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5 Tips to Crack Society Interviews

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WhatsApp constantly buzzing with promotional messages, attractive posters adorning all corners of college walls, seniors giving their first-hand experience of being a part of xyz society; this is the auditions season. The most integral part of a DU students’ life, college societies bridge the gap between academics and fun. You get exposure and learn how to apply theoretical concepts in real life, while creating everlasting bonds and memories with fellow society members.

Consequently, it is a prudent decision to apply only for the societies you want to associate yourself with. Following are a few tips that might help you crack an interview of the society of your choice:

  1. Be Confident. This adage needs to be reiterated several times as it is extremely important. Your confidence level indicates your preparedness to take up new tasks and creates a positive first impression on the interviewers. Along with content, you are judged on the basis of the clarity of your thoughts and the way you present yourself. At the same time, nervous anticipation is healthy and definitively an indicator of your seriousness towards the society. When nervousness takes over confidence, it spells misfortune.
  2. Objectivity and honesty-the key words. A self-appraisal is necessary, but not if it’s irrelevant to your position. It’s painfully obvious when a student beats about the bush or exaggerates a small achievement. Similarly, white lies and gross irregularities between what you say and what you wrote in the application form can land you in trouble.It’s best to stick to the question and answer it short and crisp.
  3. Do your Research. Be it an interview for the entrepreneurship cell, Enactus, photography society, or the quiz society, you need to research thoroughly. Researching gives you an overview of the society’s past projects and achievements and ensures that you appear as an interested and serious candidate. It gives you an edge over other prospective members and lets you know if the society is active and worth your time.
  4. Break away from the clichés. Everyone swears by the rehearsed introduction and prepares for questions beforehand. It’s alright if the preparation entails a rundown of what you will be saying, but not rehearsing set answers. Since the interviewers are students too, they look forward to students who break the monotonous nature of the interview process. If you have something fresh to say, like a question or a reasonable suggestion, you will at least be remembered among the sea of potential members.
  5. Apply only if you are genuinely interested.A lot of societies now take in students regardless of the student’s experience in it, provided they show commendable enthusiasm to learn and contribute in the process. If you intend to join a society just to add value to your CV, it will be a fruitless effort. Apply only if you are passionate or genuinely interested and feel that your constructive energies will be better utilised.

 

 

 

Feature Image Credits: dukesmedicalapplications.com

 

Vijeata Balani

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Campus Central

Gargi takes a step towards cleanliness with sanitation drive

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Earlier this week, Gargi College witnessed the inauguration of two new washrooms in its vicinity, in association with Sulabh International, Social Service Foundation, the largest not for profit organisation in India. The guest of honour for the same was, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International.

The event was marked by the inauguration of a toilet complex. The toilets have been constructed in the style of recycled rail compartments, a construction style unique to only Sulabh. The inaugural ceremony was organised on August 2nd, 2017. The itinerary for the day included a performance by Kshitij, The Street Play Society of Gargi College. Their narrative focused on the deplorable state of hygiene in our country, especially so in the rural areas and how an initiative like Sulabh, can help overcome this with collective efforts of the masses. The protagonist of their story, Ramu, is an ordinary man with an extraordinary vision for a cleaner India, who works tirelessly towards the realisation of his dream by helping build toilets. Mr Pathak found himself immensely pleased by their performance and said that he could relate to the character of Ramu very well.

This was followed by a felicitation ceremony where The Principal, Mrs Promila Kumar welcomed Mr Bindeshwar Pathak and felicitated him with a bouquet of flowers. Mr Pathak spoke about his campaign at length and cited personal experiences from his life, drawing on which he had resolved to take action. He established Sulabh International Social Service Organisation in 1970. It is an amalgamation of technical innovation and humanitarian principles and works primarily for the betterment of the society by promoting human rights, environmental sanitation, waste management, non-conventional sources of energy and social makeover through literacy. He has been a recipient of The Padma Bhushan from the Government of India and has also been enlisted to the Global 500 Roll of Honour.

The day came to a very fitting end with the ribbon cutting ceremony and the plantation of a Rudraksha Tree in the sports ground. Mr Pathak was awarded a token of appreciation and the event concluded with a vote of thanks.

Image Credits: www.gargicollege.du.ac.in

Lakshita Arora

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Arts & Culture

A Sluggish Revival of Our Language Courses

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Lack of commercial significance and unwillingness of students to pursue the language courses has resulted in fewer students opting for these fields; primarily, Hindi and Sanskrit. Here’s exploring the reason behind this pattern.

The academic world has been taken by storm by the prominent rise of Commerce and Economics as primary fields of higher education. It is thus inevitably assumed that if the class XIIth board examinations do not go in one’s favour, the recent pass-out is fated to opt for these language-specific arts courses as a browbeaten backup. The streams of Hindi, Sanskrit, and their likes have been destined to fall into this unfortunate category.

With its origin dating back to the second millennium, Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages to exist today. Emerging from the roots of it is our official language Hindi, which was derived back in the 7th century AD. Hindi is the fourth most-spoken language, with approximately 490 million people making use of it. Sanskrit is the official state language of Uttarakhand. Given their history and usage, there are hardly a few more languages that are as decorated as these two.

However, when it comes to studying these subjects at the undergraduate level, the numbers aren’t as staggering as that of the commerce courses. In the University of Delhi, there are about 45 colleges that offer B.A. (Hons.) Hindi, and only about 25 colleges that offer B.A. (Hons.) Sanskrit. Even after a limited number of seats for these courses, the seats fill up rather slowly. However, having said that, there has been an increase in the number of students pursuing these courses in the recent years.

Speaking to DU Beat, Dr. Subhash Chandra, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sanskrit, said

“The slow growth is due to the high demand of job-oriented courses in the market. The research and development in these subjects require students who are completely focused on these subjects which are very few.”

It cannot be refuted that the commercial significance of these languages is not as high as the commerce courses. Also, the lack of placements of students pursuing these courses is a huge factor contributing to the stagnation.

In this age of advancement, it is understandable that students want to pursue courses that offer better career-building prospects. The kind of scope and number of opportunities that the mainstream courses provide are incomparable; whereas, these language courses are more about research and exploration. Also, these courses require immense effort and a higher degree of knowledge which results in a long and continuous studying phase. However, these are not the only reasons that act as a hindrance. Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Associate Professor of Hindi Department, opines that

“Hindi and Sanskrit languages cannot restore their place as long as there is no change in the system. Our studying curriculum involves the use of English mostly as it is regarded as an elite language.”

The fact that a few students opt for these courses only when they are unable to find other courses does not help the situation. The use of English in studying directly encourages students to learn and use English. As highlighted in the statement, the discrimination of Hindi and Sanskrit very much explains why there is a scenario of fewer students opting for these courses.

Regardless of the usage of English, the fact stays that it is a secondary language for us. Owing to the choice-based credit system (CBCS) introduced by DU, the number of students studying Hindi and Sanskrit have increased. Students pursuing other courses can opt for these subjects simultaneously if they wish to. Also, these languages are a part of the curriculum which makes it compulsory for students to study it. Adarsh Kumar, a third-year student of B.A. Hons. Hindi of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College says,

“I don’t feel like there is a lack of opportunities in this program. The course covers a lot of things and I have learned a lot of things. I am very happy with the curriculum.”

Maybe we need to revamp the current backdrop to bring a change. Maybe we just need to open up doors of opportunities that make the language courses seem lucrative. Maybe we need something more drastic. We need to take this trend of increasing number of students in these courses to a higher level, where one day students might be standing in the queue for hours to enroll themselves in this program. Hopefully, one day, we can relish studying the language that is our own.

 

Feature Image Credits: Language Services Bureau 

 

Karan Singhania

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Uncategorized

#BleedWithoutFear Surfaces in the University of Delhi

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Kerala government’s recent effort to ensure menstrual hygiene, the much thought out ‘She Pad’ scheme was announced last month by the Chief Minister of the state, Mr. Pinnarayi Vijayan. Subsequently, the Students’ Federation of India, the students’ wing of CPI(M) has also led a wider campaign with the tag, “Bleed Without Fear” in the University of Delhi; demanding installation of sanitary napkin vending machines.

The scene unfolded on a Monday morning was as such: the sight of the entire campus walls and trees pasted with sanitary napkins and the slogan, “Bleed without Fear.” A multitude of students from premier institutes like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and most colleges of the University of Delhi have extended their support to the campaigns led by SFI.

Image Credits: Prashant Mukherjee
Image Credits: Prashant Mukherjee
A signature campaign has also been initiated for the same demand. This campaign is generating great enthusiasm among the students in the campus. Hundreds of students have signed up as volunteers for the campaign in the last one week.

Image Credits: Prashant Mukherjee
Image Credits: Prashant Mukherjee
“Our demand was not only against the high GST tax on the pads, but our #BleedWithoutFear also stands for the menstrual hygienic health of the female community. Every school and college should install sanitary napkin vending machines with good quality of pads with an environment safely disposal mechanism,” said Satarupa Chakraborty, a member of SFI to the Indian Express.

Image Credits: Prashant Mukherjee
Image Credits: Prashant Mukherjee
About a month back, more than 300 female students affiliated with SFI sent sanitary napkins to the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The napkins with the slogan ‘bleed without fear, bleed without tax’ on them were sent to protest against the imposition of 12% tax as per GST.

This particular incident at the University of Delhi has been SFI’s endeavour to bring the campaign and protest on a national platform.

whatsapp-image-2017-08-01-at-22-21-10

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Prashant Mukherjee
Ankita Dhar Karmakar

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Admissions 2017

Admission Deadline for Foreign Students Extended

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The University of Delhi (DU), which sees students from all across the world enrol into various courses, has decided to extend the deadline for the admission of foreign applicants. Every year, hundreds of aspirants from countries such as Afghanistan, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka apply to DU for courses such as Economics (Hons.), B.Com (Hons.) etc. in the undergraduate programme. This year, the University saw their number rise to a record 3,300. Thus, a conscious measure taken to extend the application deadline was required, in order to ease up the document submission and screening process.

Ashutosh Bhardwaj, a senior official of the admission committee, verified the news to MAIL TODAY. He said that while the deadline for admission to undergraduate courses for non-Indian students has been shifted to 4th May, the deadline for Ph.D. applications has also been extended to 31st May 2017. Earlier, the deadline for online applications for the upcoming academic session was 20th April 2017 for the undergraduate students. The new deadlines, as Bhardwaj confirmed, give students more time to submit their documents for verification. This step does, indeed, create an opportunity for both the students and the University to participate in the admission process and to make it a smooth and hassle-free affair.

 

Feature Image Credits: CryBytes

Deepannita Misra
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Uncategorized

Percipience: The Eminent Alumni Lecture Series

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The second instalment of Percipience, the eminent alumni lecture series under the aegis of University of Delhi, North Campus, was held on the 21st of this month at the Convention Hall, Vice-Regal Lodge. The topic for the seminar was “Fundamental Duties under the Indian Constitution: Forgotten Virtues?” The guest speaker for the event was Honourable Justice Arjan K. Sikri, Judge, Supreme Court of India. The moderator for the event was Professor M.P. Singh, Honourable Chancellor, Central University of Haryana, with the august podium presence of Yogesh K. Tyagi, Vice Chancellor, University Of Delhi and Professor Sydney R. Rebeiro, Dean, Alumni Affairs.

The event began with the inaugural speech by Justice Sikri. He spoke of the modern context of the Buddhist idea of enlightenment and the role of good citizenship towards the fulfilment of the purposes behind the constitutional fundamental duties. Talking of the role of the citizen in the rule of law, he referred to the trinity of ‘reminder, warning, and inspiration’ for the materialisation of an envisaged society. In the same breath, he also stressed upon the requisite sense of respect for the national flag and anthem.

Second on the podium was Professor M.P. Singh. In his moderation speech, he spoke on the idea of ‘dharma’ in relevance to the modern perception of fundamental duties. He stressed upon the fact that religion is a secular concept as it is nothing but a way of life. He also cited Mahatma Gandhi when he said that if the fundamental duties are performed well, fundamental rights would be of little concern.

This followed the question hour as the house was opened to the audience which comprised of the alumni, professors, and students of the University. The two guests clarified the various nuances of Part IVA and Article 51 of the Indian constitution.

The all-awaited presidential address was conducted by Dr. Yogesh Tyagi. He subjectively summarised in a nutshell the essence of the two lectures prior to him. Talking of Part IVA which caters to the clause of fundamental duties, he said that this was the shortest, youngest, and arguably the least legitimate of the laws referring to the need of subtle revisions in the wake of modern times.

The event ended with the national anthem led by the choir of the University of Delhi.

 

Image Credits: Nikhil Kumar for DU Beat

Nikhil Kumar

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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Beyond The Obvious: Hindu College

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The largely red building of the college glares at you on traversing the Delhi School of Economics and St Stephen’s college corridor. The premises are flanked by the Ridge forest on one side and the D School on the other. This part of Delhi has been the epicentre of the Indian freedom movement with Hindu College spearheading the student’s campaign majorly in the Quit India movement. The college was established in 1899 to counter the hegemonic control of the British over higher education in Delhi after the establishment of St Stephen’s college. Late Shri Krishan Dassji Gurwale, the founder of the college boasted of the secular and inclusive being of the institution when it functioned in a small establishment in Kinari Bazar before finally shifting to the current spot in 1953.

That the inclusive and liberal being of the college, although having undergone many reconfigurations has stayed intact is unmissable when one comes to the college during a festival or regular college days. The annual college festival Mecca, which succeeds in having major personalities every year has been the zenith of the institution’s liberal being when an entrant is allowed inside the premises without any hassle to witness motley range of events in the state of the art infrastructure of the college. The Virgin tree Pooja that happens every 14th of February also sustains the diverse aesthetics of the institution. A student of the college can visit any part of the college, attend classes of other departments, make public engagements with students and organise academic events in a relatively easy fashion. You’d find a unique activity once a week around the student centric area of Pizzas and More (PAM) ranging from sponsored events and society promotions.

The Parliament of Hindu College, which is the student body here, has inculcated political acumen in the students as  a result of which major political organisations at the varsity like ABVP, NSUI, AISA and SFI strategically position themselves in the ecosystem of the college to start political conversations. Being a student of the college, I constantly feel the repercussions and calls for student movements that happen in any part of the varsity. At the college level, the political environment calls for polarisation between majorly two sides that consolidate themselves and then contest for the parliamentary elections.

Interesting is the fact that departments like History and English have their own libraries which aim at furthering the academic interests of students. The Bharat Ram Centre, the cultural square of the college boasts a gothic style art gallery and is right at the centre of a magnificent garden. Art and photography exhibitions are a common sight in this area. The Bharat Ram Centre garden offers a composed atmosphere to have conversations and read books. The college canteen on the other hand symbolises a euphoric being of the college life at Hindu.

The institution boasts one of the largest sports grounds in the varsity with a sports centre, gymnasium and facilities for indoor sports being inheritances from the Common Wealth Games 2010, whose centre for the rugby sevens was the varsity. You’ll find many students playing volleyball and basketball in their breaks in the field. The college functions on the philosophy of letting the students decide the path to their own academic and co-curricular brilliance on the sidelines of having a system of administrative checks and balances.

Sidharth Yadav
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DUB News

Delhi University praised by Chancellor Hamid Ansari on 94th Founder’s Day

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Founded in 1922, University of Delhi celebrated its 94th Founder’s Day on May 1, 2016. Several activities took place as a part of the celebrations, including remembering martyrs and hoisting the national flag. The latter is a part of the festivities anyway but this year was a little special, with it marking the beginning of the tricolor being a permanent part of the Vice-Regal Lodge on campus.

The tricolour being hoisted as a part of the programme
The tricolour being hoisted as a part of the programme

Bhagat Singh’s name, along with those of other martyrs, featured in the programme as they were remembered for their contributions. Yogesh Tyagi , the Vice Chancellor, said in his address, “The Delhi University is built during the British Raj, but it now exists in free India. We must respect the memory of our freedom fighters, sacrifices or people like Bhagat Singh and be sensitive to the feeling of people who are his great admirers.”

The various guests present at the occassion
The various guests present at the occassion

Various teachers from different streams were felicitated for their contribution in the field of teaching. Three Supreme Court judges, Justices Madan Lokur, Rohinton Fali Nariman and Arjan Kumar, all alumni of the university, were also felicitated.

On the occasion of the Founders’ Day, Vice President and the Chancellor of University of Delhi, said in a statement, “It gives me great pleasure to send my congratulations to the vice chancellor, faculty, staff and students on the joyous occasion of the 94th foundation day of the University of Delhi.” He praised the university for maintaining a strong commitment to excellence in teaching and research, and called the university a role model for other universities.

Images from du.ac.in

Shubham Kaushik

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Campus Central

DU among the top universities of the world in 12 subject fields

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1. Anthropology – DU Ranks #51-100 in the Anthropology category which has not been calculated before by QS before. 2. Chemistry – DU continues to be in #301-400 position in Chemistry. Indian Institute of Science position is ranked as #51-100 with a significant number of IITs faring better than DU in Chemistry. Benaras Hindu University and University of Hyderabad are included in #301-400 as well. 3. Sociology – DU is included in #151-200 position in Sociology. Jawahar Lal Nehru University occupies a better position under #101-150 4. Geography – DU is the only University in India which features in the Geography Rankings under #151-200 position making it the best institution in India for Geography. 5. History and Archaeology – Both JNU and Delhi University are ranked #151-200 though JNU occupies a position above DU. 6. Modern Languages – DU occupies the best position among Indian universities with #151-200 ranking whereas University of Calcutta is listed under #251-300 7. Physics – DU slipped from #151-200 in Physics last year to #201-300 this year. DU ranks 6th in India in Physics. 8. Economics – DU is listed in #201-250 in Economics and Econometrics.  DU is ranked 2nd nationally with Indian Statistical Institute occupying a better position. 9. Mathematics – With a position under #301-400, DU grabbed the last position among a total of 9 Indian universities in the list. 10. Biological Sciences – DU is listed under #301-400 and again grabbing the last position among a total of 5 universities represented in this subject category 11. Computer Science and Information Systems – DU is listed under #401-500 in this category once again grabbing the last position among 13 Indian universities represented in the category. This includes multiple IITs including IIT Bombay at #51-100 and Jadavpur University, Kolkata and Anna University, Chennai. The University is not listed in categories like English Literature (after being listed in Top 100 for English in 2012), Art and Design, Business and Management, Communication and Media, Law, Linguistics and many more. The QS rankings were based on the expert opinion of 76,798 academics and 44,426 employers along with the analysis of 28.5 million research papers and over 113 million citations sourced from the Scopus Elsevier bibliometric database. Read the analysis of DU under last year’s QS World University Ratings Kartikeya Bhatotia [email protected]]]>

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News

University of Delhi rejects reservation of 85% seats for Delhi domicile students

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The proposal of Delhi government for the reservation of 85% seats for the Delhi domicile students in all 12 colleges wholly funded by state government and other 16 colleges receiving 5% of its fund from Delhi government, has been rejected by the University of Delhi on the 16th of April 2014. This break has been unfolded by an RTI application filed by Abhishek Ranjan, RTI Activist who is an ex-student of the University on 3rd March. These colleges include Maharaja Agrasen College, Shaheed Rajguru College, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Keshav Mahavidyalaya and Deen Dayal Upadhayay College.

Ranjan had appealed to the Prime Minister Office (PMO) directly for getting first hand information on the issue. On receiving his application, the PMO forwarded it to Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry. The University was then asked to provide answers to Ranjan’s letter no. F.No.63-4(3)/2014-CU-III, dated 14th March 2014.

“Being a law student, I wanted to know whether such reservation can be allowed in a Central University. I filed the RTI asking if such proposal can be accepted by any Central University, whether there has been any such proposal in DU and if yes, what decisions have been taken on the matter. According to me if this kind of reservation is allowed in DU now, then people will start asking for similar reservations in other universities like JNU. ” says Ranjan. He added that new colleges should be open, number of seats should be increased and even introduction of evening shifts in colleges can be there in order to solve the problem of admissions of the Delhi domicile students.

R.K. Verma, Principal Secretary of Department of IT had written to Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University on 25th February 2014, asking for reservations and mentioning that the students of Delhi have to go outside Delhi for pursuing higher studies because of lack of institutions in Delhi which could provide admission to all students passing their higher secondary exam from the schools of Delhi. On 27th March 2014, the Assistant Registrar (Academics) of Delhi University in his reply mentioned that the proposal submitted by the University for the reservation of seats can’t be accepted, Delhi University being a Central University.

Nandita Narain, the President of DUTA expresses her views on the matter, “We, at DUTA, totally agree with the decision of the University. Diversity from all over the country is one of the highlighting features of our university. The proposal by Sheila Dixit government was totally an unacceptable one on the grounds of Delhi University being a Central University and not a State University.”

For more information on the RTI application, HRD Ministry letter to DU and University’s reply to the RTI Activist, check out this link.

 

 

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