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Page 3: A Review of the Changes Around Campus This Semester
Page 2: BITSians Round the Globe Celebrated 2nd Ever BITSians’ Day
THE FINE PRINT ENGLISH
PRESS
CLUB
PRESENTS
hunting. To make matters worse many concerned individuals (or rather, pairs of individuals) were dismayed to see Shiv-G barricaded off after a certain curfew hour in the night. (More about that later anyway).
FOUR continuous days of aloo in the mess coupled with never ending beads of perspiration is probably not the most ideal welcome one would have imagined they would receive after two and a half months of lethargy and good food/PS/college-
SEMESTER I ISSUE I PILANI AUGUST 2014
Then there are the so-called affirmations that tell you that you are back in BITS, even before the aftermath of the long break drifts away - the intense clamour for interesting juniors, late night departmental wars in MB over a rare member of the fairer sex, DC, Pappuji. Which reminds me, welcome aboard freshers! Surely you have had your fair share of the abovementioned already.
reckon 'has sprouted out of nowhere during the vacations'. This one is located in front of Ashok Bhawan and is ready to be occupied. The Bhawan has 203 single rooms and is supposedly meant for higher degree students. The hostel is comprised of three blocks, and the rooms in each block have air insulated walls to help cope up with the extremes. A laundry room seems to have made its debut in this hostel, but washing machines and the likes haven't yet found their way here. Cots with storage boxes and fancy computer tables with sliding keyboard panels are part of the furniture in the new hostel block. Touche.
THE NEW HOSTEL BLOCK
RENOVATION OF RAM BHAWAN
While Pilani still remains the hamlet it has always been and while a few routines of the campus die hard, change has suddenly, conspicuously seemed to have crept into the walls of BITS Pilani. Project Parivartan has been in the buzz for quite sometime now (for more information, refer our previous issues on facebook.com/thefineprintonline). The most obvious evidence to this is the yellow-and-whitepainted Sir C. V. Raman Bhawan that some still
Meanwhile, work on Ram Bhawan is going on with gusto, with the Convenor of Project Parivartan, Dr. R. K. Mittal promising its completion by October. Buddh and Meera Bhawans are next in line for a massive haul over. The new Ram Bhawan may sport a few surprises of its own, such as a notable badminton court in the QT and possibly WiFi connectivity.
Many rumors about strong winds of change here at Pilani have been doing the rounds all summer. The grapevine is heavy with speculation, dread and protest. The Fine Print speaks to the Chief Warden, President and General Secretary to set the record straight and get an idea of what might come to be. Most whispers we have heard over the vacation do seem to have been founded on truths. But while some policy changes are going to be effective almost immediately, some are definitely on the back burner for a long time. TAKING TIME OFF Prof. C. B. Das, the Chief Warden, says that the institute is making an effort to equalize the number of working days at Pilani, Hyderabad and Goa so as to smoothen cross-campus programs such as common Telepresence lectures. The shortening of fests’ duration to three-and-a-half days as well as the proposed scrapping of SU-declared holidays are to this end. He says that the faculty feels that the fests reduce the academic involvement of the students. Outgoing General Secretary Vaibhav Singh feels that these measures are not required, as the other two campuses probably declare local holidays that Pilani doesn’t. President Aditya Bhatt says that the institute must look into other solutions, such as the recording of video lectures. Both leaders point out that such steps will negatively affect the quality of our fests. (...continued on page 3)
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It has been a very pressing issue for the BITSian populace for quite some time now. It has even been used as a campaigning tactic and has had its share of vehement deliberation on the social media as well. Taking note of this recent uproar against persistent fee hikes, Vice Chancellor B. N. Jain finally addressed students across the three campuses on 7th August 2014, shedding light on the matter from the institute perspective. The sombre event started off with the Vice Chancellor stating the exact percentage increase in fees since 2010- 12% for the first two years and 14% in the year gone by. The rest of the session was spent going over the reasons for the nearly two-fold hike in fees. The primary cause was attributed to the increasing inflation with an annual inflation rate of nearly 9-10% for the past 5 years. The fee hike of 12-14% can be divided into an inflationary increase of 9-10% and the rest 3-4% for improvement measures, he explains. On the same note, he also assures students that although the fee hike is a definite annual measure, the percentage increase will go down in case of a reduced inflation rate in the future.
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I’ll begin with a warm gesture to the new folks on campus. Hello younglings! If you’ve made the ever so painful transition from living in the cozy confines of your home to the rather baffling state of proceedings here at college, you have my applause. The initiation is complete. This is your home for the next few years. You have your way now (well, more or less). Go ahead, set your priorities, explore the remotest confines of this fabled village and define your place here. The last week and a half must have been busy for you. New people, countless ‘intros’ (are they still a custom?) you gave to faceless seniors , new-fangled regimes and the smell of redi food have all come together as an avalanche of sensory overload for you. Or not. Damn the internet, for most of you must have been privy to this long before you landed on Pilani soil. Why am I even echoing all this to you lot? Pardon me for taking things for granted. Breaking the ice here, people. You get the idea.
But there’s this one little trifle I’ll tell you though. Time. It’s strange how it works here. Trying to fathom it out is like tiring to contemplate the infinity of space or how golf works (yes, that’s from Clarkson). For some, it’s a seamless stream that surges past them with short notice. For a few others, it’s a rather different scheme. Now, before you dismiss me as a damned traitor to the cause of rationality, I give you my word: you wouldn’t want to disagree with me. There. We at the English Press Club will endeavor to keep you updated at regular intervals with all the news on campus that matter. Hope this issue helps you find a bit of footing. BITS offers you the stage to punch above your weight. Carve out your own space here and trust me, there’s a lot to choose from – be it academics or beyond it. Bon voyage. Oh, as for the wizened residents of the campus, hello and have a great semester. Feels like time passes much slower this time around. Innit?
BITS Alumni also
which has developed over the past five decades; it has been chronicled as a video on YouTube.
IG, Angad, Pranita, Spriha, Siddhant, Tanya; Ajay Ramya, Debolina, Kruti, Neel, Nithya, Passey, Prateek, Ritvik, Sahil D, Sahil K, Shalaka, Shashank, Shruti, Steffie, Viraj; Ananth, Anish, Archit, Madhusudan, Pratik, Rahul, Rusheen, Soumya, Srishti, Tanay, Tanmayee, Vijay; Akhilesh, Danish, Deeksha, Devina, Gayatri, Lasya, Sanket, Shubham, Venu, Vishal.
...continued from page 1 (FEE HIKE RATIONALE UNRAVELLED) Apart from inflation, the other 3-5% of the fees hike is on account of aggressive performance improvement and development, he adds. BITS, as an institute constantly perseveres to improve its infrastructure and academic experience with an ambitious target to double the productivity within the next 12-18 years in terms of research output, infrastructure and academic excellence. In order to meet this target in the stipulated period, they would ideally have had to increase the fees by 8% but they decided to start with 6% and elongate the growth time period instead if necessary. To grow even by 6 percent, they need at least 3- 4% increase in annual investment which is what makes up the rest of the fees hike. It is but fair, that we are informed about where exactly this money is being spent. Talking on the matter, he talked about plans for new infrastructure, more research focused faculty members, increased research grants and improved brand building. Effort is being made to arrange for international exposure for faculty so that they can enhance the teaching experience for students by integrating new pedagogical methods observed at these places. An improvement in placement scenario and better sports facilities are also high on priority. Lastly, the climb in rankings of BITS was also emphasized, especially in the international QS rankings as a result of these measures. Apart from the money generated from student fees, BITS is tapping other revenue sources as well. The institute has procured several research grants from government organizations like Department of Science and Technology (DST). In fact, unbeknownst to most people, there are currently 70 projects in the
three campuses which are being financed by the government of India. He also expressed hesitance in procuring government aid any further as it might ruin the autonomous functioning of the institute which has greatly contributed to its positive reputation. WILP (Work Integrated Learning Program), the industrial training program by BITS is also being rigorously worked on and expanded for increased revenue generation. The institute is also implementing several cost-cutting measures. The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) introduced recently are for example, decreasing faculty costs and the introduction of the telepresence technology has led to a significant reduction in travel related costs. A suggestion to implement the fees hike only for incoming batches, which are more likely to avail the aforementioned benefits was shot down saying the fee structure shall remain uniform across batches. Answering concerns raised over affordability for the financially weak students, the vice-chancellor elaborately talked about the scholarship structure of the institute. The Merit Cum Need (MCN) scholarships with a fee waiver of 80%, 40% and 25% are offered to a total of 21% students across the three campuses. Clubbed with the Merit scholarships, it extends to 25% students. Students unanimously suggested a review of the allocation procedure of the MCN scholarships highlighting several unfair cases. The Director and the Chief Warden thereby appealed to students to report cases of unfair allocation with assurance of anonymity. The Practice School fees for students have also been reduced from 50% of the semester fees to 35% of the semester fees. The session concluded after a fairly long question-answer round addressing concerns from students across the three campuses.
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(POLICY CHANGES)
(THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’)
THE SELFIE SYSTEM
THE NEW ACADEMIC BLOCK
Much to the students’ despair, many instructors have started diligently passing around attendance sheets, even in lectures. Students have registered selfies, against which their e-Attendance pictures will be compared. Attendance has shot up because nobody is sure whether it is mandatory or not. It is not, confirms the Chief Warden. Attendance is being noted only for internal records, to confirm the popularity of a given class and to supplement faculty feedback. Unless otherwise stated, at present, it has no weight in grading.
The NAB has been hogging its own share of attention too, with the whole of the IPC unit and five departments - Humanities, Management, Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science being shifted here. FD I, which previously hosted the IPC and the Computer Science department too is about to undergo a full scale renovation, with chemical and civil labs occupying the entire ground floor. Plans for faculty lounges and seminar rooms in all the tobe-renovated academic buildings are in order and tenders are being floated. WiFi is available in all these buildings but student access is yet to be granted.
Singh points out that teachers are often biased towards attendance records be it while counselling students or while grading them. Attendance will soon become at least unofficially compulsory, he says.
IN OTHER NEWS We’ve heard that BITS might consider shifting to a five-day week, but Prof. Das says that, as of now, that possibility is logistically impossible. SR Bhawan will continue to stand as long as older Bhawans are being renovated. All curfews will stay as they were last semester. Breathalysers, though not currently in use, might be introduced in the near future.
A DYING BRAND? Both Bhatt and Singh point out that these changes in the pipeline hit hard at the very roots of campus traditions. The club-department culture, which, apart from making lives on campus infinitely happier, has churned out fantastic artists and leaders over the years, will suffer. This reduced freedom, coupled with centralized placements and this campus’ inferior infrastructure and location compared to the other campuses, will prove to be detrimental for the brand of BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, they opine. The SU leaders are already in dialogue with the Institute authorities and they plan to channel student unrest on these matters into sensible argument that, they feel, can pose an impediment to these changes. There is also an ace in the SU’s pocket, they say – alumni support is, by far, with the students. One can only wait and watch to see how these changes amalgamate themselves into BITSian life, while hoping for, at the least, normalcy. More Parivartan, anyone?
One nook of the NAB to definitely look out for is the student breakout area, a lounge-like area with sofas et al., where students can meet and discuss projects etc. Dr.. Mittal also tells EPC that designs for 156 new houses (near C'not) for non-teaching staff have been laid and these should be up within three years. He also reveals the coming of a kids zone and a clubhouse for faculty. Now for those of you who're wondering why a few FD III classrooms are being turned into piles of rubble, then know that an NMR machine (400 MHz, with auto sample) worth over two crore Rupees is about to be housed in there - three rooms with a total of eight air conditioners is what this awesome machine requires. This newly acquired property of BITS is state-of-the-art, and is a multi-purpose facility across all the campuses. According to a professor in the Chemistry Department, this machine would “greatly enhance the level of research” in chemistry, biology and pharmacy. A Biology Lab is also expected to come up near the IC. And what's this sudden locking up of Shiv-G? Apparently, the Birla Education Trust (BET) under who's purview it falls, is planning to maintain a single entry point and charge a tourist fee for entry into Shiv-G. The only consolation for you regular visitors is that we haven't been able to confirm this piece of information yet. All in all however, very promising signs for some serious and quick infrastructural development on campus!
Two score years ago was born the most famous of the fests here in BITS-Pilani. The eldest of the three sister fests, Oasis was born to allow us to unleash our inner wild child and to prove to society that we do in fact socialize with other members of the homo sapien family besides the sunburned lunatics that call Pilani their home. The middle sister, APOGEE, was our BITSian forefathers asking us to do something academic during our brief stay in the desert. The youngest of the trio was BOSM, the sports fest. Over the years, the three kindly ones have grown to be three of the most prominent fests in all of India and this would have only been possible if the reins of power were with the right people which is where departments come in. The guardians of the fests come in all shapes and sizes like the students here at BITS.
Activities, Dance, Music, Debating Society (DebSoc), English Drama Club (EDC), Hindi Drama Club (HDC), English Language Activities Society (ELAS), Hindi Activities Society (HAS), Pool, Poetry, Mime, Photography and Consulting. The clubs with the non-self-explanatory names are Matrix, the book and movie reviewers, and Ragamalika, the classical music and dance club. Clubs and departments are an integral part of your lives here on campus as the people you meet here are the ones who you will call a family for the next four, five, six (if you’re unlucky) years of your stay here. Choose wisely and may the odds be skewed in your favor.
The Department of Sponsorship and Marketing lures in the sustenance for the fests in the form of sponsors and donations. Controls dictates the order of things and draws in the crowds. Firewallz guards our gates, Audi Force guards and manages the entrance to the auditorium, which is decorated by Art Design and Publicity (ADP). The Departments of Sounds, Lights and Backstage handle the Lights, Sounds and the work Backstage respectively. Reception and Accommodation provide our guests with safe quarters for the nights. The Department of Photography gives them evidence of their stay. Publications and Correspondence, Department of Visual Media, Paper Evaluation and Presentations all put in their two cents. The Department of Theatre, Jhankar and Informalz organize a plethora of events from fashion parades to Prof Shows among many other things. The departments work side by side with the clubs for the fests. There are those with self-explanatory names (adding club to the end where needed): English Press Club (EPC), Hindi Press Club (HPC), Astronomy, Creative
Welcome to the first week on campus. No proper food, sleep or sanity, but there is one thing there is no dearth of. We may have to wait till BOSM for the showers, but it's definitely raining advice. Information pouring in from all quarters? No need for fear. Take a deep breath, grab a shikanji and read. Here is a consolidated version of all the snippets of sagacious (mostly) words of wisdom for the young, impressionable BITSian.
“Attend all lectures” is good advice. It is also rarely followed. Use the attendance policy wisely. The LTC will show an exponential decline in population in the coming week, but make sure you brave the heat/cold/ sleep/pure disinterest and attend tutorials. Apart from helping you keep in touch with the course, tutorial tests are a treasure trove of easy-to-score marks.
The clubs and departments on campus run like well-oiled machines. Make sure you join one, a few or as many as you can handle. Do not shy away from club auditions or recruitment tests. You might re-discover a talent or surprise yourself with a new one. Pandora’s Box would aptly describe DC++, but do not hide inside it. Try not to watch Friends for the fifth time or spend all your time gaming. DC is also home to a lot of useful tutorials, books and documents - take your pick.
Step outside your room, meet some interesting seniors and batch mates. God knows you need some friends to survive the extremes this place has to offer, weather and otherwise.
The BITSian lingo offers a bunch of words to describe people. In all honesty, typecasting is no fun. Be the ghot who has the most fun, the person involved in cultural activities as well as research, the TDC who doesn’t wear shades indoors, or the civil student who gets placed.
Try to maintain a good rapport with the professors of your department their wise and seasoned outlook towards life in the hamlet might teach you a thing or two.
As long as you can, subject your stomach to the culinary delights of the mess. “There’s a time and place for everything and it’s called college.” Then, hog at C’not, the wallet-massacring Sky Lab and the questionable redis. Take naps in the afternoon with reckless abandon. Watch weird movies with Also, breakfast at the mess is actually worth dragging yourself out of bed. your wing. Spend your evenings sprawling in the NAB grass. Go redi-hopping. Chase a peacock. Living in a village does have its perks. Far away from anything even slightly You have some of the best available resources in the country and a solid zero resembling civilisation, you get a chance to do almost anything, uninterrupted. With a bunch of incredibly talented seniors by your side, you attendance policy to back you. This is as good as it can ever get. It isn’t going to be a cakewalk, but set your priorities and you can get the best Pilani has to offer. can learn to paint, play an instrument or even build a car.