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

hostel

Browsing
Top Picks

Struggles of being an outstation student

By

Outstation students are said to be the ones who enjoy freedom at its best—people who don’t have to travel too much to reach their accommodation and those who have all their time to themselves. However, there is struggle involved in living a life away from home. It isn’t easy to be your own friend, your own family, your own helper and your sole support.

There are innumerable challenges that come along with being an outstation student. Trivial or serious, here they are:

1. Food

Image credits: Indian Express
Image credits: Indian Express

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a hostel resident with lots of wishes and no money is hungry.

If you live in a PG hostel, a government hostel, or in your own flat you know the struggle. Food in hostels range from extremely soupy to extremely burnt. There are times when you look at a dish, and wonder, “Wait, are these potatoes?” Even if you are put up in a fancy accommodation, you will still complain about food. There are times when you awaken your inner chef to cook food for yourself and use all your time to create a master piece. You promise yourself to continue cooking on your own only to break the promise later. Instagram, Facebook, Game of Thrones and sometimes assignments come in the way of being a master chef. And then there are times when you break down and complain about how you miss chicken.

2. School/Old Friends

Image credits: clipartpanda.com
Image credits: clipartpanda.com

College is usually welcoming to most of us. This is particularly true in Delhi University, where people from all walks of life and places come together. However, there are moments where you end up missing your school friends. Not many outstation students are lucky enough to be able to spare a day and meet their friends. Friends are far away in most cases. You might not be able to reach them. They are not a few blocks away. However, you have WhatsApp and WhatsApp emojis to convey your feelings to those who understand.

3. Family

Image credits: lgrc.us
Image credits: lgrc.us

Yes, outstation people are cool and so they have a lot of friends. However, the huge circle is also because they have too much of their emotional space to fill and offer. Living away from family leaves a big void in you. You crave company. Time is miserably long without family. Yes, outstation students have a lot of time to enjoy. But there is always a lack of people even if they have hundreds around.

4. Exams

Image credits: contextualfeed.com
Image credits: contextualfeed.com

Outstation kids don’t have to travel from Gurgaon or Noida during the exams. They also get extra time to study on the morning of an exam. But they have to manage everything on their own. Food seems worse when you have exam fever. So you have a choice of either remaining hungry or ordering something for yourself, or even cooking on your own. There are times during summers when you get up for a glass of water and realise that there is no water. It is at times like these that you wish you had the comfort of your home.

5. Money

Image credits: cashthechecks.com
Image credits: cashthechecks.com

You can be rich back home but when you are not home, you are not rich. You will always thank god for the money you have at the beginning of the month. It seems enough till the last days of the month strike. Remember those days in school when a coin would fall off your pocket and you wouldn’t want to pick it up as you thought that would be embarrassing? Well, that isn’t happening here. At the end of the month, coins are gold. They can buy you a packet of bread, some samosas and hopefully a plate of momos too.

All in all, life isn’t easy for an outstation student. There is every reason they should be proud of themselves. Yes, there are moments when they slack off or break down, and times when they feel that they are too tired to pursue their dreams. If you are one, give yourself that necessary appreciation. You are doing good because you are doing it all on your own!

Image credits: theodysseyonline.com

Tooba Towfiq

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Top Picks

To the first years moving into hostel

By

Once the admission hurdle has been successfully crossed, the nagging question on every out-station student’s mind is the thought of moving to Delhi and living away from home. The prospect of moving induces both excitement and fear in equal measures— it is up to you to ensure that one does not overwhelm the other as you make your way through the first few months of college. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind as you take this big leap forward:

1. It’s alright to agonise over it

But just for a while! If you’re nervous and anxious about moving, vent. There are several others, your seniors for instance, who have gone through similar changes and pangs of homesickness. Seek help and support. At the end of the day, you always know that your family and friends have got your back.

2. Learning to adjust

You may have had a room to yourself at home, with the liberty of watching T.V. till 3.am. In hostel, the realisation will instantly dawn upon you that these simple pleasures have been rudely wrenched away from you. Some hostels may not have ACs or heaters. You will have to adjust, sometimes with roommates who may want to go to bed at 10 p.m, while you feel like the night has just begun. Learn to adjust and compromise. At the end of the day, the very same roommates and friends are the people who will become your family away from home.

3. Keeping an open mind

When most of us entered college, we were coming from schools with a more-or-less homogenous population, with classmates from similar backgrounds as ourselves. This will certainly not be the case in Delhi University which attracts a diverse crowd. In hostel, you will meet and live with people who may be very different from you, or have varied views and opinions. Hostel provides valuable lessons in keeping an open mind and learning to accept people for who they are. You will realise that there is a great deal you can learn from the people around you.

4. The concept of ‘private’ space may cease to exist

Your friends or your room mates’ friends will walk into your room like it’s their own. Afterall, what’s yours is theirs and vice versa. If you require alone time to work, find a place where you can do so, like the library. That being said, a significant aspect of living in a hostel is helping each other out when in need. Isolating yourself is not a good idea.

5. Acknowledge all the perks that you have

The easiest way to come to terms with the fact that you are no longer living at home is to look at all the positives of living in a hostel— you’re very close to college or even within the same campus, and that gives you ample opportunity to be a part of every college activity. Societies, fests and other extra-curriculars— you can wholeheartedly engage in everything without having to worry about the travel time on the metro, or making it back home by a certain time. Moreover, when you go home during the semester breaks, you will be showered with extra love.

Tip: Try not to hoard too many things in your hostel room, particularly if you take the flight home and you have a baggage limit. When you need to pack all your things up, you will regret having bought a lot of things that you never really needed.

Living in a hostel is an enriching experience by itself, and at the end of three years you will be able to look back and congratulate yourself on having accomplished the task of living away from home. You will have learnt a great deal and done a lot of things that you have never had to do before (like washing your own clothes, or sleeping without an AC in the glorious heat of the Delhi summer— yes, that is an accomplishment). If you’re worried about the homesickness, I can assure you that in no time you will be too busy to be homesick.

Image credits: www.thebusinesscourier.co.uk

Abhinaya Harigovind

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

DU Hostel Admin sends notice to students’ parents over water protest

By

On the evening of 23rd April’16, the women residents of Undergraduate Hostel for Girls (UGHG) in Delhi University took to the streets in protest against the severe water crisis that they had been facing in the hostel for almost two months leading to unbearable living conditions and water-borne illnesses. The hostel administration led by the Provost Rita Kakkar had refused to respond or meet the protesting students. Thus, the women broke their hostel curfew and marched to the provost’s residence demanding action. The Provost finally met the students around midnight, after Kapil Mishra, Delhi Government Water Minister, arrived at the protest venue and termed the negligence on part of the hostel authorities as ‘inhuman’. In the negotiations that followed in writing by the DU Administration, clauses that no individual student would be targeted for participating in the protest and, no resident would be denied a hostel seat the next year for the same were added. However, in contrary to this, the hostel administration started witch-hunting of women students identified as ‘ring-leaders’ of the protest.

Parents of several UGHG residents received letters stating “your daughter left the hostel on 23rd April, 2016 at around 5pm and returned around 2.30am on 24th April, 2016 without obtaining prior permission from the hostel authorities”. The letter further alleged that their daughter’s behaviour “has a bad impact on other residents and brings a bad reputation to the hostel”.

Further, exorbitant fines have been levied against financially weak students for late payment of fees. The hostel authorities also sent these notices to the college administrations asking them to confiscate the students’ admit cards.

“I’m furious at the college hostel administration. They had sent the notice without duly informing me. I felt mentally harassed at that time. I had to run between offices to get my admit card as they made wait for hours to give me the fee receipt. It was trying time for me and family, my parents understood the situation but I can’t say the same for the parents of other students,” said a UGHG resident on anonymity.

Pinjra Tod condemning this act of witch-hunting held a protest outside the DU VC office on 23rd May, Monday, at 1:00 PM to submit their demands – to revoke the issued letters, no further vindictive targeting of students involved in 23rd April protest and removal of Rita Kakkar, Provost from her post.

Moreover, Pinjra Tod will be writing to the Vice Chancellor and Proctor of Delhi University, Kapil Mishra, Delhi Government Water Minister and Swati Maliwal, Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson to lodge a complaint about this issue.

Image Credits: www.indiaresists.com 

Nidhi Panchal

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Things you'll relate to if you live in a Hostel/PG

By

Game of homes Initially we all sympathised with Walter White’s decision to cook meth due to his poor circumstances no matter how wrong the decision was on moral grounds. It is time to stop for a moment and think about all the hassles you faced in your day to day lives while living in PGs and hostels. The leaking pipes, the malfunctioning of the AC, the breaking ceiling gives you goosebumps all the time. The time and cost spent in getting all these things repaired for sure had made you ponder to follow in the footsteps of Walter White at least once for sure. breaking bed   And the rents of course. The ever increasing rents and broker fees leaves you no choice but to end up in the vicious circle of borrowing from your friends in order to survive. To make yourself feel better about it, the least you can do is compare yourself to a television star and who better when it comes to borrowing than Penny? Bazinga! big rent theory   Apart from all these hassles that we just talked about there is a brighter side to living in a rental room if things turn out in your favour. Who doesn’t fantasise about living the life like F.R.I.E.N.D.S? We all end up relating our buddies to Chandler, Joey, Rachael, Ross and Monica and if we are lucky we sometimes find exactly the bonds to carry for a lifetime! The late night Maggie sessions, the economical shopping spree and the nonstop chatting make the worst of days worth reminiscing! friends4_v copy On Netflix we become spectators to ruthless pragmatism, manipulation and power in the House of Cards and enjoy all the drama that surmounts the storyline. However we don’t like to witness any of it in reality. Time spent in hostels with buddies gives you an opportunity to escape the harsh reality and rejoice in good company. You have endless laughter moments, late night talks and so much fun that can cheer you up even when you’re in the saddest mood. House of Laughs   Who doesn’t want to have an awesome roommate experience like Ted and Marshall? Every teenage dreams of finding buddies that they can bank upon in the years to come and grow old with. Time spent in hostels and PGs give you an opportunity to make friends with whom you can play video games, do stupid talks and have an awesome college life. Your life becomes legen wait for it dary! True story. himym It comes as no surprise how well we can relate with these television celebrities. Even in the most depressing moments our favourite characters give us a reason to cheer. CoHo.in, an innovative tech platform pioneering the concept of coliving spaces for the first time in India bring all the good elements you need for a #betterliving experience tailor made for you. Enjoy the best of rooms and roommates in fully-furnished managed spaces offered by CoHo.in, at affordable price points absolutely broker-free. And who knows you meet your fantasy television star like friend right there! Conceptualised by Chirutha Kalra Designed by Amaan Hassan Khan]]>

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

Delhi Commission for Women accepts Pinjra Tod charter of demands at Jan Sunwai

By

Students from different Universities of the capital gathered for a jan sunwai in Jantar Mantar on 10th October as a part of the Pinjra Tod campaign. The jan sunwai vocally presented the grievances and the demands of this expanding group of students protesting against the restrictive and biased hostel/PG rules. The event saw eminent academicians and feminists like Piyoli Swatija, Uma Chakravarti, Mary John and Janaki Abraham as the jury of the public hearing. A representative of the Delhi Commission of Women was also present to assess the demands of this campaign. The Jan sunwai started with a powerful poem by a student of Miranda House. It was followed by a song, composed and performed by two male students who have also joined this women’s movement.

Students from different hostels and PG’s presented their cases of moral policing, sexist and restrictive curfew timings and issues such as the number of late nights and the concept of local guardians. These included residents of hostels of St Stephens, Miranda House and Jamia Milia Islamia to name a few. In addition, residents of private hostels and PG’s such as Aparna Girls Hostel, Undergraduate Hostel for Girls and others also voiced their anger against the oppressive rules and regulations of their hostels as well as the conduct of their wardens.
The speakers left the crowd as well as the jury baffled with their stories. For instance, one of the student from Jamia Milia Islamia said, “Jamia Milia Islamia requires their foreign residents to seek permission from their respective embassies for a late night leave.”  Numerous cases of moral policing and use of abusive language by wardens was also voiced by the students of Delhi University.
The discussion was followed by a powerful Protest Performance, called Khol do. This was followed by the comments of the jury, who found it surprising that the condition and the rights of women have not really changed over the time. Uma Chakravarti, revered feminist historian said, “The university treats hostels as the extension of fathers control”. Janaki Abraham also exposed, ” the paternalism of the new UGC guidelines “

It was also highlighted that the Pinjra Tod campaign is not looking for freedom in a Utopian world and that the models of free and egalitarian spaces are present not very far, in the residences of institutions like JNU. The Pinjra tod activits read out their charter of Demands and handed over a petition signed by over one thousand supporters to the representative of the Delhi Commission Of Women, Farheen Malik. The Charter of Demands along with the petition was accepted by Farheen Malik,who termed all the demands ” genuine”
The Jan sunwai commenced with both male and female supporters shouting slogans such as,

“Pitta sapta dhoka hai,
Dhaka Maro Moka hai ”
and
“Gulami se samjhota karna chhod
Pinjra Tod  Pinjra Tod
Hostel ke darwazay khol
Pinjra Tod, Pinjra Tod “

The crowd dispersed after having danced to a Greek freedom song. The core members of the campaign thanked the supporters and also urged them to support the Pinjra Tod campaign in it’s future endeavours.

Read all about the Pinjra Tod movement here.

Photo by Uzma Rehman

Tooba Towfiq

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

After claiming the night, Pinjra Tod heads towards Jan Sunwai on October 10

By

About 150 participants from colleges all over Delhi joined the movement against discriminatory hostel rules against women on October 8 in a night procession that encouraged students to take a night leave from their PGs and hostels to claim the night. The group marched from Vishwa Vidyalaya metro station to various women’s hostels, especially those with a known history of repression, such as Miranda House, St. Stephen’s College, and Ramjas College to name a few, with powerful posters, slogans, and songs. Alumni from various colleges shared testimonials about their experiences of being locked in their rooms or campuses. The procession that lasted for about 5 hours and ended at 11:30 at night, also had a sabha in solidarity with the Delhi Rent Control Movement by Right to Accommodation.

Pinjra Tod
From the Pinjra Tod Facebook Page

What is Pinjra Tod? Pinjra Tod: Crusading for liberty of women

Below is an account by a member of the movement, Subhashini Shriya on the journey so far and what’s to come next:

“The journey of Pinjara Tod has been exhilarating to say the least. In the short span of a few weeks, we have met, heard, connected to hundreds of women across the city and also some from across the country. The most striking of the many insights we have gained from the campaign is just how widespread is the feeling of discontent and disappointment among young women, coming to the city in the hopes of discovering a new life, and finding themselves repeatedly pushed back into pigeonholes and cages at every step. Yes, the most exhilarating is the feeling of being not one, but one among so many. Having come together, having grown from a few to many, having faced the aggressive political climate on campus, having fought to assert ourselves as an autonomous collective of women we are now approaching the Jan Sunwai, to be held on the 10th of October, 2 PM at Jantar Mantar, where women students and alumni from universities and colleges across Delhi will come together and speak of the daily challenges, of the rules, attitudes, basic lack of resources and biases that they face in negotiating their life as students; work out demands to be made of the DCW, their university administrations, and society at large. We hope that the Jan Sunwai will see this collective that we have been feeling pulsating under the skin everyday commonsense take shape, in the body of a diverse collective of women, with a diverse set of concerns, experiences demands, across lines of caste, class, region, religion and so on, to converge at the aspiration of breaking out of all cages that lock us in as young women students in the city. We hope to find you there with us on the 10th, with your story and your voice, joining with ours to make us all collectively stronger and a step closer to breaking some of the many cages that surround us!” 

Universities from all over the country have spoken up in support of Pinjra Tod. Student political group, All India Students’ Association, or AISA has also been seen handing out pamphlets of the Jan Sunwai to students in North Campus. Although the group welcomes all the support that’s coming their way, they have very clearly stated that they are independent of any political affiliations. The charter of demands as is to be presented to the Delhi  Commission for Women is as follows:

  1. Extend the curfews of all women’s hostels and PGs till half an hour after the time any University resources, such as libraries, labs or sports complexes remain open or half an hour after the approach of the last metro at the closest metro station, whichever is later.
  2. Abolish the concept of local guardians for students, while keeping a provision for an emergency local contact number and discontinue requirement for parental or guardian’s permission for late nights or night outs for all students above 18 yrs of age.
  3. No cap on night outs and late nights taken with prior notice. The utilization of a night out or late night should not be dependent on the discretion of the warden or any administrative authority.
  4. No arbitrary restrictions on the entry on female visitors into women’s hostels.
  5. Ensure availability of secure, non-discriminatory accommodation for all women students. Chart out and publicly announce time bound plan for construction of women’s hostels.
  6. Announce a list of PGs and private accommodations regulated by the university in nearby areas and make the list available to all students with the university administration setting up mechanism for grievance redressal with regard to such accommodation. Implement the Delhi Rent Control Act 1995 to regulate rising rents in these areas.
  7. Provide a clear breakup of the components of hostel fees, with a minimal infrastructural rent and maintenance cost beside the cost of food, electricity and water. Introduce provision for payment of hostel fees on a monthly basis rather than in a lump sum per semester or year.
  8. Set up ICCs against sexual harassment in all colleges and universities as elected, representative bodies and in the spirit of the Vishakha judgment and make provisions for anti-discrimination policy in accordance with the UGC Saksham Committee Report and SC NLSA judgment.
  9. Accommodation of all PwD women students in university hostels on priority basis.
  10. Need based allocation of hostel accommodation.
  11. Fixed allotment of hostel seat for the entire period of the student’s course including academic vacations.

Pinjra TodPT

 

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Smriti Irani visits Hindu College, hostel fee for PWD students waived

By

IMG_20150602_112246961 The issue has its origin in the fact that the Governing Body of Hindu College has not reimbursed the amount of the fee waived in the last three years. As per an advisory of the University, the Governing Body must meet this expenditure through funds available to the college. Currently, the amount outstanding under this head is Rs. 7,19,313. The HRD minister spent only 20 minutes in the college, during which the administration announced a complete hostel fee waiver and 50 percent reduction in the mess fee for disabled students. The minister arrived at 11 AM and left the college premises by 11:20 AM. She also met the college officiating principal Anju Srivastava, hostel warden Poonam Sethi and Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) president Nandita Narain. The warden claimed that the governing body didn’t allow the implementation of the scheme in the first place. DUTA president Nandita Narain made a representation to Irani on the issue of  victimisation of teachers, teachers’ pension scheme and  the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS). Irani also personally met the teachers who have been on protest for 42 days against their penalisation by the college for writing a letter to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung to complain about alleged irregularities in the functioning of the college and certain construction work in the college campus. Irani assured that she will mark the representation regarding Hindu College to the governing body and seek its response. She also said that the DUTA and other teacher associations will be invited before the review committee and that a meeting will be called to discuss controversial Choice Based Credit System. Last week, DU’s Executive Council passed CBCS without discussion.   Image credits: DUTA Sidharth Yadav [email protected]]]>

Keep Reading
By
Kirorimal College

KMC hostelers shut college gates to protest against raised fees

By

After numerous petitions to the college authorities, the hostelers of Kirori Mal College (KMC) planned a radical protest by closing the entry gates to college during the peak hours of college lectures. It is reported that the college authorities had abruptly raised the hostel fee by a considerable amount and had passed on the amount given as fee concession for differently abled hostelers to the other residents in the KMC Hostel.

A hosteler reported that the protest or the “dharna” was planned only after pleading with the Warden a number of times. As there was no support from the Warden, the decision was taken to close the gates. At 9:15 am the KMC entry gates were closed and the hostel residents were seen sitting on the floor and protesting. This opposition was lead by M.A. and M.Sc. residents of KMC Hostel. Around 10 am, a few police officials came to stop the protest but their measures were ineffective. The teachers were allowed to enter when one of the senior professors promised to inform the teaching faculty to post-pone the tests and presentations that were to be held that day. After being sneered by the members while entering the college, the Principal decided to call for a meeting. After discussing among themselves, the hostelers finally opened the gates. The follow-up negotiations were done in the Principal’s office, in presence of other college authorities.

Students witnessing this event in the scorching heat entered the college premises at 11:15 am. The silent protest went on till 1:30 pm right outside the Principal’s office. It was decided that a concession of Rs. 2900 should be granted to the hostelers. It was reported that earlier, during a meeting a concession of 1400 rupees had also been given.

The students seemed content with negotiations and they hope that the principal remains true to his word. “Finally, the college authorities have granted a concession towards our hostel accommodation fee appraisal. I hope that they would also look into our other wants – purification of hard water supply and subsidizing electricity”, said Pankaj Kumar, a hosteler.

Keep Reading
By
St. Stephen's

Seats in St. Stephen’s Residence reduced

By

Getting admission in Delhi University is but half a battle won. The subsequent problem looming large is that of lodging. That there is shortage of hostel seats and that the prices of Paying Guest accommodations and private hostels can burn a huge hole in one’s pocket is hardly a hidden fact. In fact, lodging seems to be a perpetual crisis for outstation students especially if one has not been lucky enough to get that precious hostel seat.

In such dire circumstances when the colleges should be accommodating as many students as possible in their hostels, St. Stephen’s College seems to be doing the exact opposite. The college has apparently allocated single rooms to students of second and third years, rooms which are actually supposed to accommodate two students. While the college had this policy for third year students, this year it has also been extended to second years. Quite paradoxically, this has led to a further decrease in the number of students who can avail the residential facilities on the college campus.

We, at DU Beat, spoke to a number of students from the college but apparently none of them consented to be quoted. On the condition of anonymity, a student said, “Living in the Residence is so convenient as opposed to putting up privately in areas around North Campus. My parents can’t afford to shell out too much money and therefore, I am living in a really bad place as I have no alternative. The college has given single rooms to second years also which goes against the demands of the day where the prime focus should be building the additional infrastructure and exploiting the full potential of the existing one.”

Another student on the same condition said, “The hostel issue is the need of the hour in Delhi University. We students are suffering a lot because of this. And then something like this comes up where instead of increasing the number of seats in the Residence, you are actually reducing them. Moreover, with the introduction of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme, there will be more number of students after three years, and then the condition will be extremely chaotic.”

Vatsal Verma
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Hindu College student commits suicide in Hostel

By

  Kripa Chongtham, a gifted guitarist and a  music honours student at Hindu College committed suicide a few days back. His body was discovered by a roommate who came back to his room at around 5:30 am on Sunday, 14th April. He committed suicide by putting a Nokia mobile charger around his neck and twisting it with a hammer. Investigations reveal that he was suffering from depression and was under therapy for the same. A suicide note was also found in his room.    ]]>

Keep Reading
By