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Why the University of Delhi Is Not As Inclusive As It Seems

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The University of Delhi, with its highly subsidized education and with a plethora of Gender Cells and Enabling Units may look like the ideal place to be but its education pattern and infrastructural facilities are structured in a way that largely benefits able bodied, upper-middle class, privately schooled, English speaking students.

The internet and its spawn twitter have made everyone with an internet access, a potential activist. And with this sense of activism on the internet I came to know about the concept of inclusivity- which is a concept that asks whether an institution, organization or work space is accessible, suitable and does justice to people from all ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, and gender identities and does not condone ableism. In 2015, Brown University allocated $100 million dollars to make it more inclusive. This shows how globally renowned colleges are doing a reality check of their own hidden biases and it is time DU did the same. Inclusivity in a university space is important because first, invisible barriers in education means putting disadvantaged communities at a greater disadvantage by keeping them away from education and second, students who will learn in a non-inclusive, privilege rewarding environment will tomorrow propagate that kind of behaviour in their respective work spaces, simply because their idea of society in general would be warped and distant from reality, they were never sensitized about their hidden privilege while learning.

Here’s why DU is not all that inclusive and how this affects certain students and communities particularly-

1) Lack of hostels– as of now there are only 15 colleges that have hostels available for undergraduate students in DU. Eight of them are girls hostels, with one of them for foreign students, two boys hostels and only four colleges that have both girls and boys hostels. These hostels can accommodate on an average no more than one-fifty students. When a college student body consists of some four-thousand students, this number appears to be pitiably-low. Since DU attracts students from all over India and in large numbers, it falls upon the shoulders of these students to find appropriate accommodation for themselves. They resort to living in private hostels which cost some Rs. 12,000 on an average. Thus, studying in DU for those not from Delhi/those who don’t get a college hostel is expensive. Ergo, DU is, speaking in general terms, a feasible option only for those who can afford private accommodation. The accommodation issue is one which also makes us question the subsidized nature of DU’s education and make its status as a diverse and accessible university dubious.

2) Lack of uniformity in facilities available for differently abled students and academia– the biggest problem for differently abled students is that there are vast discrepancies in facilities offered to differently abled students. While a handful of top-ranking colleges have ramps, elevators, tactile paths and active enabling unit cells, the remaining don’t. These six or seven colleges act as tokens that make DU appear more democratic and inclusive but in most colleges, differently-abled students continue to suffer because of broken tactile paths, ramps with no railing, no elevators, broken recording machines and limited or no braille libraries.

3) Linguistic barriers- the medium of communication for most classes in DU is English. Majority of students, who hail from a Hindi-medium educational background, find this problematic. They rely on guide books and the help of friendly classmates to tide through lessons. And while professors try to be accommodating, if they held their classes in Hindi alone, students who don’t speak the language would be at a heavy disadvantage. Nanditha Harimohan of Daulat Ram College says” Since I do not speak Hindi, if all my classes were conducted in Hindi I would quickly lose interest and end up assuming things”. This linguistic barrier affects all those who are not fluent in either English or Hindi. Unless the university acknowledges this issue as a legitimate problem, an adequate solution to it will never come by and it will continue to be a conundrum that plagues students.

4) High cut-offs – While each one of us works exceptionally hard for our boards’ percentage, it is important to keep in mind that it is much easier for a student hailing from an urban private school to score 95% in their boards than it is for someone studying from a government school in a far-off village. And while both study diligently, one has an invisible privilege over the others. There is no shame in being privileged but it is essential to acknowledge it. While top universities across the globe take a subjective approach towards determining ones achievement and dedication, this system in our University, which reduces everyone’s individual struggles to a number, to a game where a 0.25 less means heartbreak and crushed dreams is strangely dehumanising. Scoring marks in boards is an objective, soulless process where wealthier students with their ten-year question papers, private tuitions, goals oriented not knowledge oriented studying and guidance on how to study and write answers; will always do better.

5) Good infrastructural facilities offered only in a handful of colleges – The idea of what DU is and what it stands for, for a lot of people across the country is limited to St. Stephens, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Shri Ram College of Commerce and Hindu College. Ceilings have fallen in Daulat Ram College, Hans Raj College and College of Vocational Studies (twice). While certain off-campus colleges or lesser known colleges are crumbling away, authorities remain unconcerned. Basic issues like lack of adequate number of washrooms or a shortage of classrooms is seen in many colleges but these issues remain un-highlighted because leaders and administrators only bother visiting the top six or seven colleges. Narendra Modi visited SRCC, Smriti Irani visited Hindu College but colleges where no major infrastructural improvements have taken place in decades are side-lined and few renowned people in the public eye seem interested in visiting those. A highly subsidized education cannot obviously offer the same kind of amenities that a privately funded education might, but in institutions where basic needs remain unfulfilled, it is impossible for any academic or cultural breakthroughs to take place. These colleges are not neglected for a lack of funds. Out of the Rs.300 crores that has been given to DU by the UGC from 2012 to 2017, only Rs.100 crores was spent and of the remaining amount Rs.105 crores lapsed. So while colleges continue to hike their fees or suffer due to a cash crunch, grant money remains unutilized. If the administration bothered to look at the almost pitiable state of certain colleges, this could have been avoided. This inherent sense of elitism where politicians, actors and famous personalities visit a handful of colleges and remain bothered with only them is discriminatory and not inclusive because it limits the resources the rest of the student body has access to.
A College of Vocational Studies student has the same right to sit in a classroom, where ceilings do not fall on their head as a St. Stephens student does. Elevators for wheelchair bound students are needed in every college, not just the five most renowned ones. Everyone deserves the opportunity to study in the University of Delhi, not just those who can choose to spend two-lakh rupees annually as PG rent due to lack of hostels. A student hailing from a small village in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and studying in a government school worked hard for her 85% in boards and deserves the same chance to study in DU as another 95% hailing from an ISC affiliated private school’s student. It is important that both the student body and administration work actively in order to make DU a make inclusive space. Our responsibility towards making the world more inclusive is not limited to sharing dramatic tumblr posts about lack of people in the Trump cabinet. While that is certainly important but our responsibility also extends to and includes our immediate surroundings, our colleges, our workspaces, our films and pop-culture and our environment.

Image Credits: Equal Opportunities Cell, University of Delhi website

Kinjal Pandey
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An Unreserved Student Gets Admission in a Reserved Seat at DU’s Law Faculty

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Student Manmeet Kaur Sareen had filed a plea in Delhi High Court questioning the policy of admission into the Law Faculty of Delhi. Even after the last cut-off list as 233-34 for the unreserved category, seats were left vacant. Ms. Sareen had scored 231 in her LLB entrance exam and there were 14 seats left in total at the three Law Centres.

Law Centre 2 had 7 seats for reserved category and one for a foreign national but after filing for an affidavit, the university declared that these seats won’t be carried forward to the next year.

The following is the rule by the University for reserved category students, ‘The seats reserved for SC/ST shall be filled by SC/ST candidates only. However, in case of non-availability of the eligible candidates, the reserved seats may be interchanged between the SC and ST. If still, any seats remain unfilled, the same shall be left vacant’.

In Justice Indermeet Kaur’s own words, “The ends of justice would definitely not be served if available seats in educational institutions are allowed to go waste; this could also not have been the intention of educational legislators…This would be a denial of opportunity to an otherwise meritorious student…”. to which DU argued that there were 67 students before Ms. Sareen.

The court ordered admission only for Ms. Sareen since only she approached the court and nobody else. She has been given admission at the University’s Law Centre 2.

Image credits: dubeat.com

 

Prachi Mehra

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State of Co-Curricular Activities in Delhi University

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Famed for its performing societies and star alumni, does the University’s ecosystem encourages the growth of co-curricular activities?

If there’s anything that the University of Delhi is famous for besides its headlines-grabbing cut-off percentages each year, it’s the star alumni. Apart from politicians, some of the country’s top artists are also DU graduates, partly stemming from the fact that Delhi in itself is a city that promotes such fields with its various cultural centres that regularly hold performances and workshops by experts.

At the college level, however, the stepping stone for the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan is the college societies. Upon closer inspection, though, it becomes obvious that enough is not being done to facilitate their workings. Right from the inception stage, it is difficult to find out about the formalities required to start a society. The presence of a faculty advisor is also a condition and it takes a lot of hassle to find a convenor because most of the teachers are already under a lot of workloads, having no incentive to take on additional responsibility. Further, the music, dance, and theatre societies require spaces for their daily practices. In institutions like Jesus and Mary College and Hans Raj College, it’s cumbersome to book the Auditorium for practices as obtaining the administrative permission takes a lot of time, which leaves students without proper practice spaces. Colleges like Miranda House, Kirori Mal College, and Sri Venkateswara College do not have proper auditoriums currently, which results in finding nooks and corners of the college for practices. This becomes tiring, and due to no allotted space for each society, societies secure spaces on a first come first serve basis, leaving other groups in a lurch. As performances and competitions’ season nears, these colleges have a disadvantage since necessary rehearsals are unable to take place.

A good portion of the already meagre society funds has to be devoted to booking external auditoriums during the fests’ season as well. Lack of funds is usually cited as the reason for the delays in construction and repair work, but recurring stories of the collapse of unused funds amounting to crores contradicts that claim. Finally, the members of these societies themselves are often not treated well by the faculty and administration. Professors are often unwilling to co-operate regarding rescheduling of the internals on account of performance events that the members have to attend – which is representative of the disinterested attitude of the University as a whole.

There are a few efforts being made. Miranda House, for one, has developed an app that lets societies book spaces online, cutting scope for bureaucratic work. Such efforts, however, are very rare and should be the norm instead of an exception.  On the whole, a very sorry state of affairs exists and it’s quite saddening to see that basic facilities are unavailable in the country’s premier liberal arts colleges due to administrative roadblocks, sitting on funds, and an ironically uncaring attitude in the world beyond academics.

Image credits: DU Beat

 

Rishika Singh

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How To Start a Society In Delhi University

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Life in DU is not only about academics, and it is a place to hone your talents. This can be achieved through participating in the various societies.

The student experience in the University of Delhi has never been restricted just to academics. Delhi University gives equal importance to extracurricular activities, as almost every college has provisions for cultural societies that are fully supported by the various colleges and cater to talents like debate, dance, music, drama, art, music, social service, quizzing etc.

Societies nurture your potential, hone your talents and best of all, and give you immense and adequate exposure and platforms to express yourself. In addition, being a part of any society is a huge boost to your CV. However, being a part of a society does not come easy as they tend to have a rigorous audition process and have a limited intake.

Starting a brand new society in any college can prove to be quite a challenge. The long and strenuous process can sometimes prove to be demotivating. Moreover, there isn’t much clarity on either the university website or the college websites on how to do the same. Every college has a different procedure, but all of it originates from the same basic criteria.

Here is what you need to start a society in DU:

1) FACULTY ADVISOR

When starting a new society, make sure you have the support and backing of a faculty member. You can approach either your department head or any faculty member you are comfortable with and pitch them the idea so that they can disseminate the plan to the higher authorities. A faculty advisor is crucial to start a society as all the funds and the communication with the higher authorities can only be done via a faculty member. Every society has a faculty convenor or a faculty advisor. In case the principal of a college is approached directly and the society is formed, the college administration assigns a faculty member as the convenor of the society.

2) FUNDS

A society in a college of Delhi University, once registered with the college, is entitled to receive certain funds for hosting events and competitions in the college. However, once you start a society you aren’t immediately eligible to obtain access to the funds. The society, once it starts, has to be self-sustainable and prove to the college administration that it can function smoothly. This probation period of sorts determines the type of funds you can avail from college. When starting out, societies mainly have to be dependent on sponsorships for their events.

3) INTERMEDIARY BODY

To start a society, most colleges require a student’s union or an intermediary body of students to see through the functioning of the society and obtain the initial provisions. You can approach the student’s union of your college with an application signed by a faculty member or directly approach the principal to set up the society.

The concept of societies in DU is not a new one; however, with the ever-changing times and the increased creativity of the students, innovative ideas can always be turned into a reality. Societies such as National Service Scheme, Enactus, SpicMacay, Gandhi Study Circle etc are examples of unconventional and relatively new societies in the Delhi University circuit.

Image credits:  DU Beat

 

Bhavya Banerjee

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Hegemony in College Elections

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What are the factors affecting college elections and how they put the average student with political aspirations at a disadvantage?

It is important to keep in mind that student life and the functioning of a college is largely influenced by the elected student representatives.  These members wield immense power over the day-to-day functioning of the college. They have an essential say in everything ranging from the cultural events to be organized, the fests, facilities offered to students and more. For a lot of students, this is an opportunity to actively participate in student governance, and have a say in how the administration runs. It is important to keep into account that in politics, the beam always tilts heavily towards the side that has money, muscle power and influence at its disposal.

And while it would have been naïve to assume that college elections in the University of Delhi (DU) are free from these influences, the extent of power these factors exert is shocking.

1) Hostellers vs Day scholars                                                                               

It seems that in the College union elections, the beam always tilts heavily towards hostellers. Student’s studying in DU College’s that have both a hostel and elected students union know that in most cases, as far as elections are concerned, hostellers are at an added advantage. They have the benefit of not just being physically present on the campus at all times which allows them to contribute effectively and easily for the college welfare but also gain traction over scholars over the same. The fact that they are present in college at all times allows them to participate more actively in college activities. Hosteller’s also had a closely knit network and support group which opens up more avenues for them. The relevance of being a hosteller is particularly more in college’s that are not affiliated to DUSU, since this reduces the influence of political groups. Sanchita from the Daulat Ram College Hostel says “ day scholars are at a disadvantage because they can’t be present on campus 24*7. Hostellers are more available during fest season and other events which puts them at an advantage”

2) Student political groups

Another major factor influencing college elections is the association with parent parties and organizations that help create background support. Recently Chattra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing won 25 seats out of the 28 seats it fielded its candidates on, across DU. ABVP and NSUI are key players in these elections. A lot of support from parent parties is covert and goes into the background. Building traction, getting contacts, organizational support during the campaigning period are all ways in which these parties contribute and influence college elections. While this kind of backing may not be very public and may seem irrelevant, it ends up influencing elections in a major way. It is especially relevant in Delhi University Student’s Union (DUSU) affiliated colleges, where student political groups help leaders in their campaign to win college elections and subsequently these students help them in DUSU elections. It is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both the parties into gaining supporters.

3) Regional sentiment

Regional sentiment plays a significant role in these elections. A student belonging to a particular region is more likely to support a candidate from the same place.  Not just that the idea of community and regional pride runs deep in the conscience of the majority. Recently a video was seen on social media which showed the celebrations post the victory of Shivam Bhadana as the President of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College Morning. The victory was seen as not just the candidate’s but also his community’s, it seemed. Statements like #GurjarPower and “Gurjar is king “could be seen in the comments section, which showed how relevant community lines are for a lot of voters. Student politics does not exist in isolation and the kind of regional sentiment that is central in all aspects of national politics, cannot miraculously be absent from universities. A source from KMC that chose to stay anonymous says “This regional idea is very internal, it’s not really broadcasted with people saying things like- we are from Haryana or we are from UP, but it’s there and it has a big role to play”.

4) Wealth 

A bevy of SUVs, music, crackers to celebrate victory and the occasional brightly coloured sports car is a frequent sight at off-campus colleges during election season. Candidates charm voters by their army of loyal supporters, their flashy automobiles and the slogans, drums, and claps that accompany them, each attesting to their popularity and influence. These shiny toys come with a shock value and they provide the student body all the more reasons to talk about the candidate. It is an effective way to generate interest and grab eyeballs. To add to that election costs include the cost of posters, hoardings, pamphlets and more. These banners and hoardings are ripped out and damaged by rival candidates and their supporters and need to be replaced regularly. These additional costs that come with contesting and winning elections acts as a barrier that filters out the majority of students. It is a primary reason why student unions’ are not as effective as they ideally should be. These candidates, with wealth and resources at their disposal, may not always be able to comprehend and relate to the struggles of the average student, which makes them ineffective as leaders. Students with an active interest in politics and a desire to contribute to change are dissuaded from pursuing it because more often than not, these factors passively work against them. A lot of debate has been going about around the idea that student politics has somehow lost its relevance. Student politics has not and will not lose its relevance but it has become ineffective and the marginal benefits gained from it are continuously decreasing. The first step to making it more effective would be realising how it has become an elite institution which heavily favours a small group of students, where everybody does not stand an equal chance. Once this insight is present in the student body at large, they will be less likely to fall prey to tried-and-tested election campaigning tricks and this would allow more dedicated students with political aspirations to pursue their goals.

 

Feature image credits: Facebook page of Shivam Bhadana

Kinjal Pandey

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Anuja Chauhan Visits Gargi, St. Stephen’s, and Miranda House for ‘Baaz’ Promotions

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The Indian writer Anuja Chauhan visited the University of Delhi campus to endorse her new publication, Baaz, on 25th August, 2017. Her three-tier book tour encompassed stops at Gargi College, St. Stephen’s College, and Miranda House.

The day started off from Gargi College at 12:30 p.m. She was welcomed enthusiastically at one of Gargi’s lecture halls by the English Department teachers and students. Ms. Chauhan was introduced as the renowned author of Those Pricey Thakur Sister, The House that BJ Built, and The Zoya Factor, and the winner of various accolades. Followed by the introduction, the author read an excerpt from her new book with all the rhetorical expressions and dramatics including on the Hindi dialogues. The author walked down the memory lane and reminisced of her school days, the fun of an army childhood, her Miranda House memories, and giving advertising a try as a job because it helped her to write which is what she always wanted to do. She confessed that she chose Economics for ‘keeping her options open’ as was the trend those days and being job-oriented unlike the ‘career-oriented’ kids these days.

Ms. Chauhan emphasised that she didn’t release her book, whose story revolves around an Air Force guy, at this time when there is a wave a nationalism in the country, but it usually takes a year or two for her to complete a book. This was followed by an interactive question-answer round where she expressed her dislike for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the message it proffers. She commented that ‘creative artists should only create and not give their political opinions’ in lieu of her contemporaries. At the end of the discussion, she let her fans buy their copies and signed each one’s copy. Everybody left happy from the book discussion and she for her next destination, St. Stephen’s College.

Ms. Chauhan has incorporated the Stephanian persona in most of her characters like Ishaan from Baaz and Dylan in Those Pricey Thakur Girls. She spoke to the crowd about this, saying that most of her family members, including her husband and daughter, went to St. Stephen’s and this provided her with a familiar attribute that could be assimilated into her novels. She spoke of Baaz and explained how she related to the protagonist Ishaan in the Air India Force due to her much similar army childhood background. She also justified why she decided to kill off Ishaan (yikes!), saying “A happy ending doesn’t necessarily mean a glorious one and even if you do think it is necessary for a glorious ending, I think Ishaan had his fair share of glory. And it is also necessary for a light reading to have an undertone of dark narratives, similarly how the brightest lights also bear the darkest shadows.”

Like Baaz, she also mentioned that most of her other works were partially autobiographical because they were a product of much of the things she had experienced in life. There was a question and answer round that followed where she answered the queries of all the zealous fans, with witty and chuckle-some responses. This was followed by a round of photographs with the fans and an interview for the English Literary Society Journal. Next, she headed to her alma mater, Miranda House.

Chauhan’s experience at Miranda House was memorable. She walked around campus and took pictures with the iconic red brick walls. She happened to pass by the classrooms she sat in, and remembered the time when she flunked her Microeconomics paper back in the first year. Before heading to the venue for the talk, she stopped by the canteen and sampled the good ol’ samosas which she remembers gorging on during her days as a student. Her talk with the students was an interactive session where she answered questions about her life in Miranda House, her memories of North Campus, her career as an advertiser to an author, and her story characters that have been picked up from her life. She then went on to talking about how authors should not be labelled, as she has often been labelled as a ‘chick lit’ author. She went on to say that as an author, if one is labelled then they are not able to expand their writing genre, that is why Baaz was a masculine addition to the stories she wrote about women in Those Pricey Thakur Girls series and The Zoya Factor. Anuja Chauhan also placed great emphasis on the importance of strong female protagonists in all her books, each of them, being people whom she has encountered in her own life. The session went on with laughs, smiles, and candid secrets about her life. Everyone was completely enamoured by Anuja Chauhan’s exuding charm and grace (along with the very quirky outfit!). The session ended with a lot of chatter, book signings, and pictures. As she walked towards the gate to return, she again walked by those corridors and those lawns, which signify innumerable memories she created in those ‘red brick walls’.

SONY DSC
SONY DSC

 

Feature Image Credits: P.V. Purnima for DU Beat

 

Trishala Dutta 

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Prachi Mehra

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Rashim Bagga

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Joyee Bhattacharya

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Probing the Chatter around Commerce Courses in DU

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What was once DU’s flagship course is now being offered by most private universities. While it remains to be one of the most popular fields of study, does it live up to the hype? Dissecting the nitty-gritties of the curriculum, we find that there is ample room for improvement.

With the advent of the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) in 2015, there has been a paradigm shift in most courses. The University of Delhi embarked on a new-found semester system, discarding the erstwhile annual examinations. The rollout was a tedious process, full of delays and uncertainty. The reaction was eventually a mixed one.

In particular reference to commerce courses, CBCS has not enjoyed a favourable position among professors. A few recommendations by the academic council to revamp the syllabi have been welcome changes; including the introduction of the IT Act and computer applications as core subjects, with practical lessons to file ITRs under the subject Income Tax bringing the application aspect to theory. Introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the commerce curriculum is another indicator of the continuous efforts made by DU to make learning more relevant.

Unfortunately, despite all progressive steps, commerce courses continue to teach several redundant and outdated portions. E-commerce, an elective subject offered in the 3rd semester, for example, includes HTML as part of its practical lessons and other generic theory related to online business transactions. Similarly, many core subjects act as mere additions to the theory taught in the 10+2 level, and the non-existence of case studies from these subjects is equally appalling.

One of the Heads of Department of Commerce at a prominent DU college said, “Everything happens under the ambit of the UGC guidelines, which makes the process of recommending changes in the syllabus a bureaucratic one.” Management Accounting is a subject that was compulsorily taught earlier, but under CBCS, it has become a discipline elective subject. According to her, CBCS claims to be choice-based but it undermines the urgency of a few courses and hence offers uneven combinations. Choices are offered, but most colleges do not have the infrastructure, and when one course is pitted against the other, either of those important courses suffers.

The curriculum is also not particularly flexible and is largely poorly designed. Covering the entirety of Income Tax and Macroeconomics in one semester is unjustifiable for both the teachers and students, thus, leading to lack of in-depth knowledge on any subject.

Private universities have started cashing in on this flawed course structure and are beginning to offer a diverse, well-planned layout. What used to be DU’s flagship course is now offered by multiple universities.

Despite this, there are a plethora of career options available for a commerce graduate to choose from. This course witnesses the highest packages being offered to some of its graduates. Semester Four includes subjects which are relevant to the skill-set required by a graduate in any job, for example, the application of Business Mathematics is a tool that would help future managers, and Applications in functions like MS Excel can hugely benefit its stakeholders. If DU continues on this path to revamp the course structure after shorter intervals of time, it can actually lead to value addition of a student’s skill set and make him/her more employable.

A commerce degree in itself is said to never be enough, but it certainly is a stepping-stone to the corporate world. For all the aspiring Chartered Accountants in the pack of freshers, B.Com(H) offers the most ideal course structure.

 

Image credits: NDTV

Vijeata Balani

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Transgender Student Moves to Court Against CBSE and DU

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A University of Delhi graduate who identifies as a transgender has filed a petition against the Department of Publications of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and DU. The petitioner, Riya Sharma, is a 23-year-old student who identifies as female but was assigned a male identity at birth. Sharma’s birth certificate and CBSE documents have gender and name details of her male, pre-transitioned self, which she is attempting to change.

She claimed to have sent two applications to the Department regarding the changes but as per the CBSE guidelines, such changes can be made only before the publication of results. University norms require the changes to be made in the board documents before changes are made in the university documents. As per the petitioner, the Department of Publications of the CBSE required that a sex reassignment surgery is undergone before the change of name and gender. In this regard, she was asked to produce an affidavit and a Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) certificate to execute the change in name. She is contesting this requirement by mentioning a 2014 Supreme Court ruling that allowed for only self-identification as a requirement, and held that insistence on a sex reassignment surgery for declaring one’s gender was “illegal and immoral”.

The petition was initially directed at DU and the Centre but included CBSE after the certificate demand. The Delhi High Court had also issued notices to the parties for not taking an interest in the issue and not changing the guidelines by themselves speedily. Sharma has also faced harassment at the hands of classmates, and while giving examinations as officials made her get a certificate from the university every time she gave an exam. Of her days in the School of Open Learning, she said, “SOL (School of Open Learning) have classes every weekend. Students in the class were constantly making fun of me. They were teasing me with slurs and cracking jokes on my gender. There was no other transgender person in the class and I felt so humiliated. I didn’t go after that”.

The university introduced the ‘Other’ gender option for its postgraduate courses’ forms in 2014 (and for undergraduates in 2015) which was hailed as a step forward. However, instances of institutional and societal discrimination probably also account for the fact that in 2016 only 15 applications of this category were received, signaling that immediate attention needs to be directed towards this category of students.

Sources: India Today, News18 , livelaw.in, Times of India
Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

 
Rishika Singh

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5 Tips to Crack Society Interviews

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WhatsApp constantly buzzing with promotional messages, attractive posters adorning all corners of college walls, seniors giving their first-hand experience of being a part of xyz society; this is the auditions season. The most integral part of a DU students’ life, college societies bridge the gap between academics and fun. You get exposure and learn how to apply theoretical concepts in real life, while creating everlasting bonds and memories with fellow society members.

Consequently, it is a prudent decision to apply only for the societies you want to associate yourself with. Following are a few tips that might help you crack an interview of the society of your choice:

  1. Be Confident. This adage needs to be reiterated several times as it is extremely important. Your confidence level indicates your preparedness to take up new tasks and creates a positive first impression on the interviewers. Along with content, you are judged on the basis of the clarity of your thoughts and the way you present yourself. At the same time, nervous anticipation is healthy and definitively an indicator of your seriousness towards the society. When nervousness takes over confidence, it spells misfortune.
  2. Objectivity and honesty-the key words. A self-appraisal is necessary, but not if it’s irrelevant to your position. It’s painfully obvious when a student beats about the bush or exaggerates a small achievement. Similarly, white lies and gross irregularities between what you say and what you wrote in the application form can land you in trouble.It’s best to stick to the question and answer it short and crisp.
  3. Do your Research. Be it an interview for the entrepreneurship cell, Enactus, photography society, or the quiz society, you need to research thoroughly. Researching gives you an overview of the society’s past projects and achievements and ensures that you appear as an interested and serious candidate. It gives you an edge over other prospective members and lets you know if the society is active and worth your time.
  4. Break away from the clichés. Everyone swears by the rehearsed introduction and prepares for questions beforehand. It’s alright if the preparation entails a rundown of what you will be saying, but not rehearsing set answers. Since the interviewers are students too, they look forward to students who break the monotonous nature of the interview process. If you have something fresh to say, like a question or a reasonable suggestion, you will at least be remembered among the sea of potential members.
  5. Apply only if you are genuinely interested.A lot of societies now take in students regardless of the student’s experience in it, provided they show commendable enthusiasm to learn and contribute in the process. If you intend to join a society just to add value to your CV, it will be a fruitless effort. Apply only if you are passionate or genuinely interested and feel that your constructive energies will be better utilised.

 

 

 

Feature Image Credits: dukesmedicalapplications.com

 

Vijeata Balani

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Admissions 2017

DU to Direct Colleges to Fill Vacant General Category Seats

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The University of Delhi is all set to direct colleges to fill up seats in the general category. Instructions for the same are expected to be given to colleges on or before the 7th of August.

This move comes just days after the University conducted its special admissions drive for reserved category students who had not previously enrolled themselves in any DU college. An 8th cut-off list was released on 2nd August for this purpose.

In conversation with TOI, Vijay Kumar Verma, the admissions in-charge at Dyal Singh College, said, “We still have a few seats in the general category. If we get directions to start admissions for general category, we will have a 0.5% reduction in cut-offs.”

Since colleges cannot deny admission to anyone who crosses the required cut-off, it’s uncertain whether there will be a reduction in the cut-off. Even a minor dip of 0.25% for a popular course can lead to over admissions.

Last year, the varsity had released five cut-off lists after which colleges released merit lists in correspondence with vacant seats on their respective websites. Even after the conclusion of the merit lists rounds to fill vacant seats, DU later had to release 3 cutoff lists to fill up nearly 6,500 seats; most of which belonged to reserved category students.

 

Feature Image Credits: DNA India

 

Vijeata Balani

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