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

dusu

Browsing
Campus Central

Voting concludes for DUSU elections, 44% turnout for morning colleges

By

Amidst tight security provided by the Delhi Police, the season of campaigning finally came to an end as voting for the Delhi University Students’ Union concluded on Friday. The results of the elections will be declared on Saturday at noon.

The turnout was reported to be over 44% for morning colleges. The turnout for evening colleges will be confirmed later. Last year, the figure for morning colleges stood at 42.3%. Voting began at 8:30AM and went on till 12:30PM for morning colleges.

#Live: Voting has begun! Do go out and exercise your right and responsibility this year at the #DUSU #election 2015.By Shraman Ghosh for DU Beat

Posted by DU Beat on Thursday, 10 September 2015

Elections for college unions were also conducted on Friday. The results for the same were announced on the same day.

Major parties like ABVP, NSUI, CYSS and AISA halted campaigning on the 9th. AAP’s CYSS is the new entrant to DU’s politics this year. Last year, ABVP swept all 4 seats of the DUSU.

DUSU is one of the most influential students’ unions of the country; numerous past office-bearers, Arun Jaitley and Ajay Maken to name a few, have gone ahead to hold public offices in Central and State Governments.

Image credits: Jasmine Chahal

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

DU Beat’s DUSU Opinion Poll- What we learnt

By
DUSU Opinion Poll by Aditya Rathore

Delhi University goes to polls for the Student Union elections on Friday, September 11. With NSUI, AISA and the newcomer CYSS aiming to topple ABVP off the top, DU Beat attempted to gauge what is running through an average DU student’s mind.by conducting an online DUSU Opinion Poll which was taken by hundreds of students. Here are the key takeaways from the results:-

Fullscreen capture 982015 85614 PM.bmp
By Aditya Rathore for DU Beat

1) ABVP barely edging past CYSS

After a clean sweep in the DUSU elections last year with a clear margin, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) seems to be headed for another win this year too, with almost 35% of the respondents giving them their vote. Their decisive margin of victory might be in trouble because of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of AAP that will be making its debut in the DUSU elections this year. CYSS takes the second position, with nearly 31% respondents saying they will vote for them. These are followed by All India Students’ Association (AISA), The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and other parties, who have 14.7%, 13.2% and 6.6% of the votes respectively.

Fullscreen capture 982015 92024 PM.bmp

2) Second consecutive term for ABVP after a “meh” year

ABVP’s lead in the polls is not surprising but definitely worth pondering over, given that most respondents-around 44% of them- rated the outgoing union (led by ABVP) as not up to the mark. Only a mere 20% of the respondents rated their performance as ‘Brilliant’, while 34% opted for ‘Poor’. The right-wing party has been criticised for its stand against homosexuality and live-in relationships, which might have led to a decrease in their approval in the progressive atmosphere of the University. Their push for important issues like the rollback of the FYUP, reintroduction of revaluation and ‘special chance’ may get them enough votes to secure another win.Fullscreen capture 982015 92033 PM.bmp

3) Rent regulation a hot topic yet again

Rent regulation for flats and PG accommodations as well as more hostels emerged as the most important agenda (31.6%), followed by the Curriculum (20%) which has been under fire because of the implementation of the hotly debated Choice Based Credit System (27.1%). These were followed by the ever-relevant demands for more colleges and seats as a way to counter the astronomically high cut-offs (20%), better Transportation facilities (6.7%) and calls for Gender Equality (6.7%). 

Related reading: What is rent regulation and why is it such a big deal

Fullscreen capture 982015 92029 PM.bmp

4) Parties’ national affiliations a major deciding factor- ‘Modi wave’ still doing the trick for ABVP?

Another notable result was the importance respondents gave to the national political alignment of student bodies. It’s common knowledge that all parties in DUSU are associated with some or the other National political party, like ABVP with BJP, and NSUI with Congress. According to the results, this association affects the voting decisions of more than 51% respondents. This might be due to the understanding that if the party reigning DUSU is in sync with the national or state government, it would ensure smooth functioning and better and faster implementation of changes.

Fullscreen capture 982015 92233 PM.bmp

5) Over half the respondents offered freebies

Ironically, with all the cacophony about ‘cleaning’ student politics and reducing muscle power, a whooping 57% respondents witnessed or were offered freebies in an attempt to woo them for their votes. Parties have been known to openly flout the rules by offering movie tickets and *ahem* organising concerts. 

Fullscreen capture 982015 92037 PM.bmp

 

As a follow up to the DUSU Opinion Poll and to ensure the parties get a structured platform to present their agendas to students and that students get to make an informed decision, DU Beat is organising Delhi University’s first Presidential Debate at 6 PM, 9 September at Press Club of India, Raisina Road. The debate will be streamed live. Read more about it here. Here’s hoping for clean polls and an effective and decisive Union that puts the interest of the students first!

 

 

Disclaimer: The results have been drawn solely from the responses we received. DU Beat does not claim for these to be the actual results of Delhi University Students’ Union election 2015.

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

FIRs filed, claim-game intensifies as DUSU elections inch closer

By

With the date of polling just 9 days away, the political arena of Delhi University is catching fire as contesting parties step up their campaign for DUSU elections. Parties including Chatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, National Students’ Union of India and All India Students’ Association are leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of victory.

The week gone by had the Delhi Police register over twenty FIRs against various student parties for cases related to defacement of public property through promotional posters. Last week, we reported the move of the Chief Election Officer of DUSU elections, DS Rawat, to seek help from the Delhi Police in cracking down on defaulters of civic and election rules.

In another development, the launch of a University-special bus in the South Campus of DU took an ugly turn when CYSS and ABVP took to social media to claim the credit for the same. The bus was covered with posters of CYSS, one of which read, “Welcome freshers.” Saket Bahuguna, State Secretary of ABVP, referred to a meeting DUSU had had with the CM of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, earlier this year to demand similar amenities for DU students. He also went on to ask why action was not being taken by the police for the ‘act of defacing public property’.

The CEO of DUSU elections has also announced the availability of Delhi University Community Radio (DUCR) to candidates in order to promote paperless campaigning. Candidates will be allowed to record five-minute long speech which will be moderated and aired on the radio at 90.4Mhz.

The CEO also announced the doing away of allowing candidates to change their names by prefixing the letter ‘A ‘several times before their names. This practice enabled candidates to get their names enlisted higher on the EVM machines as names are placed in alphabetical order.  Last year, AISA had challenged the practice legally.

AISA organised a referendum dubbed as ‘Opinion Dhamaka’ in which 93% respondents reportedly voted against the Choice Based Credit System. Earlier, Students’ Federation of India conducted a similar referendum in which 92% respondents voted against CBCS.

Ishaan Gambhir

[email protected]

]]>

Keep Reading
By
Interviews

“We tried to do as much as we could,” Parvesh Malik, incumbent VP, DUSU

By

Q. As the outgoing DUSU Vice President, how satisfying was your experience and what challenges did you come across?

Ans: My experience was very different and not as I expected it to be. As the Vice-President and DUSU a representative, I understood that students put a lot of faith in us to take important steps and decisions. With power comes the responsibility to fulfil people’s expectations. When we are unable to do so, students do show disappointment. However, we tried to deliver our best and we did as much as we could.

Q. This year, AAP’s newly found student wing – Chatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti is also contesting the DUSU polls. Does this hinder ABVP’s chances to get back to positions again? What is your stategy?

Ans: Indeed they have planned to contest in the polls, however we remain calm and aren’t intimidated by anyone’s entry in the polls. As far as ABVP and its strategy is concerned, we believe in taking the politically experienced lot to contest for the elections and plan to do the same this year as well.


Related reading: What the current office bearers had to say when they first came into power last year

 

Q. Any advice for future office bearers who seek to achieve many goals for the University?

Ans. One learns a lot while being in position. One should know that we can’t fulfil all our goals but at the same time this shouldn’t deter us to try and achieve them. I feel every year new challenges emerge and they’ll learn with the flow.

Q. What do you think have been the achievements of DUSU in your tenure?

Ans. We tried to make the life of students hassle free. South Campus started a new bus service, we protested against unjust University guidelines from time to time, the scrapping of FYUP being the major example. We weren’t just limited to these things but had a more holistic approach in making a student’s life at DU better. Hopefully our efforts held some significance.

Related reading: We also interviewed Mohit Nagar, the outgoing President of DUSU

Riya Chibber

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Interviews

In conversation with Mohit Nagar, outgoing President of DUSU

By

With the DUSU elections around the corner, parties are engaged in full blown campaigning. One cannot miss supporters rallying in the streets and engaged in promotion. We interviewed Mohit Nagar, who is the outgoing President of Delhi University Students’ Union, on his experience and future plans.

Q. Tell us about your greatest success so far.

Mohit: The union has lots of achievements to brag about. The FYUP rollback was a historic achievement for us. Revaluation has been restarted with the efforts of DUSU. Readmission has been restarted in DU. AICTE approval for all (28) DU colleges offering engineering has been attained. Shuttle bus service in South Campus and offline admission center in North Campus were also possible only because of DUSU. 

Related reading: Interview with Mohit Nagar midway his tenure by DUB

Q. In your manifesto you had talked about providing separate hostels for North Eastern students. By providing separate accommodation do you not think that you increasing their chances of being perceived as a separate community?

Mohit: There are always two sides of a coin. I believe in working for the unpredictable. Most people will believe it is an act of separatism but that is what we need to change. North Eastern students have always suffered the worst conditions and have been ignored in the society. North Eastern students feel unsafe, insecure and suffer bias in this community. Not all of them can afford an expensive lifestyle in a city like Delhi and a hostel will be a blessing for them. There is a deep fear among North Eastern students about losing their culture and sense of identity. Hostels will be welcome among them as there is a good percentage of students from the North East.

Related reading: Mohit Nagar in conversation with DUB when he was the presidential candidate

Q. What is ABVP’s election strategy?

Mohit: DUSU elections imply heavy campaigning. The whole point of campaigning is to uplift the ability of a candidate from zero to being the people’s choice. At the same time, paper campaigning turns out to be a major source of annoyance and disappointment for all the students. During the election season, you find roads, classrooms, college campuses and metro stations flooded with paper pamphlets and name cards of the DUSU candidates. Therefore, ABVP has decided to shun the use of paper to avoid littering college campuses. As huge supporters of Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, we have decided to preserve the beauty of the campus by keeping it clean.

Q. Your policies are more or less similar to those of NSUI and AISA. What makes ABVP stand out?

Mohit: As for what makes ABVP stand out, with great pride, I can say that ABVP is not just India’s but the world’s biggest independent student organisation. We are an organisation which lives by its word and makes sure it never leaves promises unfulfilled. We stay active throughout the year. Other organisations like NSUI and AISA are mostly seen around campus during the election time. ABVP, irrespective of its candidature in DUSU, works for student welfare and their rights. We have addressed all the major and minor issues of the University, some of which the other parties fail to even recognise.

Q. DUSU is often said to the stepping stone to national politics. What are your plans after DUSU?

Mohit: That’s true to some extent. As a student, I would like to work for students’ rights further.

Further reading: DUB also interviewed the incumbent VP of the students’ union, Parvesh Malik

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

Delhi University gears up for elections

By

Amidst uproars over the exploitation of employees and claims about the government’s commercialisation project engulfing the University by Left wing Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), various teachers associations announced their candidates for the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) elections slated for the 27th of this month. DTF, in a press release has appealed to the teachers of the University by attacking red tapism.

Nandita Narain, Associate Professor of Mathematics at St. Stephen’s College and the incumbent DUTA President has been nominated by the association for the position of President again this year. For the DUTA Executive, the nominated candidates are Angad Tiwari (Department of Hindi, Sri Aurobindo College- Evening), Bhupinder Chaudhry (Department of History, Maharaja Agrasen College), Vijaya Venkataraman (Department. of GRS, Faculty of Arts, DU) and Vivek Mohan (Department of History, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce). The Congress backed Academics for Action and Development has announced Sanjay Kumar from Zakir Husain College for the position of President. The National Democratic Teachers’ Front, which is led by BJP, has nominated V S Negi (Department of Geography, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College- Evening) for the position of President. For DUTA Executive, Anil Sharma (Department of Hindi, Zakir Hussain PG College – Evening), Ashok Kumar Yadav (Department of Commerce, Shyam Lal College- Evening), Shambhu Nath Dubey ( Department of Political Science, ARSD College) and Sunil Kumar (Department of Political Science, Dyal Singh College) have been nominated.

In another development, the varsity declared that the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections will be held on September 11.The elections will decide the office bearers in the union and the central council and will be closely watched by major national political parties. The last date to file nomination is September 2 and the date for withdrawal is September 4. This year will also witness the debut of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS).

The varsity on July 28 also announced the names of officials responsible for the fair conduct of DUSU elections. “The Vice Chancellor has appointed DS Rawat of Department of Chemistry as the Chief Election Officer, Satish Kumar, OSD (Examinations) as Chief Returning Officer and Anju Gupta, Director of Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board as the Returning Officer for the conduct of 2015-16 elections,” said an official statement.

Sidharth Yadav

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

DUSU Job Fair provides 460 placements to Delhi University students

By

th and 12th  of June. The inaugural ceremony started at 10 am on June 11 with Dr. C.P. Thakur, National Vice- President (Bhartiya Janata Party) and M.P (Rajya Sabha) and Ch. Krishan Pal Gujjar, Minister of State (Transport, Govt. of India) as the Chief Guests for the event. The Job Fair was largely seen as an important initiative taken up by the University. “It is a perfect step towards change”, said Dr. Thakur.  Krishan Pal assured that any help in the future regarding such an initiative will be provided by the government if the university somehow fails to do the same. After the inauguration, students headed up to the various stalls allotted to the companies for submitting applications and registration. A total of 42 companies including Times Pro, NIIT IFBI, HT Media, Whirlpool, Convergys, CITI Bank came for recruitment, with around 15000 registrations for placements. The average salary offered was 1.5 Lakhs to 1.6 Lakhs per annum and the highest being 4.6 Lakhs per annum. 460 students got placed and over 13000 students got internships with various companies. The various job positions offered by the companies were in sales, customer care execution, management, content writing, finance, banking and teaching. The closing ceremony on 2nd June saw Meenakshi Lekhi, MP (Lok Sabha) and Spokesperson (BJP) and Chaitanya Mahajan, Yuva Morcha. Utkarsh Chaudhary, DUSU Vice-President said “So far, the university has been taking decisions that are against the students, but now against this dictatorship, it has done something very significant for the students”.]]>

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

AISA holds meeting to demand roll back of FYUP

By

Amid raised slogans seeking the newly elected BJP government to roll back FYUP as promised in their manifesto, an AISA member criticized FYUP saying, ” The time isn’t the real concern, but the subjects are. The teachers aren’t trained well to be able to teach these subjects. At places, Political science teachers are expected to be teaching Mathematics related courses.”
The representatives of AISA are of the view that the second time elected Padma Shri awardee Vice Chancellor Prof.  Dinesh Singh has not been able to justify neither the introduction of FYUP nor as to why it is a better structure.
The AISA has been previously involved in making endeavors to facilitate the roll back of FYUP. It conducted a referendum  dated August 22nd, 2013, wherein more than 90 percent of Delhi University students had voted against the motion of four year under graduation, foundation courses and the idea of multiple exits. ( See here.)
The new BJP government at centre has given everyone high hopes of promising change courtesy the Achche din aane waale hain slogans. It’ll be interesting to see if Delhi University students too, get their share of happiness from the supposed revolutionary government.
By Bharat Mohindru with inputs from Ishaan Gambhir
]]>

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

One year on, NSUI now joins the protest against FYUP

By

nsui camp Congress’ student wing – N.S.U.I. musters support against F.Y.U.P. by means of signature campaign at North Campus, D.U.[/caption] Sunny Kumar, State Secretary for Delhi, AISA in response to the same question, said that “It is high time the focus shifts to students’ issues from muscle-and-money politics.  Therefore it’s not just the question of NSUI – every party has to raise students’ issues to survive. NSUI has now realized that the rage against F.Y.U.P. is not something they can tame and hence they oppose it now.” Calling ABVP, a passive opposition, Kumar said that any action against FYUP by the central government cannot imply that the party has done any ‘concrete work in the same direction’. In their defense, Amrish Ranjan Pandey, NSUI national spokesperson, told IANS that, “It was something new  last year, so we neither supported nor protested against the structure, but now after a year, we conducted a survey and have found that it is not good academically and students are not happy with it”. Nonetheless, the coming together of all the parties is a clear sign that the students and teachers of DU unanimously agree that FYUP is not something they want and should indeed be rolled back.      ]]>

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

ABVP leader manhandles professor over derogatory comments on Modi

By

th of April. Raju Rawat, member of ABVP (the RSS-run students’ party), met Professor Umesh Rai in order to discuss the complaint of some FYUP students who had not received laptops. It is alleged that Prof. Rai behaved rudely and asked Rawat to leave. Rawat, in his statement to The Hindu, told the professor that “his attitude would not last long since the Modi government would come and get rid of FYUP”. To which Rai replied by saying, “chaiwallahs are not equipped to come and take university decisions”. Rawat and a group of a few more students also smeared black paint on the Professor’s face. The Joint Secretary said he lost his temper at these words and hit the professor. It is also alleged that he blackened the professor’s face. Prof. Rai has filed a complaint against Rawat, said the police. According to the latest report by Times of India, ABVP has condemned Rawat’s behaviour, and suspended him from the party. Professor Aditya Misra, confirming and condemning the act, said that “No student should be allowed to hit a teacher, no matter what the provocation”. DU officials, however, through an official statement, have said that Prof. Rai did not make any such provocative comment and the perpetrators fabricated  the anti-Modi statements. Both Prof. Rai and Rawat were unavailable for comments.]]>

Keep Reading
By