From the completion of CIAs to Freshers’ day, a lot happened on the Mount Carmel College campus last month. Students from various states and countries returned to Bangalore as the college decided to reopen campus and start offline classes in a phased manner. 

 

The commencement of offline classes is an attempt to bridge the gap that had been created by the digital divide. “Digital Divide” refers to the inequalities in access to technology coupled with the lack of resources and skills needed to participate in digital activities. Our October edition highlights the challenges faced by those who do not have access to the internet. While technology has become an integral part of our lives, the lack of access to the same leads to an increase in dropout rates and an urban-rural divide. Here, it is important to remember that while there is an evident gap between urban and rural areas, there also exists a difference between government and private schools. One of the articles in the October issue is an interview with a government school teacher from Z.P.K Pra Sha Hanegaow. He explains the obstacles and the functioning of Zilla Parishad’s (A Zilla Parishad School is a government school. In Karnataka, these schools are called Sarkari Prathamik Shala). 

 

While the commencement of offline classes for final-year students started this month, there has been a mixed response to the same. The usual buzz on campus has stayed intact despite the pandemic, and the CIAs kept all students busy. Meanwhile, the secretaries of various associations put up events for Fresher’s Day. The event took place online and the response from the first-year students was overwhelming. They were excited and participated in all the events with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Many second-year and final-year students joined the events as the audience. One of the articles in this month’s newsletter documents Fresher’s Day and the response of the freshers. 

 

The success of Fresher’s Day was immensely satisfying for the organizers (the final-year students). In a way, it was a break from the classes that took place every day. As students, the pandemic and the anxiety caused by the same has affected our mental health in more ways than we understand. The stress caused by exams added to the sense of uncertainty, panic, and confusion. Despite the obvious red flags in our day-to-day lifestyle, many of us refuse to take a break because of the overflowing pile of assignments, syllabus to study, and recordings to listen to. Some students are parallelly doing internships to make their ends meet. There simply seems to be no time to breathe. One of the articles in the October Issue puts light on how our identities have been reduced to commodified capitalistic assets. The article mentions the glaring contrast between the trending #selfcare and the “dark humor” and self-deprecating jokes to disguise what is very likely a cry for help. The article aims to give students a new perspective and not romanticize concepts like the hustle culture. We hope that the article makes you introspect and take a break whenever need be. 

 

This month’s newsletter also has articles on abortions, the recent Nipah virus outbreak, the concept of subcultures and the monetization and globalization of the K Pop industry, a profile of a Palestinian, and more. 

 

Dear readers, we hope you enjoy the October Issue and are looking forward to hearing your feedback!