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Day 3 of Tempest 2019 saw the hustle bustle of the fest along with a melodious end to the evening by Jubin Nautiyal.

 

Orpheus, the Western music society of Miranda House organized their annual event Euphony 2019. The event had two competitions: Accapella, the group singing competition and the solo singing competition.Echo the western music society of Jesus and Mary College won the first position in group singing.

The solo singing competition was won by Jessjit Singh from Delhi Technological University and Riya Khattar from Kamala Nehru College. The second position was also a tie between Shruti Parasarthy and Janice Joe from Jesus and Mary College.The Western Music Singing competition brought in an awesome load of societies who competed to take home the glory of victory. The group as well as the solo competition filled the atmosphere with melodious voices singing the tunes of some of the best classical songs.

The group competition witnessed 10 societies performing in the final round. The participants seemed enthusiastic as they were seen cheering not only their own team members but members from other societies as well.

The solo competition had 9 performers in the final round. The participants had brought an accompanist for a musical instrument. Though there was a little in the technical aspect, the singers handled it very well. The judge, while announcing the result acknowledged it and appreciated the performances by also giving useful advise.

Mridang, the Indian dance society of Miranda House is presenting their annual fest Tarangini’19. The solo classical event witnessed a number of participants portraying classical dance performances followed by a montage of peppy group performances by participants ranging from different colleges.

On the last day of Tempest 2019, renowned singer, Jubin Nautiyal, created an enchanting musical aura at Miranda House. He began the night by interacting with the audience, and telling the enthusiastic crowd that he had been excited to meet them and perform for them since the past few weeks. Soft romance was the vibe in the air as he sang popular numbers like Meherbaani, Kaabil, Gazab ka hai din, and Baawra Mann among many others. In a medley that had the audience captivated, Nautiyal sang covers of old favourites such as Gulaabi aankhein, Dheere dheere se, and Roop tera mastana. The singer then moved to songs like Aaj ki raat, Tamma tamma, Ilahi et al, as the audience grooved in delight. On the same climatic note, Nautiyal bid adieu to Miranda House with the joy and rhythm of The Humma Song.

 

Feature Image credits: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat.

Akshada Shrotriya

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Shivani Dadhwal

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Anushree Joshi

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Day 2 of Tempest witnessed different society events taking place and closed with the EDM night.

Day 2 of Tempest 2019, the annual cultural fest of Miranda House witnessed a refreshing hustle-bustle as the day started with a perfect weather, as opposed to the weather conditions prevailing the first day. The day witnessed different societies conducting their competitions.
Vivekananda Society, Miranda House organised three events judged internally by Mrs Aastha Kalra, Mrs Nidhi Gupta, Mrs Nisha Balatyagi, and Mr Raj Verma Singh. The first competition was Essay Writing on the topic- “How pervasive are racism and sexism among youth,” and saw participation by 17 participants. Ananya Reddy and Umang Bhadauriya from Miranda House won the first and second prize respectively while Sniti Raj from Kirori Mal College came third. The Open Mic saw different genres of poems and stories being recited by 12 participants. Harshita and Upasa from Miranda House came first and second respectively while Astha Deepaki from Lady Shri Ram College and Vallary Shukla from Miranda came third. The competition of Impromt story making on the Topic- “you are stuck for 45 min in a lift” saw participation by 4 teams. Team from Ramanujan College won this event.
Shama Kohli Conventional Debate Competition was organised by The Debating Society of Miranda House. It saw powerful bilingual debates by 14 teams on the topic- “This house regrets the narrative of logic and science to interpret the world.” The event was judged internally by Nanda Ma’am, Vice Principal, Miranda House and Mrs. Meeta from the Economics Department of the college. The title of Best Interjector were awarded to Sukhin from Keshav Mahavidyalaya and Siddhartha from Hindu College. The second best Speaker for the motion was Abhipsha from Daulat Ram College, while the Second Best Speaker against the motion was Adit from Kirori Mal College. The Best Speaker For the motion was Yukta, Jaypee and the Best Speaker Against the motion was Abhipshita, Sri Venkateswara College. Second Best Team was Daulat Ram College and Shyam Lal College while the title of the Best Team was given to Shree Ram College of Commerce.
Anukriti, the Hindi Dramatics Society of Miranda House organised ‘Izhaar’, a stage play event after four years. Amongst preliminary rounds between 27 competing team, 6 teams made it to the finals. The event kicked off with ‘Three Tall Women’ the annual production of The Ariels, the English Dramatics Society, followed by SRCC’s annual production ‘Anidra’ and Anubhuti, the Hindi Dramatics Society of Sri Venkateswara College’s annual production ‘Kolahal’. After the break, ‘Fourth Wall Productions’, the dramatics society of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies presented their annual production ‘Bhunde’. The event ended with Leher, the dramatics society of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce’s production ‘Mahua’ and Hansraj dramatics society’s play ‘Word of Mouth’.
The Quiz Society of Miranda House organised the Annual Rachita Dasgupta Quiz on the 14th and 15th of February. On the 14th, Ashish Singh conducted an Open General Quiz which was followed by an Eco-biz quiz. On the 15th, quizmaster Anukriti Rai conducted the Open Mythology quiz which happened in two rounds. The winners were Novoneel and Riya (first place), Amlan Sarkar and Ria Chopra (second place) and Shivan and Antariksha (third place).
After the break, the final leg of the event, the Indian cinema quiz kicked off which resulted in Ankur and Ayush winning the first place and a tie in between Amlan, Paliwal and Kartik Puri, Tushar Anand.
The Day 2 of Tempest 2019 came to an end with an exhilarating performance by DJ Mojojojo. He performed some of his famous mixes like ‘Sapne’ and also played the famous track ‘Udd Gaye’ by Ritwik. The audience grooved to the tunes of his enthralling showcase. The crowd then peacefully dispersed.

Feature Image Credits:  Akarsh Mathur

Sakshi Arora
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Jaishree Kumar
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Aman Gupta
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Here is a recap of Day 1 at Tempest 2019, the annual cultural festival of Miranda House.

Tempest 2019- the Annual Cultural Fest of Miranda House- University of Delhi kick-started on 14th February 2019. There were a plethora of events scheduled by the college but most of them got delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions. Nevertheless, the events ran smoothly and the first day of Tempest turned out to be a fulfilling and vibrant experience for the attendees.

The Annual Rachita Das Gupta Quiz was organized by the Quiz Society of Miranda House. They conducted three quizzes on Day 1. The Open General Quiz saw participation of 30 teams with 2 members in each team. Mukund and Dhruv bagged the first position, while Rorik and Rohan came second, and Basab and Amlan stood third. Eco Biz Filler witnessed Kirti and Pragati win the competition. In the Open India Quiz, Ashish and Abhishek Paliwal came first while the duos of Jayant and Amlan, and Ankur and Kartik Puri stood second and third, respectively.

Vaatavaran, the Eco Club of Miranda House organised Enviro Quiz, a short-film-based quiz. It saw participation from 20 teams from across different colleges. The first prize was awarded to Poornima and Yash, while Karishma and Garima, and Pragati and Niharika bagged the second and third prizes, respectively.

E-Cell, Miranda House, organised three Inter-College events at Tempest 2019. Combination- an event related to geographical locations of companies, saw participation of 20 teams with two students in each team. Addictive- a marketing competition of pitching products in the style of Bollywood, was won by Ashok, while Pinku came second. Boss Hunt- a Treasure Hunt had 35 teams compete, where Aditya Sah came first, while Neeruganti Purnima came second.

11 Dance Societies from across different colleges, which qualified the online preliminaries, performed at Burlesque, the Western Dance Competition, organised by Tanz, the Western Dance Society of Miranda House. The event was judged by Mrs. Sameeksha and Mr. Nitin Theo Kerketta. Enliven (Western dance society of Gargi) won the competition, while Crunk (Western dance society of Sri Aurobindo) came second.

The next event was the Hindi Debating Competition where the students battled their wits on the topic- “Sadan ke math mein loktantra maatr ek saashan pranali nahi, jeevan mulyo ka srot hai (In the opinion of the House, democracy is not only a regime conduct, but it is the source of life values).” It was judged internally by teachers- Mrs. Kusuma Krishna Subha and Mrs. Meeta Kumari. Smriti from Lady Shri Ram College was awarded the title of Best Speaker in favour of the motion while Happy from Ramjas College was awarded as Best Speaker in opposition.

Amid the melody of raag Darbari and Yaman, Sangam- the Indian Classical Music Competition- organised by Geetanjali, the Indian Music Society of Miranda House saw various performances that had the audiences captivated. With 14 participants in the Duet Singing Competition and 13 teams representing their colleges in the Choir Singing Competition, the event was a huge success. The Duet Singing Competition concluded with SGTB Khalsa College’s Sukriti and Saksham bagging the second prize, with the winner’s title being claimed by Hansraj College’s Pranava and Ram.

Adwitiya, the Fine Arts’ Society, in a stunning display of powerful art, transformed SAC to an exquisite art gallery. From portraits to abstract brushstrokes, all the artwork presented had a story to tell. An art-piece labeled ‘Nirvana’ captured the modern world in a representative manner. A symbolic display promised and delivered aesthetic pleasure.

The day concluded with the performance by PARASHARA- a popular Delhi-based progressive band, with an idea conceived and brought to action in the mountains. The audiences swiveled to the beats as they played their melodies, revolving around the realities of life, with an interesting modern touch to it. This wraps up the Day 1 of the fest and all the festivities stuck true to the theme of the fest: “Future of Fun”.

Image credits: Mahi Panchal for DU Beat

 

Sakshi Arora

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Shaurya Thapa

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Kartik Chauhan

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Shivani Dadhwal

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The feminist organisation Mittika, in collaboration with Oxfam India, organised an interactive session called ‘Festival of Voices’ in Miranda House.

The Women’s Development Cell of Miranda House organised an interactive session with students who identified themselves as feminists with Mittika (in collaboration with Oxfam India), a Delhi-based organisation on 5th October 2018. Mittika, which claims to work for “enriching life spaces” is primarily a research and advocacy organisation that works through on-ground direct intervention, disseminating knowledge and information, and by building stakeholder capacities. The session witnessed two representatives from the organisation, Radhika and Saransh, coming forward to encourage conversations between the audience members about various narratives surrounding experiences of women living in Delhi.

In her own words, Radhika said, “I am here not just as a representative of Mittika, but to share my experience of what it means to be in the city and what it means to be a Delhite.” The conversation that flowed from there was informal, spontaneous, and largely audience-driven.

The audience talked about the various ways in which the city was liberating in terms of providing spaces to wear clothes that they wanted to, have conversations on topics that would be otherwise uncomfortable such as gay rights, and also escaping the often stifling atmosphere of their families and hometowns. “I have been in a boarding school since fifth grade so I have been independent, but living alone brings its own challenges. The metro stations were initially very confusing, however with help of fellow commuters I learned to navigate across the city. Living in a flat also gave me the freedom to wear shorts and over the months I have gained confidence to call out people who just can’t stop staring,” said Khushali Jaiswal, a student from Miranda House.  

“Even in our families, little things like the Satyanarayan puja which was only to be performed by boys, can be very patriarchal, now, after coming here, I understand this,” said Manishi Divya, another student from Miranda House.

The conversation then flowed into related topics like politics, protest culture in the university, and the recent instances of sexual harassment such as the Brett Kavanaugh case, the Tanushree Dutta allegations, as well as those made against Utsav Chakravarty.  

DU Beat talked to Tanvi and Shambhavi, both Economics students from Ramjas College who had attended the event. “It was good to know that a lot of people think the way I think. The atmosphere in Miranda is very open and engaging and we usually don’t have such conversations in Ramjas,” Tanvi said.

“This session is a testament to the fact that when women are in a safe space, they slowly reveal how they feel harassed or discriminated against, even at the hands of their family or a cab driver. We need these spaces to encourage dialogue and build a sense of solidarity,” said Simran Pachar, a third-year Political Science student from Miranda House, as the event concluded with a group photo.

Feature Image Credits: Mahi Panchal for DU Beat

 

Sara Sohail

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Radhika Apte and Ayushmann Khurrana promoted their upcoming film Andhadhun in Miranda House today, amidst loud cheers.

In a packed auditorium filled with teachers and students (and some bouncers) actors Radhika Apte and Ayushmann Khurrana greeted the audience for the promotion of their movie Andhadhun. The members of the Miranda House Students’ Union who had organised the event, welcomed the actors.

The trailer of the movie was showcased to the students as well as an unplugged version of a new song Naina Da Kya Kasoor, sung by Mr. Khurrana that was shot in a school for the blind in Mumbai. The audience were extremely appreciative and reacted with loud cheers and claps. Pratibha Jolly, Principal  Miranda House, welcomed the actors, reminding them of the “historical place” that was Miranda House with a number of films that had been shot in the college in the past including Tamasha, Half Girlfriend and Fukrey, and its list of illustrative alumni in the performative arts such as Mira Nair and Nandita Das.

Mr. Khurrana and Ms. Apte thanked the college for inviting them. On the request of the audience, Ayushmann sang two songs. Ms. Apte described her role in the film as “twisted, but true”. She said that she enjoyed the twists and turns that the movie is replete with and hoped that the audience would also enjoy it. The movie narrates the story of a blind piano player (played by Mr. Khurrana) who witnesses a murder. Tabu, a member of the film’s cast was also supposed to be there for the event but could not make it.

However, several complaints regarding the arrangement of such an event during the college hours were raised by students. The issue of allowing commercial events like movie promotions to happen within the college premises was also deemed problematic by several students our correspondent talked to. The volunteers of the event also raised several objections. For instance, Aafreen Fathima of B.A. Programme told DU Beat, “We were told that because they are avoiding bouncers and security, human chains have to be formed. We planned out strategies and got instructions for an hour and a half, but then just 10 minutes before they arrived, bouncers came out of nowhere and asked us all to move, and that there was no need of us volunteers.”

The volunteers were also asked to dance blindfolded for two minutes when the actors were being welcomed and “act surprised” upon their arrival. Amola Shrivastava, a volunteer, said, “At the end the people who were the backbone of the event were not allowed inside the venue and were told off saying that they are done with us. I understand the importance of such events but the way it was organised and we were treated is categorically unacceptable.”

Andhadhun is a romantic thriller film directed by Sriram Raghavan.   It is set to be released on 5th October, 2018.

Feature Image Credits: Vaibhav Tekchandani for DU Beat

Sara Sohail

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‘I finally got my degree!’, exclaimed actress Minissha Lamba while receiving a copy of her admission form, as she visited Miranda House along with Saif Hassan to discuss their play Mirror Mirror.

It was a sunny afternoon in the calm and ambient campus of Miranda House. The Heritage Hall of the college started to get filled by the evening. The reason for this crowd was a Master Class, a series of talks and discussions by Saif Hyder Hassan and Minissha Lamba, the director and lead actress of the play Mirror Mirror which will soon have an exclusive performance out here in Miranda House.

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The idea was that both Hassan and Lamba would attend the event together but the actress missed her flight so she made an appearance about an hour later. The principal gleefully recalled how in Minissha, an alumnus of the same college used to bunk or attend classes late. One can say that some things never change. The discussion was initiated with Saif Hassan who talked in great detail about failures that life gives us and how we need to face them, citing several personal examples. He talked about how while growing up, subjects like mathematics were his Kryptonite and how his father used to consider him a ‘dramebaaz’ (the dramatic one), which ironically, he went on to become in the future.  Casually dressed in an orange tee, he went on to utter snippets of wisdom that he has picked up like ‘Being critical is good. Being over critical is plain stupid’ and ‘Don’t take anybody seriously except…yourself.’

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All heads were turned towards the door on the right when Minissha made an entry. She walked up to the stage with grace and laughingly apologised for her late appearance. She talked about her journey as an actress, the high and lows that performers have to face and how there are different thrills for getting to act on stage as well as the screen. An interesting aspect of acting she pointed out was that not all actors need to be exactly like their characters, just paint a realistic and believable picture. The very essence of acting is for the actor ‘to act’ like someone making the audience feel that the actor and the someone is one or the same thing.  To take a trip down memory lane, the principal also gave Minissha a printout of her original admission form. The funny thing was at first glance, Minissha thought this is her college degree (even though she left the college in the middle of her course back in the day) and yelled out ‘OH! I’M FINALLY GETTING MY DEGREE!’. This resulted in a roar of laughter in the hall.

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A lot of people amongst the crowd were drama enthusiasts or members of the theatre society so naturally the concept of on-stage acting was also heavily discussed. Saif felt that there is a misconception that theatre is eroding. He added that in fact, cities like Delhi have given birth to diverse and modern concepts that can be portrayed on stage. ‘Theatre is the new romance. Right now, things seem to be good, it is like theatre is having a honeymoon phase.’ All in all, it was an amusing event for enthusiasts of creativity and this has just set the ground for the ‘Mirror Mirror’ that is to be held at the auditorium tomorrow.

Image Credits – Aakarsh Gupta and Adithya Khanna for DU Beat.

Shaurya Singh Thapa 

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In a session today, AISA-CYSS and NSUI presented their election manifestoes in Miranda House. The Miranda House Student’s Union elections were also held.

Half an hour after noon today, the Miranda House auditorium was abuzz with students who had come to hear the candidates for various student’s unions making their election speeches. After the Miranda House Student’s Union elections (MHSU) candidates made their election speeches, representatives from AISA-CYSS and NSUI came forward for their campaigns.

Abhigyan, the AISA-CYSS Presidential candidate said in his campaign speech, “There is a narrative which has happened that university-level politics is very self-centred and is used as a stepping stone for advancing a person’s career, we are trying to change this narrative. Why shouldn’t there be a narrative where we can talk about politics? We are trying to build a Union which is not going to dictate the students.” Abhigyan raised several issues like financial autonomy, the use of muscle power and the masculinity that has crept up in politics. He also talked about how AISA had helped in building a girls’ hostel in Hindu College, fought for metro bus passes as well as campaigned against financial autonomy.

Abhigyan was then questioned extensively by the students who asked him on AISA’s stand on gender discrimination committees, why AISA was fielding a male Presidential candidate and so on.

After that, NSUI’s student candidate for the Vice-Presidential post, Leena tried to present her manifesto. However, some of the students of Miranda House opposed her before she could say anything, demanding that she leave the podium and that she was not “fit to be contesting elections.” Amid massive booing, Leena talked about the NSUI’s stance for women empowerment, to make University of Delhi (DU) an Institute of Eminence which would bring in public funds, to launch a thali for students worth 10 rupees, etc. Leena, who is a graduate of Miranda House, claimed that she used to “stand outside the gate of Miranda House regularly and campaign.” However, many students shouted that they hadn’t seen her outside the gate. She was also called out on her claim of not distributing any pamphlets in her name, what she would do on her part to change the politics of the University, and the fact that her name was changed from Leena to “A.A. Leena” in an alleged claim for getting the first ballot. Although Ms Leena tried to defend her position and that of her student union, the students booed her off the stage.

Ambica, a Miranda House student said, “The girl from NSUI didn’t have answers for anything. She just repeated a few things that she had been told to say. But it wasn’t surprising because once your party member has been accused of molestation and rape, there isn’t much that you could say.”

Muskan Dhar, the Vice-president of Women’s Development Cell of Miranda House, when asked if the booing was fair, said, “We heard Abhigyan and he was pretty correct in saying that the ICCs are not functional. As an ICC candidate, I know the kind of resistance we face in having meetings. The candidate from NSUI, however, did not have any proper manifesto. How Miranda reacted to it was two-fold. Some of it was justified since we know of the increasing violence around the campus, but I think we could have channelised our concerns in a better way.”

No official candidate of ABVP showed up and no official reasons were submitted for. Later in a notice released by the Staff Advisors of Miranda House, it was informed that the ABVP candidates would address the students of Miranda House tomorrow at from 12:45 to 1 p.m.

Feature Image Credits: Mahi for DU Beat

Sara Sohail

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In a rather sorry state of affairs for the Students’ Union of Miranda House, University of Delhi (DU), no one is contesting for the posts of President and General Secretary while one student each filed their nomination papers for the posts of Vice President and Central Councillor.

The Miranda House Students’ Union will not have either a President or a General Secretary for the academic year 2018-19. The Union will only consist of the Vice President and Central Councillor, who are interestingly running for their respective posts unopposed. The reason? No one else wished to run for the Students’ Union.

At the outset, it might seem like there is a lack of initiative from the student community of the college. However, questions have been raised about the availability of information regarding the process of filing the nomination papers and other nuances of applying to the Students’ Union. Ayushi V., a third-year student told DU Beat, “How is it possible that no one is standing for the highest post in the Students’ Union? The truth is we were not informed about how to apply for the Students’ Union. The notice boards did not contain the timeline for filing the nomination papers and no message was circulated about the same.”

Priyanka Choudhary who filed her nomination for the post of the Central Councillor said in her manifesto reading, “Main Waade Nahi, Iraade Lekar Aayi Hoon.” (I’m not here to talk about promises. I’m here to talk about my intentions). However, when asked about the exact duties of a Central Councillor, her answer did not seem to satisfy the audience. Vanshika Mishra, a second-year student of the college told DU Beat, “This student is so ambiguous in her statements. It is just sad that we don’t have a choice but to accept them as our representatives.” Notably, Priyanka had stated in her speech, “A vote for me is a vote for you.” Ironically, it is dubious whether the students will find scope for a ‘vote’ here since Ms Choudhury is running unopposed.

Snimar, the only student who filed her nomination for the Vice President’s post, was asked whether the fact that she is running unopposed will affect her position or the influence that her position wields. While she did not answer the same in specific terms, she told DU Beat, “Since I am not sure about the level of competency of the student who is running for the post of Central Councillor, I will request the Principal to appoint volunteers who will work for the Union.”

When the DU Beat correspondent approached a senior member of the college administration, Mr Jagdish Prasad, and asked him how the college union will function with only two members, he hesitated to comment and simply stated, “We will find out a way.”

Asmita Kashikar, the former Vice President of the MHSU said, “I think it is really sad that no one is standing for the post of President this year. I believe it is mostly because of the attendance issues. But also, during our tenure, we removed the foundation of any form of corruption for the national student bodies in our college. That is why they couldn’t come up with any candidate that they could support.” She concluded on a positive note, “Let’s hope that these two candidates who are standing do justice to their posts.”

While this situation in one of the most reputed and politically active colleges of DU is displeasing, can it entirely be blamed on the student community? Allegations have been made regarding a serious lapse in the discourse of information about the Students’ Union applications. Can student politics in the college retain its democratic character when students are deprived of a real choice in choosing their representatives? Only time will tell.

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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With yet another academic session coming to an end at the University of Delhi, it is time to let nostalgia get you over and look back at the year that has gone by, before all of us get busy with semester examination preparation and some of us eventually leave to charter their career paths. Going by the thought, DU Beat brings to you its exclusive series ‘Colleges’ Round Up (2017-18)’ where we present the highlighting incidents of numerous DU colleges that took place over 2017 and 2018.

From launching apps for the ease of the students and teachers together to getting ranked #1 by NIRF, here are the highlights of 2017-18 session of Miranda House in our exclusive College Round-Up Series.

 

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Miranda House

Radhika Boruah
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Anukriti Mishra 
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It is the season of examinations, and along with it, is also the season of uncertainty and apprehension for the students who frequent their colleges like a blue moon frequents the sky.

 According to the Varsity mandated rules, students of the University of Delhi (DU) need to maintain at least 67% attendance in order to sit for the end semester examinations. For those who don’t, pleading the professors to consider their Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) attendance, or visiting a shady doctor for a medical certificate are some of the extreme choices one has, since the college is technically bound to act under the rules of the University and detain those with less attendance.

Things look especially uncertain for the third year students in some colleges, like Miranda House, as they have been told that they won’t be able to sit for the examinations if they do not have the required attendance.

In South Campus, Sri Venkateswara College has not been given the admit cards till now. Prabal Khatri, President of Sri Venkateswara Students’ Union, told the DU Beat correspondent, “There are no issues for third year students. Earlier, the 67% attendance requirement used to apply to the final year students as well. But this year, our Union has been able to bring it down to 0%, providing huge respite for them.”

When asked about whether the college administration is lenient for the first and second year students as well, Khatri remarked, “For them, even if the required attendance is 67% according to the Varsity mandated rules, our union has brought the benchmark down to 35%. However, there are some students who never show up to class, neither do they have ECA’s, nor medical certificates to justify their low attendance. Those people are of course not given the admit cards.”

In Miranda House, a meeting to determine whether third year students with below 40% attendance will receive their admit cards is slated to be held. While in the past years, the administration would not withhold the admit cards for the final year students, this year, the college has constantly maintained, right from the beginning of the semester, that they would be more stringent with attendance requirements, even for final year students.

In a phone call conversation with the correspondent, Mahi, a final year student from Miranda House remarked, “The final year students have coaching and have to prepare for entrances. So the administration is usually more understanding with us. However, I do not know about the changes brought about this year.” Since none of the final year students have been given their admit cards till now, a cloud of uncertainty looms over their futures.

It is to be noted that, amidst the first and second year students who have already received their admit cards, there are students with attendance below 40%, who are still struggling to get their admit cards. A member of the college administration told DU Beat on condition of anonymity, “Even as the college is prepared to be flexible with the final year students, we have instructions to be uncompromising with the first and second year students.”

Nestling in the heart of North Campus, is Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), boasting cut-offs that rise as high as 99.25%. SRCC is surprisingly not as strict as some of its neighbours in campus, when it comes to attendance issues.

The Corporate Communications Head of the Students’ Union, Shrimann Adhith, held that until last year, the 67% requirement of attendance in order to be eligible to sit for the exams was not followed. It is only from the current academic session that students require the aforementioned percentage of attendance to get their admit cards. Shrimann went on to say, “Even if they do not maintain the required attendance, the students would eventually be given the admit card. However, they would be made to sign an undertaking.”

Sonul, a sports student from Gargi College, does not seem stressed about getting her admit card. She says, “If any of the third year students does not have the required attendance, they will be made to sign an undertaking. At the most, their parents will be called. But they will eventually be allowed to sit for the exams.”

Contrastingly, in Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Himansh Pandey, current President of ‘Anhad’, the Music Society of the college, told  DU Beat, “even if you are a part of a cultural society, you do not get ECA attendance. After a lot of protest, the Principal promised us that they will bring down the bar of required attendance for students of cultural societies to 30%. However, for other students, 67% attendance requirement is strictly followed, without which they do not get their admit cards.” However, he also added, “The worst case scenario is that your parents are called. But the final year students are given the fated sheet of admittance even if they have to stand in lines from 9 to 5, and fight with the administration.”

For the students of Lady Shri Ram College, things appear uncertain as there has been no word from the administration. When the DU Beat correspondent asked Amita Yadav, the President of the college, whether the third year students with below 67% attendance would be allowed to sit for the exams or not, she said, “There has been no word from the side of the administration till now.”

One common trend witnessed in most of the colleges is the lack of communication from the side of the administration. With less than 10 days left for the exams, students are still uncertain about whether they would receive their admit cards or not.

With most colleges having already celebrated their farewell, is this lack of communication justified? As the final year students gear up to step into the outside world of jobs and higher studies, isn’t keeping them second-guessing about their examinations a sheer lack of transparency?

These are some of the questions we need to pose to the administration departments of the colleges.

 

Feature Image Credits: HansIndia

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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