The orientation ceremony for the freshers of Lady Shri Ram College for Women was held on Wednesday, 24th July.
As always, the event included performances from various societies along with the Principal’s address. The auditorium packed with women, was addressed by Principal, Meenakshi Gopinath. She talked about the ‘magic of LSR’, the philosophy behind FYUP and overall the experience that studying in the institution gives you.
The occasion was also graced with the presence of Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh who Dr. Gopinath introduced as the ‘most handsome Vice-Chancellor ever’. Continuing the humour, VC talked about how this welcome at LSR has been 35 years late, with him reliving his days at Stephen’s when he and his friends would be eager to enter the gates of the college.
The VC congratulated the students on making it to the best college in the country. He also made the announcement that the University would give the college a grant worth Rs. 5 lakhs which the VC suggested could be used for building a proper air-conditioning system for the college auditorium. The Vice Chancellor was accompanied by his entire team including Prof. Sudhish Pachauri, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Prof. Umesh Rai, Director, South Campus. Other members included the Dean of colleges and the Proctor of the University.
Along with the grant, the VC also announced the fomulation of an Incubation center in the college that would fund entrepreneurial ideas and startups initiated by students. The Incubation center would be set up by the University within the next two months.
Lastly, praising the popular food from the cafe, the VC asked whether an outlet could be opened in North Campus as well!
As the trend has been, the programme ended with Vandana Kohli’s movie, that talks about the ‘Magic of LSR’ with the freshers then moving on to refreshments and their department orientations.
(Also see: College orientations in pictures)
Lady Shri Ram College is one of the first colleges in DU to hold its college elections, and this year, the elections began in a hurry as the date for the college day was declared late. The department elections began on Monday, 1st April with the candidates submitting their nomination forms. Elections for some departments were held on 2nd; whereas other departments had their election on 3rd. Strict rules for elections were laid down. According to the rules, any candidate found campaigning through internet or SMS would be immediately disqualified from the elections.
On the 2nd History Department held their elections, whereas other departments like Political Science, Statistics, Philosophy, Economics, etc. held their elections the next day. All candidates needed a third year and a second year to nominate them, and one could see frantic first years running around asking seniors to nominate them and read their agenda. According to a first year candidate running for the post of Department Treasurer, ‘contesting the elections has been a whole new experience for me altogether. I have learnt through my research about so many problems that the students are facing, especially when it comes to accounts, and I hope I can create a more transparent accounts system for my department in case I get elected.’
The following candidates were declared Presidents of their respective department Unions:
Amanjit Kaur: Sociology
Vaishnavi Singh: History
Srujana Yadav: Political Science
Prerna Kannan: Statistics
Charvi Kain: Economics
Gurman Bhatia: Journalism
Image: Sapna Mathur (
While reckoning the grandeur displayed by lustrous posters donning the NSIT campus, I seldom pondered upon the impact that a debating fest might have on me. Colloquium, the first ever debating festival organized by NSIT College, kick started its first day with a stimulating panel discussion with eminent guests who had the faith to write the scripts of their own lives. The luminaries included renowned authors, Ashwin Sanghi and Ira Trivedi, the versatile dancer and activist Mallika Sarabhai and the erudite social scientist and political ecologist, Dunu Roy.
The event was host to immense motivation that stirred through the air, as each panelist unraveled the story of their dreams and destiny. As rightly worded by the host college, the life stories of these luminaries fit the saying, “square pegs in round holes” as copiously as it could. Each one of the panelists inspired the audience to carve out the best in themselves and have the fortitude and courage to pursue their passion. The panel discussion addressed many questions in the students’ best interest, like whether the Indian education system cripples or enables the youth to follow their dreams, what the role of a mentor is in every individual’s life, why reasoning is essentially important, and how one needs to balance the weights of societal pressure and one’s true passion. It evoked statements like, “Even the greatest equations have unknown variables”, by Ashwin Sanghi, which inspired each in his audience.
The next event was a conventional debate on the motion ‘This house is a frozen fire’, exposed to interpretation by the participants. There were in all twelve participating teams which included colleges like Hansraj, LSR, SSTB Khalsa and more. Worthy arguments sprung up during the course of this debate, battling to justify their interpretation of the topic. Some of them drew analogy of this motion to patriarchy and critiqued polarisation of sorts, others drew parallel to human emotions. The best team was awarded to LSR represented by Vanshika and Mayanka. The Best speakers were Parash from Hansraj and Isha from DTU. The best interjector was awarded to Divya from Venkateshwar International School.
Poornima Kharbanda
