This opinionative section has been brought into effect in a bid to make the articles more opinionated - a few articles every issue that serve as radars for the everchanging scene on campus. These are aimed at bringing to light the necessities of students and may serve as eye openers.
Let’s not kid ourselves. We are a complacent bunch. A cursory examination of our
surroundings by the most impartial eyes will validate that. Our opinions are drab;
our expectations, mediocre. Our lethargy has given them the luxury to do as they
desire because it’s pretty apparent that we will do absolutely nothing about it.
We’ve traded our football field for concrete. We’ve lost the convenience of having
multiple gates on campus in the name of illusory security. Some of us are so busy
worrying about the next first-hour tutorial test that they probably haven’t even
noticed these changes.
They say the times have changed, things aren’t the same anymore. But,
has it really gotten that bad?
We have to think twice before going for a jog to Glider’s Club. The sports culture
here is practically non-existent. We have the most mediocre sports infrastructure
and absolutely no provision for coaching. Aren’t they supposed to encourage us to
work hard and play harder? Most of their decisions are made in the name of
improving academics, yet absolutely no effort has been made to improve the
quality of faculty or course material. They want us to study, yet the library is not
open at all hours. They want us to be better engineers, yet the financial support
given to technical teams is negligible. They say we have the freedom to decide
whether we want to attend classes or not and yet most instructors surreptitiously
ensure that regular absentees suffer. They fail to look at extra-curricular activities
as anything but a distraction.
It’s become a rarity to see people enjoy what they are doing.
This place was famous for the kind of social network it gave you access to in your
time here. That social network will soon cease to exist simply because they don’t
want us to talk to our juniors anymore. Freshmen are scared to meet seniors. The
little effort made by seniors to talk to them is deemed as ragging. They don’t
understand that the custom of interacting with seniors is probably the most
enriching welcome a fresher can get. Many find the idea of the eleven o’ clock
curfew for girls to be fundamentally flawed, but the few girls there are seem to be
surprisingly comfortable with it. Most of them have never bothered knowing why
it’s there in the first place.
Somewhere down the line, we just stopped questioning them.
There are very few platforms for us to voice our concerns and they are becoming
less approachable by the day. We have no say in the decisions they make and we
have no opportunity to challenge them. We’ve seen our friends being punished for
doing what they think is wrong. They’ve been punished because someone had to
be made an example of. They refuse to reason. They want us to live in fear. We
live in fear. Fear of bad grades. Fear of getting caught for being at the wrong place
at the wrong time. There was a time, not very long ago, when things weren’t like
this.
This is not a call for activism. That’s never going to happen here. This is
a Rorschach blot. You are free to decide what it means.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone. The entries in this
column may have notions that the EPC does not openly uphold.
WE ARE LISTENING!
Hate mail or fan mail, we welcome all kinds of feedback. You could even write for us in the
future. The Fine Print takes the pleasure of inviting opinionated entries for this section from
the BITSian junta - articles that dwell on issues relevant to our campus and its residents that
you think matter and need to be addressed. Send us a mail at [email protected] or drop
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The BITSian mind seems to be attuned to the image of the BITS library as a place of
great activity, but only moments before the comprehensives. This allusion, however,
couldn’t be further from the truth. Needless to say, there’s so much more to discover
and there’s so much more than meets the eye. To get a more authoritarian angle on
the workings of the library, the EPC spoke with Giridhar M. Kunkur, librarian and
chief of the PMRU, BITS Pilani, to shed light on the recent developments that have
taken place and his comments on how the local community is making use of the
resource.
Q. How has your experience been, so far, as the Librarian?
Things are really hectic on most days. In addition to being the librarian, I am also the
chief of the PMRU, so, it often gets busy. However, the rush that I get is well worth
it. The librarian is a very important person, in managerial as well as technical aspects.
At the end of the day, being there to help the students and faculty takes the cake.
Q. What is your take on the student community?
Students have become quite tech-savvy. Of course, I don’t blame them; nowadays,
the digital world is taking everything by storm. We see the change and that is
something we have t