First year students log in to college life as DU’s new session begins

Thousands of first-year undergraduate students in colleges across the Delhi University (DU) had a very different beginning to their college life as a new academic session began virtually on Wednesday in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Come join us as we try with all our hope filled hearts to turn your laptop screens into a warm passage into a new beginning,” read a poster shared by Miranda House students with their juniors as they logged in to a new phase of their lives on Wednesday.

Thousands of first-year undergraduate students in colleges across the Delhi University (DU) had a very different beginning to their college life as a new academic session began virtually on Wednesday in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The usually busy roads of DU’s North Campus were deserted and the colleges remained unusually silent -- quite unlike the bustle and colours of the first day of an academic session during the previous years. The orientation programmes were held online, and students were introduced to departments, different societies and clubs; the new semester timetable and other nitty-gritty of college life virtually. Some colleges, including St Stephen’s and Hindu, started online classes for the first-year students on Wednesday.

Radhika, an 18-year-old from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, who started her Political Science (Honours) at Daulat Ram College, said she missed the chance of going to college on the first day. She and the other students attended an online orientation organised by the college. “We were told about the college alumni and societies through recorded videos. The virtual orientation was nice because parents also get to see everything. We also enjoyed the music and dance performances by our seniors during the online introduction. While I do miss coming to college, teachers have assured us that they will help us with whatever we need.”

Falit Sijariya, 17, a resident of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, who enrolled in BA Programme at St Stephen’s College, said he and his new classmates are in touch over WhatsApp groups. “We created the group because we did not know when we would get the opportunity to meet in person. It’s a very different experience but we will have to accept the reality. We have also created an Instagram handle for first-year students so that they can introduce themselves and share their interests. We have also organised a talent show next week for students to get to know each other better,” he said.

The experience was very different for colleges well. At Miranda House, the college administration has begun a week-long orientation programme for their first-year students on Wednesday. The college had given a virtual tour to students on Wednesday and the principal also addressed them remotely. From Thursday onwards, there will be live performances of all the societies and clubs available in the college for the first-year students.

College acting principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda said the personal feel was missing on the first day. “It’s a challenge but also an opportunity to connect with so many people. The college auditorium can accommodate 500 students at a time but through the online mode, we had about 700 students connected on the online platform and many more had watched the live streaming on Youtube. But I missed the face-to-face connection. So, starting tomorrow, I will have online office hours for them. Students can log in and interact with me personally and we can discuss their future,” she said.

At Ramjas College, all departments held their individual orientation programmes online on Wednesday. College principal Manoj Khanna said, “It’s a very different experience. The campus completely missed the colours and energy of the first day of college.”

Hindu College, which had managed to complete their orientations earlier, began full-fledged classes on Wednesday. College principal Anju Shrivastava said, “We had our orientation day on November 11 and also held a long session for new students with the college counsellor. They were informed about when they should seek counselling as it is important for students to identify when they or their friends need help. On Wednesday, we started full-fledged classes.”