat, thanked all the previous teams of the organisation for carrying on this 10-year journey. She also acknowledged this year’s team for bringing their creative energies together consistently throughout the year. Srivedant Kar, associate editor of DU Beat, extended gratitude to the administration of Delhi University for recognising DU Beat’s efforts as an authentic campus media outlet. Anagha Rakta, Head of Web at DU Beat, was almost in tears on stage while being handed the DU Chakra.

In his keynote address at Mushaira, Dr. Shashi Tharoor exalted the DU Beat team’s efforts and wished for another splendid 10 years of DU Beat at the University of Delhi. The entire team felt deeply moved, revered, and honoured with his praise and asked for his blessings to continue excelling in journalism.

With DU Beat completing a decade of youth representation, all members associated with it, both current and former, expressed their deepest gratitude to the platform and to the student population for building a space within the University to enact change.

Disclaimer: One of our most beloved features, Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

Oorja Tapan
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Arts & Culture

What to Expect from a DU Fest

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To all the fucchas, this even semester is also known as the fest season and before the fest season commences in full spring, here is what you should expect from a typical DU cultural fest.

The Fest season of the University of Delhi (DU) is here. We are officially amidst the fest season and right now, almost every college union must be raising a hue and cry over concerns regarding sponsorship, creative teams, fest dates and the hoopla around booking fest venues from the college administration. You all may be hearing all sorts of rumours from friends about which celebrity is coming to your college, who all are sponsoring your college event and what will be the dates of the fest. Honestly, to the excited fucchas, we would like to let you know that DU fests are all fun and cool, but do not have ridiculous expectations from them. February and March will be the time of your year but your experience at a fest does not just depend on the event but also the kind of friends’ group you are with. There will certainly be a DJ Night and a Star Night where you would dance your heart out with friends and create amazing Snap Chat and Instagram stories. The two or three-day event will allow you to gorge on the cheapest and tastiest food and shopping stalls available will allow you to buy funky and eccentric trinkets. Your college will be full to its capacity and you might even make new friends from this oncoming crowd. The quality of your college fest, essentially the celebrity that comes to the star night, will depend upon the money your college union is able to raise from the sponsorship teams, college funds and the name of your college. Overcrowding is a typical attribute of all DU fests – so be prepared for squeezing your way out during all the event days and beware of pickpockets and inappropriate touching and groping. Competitions will be a lot of fun as every college society will be upping their game so as to garner as much recognition as they can.

The best thing about a DU Fest is that you can gain access to each and every DU college out there during the fests and entry into girls’ colleges for the boys and the girls from such colleges into coed colleges is an absolute boon. Start making all sorts of contacts if you are staying in a PG to get entry into as many colleges as you can. Do not expect punctuality during the fest as there will be problematic timelines and delays due to the celebrity’s tantrums, the tardiness of the college authorities and the event management teams. Eat, dance, and scream as much you can because whether you are a fresher, a sophomore or someone who is teary-eyed in their last semester, DU fests are the most enjoyable time of the year. Preserve your memories, explore the DU Campus and most importantly, love your time in this University and have a lot of fun!

Feature Image credits– DU Beat

Oorja Tapan

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