Ubad Khabad sadkein DU ki

You'll certainly miss the good old school days, the memories of parents and teachers contriving together so as to make you study, as you stand at the college gates, 'coz at Delhi University the tables are turned! You want to study, study anything anywhere just so that you can study further and there's nowhere to go, no one to take you in. To the deaf ears of DU Administration, wake-up call from ailing students...

Aatir Zaidi, pass-out from Cambridge school, has applied to journalism and psychology honours courses in colleges of Delhi University. Journalism is his first preference, but being unable to crack the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) journalism entrance he doesn't exactly feel on top of the world. "I've given Maharaja Agrasen College (MAC)'s journalism entrance too and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's my last hope of making it to journalism in DU since there is no other co-ed college other than DCAC and MAC that offers the course. Mass Comm. was never an option as Bachelors in Mass Media and Mass Communication is only offered by Indraprastha College which is a women's college." Unfortunately for Aatir the prospects are dim in psychology too, with only 3 co-ed colleges in DU boasting of a department in Psychology.

Outraged students continue to protest against OBC reservations, maybe still unaware of the fact that general category seats aren't affected. But that raises a very valid question as to how the management plans to incorporate the students from reserved categories in the existing infra-structure? Kalindi has a single loo, Vivekananda has a hostel with 50 seats; something is better than nothing they say. The Principal of a highly reputed college, who wishes to remain anonymous, says, "We have increased the seats as per SC guidelines for the OBC quota but we just one tank of drinking water, so will the new students remain thirsty?"

Regular classes still don't take place in all colleges, even though university has introduced rules to keep a check on teachers' attendance. A teacher from an off-campus college tells us that most of the staff of her college comes to college just to collect their pay. Students make the best of it, by taking up part-time or even full-time jobs to earn extra pocket money.

Despite university rules stating that all DU colleges must have their libraries functional on Saturdays for reference, if not for issuing and returning of books, few practice theory. When the students can come to college on Saturdays, why can't the library staff? "If the staff is given an off on a rotational basis, why only Saturday, libraries can be made functional on Sundays too!", says Sneha Datta, this year's pass-out from Delhi School of Social Work (DSSW). Two years back, Sneha and other students of Masters in Social Work (MSW) took matters into their hand and mentioned the hiccup to the HOD. The Student Union took the plea to the general body meeting and now the issue stands resolved.

Akshay Gambhir, 2nd year student of Bachelor in Business Studies from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Business studies mourns the loss of their beloved canteen. "It's been nearly a year since our canteen closed down due to some tiff between the library staff and the care-taker. Now we need to run outside college even to grab a bite between classes or study on an empty stomach."

All said and done, DU must be commended for its sense of humour. All these glitches serve as infallible excuses students tell us. All of the above can be turned around as valid answers to questions like, why didn't you manage a decent college, why don't you go to college, why didn't you submit your assignment on time and why can't you concentrate in class, etc. No pink slips for ECAs? Excellent excuse for short attendance! Come exam time and Priya Goswami cries "Boyfriends should go on a break!" Go on DU, Pass the buck!