VNIT's Student Culture | The Winds of Change

"When the winds of change blow, some build walls, others build windmills" ~ Chinese Proverb

Nearing the end of my days here, at VNIT Nagpur, I am already in the "Sab Moh Maya Hai" phase. As I start gearing up to face the outside world, I look back at the three years gone by and am astonished at how much the institute has changed. It's almost as if the current batch of 1st years have entered into a completely different college!

From swanky 12-storeyed hostels, smart classrooms to boom barriers at the Main Gate! While everyone would agree that these are much-needed facelifts to the VNIT infrastructure, a much bigger transformation is being enforced on the heart of what a college is all about- its student community. When we came here, the environment was different. Our WhatsApp groups used to have messages on dress codes, the 'unofficial rules', places you can and cannot visit and what not! While I'm not here to defend these practices, I have to admit that our first year was no joy-ride, yet it was a ride I have many fond memories of. From constantly bitching about our seniors to having laugh riots inside my head during some of the 'sessions'. While these sessions are often perceived and portrayed as evil and inhumane, many of them were not. Were they stressful? Yes! Did we hate it? Many times! This is perhaps the reason why the administration has decided to crack-down on all of these practices. While there were cases which must not be tolerated, there were many which formed a tight bond both within and between batches. The problem with the administration's high-handed approach today is that in order to eliminate the prior, the latter is being sacrificed. As a student who owes everything to student activities, this worries me.

Today, when I see warning messages like "Do not talk to first-years" or "Even if a first-year asks for directions tell him/her to ask his/her mentor" or "Don't make eye-contact with first-year girls" I'm both amused and afraid of the future. I'm not sure if this was the intended output of the crack-down but nevertheless, that's what it has ended up becoming. I firmly believe that stopping interaction between batches altogether is not the solution to the problem and it could do more harm than good.

When the whole student experience was driven by the complex senior-junior relationship, adapting to such sudden changes is difficult! How the first years will be integrated into the student activities (if at all) remains to be seen! I've learned it the hard way that once the administration locks its eyes on doing something, it's gonna do it without caring about the consequences. So time will tell whether all this is good for the students or not! Personally, I've learned a lot from the culture here and am unsure if the current lot of freshers would get as many memories as we did, both good and bad. Nevertheless, this seems like an 'adapt or perish' situation for the student culture and I hope it adapts and builds windmills rather than walls. :)


Edit 1:
 I talked of places we as first years could and couldn't visit (para 2), this circular was put up in seniors' hostel stating that they're not allowed to go from the road in front of first year hostel. The tables have truly turned... Not that restrictions have ended, they're being followed in the second year instead of the first.