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In a recent unfolding of  events, where women safety has escalated as an issue, anLady Sri Ram College for Women (LSR) student was allegedly catcalled near the College campus where other cases of harassment have also been reported.

On 19th February, a student of the Hindi Department of Lady Sri Ram College for Women (LSR), was reportedly catcalled by an unknown man outside the college, adjacent to the back park area  where the Hindi Debating Society of the college: ‘Vaktritva,’ organised their annual parliamentary debating event.

Around 2pm on the same day, the student reported the account of this incident to the Debating Society members and coordinators. She reported of the alleged harasser being under consumption of alcohol or other related substance when he started to direct lewd songs and ogling eyes towards her right outside the campus premise as she was heading towards her PG. However, there are qualms over how they approached the incident.

The Students’ Union of Hindi Department, issued a statement by out rightly calling out the the Hindi Debating Society for being insensitive to the student who faced harassment. They accused the society of showing obtuse actions and claimed that they tried to tone down the incident and normalise it in the garb of concealment by saying things like,” it happens,” “please don’t report it to the cops and create a scene,” “take this with the Women’s Development Cell (WDC)”,  and related things when they should have approached things more boldly. The union further questioned the society asking, “what’s even the point of debating inside the huts while one of your own members faces harassment?”

These accusations were retaliated by the Society in their ‘statement of apology,’ where they acknowledged their inadequacy in helping the fellow student and further denied the statements made by the Department Union against them.

They said,”Upon knowing the incident at least five members of the society rushed to the park but the accused had already fled.”

The Society said that they were a victim of subjugation of administration where they themselves had to resort to conduct their event at an unsafe place upon being denied the permission one day prior to the event. They claimed that they tried in their best potential to reach out to this issue but their outreach was highly inadequate.

To counter the accusations they also said, “At no point did we try to normalise harassment but even if that came out from our behaviour we are sorry, it happened unintentionally.”

They further added,”As far as the calling of police is concerned, we as fellow students have no jurisdiction over a public space that is the back park.”

The Debating Society hinted towards a larger concern, it said,”it should be clear that there is no clear redressal mechanism for sexual harassment that has been happening at LSR Back Gate for years and in that all the women of LSR share pain and suffering. The demand and responsibility should therefore, be directed towards the our administration and institution that has rendered all of us in such a hostile position where it was unfortunate that this one particular student suffered what she did.”

In such unfortunate events where a student was catcalled and made uncomfortable in broad daylight, Police reports were also not filed since they put administration’s name in a bad light. In all of this fiasco there’s no one to fix responsibility to and take suitable actions to change the status quo of ignorance.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Umaima Khanam

[email protected]

The young visionaries from across the nation showcased their innovative endeavours in the field of social entrepreneurship at Enactus National Symposium and Competition 2019.

The Enactus National Symposium and Competition 2019 was held at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on 13th July. From a number of active Enactus chapters across the country, around 70 colleges applied for the championship out of which 30 colleges had the opportunity to compete and present their projects as contenders for the prestigious Enactus National Cup.
Enactus is a worldwide platform that facilitates an exchange between students and business leaders with an aim to create sustainable leadership for the future. Student groups in colleges are encouraged to work towards problems affecting the communities around them by the means of social entrepreneurship. Enactus opened its Indian chapter in 2008 and has since made headway into 108 institutions across the country. Every year these teams compete for the opportunity to represent India in the Enactus World Championship held in September.
The preliminary round of the competition saw the 30 teams being allotted to five different leagues. Presentations were held simultaneously at five halls. These halls were completely packed throughout as competitors and observing teams were earnestly listening to the presentations. Each team was permitted to present two of their successful projects to the judges; this was quickly followed by a thorough question and answer session.
The range of issues tackled by the participating teams was incredibly impressive. Going well beyond basic research, the teams sought to create projects which benefitted communities who are often overlooked. One such example was Project Oorja undertaken by Hindu College. The idea was to provide a sustainable and affordable source of electricity to street vendors who normally spend atleast INR 25 per day on electricity. The solution was solar powered lamps which was a one-time investment and promised durability for at least a period of five years. A lot of the projects displayed were also aimed at reusing the enormous amounts of waste that the consuming class generates. Projects that used waste tires as a sole for footwear and plastic waste as a filler component in pillows were also presented.

The final round of the competition kicked off with Mr Arun M Kumar, Chairman, Enactus India National Advisory Council and Chairman and CEO, KPMG India, addressing the competitors and emphasising that more and more young people are now thinking about making a difference through entrepreneurial action. Mr Devdip Purkayastha, President and Chief training officer of Enactus India commented on the importance of the Symposium as “a platform to reach out to leaders to maximise the power of an individual.”

The five finalists in each league category were:

League 1- Shri Ram College of Commerce

League 2- Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce

League 3- Delhi College of Arts and Commerce

League 4- Ramjas College

League 5- IIT Delhi

The judges’ oath was sworn in by Mr Arun Kumar,  post which each team got 12 minutes to present their story of innovation and social change.

Ramjas college presented their Projects Aarogya and TeleSwasthya based on affordable and accessible primary healthcare for the people who cannot afford the heavy expenditure on health facilities. The projects based in Hapur and Naggi district have impacted several beneficiaries by making affordable healthcare available to 70%  of the target population. Today, the project runs 24 health centres in Delhi-NCR and has seen a path-breaking success to empower the lives of many.

The second finalist to present their project was Delhi College of Arts and Commerce who presented their flagship projects Taleem and Sahas. Working for the education of the refugees in Shaheen Bagh and Shram Vihar, project Taleem aimed at solving the primary education crisis through their Taleem Centres. Project Sahas helps breast cancer survivors regain confidence post mastectomy by the use of cotton based breast prosthesis- “Canfe” developed by the team, and underprivileged women. It has developed an online platform where one can purchase mastectomy bras.

Shri Ram College of Commerce presented their projects Viraasat and Asbah. The former project helped the Thateras of Jhandiala Guru to improve the out-dated designs of their local craft and the latter brought in a water revolution in Haryana and Muzzafarnagar through the community filtration plant.

Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce showcased their e-commerce platform BOOK A PLANT which brought in an innovative idea to make a positive impact on the environment. The other project Kasthi was based on the idea to  convert a “Gaon” into a smart village.

The last finalist to present their project was IIT Delhi, who presented their first project Nirmalaya based on special pots for vermicomposting, which were further categorized as Sugriha and Ruchitra. Their second project Arth presented the idea of redefining rituals by manufacturing cowdung based logs for burning the funeral pyre.

Finally the nervous air entered the hall as the results made their way. Enactus Ramjas and Enactus LSR won the 77-seconds video-making challenge.

After a fierce and edgy competition of entrepreneurial action between the finalists, the results of the top three winners were announced. The home team, Enactus IIT Delhi lifted the prestigious National Champion trophy. The team would represent India for the Enactus World Cup at San Jose, California this September. Enactus Shri Ram College of Commerce and Enactus Ramjas College won the second and third position respectively.  

Feature Image Credits: Gauri Ramachandra for DU Beat.

Sriya Rane 

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Pragati Thapa

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DU has seen tremendous growth in placements this year, with LSR, SRCC, and St. Stephen’s coming out at the top.
The Placement drives in most University of Delhi Colleges for undergraduate students passing out in 2019 are slowly coming to an end. Students from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), St. Stephen’s College and Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) are usually the top performers, with respect to packages offered. B.A. Economics (Hons), B.Com. (Hons) and B.A. Statistics (Hons) continue to be the most sought after degrees by companies. Highest offers have increased, and so have the average salaries offered.
This year, the highest package was provided to a student of B.A. Economics (Hons) from LSR. The student received an offer of Rs. 38 Lakh per annum, which is a Rs. 1 lakh per annum increase from last year’s highest package offered, which was Rs. 37 Lakh per annum.
A B.A. Economics (Hons) student from St. Stephen’s, Nitish Korada bagged a packge of Rs. 31 Lakh per annum, from consultation firm Ernst and Young-Parthenon. St Stephen’s College has seen an increase of 12 Lakh per annum, from the highest salary being 19 Lakh per annum last year. At SRCC, a B.Com. (Hons) student has been offered a package of Rs 31 Lakh per annnum from EY-Parthenon. At Hindu College, the highest offer witnessed an increase from Rs 29 lakh last year to Rs 31 lakh this year. It is observed the most generous packages have been offered in the consultation field, which attracts many young students aspiring to carve a niche for themselves in the corporate world.
Average packages at St Stephen’s have increased from 8 Lakh p/a last year to 8.9 Lakh p/a this year. At Hindu College, the gross offer has increased from Rs 2.9 crore last year to Rs 3.2 crore this year. A marginal increase was observed all over, and can be attributed to the success of placement cells in coordinating and organizing the placement drives, as well as to the qualifications of the aspirant.
Top Companies look for Extra Curricular activities, Social Work, Analytical and Logical abilities and communication skills, apart from good grades.
DU Beat congratulates all students for their extraordinary achievements.

Feature Image Credits: The Millennial Post

Nikita Bhatia
[email protected]

India born Gita Gopinath, who is a graduate of Lady Shri Ram College, has been appointed as the Chief Economist at International Monetary Fund.

Gita Gopinath, who is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University, has been appointed as the Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She will succeed Maurice Obstfeld. “Gita is one of the world’s outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, extensive international experience,” said Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF in a press statement. The IMF which is headquartered in Washington D.C., is responsible for enforcing the international monetary system and promoting free global trade.

Dr. Gopinath was a B.A. (Hons.) Economics graduate from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, who later when on to pursue a Masters in Economics from Delhi School of Economics. She later completed her PhD. in Economics in Princeton University. She is the second Indian after Raguram Rajan to hold the post.

 

 

Dr. Gopinath has had an illustrious career as a professor in University of Chicago for four years (2001-2005) and then at Harvard from 2005 onwards. Additionally, she has also been the Co-Director at National Bureau of Economic Research, an Economic Adviser to the CM of Kerala, and a Member of Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters in the Ministry of Finance, India. She is also the co-editor of the American Economic Review and the current Handbook of International Economics. Her areas of work have involved trade invoicing, bank funding, macroeconomics of border taxes, the international price system and fiscal devaluations, among others.

Dr. Gopinath’s achievement — as the first female IMF Chief Economist — is also indicative of a number of women occupying important positions in global policy forums. She will join the likes of Christine Lagarde, Kristalina Georgieva (CEO of World Bank), Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg (Chief Economist of World Bank) and Laurence Boon (Chief Economist of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).

 

Feature Image Credits: Livemint

Sara Sohail

[email protected]

Many students studying Journalism Honours and Psychology Honours under CBCS guidelines received information about the Skill Enhancement Course’s external and internal assessments’ final marks distribution from their college’s faculty members close to the date of their final examination. With the dates of receiving this information varying in different colleges, students from Journalism Honours in Kamala Nehru College (KNC) learnt about the same from their teachers hours before their examination. Interestingly, the confusion of the Psychology Honours’ batch of Daulat Ram College (DRC) was clarified only upon receiving the question paper.

The discrepancy was found out in various colleges upon receiving the admit card. Students of Journalism Honours in KNC and Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) found a 50-50 marks distribution for external and practical assessment for SEC in their admit cards. While KNC students had been studying the course keeping the 50-50 distribution in mind, LSR students were uncertain as they had been following the 75-25 marks distribution, with 25 being allotted for internal assessment. Students from other colleges also underwent similar confusion. “Our admit cards said that the SEC paper that was documentary production would be of 50 marks. But the paper actually was for 75 marks.”, said Aditya, a Journalism Honours student from DCAC.

The situation varied across different colleges and different departments. In certain colleges, the final distribution came to the students’ knowledge quite late, while in certain colleges like Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW), there had been no discrepancy about the same neither in the admit cards, nor with the faculty.

The entire situation around the distribution of marks created confusion and hustle among students. “We were pretty confused since we didn’t know how the marks would be divided and how we are supposed to answer had it been for 50 marks.”, said Utkarsha, a Psychology Honours student from Daulat Ram College, where no clarification from the faculty had been received regarding the SEC Emotional Intelligence paper.

DU Beat reached out to faculty members, but received no comments from their end. There is still uncertainty whether the discrepancy had been for the Journalism Honours and Psychology Honours courses only.

Such action by the college administration as well as the faculty members makes us question whether the students’ best interests are really at heart. After all the formalities and unnecessary steps the students are forced to go through to receive their admit cards, such a massive error with regards to the marks distribution is a careless mistake by the authorities. Students who prepared accordingly, having faith in the college administration and the teachers, were shocked on the day of the examination. With all the buzz around exams and the pressure on students, why was this matter handled so inadequately by the authorities?

 

Priyal Mahtta
[email protected]

Going by its long history and tradition of over 20 years, Comquest- the Annual International Academic Meet of the Department of Commerce, Lady Shri Ram College, had proved its mettle once again with incredible events, prizes and not to forget the much appreciated hospitality from 20th to 22nd October, 2016.

Fin-o-lution, the opening event of the fest marked the participation of 18 teams. A one of a kind event, wherein the participants had to form a hospital using the items listed in the auction. It was an experience that involved the use of strategic planning and intelligence. Judged by Pranav Puliani, Sr. Manager Corporate Finance and Abhay Chandalia, Chartered Accountant, the second round asked the contenders to develop an app based on ‘Fintech’, under which they had to present their business plan. The team from CBS, Japneet Singh and Abhinav Bansal stole the show by grabbing the first prize followed by an LSR team.

An outcry mock stock, Bullion was powered by the BSE Institute. With a massive number of 40 teams participating, the competitors teleported to a time back in history where buyers and sellers used to shout out loud to trade. The two session event involved hustle and bustle with participation reaching out to the company counters to trade. Pulkit and Utkarsh from DTU bagged the first prize followed by Pranjal and Meenal from Xavier’s Jaipur.

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An intriguing and mind-boggling business quiz, Mind-benders attracted students in large numbers. With initial prelims, followed by the main round and a tie-breaker in the last, Ravtej and Harshvardhan from CBS got the first prize to their name. The rounds were direct, bounce and pounce and long connect.

The speaker session presented amazing speakers in front of the audience, one of them being Ashwani Lohani, Chairman & Managing Director of Air India. Sharing his personal experience, he told how he turned around various organizations, due to which he was chosen to work for Air India. Focusing on the role of human capital and specifically the top management, he briefed the way he was able to manage to get the New Delhi Railway Station cleaned before the Common Wealth Games.

Manan Vyas, the co-founder of ‘The Economist’ enlightened the students about Product Management. He explained in detail as to how to start an e-commerce business with the importance of acquiring and giving your best service to the first customer. The other speakers included Rakesh Sharma, Rajani Seshadri, Anuj Agarwal to name a few.

Events spawning over this period, enlivened the campus with a wonderful vibe in the air.

The second day witnessed the flagship event Board v/s CXO Risk Simulation powered by GRMI. Over 30 participants presented a strategic solution to a pre-provided case study in front of renowned judges including Chetan Mathur- Pepsico and Aloke Malik, former MD ESPN Star Sports to name a few. The game grilled the competitors with grueling challenges and finally the team from St. Xavier’s Kolkata bagged the drool worthy first prize.

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Vortrag, the Paper Presentation competition observed contenders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangalore and of course Delhi. With students trying their best to prove themselves, the riveting event reflected the hard work and intellect they had put in it.

Finally, on the closing day, the events included Monopoly, the board game of buying countries and accumulating wealth that we have all played young. Fun and engaging, a team of Xavier’s again grabbed the first prize. The Committee Simulation came out as one of the most intellectual events deliberating and discussing about the agenda ‘Transitions risk and impacts from deep globalization to de-globalisation.” Somya Sharma from LSR was awarded the title of the Best Delegate.

The three day festivity ended successfully with overwhelmed participants, organizers and yes, the onlookers too. The all put in effort paid off with wider reach, greater number of participants and events and larger rewards. And yes, Comquest definitely was bigger and better this time!

Day 2 at LSR’s Tarang ’16 started off with the Indian Music (Group) competition, Sangam. A total number of 23 teams participated out of which 11 were shortlisted for the final round. The jury for the event comprised of Vivek Bhola, a Hindustani Music Vocalist and Maitreyee Mandal, Assistant Professor of English at LSR.

Debashree Basu of Kamala Nehru College said, “As soon as we got on the stage, we could feel the enthusiastic vibe and we knew the competition shall be tough. Every year, the colleges are setting a higher bar to compete with!”

The first position in Indian Music (Group) category was bagged by Hindu College. The second position was shared by Gargi College and Daulat Ram College. Sri Venkateswara College stood at the third position.

Hindu College Collective
Hindu College Collective

With this, Projekt, the photography society of LSR held the Silent Film Making Competition, Musidora. ‘Tangent’, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College was declared the winner, followed by ‘Ghosts in the Machine’ of St. Stephen’s College. The Quiz Society hosted The India Quiz where Apratim Chandra Singh (St.Stephen’s College), Jayant Verma(Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies), Bishal Kumar (Department of Buddhist Studies, Delhi University) won the event.

With festivities on, there are many events happening all across campus. Battle of Bands managed the gather the maximum crowd. Events like Satyrday, Elocution and Cane Workshops were a huge attraction too.

LSR is gearing up for the EDM Night where DJ Sameer, Aerro and Jochen Miller are all set to perform. Stay tuned for live updates and glimpses of celebrations across campus.

Team Tarang for Day 2:
Arushi Pathak
Shagun Marwah
Shaina Ahluwalia
Tooba Towfiq
Mridul Kumar
Chirag Sharma
Alex Arthur

Tarang 2016, the annual fest of Lady Shri Ram College for Women kicked off on Friday, 5th of February and will continue till the 7th. Day 1 began with a series of events and competitions ranging from the quiz competition and photography exhibitions to informal events and tote bag painting sessions. As the day progressed, more and more people started filling in to attend the various competitions, events and the ongoing food fest at Tarang. 

Tarang '16
Follow us on Snapchat for behind the scenes action and commentary (ID: dubeat)

 

There were many events for poetry, writing, photography and music lovers. Some fine examples of the same include ‘Lords of Words’ organised by Expressions, which saw around 30-35 participants and the results of which shall be announced on the last day of the fest. The creative writing society and ‘Slam poetry’, where Anagha Gopal from St.Stephen’s college won first position.
Women’s Development Cell of LSR organised Lutalica, an event revolving around the idea of soliloquy which saw 9 teams as participants. Neha Diwan and Simran came first, followed by Trisha amongst the winners of the event.
With this, Prakriti, the environment society of LSR hosted Block and Tackle. Among other events were Tote Bag Painting, In-house exhibition and participatory exhibition.

The Indian Music Society hosted Malhaar, the classical solo competition and Sugam, the semi-classical/light solo competition. The first prize in the classical solo category was claimed by Alish Mohan of Hindu College, followed by Binit Singh of GTBIT. The third position was bagged by Swaradhana of Daulat Ram College.
In the semi-classical category, Gurdit of GTBIT won the first prize, Sheetal of FoM was on the second position. The third prize was shared by Shreehari of MEIT and Harjot of SGTB Khalsa College.

The other events spread across the campus were photography competitions: Emakimono, Projektions, Spot On and Kairos. Projektions was won by Alex Arthur of SRM and Ishaan Sengupta of Motilal Nehru College. With these, a parliamentary debate competition and Hindi poetry competition was also hosted. Informal events like ‘Taste test’ and ‘Beg borrow Snap’ were also held.

Many events were still underway when the crowd started preparing and proceeding towards the main stage where East India Comedy and The Local Train are all set to perform.

Stay tuned for more updates!

 

LSR Tarang coverage team, Day 1:

Arushi Pathak

Shaina Ahluwalia

Alex Arthur

Animesh Agarwal

Amazon’s Kindle On Campus is an initiative to encourage reading amongst student communities and make it easier to do so through the Kindle app and device.

An interactive session with the Amazon leaders had students asking questions on the program and how they could get involved. The program started with a quiz where several students won Kindle vouchers.

LSR amazon kindle

The launch of Amazon Kindle on Campus program took place on 15th September 2015 at LSR at 1pm. The speakers of the session were Meenu Handa who’s the Director, PR of Amazon India; and,
Parthasarathy Madhukar, the head of Kindle For Education, Amazon India.

LSR amazon kindle

Ms. Meenu Handa eloquently spoke about Amazon’s leadership principles which had the audience awestruck.

The event was organised by the Placement Cell of LSR and the students were briefed about the program. 7 Kindle Evangelists were selected from LSR who were given Kindle Paper White and Kindle Evangelist kits.  These evangelists are to be the face of Kindle on campus.

LSR amazon kindle

This is Kindle India’s first program for Undergraduate students. Hence, it becomes a huge step towards integrating College students at root level.

Question and Answer round took place where the winners were gifted Kindle vouchers; and Amazon’s 14 Leadership principles were introduced during the session.

Shaina Ahluwalia

[email protected]

Image credits: Swastika Jajoo+

The Psychology Department of Lady Shri Ram College For Women organized a body image workshop, “Mirror on the Wall: Am I the loveliest of them all” on 28th February as a pre-event for their upcoming Gender Knowledge Academic Congress 2014.

The workshop was conducted by Dr. Kanika Khandelwal, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology at LSR with the theme of challenging popular notions of beauty and the ideal body.

The workshop started with the introduction of startling facts and findings neglected by students on a daily basis. It involved a stirring debate on how media has redefined beauty with Photoshop and airbrush, followed by participants collectively defining the thin ideal. This led to critical discussion on the origin of the thin ideal, how it is perpetuated, the impact of messages about the thin-ideal from family, peers, dating partners, and the media, diet, weight loss and fashion and who benefits from the thin-ideal.

The focus was to highlight how media defines beauty, love and romance for us. The stimulating discussion brought to the fore how the media portrays an unrealistic ideal of perfection.

This was followed by the “Mirror Assignment” which required the participants to stand in front of a mirror, observe themselves and write down at least 6 positive qualities about themselves which included physical, emotional, intellectual, and social qualities. It turned out to be a ‘feel good’ activity with responses of beautiful nails to sexy butts!

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On this, Neha Yadav, a second year psychology student quotes, “It made me appreciate those qualities that I normally don’t care enough to notice.”

The second activity that followed was a filling up a ‘verbal challenge’ form. It involved counter answering the statements related to popular notions of beauty and ideal body, which one encounters on a general basis. The most interesting one was, ‘My neighbor said, “You should always wear heels. You are short and that takes away from your looks” was countered with a satirical response like “And all this time I thought you needed to grow up!”

The workshop ended with reverberations of the pledge, “I can and I will…” According to Shuchi, a second year student participant, “The workshop was an eye-opener. It made me realize for how long I have been under-estimating myself. It helped me explore the origin of thin ideal, its costs, and challenge personal body concerns.

Psychology Department Union quotes, “It was a successful workshop, and we thank Dr. Khandelwal for helping us celebrate beauty and making it a fun-filled enriching event. It is indeed a perfect prelude to Academic Congress on the theme ‘Gender knowledge’!

For more upcoming pre-academic congress events follow their Facebook page.

Yamini Bhagat
Charul Katiyar

Image credits: Disha Kanojia