Aroon Narayanan

Casual Sexism on Campus: Perspectives From a Male Student

“A simple reflection on the Institute norm would make us realize that casual sexism is quite deeply rooted here, and sometimes leads to egregious cases of sexual harassment. This norm is established quite early – think back to the freshie night comment screen and how it is filled with sexually explicit comments when women perform. Freshie guys are forced to follow freshie girls and get their room and phone numbers, which dangerously normalizes stalking and falsely equates persistent harassment with reward. We’re also introduced to Insti slang fairly early, and one of the most used terms is “rape”. “

Celebrating Love: A Report

“Close to a hundred students gathered in front of Himalaya lawns at 5 PM on November 14 to register their views on moral policing. A couple of speeches were made, songs were sung, hugs exchanged and cheeks kissed, with the occasional peck on the lips. The organizers maintain that the event was about ‘Celebrating Love’ and not kissing in specific, but the parallel stuck, with it being widely reported by the media as the IIT Madras version of ‘Kiss of Love’. ”

Aroon reports on the recent event, “Celebrating Love”, organized on the IIT Madras campus.

Manifesto Review – G Sree Satwik, SAC Speaker (2013-14)

‘Satwik stated in his manifesto that his mission was to effect substantial changes in the institute, contribute to student welfare by identifying their problems and suitably address them through the Student Affairs Council. He also wished to ensure that SAC meetings are publicized extensively, efficiently managed and its members are involved to a greater extent.’

Satwik stated in his manifesto that his mission was to effect substantial changes in the institute, contribute to student welfare by identifying their problems and suitably address them through the Student Affairs Council. He also wished to ensure that SAC meetings are publicized extensively, efficiently managed and its members are involved to a greater extent.

SAC Meeting Review: 30 October 2013

Aroon Narayanan reviews the latest SAC meeting, and asks, “Is it not possible to find a more efficient method of conducting SAC sessions wherein all topics that are raised can be dealt with satisfactorily? Are two sessions enough for the SAC to efficiently tackle all the issues that need its attention in a semester? How accountable does the SAC see itself with respect to the efficacy of its functioning?”

Monitoring a Mess

Conceptualised in 2012 to formally and regularly address mess issues, the formation of the Mess Monitoring Committee was spurred on by various factors, the foremost of them being the need for a focussed group to tackle the ever-increasing number of mess-related problems. This function was formerly carried out by the Chairman, Council of Wardens, who would chair a meeting once in a while with the caterers and sort out caterer issues and student complaints. ‘The A-Diet fiasco also, in part, made a case for its inclusion,’ Prof Gopalakrishnan, current MMC Chairman, points out.

A Strike Against Hunger

A large number of students (750 by a conservative estimate) assembled at Himalaya lawns over the course of the protest. The organizers had several grievances including the food’s poor quality and lack of nutrition, and bad hygiene in the messes. They also claimed that the quality of the food offered for amount charged for it at IITM was not on par with what is being offered at other IITs.