T I-OR U VAN AN TN A PU RAM
p3 1VIETROPL1JS THE HINDU Friday, April 8, 2016
Its not all rocket science
Students of lndin Institute of Space Science and
Technology are over the moon about life on campus
Hanqouts
Be it undergraduate students or post
graduate students most of the 800-odd
students on campus (almost all of them are
boarders) seem to love hanging out by the
main cafeteria. We enjoy it because its got
lots of seating in the shade and a good juice
bar. You can find people there all
throughout the day and its a good place to
socialise with people from different
batches, say first year students Moon
Bakaya Hazarika, Bhavana D. and Ansuman
Palo. Third year student Mariya Ratlami
and her friends and batch-mates, also enjoy
catching up with each other on the sloping
lawns near the hostels. Theres plenty of
green cover there, including dwarf coconut
trees, so even if its the middle of the day,
its nice and cool there, explains Mariya.
The institutions top-notch, air-
conditioned library with its five-floors of
literature is another favourite hangout,
especially when the heat gets to be too
much. The common rooms in all the 11
hostels on campus, where students can also
play a variety of indoor games such as table
tennis and caroms also find many takers,
especially the M.Tech students. Actually,
we have free run of the campus nuLl
curfew time 10.30 p.m. Since the entire
campus is so verdant and secure, pretty
much everywhere is a hangout! explain
Ankita Hudedaggadi and Swctha
Sakunthala, both second year students,
who are hanging out with third years Netra
Pillai and .l.kriti Kulshrestha.
-Mooii, Bhavana and Ans oman believe that the
Pet peeves
++
The students are too much in love with
their campus and life on campus to talk
anything negative about anything, really.
Prod them a bit and reluctantly theyll tell
you that the city is a tad stagnant and
conservative. But then, thats its charm.
We love the fact that when we do go to the
city (weekends and Wednesday afternoons
are free) we dont get stuck in traffic like in
the metros, says Swetha. Meanwhile, the
only thing Mariya and her friends dont like
about life in the city is too much politics
and strikes. Then again, it is the capital
city.
Campus buzz
NITA SATHYENDRAN
iijjj
r ago. What sets it apart is Aparimit, its one-of-
In conversations
We talk about geeky stuff says Vishnu T.S.,
eliciting laughs from several other third years. Well,
obviously! Right now, for instance, were talking
about open source software and short cuts to use it.
Thankfully, we have free wi-fl on campus so we can
experiment with it to ur hearts content, adds his
friend Aswin Jacob Thomas. The campus is abuzz
with the news that lIST is officially one of the top 10
universities in the country. In only its eighth year of
existence, its been placed eighth in National
institutions Ranking Framework (NIRF), unveiled
by the Ministry of Human ResOurce Development a
few of days ago, as thrilled students keep reminding
us again and again. lIST, for long known only as
ISROs college, has got what it has always deserved.
The quality of education and the facilities on
campus here is superb and we are glad its finally
been recognised, says M. Tech students Madan
Kumar Rapuru and Rajeswari Balasubramaniam.
ranking hac opened the door h opportunities.
F
Wha*treidng?
Consentia! Its the colleges annual
astronomy and technology festival, the eighth
edition of which just got over a couple of weeks
a-kind astronomy-related events such as night
sky watching and quiz on astronomy, explain
Kiran Mohan and Tinkesh Vekaria, M.Tech
students.
Some of the undergraduate students have
now turned their attention on the Model
United Nations that the colleges hosting this
weekend. Its the sLxth edition of the contest
and some 84 students from colleges across
India are participating in the event, where they
will simulate negotiations of specific
committees and organs of the United Nations.
For instance, the General Assembly will be
debating on ways to stop cyber espionage and
the UN Human Rights Commission will
discuss topics like protection of child rights in
war-torn areas, says Under Secretary General
Ankita.
All the students are also looking forward to
the colleges first ever food festival, next week.
Its a cook off for which we have divided
students into several teams with a dozen or so
members each, says third year students
Gautham Sivara man and Siddharth
Subbaramanyan. The rumour is that the
winning dish will be featured on the canteen
menu for the year! they add, with glee.
Now, thats entertainment
For a campus thats quite far away from the
city, there seems to be no dearth of
entertainment thanks to its many students
clubs. The astronomy club (they insist it comes
under entertainment) is a hot favourite as is the
aero club and the cinema club. Many are still
discussing perplexing sci-fi films Interstellar
and The Martian. The best part of it was that
there are people here who are experts on the
science behind the plots and it was easy to clear
doubts! says Kiran. However, the
entertainment evening that they all never miss
is Konchord. Its four-five hours of letting
loose. Students can getup on stage and do
anything, the wackier the better. Its tradition
that the first years have to dance to a comedy
routine set by their seniors and you can
imagine how fun that is!,, says Mariya and Co.