Typo

Architecture at IITR edits-1

_data/categories.yaml

@@ -36,3 +36,10 @@
 - name: sports
   title: Sports
   subcategories:
+- name: internblogs
+  title: Intern Blogs
+  subcategories:
+    - name: summer2016
+      title: Summer 2016
+    - name: summer2017
+      title: Summer 2017

_data/categories_name.yaml

@@ -13,3 +13,6 @@ sac: SAC
 editorial: Editorial
 verbatim: Verbatim
 sports: Sports
+internblogs: Intern Blogs
+summer2016: Summer 2016
+summer2017: Summer 2017

_data/youtube.yaml

@@ -1,4 +1,19 @@
 ---
+- title: In conversation with Anil Kumar
+  id: TCcMKcYeZuU
+  link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCcMKcYeZuU
+  tag: verbatim
+
+- title: Behind the Scenes of Swaranjali '17 
+  id: UJdrYcND7E8
+  link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJdrYcND7E8
+  tag: music
+
+- title: The Making of "Aaj Ka Kurukshetra" - Street play by Dramatics Section, IIT Roorkee
+  id: WoWh_SCzta8
+  link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoWh_SCzta8
+  tag: dramatics
+
 - title: In conversation with the Director, IIT Roorkee 
   id: 8HszMROqZYs
   link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HszMROqZYs

_includes/footer.html

@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@
     <div class="social pull-right">
       <!--      <a href="/team">Team</a> -->
       <a href="/about">About</a>
-      <img src="/images/fb-logo.svg" href="http://fb.com/WatchOutNewsAgency">
-      <img src="/images/youtube-play.svg" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthZ7tKOzy4EJpuVxtdcp1A">
+      <a  href="http://fb.com/WatchOutNewsAgency"><img src="/images/fb-logo.svg"></a>
+      <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthZ7tKOzy4EJpuVxtdcp1A"><img src="/images/youtube-play.svg"></a>
     </div>
   </div>
 

_includes/head.html

@@ -21,13 +21,21 @@
 
   <!-- Open Graph protocol -->
   <meta property="og:site_name" content="Watch Out! News Agency" />
-  <meta property="og:title" content="{{ title }}" />
+  <meta property="og:title" content="{{ title | xml_escape }}" />
   <meta property="og:type" content="{% if page.excerpt %}article{% else %}website{% endif %}" />
   <meta property="og:url" content="{{ site.url }}{{ page.url }}/" />
   <meta property="og:image" content="{{ site.url }}/images/{% if page.image %}posts/{{page.image}}{% else %}posts/main-building.jpg{% endif %}" />
-  <meta property="og:description" content="{{ desc }}" />
+  {% if page.description != null %}
+    <meta property="og:description" content="{{ page.description }}" />
+  {% else %}
+    <meta property="og:description" content="{{ desc }}" />
+  {% endif %}
   <!-- Open Graph protocol -->
 
+  <!-- Facebook tags -->
+  <meta property="fb:app_id" content="691723664330476"/>
+  <!-- Facebook tags -->
+
   <!--[if lt IE 9]>
     <script src="https://oss.maxcdn.com/html5shiv/3.7.2/html5shiv.min.js"></script>
     <script src="https://oss.maxcdn.com/respond/1.4.2/respond.min.js"></script>

_includes/header.html

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <div class="container-title">New Articles</div>
   <section>
     <div class="row outer-row">
-      {% for post in site.related_posts limit: 5 %}
+      {% for post in site.posts limit: 5 %}
 
       {% if forloop.index == 3 %}
     </div>

_includes/navbar.html

@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@
   </a>
   <div class="social pull-right">
     <a href="/about">About</a>
-    <img src="/images/fb-logo.svg" href="http://fb.com/WatchOutNewsAgency">
-    <img src="/images/youtube-play.svg" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthZ7tKOzy4EJpuVxtdcp1A">
+    <a href="/guide">Guide</a>
+    <a  href="http://fb.com/WatchOutNewsAgency"><img src="/images/fb-logo.svg"></a>
+    <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthZ7tKOzy4EJpuVxtdcp1A"><img src="/images/youtube-play.svg"></a>
   </div>
 </div>
 

_layouts/post.html

@@ -12,10 +12,21 @@ layout: layout
     <div class="date">
       {{ page.date | date: "%B %e, %Y" }}
     </div>
+    {% if page.author != null %}
+    <div class="author">
+      - {{ page.author }}
+    </div>
+    {% endif %}
   </div>
   <div class="row body">
 
     <section class="col-md-8 content{% if page.justify %} justify{% endif %}">
+      <div class="center-fill-container cover-img" style="height:{{page.height}}">
+        <div class="img-container">
+          <img class="center-both img-center-fill" src="/images/posts/{{ page.image }}" alt="">
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
       {{ content }}
 
       <div class="fb-content">
@@ -36,7 +47,7 @@ layout: layout
 <div id="more-articles-container" class="container">
   <div class="head-wrapper">
     <h1 class="container-title">More from {{ page.category | capitalize }}</h1>
-    <span class="view-all">view all</span>
+    <a href="/category/{{ page.category }}/"><span class="view-all">view all</span></a>
   </div>
   <section id="more-articles" class="row">
 
@@ -45,7 +56,7 @@ layout: layout
     {% if forloop.index < 5 or found %}
     <div class="article col-sm-3">
       <a href="{{ post.url }}">
-        <div class="center-fill-container img-container">
+        <div class="center-fill-container img-container tinted">
           <img src="/images/posts/{{post.image}}" alt=""  class="img-center-fill center-both {% if post.image == null %}hidden{% endif %}">
         </div>
         <div class="details">

_posts/2016-07-30-summer-diaries-inria-research-centre-paris.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Inria Research Centre, Paris"
 image: inria-saclay.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Shashank Anand is a 4th year student in the Department of Civil Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of working with the POEMS team at the Inria Research Centre, Paris during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-02-summer-diaries-citigroup.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries : Citigroup"
 image: citi.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Aman Srivastava is a 4th year student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of working with Citigroup, Pune during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-02-summer-diaries-samsung.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Samsung Research Institute Bangalore (SRIB)"
 image: samsung.jpeg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Parag Nandi is a 5th year student in the Department of Earth Sciences. Read on as he recounts his experience of working at the Samsung Research Institute Bangalore during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-07-summer-diaries-tata-steel.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries : Tata Steel, Jamshedpur"
 image: tata-steel.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Aman Mansuri is a 4th year student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of interning with Tata Steel, Jamshedpur during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-08-summer-diaries-itc.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: ITC"
 image: ITC.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Aman Agasi is a 4th year student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of working with ITC during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-09-summer-diaries-reckitt-benckiser.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Reckitt Benckiser"
 image: reckitt.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Raveesh Kalra is a 5th year student in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of working with Reckitt Benckiser, Gurgaon during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-11-summer-diaries-microsoft.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Microsoft"
 image: microsoft.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Priyanka Jain is a 4th year student in the Department of Computer Science and engineering. Read on as she recounts her experience of working with Microsoft, Hyderabad during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-11-summer-diaries-schlumberger-mumbai.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Schlumberger, Mumbai"
 image: schlumberger.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Akanksha Patel is a 5th year student in the Department of Electronics and Communications. Read on as she recounts her experience of working with Schlumberger, Mumbai during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-15-summer-diaries-adobe-research.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Adobe Research, Bangalore"
 image: adobe.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Tathagata Sengupta is a 5th year student in the Department of Mathematics. Read on as he recounts his experience of interning with Adobe, Bangalore during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-16-summer-diaries-schlumbarmer.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Schlumberger, Barmer"
 image: schlumbarmer.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Abhijeet Mittal is a 4th year student in the Department of Industrial Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of working at Schlumberger, Barmer during the summers of 2016._

_posts/2016-08-17-summer-diaries-amazon.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ layout: post
 title: "Summer Diaries: Amazon"
 image: amazon.jpg
 tags: [wona, column]
-category: career 
+category: summer2016 
 ---
 
 _Dhaval Kapil is a 4th year student of Computer Science and Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of interning at Amazon._

_posts/2016-10-23-the-locks-they-are-a-rattlin.md

@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
----
-layout: post
-title: "The locks they Are A-rattlin’"
-tags: [wona, column]
-category: sac
-image: security_cover.jpg
-excerpt: While a student’s life revolves around juggling academics, sports and culturals, the aforementioned subjects face a lot of scrutiny and form the crux of casual discussions about life at IITR.
----
-
-_While a student’s life revolves around juggling academics, sports and culturals, the aforementioned subjects face a lot of scrutiny and form the crux of casual discussions about life at IITR. As is the case with most things at IITR, various inadequacies come to the fore only after an unfortunate mishap. The recent scrutiny involving the curfew of girls and the inadequacy of the IITR hospital have seen the unearthing of many such shortcomings in the area of safety and security at IITR.  In a two part series, Watch Out! digs deeper into a domain that is understated in its importance and as a result is oft overlooked._
-
-#### <b>Campus Security Issues: </b>
-
-<b>The problems - </b>
-
-Roorkee, being volatile by virtue of its inherent communal diversity, provides a challenge while securing the campus from various threats. The vicinal areas are purported to have a high crime rate and pent up tension. The campus of Roorkee, during the day, acts as a connecting link between parts of the town. However, a chat with the Security Officer, Mr. K.P. Singh reveals that the entire blame cannot be shifted onto IITR’s unfortunate locality. According to Mr. Singh, the challenge is as much internal as it is dependent on externalities.
-
-The institute makes it mandatory for families of staff and faculty to possess colour coded dependent passes, with an aim of serving as an accountable measure of the people residing in the institute. But as is the case with most other rules of the land, there are always some who inadvertently find loopholes and flout the norms. This makes it very difficult to gauge the exact number of people using a single dependent pass. To quote Prof. D.K. Nauriyal, “We have servant quarters where if one is allotted, 8 dependents would stay there and we don’t know if they are actually dependents or not.”
-
-Being aware of threats posed by such situations, the institute takes it upon itself to enforce certain restrictions which inevitably curb a student’s freedom of movement. The justifiability of such restrictions is arguable, with each side having its own merits and demerits.
-
-<b>Solutions and steps taken - </b>
-
-Securing the campus is inextricably linked to extending various other facilities in the campus. Arguments against suspending the women’s timing restrictions are often quelled by citing the age old reasons of security and porosity of the campus. Under a budget of around 25 lakhs per month, IITR outsources the security to private security contractors. However, with the recent debate surrounding security, the institute is in talks with CISF to take over the security of the campus. Subject to budgetary constraints, this initiative is expected to be a step in the right direction.
-Security being out of the jurisdiction of the SAC, the last SAC worked towards pushing a proposal for improving security in the campus, with an emphasis on the timing restrictions. The proposal intends to build on the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, which was constituted to look into the security of women after the brutal 2012 Delhi gang rape. The committee unequivocally stated that locking women up is not the solution to the security of women and that it is the prerogative of universities to provide for the security that enables women to exercise as much freedom as is guaranteed by the constitution. While one can’t help acknowledge the gravity of the obstacles to absolute security on campus, locking up adults well into their 20s seems rather short-sighted and primitive, as far as solutions go. “We’re not questioning the students’ judgement”, says Prof. D.K.Nauriyal, “Our only concern is their safety. There have been times when we’ve personally roamed around the campus and found lots of eve teasers. We rounded them up and took them to authorities. The moment we’re sure that our girls are safe, we’ll open it for 24x7 as we’ve no problem with that.”
-
-The proposal acknowledges the porosity of the campus as one of the primary bottlenecks in achieving better security. This is in part to the fact that there are various public offices within the campus and partly due to unauthorised and unaccounted residents inside the campus. Proper documentation of vehicles as well as institute residents is suggested as a way to counter this challenge. The in place scheme of dependent cards is a sufficient measure if implemented thoroughly and documented comprehensively. This needs to be complemented with a similar scheme for vehicles. The proposal suggests defining “authorised vehicles” as a vehicle belonging to a faculty or employee of the institute and accompanied by a dependent card. Unauthorised vehicles would require the submission of ID Cards/Driving Licences before entering the institute.
-
-The occurrence of eve teasing in the campus, despite all preventive measures, is lamentable. IITR has a relatively unknown and dormant body called the “Committee against Sexual Harassment (CASH)”. Its inactivity has essentially lead to all such cases being handled by the DOSW office. CASH is headed by Prof. Ritu Barthwal of the Biotech department and constitutes of various professors. However, students who encounter cases of eve teasing barely know of such a bureaucratic structure and do not resort to pursuing a complaint actively.  To quote the DOSW, “It’s not dormant. But it’s activated only when there’s a complaint received. The point is that lots of complaints do not come to the committee. The moment we get a complaint we immediately forward them to the committee and there are actions.”

_posts/2017-01-20-career-series-lovneesh-chanana.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Watch Out! Career Series : Dr. Lovneesh Chanana"
+image: lovneesh.jpg
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: career 
+---
+
+_An engineer himself, Dr. Chanana serves as a government advisor on e-governance, business process reengineering, consulting and capacity building. Having worked with giants in the industry including the likes of IBM and SAP, he expounds on how potential collaborations of industry and academia can offer a goldmine of opportunities for engineering grads._
+
+
+**In common parlance, can you explain to us what e-governance is and how it influences our lives?**
+
+Dr. Chanana – Simply stated, e-governance can be described as use of information and communication technologies to deliver government services with a view to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and transparency. The end goal of such online service delivery to improve government-citizen interactions leading to more participative governance. In terms of influence on a citizen’s life, e-governance application offer huge transformational potential for an inclusive development. Take the example of passports – from a 45 days issuance cycle, it has been brought down to a 3-4 days. You can track the status anytime. Similarly, a farmer in rural India can have instant access to soil data, expertise on improving yield in his field and mandi rates etc. The potential is huge. Mygov is another classical example of providing a platform for inclusive citizen participation. And the recent development on demonetization coupled with the push to digital payments has provided the much desired impetus towards incentivisation of e-services. 
+
+**How did e-governance suddenly become an area of academic and practitioner interest?**
+
+Dr. Chanana –There are two three reasons for the sudden increase in interest level of both academia and practitioners. One, the holistic packaging of initiatives by the current Government in terms of well-defined programs such as “Digital India’, ‘Smart Cities’, ‘Make in India’ etc. This has provided the required direction and unified objective oriented push to digital agenda. Second, the fast paced developments in technology coupled with affordable acquisition and usage models such as cloud have opened up a canvas of new form of applications which could lead to transformed government processes. The third area that is more of an offshoot of the first that I mentioned above is the unsaid competitive environment that has been created among state governments and even central Ministries. Given the high level of visibility and potential impact of IT interventions in Government from social, economic and political aspects, all governments are taking steps to ensure that they are not left behind. So to summarize, the three factors for e-governance to become an area of increased interest levels are (a) the programmatic approach and the new models for management of these programs (b) the rapid advances in technology specifically for government services and (c) the socio-technical approaches required to leapfrog in this areas.
+
+**How can e-governance be of interest to students?**
+
+Dr. Chanana – When it comes to students, I feel that there can be three broad areas: a career in e-governance; entrepreneurship; and research. This is besides their normal expectations as citizens. From a career perspective, e-governance offers huge opportunities both in technology as well as management space. The sheer size and complexity of e-governance projects (e.g. rail reservations, income tax etc.) offer great learning potential for both technology and management oriented minds. Consulting in e-governance is another career option. The world of tech startups and creation of productized solutions for e-gov is another area that may be of interest. Students willing to take up research can do so in a variety of areas in e-gov e.g. mobility, cyber security, digital payments etc. 
+
+**What is your take on the role of industries in pushing academia towards research?**
+
+Dr. Chanana – I won’t say that one stakeholder group pushes other to do something. It is always a collaborative effort. Industry academia collaboration in creating an environment of actionable research is a much talked about area (though I am not sure about the actual level of its success). The contribution from industry can come in a variety of forms including identification of real life problem statements, joint projects, curriculum development etc. Joint training, management development programs and capacity building is another area of common interest. Knowledge sharing on success and failures of research projects could be another area for collaboration.
+
+**In USA, companies tend to allot projects to students via professors. If these projects prove successful then many-a-times they are taken up by the students as their PhD programs with funding given by the companies. Why don’t we get to hear of such opportunities in India?**
+
+Dr. Chanana – If one observes closely, some form of this exists in our system too. Take the example of numerous centers of excellence set up jointly by industry and institutes. These centers do work on creating prototypes which can be taken up for rapid development and deployment by industry. One may argue on the qualitative success of such models but intent and plan of execution do exist.
+
+**What is the industry’s stand on the current education system offering enough in terms of practical exposure to students?**
+ 
+Dr. Chanana – One has to be mindful that in academia, the priority is to ensure that students get an effective conceptual learning which can be supplemented by industry experiences from a practical exposure standpoint. This can be achieved by industry involvement in curriculum design so that the inclusion of relevant concepts which are close to industry expectations can be achieved. Also, getting industry professionals as faculty may help both sides. Though, I must say, it sounds easier than it actually is. 
+
+
+**What is your message to the students of IITR?**
+
+Dr. Chanana – Take pride in yourself and be proud of your capabilities. Don’t be in a hurry. Think of your long term career and not the job alone. Focus on acquiring technical and soft skills in the first few years and the paths for your professional journey will automatically open up. And one last thing – never forget your institute, your teachers and mentors. 
+
+
+_<b>The article features in our Autumn’16 print issue. The issue’s Cover Story delves into the roadblocks to having a truly meritocratic election at IITR and the two big stories analyse IITR’s security and expound on the limited academic flexibility offered at Roorkee. To read our previous issues visit: [https://issuu.com/wona-iitr](https://issuu.com/wona-iitr)</b>_
+

_posts/2017-01-29-the-locks-they-are-a-rattlin.md

@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "The locks they Are A-rattlin’"
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: bigstory
+image: security_cover.jpg
+excerpt: As is the case with most things at IITR, various inadequacies come to the fore only after an unfortunate mishap. The recent scrutiny involving the curfew of girls and the inadequacy of the IITR hospital have seen the unearthing of many such shortcomings in the area of safety and security at IITR.  Watch Out! digs deeper into a domain that is understated in its importance and as a result is oft overlooked.
+---
+
+_While a student’s life revolves around juggling academics, sports and culturals, the aforementioned subjects face a lot of scrutiny and form the crux of casual discussions about life at IITR. As is the case with most things at IITR, various inadequacies come to the fore only after an unfortunate mishap. The recent scrutiny involving the curfew of girls and the inadequacy of the IITR hospital have seen the unearthing of many such shortcomings in the area of safety and
+security at IITR. Watch Out! digs deeper into a domain that is understated in its importance and as a result is oft overlooked._
+
+## How safe are we?
+
+### The problems:
+
+Roorkee, being volatile by virtue of its inherent communal diversity, provides a challenge while securing the campus from various threats. The vicinal areas are purported to have a high crime rate and pent up tension. The campus of Roorkee, during the day, acts as a connecting link between parts of the town. However, a chat with the Security Officer, Mr. K.P. Singh reveals that the entire blame cannot be shifted onto IITR’s unfortunate locality. According to Mr. Singh, the challenge is
+as much internal as it is dependent on externalities.
+
+The institute makes it mandatory for families of staff and faculty to possess colour coded dependent passes, with an aim of serving as an accountable measure of the people residing in the institute. But as is the case with most other rules of the land, there are always some who inadvertently find loopholes and flout the norms. This makes it very difficult to gauge the exact number of people using a single dependent pass. To quote Prof. D.K. Nauriyal, “We have servant quarters
+where if one is allotted, 8 dependents would stay there and we don’t know if they are actually dependents or not.”
+
+Being aware of threats posed by such situations, the institute takes it upon itself to enforce certain restrictions which inevitably curb a student’s freedom of movement. The justifiability of such restrictions is arguable, with each side having its own merits and demerits.
+
+### Solutions and steps taken: 
+
+Securing the campus is inextricably linked to extending various other facilities in the campus. Arguments against suspending the women’s timing restrictions are often quelled by citing the age old reasons of security and porosity of the campus. Under a budget of around 25 lakhs per month, IITR currently outsources the security to private security contractors. 
+
+Security being out of the jurisdiction of the SAC, the last SAC worked towards pushing a proposal for improving security in the campus, with an emphasis on the timing restrictions. The proposal intends to build on the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, which was constituted to look into the security of women after the brutal 2012 Delhi gang rape. The committee unequivocally stated that locking women up is not the solution to the security of women and that it is the
+prerogative of universities to provide for the security that enables women to exercise as much freedom as is guaranteed by the constitution. While one can’t help acknowledge the gravity of the obstacles to absolute security on campus, locking up adults well into their 20s seems rather short-sighted and primitive, as far as solutions go. “We’re not questioning the students’ judgement”, says Prof. D.K.Nauriyal, “Our only concern is their safety. There have been times when we’ve
+personally roamed around the campus and found lots of eve teasers. We rounded them up and took them to authorities. The moment we’re sure that our girls are safe, we’ll open it for 24x7 as we’ve no problem with that.”
+
+![Locks Rattling 1](/images/posts/locks-rattling-1.png){: style="width: 40%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+
+The proposal acknowledges the porosity of the campus as one of the primary bottlenecks in achieving better security. This is in part to the fact that there are various public offices within the campus and partly due to unauthorised and unaccounted residents inside the campus. Proper documentation of vehicles as well as institute residents is suggested as a way to counter this challenge. The in place scheme of dependent cards is a sufficient measure if implemented thoroughly and
+documented comprehensively. This needs to be complemented with a similar scheme for vehicles. The proposal suggests defining “authorised vehicles” as a vehicle belonging to a faculty or employee of the institute and accompanied by a dependent card. Unauthorised vehicles would require the submission of ID Cards/Driving Licences before entering the institute.
+
+The occurrence of eve teasing in the campus, despite all preventive measures, is lamentable. IITR has a relatively unknown and dormant body called the “Committee against Sexual Harassment (CASH)”. Its inactivity has essentially lead to all such cases being handled by the DOSW office. CASH is headed by Prof. Ritu Barthwal of the Biotech department and constitutes of various professors. However, students who encounter cases of eve teasing barely know of such a bureaucratic
+structure and do not resort to pursuing a complaint actively.  To quote the DOSW, “It’s not dormant. But it’s activated only when there’s a complaint received. The point is that lots of complaints do not come to the committee. The moment we get a complaint we immediately forward them to the committee and there are actions.”
+
+## The October Revolution:
+
+![The gathering in front of the main building](/images/posts/locks-rattling-3.jpg){: style="width: 65%;"}
+*The gathering in front of the main building*
+{: style="text-align: center"}
+
+After grappling with the administration’s nonchalance on the issue of the 11pm curfew on girls, the student body finally resorted to a peaceful protest against the rule. Students defied the deadline and gathered at the gates of Kasturba Bhawan, equipped with candles and banners, and started the march at 11 pm. An assembly of around 400 students was then led on towards the Main Building, ultimately proceeding towards the Hill View faculty residences where attempts for an audience with the
+Chief Warden, Kasturba Bhawan and the DOSW were made. The DOSW ultimately agreed to address the students gathered and this is what he had to say on the issue, “We are not indifferent to your problems. We need to look after the security of you students, especially girls.”He focused on the porosity of the campus, saying, “People go to CBRI, moving through the campus. You have NIH here. You have many spots like servant’s quarters and all that. All kinds of people come here.”
+
+He added that they agree with the views of the students, in principle, but their only concern was security which they must ensure. The involved students then took up the matter with the MHRD through a letter. The MHRD in its response has appointed Prof. Pradeep Kumar, Department of Civil Engineering as the Nodal Officer for coordinating on the issue. However, the institute still waits for a decisive outcome to this issue.
+
+## Hospital Inadequacy:
+
+![Hospital](/images/posts/locks-rattling-2.png){: style="width: 65%;"}
+
+As is the norm in Roorkee, many a critical issue is brought forth only after serious mishap. The unfortunate and tragic death of Anurag Sharma owing to an injury on the squash courts last year, opened the can of worms regarding the health care issues on campus. The mumbles of discontent have burst forth after this freak disaster. As unanimously agreed upon, it’s high time the medical facilities on campus were revamped to meet the standards one comes to expect of a premier
+institution. Following the incident, a special meeting of the SAC was called for, wherein myriad problems were brought forth regarding the institute hospital and the counselling cell.
+
+Following multiple complaints regarding the dire state of affairs at the institute hospital, an assignment was undertaken to compare IITR’s facilities with sister IITs’. As expected, Roorkee’s paltry facilities are further dwarfed in contrast. The facilities available at other IITs are admirable. For instance, the pathology lab of IIT KGP has been awarded two citations for consistent quality maintenance. Most other IITs are well equipped with emergency rooms and advanced
+equipment like Multi Parameter Patient Monitor, ECG, Radiology and Pathology services. IITD stands out, having 24 hours ECG facilities and excellent emergency medical support.
+
+The problems of the IITR hospital are twofold, with both the staff and equipment found lacking on several occasions. The complaints start right from the hostile reception one receives at the registration counter. The modus operandi calls for doctors to visit the hospital every time a student shows up with a medical issue. But the doctors tend to show a step motherly attitude towards their duties at the hospital, and consider it a necessary chore.
+
+The location of the physiotherapy department on the 1st floor defies common sense. Adding to this, there are no wheelchair facilities for the injured or the aged. Questions have been raised regarding the hygiene on the premises, photos of algae in water cooler having created quite the uproar. The lack of specialists is a matter of serious concern. The hospital lacks basic monitoring equipment. The existing equipment, including X-ray and Ultrasonography machines are
+dysfunctional and unmanned. It’s no clairvoyance to predict an impending tragedy considering a widespread sports culture in the campus. The pathology lab lacks proper equipment and staff to execute basic tests like Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3, ANA, etc. The bed strength of the hospital can’t cater to the needs of the entire junta on campus. It’s a chilling realization that we are at the Lord’s mercy in case an epidemic breaks out, considering the dire absence of good
+hospitals in Roorkee. Ambulance service is sparse and slow, especially in cases of transferring students to medical units outside IITR.
+
+In an interview with the CMO, he insists on the production of the medical booklet at the counter since it confirms the students’ contribution to the medical fund. He also berates the lack of discipline among the student community visiting the hospital and insists that they form queues and maintain decorum except in case of emergencies. Speaking about the problems that the hospital faces, he acknowledges the shortage of doctors and specialists. He confirms salary issues as a hindrance
+to hire a trained radiologist. He, however, assures us that the X-ray and ECG issues will be resolved, and informs us that, in a welcome step, lifts and wheelchairs are being planned.
+ 
+ In spite of all talks and promises, the situation has gone southwards. The administration plays the location card as their defence for the lack of facilities and trained personnel in the hospital. But the institute hospital, if properly developed, can turn its inopportune location to its advantage, and act as a focal point for healthcare in Roorkee. This will consequently attract qualified people. The current state of affairs in the hospital leaves much to be desired. The
+ recent agitation and the subsequent discussions will hopefully pave the way for remedial actions. In the meanwhile, improved student participation and deliberations will surely act as a pressure point for the administration and lead to proper management of the medical fund.
+  
+## Epilogue:
+
+A lot has been said on the same, and the issue of security and safety on campus has been up for debate for more than a decade now. But as far as definitive measures to solve these issues go, the admin has very little to show. The implementation of a lot of the above said changes could bring about a sea of change in the current state of safety on campus. Achieving this also calls for co-operation and understanding from the student body. It requires one to conduct themselves in a manner that does not put one in danger outside the campus while also working in cohesion with the security authorities.
+
+__The article features as a Big Story in our Autumn’16 print issue. The issue’s Cover Story delves into the roadblocks to having a truly meritocratic election at IITR along with an added Big Story analysing the limited academic flexibility offered at Roorkee. To read our previous issues visit: https://issuu.com/wona-iitr__

_posts/2017-01-30-sac-general-body-meet.md

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "SAC General Body Meet | 30th January, 2017"
+tags: [wona, news, sac]
+category: sac
+image: cover-gbm.jpg
+author: "Aditya Peshin, Vikrant Saha, Ayushi Gupta, Nikhil Arora, Saurav Mahale"
+excerpt: The Senate Hall on Monday, played host to a first of its kind, open for all General Body Meeting organised by the Student Affairs Council. The event aimed at giving the student body a chance to voice their concerns regarding their issues at IITR and to communicate them directly to the General Secretaries. It also gave the appointed secretaries an opportunity to share their contributions and policies with the student populace. 
+---
+
+The Senate Hall on Monday, played host to a first of its kind, open for all General Body Meeting organised by the Student Affairs Council. The event aimed at giving the student body a chance to voice their concerns regarding their issues at IITR and to communicate them directly to the General Secretaries. It also gave the appointed secretaries an opportunity to share their contributions and policies with the student populace. 
+	 	 	 	
+### Opening Remarks:
+
+The meeting started off with an information dissemination session, with all the General Secretaries providing a brief insight on the various projects proposed and passed under them. 
+
+The meet was started by the GS Hostel Affairs and Convenor of the SAC, who updated the attendees on various future projects like the provision of Wi-Fi in the Lecture Hall Complex. Taking inspiration from other IITs in developing a strong Bhawan culture, IITR will be holding Inter Bhawan Cultural, Sports and Technical trophies. Adding to that, a proposal regarding the entry of boys in the girls’ hostels till the canteen and the garden had been approved, subject to the condition that a maximum of three boys can be accompanied by a girl in the bhawan. In further developments, talks were in place for an extended break during Holi and Diwali. An interesting insight was the breakup of the Rs. 6000 charged by the institute towards extracurricular activities. It was clarified that this is the only fund at the DoSW’s disposal and it is divided in the following fashion:
+
+
+![Meta Chart](/images/posts/meta-chart.jpeg){: style="width: 90%;"}
+
+
+Some changes relating to technical, academic and alumni affairs were intimated by the respective secretaries. To the relief of many students, an update on the attendance rule was given, stating that the proposal to increase the attendance to 90% was rejected by 14 of the 21 head of departments, with 3 HOD’s still undecided. Talks for a Q&A BOT, that can answer any question any student has, are ongoing. To ease the process of sharing current institute affairs, a Media Cell in association with Watch Out! and a Broadcasting Channel are to be set up. A temporary Alumni Connect on Request portal will be set up which will enable crowdfunding by multiple alumni along with internship opportunities, all through a single channel.
+
+
+### Question and Answer session:
+
+![GBM 1](/images/posts/gbm-1.jpg){: style="width: 50%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+
+The meeting was then opened up for the general populace, who spoke up about their concerns regarding the biggest issues plaguing the campus, specifically the unpleasant experiences of students at the institute hospital, the nonchalance of the administration to address the issue of the girls timings, and the difficulties arising due to cultural gap faced by the international students during their stay on campus. Here are some issues covered in the meeting :
+
+**Representation of international students in the decision making:** International Students who attended this meeting proposed two suggestions which they felt sorely needed to be implemented. They requested that there be an “International Student’s Day”, as well as demanded student representation at the institute level. The members of the SAC promised to raise this issue in the **next senate meeting.**
+
+**Induction Period:** To better help the new students adapt to the shift in culture, as well as allow the non-english speakers to gain equal footing, a 3 week induction programme is being proposed. Also, an elective induction program is being planned for the students in the higher years, letting them explore their interests, before finally deciding their electives. We should see results at the **beginning of the next semester.**
+
+**Branch change:** One of the most pressing issues throughout the meet was a call for an increase in the number of seats available to branch-changers. An increase of seats to the proposed 10% is not feasible because of a lack of funds. It was clarified that most IITs keep a certain number of seats vacant to accommodate branch changes in the future. This being a toll on the institute’s fund, is not a viable solution for IITR. However, plans to increase this number from 2% to 7% are already underway. Also, the authenticity of having branch changes after the 1st sem was questioned, to which the SAC befittingly replied that the current system is actually more beneficial for the students and for once, the other IITs may follow in IITR’s steps.
+
+**The counselling cell:** An Increase in the number of counsellors to three from a current situation of only one has been proposed. The last time the suggestion was rejected because, according to the DoSW, there is a reluctance by students to utilise it.
+
+**SAC Website:** SAC has plans to release a website of their own, within the **next 5-6 days**, with the aim of improving the depth of penetration of any new information, and letting all students access the most important information, neatly compiled, at their fingertips.
+
+**Alumni Connect:** A Connect on Request platform has been announced, which will be functional from the **2nd week of February.** Also, an Alumni Internship program has been proposed, which will allow alumni to directly recruit students for their summer/winter internships. 
+
+**Alumni Funding:** This portal will allow students to seek guidance from alumni who have gone down the same road, as well as allow groups to raise crowdfunding requests where in teams participating in competitions may receive financial support from their alumnus. In the interest of transparency such alumni funding requests will involve the following stakeholders:
+
+ - The beneficiary: Groups, sports teams, etc.
+ - Dean of Alumni Affairs and International Relations office
+ - ARC
+ - The donor
+
+
+**Feedback Forms:** Students demanded transparency in the results of the feedback that professors got for teaching a course, and asked the SAC why no action was taken against the professors even though the course was deemed unsatisfactory. The SAC promised to push for the transparency of these feedback forms in the **next senate meeting.**
+
+**Foreign MoUs:** When the topic of foreign exchange programs (rather, the lack thereof) was raised, the GS Alumni Affairs agreed that having just 14 MOU’s was not up to the mark of an institution at this level. He has agreed to work with the Dean, International Relations to increase the number of MOU’s with other universities exponentially, and says we may reach 50-60 MOU’s by next year. Also, the topic of a summer school was raised, with the response being that it was already being considered by the Dean of Alumni Affairs and International Relations.
+
+**Clashes between minor and departmental course examinations:** We have a Dean of Planning whose sole role is ensuring the preparation of the examination calendar after holding meetings with the HODs of each and every department. Earlier, departments had an option to recommend to the administration about the scheduling of their courses but from next semester onwards, it has been made compulsory for them. So, it is expected that this problem will be resolved now.
+
+**IITR Hospital:** The unfortunate experiences of many students at the campus hospital has led the SAC to develop a rulebook for defining each and every aspect of the administration and the employee structure of the hospital. The SAC has promised to release this within the **next 15-20 days.**
+
+**Heaters and Coolers:** The plea of students to allow the use of heaters and blowers in the hostel rooms have been heard by the Administration, with plans of having a common room in each bhawan with 2 AC’s, for the convenience of the students. Also, the general secretaries will question the rationale behind coolers only being allowed in the top floors of each bhawan in the next senate meeting.
+
+**11pm curfew of girls:**  The inaction of the SAC and the Administration to resolve the issue of the girls hostel timing was raised, with the reply from the SAC being that there were complications that had not yet been resolved, like the reluctance of the PhD and MTech students to opt for increased timings, citing the harassment that they face working under certain guides in the night. The questions were also quelled citing the inability of the students to put forward a perceptible demand in front of the administration as one of the reasons. With the hue and cry that occurred last semester, such a claim can barely be justified.The SAC representatives said that they have to resolve this issue before they could propose a change in the restrictions imposed by the administration. In a meeting with the Director, earlier today, it was principally agreed to permit entry into hostels for the opposite sexes. The catch there being that this will be implemented in stages.
+
+### Our two cents:
+
+![GBM 2](/images/posts/gbm-2.png){: style="width: 40%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+
+The sister IITs are no stranger to such General Body Meetings. IIT Bombay has a very organized idea of GBMs where the Gymkhana President - a faculty-in charge of the Student’s Gymkhana - chairs the meeting, and aims at reviewing the performance of the Office Bearers. All students can attend the meeting but only members of the General Body present can vote. The meeting is conducted once a semester and the quorum is 50% of the members.
+
+Being a first in IITR, the meeting set up a good precedent for the next batches of representatives to follow. However, the success of such a meeting heavily depends on an informed and strong response from the students themselves. The scant numbers at the senate hall on Monday is a lamentable manifestation of the enthusiasm that such discussions see on the SAC facebook group. The other factor defining such a meet is how the students’ questions are met. While most responses offered adequate justification and logical arguments, few failed to be satisfactory. A few discussions were concluded with the promise to put forward a solution. Promising it may seem, but whether the word is backed up by work remains to be seen.
+
+IITR has had an appalling record when it comes to tangible action on the part of its student representatives. The earlier executive committees have had a track record of passivity, with only a few coming off as outliers. This SAC has clearly differentiated itself in this regard. In the short span of time afforded to them, there has been laudable work done. However, much needs to be done as IITR can be seen to finally wake from its slumber. Promising it may seem, but whether all the words are backed up by work remains to be seen. 
+
+### References:
+
+[https://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~hostel15/Docks/SAC-Constitution-April-2012.pdf](https://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~hostel15/Docks/SAC-Constitution-April-2012.pdf) - pg 23 onwards

_posts/2017-02-02-in-conversation-with-mr-rajiv-sikri.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: In conversation with Mr. Rajiv Sikri, ex-Secretary, MEA
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: verbatim
+author: "Utkarsh Ruhela"
+image: rajiv_sikri_cover.jpg
+excerpt: Mr. Rajiv Sikri retired as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs after an illustrious career spanning 36 years with the Indian Foreign Service. Read on as Mr. Sikri talks about the growing role of policy think tanks, the nationalist wave enveloping the world and his love for Russian authors.
+---
+
+Mr. Rajiv Sikri retired as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs after an illustrious career spanning 36 years with the Indian Foreign Service. In this capacity he had overall responsibility for India’s relations with East Asia, ASEAN, Pacific region, the Arab world, Israel, Iran and Central Asia. He earlier served as the Special Secretary for Economic Relations supervising foreign economic relations, including India’s external technical and economic assistance programmes. He has also served as India’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan, and headed the Departments dealing with West Europe as well as the Soviet Union and East Europe in the Ministry of External Affairs. Mr. Sikri completed his bachelor studies from St. Stephen’s College, majoring in History and entered Foreign Services in the following year.
+
+Read on as Mr. Sikri talks about the growing role of policy think tanks, the nationalist wave enveloping the world and his love for Russian authors.
+
+<b>A lot of think tanks and independent organizations like in Washington DC have come up in India as well. How impactful is the contribution of such organizations like Carnegie, IPRC?</b>
+
+There is no competition between our think tanks and DC’s think tanks. They attract the best minds of their country. It is also because of the revolving door policy. One day you are working in a think tank and the other, you are in the administration, this policy also gives incentives there to work. It is not such a case in India, you don’t have funding and infrastructure. But, all this is changing. There are a few brilliant people working in these organizations now, and it seems to be a growing sector in our country as well, but it’ll take time. We need to consolidate our research sector and at the same time, the attitude.
+
+<b>The introduction of your book, “Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India's Foreign Policy”, mentions your love for books. Which are some of the books that moved you?</b>
+
+I don’t read fiction much, even lesser lately. But, It’s mostly fiction which impacts you. I have been touched a lot by the Russian authors in my early young days. Particularly Tolstoy. I found, his work to be incredibly descriptive. It immerses me in itself. The setting, the characters. Both Anna Karenina and War & Peace. I enjoyed Vikram Seth’s ‘A Suitable Boy’. Because, of course it is a detailed piece of writing and deals with the whole Indian society of a particular time period. Short stories by Chekhov. The reason, I am compelled and moved by Russian authors is maybe because of my stay and service in Russia. The grandiosity of Moscow can be felt through these author’s works.
+
+Another book I enjoyed was by Prakash Tandon (Chairman of PNB), he has written a trilogy, “A Punjabi Century”, because I wanted to know more about the place where I come from.
+I currently started watching this TV series as well, “The Crown”. I loved it. It’s the most recent piece of art I enjoyed.
+
+<b>We can see that the masses are more “aware” of their standing in the globalized world, no country seems to be free of the bias of national sentiments. Do you think these populist sentiments creeping in the foreign policy of nations is a worry?</b>
+
+What has happened is the period of growth and prosperity that began after the second world war ended some time ago. When the economy is expanding the jobs are expanding, you take that for granted. But, the history shows that there are always ups and downs and development don't always go in a linear fashion. After the second world war there was a sense of idealism and will to create structures and to observe the rules of civilized behavior, so much carnage and destruction had taken place in the wars. Those who were the victors structured it in the manner that they became the Guardians of the world, Japan, Germany were kept out of it. The European Union was created created by which started as European Coal and Steel community. Who could have imagined in 1945 that their grandchildren would live in a Europe without borders, obviously threat from Soviet power were affecting as well, situations changed Soviet Union break up is this was the world with Americans was going to dominate it was just the beginning of the process which is still changing.
+
+The 1789 was the French Revolution that was followed by Napoleonic wars and subsequent defeat of Napoleon and formation of Congress in 1815, what all it took was about 26 years, to see the parallel, it was in 1991 Soviet Union broke and it is 2017 and things have changed again. China has gone up, Russia is rising up again. The assumptions behind the European policies and American policies, it is an end of a particular era today. What you see today as Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump, it is the reactionary forces against globalization. Globalization was meant to bring benefits into the nations but there are downsides to it as well.
+
+<b>What role do you think the average citizen plays into considerations pertaining to foreign policy?</b>
+
+First of all, there is a behavorial aspect. There were these attacks on Africans living in India. These assaults lead up to certain aversion from that country’s point of view towards India. These are sensitivity issues. We should take care of such things.
+
+Or when we go abroad, what kind of impression we leave. For example, how there has been a positive impact of Indian techies, what they have created all around the world. And, managers. All around the world. If 50 years ago, we were a nation of snake charmers. It reminds me of a joke, when Bill Clinton was coming to India, his administration said India is always asking for this and that technology. Bill Clinton said, “Is there anything we can get from them?”, and one of the delegates said, “There’s this technology they use,  such innovative, out of the box solutions of tricky problems. They call it ‘jugaad’.”
+So, when Bill Clinton asked for ‘jugaad’, Atal Bihari Vajpayee burst into laughter and said. “I can’t give you this technology. Because Mr. President, our whole country runs on this thing called ‘jugaad’.”
+
+That’s a joke, but there’s the impression that if you’re Indian, you are intelligent, innovative and hard-working. On the other hand are Gulf countries, where Indian workers go and they are exploited. That leaves a negative impression of weakness and poverty. Our culture and arts are recognized worldwide. All in all, every Indian is contributing towards foreign policy. We just need to capitalize on the positive aspects, and eliminate the negatives out of this equation.

_posts/2017-02-22-can-we-trust-ourselves.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: Can We Trust Ourselves? 
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: editorial
+author: "Lanka Adarsh, Vedansh Bhartiya, Yash Singh"
+image: can_we_trust_ourselves.jpg
+---
+
+_“The problem with people is that they are so stupid. So stupid that they have no idea how stupid they are.” - John Cleese_
+
+Trust is a fundamental cog in the machinery that drives the world. We trust drivers to follow traffic lights and not bump into cars. We trust news agencies to give us factually correct quality content; our politicians to make the right decisions. However, the grounds on which it is built are largely unknown – our decision to trust others is perhaps a subconscious, impulsive one, acting more as false assurances than absolute security against potential deviations. When weighed collectively with the consideration that our senses (and what they perceive thereof) are not “facts” as we wrongly attribute them to be, an unsettling question presents itself: Can we trust ourselves?
+
+George Orwell floated such an idea before the world in 1984. By tampering with evidence and indulging in propaganda, Big Brother is successful in reinforcing the desired belief in the subjects’ mind. Elizabeth Loftus, who specialises in false memories, has shown that they are easily born or planted. In her TED talk, “How reliable is your memory?”, she explains how false memories are responsible for a three quarters of wrongful convictions and other bizarre, irrational beliefs and occurrences that constitute our identity. Memory, she states, is unlike a recording device which stores information without modification; the brain is plastic, and accounts evolve over time into stories that distort the truth to great extents. She attributes this phenomenon to misinformation and the subconscious or unconscious acceptance of memory (or other sensory stimulus) as fact.
+
+Oftentimes, hypocritical behaviour is foreign to our awareness. Christened the “Actor-observer bias”, this phenomenon encapsulates how our angry disapproval persists despite the probable circumstances under which a fellow human being has committed an infarction (say jumped a signal) – but when the observer becomes the doer, he feels that his act was justified. Here, empathy is stifled by ignorance of the said principle, rendering us not completely impartial, in contrast to what we tend to believe.
+
+In 1999, Dunning and Kruger presented their hypothesis, seconding Bukowski, who had previously remarked: “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts while the stupid ones are full of confidence”. By checking the consistency of actual test scores of candidates against their own predictions, they concluded that high-ability individuals underestimate themselves, while those with low abilities overestimate themselves. This illusory superiority is a manifestation of the lack of metacognitive abilities; i.e. people are unable to recognize their incompetency.
+
+Even if it rests on false pretences, trust is necessary for the continuation of normal life. In its absence, external chaos and internal anxiety would uproot all order; it is a safe assumption, having no basis and yet – having no evidence to the contrary either. Every fact or principle was once an assumption; unbounded scepticism is hardly helpful in the establishment of such bases, which the civilized world believes to be true. This said, perfect trust is a symptom of ignorance. The longer one lives, the more selective they become about who they trust. Trust is bestowed upon others because we believe we are intelligent and capable enough to make such choices; however, in light of the above considerations, it seems that the foundations of this faith are built on the marshy lands of our perceptions and memories, which are, in and of themselves, unreliable and fallible.
+
+__The article features in our latest print issue. The issue delves into the roadblocks to having a truly meritocratic election at IITR and expounds on the limited academic flexibility offered at Roorkee. To read our previous issues visit: https://issuu.com/wona-iitr__

_posts/2017-02-27-the-sac-has-holes.md

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "The SAC has holes: Analysis of the electoral system"
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: coverstory
+image: cover-sac-holes.png
+excerpt: In most discussions pertaining to systems, processes and cultures, IITR is found to be lacking when compared against its sister IITs. The previous academic year saw us moving one step further in one such domain – our electoral systems. However, just as we saw the transition being successful and meritocracy coming to the fore in the case of elections, an unfortunate incident in Jawahar Bhawan, took us two steps backward.
+---
+
+In most discussions pertaining to systems, processes and cultures, IITR is found to be lacking when compared against its sister IITs. The previous academic year saw us moving one step further in one such domain – our electoral systems. However, just as we saw the transition being successful and meritocracy coming to the fore in the case of elections, an unfortunate incident in Jawahar Bhawan, took us two steps backward. Incidents like these force us to dwell upon our shortcomings, both in terms of students and organisations. Herein, we try to offer an analysis of the electoral system at IITR.
+ 
+## The earlier system of elections:
+ 
+The earlier system of elections at IITR required for a two level voting system to take place. A council of 108 members, called SAC-1, consisting of Bhawan level office holders was elected, with a voter’s vote restricted only to the posts in their Bhawan. The elected 108 then voted for a SAC-2 which became the primary executive body of the SAC, responsible for institute level decisions and changes. This system created a need to unite a majority of 55 candidates under a single umbrella. What filled that void were easy targets based on identifiable and personal common grounds. Unbecoming as it might be of an institute of our stature, but votes were cast based on regional and factional preferences.
+ 
+## The Jawahar fiasco:
+ 
+![SAC Holes](/images/posts/sac-holes-1.png){: style="width: 40%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+
+Political “factions” in the campus often run the risk of being taken a little too seriously. It does not take time for members to take personal disputes in a collectivist sense and act accordingly. With this as the case, disputes such as these often tend to boil over and snowball into full blown clashes, violent in their nature and immature with their logic. This aptly sums up the Jawahar fiasco.  
+This has led to the DOSW cancelling the elections and in constituting an interim SAC to carry on the workings till the next elections, prophesised to take place in March’17. This step may look reasonable, but has its own flaws. _When we asked the DOSW on what basis the student representatives would be selected, there was no specific answer but vague mentions to analysing career plans and listening to ideas proposed by the candidates._ The question here is not that of the competency of the candidates, but rather of checks and balances to ensure it. No election will be perfect. However, it needs to be fair and transparent.
+ 
+## The current scenario:
+ 
+Even though the system has been revamped and the atmosphere seems to favour competent candidates but there still remain some grave issues that need to be addressed, before we move onto the next election. Looking at the new election system, we spotted a few anomalies, and a multitude of illogical clauses making up our Election’s code of conduct that insidiously hinder meritocratic politics. We approach these, one at a time and offer a few solutions to them.
+ 
+![SAC Holes](/images/posts/sac-holes-2.png){: style="width: 90%;"}
+
+## Drawbacks of the current system:
+ 
+#### A public addressal system (or a lack thereof):
+ 
+Perhaps one of the biggest issues yet to be addressed, there exists no provision for candidates to put forward their opinions and debate openly about issues that plague the campus. The outlet for such an addressal system does exist now in the form of the ineffectual and seemingly fictional “Bhawan Addressal System”. The system is a relic and allows for candidates to make speeches of a specified duration in each hostel, highlighting their credentials and plans. 
+
+However, the system is a complete failure, partly due to the apathy of the student body and partly due to the system it promises to be. The ADOSW mentions, “We tried allocating time slots to candidates for using the Bhawan addressal system. The observation was that the voter turnout was scant and uninterested.”
+ 
+#### Printed Posters:
+ 
+Usage of printed posters for campaigning is prohibited, even though they are an extremely important way of communicating the agendas of a candidate to the masses. Instead, the code of conduct allows for hand written posters to be put up on stipulated places. The motive behind this restriction is a logical one - to ensure that the students do not overspend during the election process and the problems of accounting such a provision faces. However one does not have furrow their brows to come up with a solution to this problem, discussed in the later stages of our story.
+ 
+#### Online Campaigning:
+ 
+The code of conduct strictly prohibits online campaigning of any sort since it cannot be regulated and that there are no checks to arrest any unwanted developments, which might lead to the defamation of the college. In a scathing but true indictment, “An online portal is being worked on and we wouldn’t mind going online after the college has attained a level of maturity befitting an IIT”, says Prof. Nauriyal.   
+ 
+#### Unequal footing for the female candidates :
+ 
+![SAC Holes](/images/posts/sac-holes-3.png){: style="width: 40%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+
+Since the girls have to be back in their own hostel by 11 pm, as well as cannot enter other hostels for campaigning as easily as the male candidates, they enter the ring with a handicap. The roots of this can be found in the age old issue surrounding the curfew on girls. With that in place, a female candidate can barely match the reach of a male one.
+ 
+#### Limited Role of certain posts:
+ 
+Certain posts at the hostel as well as the institutional level are viewed as redundant, as they have no assigned responsibility, and a very limited active role. The ADOSW’s response is best stated in his own words:
+“It is always the responsibility of the elected member to implement what he has planned. No one restricts the representatives to any particular activities. If the Secretary is enterprising enough, he can bring up new ideas, and if they are good we will go ahead with them. No post is irrelevant and if the students are ready to work on their posts then there is a lot that can be achieved. If someone just wants to enjoy the perks of being elected, he will not work. Furthermore, if you genuinely have a sound logic to refute some posts, do come to us and we will consider it accordingly. A similar thing happened with General Secretary (Finance) this time, as we felt that the budget didn’t need a separate person just to handle the financial affairs and we got rid of the post.”
+ 
+## Solutions:
+ 
+![SAC Holes](/images/posts/sac-holes-4.png){: style="width: 40%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+
+They say learning never stops, and it shouldn’t in this case either. We take this opportunity to examine our procedures to see where we lack, and how we can improve.
+ 
+#### Soapboxes:
+ 
+A soapbox is a central event where the contesting candidates comes and ask relevant questions to each other. It misses the tension and heat of a debate all while having incisive questions asked among the candidates in the fray. When asked about a soapbox Prof. Indradeep Singh, ADOSW (Discipline) cited the trivial and workable details such as the unavailability of an adequate space and security issues as the roadblocks to conduct such an event. “The student population is around 8000. Considering that around 1500 turn up, we lack a place to accommodate them at once”, says Prof. Indradeep Singh.
+ 
+#### Comprehensive accounting of printed posters:
+ 
+We suggest for the election commission to limit the following factors in the case of printed posters:
+
+- Content: A template can be followed which allows for a poster to display the candidate’s credentials and plans, succinctly and concisely.
+- Numbers: A stipulated number of printed posters can be obtained signed duly by the commission.
+- Locations: Certain locations can be pre-decided, apart from the existing ones that would allow the posters to get considerable traction.
+ 
+Accounting for the aforementioned factors immediately deals with the hazards posed by unsupervised spending and ensures effective campaigning. The election commission in IIT Bombay, allows for banners and flexes to be put up in pre decided spaces, which both curtails any extra expenditure, and gives equal footing to all the candidates involved in door-to-door campaigning. Each candidate is allowed to put up a 6’x3’ flex, containing the candidate’s photo and announcing the main points of their manifesto.
+ 
+#### Centralised portals:
+ 
+The fairness of not having discussions and campaigning on online mediums cannot be debated. Such discussions often venture into uncomfortable territories and cannot be stopped from proliferating into controversies. However, we understand that there is no online portal or forum where candidates can put up their manifestos, nor does the general public have any idea as to where they can find a copy of the manifesto. In other IIT’s, provisions of online portals displaying each candidate’s manifestos have proven to be an extremely efficient method to keep the masses updated on each candidate’s modus operandi, and has helped the decision making process stay simple yet based on merit.
+ 
+We suggest the creation and maintenance of a regularly updated web portal, upon which candidates can post their manifesto, a portal where the general electorate can compare the profiles of the candidates, as well as have a neutral third body asking the right questions to each candidate, and posting the answers onto this forum. As was mentioned by the DOSW, work on such a portal in already underway and we can hope for the aforementioned points to be present in one way or the other during the next elections.
+ 
+## Epilogue:
+ 
+It is accepted that improvement in every system is an iterative process and each iteration takes time and thorough deliberation. The newly adopted system in IITR is a welcome step towards meritocratic politics and is still in its infancy. However, the general student populace is still largely lukewarm towards the elections and some reforms need to instituted to overcome that. With the perspective of history and an eye towards the future, we should anticipate what new potential challenges may lie over the horizon and consequently the reforms that need to be devised to ensure fair and transparent elections. 
+
+__The article features as the Cover Story in our latest print issue. The issue’s Big Stories analyse IITR’s security and expound on the limited academic flexibility offered at Roorkee. To read our previous issues visit: [https://issuu.com/wona-iitr](https://issuu.com/wona-iitr)__
+
+

_posts/2017-03-05-exchange-diaries-switzerland.md

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Exchange Diaries : Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Switzerland"
+image: switzerland-2.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author : "Chitransh Chatnani"
+category: academics
+---
+
+To experience and learn, to learn and apply, to apply and succeed or fail, and hence experience something new altogether. This for me is the instinctive orbit that makes growth modulus. And if the experience is eccentric, days are not dreary and the evenings become laughable.
+
+One of the eccentric experience I had wanted to have since my second year in college was to go on a Semester exchange to Europe. The idea of living a considerable time in a first world country, learn in an evolved curriculum, meet people from around the globe, speak a new language, and grasp where we (the probable cream of Indian education ) stand on an international platform was enticing enough to take this journey.
+
+### Application process
+
+While the concept of exchange semester is quite popular in IIT-Bombay and Delhi, it is still a nascent trend gathering momentum in Roorkee. To make it happen, you apply at a University abroad (that has such an MOU signed with IIT-R) through a bureaucratic channel that will take around two months. 
+
+The exchange application is supported with grade sheets of previous semesters and internship certificates. This has to be supported with a comparative list of all the courses that you’ll be taking in the applying university with the ones that home university is hosting in the particular semester. Course descriptions have to be on the same line more or less. The Indian credit system is supposedly more strenuous than the ECTS system in Europe, so for 20 credits that we were supposed to score in Roorkee in autumn semester of fourth year we had to cover 30 ECTS at HSLU.
+
+This set of application is first passed by the Exchange coordinator in your respective department. This is forwarded to the Head of Department who then forwards it to DAPC committee for scrutiny of credits etc. If forwarded by the DAPC the application moves swiftly to further tables. The HOD then sends it to the Dean of Academics who then sends it to the Dean of International Affairs. It is from here that the application is sent to the International Office of foreign
+university. Then, if the foreign university is convinced with your CV and letter of intent you’ll get a letter of acceptance in the next month. In the end you have to obtain a No-objection certificate from Dean of Academics and Dean of Student’s Welfare. 
+
+After getting all these signatures you have to breathe and congratulate yourself, get the finances in place and move forward to obtain VISA for that respective country. Flight tickets. Goodbyes. Take off.
+
+### The Fall of 2016
+
+![Switzerland 3](/images/posts/switzerland-5.jpg)
+
+We (me, Deovrat and Kshitij) applied together for Hochschule Luzern, Switzerland and were ecstatic to get our acceptance e-mail on 18th May, 2016 for the coming Fall Semester. (September ’16 – February ‘17). The dogs of CS-169, Rajendra Bhawan had been unleashed to waggle tails for European blondes, hike along scenic Alps, bootleg through Roman alleys, and growl Grützi at every other firang dog that passed through.
+
+We flew on 2nd September.  Their international office had helped us with getting affordable accommodation and all the Visa documents.  The reception was warm - an orientation program that included basic German classes, hikes, city tour and an inter-cultural workshop had been chalked out for all the 70 odd students making an exchange in various departments of the University.
+
+The classes begun from 21st September and hence came forward the clear picture of why Switzerland tops the Global Competitiveness Ranking every successive year. While in India people jump to college directly after schooling, Swiss students join an office or industry as an intern for two to three years to know their trade, which is followed by diploma or graduation. So, my classmates were all three or four years older and with much substantial knowledge. 
+
+### Hochshule Luzern
+
+![Hochshule-Luzern](/images/posts/Hochschule-Luzern.jpg)
+
+30 ECTS meant 8 courses - 2 Major modules (12), 2 Related Modules (6), 3 Minor Modules (9), and a language course(3). 
+
+One of the minor modules was called ‘Swissness’, which covered everything about their history, culture, geography, governance, and industries. It was compulsory for all the exchange students. This module and Deutsch language course was an interesting experience as the lectures were very interactive and student body was a diverse concentration of cultures from everywhere. A particular lecture on the democratic structure of Switzerland was followed by a discussion between me,
+Sebastian (from Dublin), Katja (from Vienna) and Andrew (from California) about our own Parliaments and voting rights. We ended up in a bar competing who would get their bottoms up done faster. Indians are pro. RP is bliss. 
+
+The other six modules were all in the domain of architecture. The related modules were a compliment for the personal project that an individual is designing or researching about in his major module. I worked on three different design projects, two case studies and a research paper through the semester.  Every week for every project a 90 minutes slot was fixed with the professor of that particular module. The professor has 12-16 individual projects under him or 3-4 groups if it’s a group project. The personal discussions were very intensive. I grasped that much of the learning is imbibed when one discusses his progress week after week with his mentor, in a tuition kind of methodology. Those 90 minutes were a dreadful fear through the semester, because you cannot subterfuge a person who has been following your work from the very beginning. A lot of homework had to be done so that I have enough substance for making a quality discussion. Snow falls were missed and all nighters were adored a lot of times.
+
+ September to December went from week to week managing work, time, and food. I got a bit frustrated for not being able to live the Euro-trip I had imagined. One weekend in November, I decided to close my laptop and go to Venice for Bienalle.  The intriguing Italy of kings and merchants, a city floating on water, narrow alleys leading up to grand piazzas and majestic Castles. It was all fun and smoke, but I was choked with unsurmountable work for the weeks that followed. From
+ Christmas to New Year were holidays half spent sleeping and half in the mist of French Alps. January was lined up with exams, final presentations and critique.  
+
+### The Swiss Deal
+
+![Switzerland](/images/posts/switzerland.jpg){: style="width: 50%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+
+Swiss folks, like their climate, are usually very cold. They have evolved confined to each other in small communities that thrived in valleys and lake sides surrounded by mountains. Being a major tourist destination, the locals have seen a lot of foreigners all their lives and somehow have grown indifferent to their presence. While serving the visitors with all hospitality and services, they remain closely knit in their own inner circles. A greeting in Swiss German is the password to get
+ them talking, but don’t try to get too friendly. They take time to absorb a newbie in their life.
+
+Although the popular notion of being a honeymoon destination still holds, it is a very narrow view for a country overshadowing major global players in technology, economy and environment preservation. A landlocked small country between major powers like France, Germany, Italy and Austria, it is with great resilience and determination that they have been able to hold on to their idea of Swiss conservatism and national identity. Swiss German is a very different dialect from
+ German that even the Germans find difficult understanding.  Being in the center of Europe and being filthy rich courtesy to the Jews that developed the banking system to rope in all the gold, the country has had a rich past in art, architecture and medieval towns. Moreover, their neutral stand and powerful defense has been able to preserve these treasuries through the dark ages of World War. 
+
+![Switzerland 4](/images/posts/switzerland-4.jpg)
+
+In spite of being conceited and snobbish like a goblin, the Swiss have sentiments. And all their emotional nerves are attached to some pounding heart in their wrists. The people have an OCD with time skills. Being late was never accepted. Being an Indian was a major joy for the fun we can have in recklessness. The food they eat is no food at all. Cheese, chocolate and bread are supplements for us, main course for them. ‘Swiss Watching’ by Diccon Bewes is much recommended book to know about
+ Switzerland and its people.
+
+But in all this time and amidst all those clones of perfect sapiens, I made some good friends. Lee, Axelle, Juan, Viki, Andrew, Rhys, Jamie, Toby, Michael, Reem, Sebastian, Sam, Manuelle were delightful humans to remember. 
+
+Now, I am much excited for my last year in R-land. The campus has a different vibe, much progressive and less fearful. With every new notice there is a relentless cry to break away from ever withholding past. It’ll be another eccentric experience to meet girls whistling in Main building lawns coming back from BusTea at 4 o’clock in morning. 
+
+__Ciao.__
+
+![Switzerland 2](/images/posts/switzerland-3.jpg)

_posts/2017-03-09-dogs-are-here-to-stay.md

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Dogs are here to \"stay\""
+image: dogs.png 
+tags: [wona]
+category: sac
+author: "Aman Nayak, Anurag Mall, Nikhil Arora"
+---
+
+The last few months have seen a rise in the cases of dog bites in and around the campus, with several students speaking out on social media to express their grievances against the dog menace. A large section of the student community has regularly petitioned the Students Affairs’ Council to take concrete action regarding this issue. Here, we try to look at the issue and figure why it refuses to die down.
+
+### Our hands are tied
+
+![Animal Welfare 1](/images/posts/animal_welfare.png){: style="width: 45%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+![Animal Welfare 2](/images/posts/animal_welfare_2.png){: style="width: 45%; float: left; margin-right: 4%;"}
+*Ref: [http://www.awbi.org/awbi-pdf/circular_abc_cantonmentboards.pdf](http://www.awbi.org/awbi-pdf/circular_abc_cantonmentboards.pdf)*
+
+According to a circular [1] issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India, stray dogs cannot be beaten or driven away from their localities. They can however, be sterilised, immunized, and released back into the same area in accordance with the Animal Birth Control programme; which happens once every two years in the campus. According to K.P. Singh, Chief Security Officer, these sterilised dogs (whose right ears have been notched) are often displaced due to aggressiveness, which leads to
+other fertile and territorial dogs from outside the campus taking their place. What follows is a perpetual cycle wherein these dogs that have now entered the campus are sterilised and then again released into the wild on account of aggressiveness, and so on and so forth. The end to this is the utopian ideal of having every dog in the country sterilised and immunized, through the IIT Roorkee campus or otherwise. 
+
+![Animal Cruelty Memo](/images/posts/animal_cruelty_memo.png){: style="width: 55%;"}
+*Ref: [https://jaagrutiindia.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/public-grievances-circular-pg-1.jpg](https://jaagrutiindia.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/public-grievances-circular-pg-1.jpg)* 
+
+Furthermore, a memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training [2] states that in all problems relating to stray animals, “no association, recognised or unrecognised, shall take recourse to action on their own, either themselves, or through any person employed by them like Security Guards.” 
+
+### The stalemate
+
+Essentially, laws protecting animal rights makes it very hard for the authorities to act upon the students’ requests, and restricting the entry of dogs is impractical given that the campus is porous. Sterilising and vaccinating the dogs is currently the most practical means to make our campus safe. Additionally, preventing dogs from entering the bhawans by monitoring the gates constantly is definitely workable.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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+

_posts/2017-03-14-placements-16-17.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Bang for the Buck: Placements 16-17"
+tags: [wona, column]
+image: iit-convo.jpg
+author: "Yash Singh, Vedansh Bhartia, Sahil Grover"
+category: career 
+---
+It goes without saying that placements are a serious business for the student community of the institution, perhaps the reason for joining an IIT for many. From boatloads of aptitude tests, group discussions and resume submissions to clean shaven faces and suited up personas, they sure take a heavy toll on students. As the campus moves through the second phase of placements, we analyze the placements so far. This report considers all placements this academic year, **till February** (second phase of placements is still in progress) and throws light on the key trends and statistics. 
+
+<div class="infogram-embed" data-id="placements-983578" data-type="interactive" data-title="Placements"></div><script>!function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),r=o[0],d=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=d+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var
+a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,r.parentNode.insertBefore(a,r)}}(document,"script","infogram-async","//e.infogr.am/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div>
+
+![UG CTC 1](/images/posts/ug-ctc-2.png)
+
+![UG CTC 1](/images/posts/ug-ctc-1.png)

_posts/2017-03-18-predictably-irrational.md

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: Predictably Irrational?
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: editorial
+author: "Lanka Adarsh, Aman Nayak, Rhea Parekh"
+image: predictably_irrational.jpg
+excerpt: Are intelligence and rationality the same thing or being intelligent doesn’t necessarily mean being rational?
+---
+
+Think of a well-engineered car: an engine with good horsepower, sound suspension – capable of navigating numerous types of terrain. Assume that it has to go from point A to B via a thin, rather arduous patch of road. The degree of success, then, is dependent not only on the car itself, but also on the proficiency of the person driving it. While the line between the two is thin, once visible, it cannot be overlooked.
+Intelligence becomes the car, and rationality the driver. The car is a given; unalterable and permanent.  The driver’s resourcefulness, then, determines the probability of reaching the destination. In casual conversation, intelligence and rationality may mean the same; however (counter-intuitive as it may sound), they are only weakly correlated, and therefore, largely independent of each other.
+
+Intelligence is defined as "ability to efficiently achieve goals in a wide range of domains", while rationality is "the art of choosing and implementing actions that steer the future toward outcomes ranked higher in one's preferences". Intelligence – quantified by IQ – is a measure of how easily one picks up various skills (the “theory” component). Rationality (measured by RQ) is the ability to use acquired skills, account for various innate cognitive biases, other non-cognitive domains such as empathy, socio-economic factors and make decisions to deliver a desired outcome.
+
+From an evolutionary standpoint, intelligence precedes rationality. Jared Diamond hypothesised that an average tribesperson of Papua New Guinea is more intelligent than the average European, his rationale being that European countries have a good standard of living and good accessibility to important services, while in the case of the tribes, isolation from such facilities presents challenges to the continuation of life on an almost daily basis. Meeting these challenges requires intelligence, synonymous with adaptability. Simultaneously, perfect rationality is never possible. This is for two reasons: first, the number of cognitive biases is so great that we do not have the ability to account for all of them. Secondly, any previously acquired knowledge is inevitably associated with certain prejudices – more so in the case of people with higher IQ.
+
+Unlike IQ, however, RQ is not an unalterable quantity; one may make himself “more rational” by learning about the thinking errors and fallacies the human mind has a tendency of committing, and avoiding them in practice. Greater rationality leads to a happier future, as it signifies agreement between one's actions and one's view of the consequences of those actions in the future.
+
+In hindsight, it becomes apparent that rationality and intelligence are differentiable attributes. Ernest Hemingway once mused: “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know”. Intelligence (here) encompasses self-awareness – knowing one’s capabilities and limitations; the good and the bad embedded within. Focussed on the possibilities these entail rather than actually pursuing them, intelligent people often swim in rivers of self-doubt and self-hate. Rational people skip straight to the answers, and are able to get what they desire out of such situations. Morality and ethics are unimportant, insofar as they are able to fulfil their own needs. Intelligence becomes severely debilitating; rationality frees us from its chains as long as we learn to forget what we assume we know.

_posts/2017-03-22-cogni-31.md

@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@ layout: post
 title: Cogni '31, 2431!'
 image: cogni-31.png
 tags: [wona, column]
+author: "Suvam Das"
 category: phekingnews
+excerpt: Cognizance is indubitably the biggest of IITR’s army of fests. It has been fondly described as the 2nd largest technical festival in Asia.
 ---
 
 Cognizance is indubitably the biggest of IITR’s army of fests. It has been fondly described as the 2nd largest technical festival in Asia. The abovementioned fact may be questioned but the writers of this article choose to believe whatever other facts a random freshman working for Cognizance Sponsorship Team would speak out loud on phone. With its ever widening reach, and the rumored ever increasing fixed deposit, Cogni’s pockets seem to grow deeper with every passing year. We take

_posts/2017-04-01-now-we-see-you.md

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Now We See You"
+tags: [wona, column]
+image: illustration-camera_1x.png 
+category: phekingnews
+---
+
+A month after the breaking of the metaphorical “pinjra”, IITR has seen a palpable change in the levels of security and surveillance employed in the campus. One of the oft cited challenges to the free-campus movement was the lack of security and the porous nature of our campus. In a fitting response to these issues, the administration has upped the supervision in the institute to previously unforeseen standards with even greater levels anticipated in the future. Upon a closer examination of these measures, there have been some unsettling discoveries that have caught our eye and refuse to let go of it.
+ 
+
+### The low down
+
+The security of the campus can be broadly analysed through the lens of the Human Resource employed and the technology accompanying them. As a first and warranted step, there has been a significant increase in the number of guards patrolling the campus. However, incredulity kicked in when we came across the plan to employ a group of three female and two males to observe vigilance across certain hotspots. The move bears an uncanny resemblance to a policing tactic employed in a neighbouring state. Referred by an uncalled smearing of one of Shakespeare’s chief protagonists, that move has seen considerable flak from various sections of the society for it aims at outright moral policing and privacy breach. We can only hope that this likeness in implementation is not driven by a likeness in vision and aims.
+
+![Respect my authoritah](/images/posts/we-see-you.png)
+
+Our mild incredulity grew stronger upon learning the technological upgrades planned under this security overhaul. We would like to start by outlining the planned purchase of TASER guns and Heat Vision goggles for the security guards. This is accompanied by the acceptable aim of ramping up CCTV surveillance, in and around uncharted territories such as the dark corners of the Civil Department and places where students usually visit in groups of two. The increased security measures would cost the administration Rs 3 cr per year along with a onetime cost of Rs 4 cr for equipments and installation. One can get a decent idea of what this means by comparing with the institute’s annual medical expenses of Rs 3.5 cr and academic scholarship/fellowship spending of Rs 8.5 crore.  
+
+A member of the administration, when questioned about why there was such an indifference towards the student populace’s right to freedom, completely discredited the question, while showing concern about the motives of the students who find themselves out of their hostels late at night. 
+
+"When the students were protesting for a restriction-free campus, they argued that they would use this freedom towards constructive purposes like working in the various technical and cultural societies. However, now we hear cases of students wandering around with no purpose, holding hands and engaging in what we believe are just frivolous activities for students of this age. We expect the students to be more responsible."
+
+He further went on to say that if more such students are observed in the coming days, the administration might have to revoke the liberty that was handed to the students. This comment was a rather unwelcome one, considering the fact that a majority of the IIT Roorkee students have never had a chance to ‘hold hands’ with someone they’d like to.
+
+Our incredulity snowballed into utter disbelief when we were told of an intended purchase of Drones to kick start the much more effective and consequently intrusive aerial surveillance. With drones envisioned to be a part of the IIT Roorkee airspace, what this means for the student community and SDS’s yearly exhibition is something that only time will tell.
+
+### Our two cents of wisdom
+
+We are still unsure of why these measures are being taken, as the institute rules do not categorically ban any forms of PDA. This move clearly questions the students’ morality and instead of being a protective measure, it is more of a privacy breach. There is a fine line between campus security and privacy invasion, and it is ironical how, in spite of being promised “freedom” through the Pinjra Tod movement, the students are still under the watchful eyes of the inner party. 
+
+That being said, Watch Out would like to caution all the students to tread carefully post-midnight and avoid giving the authorities a chance to hold things against us. After all, trying to contain your raging hormones is better than being contained in your hostels post 11.

_posts/2017-05-24-decoding-eas-iitr.md

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Decoding EAS-IITR : Early-warning, Earthquake Alarm System"
+tags: [wona]
+category: tech
+author: "Ekdeep Singh Lubana, Vaibhavi Katiyar, Dhawal Pagay, Aman Nayak"
+image: earthquake.jpg
+---
+
+Secluded into a nook, on the third floor of the Biotechnology Department, a computer whizzes away. On the first look, one might have an impression of being in a “Mr. Robot” episode, and when you get to know that the mainframe sitting in front of you is analysing real time data from approximately 80 places, distributed over the northern regions of Uttarakhand, your “Mr. Robot” vibe just grows stronger. Only if it was meant for the same purpose, as going on in our minds. Well, it isn’t. 
+
+The newly installed, “Early Warning Earthquake Alarm System,” nicknamed EAS, is an impeccable innovation in the field of disaster management systems. Achieved through concerted efforts from researchers at IIT Roorkee and “Space Dynamics,” a venture by Italian entrepreneurs into the field of “Disaster Mitigation Systems,” the project was executed under the umbrella of Disaster Management and Mitigation Center, Uttarakhand. 
+
+Earthquakes, under their current level of understanding, are quite indeterministic in their nature, i.e. one cannot pinpoint the place of origin, time of occurrence, or the intensity of an earthquake. However, EAS, post-analyzing real-time data (shown in the image,) from certain selected earthquake-prone regions, calculates the time that shall be required for the secondary seismic wave to travel between the epicentre and the location under observation. This is known as the “Lead Time.”
+
+![EAS 1](/images/posts/eas1.jpg)
+
+Earthquakes begin with primary waves, which move at an average speed of 6 km/s, and are followed by secondary waves, which move at 3 km/s. Ground particles vibrating in the direction of propagation do not tend to cause any damage, however, for the case of secondary waves, one observes particles vibrating perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. Perpendicular vibrations allow for damage of humongous orders.
+
+A magnitude 7 earthquake, analytically, releases approximately 32 times more energy than a magnitude 6 earthquake. Hence, on the densely populated Gangetic Plains in Uttarakhand, an earthquake with magnitude greater than 7 or 8 has the potential of causing overwhelming damage to human life and property. 
+
+To explain the methodology in a brief, seismic sensors have been deployed in tectonically-active areas, and regions which have had a past record of earthquakes. Himalayas, due to the folding and faulting between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, tend to be tectonically-active region. As repercussions of the same, adjacent regions - such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Nepal - have had an earthquake-fling of their own, with earthquakes of magnitude greater than 8, on richter scale, being observed in the past. Currently, collisions which can lead to disastrous earthquakes, in the aforementioned regions, are being anticipated. This is why, with EAS as a weapon, Seismologists in the state of Uttarakhand have been on a “night watch.”
+
+![EAS 2](/images/posts/eas2.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+
+The biggest highlight of EAS is the algorithm that estimates the magnitude of the earthquake in real time simulation, in a matter of 3 seconds, only. Roorkee, being about 120 kms away from the Himalayas, can observe an S-wave in about 40 seconds, if the epicentre of the earthquake lies in Himalayas. After estimation of intensity within 3 seconds, and an additional 10 seconds for an alert to be issued, EAS provides Roorkee with a lead time of about 25-30 seconds. Additionally, warnings shall be issued, only if the magnitude of earthquake exceeds a 6 on the richter scale. Four or more sensors should back the notification, else, no warning is issued. Within the inevitable 10 seconds required for the issuing of warning, the S-wave moves ahead by about 30 km - making this region the blindspot. However, the epicentre is usually a teeny bit into the depths of Himalayas, and, hence, the corresponding blindspot turns out to be a sparsely populated region. Still, an earthquake of magnitude more than 8 can cause some serious havoc in regions reaching upto Delhi.
+ 
+In recent years, the population in northern Uttar Pradesh has increased significantly, and, more importantly, the entire region sits on soft soil, which tends to amplify wave motion rather than dampen it, hence increasing seismic risk. Fortunately, due to the recent developments in all the nearby villages, broadband network and mobile phones’ connectivity has become very routine. Thus, following the Earthquake emergency measures - post-issuing of the notification - can turn out to be a life-saving choice.

_posts/2017-05-27-guide-to-branches.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Watch Out's Guide to the Branches at IIT Roorkee"
+tags: [wona]
+category: academics
+image: branch-guide.jpg
+---
+
+It is pretty difficult to choose a field of study that you might have to stick with for four (or five) years. We know because we've all been there. Hence, to make the process a little bit easier, we came up with this rather elaborate and painstakingly devised guide to the various branches at IIT Roorkee. With an analysis of the various specialisations available, including an overview of the syllabus, future prospects, and some inside information from IIT Roorkee, we hope to give you a perspective of what you might be getting into!
+
+<a href="/WatchOutsGuidetoBranches.pdf" style="text-align: center"><button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-block btn-lg">Download the Guide Here!</button></a>

_posts/2017-05-30-search-great-indian-literature.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: In Search of Great Indian English Literature
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: editorial
+author: "Lanka Adarsh with inputs from Utkarsh Bajpai, Aaushi Kamble, Saurav Mahale, Ravee Chawal and Saihimal Allu"
+image: indian-literature.jpg
+excerpt: Literature, which is art married to thought, and realization untainted by reality – seems to me the end toward which all human effort would have to strive, if it were truly human and not just a welling up of our animal self
+---
+
+#### “Literature, which is art married to thought, and realization untainted by reality – seems to me the end toward which all human effort would have to strive, if it were truly human and not just a welling up of our animal self” – Fernando Pessoa, _The Book of Disquiet_
+ 
+Methods/means of communication have evolved simultaneously with our species; what began as gestures and symbols grew into languages, each with their innate grammatical logic and vocabulary. A desire to store information led to the creation of dialects; these twin inventions, when used in conjunction - to address the need of expressing oneself - was baptised “literature”. Today, literature is not merely a means to preserve knowledge; it serves to express the writer’s ideas, opinions and beliefs. It is this body of work - thus derived - that is used as an instrument for the infusion of ideas on a large scale. 
+ 
+Literature – by nature – is subjective; any effort made to sift good literature from the mediocre, the bad and the useless will tend to elicit mixed responses from its readers. Nevertheless, for purposes of this editorial, the term “good literature” needs to be defined and elaborated upon.
+ 
+If there is such a thing as good literature, it is thus declared by scholars. Notwithstanding this observation, one of the primary characteristics of a great book is universality - its ability to engage a wide range of audiences, each with their own complexities and taste. The story and the quality of language – the yarn and the way it is spun – are also definitive attributes. The fourth – perhaps lending it the added advantage of relatability – is insight; a commentary, reflection or discourse on the human condition; oftentimes, this may be implied rather than direct, deduced from the actions of a character or correlations in characterisations.  Most importantly, however, any great work of literature should distinguish itself, being unique in at least one way: in Julian Barnes’ _The Sense of an Ending_, it is the unreliable narrator with his seemingly malleable memories; in Elanor Catton’s The Luminaries, pivotal characters are assigned each of the twelve zodiac signs or associated with one of the planets, and the narrative is based on the lunar cycle. Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North enchants the reader with its hauntingly beautiful narrative, employing no direct speech.
+ 
+Listing these characteristics does not liberate literature from the wrath of its subjectivity, for these parameters are, in themselves, subjective; several books deemed abhorrent upon release go on to become classics (_The Picture of Dorian Gray_ by Oscar Wilde is one such example); whether this is due to a delayed acceptance of unpopular opinions is hard to ascertain. Tastes also differ from one person to the other, scholarly or otherwise; _The Narrow Road to the Deep North_ was reportedly rejected outright by a jury for a national prize, but went on to win the Man Booker Prize.
+ 
+#### “For some, English-language Indian writing will never be more than a post-colonial anomaly, the bastard child of Empire, sired on India by the departing British; its continuing use of the old colonial tongue is seen as a fatal flaw that renders it forever inauthentic.” – Salman Rushdie, _Mirrorwork: 50 Years of Indian Writing_
+ 
+Essentially, there seem to be two types of Indian (English) literature: the first, originally written in English, and the second, written in a vernacular language thereupon translated to English. With both, several shortcomings are immediately visible.
+ 
+In the same passage as the source of the latter quote (a preface), Salman Rushdie ponders over the reason for the inclusion of only one translated work in the anthology; he sees it as a manifestation of the “genuine problem of translation in India”, where authors writing in vernacular languages do not get the recognition they deserve due to the inadequacies of their translators. This problem, he assures us, is “certainly much diminished” due to efforts made by UNESCO and the Indian Sahitya Academy – but “not eradicated”. A parallel can be drawn with the national film industry; when being voiced over in a different language, the derived meaning may greatly diverge from the one originally implied.
+ 
+While prizes do not always herald the addition of new works to the conglomerate of good literature, they are important markers of their quality. To date there have been only four Indian recipients of the Man Booker Prize (of whom only one – Arundhati Roy – can be considered “truly” Indian), one of the Nobel Prize for Literature (Tagore), and none of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction; this rather paltry number is cause for concern. 
+ 
+What, therefore, are we doing collectively wrong?
+ 
+Most noticeably, there is no incentive to use English as a medium. In order to communicate with the masses, the language that ensures most readership is Hindi; any English work, therefore, in order to be commercially successful must use oversimplified language, in addition to clichéd stories and themes. As a result, a majority of contemporary Indian literature is unimaginative, unoriginal and oligopolistic, with the likes of Chetan Bhagat, Durjoy Dutta, Preeti Sheenoy, Ravinder Singh and Amish Tripathi being its forerunners; these are the figures the younger generations of readers and authors look up to, forming a vicious cycle of mediocrity. Indian literature seldom strays outside the narratives of jilted lovers or stories of overcoming loss; while these are possibly elements of a great work of literature, it cannot be constituted by these alone.
+ 
+Furthermore, it is quite rare for an Indian author to use quintessential English vocabulary, owing mostly to the education meted out in Indian schools. Our stories and poems contain nouns and expressions that we – as Indians – see and use in our everyday lives. A set of such words would be _Memsahib_, train station, railing, _Oye_; their English counterparts are (respectively) Madam, railway station/ train depot, balustrade and pardon me. While these sets may seem largely identical, they are markedly different in spirit and effect; one seems to pride itself on its Indianess, the other lends it a universal air. Although books using a regionalised vocabulary are less likely to succeed internationally, several have; Kiran Desai’s _The Inheritance of Loss_ is one such work.
+ 
+India, while tolerant (in the sense that it allows for the peaceful coexistence of several diverse communities, whether divided by religion, state or caste), is eternally averse to unpopular opinions; how, then, do artists – because writers are artists in their own way – express themselves honestly? Salman Rushdie helplessly maintains a safe distance from India – the setting of his Man Booker Prize winning book, _Midnights Children_ – in light of the large protests that erupted after the release of The Satanic Verses; M. F. Hussain was rather harshly chastised for his painting depicting a nude Saraswati; while India may claim to be a democracy, freedom of speech and expression are only valid unless no sentiments are hurt, which is rather often. Being vocal in opposition of a popular viewpoint precedes social exclusion and ridicule.
+ 
+Perhaps as India grows older, there shall be more room for art and literature; for now the picture is rather bleak and uncertain. 
+
+_Illustration Credits: Christoph Neimann_

_posts/2017-06-06-story-of-pibit.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "The Story of Pibit"
+tags: [wona]
+category: career 
+image: pibit_logo.png
+excerpt: Pibit is an IITR start-up which has created a digital platform for the local merchants where they can connect to potential customers.
+---
+
+__WONA: What does Pibit exactly do?__
+
+__PIBIT__: Pibit has created a digital platform for the local merchants where they can connect to potential customers in real time. Thus, solving the problem of low sales during off-peak hours by luring customers through real-time offers.
+In addition to this, Pibit also offers the feature of pre-ordering so as to save you valuable time and money.
+
+__W: What future do you see for Pibit from here on?__
+
+__P__: Well, we have been able to establish our market in Roorkee and parts of Dehradun without any kind of financial aid from anyone. After an extensive market research, we're planning to expand to Tier 1 and 2 cities as soon as we get funded.
+
+__W: Recently you have been dilating to other cities as well. What were the challenges you faced initially and while expanding?__
+
+__P__: As far as establishing the market in Roorkee is concerned we didn't face many difficulties given the fact that our team wholly consists of undergrads. Expanding to Dehradun was an uneasy task. Commuting to Dehradun from Roorkee and then back to Roorkee was quite hectic. Gaining the local restaurant owners' confidence wasn't a cake walk. However, the most challenging thing was building a team in Dehradun, because it's difficult to manage a team when none of your core team members is actually present there at all times. The good thing is that even after these challenges we've managed to come this far.
+
+![pibit 1](/images/posts/pibit_team.jpg)
+
+__W: What sets you apart from your competitors?__
+
+__P__: What gives Pibit an edge over its competitors is that most of its competitors do not provide real-time offers and pre-ordering features. That makes Pibit the only online platform that gives real-time connectivity, personalized offers, pre-ordering and home delivery all at one place.
+
+__W: What advice do you give to budding entrepreneurs?__
+
+__P__: It takes a lot of guts to start something new. There are all possible risks of failures. One thing that matters the most is how persistent you are? Nothing great is achieved easily. Set your GOALS, know your TARGETS, keep working until you achieve those targets. There are all sorts of people out there to discourage you. It's a good thing though because the feeling of proving them wrong is exhilarating in itself. And it's one the best boosters to move forward.
+
+__W: How do you think the administration can help promote entrepreneurship on campus?__
+
+__P__: The administration can be helpful in many ways, for instance, reducing the minimum attendance percentage required to take exams. Many foreign universities offer a no. of major and minor courses in entrepreneurial studies. Our college too can introduce such courses as electives. There are many projects that receive funding from the administration. In the same manner, good business ideas should also be sponsored. The introduction of Tides Business Incubator is a good start to a start-up culture at IIT-R. Steps like these are surely going to give rise to the number of budding entrepreneurs on our campus.
+
+
+_To share your start-up story with us, send it to watchout.iitr@gmail.com_

_posts/2017-06-11-architecture-at-iit-roorkee.md

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Architecture at IIT Roorkee"
+tags: [wona]
+category: academics
+image: archi-q2_p2.jpg
+excerpt: "What is architecture? This question shall haunt you like a stubborn ghost for the initial 3 semesters of study – asked by professors to gauge your understanding of it – so it pays to know."
+height: 540px
+---
+
+### What is Architecture?
+<br>
+This question shall haunt you like a stubborn ghost for the initial 3 semesters of study – asked by professors to gauge your understanding of it – so it pays to know.
+
+The standard definition – offered by a number of dictionaries – proclaims architecture to be “the art and science of designing buildings, open spaces and physical structures”; however, to fully appreciate the definition, one needs to understand the keywords better.
+ 
+**Art**: As most people reading this would expect, architecture has several aesthetic considerations, “space” being the central one. Space is perhaps a very abstract concept, but it can be understood as the enclosure within which one is positioned. Your bedroom, living room, the dormitories you will come to live in – all – are spaces, although of differing quality. This quality is ascertained by the way the light filters in, the way the wind blows across the room, the sounds and smells that can be heard or smelled within a space, and myriad other factors. An architect’s duty is to make them more liveable and enjoyable to offset the mundanity of everyday life, or to elevate its loftiness.
+ 
+**Science**: The science component only slightly resembles the kind you have been exposed to thus far. In architecture, science is a combination of principles and quantitative problems (numericals), with the former predominating. Architecture has several logical considerations, some of which are climate, cost (of construction, of running), making sure the structure/ building does not collapse and actually constructing whatever has been designed. Details shall follow in the next question.
+ 
+**Design**: Design consists of juggling aesthetic, practical and several other parallel considerations to arrive at the best possible solution. In the case of architecture, one has to consider the sequence of spaces/rooms (their connectivity with each other), the climate, the cost, the materials that ought to be employed, the aesthetics, etc. and produce a design that pacifies each need. It is best learnt by practice.
+
+![archi 0](/images/posts/archi-q1.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+ 
+### Architecture as a course
+<br>
+The study of architecture requires one to be a generalist rather than a specialist. The constituent courses of the bachelor degree, as ascribed by the Council of Architecture, are centred around “Architectural Design”, which will be found in all semesters except the first (1.1) and the last three (4.2, 5.1, 5.2). In the fifth year, one works on their Thesis, a culmination of all skills acquired during the last four years, where he/she designs a building from start to finish, just as one would for an actual project. Other courses impart necessary skills and information required in order to design and actually construct a building. These include climatology, structures, building construction, architectural graphics, visual art, building codes and regulations, etc. A full list of courses – and details about them – can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB">[here](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwI7Ki_XnyhmcURVd3FULW10azg)</span>
+ 
+Each year has its own studio, a large room where they do most of their drafting; it comes equipped with an anthropometrically sound furniture set comprising a drafting table and a stool. A standard set of equipment comprises a parallel bar (a 100-something cm long scale that draws parallel lines), an adjustable set square, a sheet holder, A1, A2 or A3 sized cartridge sheets, a great number of pencils, an eraser, a cutter (to sharpen pencils with; sharpeners are for amateurs), and a fine-liner, although only the first and third are exposed.
+ 
+To evaluate designs, a jury is conducted, where professors – and sometimes peers – criticize each design while the designer attempts to justify his decisions. Juries may severely damage egos or ignorance, depending on how one takes the criticism. Nevertheless, juries are the primary means of progress for any architectural design course.
+ 
+Contrary to popular belief, architecture is not all about drawing, painting, and the like; although these are helpful skills during the course, they play a very preliminary role in design, and can nevertheless be picked up after joining the course. One does not need to be creative in the visual sense to take up architecture as a profession.
+ 
+The course as a whole is rather challenging. It involves the longest contact hours of all courses and a great load of assignments, both of which – thankfully – eventually decrease. Good grades call for a mastery of all courses and fields – most importantly architectural design, which has the highest number of credits in any given semester. Architecture involves solving the biggest problems as well as the most minute. All these manifest as a great degree of frustration and a considerable number of late nights. For people who have studied the sciences all their lives – presumably with much interest and love – this will be a very different ball game.
+
+![archi 2](/images/posts/archi-q2_p5.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+ 
+### Architecture @ IITR: Cons – where we lag behind other colleges
+<br>
+If architecture is what you are interested in, IITR is perhaps not the best place to pursue it. A list of reasons are given below:
+ 
+1. **Lack of competition**: Out of the thirty-something classmates that will constitute your class (most colleges have at least 70), very few will actually be interested in architecture. A great number of them shall turn in a very poor quality of assignments – if they do – aiming at just keeping their heads above the water. There is a tendency for the “good students” to become too self-sure and swim in seas of mediocrity.
+
+2. **Focus of the professors**: Unlike other colleges of architecture, the primary focus of professors in IITR is their body of research. All professors are highly qualified (holding at least a M. Arch degree; most have a PhD), although in their specific fields of interest. Only a handful of professors actually put in effort to keep the class interesting and impart relevant and sufficient knowledge. At present, there are only two visiting professors (practicing architects), who are infrequent with their visits. At top architectural schools such as SPA Delhi, this ratio is almost reversed; the design studio and juries are held and evaluated by practicing architects, who have an idea of the real world, of what really works and what doesn’t.
+
+3. **Not enough emphasis on design** : Architectural design, as stated earlier, is central to the entire curriculum. However, there are only 9 hours allotted to it per week, far less than any other good architectural school in the country. Design is a reiterative process, and requires constant feedback and work to be done right; 9 hours a week hardly ensures that.
+
+4. **Lack of studio culture**: “Studio culture” is an important part of the architecture degree (to know more, watch <span style="color:#72C5EB">[this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62r3UPrOS9k&t=1294s) </span>). All schools (almost without exception, including our sister IIT Kharagpur) leave their studios open during the night in order for the students to work on their assignments. It keeps one away from all the distractions of the hostel and ensures that those willing to work get a conducive environment to do it in. However, IITR chooses to be different in this rather inconvenient way.
+
+5. **Skewed sex-ratio**: The sex-ratio varies across all years, depending on the collective luck of the incoming freshmen. However, it is much lower than other colleges, where the sex ratio is 1:1 or better (with girls predominating).
+
+![archi 3](/images/posts/archi-q3.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+
+### Architecture @ IITR: Pros – how IIT is better/different from other colleges
+<br>
+You have now managed to read past all the faults and misdeeds of architecture, so pat yourself on the back for a bit.
+ 
+Architecture at IITR has many unique advantages. These are:
+ 
+1. **A chance to make another field/skill your profession**: Even if one discovers that architecture isn’t their cup of tea, there are many alternate options available, unlike any other college of architecture. Related fields such as product design, graphic design and industrial design exist. Fields bearing little resemblance to architecture include coding, finance, consultancy and start-ups, to name a few. Self-interest and effort are primary requirements in such an undertaking, but campus groups and seniors help greatly. One can build his CV by interning in capacities closely related to the profession he/she wishes to pursue. Interns are much easier to come by with the help of the IIT tag. This is a good point in time to reiterate that very few people in any given batch choose architecture as their profession; the rest go into non-core jobs. 
+
+2. **The “Family system”** : All first years are inducted into one or more families within the initial two weeks of joining IITR. A family may choose to adopt you based on any number of criteria, or even at random (by chit-picking). Once in the family, the very first responsibility is helping the fifth year with their thesis; here one picks up preliminary model-making skills, and even software skills, should their baap allow it. This duty is renewed every year, but its formal nature is not. In return, it is any baap’s duty to give chaapos and advice on how to weather the storm that is architecture.
+
+3. **Societies, groups and sports**: Although architecture constitutes a very small number of the total intake, archi wale log can be found in most groups on campus. The reasons behind joining societies and groups stand as two polar opposites: some see them as opportunities to counter frustration, while others see them as opportunities to learn relevant skills, having discovered their disinterest in architecture. Either way, the number of groups and societies on campus is astronomical, with new ones cropping up every year. Chances are there is a group for each interest or intrigue you possess (an exhaustive list with brief information can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB"> [here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/campus-groups)</span> ). Similarly, facilities for all major sports can be found here, with exceptional coaching staff that bring out the best in you. The standard of sports are much higher than one would expect for a sorry bunch of nerds. More information can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB">[here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/sports)</span>
+
+4. **Semester Exchange** : A semester exchange is available for students having a decent CGPA (>7.5); up to three students can be accepted as exchange students in Hochschule Luzern (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts), Switzerland, in their 7th semester (4.1). This is an opportunity to learn how our western counterparts perceive and approach architecture, as well as to travel Europe, experiencing all that it has to offer. Here is an account of the experience, as recalled by a senior who visited Hochschule Luzern this year:<span style="color:#72C5EB"> [exchange diary switzerland](http://wona.co.in/2017/03/exchange-diaries-switzerland)</span>
+
+5. **Research opportunities** : Perhaps one characteristic that sets IITR apart from all other colleges is the emphasis it lays on research. Any student interested in research may approach a professor, consult him/her about the area/matter he wishes to investigate – and once he/she has the blessing of the professor – pursue it. In addition to the above, a program called SURA (Summer Undergraduate Research Awards) is also in place. Here, however, the approval is given by the central administration (Dean, SRIC) following a detailed presentation explaining the area of study and specifying the deliverables each week. A student who is shown the green light stays back during the summer, and submits a report at the end, after which he is given a partial refund and a stipend. For students of architecture, an additional opportunity lies in the form of the CBRI (Central Building Research Institute), which, although an autonomous body, abuts our campus. The CBRI develops new materials and ways of building and assists with problems of planning, designing and disaster mitigation. The CBRI is very welcoming of IITR students wishing to research such areas; two seniors (to the author’s knowledge) have written research papers under the CBRI.
+
+6. **On-campus placements** : Reportedly (that is, with questionable certainty), other architectural colleges do not have placements, or any sort of arrangements wherein graduates can find firms to employ them. At IITR, such a system does exist, but the number of firms and companies that recruit architects are just sufficient. However, when it comes to other fields such as the ones mentioned earlier, it is a level playing field, and architecture graduates can get non-core jobs provided they are meritorious. More information can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB">[here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/placements)</span>
+ 
+![archi 3](/images/posts/archi-q4.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+
+### Terms and Conditions for doing well in architecture
+<br>
+If, after carefully considering all the above information, you still want to pursue architecture at IITR, here are a few pointers that might help you.
+ 
+1. **Give architecture a fair chance**. A considerable number do, but their effort does not sustain, and their enthusiasm dampens within the first two months. Giving architecture a chance entails doing all assignments conscientiously, at least for the first semester (which, in itself, forms an image of architecture that is far from reality).
+
+2. **Read**. Whether its articles on archdaily, or books on architecture, the more information you accumulate, the better. Some of the knowledge thus collected will be employed in your designs at one point or another.
+
+3. **Work on improving your visual communication skills** , i.e. drafting and sketching. A good (technical) drawing or sketch is worth a thousand words. Competitions organised by NASA (National Association of Students of Architecture) are the best way to do this.
+
+4. **Learn to take criticism objectively**. Any professor criticising you or your design is only doing so for your benefit, not to make himself/ herself feel big.
+
+5. **Perseverance is key**. There will be classmates better than you at sketching and artistic pursuits, but the belief that hard work can at least equal talent needs to be cultivated and acted upon. Similarly, a lot of your initial work and ideas may be shot down in the jury. Push yourself to do better. Sadly, results are what finally matter, the effort that one puts in merely accounts for consolation.
+ 
+### Contact details
+<br>
+In case you have any doubts regarding the course that you wish to get clarified, feel free to call any of the people listed below:
+ 
+**Divyang Purrkayastha (2nd year)**: +91 9560588732<br>
+**Ramachandra Reddy (3rd year)**: +91 9557902784<br>
+**Lanka Adarsh (3rd year)**: +91 9410577752/ +91 8218618294<br>
+**Anshul Rathore (4th year)**: +91 9917026076<br>
+**Deovrat Dwivedi (5th year)**: +91 7895473473<br>
+**Kshitij Joshi (5th year)**: +91 7895475628
+
+Illustration Credits: Leewardists

_posts/2017-06-13-beautiful-life.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: It's a Beautiful Life
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: editorial
+author: "Lanka Adarsh, Anushrut Gupta"
+image: beautiful-life.jpg
+excerpt: The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed.
+---
+
+#### "The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed." - Achilles, _Troy_ (2004).
+
+The value of any commodity in our possession – philosophically or economically – is ascertained by a lack of abundance. Life is universal, but never in perfect competition; the longevity and quality of, as well as the insignificant infinite incidents constituting our lives vary globally. Nevertheless, death is the indiscriminate adjudicator that unites us. Perhaps it is the only reason we ever do anything; a visible eventual end reinforces the value of our life, spurring us on to make the most of each day.
+
+What, then, will we – our attitudes, outlooks and dispositions – make of a significant increase in the average life expectancy?
+
+If the (hypothetical) elixir were to bequeath to us an additional 120 years – that is to say, a life expectancy of 200 years – one immediately assumes that scientific and technological progress will accelerate by an unimaginable magnitude, for greater work logically follows greater amount of available time. In retrospect, however, it is short-sighted to exclude the talent for procrastination with which we are naturally endowed. The perception of time as an infinite commodity shall incentivize a majority of the human race to recursively postpone autonomous tasks, resulting in collective underachievement.
+
+Counterintuitively, there shall also be a – eventual, if not immediate – decrease in population. Assuming that most countries of the world shall be developed by the time such an elixir is made available, the prevalent family size shall be significantly smaller. Men and women shall hop in and out of relationships – having enough time to find the “love of their lives” – a hunt that shall, perhaps, forever elude and disappoint them.
+
+Meaning is innate in language but never in life, forged by its bearers (in an attempt) to make sense of the series of circumstances that establish themselves as parts of their lives. It is sought from a definite number of sources – primarily suffering, love and work. Love and work become largely irrelevant in this scenario; very rarely shall these be the sources of fulfilment, and fodder for discerning meaning. By exclusion, we shall turn to suffering to define our lives. What a sad life this shall constitute! With suffering predominating the emotional landscape – and additionally milking it for meaning – an aversion to happiness shall prevail, for it (logically) becomes the antithesis of meaning’s forge.
+
+#### “Living, naturally, is never easy. You continue making the gestures commanded by existence for many reasons, the first of which is habit. Dying voluntarily implies that you have recognized, even instinctively, the ridiculous character of that habit, the absence of any profound reason for living, the insane character of that daily agitation, the uselessness of suffering” – Albert Camus, _Suicide: the one truly serious philosophical question_
+
+Wrought and marred by misery, humanity’s faith in the absurd shall be solidified; once the “uselessness of suffering” is established – those that rely on it as the foundation of meaning shall eventually realise that there is none – any reflective, contemplative being shall surrender himself to the reasoning that his/her existence is worth nothing, that nothing will possibly be different on their passing. Employing Adrian’s logic (from The Sense of an Ending) that one may choose to renounce their life upon examination – since it is a gift given to them and therefore, theirs to reject – intellectually endowed people shall renounce their lives the way Adrian did. Who, then, shall lead this world into the great unknown that is the future?
+
+Our lives, although flawed, shall never be as disastrous. Perhaps it is conducive – even ominous – to have a life of eighty years. A supernumerary life may arouse gratitude initially, when one has a standard to compare it to; over time, however, it shall be the source of a universally prevalent disdain.
+
+_Illustration Credits: Scott Laumann_

_posts/2017-06-18-the-ericsson-awards.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "The Ericsson Innovation Awards"
+tags: [wona]
+category: verbatim
+image: ericsson_team.jpg
+---
+
+**_“Swedish vodka and the best meat you could ever have - hmm, well, if only I wasn’t a non-drinking vegetarian.”_**
+ 
+###Four students from IIT Roorkee made the institute proud by grabbing the top spot at the prestigious Ericsson Innovation Awards, hosted at the Nobel Museum. We had a chance to talk to one of the members of the contingent, and ask him all about their exploits in Sweden.
+ 
+
+__WONA: First off all, how’d it all begin!__
+ 
+TEAM SNAP: Getting the first prototype ready, filing a patent, and publishing a paper on the results of the pilot implementation - an idea that I had while sinking in my bed, has certainly come a long way. I had the idea for this project in December, 2015, and have been working on the same, since then.
+ 
+To begin with, the device is basically a multispectral imaging tool, which images a leaf at different wavelengths, in a very controlled environment, calculates Geo-imaging Satellites (GIS) based spectral parameters, and correlates the same with the nitrogen content in the leaves. Hence, you get to know the nitrogen content in the leaves, which can then be correlated with the nitrogen content in the soil, and, thus, you can get to know the optimal nitrogenous-fertilizer content, required for the best yield of your crops.
+ 
+
+__W: Tell us something about the Ericsson Innovation Awards.__
+
+![EIA 1](/images/posts/ericsson1.jpg)
+
+TS: The Ericsson Innovation Awards, which were started in 2009, tend to promote innovation amongst university-students, motivating them to come up with original ideas. Thinking that we were original enough, we submitted our project. I had looped in others, the current team as you know, to participate in the competition. However, it was Ankit Bagaria, who led the ante further in terms of everything not-tech. I had one job: getting the product ready, i.e. a working and presentable prototype.
+ 
+Though we did apply for the competition, I wouldn’t be lying if I said that we were the quintessential should-not-be-selected team, back then. However, “it’s a new day, it’s a new sun.”
+ 
+With a great presentation, and some great pilot runs coming our way, we realized that we could actually make it. And we actually got into the top 13 out of 907 teams, across the globe. WE were shocked with the selection, frankly. Hell, there was a team from Stanford! Last year’s top 3 had included a team from MIT, so, I wouldn’t be over-extrapolating if I said that we had actually beat teams from all the biggies.
+ 
+![EIA 2](/images/posts/ericsson2.jpg)
+ 
+__W: Must have been pretty overwhelming!__
+ 
+TS: Well, things just got wilder, for we actually made it into the top 3, and were selected to present our prototype at the World Finals, which was supposed to be held at the Nobel Museum, Stockholm, Sweden.
+ 
+We got an actually presentable prototype (believe me, the one used for pilot implementation looked like a screwed up shoebox) ready, which was giving quite awesome results. We tested this one for a decently healthy leaf, and a totally dead leaf, and the results were amazing. 
+
+
+__W: Talk us through your first day in Sweden.__ 
+ 
+TS: We reached our Hotel, “Hotel Connect, Kista,” near the Ericsson’s Global office, Kista, Sweden. If you are into electronics, you are in for some anxiety a
+ttacks when you get to this place. Linear Technology, Xilinx - the ones you use for making all the basic structures - to biggies like Panasonic, Bosch - who build upon those basic structures - everyone had their offices here. KTH’s research facilities were a 5 minute walk. I, for one, was certainly witnessing transcendence. 
+ 
+We were supposed to record a 45 second pitch, the very next day, in the morning. Not much of a big deal, since it had been months that we had been practicing our pitching skills. I must say, though, the Ericsson Studio was beautiful!
+
+![EIA 3](/images/posts/ericsson3.jpg)
+
+These guys, they have projects from 5G to virtual reality to predictive transport network systems to whatever-you-want-to-get-anxious-about. We also got to click ourselves with an emmy award - certainly won’t win one, ever, in my life, but, at least, I shall always have a click to back my bluff with.
+ 
+Meanwhile, our crew had witnessed some additions. We had the global talent acquisitions head, some interns, and some other employees join us. 
+ 
+ 
+__W: Coming to D-Day. What was going through your head?__
+
+TS: Back in Studio, we started pitching our MVP and demonstrated the same to the Ericsson employees, who were kind enough to stop and listen to our rants of how Agriculture is dying. 
+ 
+At the Museum, I don’t think I could control my anxiety anymore. We were at the Nobel Museum! While everyone was busy mugging their pitches, I was going around the Museum, doing experiments with some pretty hefty equipments - which, unlike our labs, was working. The gift shop - it was a heaven of its own. From Bob Dylan to Einstein, there was everything. 400 well spent Kronas later, I realized we had 10 minutes left before our pitch. High time I mugged up my part of the pitch? Certainly.
+ 
+The jury was chaired by Sara Mazur, Head of Ericsson Research with Caleb Harper, MIT Media Lab, Dr. Catherine Mulligan, Imperial College London, Mattias Fyrenius, CEO Nobel Media, and Johan Jörgensen, Founder Stockholm FoodTech, as the jury members.
+ 
+Snap the scene to the pitching room, we pitched our hearts out. Unluckily, we had too much content, and too less time - our Business model, we could just half-explain it - luckily, though, the judges did not care for it. Clicking images and get chlorophyll content? “You think I’m crazy, convince me with that, we’ll get to the business model later” - certainly what the judges felt, for all they asked us were technical questions. Now, here is where the 1.5 years of efforts helped us. We were spot on with the technical questions; frankly, I could speak a lot more than I did for the technical aspects. 
+
+
+__W: What was the best part of the trip, you know, apart from being the global winners!__
+
+TS: THE RADIOHEAD CONCERT. It was something that had us overwhelmingly excited from the moment we landed in Sweden!
+ 
+If you want to witness transcendence, go watch these guys live. I have been a fanatic of Radiohead, for an year now. Going there, I got to know why. The stripped down versions, the little flings they’d play with their instruments and vocals, it was too much for me to bare. I swear, if someone hugged me, I’d have sobbed hard.
+ 
+![EIA 4](/images/posts/ericsson4.jpg)
+
+I’ll give you this - when I retire, Sweden it’ll be. The people, the place, the atmosphere - it was all so satisfying.
+ 
+ 
+__W: Looking back, did you back yourself from the start? How confident were you?__
+ 
+TS: Well, since we never got down to the business model, I was pretty sure we’ve missed this one. There seemed no reason to me that a technical venture could win a technical competition, after all. Silly me? Spot on, because we did win. 
+When you feel like you are screwed and there’s no chance that you could win a dime, but you bag 25000 euros (pretty huge, eh?), believe me, you burst out with some huge rushes of adrenaline.
+ 
+_And, that was it. Team SNAP got some snaps clicked, snapped out of the Museum, out of Sweden, and back to 40 degrees Celsius of grueling summer heat in India, from a pleasant temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. The experience got us through some amazing rushes of excitement, for sure!_

about.html

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----
-layout: layout
-title: "About"
----
-
-<!-- You can edit this whole page, remove it, or use it as basis for any non-post pages you have. -->
-<section class="content">
-  <h1>{{ site.name }}</h1>
-
-  <p>This would be an excellent time to update this page and talk about yourself a bit.</p>
-</section>

about/index.html

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 layout: layout
 ---
 
-<div id="header" class="container-fluid category-header about-header">
-  <div class="cover center-both text-center">
-    <a href="#" class="cover-link"><h1 class="title">About Us</h1></a>
-  </div>
-
-  <div class="left">
-  </div>
-
-  <div class="right">
-  </div>
-
+<div id="header" class="container about-header">
+    <a href="#" class="cover-link"-fluid><h1 class="title">About Us</h1></a>
 </div>
+
 <div class="category-posts container about">
 <div>Watch Out! is the campus news body of the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. We are a student run group that functions under the aegis of the Cultural Council, IIT Roorkee. Watch Out! is financially independent of IIT Roorkee and is supported by advertising revenues. 23 years after it’s conception, Watch Out! has grown to offer news and commentary from around the campus on it’s website in conjunction with a semesterly print issue.</div>
 

category/internblogs/index.html

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+---
+category: internblogs
+---

category/summer2016/index.html

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+---
+category: summer2016
+---

category/summer2017/index.html

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+---
+category: summer2017
+---

css/base.scss

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guide/index.html

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "The Ultimate Freshman's Guide to IIT Roorkee"
+tags: [wona]
+category: academics
+image: freshman-guide.jpeg
+description: The complete, wholesome and perfect reference book to IIT Roorkee!
+---
+
+College has a lot to offer, which is probably why you feel a little clueless and intimidated right now. You might wake up in the morning every other day and feel a little nauseated and dizzy, even though your amazing mental strength got you through one of the toughest examination of the world. And that’s alright!
+<br/><br/>
+Watch Out brings to you the painful yet insanely awesome realities of college life at IIT Roorkee, the oldest technical institute of our country. In an attempt to walk you through everything that this beautiful place has to offer, we've created the Ultimate Freshman’s Guide to IIT Roorkee. 
+<br/><br/>
+We have all the answers, so dive in!
+<br/><br/>
+<a href="/FreshmanGuidetoIITR.pdf" style="text-align: center"><button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-block btn-lg">Download the guide here!</button></a>