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Admissions 2013

Economics admissions fiasco at Gargi and JMC

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Unlike other Delhi University colleges that kept their first cut-off high in order to avoid over admissions, Gargi College had its cut-off for Economics at 93%, while the average cut-off for Economics was fixed at 97%.  Gargi, which previously offered BBE (Bachelor in Business Economics) as a course, is offering Economics Honours as a discipline for the first time. The college was over flooded with students aspiring admission for the course. There was shortage of forms and students were provided with tokens instead. It had an intake which was approximately five times more than the sanctioned strength.

While many colleges are still admitting students, there are some colleges that closed admissions after the first cut-off. Gargi also put a stop to its intake process for almost all courses except History, Sanskrit, Botany and Mathematics. Economics is available in 42 colleges in the campus and most of them came out with a second cut-out. Gargi however, closed admissions just after the first cut-off admitting over 200 students against the approved intake of 40 students.

“According to the University policy and guidelines, its not the first come first serve basis for admissions, no one can deny admissions if a student is eligible for a course provided he/she comes within the time specified”, a lecturer from the college said. “When there are over admissions for a course, we increase the number of sections for the same so that the students and the lecturers do not face problems at the end.” the lecturer added.

Generally, at the most departments have two sections in a batch. With such a huge number, the batch might now be divided in to something around four to five sections. Space crunch, limited faculty and overall limited resources are some of the problems that such a situation could result in. When questioned with regard to the same, we got the response that the college is fully equipped to handle the situation and no college would take admissions otherwise.

(Check entire Admissions 2013 coverage here)

Jesus and Mary College reportedly had their own admission fiasco going on. On 3rd July hundreds of students turned up at JMC to try their luck at getting admitted even though they did not satisfy the cut off. Apparently lots of girls withdrew their admission from JMC’s economics course after the second cut off as they qualified for other courses. So JMC offered the jackpot, admission on first come first serve basis however it was not a formal announcement. Indecently more than a few people heard about it and there was a huge admission rush on the 3rd.

“I had called the office yesterday and they confirmed the rumour. But today they did not admit anyone below 95% because of the large number of students scored 95%.”said a disappointed DU aspirant, Varsha. Even though the official cut off declared was 96.5%, students were admitted at 95%.

Colleges are confused and unable to handle the number of aspirants. Some are overloaded while others are adopting under the table method to admit students. The Delhi University admission procedure certainly requires further improvement. Have something to add about the admission mess around? Share it with us in the comments.

Reported by: Shaily Sharma ([email protected]) and Pinakita Gupta ([email protected])

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Campus Central

Free and Equal

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The afternoon of 1st march 2013 proved to be an exciting one for Gargi college. A panel discussion of feminist activists that was held in the auditorium of the college was the reason behind the exuberance. The session was a collaborated effort of Gargi college’s women’s development cell and the NGO CREA.’ Free and Equal’ was the name given to the talk that addressed issues related to violence against women and women human rights. The session saw overwhelming attendance and participation by the students and teachers from within and outside the college. It was the combined effort of the Teacher Convenor of the society, Ms. Mudita Mohile and other panelists  Ms. Jagmati Sanghwan , Ms. Pramada Menon , Mr. Dhruv Arora , Ms. Urvashi Bhutalia and Ms. Nandini Rao that enticed the audience and made the event a success. All the panelists are working towards equal rights for women as well as other “othered” group of people . Ms. Jagmati Sangwan highlighted the fact that it is the assertion of Power by Patriarchy and not just the desire to rape that leads to violation of women’s rights and honour. She quoted the infamous Khaap panchayat’s derogatory view, ” Janana aur khazana khula hoga to loota jaega! “, and seriously condemned the idea. Ms. Pramada Menon threw light on “offline” and “online” forms of violence, that is, violence in social media Ms. Nandini Rao familiarized the audience with Justice Verma Commission’s report and how it has changed the law for the better. Ms. Bhutalia then concluded the discussion by highligting the role of media in the recent activities and protests, post the Delhi gangrape case and how media has matured now. Questions from the audience ,particularly students , raised the issues of custodial rape and position of Police in the society that were addressed by the panelists in a comprehensive manner. The session left people with hard hitting questions to ponder upon and with a ray of hope that society can change if transformation starts at the grassroots  level. The alarming need of the hour, to recognise and fight the naturalised forms of violence was a thought that took roots in the hearts of the students.  ]]>

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Campus Central

Reverie: Day 2

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Amidst the quirkiness exuded by the campus of this well laid out college, the vibrant second day of Reverie 2013 commenced at Gargi with enthrallment and exuberance. The fest kick started with a myriad of competitions being held alongside, and giving any of them a miss gave rise to sighs of pity from the audience. A cheery applause greeted the street play competition, which was host to a volley of excellent ideas and synergetic performances. While Hansraj College bagged the first position, PGDAV took away the second prize with their extremely sensitizing and valiant performance highlighting the importance of sex education. The third prize was awarded to Gargi College, who performed to spread awareness about the cruelty meted out to animals by humans-the ‘evolved’ apes. ‘Mudra’, the Indian Classical Dance Competition invited some scintillating solo performances that touched base with our divine culture. While Anjali from Gargi College was awarded the first position, Kritika from Miranda House and Surya from Dyal Singh College were declared the first and second Runners -up respectively. The Conventional Debate that took place witnessed a thunderous exchange of ideas on the abstract topic given to the participants, ‘This house will bend over’. The debate saw a display of innovative and brilliant interpretations on this open-ended theme. The first prize was awarded to Kamala Nehru College and the second prize was received by Gargi College. The best speaker was declared to be Abhishek from Deshbandhu College. Amongst the other events, the Indian and Western music competition and ‘Overacting’ were a treat to the audiences. At the Western Music group competition, the first prize was bagged by Lady Shri Ram College for their scintillating performance of a jazz piece, titled ‘It don’t mean a thing’. This was followed by Jesus and Mary College and Gargi College, who stood second and third respectively. The first prize at the Indian Music group competition was also bagged by Lady Shri Ram College. Gargi College also hosted the battle of the bands. Ten professional bands competed to win the prize. This year, the ten bands who participated were Krvya, Freewill, Trackpots, Alibi, Heisenberg, Addicthead, Ebonix, The Centaur, Dark Moon Eternity and Conundrum. There was no particular genre of music that the bands played, but most of them were rock or metal bands. The competition was judged by Gaurav Balani, bassist for the band Parikrama, and Rajarshri Sayal from the band Faridkot. The winners were Trackpots, the second prize was awarded to Freewill and the third prize was a tie between Alibi and Heisenberg. Poornima Kharbanda [email protected] Pinakita Gupta [email protected]]]>

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Campus Central

Reverie 2013: Day 1

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One of the starting events of the day at Gargi College was the Folk Dance competition. Various DU teams took to the stage, which had been given a colourful makeover. The event opened with the Gargi Philosophy Department’s dance performance that was a combination of Mohini Aatam, Oddisi and many more dance forms. Some of the crowds’ favourite performances in Folk Dance were Gidda by Mata Sundari College (the team came second in the competition), Laavni by the team from Jesus and Mary College, Bhangra by Kamla Nehru College, among a few others. While the Laavni performance brought to stage a hint of the Konkan coast, IP College performed Kalbelia that was also enjoyed by the crowd. Venky on the other hand disappointed slightly with a rather lax approach to the dance form of Daandiya. The competition saw Bhangra performances by the dozen but all were performed very vivaciously by the teams, and the crowd was pleased by the live Dhol beats and singing alongside. The Dramatics competition saw five colleges perform various plays. Ramjas College staged “Saints and Sinners”, CBS staged “The Accidental Death of an Anarchist”, Bhagat Singh College staged “I am Hamlet”, Gargi College staged “Make-up” and Kirori Mal College staged “Threesome with Simone”. The auditorium was packed during all the plays, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The college that took the cake was Ramjas, which came first, and Kirori Mal came in the second position. Students of both Kirori Mal and Ramjas bagged the prize for Best Actor. Best Director was declared to be from Ramjas. Congratulations to the winners!   Anugrah Gopinath and Shreya Mudgil]]>

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Events

Gargi Hosts a Multidisciplinary Conference

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On 7th and 8th November, 2012, Gargi College hosted a multidisciplinary conference on the themes of ‘Conflict to Convergence: Building Holistic Perspectives’. The invitees for the inaugural address were Mr. Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development and Professor Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University.

Understanding the need for balanced perspectives that integrate views from all fields of Sciences, Humanities and Commerce especially when one is dealing with complex and vital issues in a conflict-ridden world, the aim of this conference was to build leadership skills among students by making them aware the various elements that need to be analyzed to see an issue in its totality. This includes the techno-science angle, the commercial prospects as well as any humanist concerns.

For this, speakers were invited from varied fields including Prof S.K Saha to speak on the topic of Artificial Intelligence and its Impact. A talk dealing with the ‘Paradoxes of Consumption’ saw speakers such as Mr. Gurcharan Das and Mr. SK Tendon debating out the issue. The sessions in the seminar included engaging discussions on topics such as the ‘Conservation of Heritage’, ‘Ethical Science’ and the ‘Contours of Citizenship’ with panelists including Prof. Patrick Heller, Ms. Anupama Roy, Mr. Biswas Mohan Padhy and Mr. A.G.K. Menon.

Resolving the conflicts between all that is and all that could be is the first step towards progress. The conference sufficiently dealt with that, leaving the audience of the packed auditorium with much food for thought.

 

 

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Arts & Culture

Satisfy Your Savoury Tooth with Delights from Mithaas and Chowringhee

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Situated amidst the environs of a predominantly women oriented atmosphere, right opposite Kamala Nehru and Gargi Colleges are the much sought after food joints of Mithaas and Chowringhee and here is an assimilation of how the plethora of delights that they offer on their menu fare.

Mithaas is the perfect example of how size doesn’t matter. With a confined seating and fairly gloomy lighting, this place witnesses customers ranging from an obvious student from either of the colleges, to families living in the neighbourhood and in the latter half of the day, even those who take cricket coaching at Gargi College. Mithaas has steadily risen to stardom with its flavoursome and unmatched chole bhatture along with grilled vegetable sandwiches, a plate of wholesome samosas and a glass of milkshake which also feature on the list of favourites. Many of those around will swear by indulging in the desi Chinese that this place recreates all the time and also its savoury chaat and gol gappa stall outside the shop. Mithaas certainly fares well in the domains of time for serving, quantity, taste and

affordability but what it lacks is a bit of a quirky touch in terms of infrastructure, space and tidiness, considering that its customer base is widely dominated by students.

 

With the opening of the well-established and much admired joint of South campus named Chowringhee right across the two colleges, students are steadily pouring in to enjoy the unsurpassed and the absolute forte of this joint – Kathi rolls.  With various filling options like mutton, paneer, egg and potatoes what endears most customers are the chicken rolls. “It is an absolute bliss for students with a jam packed time table to quickly grab a tasty bite at Chowringhee”, says a Kamala Nehru student munching on, at their counter. You could easily satiate a grumbling tummy with their absolutely scrumptious food without giving a second thought to the cost. Kudos to them, for what they are best at!

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Campus Central

Sri Venkateswara, Gargi stripped of 'Potential for Excellence' tag

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Thirteen colleges including two renowned Delhi University colleges namely Gargi and Sri Venkateswara affiliated to UGC have been struck off from the status of ‘College with Potential for Excellence’ for not being re-accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Sri Venkateswara and Gargi were two of the 47 colleges that were awarded ‘College with Potential for Excellence’ status in 2004 by the University Grants Commission. The other colleges in the list include Ch.S.D.St.Theresa’s College for Women (Andhra Pradesh), M.N.C.Balika Mahavidyalaya (Assam), St. Xavier’s College (Ranchi), Mount Carmel College (Bengaluru), St. Agnes College (Mangalore), Padmashri Vikhe Patil College of Arts, Science & Comerce (Ahmednagar), St. Anthony’s College (Meghalaya), Khallikote College (Orissa), Fakir Mohan College (Orissa), S.G.N. Khalsa College (Rajasthan), and Pt. L.M.S. Govt. Post Graduate College (Uttaranchal) The principal of Gargi college, Meera Ramachandran said, “Though we have not been informed officially by the UGC, as no copy of such a letter has been received by the college yet, it is highly unfortunate that the college has to be penalized as the accreditation by NAAC has to be taken care by DU and not independently by colleges. Even after living up to the title and conducting many projects, it is highly disheartening”. On asking if there was anything that was being done to make amends, she further exclaimed that further steps, if any, would be taken only after the receiving of the official letter.  ]]>

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Sri Venkateswara, Gargi stripped of ‘Potential for Excellence’ tag

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Thirteen colleges including two renowned Delhi University colleges namely Gargi and Sri Venkateswara affiliated to UGC have been struck off from the status of ‘College with Potential for Excellence’ for not being re-accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Sri Venkateswara and Gargi were two of the 47 colleges that were awarded ‘College with Potential for Excellence’ status in 2004 by the University Grants Commission.

The other colleges in the list include Ch.S.D.St.Theresa’s College for Women (Andhra Pradesh), M.N.C.Balika Mahavidyalaya (Assam), St. Xavier’s College (Ranchi), Mount Carmel College (Bengaluru), St. Agnes College (Mangalore), Padmashri Vikhe Patil College of Arts, Science & Comerce (Ahmednagar), St. Anthony’s College (Meghalaya), Khallikote College (Orissa), Fakir Mohan College (Orissa), S.G.N. Khalsa College (Rajasthan), and Pt. L.M.S. Govt. Post Graduate College (Uttaranchal)

The principal of Gargi college, Meera Ramachandran said, “Though we have not been informed officially by the UGC, as no copy of such a letter has been received by the college yet, it is highly unfortunate that the college has to be penalized as the accreditation by NAAC has to be taken care by DU and not independently by colleges. Even after living up to the title and conducting many projects, it is highly disheartening”.

On asking if there was anything that was being done to make amends, she further exclaimed that further steps, if any, would be taken only after the receiving of the official letter.

 

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Uncategorized

Add-On Algebra

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By Oindrilla, Paridhi, Saumia

Add on courses are to be subtracted from many college prospectuses as DU forces colleges to be more transparent and also limit the number of such courses offered by them.

Organized with the help of private organizations or the University Grants Commission (UGC), these courses claim to provide the students with an edge in the intensely competitive job market. However, if a study of the courses offered is conducted then it may be found that colleges claim to offer a lot more than they are actually able provide. Extra courses need proper infrastructure and faculty to back them up while providing students with the care that they have paid for. Another area of concern was the high course fee charged by some colleges for the same course and thus a committee was set up to look into the ways these courses are used to attract students at the beginning of each year. The agenda was to force colleges to be more transparent and limit the number of courses offered by them to a more manageable 7 or 8.

The committee’s recommendations were that the content of the courses should be clearly mentioned along with the fee and timings as well as the faculty who would be responsible for the conduction of the course in question. It also pointed out that if a steeper fee was demanded for a course then it was important to clarify what other substantial material was offered to make it worth the students while and prevent them from being cheated.
In the midst of the inquiry it was also said that there was a basic flaw in offering courses like media studies and tourism due to the lack of adequate infrastructure to support the mandatory practical work.

Many of these courses sound interesting and incredibly fun but the truth of the matter remains that only a few are functioning properly and holding examinations.

Ramjas College for instance has a staggering 26 add on courses listed on their website out of which the classes for only the following were held last year: Development of Entrepreneurship Excellence, Bioinformatics– Future of Biological Research, Communication & Self Development, Biotechnology, Mass Media Ethics Studies,
Film Appreciation, Forensic Science, Peace and Conflict Resolution

It is therefore imperative to be sure of whether a college offers the desired course option before one joins the college. Students are advised to talk to students of the college. Alternatively students can write in to DU Beat at [email protected] .

Other Interesting Add-on Courses in different colleges

Hindu College: Acting Skills, Creative Writing
Miranda House: Course in Theatre Direction with the help of National School of Drama (NSD)
Hansraj College: Radio Jockeying and Travel and Tourism
Gargi College: Education for Peace Building
Sri Venkateswara College: Molecular and Biochemical Technology

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Uncategorized

All About South Campus!

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Kamla Nehru College

Faculty: The faculty at KNC is exceptionally good, especially for courses like English, Economics and Journalism.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere has that zing of energy with students and teachers alike bustling from one corner to the other. Academics and extra-curricular activities co-exist peacefully with the support of the administration.

Extra Curricular Activities and Sports: Bubbling over with enthusiastic students, it’s famous for its extra-curricular activities. A fantastic Cricket team is the pride of the college, along with its focus on other sports like Basketball and Volleyball. Yoga, Aerobics and Civil Defense are other areas of active participation.

Canteen: The canteen is nothing fantastic. Its food is oily, though the prices are very reasonable.

Saumiya and Swetha.

Venkateswara College

Faculty : Venkateswara College has a very erudite set of faculty members. The lecturers for most science courses are absolutely brilliant. The English faculty is one of the best that male students can avail to.

Atmosphere : Venky has one of the best crowds in South Campus. It’s as close to the University feel as possible in South Campus. Cleanliness and hygiene have been a regular problem in the college; however the administration has taken various steps to combat this.

Extra Curricular Activities and Sports : Venky has some of the most vibrant ECA societies in the University. What makes these especially brilliant is the fact that they are not focused solely on winning trophies but in providing an atmosphere to nurture the innate talent of students in the college. The Venky cricket team is arguably the best in the university.

Canteen: The college canteen has recently taken steps to tidy up their act. The food is vegetarian and primarily South Indian which may not be everybody’s cup of tea.

Aniruddh Ghosal, Venky

Gargi College

Faculty: The faculties of the departments of English as well as Applied Psychology are perhaps the best known of the lot. The department of B.A. Programme too has a very competent faculty.

Atmosphere: The crowd is a curious blend of diverse cultures, with students hailing from various parts of the country. The college, however, does have hygiene issues relating to the canteen and the washrooms which remain eyesores despite commendable efforts to improve them.

Extra Curricular Activities and Sports: Of the 16 performing arts and non-performing arts’ societies that Gargi has institutionalized, the most successful are the former. However, recent efforts have been made to increase participation and interest in the latter as well. With respect to sports, cricket, basket ball, volley ball, athletics, aerobics and Tennis are most popular.

Canteen: The College has a canteen that’s about average, a fresh fruit juice and milk shakes’ counter that sells well and often a chaat-wala who is most popular. Apart from these, the campus also has a Nescafe counter.

Aditi Sharma, B.A. Programme
Aarushi Sharma, President Students’ Union

Jesus and Mary’s College

Faculty: The members of faculty in the departments of English, Economics and Psychology are among the best in DU. Sociology, History and Commerce are also well-known.

Atmosphere: The college, though all-girls, has a great crowd and an interesting mix of different people. Despite immense emphasis on discipline, there is always a sense of vibrancy in the campus and it is perennially bustling with energy.

Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) and Sports: JMC provides a platform for various performing arts’ as well as opportunities in social responsibility. Although ECA societies in JMC are a force to reckon with in the university circuit, they often face a lot of problems within the college, with respect to attendance, funding, etc. With regard to sports, JMC’s cricket, football and basket ball teams are quite well-known.

Canteen: The fact that students are often seen packing food from the canteen for their friends in other colleges speaks volumes about just how wonderful the JMC canteen is. However, snail-paced service and sky-rocketing prices are constant problems.

Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Faculty: The faculty at LSR plays a significant role in making academia both accessible and fascinating. This they do by seldom giving free periods, filling in lectures with brilliant perspectives and insisting on assignments and term papers a bit much.
Atmosphere: Say no to laid-back lives, and yes to celebration of the ‘Magic of LSR’!

Extra Curricular Activities and Sports: For someone who is involved in both sports and ECA, an ordinary day at college would begin at seven in the morning, and often stretch beyond seven in the evening. The wee hours of the morning are usually reserved for sports’ practice, the day for classes and various non-performing arts, and the evening for performing arts’.

Café: The high prices are perhaps the price one has to pay for having a café and not a canteen. The range of items available on the menu, however, seems to make up for it.

Kriti B., LSR

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