Campus Beat Magazine | August 2020

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campus beat INDEPENDENT STUDENT MAGAZINE

VIRTUAL ORIENTATION AND ISSUES

THE UNEXPLORED FRONT OF ONLINE CLASSES

How colleges are facing infrastructural and mindset challenges during virtual orientation.

COVID-19 has led to a sudden shift towards digitization. How this is impacting the students and teachers.

W W W . C A M P U S B E A T . I N

campus beat Managing Editor Sefali Rani

Founder Brand and Communication Youth Outreach Operations Lead, Editorial Lead, Social Media

Madhu Priya Sahay Uddeshya Harsh Astha Priya Gurleen Kaur Shrutika Srivastava Raj Roshni

@CAMPUSBEATNEWS

THE CAMPUS EXPERIENCE

EDITORIAL OFFICE Noida Extension West, UP campusbeat.in | news@campusbeat.in Campus Beat is an independent student news club run and managed by the Wake Up India Foundation. www.campusbeat.in

AUGUST 2020

editor's note August was a month of events. Starting from BCCI's announcement about Women's IPL, Bacchhan family's corona infection, to MS Dhoni's retirement.

We witnessed it all.

Colleges, on the other hand, had another challenge in

front

of

Controversry,

them.

The

Problem

Open

Book

Exam

of Fees, the decision on

NEET and IIT Jee, and obviously the virtual orientation of new batches.

In this

edition, we have written articles around

these issues. As always, your feedback will help us improve. Do write to us.

Sefali Rani MANAGING EDITOR

MOB LYNCHING: A DEATH SENTENCE TO HUMANITY SAUMYA SUMAN

Mob Lynching is the term used to describe the acts of a large angry crowd who target a person or a group. They inflict extreme violence on the victim(s) believing that the target is being punished for his malpractices. They annihilate the Rule of Law and try to penalize the victim(s) without trial. In most cases, the mob does not care to verify the allegations against the accused and

often

innocent

people

are

attacked

mercilessly. I would ask all the readers to ponder about

the

questions

highlighted

with

an

unbiased mindset.

Remember the horrendous lynching of two elderly sadhus and their driver in Palghar district, Maharashtra on 16 April 2020? The victims who had come to the area for the funeral of their guru were assumed to be child-lifters. A mob of 200 plus people armed with axes, sticks and stones gathered deftly. The incident happened at a time when social distancing and lockdown were supposed to be followed vigilantly. Why did the police not stop them from congregating? More importantly, ‘How did all the people in the group make the same mistake of picking the wrong target?’

The answer to the latter is a WhatsApp rumour about the possible activity of organ harvesting gangs and kidnappers in the area at night. Due to

this a similar event had occurred four days before this incident where a doctor’s car had been pelted with stones when it appeared during night-time. Why did the police not identify the pattern of violence and act accordingly? A heartwrenching video showed the elder, 70 years old priest clinging to the legs of a policeman in an attempt to be saved. The latter shrugged him off when the situation became out of hand. All three victims were ghastly murdered.

This is just one of the many cases which occur every year worldwide. In India, this type of barbaric violence is often fuelled by tensions between ethnic communities. A majority of the cases are related to one of these allegations: Cow Vigilante Violence (use of physical force in the name of cow protection). More than 60 cow vigilante attacks have occurred in India between 2010 and mid-2017. The 2015 Dadri mob lynching is a haunting example of such attacks.

Suspicion of Witchcraft (yes, it’s the 21st century and yes, there still are people ignorant enough).

Just a year ago in July 2019, four civilians were killed

by

villagers

in

Jharkhand

after

the

panchayat decided that they were practising black magic.

Lynching following the spread of fake news over WhatsApp. (The app of all rumours, you may even

Lynching is a method of vulgar men find the cure for Corona in one of its highly forwarded messages.) Similar cases of lynching fuelled by fake WhatsApp rumour like the one in Palghar are reported in various parts of the country throughout the year.

“If ten men are trying to lynch one allegedly vile person, then we can be completely sure that there are ten vile people and one allegedly vile person over there!” quoted Turkish novelist and thinker Mehmet Murat ildan.

Why do people think that it’s their responsibility to make sure that justice is served? All of us are aware of an independent branch of the government: ‘The Judiciary’. Apart from being free from all external influence, is completely unbiased and administers a common law system. Yes, it is slow in its course of delivering justice but it’s still better than sentencing innocents to die. Some people may point out that in various cases ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. For these cases, a speed trial should be made available. But not having that facility yet doesn’t give anyone the right to end an offender’s life.

If we decide to practice brutality against an alleged culprit desecrating the Rule of Law and his/her Right to Life then how are we different from the offender who is being penalized for breaking the law by people who aren’t doing any justice to it(law) either?

I would like to end by quoting Mehmet again “Lynching is the method of vulgar men! He who is deprived of compassion is deprived of everything!”

According to a report, on an average 200,000 people are dead not because of any robbery or virus but scarcity of water. “We have 4% of the global water and 16% of the global population,” an expert notes.

Since childhood, we are taught about how much water we have and how much we can use them. Yes, earth’s most part is covered with water but No, they are not the water we can use for our purpose. Today, India is facing it’s one of the worst water crises in its history. Sustainable water development has seen slow progress in India in recent years. Though 80% of the country’s states

have

water

conservation

legislation, bad data management and nonexistent pricing of water have kept the country from making a significant change, the report states. According to the report, three-quarters of the Indian population is affected by contaminated water, and 20% of the country’s disease is thought to directly correlate.

About 60 crore people facing high to extreme water stress and about two lakh people dying every year due to inadequate access to safe water, NITI Aayog said in a report on June 14.NITI

WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, NOT A DROP TO DRINK PAPRJA APURVAM

Aayog has ranked all the states through first of its kind index on the composite water management, comprising nine broad

sectors

with

28

different

indicators covering various aspects of groundwater, bodies,

restoration

irrigation,

farm

of

water

practices,

drinking water, policy and governance.

And according to this survey, Gujarat has topped in this list while tribal states like Jharkhand

has

reflected

its

worst

condition. As it’s been noted, it is said that maximum states have achieved a score below 50% and could significantly and

effectively

improve

their

resource management practices.

water

As

NITI

AAYOG

report

represents the conditions of the state in this matter, It also warns that 21 cities are likely to run out of groundwater by 2020

despite

demand.

This

increasing would

also

threaten food security as 80% of water is used in agriculture.

Mostly, the rural areas have been affected due to this scarcity as they are not able to be reliable on groundwater for long. The Aayog has called for “immediate action” as growing scarcity will also hit India’s food security.

Now, after understanding the situation the next question that arises is what exactly should be done by us -the residents of this country and the

Government

of

this

country. Although water crisis is

now

a

worldwide

phenomenon (two-thirds of the global population is living

under water-stressed conditions and, by 2025, about 1.8 billion people are expected to face absolute water scarcity), but it is much worse in India due to mismanagement of water usage in agricultural operations. Given this grim scenario, the following measures can be suggested: 1. First and foremost thing is- people need to be educated about this situation. They need to be educated about the worse sides of this situation and how are they going to get affected.

Then only we can expect cooperation from them.

2. If a good way doesn’t work, sometimes we ought to take tough and strict measures too. Impose suitable penalties for wasting and polluting water, and also limit per capita use of water and impose fines for exceeding the limit.

3. Recycle sewage and other household wastewater by setting up watertreatment plants, using innovative technologies, and reuse the extracted water for irrigation.

4. Agricultural ways should be changed in some way like: educate about the use of drip irrigation and sprinklers and impose them.

5. Strict action should be taken regarding water theft and poor hygiene and maintenance of the water system.

This is not just a normal and causal problem which can be read about and left to deal and handled by the government.

This is a matter of great concern because it’s not just government who will be a victim of this case instead it’s us who will be deeply affected. And unlike most of the things, water has no substitute “For every drop of water you waste, you must know that somewhere on earth someone is desperately looking for a drop of water!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN! Thank You, Mahi for making our lives amazing. Thank You for Everything.

6 LESSER KNOWN FACTS ABOUT

MS DHONI

MS Dhoni is the first wicket-keeper batsman to lead India in Test cricket.

He was also the first Indian skipper in 33 years to win a series in New Zealand in the longest format of the game.

Dhoni was the first player in international cricket to win the ICC ODI player of the year award twice (in 2008 and 2009).

Dhoni also holds the rare feat of being the only Indian captain to win five consecutive Test series.

Dhoni is also the only captain in the world to win ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy.

Dhoni also holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army.

THE UNEXPLORED FRONT OF ONLINE CLASSES AYUSH KUMAR

The Supreme Court on 17th of August 22,

Online classes conducted by educational

2020,

platforms

refused

to

defer

the

entrance

such

as

BYJU’s,

Unacademy,

examinations NEET and JEE when the nation

Coursera, Udemy are all contributing to the

is witnessing prodigious spike in the number

education of kids more than the any university

of COVID cases. It feels like the educational

or college around the nation.

institutions, agencies and the government are all set to harass the students of the nation in

There’s a reason why students enroll in online

their own quirky and uncanny ways.

courses on these platforms despite paying huge sum of money in their respective

Online classes or the mode of online learning

colleges.

has grown its proponents and dissenters over a few months. While most of the students face

Where does the problem lie?

a hard time bearing with online classes, many remain unafflicted because they don’t even

Students

care.

the

underprivileged regions of the country, where

technological put forward by online classes,

electricity seems more like a benefaction of

they are still oblivious to the problems that

government and not something really basic

aren’t even addressed as problems by anyone

are expected to join online classes through

in the authority.

high speed internet connection.

Though

people

are

aware

of

hailing

from

the

most

The

ostentatious

4th

Generation

or

4G

communication doesn’t ever help me upload a blog during the day. But the problem isn’t limited to internet.

Issue arises out of the way these online classes are conducted. Professors mostly orate what’s written in the notes. Much of that they try to elaborate can’t be just done verbally. How do you explain a concept of engineering by just orating the notes or pointing the mouse on a random figure?

Internet speed further aggravates the suffering of both the sets of people. The extenuating internet services decimate the rest that could be salvaged.

The worst part is the insensitivity and callousness of universities and professors, who defy every other suggestion by students that can do them any good. Uploading video lectures on YouTube recorded on phones with teachers explaining concepts on white-boards or papers could have been

a

possible

significantly

solution

alleviated

the

and

would

distress

of

have

lame excuse that “We aren’t allowed to do that”.

How does procuring a method that not only mitigates the hardship of students but also helps them study in a better way be not allowed or as

infringement

of

ethics

of

a

college/university/school?

A student from one of the premiere management institute said that teachers emphatically tell students to install wi-fi services such as JIo-fibre at home if their daily internet data is exhausted because they can’t help in any way. How frivolous and negligent can the management be to pass remarks as such In a conversation with a school kid, I learnt that students are compelled to attend online classes despite network issues as teachers intimidate them in the name of attendance.

I was talking to one of my juniors who told me that they were being asked to write the notes from slides being presented on the screen by one professor. How does online education make sense if you’re forcing students to write down the notes instead of sending it directly?

That’s just one aspect of the situation, like one side of the coin. At the other side, professors who relentlessly perform their job are abused over live classes. Professors can’t chuck them out because many of them aren’t acquainted with the software involved in these classes. Also, they have to teach students, which is a much more imperative task to be addressed.

If counting problems could do any good to the society, I would worship news channels. Precisely, both are futile.

both

students and teachers, but they make this pretty

termed

The circumstances aren’t any different in colleges. Such are the tantrums thrown by teachers to harass students which inflict severe physical and mental health issues on students.

What has the Govt. or universities done?

“NOTHING” In fact these problems are considered so trivial that the government as well as universities averts commenting or suggesting or implementing a solution.

What are the possible solutions?

There are many teachers who aren’t tech savvy and computers, technology seem to be a hard nut to crack. Special training sessions and workshops should be conducted. They should be taught how to use the smart phone or a laptop to create a virtual classroom. These teachers (except professors who are computer experts themselves) strive hard to be acquainted with these methods. Colleges/ institutions should provide all the resources to the teachers so that they can teach in rather an effective manner.

THE ONLINE Above Shot by August de Richelieu on Canon EOS 6D

CLASS SAGA

THE SUGGESTED

Suggestions

and

alternate

without any reduction, they

strategies should be adopted.

can

Every time students suggest

materials, books and other

anything, it doesn’t mean that

resources through couriers.

they

intend

to

create

also

provide

study

NOT CHANGE THE

a

nuisance. Students are at the

Government has to impose

vulnerable side all the time,

strict

because

structure

they

invest

the

guidelines of

for

institutions

fee to

money not to just study on

deter them from extorting

their own.

impertinent sum of money and intimidating students of

If universities/colleges can ask for the entire semester fee

SOLUTIONS MIGHT

SCENARIO

ENTIRELY, BUT THE

PROBLEMS POSED

backlogs.

CAN CERTAINLY BE

ADDRESSED.

MISHTI DOI

ANURADHA KUMARI If you know any Bengali friend or have ever visited West Bengal, Orissa or Bangladesh, you will come across this special dessert which is popularly known as Mishti Doi, meaning sweet yoghurt in bengali.

DESSERT RECIPE Be it summer, monsoon or winter no one can deny having a portion of Mishti Doi after a meal.

"PERFECT FOR FAMILY FUNCTIONS" Ingredients to be used: Prep time: 8 hours

It is normally made in a clay pot. Clay is porous material, having the ability to absorb water.

When you make curd in a clay pot, the clay absorbs the excess water and so the curd is much thicker and richer.

It has a creamy, pudding-like texture with a deep, rich flavour of dark caramel and a touch of sourness that makes it refreshing.

Cook time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 to 5 1. Milk: 3 cup 2. Jaggery: 2 tbsp 3. Curd: 2 tbsp The process to make it:

It is rationally rich in protein, calcium, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.

Heat the milk in a pan. Boil it till it reduces to half or one-third.

The method of making Mishti Doi is different from making a simple curd or dahi. The milk is thickened and reduced first and then palm jaggery is added. So let’s begin with the recipe.

Turn off the gas and allow it to cool for 7 to 8 minutes.

Add jaggery powder and keep stirring till it gets dissolved.

When it turns slightly warm, add the curd to the milk and mix well.

Pour it into the earthen pots and leave it in a dry place for 6 hours.

Refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours and serve it, topping it with your favourite dry fruits.

WHY DELHI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ARE OPPOSING OPEN BOOK EXAMS SHRUTI KUMARI

Open Book Examination refers to those exams in which students can consult their books and notebooks. Also, they can use other accepted material for answering questions.

These especially aim to develop skills and creative thinking.

The students need to compare, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information in the given question.

Open book exams usually are in two categories. First, limited time exams, with varying degrees of access to resources and references. Second, take-home open book exams you do at home. Questions are handed out, answers are attempted without help from others, and the exam is returned with a specified period. Materials might be notebooks, reading reference material or textbooks, equipment like calculators, drafting tools, etc.

Open book exams are more than just rote-learning. At University, simply memorizing and repeating information is not enough to get you good marks. Higher education is supposed to provide intellectual abilities and skills. Open book exams test our ability to quickly find relevant information

and

then

to

understand,

analyze,

apply

knowledge, and think critically. It is less difficult to recall or memorize and enhances retrieval skills in students.

Delhi University is conducting online open-book exams given the coronavirus pandemic. Students and teachers have been opposing the lack of internet connectivity in many places, among other issues.

A group of around 10 protestors had gathered outside the Arts Faculty. They carried placards reading “Say No to Online Exams” and “DU Against OBE”. A senior police officer said eight protestors were detained and later released. They were taken to the Maurice Nagar police station in North District.

Prasanjeet Kumar, president of left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA), said the students and teachers were detained but were released after being made to sign

an

undertaking

that

they

won’t violate the prohibitory orders imposed in the city under

Section

Criminal

144

of

the

DU

outside

Delhi.

These

national capital in March for Holi without taking along their and

students

notes. from

Also, the

northeastern states and parts of Jammu and Kashmir do not have

access

to

high-speed

internet. It is causing mental stress

tremendous

are

and under

pressure.

They

would somehow manage to

teachers,

outstation students left the

books

students

They

between the rich and the

about 45% of the students are from

the

appear in the exams. But it is

(CrPC). to

teachers.

Code

Procedure

According

among

creating

a

virtual

divide

poor. The students who can afford the internet and laptop have hired agencies to appear in

the

exams.

students

are

But

some

stuck

in

containment zones and have no means to take the exams.

The open book examination online

mode

has

been

adopted by DU as a one-time measure for academic session 2019-20

in

light

coronavirus pandemic.

of

the

However, many teachers and various students’ unions have opposed the decision to hold the online or open-book test.

The varsity has also decided against holding exams for the IInd and IVth semester of UG courses.

Students

will

be

evaluated based on internal assessment and marks scored in the previous semester. Both the criteria have been given 50% weightage.

Final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students of Delhi University are disappointed lot with the Delhi high court deciding to allow the online Open-Book (OBE).

Examinations

PRIYA PAUL

MCDONALDIZATION

Predictability: Fully standardized and uniform

OF CULTURE

same style with different tastes according to

services. McDonald’s offer same products with demographics. For eg- Indian style fast -food in all

its

Indian

branches

to

attract

Indian

customers.

Control:

replacing

human

presence

with

technological advancement like smart AI in “No Amount of money can take place the

future for expediting work.

precious time spent with families.”

Indian Food Culture- Then & Now

Gone are the days when all the toddlers, adults, and elders would sit together and have food,

How clearly you and I remember the perfect

reminiscing, and enjoying all the precious and

moment of eating this gajar ka halwa with mum

golden moments of life.

or family, embracing our close bond? Maybe long

In this era of digitalization, our eating habits have

ago or none. Today’s generation is all about

changed completely. Everybody is munching on

running a rat race, who is frantically searching for

those “tasty” French-fries , subway rolls, chicken

success hook or by crook, forgetting the most

wings, etc. from McDonald’s, KFCs, and all other A-

essential part of life – Family. Without family,

star

we’re

fast-food

restaurants,

malls,

and

nothing.

It

is

their

love,

guidance,

outlets(including myself). And on top of that

counselling which makes us venture to our

glued to smartphones and posting those “food

dreams. Earlier the family table was considered

pics” on Facebook and Instagram. But, we’re not

to be the most cool thing about dinner time,

alone. The entire world is with us!

where everyone would sit and chit-chat. And now, all the chit-chats are happening on

Birth And Origin

WhatsApp or FB. We curse this world when we become lonely but aren’t we only secluding

Do you know that there’s a phenomenon named

ourselves from this bright, fun-loving world,

after

Interesting,right!

where we have our families! You and I are

Well, it is called McDonaldization (Yes, the title of

becoming health-conscious but hate to eat pure

my article) coined by sociologist George Ritzer in

karela ka juice made by our mums and ready to

his 1993 book. It means that the characteristics of

chillax with readymade online ordered energy

a fast-food restaurant are adopted by this society

drinks! This is just not done.

McDonald’s

restaurant?

efficiently and quickly. According to Mr. Ritzer, Whenever

McDonald

enters

a

country

it

completely modifies and unifies the consumer

Astonished, right! How can lockdown be related with a bright future. Well, I believe it is possible.

patterns making them hybrid. His four concepts perfectly

makes

McDonald’s

a

favourite

Lockdown

may

have

brought

this

world

destination for all the fast-foodies, which are

economy to an impending hault. But it has

mentioned below.

brought a positive change in our thinking and perspective towards life. It has made us closer to

Efficiency:

Every

company

focuses

on

our

family

and

friends.

Our

families

have

accomplishing a task in minimum time-frame.

emerged to be our biggest benefactors in this

McDonald’s believe in fast servicing.

tiring situations.

Calculability: How fast can the employees deliver

So, my dear friends lets make a productive use of

the product or projects. McDonald’s delivers large

this pandemic. Lets stay true to our roots and

amount of food stuff quickly.

culture.

The Voice of Jharkhand: Alvin Declares the Winner The

Jharkhand

Uddeshya Harsh, Shrutika Srivastava, Debanjana and

competition concluded today. Vaibhav Nirbadh was

Grand

Finale

of

The

Voice

of

Kumar Sonu played an important role in conducting the

named as the winner of the competition.

event. It is for the first time an online event of this scale is being organised.

Alvin Rozario, Ranchi-based singer-songwriter, music producer, and the founder of Highway 69 – the Indian

“This idea behind this competition was to provide the

Heavy Metal Band was the judge of the online Voice of

singers of Jharkhand a stage where they can showcase

Jharkhand competition.

their talent. And who else, other than Alvin, would be a better judge,” said Madhu Priya Sahay, Founder, Campus

Alvin and his band – Highway 69 – are known for their

Beat. She continued, “Alvin has represented Ranchi at

fast tempos, instrumental and aggressive style of

national and international level. He’s an inspiration for

playing. The band has performed twice as the finalists

many aspiring talents.”

at Hornbill International Rock Contest of Hornbill Festival in Nagaland for the year 2017 and 2018.

The Voice of Jharkhand competition will also be supporting the education of girl child in Bihar. “Making

The Voice of Jharkhand competition was organised by

an impact in society is our priority. We have collaborated

Campus Beat – a student-led a news organisation in

with the Wake Up India Foundation to donate money for

association with The Wake Up India Foundation, The

supporting girl child education in remote areas of Bihar,”

Hasmukh, The Artists of Xavier’s, and Ranchi Meri Jaan.

said Astha Priya, Lead, Youth Outreach, Campus Beat.

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