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Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Dalai Lama addresses students at LSR, inaugurates new academic complex

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His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama visited Lady Shri Ram College for Women on the 20th of March 2014. Talking about morality, ethics and the idea of a healthy inner-self, he spoke on “Success, Ethics and Happiness”.

Initially scheduled to start at 12: 30, the spiritual leader arrived for the inauguration of the new academic complex at around 2 p.m. With the sound of the gong marking his arrival, he first inaugurated the Aung San Suu Kyi Centre for Peace and then the Dr. Bharat Ram Academic Complex. This was followed by the lecture in the auditorium.

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During his address to the audience at LSR, His Holiness spoke of inner-wealth, stating that inner-happiness was above all material wealth. With the ideals of universal responsibility, compassion and altruism dominating the speech, he also focused on social responsibility. While speaking to the set of young girls, he emphasised the importance of the female community to create a better 21st century. He believes that they should play a more active role to bring compassion and empathy to the world. He also appreciated India’s secular framework, stating that it was the only nation in the world where people of all faiths and religion lived together.

Coming to ethics, he spoke of ethics being a necessity for a peaceful and happier world. He says, “Success requires ethics. Ethical life means honesty. Honesty brings trust. Trust brings friendship. Friendship brings unity. Unity leads to a more peaceful world”.

 

His ideas were followed by a series of questions that members of the audience wanted to bring about in the discussion. Students and faculty raised questions about the definition of success as well as questioned ideas of whether happiness could exist without spiritual belief. The religious leader says that even non-believers can be happy as long as there is awareness. On defining success, he stated that when at the end you are at peace and happy, that is success.

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The event closed with the vote of thanks presented by the Students Union President of the college, Tanvi Bist. This was followed by Yashaswini Basu, the Cultural Secretary of the college presenting his holiness a long life prayer with the signature of students and it’s recital in Tibetan by the college students.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will also be visiting Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) on the 24th of March on the occasion of the college’s Annual Day.

Image Credit: Mugdha for DU Beat

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DU faces internet troubles

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Delhi University is facing a drought in its internet services. The alleged reason for such a situation is a strike by the company providing the services.

The Delhi University Computer Centre serves as the hub for computer related services on the campus. The network, consisting of a gigabit fiber backbone provides connectivity to all departments at the North & South Campuses, all Colleges as well as 64 off campus Colleges.
Services available to users include access to the internet through 36 Mbps bandwidth in North Campus and 24 Mbps in South Campus. The service has been withheld as of now, reasons being unknown. It has been a few months since colleges have reopened and wi fi services in colleges yet remain to be functional.

This has created a lot of problem on the university colleges as students and teachers now have to fund the internet service themselves even though the university spends lakhs on it.As for the preparations for e-learning in FYUP with the coming semester, a doubt remains that with the withheld service whether students would be able to access international scholarly articles and online books.

In a statement published by Neeraj Tyagi, Deputy Dean Works, DU, the University has had no discrepancies in its administrative and financial functions for these services. The problem he said is being caused because of the strike of the service provider. He hopes that the problem will be solved within a week.

imagecourtesy:siliconangle.com

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Lady Shri Ram College for Women

LSR inaugurates Resource Center for students with disabilities

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On Friday, 2nd August, the KPMG Resource Center for students with disabilities was inaugurated at apartment 10 of the staff residences at Lady Shri Ram College. The walls of this resource centre adorn art work by students with disabilities, and the notices on the boards are both in Braille script and in English. Spread over two rooms, the computers here have software that makes technology accessible to students and teachers with disability – from coding software that translates sound to text for students with hearing impairments to software like JAWS, Everest –D Braille Embosser, Screen Reading Software, Lex-Talk Scanner, Book Scanners, DAISY recorders and Players and OCR software  for students with visual disabilities. It is equipped with a total of 10 computers, which are installed with softwares needed by both English as well as Hindi medium students.

At the resource center, all text on display is accompanied by a Braille version of the same.

An initiative by REACH (which stands for Reaffirming Equity Access Capacity and Humanism) – an LSR society meant to empower students with any kind of disadvantage, this resource center is a part of KPMG’s CSR activities and will hugely benefit LSR and it’s students and teachers with disabilities.

Hemul Goel, the current student coordinator for REACH said:

“The Resource Centre equipped with the latest assistive technology like the Everest –D Braille Embosser, Screen Reading Software, Lex-Talk Scanner to name a few, really brings us close to our aim of empowering students and making them self reliant. Besides setting up a Resource Centre, a new wing called Kshitij Swavalamban has also been instilled under REACH. Through this initiative we hope to provide placement and internship opportunities for those at a social and economic disadvantage.’’

This initiative by LSR reflects all the values that the college stands for, and is only a beginning of the larger goals of equity and justice that it instills in its students.

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First year students to get laptops by the end of September

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For all those wondering where the laptops that were part of the large FYUP reform in the university are, there is news. Laptops have already started being distributed amongst students with disabilities through the University’s Equal Opportunities Cell, which has been known for its endurance and commitment towards the welfare of both faculty and students with disability of all kind. So far, 484 laptops have already been distributed in almost more than fifty colleges. Colleges like Kirori Mal are also holding functions for the distribution of these laptops.

These laptops – Lenovo or specifically, Thinkpads – have a variety of accessible software to make technology easier to use for students with disabilities. They use software like JAWS for students with visual impairment along with other screen readers and open source software that make mathematics easy for students with disabilities. They are also equipped with sound-to-text convertors for students with hearing impairments and give students the space to assign keys for certain commands in case they are unable to use both hands. Students will keep these laptops till the end of their college term.

As for other students of the general category, the laptops will be not distributed before September this year. At the inauguration ceremony of the media laboratory at Kalindi College, Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh said that all first year students will have personal laptops that the university promised by the end of September.

Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net

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Kalindi College inaugurates multi media studio for Journalism department

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Prof. Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi inaugurated the Media Laboratory at Kalindi College on the 31st of July.

The media laboratory for the journalism department incorporates a TV Studio, Audio Studio and a PCR. Also the lab is equipped with professional accessories and equipments including 3 Handheld HDV Camcorders, a Canon DSLR, various mikes, flood lights and an Editing System. The studio also broadcasted, in the campus, its first live interview (of 10 minute duration) with the guests.

Along with the media lab, the college also inaugurated a Chemistry laboratory and a Special Cyber Café for teachers. At the event, VC Dinesh Singh also exchanged views on the proposal and contemplation of the Four Years Undergraduate Program.

Prof. Dinesh announced, “We are in conversation with the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises to help aid the students in the ambitious entrepreneurship projects which they aim to take up after graduation”, while introducing the idea of the Incubation centre to the students. Mr. Ved Prakash Sharma, the Chairman of the Governing Body of Kalindi College and Prof. B.P. Sahu were also a part of the the inaugural ceremony.

DSC00173“Students of the University will be entitled to a special lease in attendance and bonus marks in academics for a year round dedicated performance in NCC”, informed Prof. Dinesh Singh. A grant of Rs. 5, 00,000 has been given to the college by the University for the augmentation of infrastructural facilities. “The newly admitted students of first year will all be provided a laptop each by September”, he added. This initiative has been taken to make the system more technology sound.

Inspiring the students to participate in the Gyanodyaya Express Programme, Vice Chancellor notified that 100 students from Great Britain will be joining the programme this September in Punjab.

Arunita Tiwari, Student of Kalindi College said “We had an interactive session with Sir Dinesh Singh, he threw light on the Gyanodaya Programme and the Incubation Centre. Predominantly, the programme was a success.”

Here is Kalindi’s Multi-Media Journalism Studio in pictures:

Kalindi Studio
The studio from where the students made their first broadcast.
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Students in the Production Control Room. (PCR)
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A student handling the sound equipment in the studio.
Kalindi Journalism Students with Cameras
Students with the three Sony Z100 HDVs available in the studio.
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DUB Speak

DU REPORT CARD

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New to DU? Unsure of whether to believe the glossy prospectus which makes your campus out to be some mini-heaven, or your grumpy seniors who see it as hell on Earth? Let us guide you with our very own DU Report Card!

Infrastructure
A lot of colleges in DU could serve as the next location for some RGV horror flick with their crumbling walls and desolate air. Smells ranging from those of unwashed socks and hospital wards may be waiting to invade your noses as you step through most college gates. However, there are still a few institutions where you can pee without having to hold your breath and not have to screw your eyes shut to block unmentionable horrors. Some even have furniture which go beyond mere bits of wood held together by rusty nails. Overall, though, the state of DU infrastructure is pretty bad.
Rating:  2.5/5

Hang out zones
Now this is something we can totally brag about. Whether it’s shopping or hunger pangs or coochie-cooing or just plain time-pass, DU has a place for everything! Kamla Nagar offers options galore for shopaholics and foodies alike. From bhelpuri to chuski and Puma to Fabindia, you get all of it right here. Head to Sarojini if your wallet’s on the thinner side and skip over to paranthe vali gali if you’ve got food on your mind. Sadly though, movie-lovers are left with little choice with most of the cheap theatres like Chanakya closing shop and the ones still functioning charging rates so exorbitant, you’ll have to go hungry for a month to pay for the tickets.
Rating: 4.5/5

Fashion
When it comes to fashion, there are no rules in DU. You can wear anything you want and get away with it. From carefully made up Barbie dolls in their stilettos and tight clothes to the tousle-haired PG kids in their pajamas, walking straight from the bed to the classroom, DU gates are open to one and all. With so much variety and colour, our creativity can put any designer to shame! However as always, once in a while you are bound to come across a walking, talking fashion disaster who’ll make you want to cringe or wish you had little marbles instead of eyes so you’d be spared the torture.
Rating: 4/5

Atmosphere
“Chilled out” describes the DU atmosphere best. Yes, we know how clichéd the term is and it is exactly what reporters and journalists have been harping on since forever, but for once they seemed to have hit the nail on its head. DU is where pretensions vanish, where you are just you and no one else. Unlike school, where you had teachers and parents pushing you around and directing your every little step, you’re truly set free in DU.
Rating: 5/5

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