Articles from: 2015

Inconvenient Truths: Zero Deer Deaths!

‘Perhaps the most significant change was the decision to bar vehicles from entering the campus during the Saarang and Shaastra shows…The measures that the Shaastra and Saarang teams implemented have certainly made the campus safer for deer and other animals — there was not a single case of deer death reported during the two fests.” As part of ‘Inconvenient Truths’, our series on the environmental conundrums facing IITM’s campus, Nitin and Kalyani look into how measures taken by the organizers of both insti fests culminated in a clean chit from Prakriti.

Secretary Review: International and Alumni Affairs Secretary – Rohit Kothari

“Rohit says that despite the workload for an Institute Secretary being quite high, the immense networking opportunities it provides makes the post worth the trouble. He indicates that the administration was extremely helpful and never proved to be a hindrance for any of his work.” Read to learn about the International and Alumni Affairs Secretary’s tenure between 2014 and 2015.

Bolting Through Memory Lane

Praveen “Bolt” Kumar is a fifth year Dual Degree student in the Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Department. He is presently the fastest athlete amongst all the IIT’s. A five-time Inter-IIT gold medallist, he has won 16 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze medals overall. He was also a part of IIT-M’s record-breaking 4x100m relay team and captained the Institute Athletics team in 2013-14.

Scrubs: Our Insti Hospital

“In the survey, there were a few complaints that the doctors really don’t seem to check the patient well enough before prescribing medicines. There also seems to be the issue regarding the availability of specialist doctors. Some students have questioned the ability of the hospital regarding the diagnosis of serious diseases, such as Dengue or Typhoid.” Read more about the Institute Hospital, and T5E’s survey on it, in this comprehensive report by Bhargavi and Rakesh.

Elections @ IITM: A 20th Century Remnant

“…our Institute has approximately 7,500 hostel residents across 18 hostels. With at most 9 days available for campaign, a candidate is required to meet with more than 800 students a day, and each student is expected to meet with candidates for all 18+ elections!”
In light of the recent impasse in the SAC over allowing online campaigning for institute elections, Arun Sudarsan, ex-SAC member and 2014 MA (HSS) graduate, presents his arguments on behalf of online campaigning.