Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Tag

college

Browsing
Campus Central

Peer Pressure- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

By

All of us have experienced peer pressure at some point in our lives. Here’s decoding the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of peer pressure.

Right from school to college, we spend a considerable amount of time every day with our friends. Thus, it’s only natural that we pick up certain habits and thoughts which belong to them. But when we feel compelled to be just like them or adopt their lifestyle, it most definitely is peer pressure.

Peer pressure is a circumstance wherein we tend to get carried along with our peers and get influenced by their lifestyles, habits and even their thought-processes.

To identify if you are succumbing to peer pressure, ask yourself just one question – “Am I doing this because I want to do it or because everyone around me is doing it?”

Adolescence is a tricky age to be in. We get fascinated by anything and everything. We learn and unlearn every day. This is the very age when we get more influenced by our peers than by our parents. Consequently, we end up doing a lot of things to ‘fit in’ and be ‘cool’.

One of the worst things that peer pressure can lead one into is the loss of identity very early in life. One starts disregarding himself/herself for not being like others and constantly try to be one among the lot. If not found acceptable to one’s peers, a person starts dismantling parts of themselves every day and rebuilds to get validated.

Adopting the thought-processes of your peers without scrutinizing them can puncture your ability to think and reason. One might end up becoming an individual with no original ideas and thinking. It’s very close to having a mob-mentality where the actions and thoughts of people around you become your own. Thus, it’s pertinent to make sure that you don’t lose your inherent personality while engaging with your peers on a daily basis.

Adoption of habits is one of the most common forms of peer pressure that exists around us. Willingly or unwillingly, we fall into this trap of adopting the habits of our friends. Many a times, we tend to start living the lifestyles of our peers. More than half of the young people start smoking or drinking merely out of peer pressure. The phrase, “Don’t be a chicken, everyone’s doing it” is enough to compel one into doing a certain thing.

The above mentioned aspects can be attributed to negative peer pressure.

While the term peer pressure is always taken in a negative connotation, it’s not really the case. While it may lead you into making destructive and unhealthy choices in life, it can  at the same time also push you towards self-betterment.

One of the best things that peer pressure can do to you is that it makes you sit back and evaluate yourself. It’s undeniable that we all have the scope to grow and learn. Constantly being around people with conflicting opinions and personalities will make you challenge the personality and thought-process you’ve been carrying hitherto then.

It also makes you look beyond yourself and accept those conflicting personalities. Selectively and carefully analyzing them will help you bring positive aspects into yourself and make you grow as a person. Having a sound group of friends who push you to do better every day is like finding a gold mine. They will help you experience positive peer pressure. Thus, be careful of the company you choose to hang out with.

The most important thing to realize while experiencing peer pressure is that it is more internal than external. Mastering our minds to comprehend right from wrongs can make you go a long run into not succumbing to negative peer pressure. Also, doing away with the rigidity of one’s personality and thinking and considering the opinions and constructive habits of those around will help you extract the positive out of your peers.

 

Image Credits: Scopio

Shreya Agrawal

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

DU Hosts 96th Annual Convocation Ceremony

By

The University of Delhi (DU) organised its 96th Annual Convocation on 4th November 2018 at the Sports complex in North Campus.

This year’s convocation witnessed the highest number of graduates, a total of 3 Lack students were to be graduates from DU, out of which 700 were present at the convocation. From these 700 students, 300 were recipients of special awards and scholarships provided by the Varsity. The occasion was graced among others by the Chief Guest Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, honourable Human Resource and Development Minister, with Professor D.P. Singh, Chairman, University Grants Commission, and Shri. Chandra Shekhar Dubey, Director of Campus of Open Learning. The function was presided over by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Yogesh Tyagi. The event commenced with a combined blowing of the Indian Shankh and beautiful classical performance by the students of the Faculty of Music.

A podium was set up next to the stage on which two people translated the whole event in sign language for the hearing impaired students.

The convocation was declared open by Registrar, Professor Tarun at 10:45 am. People from various parts of the world joined the event through podcasts. Vice-Chancellor took to stage and stated various achievements of the University of Delhi so far in 2019 enlightening the crowd. He talked about the importance of an integrated campus of DU. He also emphasized on the fact that there is zero place for corruption in the institute to maintain the ethical standards. And the Delhi University is the only institute with schools for children established unlike any other institute in the country, marching towards excellence

The ceremony also honoured the prominent alumni of the varsity and awarded them with medals and discussed their achievements. Famous journalist, Mr Rajat Sharma was awarded for his accomplishments. Anil Kumar Tyagi, the Vice-Chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, and an alumnus of the University of Delhi was also honoured at the event along with more such distinguished personalities.

The event saw joyous faces of students in black robes and graduation hats who clearly worked really hard to make it to this day, along with their proud and happy parents in the audience who couldn’t stop applauding celebrating this glorious event even for a little while. Nikita Bhateja, MSc Statistics from Hansraj College was the recipient of five awards followed by several other students from all sorts of courses who made a difference.

Feature Image Credits: Deewanshi Vats for DU Beat

Avni Dhawan

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Student-Teacher Relations in College vs School

By

The adrenalin rush on the first day of college, to the jitters on the first day of fests, college gives you a taste of it all. But how different is the teacher-student equation in college from the equation in school? Let’s find out.

For most of us, the transition from school to colleges has been fascinating at the very least, as we learn to navigate through the freedom in the college corridors. After twelve years of getting discipline ingrained into every cell of our body, college sweeps in like fresh air. This evolution from schools to colleges impacts our relationships too- be it friendships, or teacher-student relationships. While our friendships also change as we enter the Delhi University (DU), there is a stark difference in the way our relationships build with professors in DU.

In schools, we were used to the everyday prayers and good morning greetings as soon as the teacher entered the class. In DU, though, the obligatory “good morning, ma’am/sir” rituals bid you farewell.

A prime characteristic of the teacher-student relationship in school life was the presence of this teachers’ pet, no matter the school or the subject. The child who would always butter up the teacher and volunteer for all the work (and who we all were secretly annoyed with) to get those extra two marks in exams. However, in college, barely any of that works. “Forget favouritism from professors, they teach and that’s it. That buttering doesn’t work here,” says Leha Biswas, a student at Lady Shri Ram College.

In schools, we always had this one teacher who would make it their mission to personally be updated with what is happening in their students’ lives. Through summons to the staff room to hushed conversations in the class, this teacher knew more about you than your classmates did. At the same time, you could somehow always count on them to get you out of those principal’s detentions. In college, though, the relationship cools down. “I have the coolest teachers, so we have a professor who would be leaving soon, we told him that we would miss him. His response was the best – “Oh come on, it’s too soon to miss me.”

We all were also very used to the teachers scolding us for not finishing our classwork, for not submitting our assignments, for not faring well in exams, for not being quiet in class, for not… you get the point! School was indeed a second home where sometimes the only right way to behave was how your superiors wanted you to. Coming to college did make us all realise it is okay to let go sometimes. Moreover, the professors don’t mind a few mass bunks, which was a sin back in school. Harsh Singh, a first-year student at Shri Ram College of Commerce said, “In just the first week of college we bunked a class, casually walked our way to Hudson lane for lunch! I guess this sounds quite normal, but for people coming fresh from school where all sorts of fire alarms would go off and the school would come charging at you with tear gas bombs, lasers, and tranquillising darts, even if you step out of your classroom in a free period, I must say that there is definitely some contrast here”.

Teachers at DU have an ornamented CV, jewelled with achievements and degrees. Well, it would be tough to generalise them, but, if you love your course then they would make you sing. Nevertheless, they would make you yawn as well! They don’t restrict you to be glued to your books – they want you to participate (but not too much!). They address every taboo for which you were shush-ed in school. They know that their students are adults and dialogues form a part eventually. Be it the menace of the education system or random talks, casual to heated discussions are pretty usual.

And let’s address the elephant in the room; they do know your craze for the much-awaited fests. And hold on for a second, brushing off the dust from books ten days before semester examinations, well that is not a secret, professors know that deal! The attendance fiasco, although, remains a challenge as getting their sympathy over Extra Curricular Activities is a hard nut to crack.

Where school provided comfort, college provides novelty. Nighat, a first-year student at  Aryabhatta College says, “In school, we were attached to the teachers on an emotional level. In college, we can relate to our professors on a spiritual level.”

Both relationships have their own charms. Familiarising ourselves with the new environment should not make us forget our roots. And as students, it is for us to cherish our school teachers and look forward to our college professors!

 

Feature Image Credits: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat

 

Priyanshi Banerjee

[email protected]

 

Satviki Sanjay

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Events

Amit-stical Odyssey: Rendezvous 2019 Ends with Amit Trivedi

By

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi’s grand annual festival Rendezvous came to an end today.

The third day of Rendezvous 2019, the annual cultural fest of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) was a success, despite starting slow, owing to the venue recovering from the previous night’s rain.

The day saw many competitions conducting their finals and semi-finals. “Swar“, the classical solo singing competition conducted its finals, which had seven participants showcasing their vocal abilities and captivating the audience. The competition, which was organised by the Music Club, was being judged by Pundit Chethan Joshi. The competitors gracefully awed the audience.

Abdul Samad Kahan of Shaheed Bhagath Singh College and Shradha Singh of Hansraj College bagged the first position. Whereas the second and third positions were bagged by Rishab Raghuvanshi of Shaheed Bhagath Singh College, and Chinmaya Iyer of Kirori Mal College respectively.

Simultaneously, the seminar hall saw talented dancers grooving to the beat with individual performances, entertaining the crowd with their dance moves.

The “Pop Battle” which was being judged by Nidhish Pandey had nearly 200 participants, with back-to-back competitions involving various western dance genres under the pop culture.

The dramatics society of IIT-D conducted the prelims for “Natika Vatika”  a multilingual stage theatre competition with prominent judges like Ashok Nagar and Rejneesh Gautham. These plays dealt with various social issues like corruption and the philosophy of life.

Mr and Miss Rendezvous (RDV’19) was filled with spirited faces eager to display their talent and personality. From over 80 entries, 24 participants were shortlisted for Mr and Miss RDV. Out of these 24 entries, 14 were present for the event. The event was judged by the famous Instagram influencers, Stefy Gupta, and Raghav Gogia. The first round consisted of a ramp walk, where the contestants put their best foot forward, literally. The shortlisted candidates from those were then asked to showcase their talent. The six final shortlisted candidates were then asked questions by the judges. The title of Mr RDV was won by Siddhartha Dayani and Miss RDV was won by Tarushi Anand. The judges had asked Dayani what his biggest accomplishment was in the judge question round to which he replied, “My biggest accomplishment has been leaving home and coming to Delhi. I was a mama’s boy at home but now I live on my own which I think is great.”

As young men and women were competing in one of the auditoriums to be the idol of Rendezvous’19, young women were competing in the hall right above to be the Campus Princess. The competition was conducted by the Miss India Organisation and was judged by Viren Barman, Peter England Mr India, 2016 first runner up, and Siddhi Gupta, FBB Colours Femina Miss India, Uttarakhand 2019. From over 180 registrations, there were 62 selected for the competition. The first round was a ramp walk round, where the contestants had to walk in pairs of two. The second round was an introduction round, where the contestants introduced themselves, and the last round for the shortlisted candidates was talent round. The contestants came from different backgrounds, with future lawyers, engineers and even airforce officers present. They were all dressed in black cocktail dresses and looked ready to light up the ramp.

“Allegro” was the Western Group Singing Competition organized by the Music Club of IIT-D. The preliminary round was online where colleges had to send in a video of their performance. From 30 online entries, 12 were shortlisted for the finals on 4th October. The competition saw music societies of various colleges singing beautiful mashups. The competition was judged by Joshua Peters, a western classical music maestro, and Nirupan Sinha, a Delhi based singer-songwriter and composer. After a tough musical battle, Echo, the Western Music Society of Jesus and Mary college stood first. Euphony, the Western Music Society of Gargi College and the Western Music Society of LSR were the first and second runners up, respectively.

Day three also saw the reputed IIT Delhi MUN, where students came as delegates and put their diplomacy skills to use.

Apart from these, there were quizzes and games going on all over the campus. From quizzing enthusiasts racking their brains in the Open Numbers Quiz and Conjurors Bout. SPIC MACAY, an organization for the promotion of Indian classical music and culture, also organised Bharatnatyam and Madhubani Painting workshops.

Conjuror Bout, a word game event was also held. The game ignited the literary gene in all to crack questions based on word jumbles, meaning and literary references. Participants received a question paper, and were given 1 hour and 30 minutes to find the answers. They were given rough sheets and stationary to answer the questions.

The event witnessed bibliophiles, literature enthusiasts and poets all throughout the Delhi circuit with their friends, teaming up to answer questions on British Literature, pop culture references, and solve jumbled words through their meaning.

The four-day long IIT Delhi’s fest, Rendezvous ended on a spectacular note on October 5, 2019. A day full of events and performances from every spectrum of life found its way in the four captivating days of the event. 

The final day begun with a plethora of events that happened simultaneously ranging right from the debates to performing arts.

One of the key highlight events of the day, ‘Instrumental Impromptu’ saw participants from all colleges who presented their mesmerising melodies for the audience. The judge of the event was Mr. Vinayak Panth who has been playing the Sitar for the last fifteen years and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was awarded the CCRT Scholarship by the Government of India and has been a part of various ensembles, sub-collections and Anirudh Varma Collective, amongst others. 

With each performance, the audience was hooked to the beats produced, from various instruments such as the Sarangi, to the drum set. Out of the ten teams that participated in the event that turned out to have an intense competition, Nabeel Khan from Zakir Hussain College won the first prize, Saarah Roy from Daulat Ram College won the second prize, and Saksham and Sarthak from SGTB Khalsa College bagged the third position in the event.

The events began at 9 a.m. Debutant- IITD’s vigorous debating competition- came to an end with Gargi College bagging the first prize, followed by Lady Sri Ram College, and Hansraj College. 

Quizzing whizzes battled out their wits in the India Quiz Competition as well as the General Quiz later in the day, at Rendezvous, which was conducted at the Lecture Hall Complex, with questions varying from Pop Culture-  Music and Entertainment- to History and Science, sensitising the participants as well as the spectators.

Belly Dancing event saw a wide range of cheerful spectators. The performers showcased their impressive dancing skills, making the crowd thrilled with excitement. However, a few spectators raised objections to the lewd nature of the audience’s perspective. “The majority of audience saw the event not as an art form, but rather a way to get cheap thrills. It degrades the participants,” a spectator commented. The general ambience too, was more of a way of objectifying rather than appreciating the dance form. Yet, the participants were energetic and well-rehearsed, and set the stage on fire. The first prize was bagged by Shivani Gupta, and Muskaan Singh bagged the second position.

Duo Dance event witnessed scintillating performances by dance duos from the entire Delhi Dance Circuit.

The biggest highlight of the competition was liberalisation in terms of dance forms and dance types which paved way for diversity and Versatality among dancers.

All performances ranging from Bhangra, Kathak and Bollywood displayed their dance routines.

Members of Spardha, Dance Society of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College came first in tie with Angat. The second position was banged by Athak and Kathak.
The special mention was bagged by Phulkari and Adrita.

Monoact provided the grandeur that IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous needed to come to an end.
The event was filled by artists from all over DCTC i.e. Delhi Collegiate Theatre Circuit.

Monoact which works on the principal of one actor in one scene, stood alone to set the mood for last day of Rendezvous.

The beauty of art is to be an anecdote of emptiness of existence in the society, and the many monoacts performed on pressing issues like lack of choice, lack of sexual preference, domestic violence and patriarchy raised necessary conversations.

Echoes, the Western Solo Singing Competition was also conducted at LHC at 1 p.m.  The event drew a heavy crowd of music lovers. There were 11 participants, all from various colleges and universities. The participants were allowed to either sing solo, or with an accompanist, and the singers were joined by pianists and guitarists. The competition was extremely subjugating in its aura- with the singers entertaining with high notes and vibratos. The first prize was bagged by Dattatreya Biswa, from Deen Dyal Upadhyay College. The second and third position went to Rashim Anand from Daulat Ram College and Janhavi Rajaram from Delhi Technological University respectively.

Another interesting event was FAIL! Initially the idea of this event was conceptualized in Massachusetts Institute of Technology to bring out stories of successful people who have come so far after facing many failures in their life. IIT held a desi edition where celebrities  including Rajat Sharma, Sudhir Chaudhary, Laxmi Agarwal, Sharad Sagar and Captain Raghu Raman addressed the audience with their inspiring life stories.

The event started with a captivating speech by acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Laxmi suffered a barbaric acid attack at the age of 15 and came out as a warrior. She started a campaign called Save Sale Acid and has never looked back in her life. She talked about her journey post the incident very modestly. Laxmi’s speech was followed by a video conferencing with Sam Pitroda. A telecom engineer by profession, Sam is considered to be the pioneer of hand held computing in India. He talked about his humble family background, friendship with Rajiv Gandhi, contemporary politics in India over other things. While there was a connectivity problem initially because of technical glitches he took a jibe saying what an irony it is to face such technical glitches in an institute like IIT. His brief address was followed by Sudhir Chaudhary who organically took the audience by his presence. He spoke about his life, his profession and the nationalism that he preaches. Acknowledging the humble response that he gets in IIT he said there’s another university in affinity just about 5 kilometres away where he never gets such overwhelming welcome. He implicitly referred to JNU with which he shares a controversial relationship because of the 2016 JNU Sedition case.

Captain Raghu Raman appeared next. His quirk and unconventional ideas about life enthralled the audience. The second journalist in this event’s list was Rajat Sharma,  editor in chief of India TV. Keeping himself apart from other speakers he held a rather interactive session asking questions from the audience for the majority of his speech. Event was concluded with a speech by young and dynamic Sharad Sagar, who heads the Dexterity Global foundation.

The final day was a melange of events right from the ones of competition and team spirit to the ones which fuelled up the people around. 

With an energetic and captivating performance, the famous dance group MJ5 had the crowd shimmying along with the members of the group to the tunes of famous Hindi and English numbers!

In what could be best defined as the perfect conclusion to a four-day relay of events and performances, Amit Trivedi and band had hundreds of people swooning and crooning to the exuberant tunes of his songs.

The unified and synchronised coordination between the band members reflected the positivity of their music. With this unforgettable rendition of a timeless musical experience, Rendezvous 2019 came to a grand end.

Feature Image Credits: Surbhit Rastogi for DU Beat.

Satviki Sanjay 

[email protected]

Stephen Mathews

[email protected]

Chhavi Bahmba

[email protected]

Shreya Juyal

[email protected]

Amrashree Mishra

[email protected]

Priyanshu 

[email protected]

Shivani Dadhwal

[email protected]

Kartik Chauhan

[email protected]

 

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Understanding the Business of Education in India

By

As the opportunities in the service sector and manufacturing sector increased for the educated youth, the demand for educational institutions grew, and hence, education is turning into a business in our country.
In India, it is not legal to run educational institutions as business organisations, since only trusts can run such institutions on a non-profit basis. However, there appears to be a systemic method by which many trusts turn these non-profit institutions into their profit-making centres.
The entrepreneurs, taking advantage of the high demand for education, generally get land allotted at a nominal cost in the name of an educational community. In the initial stages, some temporary structures are put up. Later on, as students are admitted, funds begin to flow in the form of development fee, building fee, tuition fee, cultural event fee, etc. These institutions charge cost plus pricing for the services rendered by them. Therefore, over a period of time, these institutions were able to construct huge buildings and purchase costly equipment to modernise their establishments. In this way, a large percentage of unaided private schools and colleges have converted education into a business enterprise.

Earlier, these institutions were confined to metropolitan areas and big cities, but now they are spreading even to smaller towns. “This seriously undermines the selfless nature of education, especially in a country like ours where students are supposed to consider their teachers as Gods,” opined Bhavya, a first-year student pursuing B.A. (Honours) Economics from Daulat Ram College. Of late, the issue of charging capitation fee by educational institutions has also become a sensational topic of disccussion. The Supreme Court, in its judgement on the Mohini Jain versus the Government of Karnataka case in 1992, declared that the Right to Education was a fundamental right, and that the charging of capitation fee was arbitrary, unfair, and, therefore, in violation of the fundamental Right to Equality contained in Article 14 of the Constitution. Mohini Jain, the petitioner in the case, was admitted to the medical college in Karnataka, but she could not take advantage of admission as she could not pay INR 60,000 per year as capitation fee.

A distinction has to be made between privatisation and commercialisation of education. India has a long tradition of privatisation of higher education. Tilak, Karve, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and many other charitable trusts started educational institutions to widen educational opportunity in the society. But modern educational entrepreneurs are not guided by philanthropic motives of the earlier reformers. They intend to invest in educational institutions to maximise profits, because the demand for professional education is very high and the risk involved in this investment is minimal.
There have also been many instances of promoters of educational institutions getting involved in tax evasion and money laundering cases. Politicians and other investors create trust funds, citing education as the motive.

Corporate Social Responsibility funds flow into the trust through legitimate banking channels. These funds are returned to the promoters in cash, and the actual expenditure on the institution is met with the illicit hoard of black money. The expenditure is then inflated, helping launder the black money. In spite of these negative aspects, there are many positive aspects as well that have been brought in by the private investments in the education sector. They have filled up the investment deficit in the education sector. They have increased the availability of seats, creative subjects, and also developed the other centres including the urban areas.

Any development without proper regulations is hazardous for the society. Hence, there should be a strong regulatory body across India for the regulation of these institutions regularly. Benjamin Franklin wisely said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” One can sincerely hope the investment is not made to run education as a business to a point of extreme capitalistic individualism and exploitation, but in order to increase knowledge for the building of a stronger and a more reformed society.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Abhinandan Kaul

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

In Conversation with Akshit Dahiya, Presidential Candidate, ABVP for DUSU Elections 2019

By

On 5th September, DU Beat conducted a telephonic interview with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) Presidential candidate Akshit Dahiya ahead of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections 2019, to shed light on his opinions and views.

Akshit Dahiya is currently a first year L.L.B. student at Faculty of Law, University of Delhi (DU). He’s also a graduate in B.Sc. Physical Sciences from Ramjas College, and a silver medallist in bodybuilding from University of Delhi (DU). He became a member of ABVP in 2016.

What are the main issues you will focus on as a presidential candidate? 

Being a sportsperson, I strongly feel about encouragement of sports in University of Delhi (DU). Outside if you notice, all the students who win medals are of universities. Hence, I have a dream that in 2024 Olympics, it should be DU students representing India. 

The other thing is DU special buses, I come from a very low metro connectivity area, so transportation from my home to the varsity became a task. That’s why, we would start these buses by making petitions. 

There have been recent cases like the one on Old Gupta road or near Hindu Rao Hospital that seriously question the safety of students. Have you done anything to ensure the safety of students studying and living there? 

We’ve already taken various steps. I did my entire campaigning on bi-cycles. I took 100 bi-cycles from college to college. I had two motives for it, one was of Green Delhi, it’s shameful for all, how we’re not contributing as individuals towards this issue. The other is, the scheme of closed campus. A lot of cars are driven in campus making students prone to accidents.

What are the few highlights of the ABVP manifesto for DUSU Elections, 2019? 

Even though we’ll have an entire manifesto announcement, few points are: 

  1. Metro Concession passes: Metro is raising their fares constantly making it very expensive for a normal middle-class student of DU to travel. 
  2. Scholarships in University: ABVP is the only group that allotted 50% of their entire budged towards giving scholarships to sportsmen, PWD candidates, and Economically weaker students.
  3. Holiday homework: All the students sit idle for the two months till 20th July until classes start. We’ve taken a target that will we provide 10,000 students with internships in summer vacation. 

How inclusive is ABVP towards LGBTQIA+ students? Will they receive adequate representation? 

It should be noted, that in our manifesto we have mentioned that we want free education for Transgender and the entire LGBT community. 

DUSU seems an unapproachable entity to the common DU student. Will you take any steps for making it more student friendly and less intimidating? 

I was never part of student politics earlier. I was a studious student. So, I’m well aware of the thought process of sports and study-oriented students and I will run a cycle of schemes and programmes to bring them to DUSU. Already ABVP-led-DUSU has done events like “She the Change” to increase the involvement of women and we will continue this even for cultural society members, and sports students as well. 

IMG_3773

Lyngdoh Committee has kept 5000 as maximum expenditure for campaigning. How do you and your party abide by it? 

Our entire party follows this thoroughly as ABVP works on ground level and each student gets affiliated naturally. We work under those INR 5000 per candidate very easily. 

Campaigning for DUSU often leads to littering in campus by all political parties. What steps have you taken to avoid this? 

Our motive this time is Clean Campus. We will follow it in depth and thoroughly till the end. There is no way ABVP supports this. We have ensured that the campus had cleanliness. It’s just the other parties that don’t work all year round and then need heavy campaigning to win, unlike ABVP. 

In 2017, many DU colleges proposed to be given autonomy, which could lead to privatisation of DU’s constituent colleges, are you for or against this, and why? 

My opinion and what steps ABVP will take regarding this will only be revealed in our press conference soon.

Last year, there were allegations of EVM tampering against ABVP, how will you ensure that incidents like this don’t occur this year and how do you plan to make sure elections are held fairly?

The issue of EVM tampering came because on the post of secretary there were only eight candidates and yet votes had been given on a ninth ballot as well. 

It shouldn’t be situated with us, as NSUI won the post of secretary making it evident as to who tampered EVMs. For us, democracy is above all. We have never engaged in undemocratic acts like these.

University of Delhi was recently declared an Institute of Eminence by the Union Government which entitles DU to a receipt of INR 1000 crores over 5 years, however, the trend in 2019 in DU has been of increasing fees and hostel rates, why do you think this is so? And what will your party do to reduce fee hikes and hostel rates?

We have worked a lot against fee hikes for students. Citing a few examples, there was Rajiv Gandhi Girls’ hostel which had increased its fee manifold, ABVP went there to protest and accomplished the goal of reducing their fees for students. At Ramanujan College, after they increased their fee by 100%, we protested there for the same. 

In the end, I would just advise all the students to come and vote. We’ve struggled a lot in history to achieve voting rights for students. They should vote as this time elections will be held on the ideology of nationalism.

IMG_3774

ABVP Panel 

President: Akshit Dahiya, Ballot No.1

Vice President: Pradeep Tanwar, Ballot No. 5

Secretary: Yogit Rathi, Ballot No. 3

Joint Secretary: Shivangi Kharwal, Ballot No. 4

Feature Image credits : ABVP 

Chhavi Bahmba

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

JOMO v/s FOMO

By

In this happening world, it is quite impossible to catch up with everything and we end up missing on something or the other. The feeling of joy or fear of missing out on something is what decides if you have JOMO or FOMO. 

In the world of social media, keeping up with all the latest happenings, attending social events and parties forms a part of the list of things that we’re supposed to do. You open Instagram once and see people vacationing or partying and feel sad about the fact that you are working or studying. This is where FOMO starts. Going out, meeting new people, making friends and learning new things brings happiness to some people. However, there are a set of people who feel better to not connect with people and miss out on social events and at the same time feel good about it. Knowing about the fact that somewhere someone is having a good time but not being impacted by it is what the opposite of FOMO called JOMO stands for.

There are a number of people around us who face both JOMO and FOMO. The two terms are an antithesis to each other. While JOMO is all about disconnecting, opting out and being okay with where you are, FOMO is the fear of missing out on something that others are a part of. Feeling sad about the fact that your friends are having fun at a party that you aren’t invited to makes up for FOMO. In contrast to this, JOMO refers to understanding ourselves and choosing what we want to do or not do. 

Aatreyee Tamuly, a second-year student of Miranda House feels that the whole trend of FOMO started with the coming up of social media. She further adds, “Every second person now seems to be suffering from FOMO which leads to sadness or even depression. Even now there might be one person on your social media enjoying and this will make you doubt what you are currently doing.” However, she feels like she suffers from both FOMO and JOMO at different times. She adds, “I have severe FOMO when friends make plans without me but I have JOMO on missing on to some family functions and other events.”

Priyanshi Singh said, “I have FOMO when there is some BTS concert going on”. Another student of Miranda House, Dhritee Bordoloi also feels that she suffers from both the syndromes and it completely depends on the situation. She said, “I have FOMO when there are get-togethers and I am not invited. In college as a first-year kid seeing people go out and have fun made me feel left out and lonely. However, I feel JOMO when I have had a tiring week and want to spend some time with myself. In such a situation, no matter what a lit life others are having, I am relieved to be in my own room spending time alone.”

FOMO and JOMO are concepts that differ from person to person. Being college goers, it is very common to suffer from FOMO. However, FOMO is a syndrome which can have worse outcomes while JOMO can help you lead a happy life. Being in your own comfortable space and feeling good about it is the mantra to a happy life. There are a number of reasons for embracing JOMO. Spending our free time consumed by the drama of social media leads to a lack of time for other activities. Getting away from FOMO and moving towards JOMO will get you more time for carrying out productive tasks.  

Saving up on money is, of course, the main reason for embracing JOMO. While FOMO can leave you in debt, JOMO can help you save up for anything that you wanted to buy. Being free from unwanted commitments and online addictions also mean more space and time for spontaneous acts and unplanned moments. Another important benefit of JOMO is that it allows you to experience life at its fullest. It helps us slow down and know ourselves better.

We’ve got one life and we can’t spend it with the fear of missing something. 

As Naina in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani said, “Life mei jitna bhi try karo, kuch na kuch to chootega hi. Isliye jahan hain, wahan ka hi maza lete hai. (No matter how hard we try; we can’t explore everything. So it’s better to enjoy where we are, what we do and appreciate what we have.)”

It is better to be joyful and choose real connections rather than shallow distractions. 

Feature Image Credits: Wonder How to

Priya Chauhan

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Bazinga

Bazinga: DU to Announce Saturdays Off for First-year Students

By

The administration of the University of Delhi (DU) has been mulling over declaring Saturdays off for first-year students from the new academic session 2019-20. 

The decision comes in the wake of a petition filed by Simple Wasan, a student of Daulat Ram College. Wasan sought the High Court’s justice in the face of the rampant college routine from Monday to Saturday. The petition further voiced various other issues: safety of students, library hours at colleges, subsidised canteen food at the same rate for faculty and students alike, etc. These key issues aimed at creating a more “holistic environment of learning” for the students, as Wasan mentions in her open letter to the Vice Chancellor. The letter has gone viral through Wasan’s Instagram story-series. 

Owing to the massive support the petition has received, the authorities have been considering the suggestion seriously. As the authorities overview and analyse the costs and benefits of this decision, to-be-first-years can expect a path-breaking decision in their favour.

Even if it sounds thrilling at first, college can be extremely taxing for the first-year students, freshly coming out of the promising comforts of school system. The DU administration might have finally come up with a resolution to this everlasting six-day fatigue of its students.  Reportedly, Saturdays could be off for the to-be-first-year students of the Varsity in the coming academic year. 

In the letter published on Wasan’s Facebook profile, Ram Manohar, a student of St. Stephen’s College has commented, “This is an essential movement against mediocrity, that settles in students owing to the relentless academic pressure.” The active supporters have also demanded establishing suggestion boxes in every college for the students, so that they can address their otherwise hesitant concerns to the authorities. “Naturally no one wants to win some professor’s spite, and hence most of us refrain from actually vocalising our issues in front of the faculty,” wrote Manohar. 

“With only one day available in a week to catch up and clear the backlog, Sundays are not enough for college students,” said Naveen Kumar, a student of Ramjas College pursuing his final year of B.A. (Hons.) Sanskrit. 

The decision has invited a mixed reaction from the teaching fraternity; what happens next remains, of course, to be seen.

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

Feature Image Credits: Namrata Randhawa for DU Beat

Kartik Chauhan 

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Keeping Up with the College Finances

By

Having bid adieu to uniforms, daily lunchboxes, and travelling in school buses, college is when you learn how and where to spend money.

Coming to college is a step towards becoming an adult; but it can be a tough nut to crack when it comes to managing finances. Here are some tips to manage all this, smartly and efficiently:

Budget

In all the excitement to go to college all prepared, we do not realise how much money has been spent. When the realisation begins to kick-in, it is best to not have an ambiguous figure in your head; rather, a clear image of how much money is spent on different four major things – clothes, travel, food, and books or other resource material. You can also modify this budget list by adding or removing fields, based on your spending or interests.

Spending Smartly and Saving

Now try and identify expenses which can be moderated. Instead of purchasing books every semester, borrow these from your seniors or even buy them second-hand. This is a smart choice, given that there is a possibility they will have notes, or important points marked.

Instead of buying whatever clothes please your eye, make sure you try them on in the store, so there is no possibility of them being the wrong size, or something you are not comfortable in.

Ishita of Kamala Nehru College (KNC) gave a good tip and said, “I live in Dwarka where ricksha wallahs ask for a lot of money even if you go in the shared ones, I discovered that Ola and Uber cost less and were more convenient.” It is important to try out different routes or transports to rule out the most tedious ones.

Student Discounts and Offers

Today, there are endless online stores, apps, offers and combos that allow you to spend smartly, and save plenty. You only need to become aware of these avenues, for example, waiting for sales to buy clothes. Devyani Arora, a student of KNC, shared, “Many food apps have discounts that can be availed, and there are coupons that reduce the cost further. If you do not have coupons, you can also pay through Amazon Pay or Paytm to get some cashbacks.”

When going out with friends you can look for restaurants offering “1+1” deals. Arora went on to add, “Using online portals or payment through credit cards can also help get points for you to redeem later.”

 

Feature Image Credits: Skymet Weather

 

Shivani Dadhwal

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Uncategorized

Monsoon Blues in DU: A New Semester

By

With the start of a new semester for some a new exciting college life for others, the University of Delhi (DU) session begins during monsoon.

The energy is generally high and full of high hopes and expectations. The students can be seen milling around trying out auditions for various societies, attending classes with a new-found vigour, and doing their best to make most out of the day.

However, all this energy still cannot dispel the little low you feel at the prospect of another year and all the challenges it will bring forth. It is a little daunting task for freshers coming from various parts of the country and finding their whole world turned upside down. It is hard to find your niche, your group of people, and a place in which you feel safe and most comfortable to be in. When you finally do, the rest of the journey is far more easier and smooth.

Speaking from experience, a student elaborates, “My first year was rough. My society took considerable amount of my time and in the beginning I was scared about managing both my classes and society. The most tough part was that I was not able to connect with my classmates as I was able to do with my society people.”  

At such point of time, classes become boring and you don’t even feel like attending lectures without any friendly faces in it. 

In girls’ colleges, the whole experience is different. If you are coming from co-ed schools, the whole environment feels alien. You have doubts about settling in and whether you will be able to survive the three years. However, trust me on this- no other college is as empowering and as enriching in experience as girls’ colleges turns out to be. 

A student from Kamala Nehru College says, “Initially, I was scared to be in this city. It was huge and fast. I thought people would be way smarter than me. I underestimated my own self and worth. With time, my confidence grew and I felt comfortable to such an extent that I was no longer intimidated by anyone. I realized my potential and all my initial fears and misconceptions disappeared.” 

There are also some very confusion-filled days when you feel like migrating. You are still confused about your course or college. The best way to cope with it would be to analyse what you want best thoroughly before making any long-term decision. The journey makes the destination more beautiful. So, have complete faith in your journey. 

The dreary weather can feel a little overbearing when combined with the feeling of not belonging but every dark cloud will dispel to let the sunshine pour forth. With time, you will create the best memories. Your initial fear will seem inconsequential and, with each passing day, your fears will abate. 

Apparently, monsoon in Delhi brings bouts of self-doubt and also a lot of mosquitoes. Don’t let the moody weather pull you under and also don’t let these mosquitoes bite. Both of them are not exactly recommended for a happy disposition required to make most of your days in DU!

Feature Image Source: Facebook

Antriksha Pathania
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By