This Halloween, the University of Delhi is geared up to offer its students something unprecedented. The viability of the plan, however, has been put to question.
On October 28, 2018, the United Grants Commission (UGC) issued a statement, making it mandatory for all professors to dress up on Halloween. The statement specifies that all professors should come to their classes in the guise of a superhero, literary character, or cartoon.
A student from Dyal Singh College, on the condition of anonymity shared his excitement with us, over the last category, “I am all charged up to see how well my professors live up to their caricatures drawn on the last page of my notes!”
While many students are celebrating the statement, the enforcement of the order is ambiguous in the academic circles of the staff rooms of various colleges. A professor from Ramjas College wrote a letter to the authorities—in no uncertain terms— that this was “a rudely disrespectful compliance expected out of all of us (professors).”
In the letter, the professor goes on to say, “We should have the freedom to choose our clothes, at least! Our options are already so limited.”
Some might argue that the conscious choice of clothes of their professors are nightmarish enough; to begin with, that is. Put into question, the authorities issued a public statement on 29 October that claims, “This practice will heighten the sense of connectivity between the professors and their students. The idea is to instil friendship into the equation.” As innocent as the intention is, the results just might be surprising for the authorities to observe.
But there are others who claim something good comes from this decision too. “Seeing as how Diwali is only a week from Halloween, we could take this as a step towards being more inclusive. The students will have a lot to learn,” said Ramprasad Guru, a Festival Analyst who works as a freelance. But it is easy to say that the professors do not agree as they have unanimously agreed to protest on Thursday outside Arts Faculty in North Campus.
In the diametric expectations of the students and professors, the tension increases for the latter. As the students want their professors to come to their 8:30 class as Dolores Umbridge and explode into cheers and jeers immediately, and as the professors are resolute on escaping this humiliation, one significant element hangs in the balance – education.
College administrations are perplexed over the idea of loss of time of students due to the fiasco. The time that they could otherwise spent waiting in lines to get permissions for organising events in their respective colleges. Arguably, it is good to see that the administration department is not vexed by the decision directly. But then, it is hard to impress an innovative idea on them.
It remains to be seen what awaits the fate of a thousands of professors this Halloween. But whether classes are cancelled or the students actually see a Khaleesi marking the stupefied students’ attendance, it is a victory for the dedicated college goers of Delhi University.
Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only meant to be appreciated and not accepted.
Feature Image Credits: Scroll
Kartik Chauhan