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It’s tempting to fall into unhealthy habits, but a balanced lifestyle is the key to a vibrant college life.

One enters college with an abundance of excitement, hope, and the most fun of them all, freedom. While this freedom provides opportunities for growth, it also brings with it a sense of carelessness. When you’re no longer answerable to Mom, you let loose. In most college students, this leads to the rise of some unhealthy habits. Being able to stay in bed and Zomato all the time may seem like a dream come true at first, but it inevitably invites problems.

However, that is not the only factor that could lead to the development of an unhealthy lifestyle. It’s also easy to feel so drowned in assignments, society work, or internships that there’s no room left for exercise or any hobbies for that matter. After a hectic college day, there is nothing more inviting than your bed. With an episode of your current binge and some pizza on the side. This becomes a routine that’s hard to break out of.

“The appeal of the taste of fast food is not the only thing that has kept me in the habit of ordering in almost every night. It’s also very convenient to not have to prep or cook meals. It feels like a quick fix after a long day.” -Vansh, a second-year student

Moreover, “broke college student” is a famous phrase for a reason. When short on budget, cooking the same instant ramen pack a few different ways to get through the week is appealing. Thus, many factors contribute to the rise of unhealthy eating habits among college students. Another major problem is that of little to no exercise. It’s difficult to make time for a routine. The norm of going late to bed and having to wake up early for morning classes keeps one in the cycle of feeling tired throughout the day. Pulling all-nighters consistently and then drinking tons of coffee to survive, skipping meals, and not exercising are therefore common elements of a college student’s lifestyle. The allure of it all is heavy. But this lifestyle is unfortunately not sustainable. How do we beat it?

It’s important to start at the fundamental level and correct your basics. Build your day around a healthy sleep schedule, eat at the right time, and start incorporating at least some exercise throughout the week. As cliché as this might sound, your elders are correct. Doing this will significantly improve your quality of life and help you focus better on your goals. You don’t need some rigid instruction table to help you achieve all of this. Start slow and be soft with yourself. It’s also okay to maintain some flexibility. You do not need to cut Netflix or McDonald’s out of your life (duh, how could we ever?). Just practice moderation with it.

“After college hours, it feels unsafe for me to travel to and from a gym in the city. So, I’ve made it a point to wake up a little extra early in the mornings to do yoga. This way I get some exercise done every single day.” -Gauri, a second-year student at KNC.

While waking up early is definitely not the best suit for many of us, here are some things that you can do to start living a better and healthier life. When you get hunger pangs at odd hours, have fruits for snacks instead of reaching for a packet of chips. They’re yummy and healthy, plus super convenient to grab. Replace your caffeinated beverages with better alternatives that also serve as a refresher, such as milkshakes. When you do need to order in, pick healthier options as opposed to fast foods. For exercise, try to include movement in the little day-to-day tasks. Walk around on your study break instead of sitting in bed. Take the stairs instead of elevators wherever possible (the metro station maybe?). Discover a safe road/park near you and go for the occasional walk while on the phone with family or friends.

There are innumerable little ways you could create a better lifestyle for yourself. Making conscious choices regarding nutrition and exercise will take care of you both physically and mentally, improving academic performance and overall quality of life. Pave the way for a balanced and fulfilling college experience that sets you up for success in the long run. Cheers to doing better!

Featured Image Source: Pinterest

Read also: Health and Wellness Guide for Busy College Students

Arshiya Pathania

[email protected]

On the occasion of Teacher’s Day here is looking at one of the most loved scenes of comedy, from one of the most beloved comedies of our times and asking if we realise the cost of the humour we so amply glorify.

It was genuinely all fun and games.

Every time people, peers, and elders, would sit down to discuss 3 Idiots, the film, invariably the Teacher’s Day speech would come up. Look at how Rancho so smartly explains his point to Raju. Did you see how Chatur was put in place? Serves him right. Love watching Virus being put in his place, it’s such fun!

Growing up around people who revered the now cult classic as a rip-roaring comedy on the farcical nature of our education system and parental expectations from children, aspects of the film ever hardly struck me as odd. Until recently while speaking to one of my high-school teachers I was pleasantly taken aback to hear,

I have no respect for a film that makes such comedy out of a public humiliation of teachers and that too by making them the butt end of rape jokes. It is obscene and crude.

Here was a man, a teacher at that, who disliked what is arguably one of the most impactful and successful films of recent years. Not because it spoke about herd mentality, and emphasised excellence over success, but because of the way it treated it’s teachers in the process of proving a point.

Of course not all teachers deserve to be worshipped on altars. Some are mean, insensitive and just bad at their job. But is it okay to make an entire nation laugh by making your professor the butt end of rape jokes? Think about it.

The scene in question serves a dual purpose in the narrative of the film. It is to explain to Raju the importance of excellence and enjoying your curriculum as opposed to rote learning the same. But at the same time it is yet another widely lauded vilification of the figure of the nerd, who is close to his professors, knows nothing but studying, is socially awkward and of course is the butt end of bullying and abuse. And in the context of the film, this very same stooge of the professor becomes the instrument by which the cool students get back at the professors they hate so much.

My argument is simple. In no way am I endorsing a cut-throat competitive world or a teaching persona who believes your life is of no worth unless you pursue engineering or medicine. My problem is simple and different. How can we, as a society come together to hate b laughing at them and making them the butt end of rape jokes? The perpetrators of the crime literally go on to celebrate the victory of the same in the next scene and by the end of the film are hailed as heroes. The nerd is the one who is made to appear in poor light.

Humour is tricky business. Comedy is purposely designed to critique societal norms and the establishment but if the core purpose of comedy is to relieve through laughter then isn’t it important to question where that humour or laughter is coming from? Really think about it. Sexual harassment and abuse in academia is a widespread problem across the world. Horror stories of students, male and female, being abused by professors and teachers galore. We all have that one friend who confided in us about that one evening, in one empty tuition class, when the teacher they revered for so long transgressed from all acceptable social norms.

Another, easily overlooked aspect of the scene in question is the use of language as a tool of oppression. The student in question, Chatur, grew up in Pondicherry and Uganda and speaks, quite unconvincingly, broken hindi. How is it alright to use this as an excuse to vilify him and the teachers he so deeply adores? As a student of a university as large as Delhi University, every day I see students from distant parts of the country, struggling to convey the most basic of questions. Why? They do not know Hindi and their English is not perfect. But they still try. And even as they try and helplessly request people to not speak in hindi, there are people in abundance who think it fun to reply to their questions in hindi just for the sake of a few laughs. It is 2021 and yet linguistic chauvinism is a tool of abuse in the student community.

In the post-MeToo scenario, films, especially cult classics like the one in question, need to be recognised for their casual humouring of abuse. As an outcast nerd myself, I do not know how long it will take for society to actually come around to stop vilifying us. But that is a different issue altogether. But what we can start off, as students, is to recognise these instances of trivialisation of deeply troubling issues such as abuse in educational spaces. Our teachers are not without their faults and by god we are part of a deeply fundamentally flawed education system. But really our teachers and by large our students deserve better representation than this.

Now that I think, is it really all fun and games?

Anwesh Banerjee

[email protected]

The tote bags, the kurtas, the jhumkas, the sandals, the Sarojini of it all!

Diversity is possibly the primary thing that counts as a niche when it comes to DU. While it is claimed proudly, the inherent urge of wanting to belong and recognize another as one of your own has quite conveniently led to one of the most diverse and heterogeneous institutions developing its own separate, sense of style.

Beginning with the one that has aesthetic pages in a universal chokehold, the tote bag. While, in my own humble opinion, backpacks are more convenient, tote bags have gained popularity by targeting the need to be seen as individuals. Instead of a generic-looking backpack of primary colors and zips, tote bags can be customized to reflect your politics, your interests, or your favorite Taylor Swift lyric. (Also, for us introverts, isn’t it convenient to have something to hold?)

This arm accessory, which goes well with everything, is frequently paired with a kurta. It can be simplistic or bold, plain or intricate, and not expensive. From Sarojini to Lajpat, shops abound in every color and design you can think of, all for a low price (lower still, if you know how to haggle).

And of course, no good outfit is complete until it is complemented by the right footwear. Flip-flops, sandals, and sports shoes are the most prevalent kinds on any varsity, and with good reason. People often underestimate just how much of college life is essentially just walking. And as much as I’d like to show up in fabulous boots, just the idea of having to endure that pain that excruciating is enough to make me reconsider. Style loses yet another battleground to comfort and sandals reign as the supremely preferred and situationally appropriate choice of shoes.

Once your basics are good to go, in comes jewelry. Rings, bangles, oxidized jhumkas, the works. Just pop on one (or all) before leaving your house and you will have succeeded in guising yourself as a DU student.

And despite all these, the best part of the DU aesthetic is its affordability. Of course, you’re free to turn up in your Louis Vuitton but know that Sarojini is going to the showstopper. While money doesn’t dim entirely here (or anywhere), any judgement you might get from strangers in the corridors does not exist.

It’s impressive how the massive student body has found a style in which they can all come together and exist as one, while also retaining their individual identities and celebrating them as often as they can.

Naina Priyadarshi Mishra

[email protected]

 

A research was conducted by the Innovation Project team of Ramanujan College, titled “Designing Distribution Channel Strategy: Forging Consumer and Product Synchrony” under the Project code “RNC- 302”.

The research conducted by the Innovation Project team of Ramanujan College, University of Delhi, titled “Designing Distribution Channel Strategy: Forging Consumer and Product Synchrony” under the Project code “RNC- 302” dealt with drawing a relationship between consumer preferences and distribution channel preferred (local kirana, malls or online) for a particular type of commodity for a given city, under various parameters. The 3 principal operators of this project were Dr. K. Latha, Ms. Isha Gupta and Mr. Rakesh Singh, accompanied by Mr. Pulkit Garg (Country Head of Operations) Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd.) as mentor. The student members were Aakar Mangla, Akshit Kakkar, Aditya Sharma, Bharat Anand, Jamaaluddin, Jyoti Tyagi, Kanak Bohra, Pragya Parashar, Ranjeeta Sharma and Saurabh Singh. The team compiled 4 research papers, out of which 3 were focused on individual cities and the 4th one was a joint study of all the cities.

The study aimed to understand the quantitative and qualitative horizons of consumer behavior in different tiers of Indian cities like, Delhi- a metropolitan, Panipat- a developing business hub and Mussoorie- a tourist destination. The results of the study were based on primary data collected by conducting a survey of 600 individuals (200 in each city) of diverse ages, in the selected cities. The sample in each city was stratified and random, and components of study considered only Groceries (oil, grains, confectionery, etc.) and Electronics (Mobile handsets, refrigerators, computers, etc.), which were judged on following parameters-seller’s goodwill, price, product quality, availability, convenience, discount, packaging, timely delivery and payment security.

The outcome of the study showed that even with the recent expansion of online portals and malls, local kirana stores remain to be a prominent feature of Indian shopping experience in most cities. The reasons being: convenient, ready availability, product quality, and seller’s goodwill. However, offering discounts, attractive prices, and providing honest reviews proves to be a setback for local kiranas. The outcome was reached upon after an extensive and comprehensive study of these cities. Various innovations and business ideas are given in the research papers compiled by the team which would prove to be of enormous help to new entrepreneurs trying to step into this arena. With online portals growing at this pace, local kiranas and malls are required to undergo a makeover to recapture the customer base they have been losing. Hence, any innovation which could bring this revolution would be more than welcomed.

For more information, watch the short film about their project here.

 

Feature Image Credits: rediff.com

 

 Joyee Bhattacharya

([email protected])

Almost every day we find cases of violence amongst school children cropping up in the newspapers and media. Taking inspiration from this disturbing trend  Delhi University’s Innovation Project team of Cluster Innovation Centre undertook an Innovative Project entitled “Aggressive Behaviour amongst School Children of India

The team comprised of the following students: Aayushi Anand, Abhinav Sharma, Akshay Akash,  Anand Kumar, Biraj Majumdar,  Ened D’souza, Kritika Gosain, Shreya Khurana, Sruthi V S,  Vivek Kumar Gaurav.

The team was supervised and guided by Principal Investigators: Dr. Achla Tandon, Dr. Subhash Chander and Ms. Geetanjali Kala.

Aggressive behaviour is a conflict generating act which often manifests itself though constant teasing, beating or just mocking. Children are not unaffected by what their peers do to them or others around them. This aggression in thoughts, emotions, words and action can have a significant impact on people’s personality formation, peer choices and even career desires. However, the fact that there is often compliance towards such attitudes and in some cases aggressors in schools are not only popular amongst students but may enjoy a good achievement quotient academically or in sports /extracurricular, makes matters even more complex. So, to understand this complication of what constitutes, instigates and motivates aggression and find possible solutions to this problem this project was undertaken.

Through interviews, questionnaires and narratives, students attempted to address the issues and factors relating to aggression in school settings.  1400 questionnaires were administered in several schools of Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Himachal Pradesh. In-depth schedules were conducted to obtain greater insight into the inter-sectionality of social institutions like family, school, media, and peer formations. Besides, an interventionist exercise at national-level inter-school competition was organized to encourage students to open up about their feelings. Other than that thirty five in depth interviews were conducted to acquire a viewpoint of the students on the forms of aggressive behaviour in school environment and form of semi-participant observation format was adopted to gain an idea regarding the issue of aggressive behaviour amongst the students in school premises.

At the end of exhaustive and extensive data collection, the qualitative and quantitative analysis was discussed in three perspectives: gender-wise, state-wise, and government-private schools. Examination of the data gave in depth understanding of the context and the participants. After the analysis of the data, a framework to address aggression in schools was developed.

Image credits: Innovation Project team, Cluster Innovation Centre 

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

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Almost every day we find cases of violence amongst school children cropping up in the newspapers and media. Taking inspiration from this disturbing trend  Delhi University’s Innovation Project team of Cluster Innovation Centre undertook an Innovative Project entitled “Aggressive Behaviour amongst School Children of India

The team comprised of the following students: Aayushi Anand, Abhinav Sharma, Akshay Akash,  Anand Kumar, Biraj Majumdar,  Ened D’souza, Kritika Gosain, Shreya Khurana, Sruthi V S,  Vivek Kumar Gaurav.

The team was supervised and guided by Principal Investigators: Dr. Achla Tandon, Dr. Subhash Chander and Ms. Geetanjali Kala.

Aggressive behaviour is a conflict generating act which often manifests itself though constant teasing, beating or just mocking. Children are not unaffected by what their peers do to them or others around them. This aggression in thoughts, emotions, words and action can have a significant impact on people’s personality formation, peer choices and even career desires. However, the fact that there is often compliance towards such attitudes and in some cases aggressors in schools are not only popular amongst students but may enjoy a good achievement quotient academically or in sports /extracurricular, makes matters even more complex. So, to understand this complication of what constitutes, instigates and motivates aggression and find possible solutions to this problem this project was undertaken.

Through interviews, questionnaires and narratives, students attempted to address the issues and factors relating to aggression in school settings.  1400 questionnaires were administered in several schools of Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Himachal Pradesh. In-depth schedules were conducted to obtain greater insight into the inter-sectionality of social institutions like family, school, media, and peer formations. Besides, an interventionist exercise at national-level inter-school competition was organized to encourage students to open up about their feelings. Other than that thirty five in depth interviews were conducted to acquire a viewpoint of the students on the forms of aggressive behaviour in school environment and form of semi-participant observation format was adopted to gain an idea regarding the issue of aggressive behaviour amongst the students in school premises.

At the end of exhaustive and extensive data collection, the qualitative and quantitative analysis was discussed in three perspectives: gender-wise, state-wise, and government-private schools. Examination of the data gave in depth understanding of the context and the participants. After the analysis of the data, a framework to address aggression in schools was developed.

Image credits: Innovation Project team, Cluster Innovation Centre 

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

With climate change and their impact being a much debatable topic nowadays, one of the major culprits for our degrading environmental quality is considered to be air pollution. Thus, it is a matter of deep concern for all developing as well as developed nations to take concrete action towards it, and create a center stage of all challenges particularly by developing nations. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, a team of students and teachers from Daulat Ram College undertook Project Urban Air (DR-309) under the University of Delhi Innovation Project Scheme 2015-16. The aim of the study was to identify the monetary benefits that can be reaped by the citizens of Delhi along with health benefits as a result of reduction in air pollution.

The project was initiated under the guidance of Prof. M.N Murty, and headed by Mrs. Pooja Sharma, Mrs. Prarthna Aggarwal Goel and Mrs. Pooja Jain.

The team of students comprised of the following:  Rupeesha Galhotra, Srishti Gupta, Drishti Narula, Phalguni Sanghi, Juhi Dugar, Chitranshi Singh, Pragati, Mansi Goyal and Bhoomi Aggarwal.

The study has been based on primary data collected through extensive surveys across various localities of Delhi. The questionnaire covered various socio-economic and health aspects of the households. Data regarding pollution levels across seasons was also collected from various monitoring stations of CPCB and DPCC. Hence, the results have been formulated to evaluate people’s willingness to pay to reduce air pollution, household production of indoor pollution, health expenditure and the noxious substances like CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10 released in the air, thereby worsening the air quality.

Project surveys undertaken by the team
Project surveys undertaken by the team

Through the project, the students aim to impart awareness concerning various determinants of air pollution and highlight not only the health impact but also the monetary gain derived from a reduction in pollution. Through this study, the students hope to make a positive impact in the fight against the deteriorating air pollution by making the problem more understandable to the layperson; and also appeal to the relevant authorities to take effective, concrete and long term actions to combat the rising menace.

As a part of the project, on 19th March, 2016 the team organized a seminar on the topic – Air Pollution and Health: Issues, Challenges and Policy – which brought together eminent scholars in the field of health and economics to engage in an enlightening discussion with the students about the given topic. The panel included the project mentor, Prof. M.N Murty (visiting Prof. at Teri University), Dr. Dipankar Saha (Senior Director at CPCB), Chirashree Ghosh (Associate Professor at Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi) and Surender Kumar (Professor at Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics).

Team Urban Air with eminent scholars invited at the seminar
Team Urban Air with eminent scholars invited at the seminar

The team has also published its findings in the DU journal of Undergraduate Research and Innovation titled ‘Air Pollution Reduction and Health Impact Analysis’ (ISSN no: 2395-2334) and presented a paper in the First International conference organised by Academic Fora on the theme ‘Medical, Medicine and Health Sciences’. They will present once again in Jawaharlal Nehru University, in the near future.

Team presenting its paper at International Conference organized by Academic Fora.
Team presenting its paper at International Conference organized by Academic Fora.

 

Students of SRCC are evaluating the factors that influence the acceptability of Smart Bus Transport System under DU’s Innovation Project.

A group of students from Shri Ram College Of Commerce are working on an evaluation of acceptability of Internet Of Things (IoT) in traffic management in Delhi. The concept of Internet Of Things primarily revolves around inter-connecting things with internet to make a self-sustaining system. It is a concept well explored in other countries, but the widespread use of IoT in handling day-to-day problems is still in its nascent stage in India.

To help you understand better, there exists a technology where closets are fitted with sensors, which detect the time certain clothes remain unused, and alert the owner of the same. Some variations in this technology also directly contact NGOs that collect these unused clothes from the owner and put them to better use. This is just an example of the innumerable IoT applications that exist around the world.

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This project primarily focuses on IoT technology applied to traffic management in Delhi, and thus, evaluates the Smart Bus Transport system on its acceptability, based on a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The Smart Bus Transport system was designed for improving the public-transit system in Singapore, and connects buses with the internet and commuters’ mobile devices, so that real-time alerts of bus locations, timings and remaining capacity can be transmitted to make travel by public transport more efficient and convenient.

Therefore, a preliminary survey was conducted to identify a traffic problem which the residents and commuters in Delhi would like to be addressed first by an application of IoT. The final survey will be carried out on the lines of TAM. The data generated will then, be subjected to vigorous statistical analysis.

Resident of Delhi? Be a part of the survey. Click on https://innovationproject.typeform.com/to/Pb0TMt and tell them your take on the Internet of Things.

In recent times, the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Youtube etc has become an integral part of our lives. The new technological developments have made internet an innovative way of communication. Under the University of Delhi Innovation Project Scheme 2015-16, Daulat Ram College undertook Project 307, “An Empirical Study of Using Social Media for Facilitating Effective Students’ Learning”.  The objective of this innovation project is to examine how incorporating social media into teaching process can contribute to students’ learning, engagement, and their academic performance.

TEAM:

Principal Investigators- Ms. Malini Sharma, Ms. Pooja Khanna, Ms. Divya Gupta, Mr. Naresh

Student Members- Akshita Nidhi, Bharti Sharma, Bhavya Gupta, Gunjita Dhingra, Harshita Wadhwa, Hiya Saharia, Shaivya Gupta, Smriti Banati, Snigdha Sharma, Vaishnavi V.G.

In this project, primary data has been collected through an online pre-test and post-test survey administered to a sample of Daulat Ram College students (in the experimental group and the control group). With the experimental group, social media has been used for various types of academic and co-curricular discussions. The two group’s differences in engagement and marks are analyzed using statistical software SPSS. This study investigates the acceptability of social media for collaborative learning and the possibility of using it as an effective teaching tool.

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This project also supports the ‘Digital India Initiative’ of the Government. Incorporating social media in higher studies will have a beneficial effect on both students as well as the teachers. Teachers and students would be able to communicate even after the classes. Teachers would be able to stimulate the thought process of the students by launching dialogs. Through social media we can reach out to the students in remote areas and improve the educational system of the country.

Various workshops and seminars have been conducted under this project to spread awareness regarding positive impact of using media in higher studies. Also extensive surveys have been conducted in schools across Delhi and Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) to analyse the impact the media clubs on students.

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The team has presented papers in various conferences and has also won the best paper award. They have presented papers at International Conference of Women Empowerment in Digital India supported by M.P Govt, International Conference at Daulat Ram College sponsored by ICPR, International Conference held at Indian Federation of United Nations Association (IFUNA) and International Conference on Business Management and Social Innovation.

The students and faculty of Shivaji College have undertaken innovation project SHC-309 – Real Time Android Application for Travel Convenience. The students working on the project belong to various courses like B.Tech., Computer Science, and Economics.

Team : Prabhat Kumar, Shuchita Garg, Himanshu Anand, Shubham Goyal, Mukul Yadav, Akash Bhatt, Shivani , Enakshi, Shreya, Hariom

Mentor: Mr. Kamlesh Yadav

B.Tech students were engaged in the development work whoch involved designing user interface, navigation drawer and filter window. Enormous data was needed for populating the app. Hence, a data collection group was formulated. They worked effortlessly to gather data across the city.

Parking has become a problem in Delhi-NCR regions, not because there isn’t much parking space in the region but because there are only a few that people know of, making it really hard for people to find parking near their destination, forcing them to park on roads and thus, sometimes restricting space for traffic flow.

USHER, the Android app developed by the students, aims to provide an integrated solution for travel convenience, with an emphasis on providing information regarding nearby parking locations, garages and fuel stations in Delhi. The application aims to allow users to filter the parking space available on various parameters such as fare, distance from destination or the user’s current location, types of parking available, and also helps them navigate to their desired parking locations. It will also provide information on public parking, that is, those under control of DMRC and Municipal Corporations, which various other applications have failed to provide. The application also helps in locating and navigating to nearby garages in case of a break down. Users can refine their search based on different parameters. Work is in progress to add fuel stations to the app.

The app can be downloaded from Google Play store:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shc309.usher&hl=en

Guest Post by members of SHC-309