The Fifth Estate

Inconvenient Truths: Oh Deer! Tackling Deer Fatalities on Campus

“While deer fatalities occur throughout the year, according to a Prakriti report provided to us by Professor Shanti Bhattacharya, about 21 deer have died, and three injured, in January 2014 alone – the month when the student fests Shaastra and Saarang are organized.” “Articles in leading newspapers of Chennai have drawn attention to these deer deaths in January, as IITM, being the leading tertiary-education institute in Chennai, is often under the ‘social scanner’. Naturally, acerbic criticism of IITM’s environmental policy is pouring in, while a management already caught up in a mess of environmental legalities balks at the mention of the issue. Fortunately, a proactive student community can take steps to reduce deer fatalities.” Kalyani and Nithin bring you the various facets of the ‘Inconvenient Truths’ facing IITM residents in this two-part series covering IITM’s environmental issues.

Internship Stories: An Ode to the Land of Maple Trees

“There is something oddly satisfying about sipping a Tim Hortons’ French Vanilla coffee while reading literature for your project on the grassy lawns of the university, skirting green pellets of goose poop and feeling that the Canadian student experience has been nailed to perfection.”- Pranathi Diwakar, final-year M.A. student, writes about her Mitacs Globalink scholarship-funded internship at the University of Waterloo in Canada.

A New Colour

‘“Look, guys. Yes, I like Shelley. I play AoE. I go trekking with you guys. I watch terrible commercial movies with you in theatres. And I also am gay, yes, a homosexual. This is what I am. It doesn’t matter how you take it. I will continue with my own life”. In the end, friends are friends after all, and you continue putting PJs with them.’
A research scholar talks about the experience of coming out. Also, read about the campus LGBTQ support group, Vannam.

Internship Stories: Samsung Research India

‘Summer of 2014. Ten of the most precious and enjoyable weeks of my life. A summer spent as much in learning as it was spent in having fun, spent as much in making new bonds as renewing existing ones. A summer almost wholly spent interning at Samsung Research Institute, Bangalore.’ In our latest Internship Story, Ganesh Kumar details his internship experience with Samsung, Bangalore.