Tag

safety

Browsing

What is a safe space? In life, we all need a place where we can be confident and true to ourselves – to relax, to rant, and to let it all out.

A safe space is a place or environment in which a person or a category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm. It can be a community, a person, a thing, a place, or a feeling; as long as you feel at home and peace, it is your safe space. The world is an inherently selfish, and stressful place. More often than not, college can become an excessively jarring experience, taking its toll on our mental health. Thus, this is when the need for an escape arises with urgency — a place to be yourself, to express yourself, and to discover yourself, without being conjectured. It becomes a place of acceptance, and it helps us to come to peace with ourselves, and that is a powerful perspective. But why are safe spaces important? A survey revealed that one in every four college students reported being diagnosed with, or treated for, a mental disorder.

Besides the aforementioned, 20% of all surveyed students were revealed to have had suicidal thoughts, 9% reported a suicide attempt, and nearly 20% reported self-injury. There are two types of stress in existence: eustress and distress. A little stress and anxiety are good for our performance; they help us work up to our best potential. But when this turns into distress, it can take a toll on our mental and physical health. It is  common place to feel spent after having your guard up constantly. Safe spaces, thus, become a place to unwind and feel cathartic. All of us arrive at college carrying trauma or some form of emotional baggage. We are thrust into a new environment that can often become an academic pressure cooker, and we have to figure out how to take care of ourselves without the hovering support of our family or community at home. It is then that safe spaces become a tool. Safe spaces can help you feel cherished and respected. They can provide a break from unsolicited opinions, and having to explain yourself to others.

A safe space can be anything: it can be a best friend to whom you can rant  about when you’re feeling blue, it can be your curated Spotify playlist, it can be your guitar, your favourite book, or your room, or your favourite food. It can be ranting on social media, and it can be your home. It can be absolutely anything that you wish for it to be.

That is precisely the point of a safe space — it is something that allows you to be you. It allows you to recuperate, and it allows you to build resilience that can be accessed in moments of conflict. It allows us to accept ourselves, feel comfortable in our skin, and function as emotionally mature adults. It takes powerful perspective to understand that being “burdened” is not normal, and we owe it to ourselves to continue our pursuit for balance.

Feature Image Credits: Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat

Shreya Juyal
[email protected]

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) on Thursday, 12th September, raised its voice against the construction of a 39-storey high-rise housing society at the North Campus citing safety and privacy concerns.

DUTA has opposed the construction of a 39-storey building in North Campus saying it “would significantly alter the social and cultural landscape of Delhi University” and also compromise the “safety of women students”. The building is coming up adjacent to Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station, near Gate Number 3 and 4. DUTA also stated that the land originally belonged to the Ministry of Defence and was acquired for public purpose by the state government for the construction of metro station by Delhi Municipal Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Consequently, the DMRC sold two-thirds of this land by granting perpetual lease of ninety years to a private builder called ‘Young India’, in the guise of property development and by changing the land use from “public and semi-public facility to residential”, the DUTA alleged.

Sudhanshu Kumar, the Vice President of DUTA, stated, “This is the height of privatisation. It (building) would seriously compromise the safety and privacy of women students on campus as it stands in close proximity to several hostels that house women. It would also pose a serious safety issues for all students on campus, restricting their right to move freely in their own campus. It is clearly a ghotala committed by the State Government, DMRC and ‘Young India’.”

DU had also written to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Home Ministry, as well as the Ministery of Defence on this matter. Officials said that the proposed building is not viable keeping in mind security concerns for the North Campus students, since the building will have a bird’s-eye view of five of the girls’ hostels on the campus – Miranda House Girls’ Hostel, the Central Institute of Education, University Hostel for Women, Meghdoot Girls Hostel and the Girls’ Hostel of the Department of Social Work; apart from several other University buildings.

They said that there is already a severe paucity of spaces for students on campus, for their accommodation, recreation and for other academic activities and the use of this space for a residential complex is questionable in its intent. The Association has also notified that it “will take up the matter with the President of India, who is the visitor to the University”, in conversation with the Dainik Jagran.

Meanwhile, women living in the varsity’s 20 hostels have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising concerns over the construction of the high-rise building in the campus, saying that it will “infringe their privacy” and “prejudice the security” of students.

Image Caption: Female students, living in the campus’s 20 hostels, have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concerns over the construction of the high-rise building in Campus. Image Credits: Jagran Media
Image Caption: Female students, living in the campus’s 20 hostels, have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concerns over the construction of the high-rise building in Campus.
Image Credits: Jagran Media

The letter reads, “…it (the construction of the structure) would directly infringe the privacy of all the women’s hostel in close proximity to the land, it would prejudice the security of the students who attend departments and colleges in North Campus, since being a private structure the activities that will take place in the building will not be open to public censoring and if such a building is to be constructed in the University area, it would curtail the students’ freedom to move around the campus…”

DU also insists that the construction of this building will come in the way of the Master Plan of Delhi, 2021, that has been envisaged for the city’s infrastructure. Moreover, according to the documents accessed by Mail Today, 228 trees have been felled for the construction of this building.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

 

Bhavya Pandey

[email protected]

Bhagyashree Chatterjee

[email protected]

A common point on the agenda of every political party is women’s safety. Candidates promise to make the campus a safer space for women with the use of surveillance and police presence everywhere. But the question that looms in the air is where consent is during the elections.

As the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections inch closer, the University of Delhi (DU) experiences hooliganism at its best. Keeping aside the forgeries, muscle power, and the waste of paper, the elections also turn into a breeding ground for harassment and violation of personal space. It starts with the handing out of pamphlets and flyers at the metro station. Party members, associates, and strangers get in the way to hand out pamphlets and cards while whispering the classic ‘please vote and support’ in the ear. This violation of personal boundaries continues in the e-rickshaw and till the college gates where a line of supporters stand to greet the students, ask to vote for certain candidates, and force students to memorise their ballot numbers.

“As I enter college, people in line ask me to vote for certain candidates and repeat their names and ballot numbers and promise that I’ll vote for them,” says Chhavi, a first-year student at Sri Venkateswara College. A student, who requested to stay anonymous, shared, “I was on my way to the metro station from college, and three men on a bike followed me till the gate while shouting the name of a candidate.” A second-year student from Ramjas College also added, “As I was entering college, men in white shirts were trying to hand pamphlets to students forcefully. I avoided their gaze and continued walking but a car from the parking lot came in front of me. Though the car was metres away, one of the men jumped in front of me, held both of my hands and said in a meeting tone, ‘Sambhal ke chalo yaar, gaadi ag jati’(Be careful while you walk, you could have hurt yourself).”

The harassment continues in so many more ways. From shaking one’s hand forcibly or sending unnecessary Facebook friend requests, to Instagram photos no one gave consent for or getting student’s numbers from the admission form to ask “if they need any help”. As a matter of fact, no one does. They just need you to respect their space.The understanding of consent, boundaries, and harassment lie unclear in the minds of election campaigners and candidates. Even if they do understand, they choose to ignore it.

Pooja Thakur, Professor at the Department of History, Ramjas College, says, “Instead of running a campaign on taking up issues most pertinent to the students and upholding democratic functioning and gender parity and treating the posts they stand for as positions of responsibility and not of power, they end up doing the very opposite. Within the colleges they end up disturbing classes with the beating of drums, loud sloganeering and bursting of crackers. Apart from this, they use tactics as is used in any mainstream political campaigns by distributing freebies to organising informal freshers parties. They also use tactics like confiscation of the students ID cards which is only given to them on the day of voting wherein they are pressurised into voting for their candidates.”

The University is meant to be a place where ideas and dissent run free, where students can finally have the safe space they deserve. Instead, seeds of hooliganism, fear, and censorship lie in its lap. As time passes, more allegations of harassment surface; it makes one wonder, is the University of Delhi turning into space where identities are punished for who they are? Amidst all election manifestos, we are yet to see any points about the queer community or the Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi community. Climate change is another issue the parties continue to sleep on. The still silence on issues of inclusivity and harassment serves as a reminder of our privileges.

Image Credits : Jaishree Kumar for Du Beat.

Jaishree Kumar

[email protected]

The University of Delhi (DU) has come face to face with the Delhi Government with regards to the construction of a 39 storey private building in North Campus.

As per a report by the India Times, DU has written a letter to the Centre, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, demanding to stop the construction work immediately.

In the year 2001, The Delhi Government had acquired three acres of land from the Ministry of Defence to construct the metro line. Only an acre was used and the rest two acres were sold to a private builder in order to build a 39 storey building.The University believes that the construction of private property would lead to great repercussions for the varsity as it threatens its educational space and can also pose a threat in terms of safety.

In 2018, varsity had written to the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Housing, lead by Mr. Durga Shankar Mishra requesting for restraining North DMC from granting any sanction to the Group Housing Projects of Young Builders Private Limited, near Vishwavidyalaya Metro station.

Delhi University’s Officer on Special Duty Mr. Vipin Tiwari talked to India Today, about this move. He stated that he had witnessed the construction of the building behind the metro station.

According to him, this poses a great threat to the University space as it’s a private building and is very close to not only four girl’s hostels but also the office of the Lieutenant Governor and the DRDO office. The construction was not stopped despite various complains, not only that it will also be the tallest building around if constructed. It poses a great threat as this a high-security zone.

He also added that this also violates the three points of Clause 11 of the Delhi Master Plan 2021. Various political parties also showed their dissent against this move. The Mayor of Delhi Mr. Avatar Singh responded by stating that a letter requesting the clearing of doubts raised has been sent to the Governor. “All at being fault shall be persecuted”, he added.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Stephen Mathew

[email protected]

The fest season has begun and so have the stories of chaos, harassment, and safety issues at these prestigious cultural festivals. Let’s see what went down at Tempest 2019.

Tempest 2019, the three-day Annual Cultural Festival of Miranda House took place from 14th to 16th February 2019. Reports of chaos, security breach, rape threats, and harassment arose on Day 2 and Day 3 of the fest.

On 15th February, a message from the Women’s Development Cell (WDC) was circulated for the girls to be safe as allegedly, some members of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) had barged into the college campus, and were acting very violently and threatening people with rape threats. An anonymous source from the WDC security team shared her experience, stating that on the same day she noticed something weird going on around the entrance to the barricaded women’s area. When she went to investigate, she saw a few men who were trying to intimidate volunteers into letting them enter. When she asked them to leave, they retorted, saying, Aapko pata hai hum kaun hain? Humare saath Shakti Singh hai.” (Do you know who we are? Shakti Singh, the President, DUSU, is with us.)

When these people were blocked and not allowed to enter, they retreated but only with threats like “we’ll come back soon- just wait and watch” and “aaj 20 log laaye hai, kal 500 laayenge” (Today we have brought 20 people, tomorrow we’ll bring 500). She also added- “This kind of hooliganism has increased in the campus. There were men from Hindu College who had infiltrated the crowd, asking about the people who had taken part in the V-Tree protest the previous day.”

Anoushka Sharma, a second-year student from Delhi School of Journalism and a Copy-editor at DU Beat, also shared her horror story from Day 3 at Tempest. She stated that while entering the college on the third day of the fest, she was trying to show her media pass at the entrance to enter when a guy pushed her and said in a very rude tone- “Madam ji, kya kar rahi hain?” (Madam, what are you doing?). At first, she ignored but he was persistent and kept on insisting. When she told him about the media passes, he again said in a harsh tone- “Tameez nahi hai baat karne ki? (Don’t you have any manners?). Seconds later, the guards opened the door and at that moment people started touching and groping her. She quoted, “The lady security guard had to hold me since I almost fell on the ground, and she told me to go inside through the lawns since there was less crowd there.”

Talking about the ruckus created at the gates, the Head of Security from Miranda House’s WDC told DU Beat that due to the crowd build-up at the gate, the Principal had to open the gate when 50 to 100 unidentified individuals without passes barged inside the college. She also added that men came up to her, and to the Vice-President of the Student Union to threaten them by quoting their support from DUSU. When they were refused entry, they said, “Agli baar toh fest hi nahin hoga.(We won’t let the fest happen next time.” She added- “There was a sense of fear in the environment and the girls were uncomfortable by the presence of such people.”

When DU Beat contacted the Vice-President, she denied the story, saying that she personally didn’t hear any comments; however, due to the rush outside the gates, she talked to Shakti Singh who said that none of his people were involved in any such threats and misbehaviour. She also stated, “The passes said entry till 2 P.M. and people didn’t follow that which created more ruckus but actions were taken and things went smoothly later.”

These incidents are examples which show unsafe environment at fests. Even in a fest regulated with passes, unidentified crowd entered in mobs through the front gates and created a ruckus, not only threatening the attendees but also the organisers and volunteers. These prestigious annual cultural fests are the platform of growth and inclusivity which have now unfortunately become spaces for assault and harassment.

Feature Image Credits: Namrata Randhawa

Sakshi Arora

[email protected]

A fire broke out in the Chemistry lab of B-block in Hansraj. The cause of the fire has been subject to multiple interpretations. No injuries have been reported so far.

The chemistry lab in Hansraj College’s B block caught fire today.The incident occurred between 12 noon and 1 pm, in the newly constructed Dr. Rathi’s lab located in the B Block of the college.With scattered debris, pungent fumes, ashes and some shards of broken glass, Dr Brijesh Rathi, a professor of Chemistry claimed that the situation was immediately under control with the help of vigilance of the students present. He also added that the disaster was averted because of the solvent chamber being outside the lab.

The alleged cause of the fire was electric sparks from a wire which resulted in a plastic tube burning, however multiple narratives have come up with some claiming a short circuit in the lab.A first year Chemistry student whose class was adjacent to the lab says, “We heard screams alerting others of the fire, we saw the fumes and were evacuated immediately from our classrooms”.Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene immediately. No injuries have been reported so far. The students were reportedly outside the lab when the mishap occurred.

Witnesses present at the time of the incident declined to comment.The administration has remained silent and brushed it off as ‘another science experiment gone wrong’ showing very little signs of taking a firm stance.Dr. Rama Sharma, principal of the college applauded the students and the non-teaching staff for their quick actions. “We have had fire safety trainings regularly, the most recent one was in the previous semester. Even our non-teaching staff has been trained for fire safety. We plan on making fire safety programs mandatory for students in the future.”

Our correspondent was repeatedly declined permission to take pictures of the damaged lab citing toxic fumes but given the discrepancies related to the cause of the fire and the administration soft response, this raises the questions, are our colleges really fire-safe? Do they have a valid NOC? Are there adequate number of fire extinguishers in the colleges of Delhi University?Is our infrastructure safe?

Jaishree Kumar
[email protected]

In light of recent events, safety in North Campus has been proven fragile. But even the failure in this test has not incentivized the necessary authoritative action.

 

Delhi University’s North Campus is famously known for its prestigious colleges. Some of the best colleges in the country are all smattered in close vicinity to each other. But in recent months, the same area has come to be known for its increasing crime rates.

 

On 2nd December, a tragic incident happened in the campus at nightfall. The incident started doing rounds on social media in a couple of days, to the utter disbelief and outrage of all students and residents of North Campus alike.

In the Facebook post, shared by multiple people, the following message was broadcasted:
“With utmost shock and anger, we inform you that our dear friend, Sandipan, a PhD student of Delhi School of Economics, was attacked by a couple of phone snatchers with knife late night on 2nd December. He was stabbed multiple times and is now admitted at Hindu Rao Hospital. The incident happened on the Naala bridge at Patel Chest. This is just opposite the Maurice Nagar Police Station.”
Pointedly, the area in question is a frequently visited place by all students in North Campus. A huge number of students reside around the area and so, the famous food outlets of North Campus are accessed via the same road. However, the incident raises questions on the presumed comforts and safety of the area, that the students expect before they take up expensive lodgings there.

 

The post continued, “Despite giving the number of the bike to the police, no action has yet been taken. The incident and the police inaction is telling of how dangerous our own campus has become.”

 

Multiple cases of phones being snatched have been reported by students. Within the first week of the commencement of college, a student of Hindu College lost her phone to the self-same phone-snatchers. Another student of Hindu College, on her way back from Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station to her PG in Shakti Nagar said, “I was sitting in a rickshaw with three other friends. The rickshaw came to a halt in front of Daulat Ram College where two men on a bike rushed past us and took away my phone.” The incident was traumatic for her to recount later.

 

As reported by DU Beat earlier, Aashish Jain, a student of Kirori Mal College (KMC) recalled the incident when his mobile phone was snatched. “I was right outside the college gate when I was on a call,” he said, adding that he hadn’t realised that people on motorbikes were keeping a watchful eye on him. “I disconnected the call, and was going to put the phone in my pocket when one of them snatched it from my hand and ran off on their motorbike.”

 

Unfortunately, safety is not a concern because of these material losses alone. Safety of girls is as always only an agenda in the pompous manifestos of all political parties. A student recalled being stalked by a group of men in their car when she was returning from her college one evening. Such stories are far from uncommon. It is sad that we should demand for gender-specific safety in such an eminent area.

 

Casual sexism and misogyny that all of us observe everyday go on to show that legal action in seclusion cannot ensure safety of women. We need a more ‘human’ approach towards the issue. Calling out such abominable behaviour is our resistance. It is ironic how an area that is marked for its institutions and their excellence, should be called out for its degrading safety measures.
“Delhi Police must immediately book the perpetrators,” notes the same Facebook post (aforementioned). “DU administration and the Delhi Police must ensure safety of students around the campus and around every college of DU.”
The inaction of the authorities can easily be explained in their inability to apprehend the perpetrators as yet. It is high time that proper action is taken. The ignorance towards these seemingly petty crimes may prove more harmful otherwise.

 

Feature Image Credits: Dailymail

 

 

Kartik Chauhan

[email protected]

 

 

In another violent crime at North Campus, a student was stabbed repeatedly; students plead for safety measures.

A student from the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) was attacked by unidentified phone snatchers on Sunday, 2nd December 2018. The incident took place late night, at the Naala Bridge at Patel Chest Institute, North Campus, University of Delhi (DU), which is in close vicinity of Maurice Nagar Police Station, New Delhi. A robbing attempt by bike ridden perpetrators escalated into violence, and the victim was stabbed in the back multiple times, with a knife. The victim, named Sandipan, is a 2nd year PhD student at DSE. Sandipan is currently admitted at Hindu Rao Hospital, Malka Ganj.

The police was informed about the incident and given the bike’s plate number belonging to the attackers. The perpetrators have not been found yet.

Patel Chest is the commercial centre of DU, residence to many students and is generally pervaded with students till late night. This makes it more prone to theft like violent crimes; reports of many armed robberies and attacks in the past stand proof of the same. Delhi University students have often been victims of violent crimes, and the inaction on behalf of the concerned authorities is problematic. Abhi Gyan, another student from DSE said, “The incident and police’s inaction is telling of how dangerous our own campus has become”.

Safety must be a top priority in areas inhabited by students. To urge the authorities to take corrective action and ensure their security in and around campus, the students of DSE organised a candle light march from DSE gates at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, 5th December 2018.

 

Feature Image Credits: Delhi School of Economics

Nikita Bhatia
[email protected]

A DU student fights back to her molester, raising serious alarms in regards of women safety in public transportation.

 A twenty-three year old Delhi University student fights back to her molester, while on a bus ride home from Kapashera to Sangam Vihar. The victim grabbed the accused by the collar and waited till the police arrived and lodged a complaint against him. All of this happened with no support from the bus staff or the passengers aboard.

The accused, identified as Mukesh Kumar, 37, was standing beside her and made attempts to touch her. The woman describes how he started rubbing himself against her, while she was seated in reserved section for women. The man stood beside her, and started touching her inappropriately. The woman first ignored the action, and then retaliated by asking him to move away. To her dismay, the accused, unzipped his pants and started touching himself, trying to pull her towards him. The woman shook him off and then hit him with her sandal. Despite vain attempts to lure attention, the driver and the conductor paid no heed, until she forced the driver to stop the bus at Mehrauli. She stood up, grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him out of the bus. With the help of a passerby she was able to pin him down, until the police came and arrested him.

After conducting medical examinations, it was revealed that the accused was heavily drunk, as pointed out by the woman in her statement, claiming that he reeked of alcohol and kept threatening her. The accused is a resident of Molarband in Badarpur. He works in an event management company. A similar incident took place almost a month back when a nineteen year old Delhi University student jumped off a bus near South Extension, after being harassed by a man. The girl faced molestation seven times in the three months of reported abuse, every day, en route to her college.

A similar harassment case was registered under Vasant Vihar police earlier this year. A DU student posted a video online claiming the man sitting beside her was masturbating and trying to grope her, while her alarms were not given due. However, no arrest has been made so far, despite the police working upon it.

This incident was reported on route 717 of the Delhi Transport Corporation buses.

Many women do not feel comfortable travelling in buses, and harassment becomes a routine act in these buses due to lack of CCTV facilities and guards in the Delhi Buses. The DTC services in transport are one of the most used and efficient systems as it has routes all around the city, being an economical choice for its passengers.

The following row of incidents make us question women safety in public transportation and if the authorities are taken any serious action regarding it. As of the current state, public transport is very unsafe from women.

Feature Image Credits: alexanaderolin.com

Avnika Chhikara

[email protected]

Yesterday, an Asmita march was taken out by NSUI to speak out against the recent cases of crime against women and to demand greater safety for women in the varsity.

NSUI took out a march from the Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi (DU) yesterday. The protest aimed to speak out against the rising crime against women. The recent Asifa and Unnao rape cases and the subsequent silence around them compelled them to take out a march, claimed members. Slogans like “Chatron ke sammaan mein, NSUI maidan mein (NSUI is out to protect the rights of students” were raised at the march.
Present at the march were DUSU President and Vice President Rocky Tuseed and  Kunal Sehrawat respectively. NSUI National President, Fairoz Khan was also present along with Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of Parliament. However, the protest was not confined to the Asifa and Unnao cases. The safety of women around campus and the need to implement ICC laws across the University were talked about.

Apart from the implementation of ICC laws, the march demanded installation of CCTV cameras outside girl’s colleges and demanded that a female constable be present outside all colleges to curb stalking and eve teasing. After the march reached the faculty of arts again, a small delegation from NSUI including the Rocky Tusseed, Kunal Sehrawat, Akshay Lakha, and Fairoz Khan met Dean Students’ Welfare, Professor Rajesh Tandon. The delegation presented a memorandum that put forth all the demands raised by the marching body. a detailed discussion on the failure of the administration to make the campus a safer place for women also took place. Fairoz Khan while talking to Professor Tandon expressed his plight at the state of the well-being of women in the Varsity by saying “If DU cannot lead the country, if we the leading institution in the country cannot set an example and be a role model, then it is a shame.” The demand for self-defence classes to be held across the varsity was also put up. The delegation rationed that they had promised the student body of DU CCTV cameras and a safer and secure campus and that they are obligated to ensure that these demands are met.

Approximately 350 students were present at the march; however, women constituted a small fraction of the same. The protest which lasted around two hours remained peaceful and non-disruptive. Heavy deployment of police officials across the campus ensured that the march was carried out smoothly. NSUI leaders claimed that they would take out another march on the same scale, within 10 days, if their requests were ignored by the administration.

Kinjal Pandey

[email protected]

Feature Image Credits – Pinjra Tod