The Newsletter – 18.04.2019

Faculty Student ‘Inquisition’ Session

Sravani Boinepelli, Zubair Abid

Read it here

Editorial

Zubair Abid

Meta

Hey.

It should go without saying that the newsletter will not be released next week as part of the planned fortnightly schedule. Although we can hardly blame endsems for the early release: exactly one (1) of three editions so far has been published with the exact two week gap thanks to the first issue being on a Sunday. What is impressive however (even if we say so ourselves) that none of the deviation in timing has been a delay. So cheers to us! I guess.

Oh, and the summer will probably see us shifting into a monthly schedule instead. So this is the last issue in, 5 weeks? Or so.

Another reminder that the newsletter discussion meetings are open to all to participate in. We encourage you to come, especially if you feel you may have a contrary viewpoint to the rest of the team. It fosters better rounded discussion and more balanced pieces, which is a crucial goal of ours.

Errors in the previous Issue

Editors

Correction: In an article about the introduction of fish in Kadamb mess, we wrote “Telangana is a coastal state with many water bodies”, and that Rahu/Rohu was a sea-water fish. Telangana is a landlocked state, and Rohu is a freshwater fish.

Clarification: In “An Unwilling Electorate” we reported the number of seats in the 2018-2019 Parliament’s Research constituency as five. There were five functioning members, but seven seats. The article has been updated to reflect the same.

Election Results

Zubair Abid, Shantanu Das

Results of the IIIT Student Parliament 2019-2020 elections (covered in an article about student apathy in the previous issue) were announced earlier in the week. For the first time, the GenSec is from a PG batch: Ankit Pant, from PG2k18.

The issue of student participation remains. Even after two phases, all four Members of Parliament from UG2k17 are nominated and not elected; as there were only four nominations in all. Likewise, the Research constituency has 6 representatives, all nominated. UG2k15 DD has only one representative with a vacant second seat.

Even where elections did happen (phase 2 of the UG2k16 elections, with three candidates for the two remaining seats), reports of low participation were received, with only 42 students showing up for the vote. UG2k18 seems to have avoided the non-participation bug so far, with seven nominees for five seats and a high electorate turnout.

In the meanwhile, a mail has been sent by the Election Commission regarding elections for FCs for Felicity ‘20. In accordance with discussions earlier to include the larger campus in organisation, there will be three FCs from UG2k17, one from PG2k18, and one from Research (MS/PhD/DD6+). FC Elections in the past have been very charged events with lots of factions, and it remains to be seen how this year’s one in particular will play out.

(Not Club) Reports: Talk by Madhuri Gaddam, Alumnus

Alumni Cell

On April 10, Madhuri Gaddam, an IIIT alumnus who graduated in 2015, returned to the campus, this time with words of inspiration for the current students. After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, she made the uncommon move of altering trajectories completely by focussing on the Civil Services exam. It was the appeal of representing the nation and leaving an impact on a higher level that drew her to it.

In the highly interactive session, several students inquired the nature of the exam and the preparation required to clear it. Madhuri spoke at length about how she chose to focus on just the civil services for 2 entire years, recognizing that preparation can be an arduous process. Her first attempt, to her dismay, was unsuccessful but taught her the necessary tools she required to ace the test the next time. She remarks that failure doesn’t have to be a bad thing and in her case, gave her a thirst to do well. After all, in her words, “Be ready for failures. Everyone is competent, everyone is preparing”.

Now that she’s on her way to Tokyo as part of the Indian Foreign Service a lot of responsibility, and hence power, follows her closely. As part of the induction into the IFS, she traveled across India and even trekked the Himalayas with her fellow officers to get an appreciation of India’s rich culture. In a visit to a village located in a remote part of Bihar, she was often met by pleading villagers who looked to her with hope. She believes that being a part of the civil service requires one to have an appreciation for the authority that comes with it. There is not just a single way to do good for the country though, she says. Regardless of the type or scale of work that’s being done, it’s up to every person to persist and try making India a better place.