Delhi University’s Miranda House has a new notice for its School of Open Learning (SOL) students who study there every Sunday.
Some are wondering if it’s fake news, but with college campuses passing more and more rules for its women students, this new one is about selfies. The new notice, which went up yesterday, suggests that students can be suspended for a day if they are found, “clicking selfies, combing her hair or modelling in the gallery”.
Why do they care about selfies? “We hope that women students benefit from this opportunity and focus on academics,” the notice reads. Apparently it’s for the greater good of students because taking selfies is a “misutilisation” of time. “We hope that women students benefit from this opportunity and focus on academics,” the notice reads. It’s like they’ve been influenced by that silly photo that’s getting sent five times a day on my family WhatsApp group: “Never before has a generation so diligently documented themselves accomplishing so little.”
Teachers have given their explanations about how it’s also for the student’s safety —“Student groups have been increasingly perching dangerously on parapet walls to create selfie portfolios. They were gently advised by the staff to focus on attending classes,” said Pratibha Jolly, the principal. And since the notice has become a topic of discussion, students have been saying the rule is “wrong and stupid.” Some have even said it’s their “basic right” to comb their hair and take selfies. Apparently it’s being taken so seriously that there are reports that the students have planned to approach the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
While we imagine selfie patrolling becoming a job, perhaps everyone should read Paromita Vohra’s wonderful essay on selfies.