Under the watchful eyes of college seniors to prevent ragging, the first day of college for Delhi University freshers was full of the usual college buzz.
Smartly dressed, the freshers explored the college canteen at North Campus, attended orientation functions and visited the students’ favourite haunt — the Kamla Nagar market.
If casual was the look of the freshers on North Campus, the newcomers on South Campus were ‘‘dressed to kill’’. From shorts, capris and denims to big bags, loud danglers and oversized glares — the freshers got their first look on the campus right.
A majority of the freshers on North Campus were dressed in casual chic style, giving a thumbs down to the bling look this year. Shelly Verma, who joined Miranda House on Thursday to pursue BA (Hons) English, said, ‘‘In this hot and humid season who would want to put on unnecessary stuff. Feeling comfortable is the in thing today.’’ Simplicity was their attitude on the first day and largely defined the style of the freshers on the campus this year. ‘‘I didn’t want to overdo things. What’s the point of looking like a rock star,’’ said Alisha Jain, who has joined BCom (Hons) in Ramjas College.
Instead of following the fashion fundas of their seniors, the fuchchas chose to write new ones. They made sure their first-day look reflected their identity. For instance, Raj Salani from BA (Hons) Sanskrit in Ramjas College sported a French beard with long hair as he loved the ‘‘guitar guy’’ look. He said, ‘‘The way a person looks shapes his personality. And since I play the guitar, I want a look to go with it. Moreover, the girls also like this look.’’
While cool was the style in the north, spaghetti tops, shorts and skirts were seen all over south campus. Large and colorful shades were added to their trendy look. Sonam Malhotra, a fresher at Lady Shri Ram College, who wore dark aviator-style sunglasses, said, ‘‘Dark glasses are a must in the scorching sun. The market is also flooded with a variety of shades. So why not flaunt them?’’ Large bags in bold colours was one of the other accessories that reminded them of the freedom from school.
In celebrating their liberation, the students on South Campus didn’t hesitate experimenting with their hair too. Flicks long enough to cover an eye and colours vibrant enough to match the clothes were not so difficult to find on Day 1. ‘‘I spent Rs 8,000 on my haircut and colouring it red. It feels great to enter a new world now,’’ said Nupur, a fresher at Sri Venkateswara College.
Meanwhile, both Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Student Union of India (NSUI), set up squads to keep ragging at bay. The NSUI even took out an anti-ragging rally at the North Campus. “We wanted to spread awareness against ragging,” said Ragini Naik, NSUI General Secretary.
The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) also plans to hold an Anti-Ragging Week starting July 17 and its president Nupur Sharma said it will conclude with a rally on July 24. The move by various students’ groups, however, is being seen as mere publicity tactics, since DU will be holding its students’ union election in the first week of September.
The Delhi Police also implemented various measures for security. Video cameras were installed at various locations in DU and plain clothes police personnel patrolled the colleges. Sagarpreet Hooda, DCP (North), said no case of ragging or eve teasing was registered on Day One.
The ‘introductory’ sessions for the freshers, however, were held as per tradition. At Bhagat Singh College, few freshers said they were asked for their introduction, but everything happened on a “light” note.
While the freshers craved to be ragged, seniors gave them the cold shoulder on the first day of college on Thursday. Amidst tight security by Delhi Police and a loud anti-ragging campaign by Delhi University, the senior students largely refrained from talking to the newcomers. As a result, the first day for most freshers was nothing like what they had expected.
Vikrant Naagar, a took admission in Botany (honours) in Ramjas College, said, ‘‘We don’t even know who our seniors are. I think a little ragging is fun as it gives freshers a chance to interact with the seniors.’’
Many seniors came to colleges on Thursday only to meet the freshers. But the elaborate anti-ragging measures on the campus changed their mind. Colleges like Hindu had even banned students from having any ‘‘introduction’’ with the freshers. Vartika, a final-year student at Hindu College, said: ‘‘We are surprised the freshers are themselves coming up to us to give their introduction. Even they are interested in interacting with us but our teachers have warned us against it.’’
Another student at Hindu, Nitin Saxena from Hindi (honours), added, ‘‘The college has put up a notice saying not even an introduction with the freshers is allowed. So we had to think twice before talking to the freshers. The college authorities are really strict this time.’’
Excitement did pick up in the colleges like Kirori Mal, Shri Ram College of Commerce and Hans Raj during lunch time when the teachers and the security personnel started dispersing. Some newcomers were asked to sing the songs in different languages while others were made to dance in KMC. ‘‘The seniors are just breaking some ice this way. They are not forcing to perform if any fresher is unwilling,’’ said a newcomer at KMC.
On the south campus, the new students were busy checking out the colleges and interacting with the faculty in the orientation programmes. At Jesus and Mary College, the freshers were given a dress code for the first day. All of them turned up in yellow and red. Lady Shri Ram College continued with their tradition of making the freshers plant saplings. ‘‘The music and dance performances were the most enjoyable. It helped me feel comfortable in the new surroundings,’’ said Ashesha, a first-year student of Economics (honours) in LSR.
The students might not be amused but the colleges were relieved that the first day of new academic session was incident-free. There was police deployment outside every college on the north and south campus and vigilance squads kept a watch on the campus. Some colleges had even put ragging complaints box.
At LSR, the department heads had provided emergency numbers to freshers where they could report about any ragging incident.
The security cover in the colleges may continue for at least a week more. M C Nahar, vice-principal, KMC, said, ‘‘The first day passed without any untoward incident. Our proctorial committee will keep an eye for some more days and we will keep in touch with the police.’’ |
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