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Admissions 2016

DU Freshers- What to expect from college?

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First of all, you made it. Congratulations. That’s bright enough! Second of all, Delhi University is going to be everything you imagined. Okay not everything, but it’s going to be nothing less than three maddening, crazy and heartening years for you! But before you stop reading and start texting with anticipation and excitement, let us (your humble seniors) clear some of your misconceptions.

What to look out for:

  1. Jam Packed Social Calendar: Of the many things students will need to sacrifice this year, their social life is not one of them. With the new found freedom, the newbies can now go have a ball with their new found friends!
  2. Better societies and awesomer fests: As ECA and sports activities are as important marks, fests and societies will get a boost and improve drastically. With the fucchas working even harder to prove their mettle, it’s safe to expect each college putting up a grand show!
  3. College protests: As the hand of the ABVP and NSUI still looms large over DU, most freshers will be witness to their spectacularly conducted and overly dramatized protests. With political connections, there students will definitely try to bring the house down.

Busting Some Myths:

  1. Ragging: Contrary to the common belief of – ‘Tu kyu kar rha hai? Fucche se karwa lenge!’ DU isn’t exactly a frame out of 3 idiots and you will definitely not have to perform crazy stunts or walk around pretending to be James Bond just because a senior told you to do so. With strict anti-ragging laws, your worst nightmare should be cranky teachers and definitely not your seniors!
  2. The Ladies/ The Studs: For all those who stayed single to find their soul mates in DU, you’ll be waiting some more time. Contrary to popular beliefs, the girl’s colleges are not a pond of budding super models. And not all boys look like they were ripped off magazine covers. They too are humans, give them some credit for looking perfectly human and not like porcelain dolls.
  3. Equality Among Colleges: Okay so you’ve probably been expecting this all the way, but suddenly your best friend from the other college will become ‘them’ and your newly found united college buddies will be ‘us’.
  4. Completely Fudged up Timelines: If you had been cursing your friends, family, associates etc. for not being punctual all this time, you are about to experience a whole new level of procrastination. The University declares results exactly a month after its due date, if you’re lucky. Be glad that’s the only thing the university does. And if you have any other issues to sought with the administrative department, then god save you!

By Raghav Chopra ([email protected]) and Akriti Gupta ([email protected])

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Campus Central

DU North Campus: Where the Insiders go

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Jyoti Chinese Corner at Patel Chest Situated amidst the gazillion printing shops and book stalls in Patel Chest, Jyoti is a small stall dishing out excellent food. For such a tiny establishment, it certainly boasts an extensive menu starting from the famous momo and chowmein, to thukpa and shyapta (a Tibeatan meat dish). The portions are also quite large. The only glitch perhaps is that it is constantly packed and seating is limited to about 5 persons. However, for such good food at reasonable rates, who would even complain waiting for a few minutes? One insider tip is to order the ‘home delivery momo’ which although priced substantially higher than the regular momo they serve, is definitely a must have! Le-phing at MajnukaTilla The best reason to visit the famous Tibetan Market, which is a 15 minute auto ride away from North Campus, is perhaps to try ‘Le-Phing’ which is only available here. A famous Tibetan street dish, Le-Phing is usually priced at Rs30 a bowl, and served both dry and with soup, and you can either choose it in yellow or white. Most stall owners are tight lipped about how they prepare it, so you probably won’t even know what you’re actually having. It’s basically a cold mung bean noodle dish dolled up with soya-beans, soya-sauce, salt, vinegar and some magical chutney-like concoction. Perhaps an acquired taste, Le-phing has some serious die-hard fans. If you join the club, expect frequent trips to MajnuKaTilla in between classes to satiate le-phing cravings. Waffle Hut at Kamla Nagar This is a waffle joint in a small bylane in Kamla Nagar, behind the McDonalds on Bungalow Road. Be-fitting its name, it boasts a wide range of freshly made waffles with both sweet and savoury toppings. In case you want to try an extensive variety, it is advisable to order quarter sized pieces with different toppings. The unique pizza waffle is definitely worth a try! Since it is tucked in between many other shops, you might overlook it, so asking for directions is helpful. Bistro at Kamla Nagar A perfect way to ‘TRY’ to beat the summer heat is to have one of the various drinks and sundaes available at this stall. While there are many places around campus offering the same, its main attraction is its pricing. An almost half-a-litre glass of Virgin Mojito comes at 50rs, and a substantial helping of chocolate fudge sundae at just Rs.60. In addition, veg sandwiches and snacks are also available. Although seating isn’t available, you can’t help yourself from going back once you’ve tried it. FUNKY at Bungalow Road A mini Sarojini-Nagar, Funky is a clothing shop that many DU students frequent. Although there are many vendors selling cheap clothes on the streets, the collection here is the best. Tops, dresses, trousers and shorts are priced at around Rs.150 to 250. An occasional gem in the form of a cocktail dress or branded item isn’t uncommon here. However, sometimes the clothes are a little costume-like, so a keen look through the racks can go a long way. Also, they do bring in new stuff quite frequently. Since it is somewhat hidden in a basement amidst the shops in Bungalow Road, it is best to ask seniors or friends for directions.   Swareena Gurung [email protected]]]>

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Admissions 2016

DU ECA admissions: Is centralisation a bad idea?

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The centralisation of ECA trials at Delhi University this year has become a cause of concern for college cultural societies and a few applicants as well. Students have responded to the change in the process by starting petitions and Facebook pages against it. Several college cultural society student headshave already spoken out against the new rules and contacted us with their grievances too. We take a close look at the matter:

The procedure: What changed?

Before this year, there were no central forms for ECA applicants. The applicants had to apply to colleges they chose individually. This was followed by a shortlisting process, in which colleges and the cultural societies took into account the applicants’ marks as well as their certificates and past achievements. The shortlisted applicants then underwent trials, with the cultural society student and teacher members as the judging panel, on the basis of which final selections were done.

According to the administration, this led to a multiplicity of trials and wasn’t fair to the applicants, hence the decision to have just one round of centralised trials this year. The ECA applicants had to fill the same common form as the other merit-based applicants. According to the very recently issued schedule by the university, there are going to be preliminary trials at identified colleges post which a list of shortlisted candidates will be released on the Delhi University website. This will be followed by final trials and counseling of the selected students.

While the University may have good intentions behind the move, with what reducing the multiplicity of trials and wanting to reduce any personal bias as the judging panel will consist of people the applicants are likely to have had no contacts with, this move has not gone down well with the current DU cultural societies’ members.

Grievances of the Cultural Society heads

One of the major issues that the society heads have brought up is the ambiguity of the entire process. Until two days ago, there was no official notice from the University about the entire process or specification of any dates. Many feel that such a short notice for ECA trials makes it difficult for the outstation applicants to participate in them. The official university notification also came two days after the release of the first cutoff list, keeping ECA applicants anxiously waiting. The notification still says nothing about the dates for specific activities.

Till last year, student post-holders and teacher conveners for various activities were the ones judging the trials but will have no role to play in the process this year, which, according to them, is unfair to the applicant as well as the society. Since it is the student members who are at the heart of all the activities that take place in the DU cultural circuit, they have insights into the kind of specific attributes the applicants need to be judged on. The ‘expert’ judged appointed by the university for the task will lack this insight into the inner workings of a cultural society and the nuances of the circuit. The cultural society members also don’t understand how the university plans to take into account their specific needs when it comes to members they want in the society.

Chandni Jain, President of the Debating Society of Miranda House and a 2014 ECA applicant herself, explained that each college and each cultural society is different and will have different requirements and environments according to which they want to select members. Making a particular criterion applicable pan-DU is equivalent of taking away the ability of the societies to maintain their distinct personalities. Moreover, it also reduces the chances of an applicant to get through. “Certain activities like music are very subjective. I know people who are all excellent musicians but got rejected from some colleges and were accepted in others,” she says.

Sankalp Luthra, a member of the Debating Society of Kirori Mal College, was also in agreement about the harmful impact of the lack of independent college criteria and feels that a pan-University criterion will not just harm the societies but also the applicants as it reduces the variety of applicants that could possibly get admissions.

The multiplicity of trials in the previous years might have been rigorous but it also allowed the applicants to have multiple chances of getting into Delhi University. Many applicants tweaked and improved their performances over the number of trials they gave and eventually clinched admissions in good colleges. With the changed system of two levels of trials – preliminary and finals – the applicants will have just one chance to make it through the first level to the next, which is a definite cause of concern.

The fact that the current student members of the cultural societies, as well as the teachers, have been kept in the dark about the entire process and know nothing about the dates for their activities, the judgment criteria and other details is problematic as well, given that they are the ones who will eventually work with and help integrate the incoming members into the society and the DU cultural circuit.

With the ECA admission process set to begin in a few days, one can’t help but think about the possible repercussions of what could turn out to be an ill-thought move by the University, and the repercussions, as is clear from the grievances of the people at the very heart of DU’s cultural scene, could be manifold and would be as unfortunate as they could have been avoidable.

With inputs from Chandni Jain and Sankalp Luthra

Shubham Kaushik

[email protected]

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Campus Central

Spotlight: Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College

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22-06-2016 05.05.13                          

Infrastructure:

Situated at the north campus of the university, the college boasts of a 5 building structure with a world class sports stadium along with a lawn tennis and a basketball court. The college’s newly opened multi-storied air-conditioned library (also half of the college’s class rooms have air-conditioning system in place) has books on almost all the topics available to mankind. The topmost floor of the library is glass-walled and honestly speaking, looks like a squash court. [gallery size="medium" ids="43282,43280,43281,43279,43278,43277,43283,43284,43285"]

What to do in between classes:

  • As you head your way out from the library, you will see cafe coffee day’s ‘cafe day express’, welcoming you to try its hot coffee along with exotic vegetarian and non-vegetarian snacks.
  • If you prefer something more sub-continental, you can head straight using a narrow passage to the college’s canteen. There, you will find all the mouth watering foods from aloo-ki-tikki to North Indian Thaali. Though the odd thing about the canteen is that the bill you get features the name of Miranda House instead of the college’s own name. Too much affinity, I guess.
  • The college is almost perfectly located, with the Kamla Nagar market, the Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar market and the Hudson lane at just a walking distance.
  • If you are visiting for the first time, it is recommended that you do visit the Tom Uncle’s Maggie point and the Wood Box cafe.
  • The college has its own Gurudwara in the premises for you to seek peace at.
[gallery size="medium" ids="43286,43288,43287"]

Delights to catch on:

If you really want to enjoy such an environment and are bored of your boring college routines, you should visit SGTB Khalsa College and especially its standout area, ‘jannat’. Jannat is located at the centre of the college and is a hub of almost all the activities that take place in the premises. From the art society displaying various art forms to the photography society featuring its best photo shoots, from the dramatics society’s street plays to the Music society’s foot-tapping performances, Jannat sees it all through the year. The name comes from the fact that the place is beautifully maintained and also has an exquisite lawn. [gallery size="medium" ids="43289,43292,43290,43293,43291,43347"]

Annual Fest, Lashkara:

So, once you are here at the North Campus, SGTB Khalsa is a college you must surely visit and since the fest season is near, you should also attend the college’s annual fest ‘Lashkara’ which features almost all the Punjabi celebrities from the music world. [gallery size="medium" ids="43348,43349,43351"] [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="43352,43350"]   Images by Gerush Bahal for DU Beat Brij Mohan Pahwa [email protected]]]>

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Admissions 2016

Admissions start at Delhi University with the release of the first cut-off list

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Delhi University colleges released the first cut-off list for undergraduate admissions. Amongst the highest setters of cutoffs are the usual culprits but also colleges like Kalindi College, with a cut-off of 98.50% for the general category for Economics and SGTB Khalsa College with a cut-off of 98.75% for general category for English.

You can check the combined cut-off list released by Delhi University here: Link for the first cut-off

Timings for morning colleges: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Timings for evening colleges: 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Spotlight: Indraprastha College for Women

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20-06-2016 06.38.57 The college is situated in the posh area of Civil Lines with an excellent metro connectivity from the college walls. Yes, the college has its own Metro Gate!

Infrastructure:

Free periods are mostly spent in the college’s circular canteen, the library, bleachers, back lawns, gymnasium, tut-rooms, front lawns, pavilions or even empty classrooms. In winters especially, one can find girls sunbathing in the college field or soaking the sunlight in the back lawns. [gallery size="medium" ids="43088,43089,43093,43090,43092,43091,43095,43094,43096"]

What to do in between classes:

  •  The only neighbouring site to the college though is the National Centre for Vector-Borne Disease Control. But, IPites are undeterred. The college campus is sufficient enough to kill time in, it is that huge!
  • While most girls like to remain in the campus, there is Moet’s-the Chinese restaurant and Mocha’s for the affluent who prefer to drop there in groups.
  • Sant Parmanand Hospital across the college has Bikano, which is very affordable for anyone.
  • The Momo’s Point and the Roll Point near the Metro Station are also frequently visited sites, along with the Wai-Wai noodles in the Metro station premises.
  • The college’s favourite eatery remains the Bun-Tikki Wala aka Banta Wala, just outside the college gate.
  • A 40 rupee ride to Kamla Nagar and GTB Nagar is all it takes if one wishes. Shopping, partying or simply singing loudly from their cars on the Ridge is what Ipites generally enjoy doing.

Delights to catch on:

The college canteen is often flooded with students, who have a variety to offer from the menu, at affordable prices. Chhole Bhature, Dosa, Chilli Potato, Cold Coffee, Sev Puri, Juices and a lot more is never kept out of service. A huge demand is always catered by a large supply. The college is a photographer’s heaven! With peacocks and parrots around 365 days of the year, the college’s green campus with sprawling environment all around is natural photographic scenery. IPCW boasts of a beautiful front garden with a breathtaking variety of roses and other flowers and a scenically placed fountain. Another photographic place is the graffiti wall in the college. [gallery size="medium" ids="43097,43098,43099,43101,43100,43102,43103,43104,43105"]

Once here, keep an eye for these societies:

The college has a wide range of societies to offer. 1. Abhivyakti, the well-reknowned DramSoc in the DU Circuit 2. Afroza, the much-praised Western Dance Society 3. Alaap, Indian Music Society 4. Mridang, Indian Dance Scoiety 5. Gandhi Study Circle 6. Enactus, IPCW The college has individual achievers too, from mountaineers to academic achievers, to national-level sportswomen. [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="43109,43111,43112,43110"]

Annual Fest, Shruti:

Shruti, the annual college-fest is a favourite amongst the DUites. With Singers like Kailaash Kher and Euphoria having performed here in the past, the wide range of activities keeps everyone on their toes, in a fun way. The college-hostels are proud hosts of their independent Proms/ Guest Nights, held in February, which sees a lot of enthusiasm and dancing all evening.   [gallery ids="43107,43106,43108"]

Why join IPCW?

As a part and parcel of an IPites’ life, every student is imbibed with the values of ‘keeping the college clean and tidy’ and ‘helping the needy’. An IPite is fashionable, fun, studious, helping, aware, success-oriented, opportunistic, crazy and hungry-for-food. But, the best part is that the life of a girl of IP College is guy-free. When in IPCW, you won’t miss guys for long, you will have girlfriends and they will be your best mates for life!   Image inputs by Gerush Bahal for DU Beat Ayesha Sareen [email protected]]]>

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Admissions 2016

DU extends last date of online application till 22 June; first cut-off to be released on 30th

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Amidst the admission frenzy, Delhi University is set to change its admission itinerary and extend the online application process till 22nd June 2016. The Admission Committee, which held an urgent meeting recently, unanimously decided to extend the registration process due to OBC-category candidates seeking more time to upload their income certificates online.

Owing to the change in schedule, the first cut-off list will now be released by the university on 30th June instead. Talking to us about the same, Nachiketa Singh, a member of the Academic Council and Central Admission Committee said,”Since the OBC students belonging to the non-creamy layer are facing problem in obtaining the certificates on a short notice, the committee unanimously decided to extend the date. The closing date of admission remains 16th of August though.” The change, interestingly, has nothing to do with the DUTA’s boycott of the admission process, Singh stated.

Another major agenda of the meeting though was the varsity’s displeasure with St. Stephen’s College. The university administration is apparently miffed with the college for not following its schedule and allegedly refusing to participate in the centralised trials for sports-quota admissions.”The committee is of a unanimous opinion that St. Stephens and even Jesus and Mary College must follow the centralised procedure as notified by the varsity. The whole purpose of the High Court directive was to help the students skip the hassle of multiple trials. If the directive is not adhered to, then the university holds the right to withhold enrolment numbers of any student taking admission in these colleges. We have notified St.Stephens College about the same and are awaiting their response,” remarked Singh.

Delhi University has already received over 3 lakh applications for its undergraduate programmes.

 

Image credits: www.hindustantimes.com 

Riya Chhibber

[email protected] 

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DUB News

English exam paper for SOL cancelled and rescheduled after paper leak

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The English examination of BA programme from the School of Open Learning (SOL), Delhi University was cancelled on account of an alleged paper leak this Wednesday.

Students who had travelled from distant places to their respective examination centres were informed about the cancellation half an hour after the exam had begun. The paper which was leaked was being circulated on Whatsapp and this was confirmed by the authorities. Thereafter the paper was cancelled and rescheduled for June 24 at 9 am. Prior to this incident, Economics examination of SOL had also been cancelled on June 12.

Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), The Students Union of SOL will be protesting on Thursday at Arts Faculty in DU’s North campus against the inconvenience caused to students. According to Harish Gautam, a member of KYS, “The students had been allotted centres in far-flung areas. After students had reached the centres, they were told that the paper had been cancelled. This puts physical and mental as well as economic strain on students”. The teaching staff has claimed that using Government schools as examination centres has made the paper leaks possible. There have also been complaints about inadequate monitoring.

Around 55,000 students will now have to appear for the paper rescheduled. An FIR has also been lodged under section 406,409 and 120 (b) at Maurice Nagar Police station.

 

Featured image credits: du.ac.in

With inputs from Hindustan Times

Tooba Towfiq

[email protected]

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DUB News

Facing fraud and harassment by PG owner of Hudson Lines, students report to the police

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Pinjra Tod, which is a movement to secure non-discriminatory and affordable accommodation for women students, recently reported a case of fraud and harassment by a PG owner in Hudson Lines, North Campus, and the subsequent measures taken by the students of the PG.

The students of this women’s PG had been regularly facing harassment on several accounts, according to Pinjra Tod’s report. Rent agreements and receipts for rent paid were denied to them. The agreement initially had been for 11 months, after which the landlord was to reimburse the security deposit. Later, when the students were due to return home after their semester examinations, he began to insist that they stay for 12-13 months to receive reimbursement, else they would lose their deposit. Further, the students were forced to pay inflated electricity bills. Suspecting fraud, the students had turned off all electrical equipment to find that inspite of no use of electricity, the meters continued to run. The landlord and his family would also enter rooms and taunt or abuse the women.

Due to continued threat, abuse and harassment, 9 students of the PG filed a complaint with the police, after which the landlord called their parents up, accusing the women of ‘smoking’ and ‘drinking.’

A confrontation at the Mukherjee Nagar Police Station resulted in a victory for the women. The landlord had to return the security deposit to all 9 students, and the students have registered a complaint with the NDPL, refusing to pay the inflated electricity bills.

“This kind of harassment is very rampant throughout Delhi,” says Subhashini Shriya of Pinjra Tod. “Due to dependency of the students on the PG owner and vulnerability of the students, combined with misinformation by the PG owner to parents, students find it difficult to come out with such cases.” On the reaction of the authorities to Pinjra Tod’s demand for regularisation of PGs, Subhashini says, “DU administration says that since these are private accommodations, it is beyond the scope of their authority. There are several PGs that are not registered with the police and most PGs give no receipt on receiving rent. Neither the university nor the police has taken this up.”

Pinjra Tod has decided to prepare a blacklist of PGs based on information given in by students on cases of sexual harassment, interference of the landlord, receipt for rent paid and rent agreements. “When students seek accommodation in PGs, they must have a better understanding of the comfort and security of these places. The blacklist will serve this purpose,” says Subhashini.

Pinjra Tod is also working towards ensuring that the University implements a standardisation of rules and rents in this regard. “We would like to set in place a system where students should be able to approach the university for redressal of such grievances,” says Subhashini.

 

Image credits: Pinjra Tod

 

Abhinaya Harigovind

[email protected]

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Admissions 2016

DU Open Day 1: Important things to keep in mind during admission

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Every year Delhi University holds Open Days at different venues where the students aspiring for admission in the under-graduate courses can seek answers to their admission related queries.

The first day of the Open House of Admissions 2016 was held at the Conference Centre, North Campus where several students and parents were seen attending the event. The session was addressed by the Dean of Students’ Welfare, Mr. J M Khuran  and the Deputy Dean, Dr. Tuteja. 

Some important information revealed in the first session is presented as follows:

Online Application Process

This year, the central application for admissions is available on the web and has to be filled online. Even Admissions through various quotas like Extra Curricular Activities (ECA), Sports, and Kashmiri migrants is through the online portal.

Advisable to fill the form before the last date

The Dean of Students’ Wefare while addressing the audience today advised students and parents to not wait for the last date, i.e June 19th, to fill the form. Rather, it is safer to fill the form as earlier as possible.

Be patient, Do not fill Incorrect details

It was informed today that the form with incorrect details will be immediately rejected by the University and the concerned student will not be eligible for admission in undergraduate courses. Hence, it is advisable that students and parents are vigilant and patient while filling the form.

Change in the Kashmiri Migrant Quota

The quota for Kashmiri migrants which earlier could be invoked only by people based in Delhi and Jammu is now available for anyone across the nation with proper documents to support the claim.

ECA, Sports Quota

For ECA, the candidate has to submit the evidence in the form of participation/winning certificates in the concerned activity acquired the course of last three years (April 1, 2013 to 31 March 2016)

A candidate may apply for ECA or Sports quota, or even both of the quotas.

The Best of Four

For selection in Mathematical Sciences/ Science courses

On the basis of marks in P.C.M./ P.C.B. or P.C.M.B. ( P – Physics, C – Chemistry, B – Biology, M – Mathematics)

For selection in Humanities/Commerce courses

On the basis of ‘Best of Four’ Percentage which includes:-

i) One compulsory Language subject.

ii) the Discipline- 1 subject; subject in which admission is sought.

iii) Any two elective subjects, the status of elective subjects, defined as follows.

The following Discipline subjects must be treated as Academic/ Elective subjects for the purpose of undergraduate admissions. All other subjects offered by different boards may be treated as non-elective.

ELECTIVE SUBJECTS
www.du.ac.in

Please note:

The student who hasn’t studied the subject he wants to take up as Discipline , shall suffer a disadvantage of 2.5 percent.

“The session was very helpful for me and all my doubts about the admission process are more or less cleared. Though, I would have wanted the Faculty to brief the students about the courses which are fairly new like Bachelor in Financial Market (BFM). Such courses are not as popular as other Honours courses and thus the students require some guidance”, said Vidhi, a BFM aspirant.

Image Credits: Gerush Bahal

Nishita Agarwal

[email protected]

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