So it ends. . .

By Kanwal Naz
Eight posts and almost two months, this journey has been quite interesting for me. We were assigned this blog to get twenty marks and get the basic ideas of online journalism but it taught something else too along the way.

People fought, people criticised, got dramatic, sarcastic, indifferent, impossible, hilarious and foolish. instead of writing blogs we got some serious entertainment at times of which our blog was a proud participant. well, it is a bit sad that we wont be able to get all of that in our lives again. it will be a part of my memories forever.

For a person like me who was not much into writing, it really helped me. not only did i get to write my own stuff and get it published but also i got to read material coming out from my class fellows. some of them work on other blogs but still, they are a pleasure to read and inspire me alot.

My blog fellows were a real team. 'ALMOST' all of us worked really hard not only to get marks but to prove our blog's worth. we were criticised sometimes looked down upon and misunderstood but i guess it will pay off in the long run.

Finally thanks to the readers and especially our Administrator who was very cooperative. there have been too many "HATS OFF" therefore i will just appreciate you by saying "keep on writing Ms Adiministrator, YOU rock!"

Will really miss being here... Ciao!

We give What we have. . !

By Summya Khan.

When you do stupid things,you silently tell yourself that you are stupid..and you could do that particular thing in a more meaningful way rather than doing it awfully...this underestimation is bittersweet and you don't actually get hurt with it,but when others think you are stupid than the situation is much more different..you actually start to avoid such people in your life who don't have respect for you.

When we are in school,and colleges,we are more or less treated equally by everyone i.e teachers,your classmates etc...but the next stage of life is much different..there you are treated and judged on the basis of some things that are actually not known to you before..
After spending a year and a half in University ,the criteria of judgment are finally disclosed to me.

For the ones who have no experience of this stage of life and are going to have it in future...let me tell you that you may find everything here except respect...which is most needed by everyone..

.Here you meet people ,who actually are not familiar with the word 'kindness'..instead they have the word 'attitude' several times in their dictionaries....they are also not familiar with the word 'respect'..may be because they have never got this beautiful thing by anyone in their lives..

They are practical enough that the theory of being polite means nothing to them..
It doesn't mean that everyone here is the same,there are people who know how to respect others,how to be helpful,kind,down to earth,they don't forget the values, they are brought up with, by their respected guardians.. but these people are like a pinch of salt in a sack of flour....!
Some lines that explain 'respect'..

Respect is a lesson that everyone should learn
Respect must be given before an expected return
Respect is the basis on which relationships are founded
Respect is the anchor that keeps a person well groundedRespect builds the character and defines who we are..!
Respect sets the standard and raises the bar..
Don Wilson
I have highlighted one phrase of the poem..and that's because it really touches my heart and makes me feel relaxed whenever people treats me with 'no respect'..If you treat someone 'royally',it means you have been treated in the same way by people in your life..!!

Security please!!!

BY Sehar Azhar Dar

Karachi University is a well known and the biggest university in whole Sindh. Thousands of students and staff work her. The security staff is the most important of them. There are three main check posts in KU and people have to enter in university to identify them. The students have their identity cards which they are supposed to show daily on demand but most of them get through just by showing their enrolment cards or admit cards. This proves the “efficiency” of the able-bodied security staff.

Another important thing is that some un-identified people enter KU in their own vehicles, they use false identities. Some of them enter just for fun or for a “date”. This varsity is ideal for dating, everybody knows that for sure. 

We need good security system here because these are some really tough times in which security is crucial. Installing inefficient metal detectors after any major incident and then unistalling them is certainly not enough. Its high time the authorities realize that this university needs a better security staff where students can safely say “we are safe”.

Mixture. . .

By Sehar Azhar.
The Universities that come under G8 (hope you know, if not then what’s the
GOOGLE for?) league are mostly state-owned universities. People dream to go to
such universities. All in all, the point is that they are STATE-OWNED. In simple words
governments of these respective countries helped them survive gracefully and have made them worldly renowned. We are a "Muslim State" and for us pursuit of education is "compulsory" ethically as well as religiously .Huh! So let’s have a little check of our universities. Take "University of Karachi" for instance.

We enjoy a very comfortable environment here, isn't it? Everyone knows the degree of UoK is "recognized world over", But does it have any worth even within Pakistan? According to a teacher "a degree is just an entrance ticket for you in any organization" if it is so, then whose going to accept us? Scary...

Record-keeping strategy of semester results is extremely lousy. Once the mark sheet leaves the department whether correct or incorrect, no one is concerned about it. No one cares if results in Performa’s are wrongly written, and best part is they always make troublesome errors. Wrongly written marks are always less than what student scores, they’re never more. In short, students no more expect any unintentional favor or generosity from department. Points (university buses) of the university are hopeless. The points are usually loaded with crowd that they can’t handle.
This is a serious issue that needs to be taken under consideration. Once a friend of
mine from UAE visited university said in a mocking way "Yar! KU isa lot like a village"..LOL... What could I say? Or what could've been said? I just ignored and switched to some other topic. Bluntly speaking, it’s obvious that people even coming from szabist of UAE would obviously find it crap.
After all, it’s a public university. No one can be held responsible; after all we all are part of this lousy system. Let’s see where in the end we would land. . .

Valicka Ground. . .

By Summya Khan.

The favourite sports ground at the Campus is 'Valicka ground'.The reason behind its popularity includes proper sitting arrangement,pitch,and its ideal location.

Unlike rest of the sports grounds, Valicka is located at centre of the Campus.Sports lovers from all the Departments don't find it difficult to reach there and entertain themselves.
The most popular event at the Campus for sports lovers is the Paigham-e-Aman tournament.This event is also organized at the valicka ground by a certain political party.
People from all over the Campus gathers at the ground at every tournament.A huge crowd of audience can be seen at the time of tournament enjoying themselves and supporting their respective teams.

Other than the tournament it is also used by boys and girls as a meeting point.Sometimes we see girls and boys enjoying any sport and having fun.Mostly students from Pharmacy department are seen there as the ground is located just at the front of their department.
All in all Valicka ground is considered as an asset for K.u reserved for sports activities.

lets make it a better place. .

By Syeda Nadia Zareef.

PG is the most visited place by KU-RIANS especially by ARTS FACULTY STUDENTS. Its like blessing for them as it is nearest from arts faculty and most importantly as none of the arts department has its own canteen so as soon as students get free from their classes, they rush towards PG to spend quality time with their friends and to enjoy food.

Although there is no comparison of PG’s items throughout the varsity be it BIRYANI, GOLGAPPAYE, CHAAT OR ROLL. But the environment of PG is somewhat more discussable than its food items.

First of all the whole area is too dusty as there is no sign of a proper road over there. In fact walking there you might have a feeling of a DESERT with almost whole foot in the sand, then, looking around you might get a feeling as if you are in a forest becuase you see tress all around you. In fact the canteens there are all surrounded by these big trees. These may provide you shade but the birds on its branches offer you some other thing as well(no need to describe that) so be careful while waiting for your orders.

Then cats and dogs are also distinguishable part of PG, and finally in the name of sitting arrangement we only have 2 benches over there where you mostly find guys with cigarette in their hands commenting on every one passing from there. So that’s the whole story of our very own PG.

Here I want to say that some improvements  should be made in the area called PG as food can be best enjoyed if its presentation is good and it is served in a good environment so proper shades with sitting arrangements should be provided.Beside this the road over there should be reconstructed and some trees should also be cut down. So that students could more properly enjoy their favorite food items in more clean and calm atmosphere.

.

Mass Communication Canteen

By Sehar Azhar 

Mass Communication is the only department which is not in the Art’s Lobby. The new building is far from the arts faculty and especially from P.G., main cafeteria and all sorts of eating spots of KU (including all the dhaabaas. So in this situation, the little canteen here is a blessing for all the MCDians.

Especially in the morning when some students reach the university in a very famish condition then the tea biscuits served here are the best delight for us. Actually, the tea alone helps us to revitalize ourselves. We even had coffee. But I guess its no more an option now.

As the time passes, the person working there brings the so called chicken rolls in which they use “spray-on chicken” I guess. Still these rolls are the house specialty since there is no other option. As we all know, beggars can’t be choosers.

We try our best to run out to P.G. and get some decent food, but after two or three days, we get clumsy. Therefore, we tend to try biscuits and chips of every brand available. “Top pops” are the hot favorite of students here. Especially the “masala” ones. Do come and try them out.

University life. . .its fun

By Sameen Meher. 

University is an entirely different place when compared with the school or college life.
University environment is way too different from our previous academic institutes.
This is a place where students come from different origins,cultures etc.

A place where sick people sit all around you having no lifelong goals and ambitions.
But here borders are erased- you are free to do whatever you want. You can sit anywhere,anytime with anyone.

Teachers have no concern about your academic sessions at all.
Parents no longer take care of your academic session, in fact no one asks about it.We enjoy unhygienic foods without any fear.

This is the stage when u suddenly  feel that you are actually a grown up adult now.You are free to make most of your time and free to take your decisions on your own.

You don't have to worry about attendance issues (except in some rare cases), unlike schools and colleges.You may bunk classes easily and have fun with your buddies.
This is a place with more clubs and teams than anyone could ever be a part of.
At this stage of life you touch heights of freedom unlike before.You are free to take your decisions.

This, and so much more is the very essence of university life. It is the most amazing place for freedom lovers I can honestly tell you that going on to Post Secondary studies were one of the biggest decisions of my life. I am sure you will feel the same way when you will enter into University life.

The 'Differences' . .

By Kanwal Naz.

Karachi University being one of the largest University of Pakistan holds the honour of educating largest number of students and helped them to work for a better future of this country.
K.u has science,arts and commerce faculties.Experienced teachers have been appointed in every department.

All above qualities of the Campus are acceptable and ofcourse should be appreciated but University suffers from many controversial issues that should be solved.

There are many issues such as transports,attendance,clashes and the differences between the departments of the Campus in many ways.

I would like to highlight the issue of the difference that has been made in the standards of the departments.If we take the example of Commerce and IBA (although they are not considered a part of K.u,but are located inside it) we can see excellent management,cleanness and other academic performances that are appreciable unlike the rest of the places.
For e.g..Many guards can be seen at the entrance gate of the IBA but not a single one at the entrance of Commerce department.

Cleanness is appreciable at the IBA department unlike rest of the places.Environment of IBA is pleasant due to greenery and other management reasons.

The academic performances are much different from the other departments of the Campus.
These are only a few examples that shows the differences .But if you observe,you can witness several such examples.

I just wanted to convey a message that there must be an equal system of management and administration throughout the Campus.

Our very own 'MAIN' library.

By Syeda Nadia Zareef.

This is the age of technology.Every bit of information is provided all the time, you just "CLICK" and get what you want. But still with all these advancements the joy that people feel in book reading is indescribable. In fact in my opinion, NATIONS NEED GOOD THINKERS TO PROSPER AND THINKING COULD ONLY BE ENHANCED BY MORE AND MORE READING.

Keeping this in mind "Libraries" are must in every educational institution similarly K.u is also provided with libraries in almost every department and one CENTRAL LIBRARY i.e MEHMOOD HUSSAIN LIBRARY.

Let’s talk something about this enormous structure, it was established in1952 when KU itself came into being, it is a 3 storied building with a staff of 25 library specialists, 10 assistant librarians and 90 to 95 non professional staff and most importantly with the availability of more than 350,000 books used not only for general purposes but for research work as well(as mention in ku’s official website) and nowadays also provided with a beautiful DIGITAL LIBRARY with the availability of all kinds of information.

These are what we can call its characteristics, but there are many things which you find ANNOYING. First of all when you step in to the library you have a feeling of some horror place so much darkness (I wonder how evening students could manage there)with walls being painted perhaps at the time of its creation.

Then layers and layers of dust on every thing.(may be its because of all the time open windows, which let every thing come in, be it scorching beam of sun or lots of dust) if you want to settle down somewhere you have to clean the place by yourself, now the question arises what 90 to 95 people of non professional staff are doing over there.

Now another interesting thing which can only be the characteristic of this particular library is  suddenly during your studies you smell something and look around, you find many busy in SMOKING ACTIVITY in the corridor which is an evidence of poor management of the library.

In the end I just want to say that by mentioning all this I don’t mean that the library is of no use for us but only that as environment has lot of effects on people’s mind so students should not be tortured in the library rather they should be provided with nice n cool environment so that they could more properly concentrate on their studies.

'Technology' is needed at Communication department. . !

By Summya Khan.

As students of Mass communication,proper Internet facilities and most importantly its 'availability' is one of our basic requirements.But unfortunately ,our department has no proper arrangement for this and even if it has this facility ,we are not allowed to make use of it in time of need.

We always have to walk all the way long  to the main library or HEJ for our online work and assignments (as all of them require Internet assessments).

Its quite astonishing and surprising that communication department has no proper Internet availability but that's how it is..

Two days back,in the department when I so wanted to show my assignment and some other online content to my group members ,I had no excess to Internet.
There is only computer in our department which is easily accessible ,but it has no Internet connection.

The poor lazy machine placed at the corner of Photostat shop serves all the people from department as well as from other departments also for printing purposes.

There are so many things that we complain about despite of knowing the fact that there will be no satisfactory outcome.But I had to write something for my blog assignment so once again my poor department is targeted by me..

Sometimes I feel that I should be thankful to the poor arrangements and mismanagement at the campus as it gives us so much content for this assignment.

Career selection OR Mental torture???

By Suleman Saadat Khan.

"Suleman…enough of your pop music, now let me hear some Lata-Rafi collection". And I meekly obeyed my mother’s request. This brief exchange of dialogues reminded me how different our minds can be from our parents due to various reasons, among which generation gap is surely considerable.

Casting my mind back, I still remember what trauma I had to go through exactly two years back when I passed my intermediate exams in commerce. I was ecstatic to see my name in the column of those who had passed exams with A-1 grade but being a swimmer and some international competitions going on I just passed the exam. Everyone around me congratulated me in full spirits because they knew that passing out the exams without even the study as required in commerce is an achievement in itself. After the congratulating part was over, I seriously began to think what professional field I should be choosing. Though I was a commerce student, I still managed to remember how badly I had wanted to be a journalist in future. Reporters, anchors, columnists and gossipy current news stories had always been my favorites. Besides, I was an avid reader and writer of stories and poems since I was very little. So, I broke this piece of news in quite enthusiastic manner... "I want to take admission in Mass Communication dept in KU, I want to be a journalist". Luckily, my friends, including some cousins were there with my parents when I said this. "Are you out of your mind??" a girl-cousin of mine was quick to respond. "Nuts, you should be taking admission in CBM or some other good university , at least not KU…it’s the only place that can do justice to your talent and grades"- another one volunteered and of course. "These days BBA is very much in demand, go into that one"…and it continued…

Finally my parents also spoke up.. "Beta we think it’s best for you to take admission in some good reputable business university. You’ve studied commerce from matriculation till intermediate; do you want to throw all that away just like that??"

Quite reluctantly I started combing the aptitude books for admission in CBM, easily passed the entry test and managed to the BBA session. A month passed, then two and then three, but no teacher succeeded in inculcating the passion of commerce field inside me. It’s not that I hadn’t tried. I took all the classes and lectures and attended seminars, but the sight of badly entwined wires always made me nauseous. We always followed the formula’s , calculations that were predefined and we just have to put the given ones into it and mugging all formula’s that will play an important part in future. We didn’t invent anything on our own. We were never the pioneers. In short, I felt miserable. I always got exceptionally well marks in test by mugging and cheating from my mates, but that didn’t make me feel that I was intellectual in anyway. So finally when I couldn’t take anymore of it, I uttered the following words to my parents with tearful eyes...

"This is not my field, it’s not where my heart is… please let me do journalism"…

I guess my parents were quick to realize that I was not happy. They let me visit KU admin office to get admission details. I got admission and realized how right I was in quitting BBA and joining journalism. I felt like a free bird writing my thoughts and letting the world know them, expressing my views and welcoming the disagreements. Precisely, I was happy to be who I was, not what I was supposed to be.

I know that no guidance in this world can be better than our parents’, but I’m also aware of the fact that world is a colorful place and God has blessed all of us with different capabilities and skills.

So, I, Suleman Saadat Khan can responsibly declare that I refuse to follow the beaten path. I respect my parents’ and peers’ opinions, but I don’t want any innocent life to be ruined in a bid to amuse all the "professional intellectuals" out there

Of prayers and chaos…

By Kanwal Naz

Friday prayers are very important, we all know that, and so in a huge place like KU, a mosque or as we like to call it a ‘Masjid’ is a must for the students to perform their Friday prayers and all the others as well.

There are three Masajid inside the University of Karachi. Each is present at a convenient position for the students coming from different departments. One is near P.G., second is in front of the commerce department and the third one is near Sheikh Zaid Gate.

The advantage of having a Masjid at the university is that students (most of them) tend to perform prayers on time along with their teachers. This does not only ignite spiritual sentiments but also creates a sense of brotherhood and unity. Unfortunately, not many students focus on these benefits and come only to perform a ritual. Believe me, if the students think about these things they could get by performing prayers regularly at KU, there won’t be any ‘reserved benches’ culture here. But then again, it’s a dream yet to be realized.

Sometimes it so happens, that even if a student doesn’t wish to go for or feels too clumsy to perform prayers and his friends organize a ‘jamaat’ (an assembly for prayers) by themselves, he finds it difficult to resist and eventually joins them pleasurably.

I wish these sentiments of unity would some day be expressed outside the Masjid as well.

The situation for girls is somewhat the contrary. There are common rooms for them which are not-a-very-pleasurable sight at all at the time of Friday prayers especially. There is no proper place for ‘wudhu’ (ablution). It’s a state of absolute chaos. Some girls are seen exchanging cold words standing along the queue, waiting for their turn.

I hope someday the girls could themselves create discipline while performing their Namaz. After all, the aim of our prayers is first discipline and then salvation.

The ECONOMICS' crisis

By Sana Batool Naqvi.

Recession and economic crisis are the words that we heard the most since last few years.
The Economists of the world says, that the entire world is going through a recession period and the economies of the countries have nearly collapsed..

But let me tell you that I have been through the worst and most torturous economic crisis.Here I am not talking about that crisis but the crisis of the department of economics in UoK..

I am facing this torture since last two years.Choosing economics as my subsidiary subject was one of the biggest blunders of my life..

Allow me to briefly describe the horrible story of 'Me and economics'.
In the first semester I had a moody teacher who used to have time for everything except for taking our class.Every other day he gave excuses that he had to go somewhere else and had some other important work..He was supposed to teach us micro-economics but honestly speaking ,at the end of semester I had no idea of what I have learned in this branch of economics.

The second semester was even more torturous and annoying when the chairman of the department of economics took the charge himself.He was and is quite famous for his non-professional activities but I don't want to go deep into that .In short the second semester was the worst of all..

In the third semester we were blessed with a female teacher.She was COMPARATIVELY more punctual but very much fond of seminars as well as of the lunch after them.Due to this habit,the poor lady had to miss some classes.She taught us macro-economics but I felt that there is much more to learn in macro-economics than what she taught us.

The fourth semester (in my opinion )is the best of all.Surprisingly we have a punctual teacher..He is teaching us pretty well about Pakistan Economics..I found this course much easy but I think the fact that Pakistan's economy has nothing much to learn about, might be the reason behind it.

The fourth semester of 'Me and economics' was going smooth and interesting when suddenly a thing called 'mid term' came in between us and destroyed everything.

We were asked several difficult (as they appeared to me) questions in the paper that required lengthy calculations in a short span of time that confused the students but the major reason behind the confusions and difficulties was the weak 'base' ,as we never had proper classes in the previous three semesters so we were completely unaware of the basics of Economics.While looking upon this issue ,the only thing that comes into my mind is:

A country with poor economic education cannot prosper economically..
                                                                                                           (Sana Batool Naqvi)

Nose for news…

BY: ZUBIA NOOR

Nose for news, role of a watchdog and sometimes a lapdog…all these are not the facets of a dog but of a journalist. Sir Humair Ishtiaq delivered a lecture on the basic qualities of a journalist in our class last Wednesday and it truly was thoughtful.

He asked us to keep an eye out for any “news” around. According to him even the bushes around us can make news. Interesting isn’t it? This reminded me of a comment from a friend who visited my department on Independence Day. He rightfully noticed that the boys’ washroom was in the worst position possible.

If you ever come to the Mass Communication building you will definitely admire the exterior, but as soon as you will enter things will get filthy. I mean it, literally. The reason is the welcome given by the absurd Boys’ lavatory door shamelessly opened towards the entrance.

I wonder what the architect was thinking when he was designing the building. Was he THINKING at all?? Now I can definitely make some news from this question.

Another problem is the “echo” problem, that not only the students but the teachers, most importantly, face everyday. The subsidiary students, who are way too many in quantity, are the ones who suffer this echo the most.

My question is: if these are the problems here that were not in the previous building, why was this huge department “re-departmented”??

We have no mikes, no proper computers; no cameras…yes no cameras!!! Journalism students without these facilities are like doctors without a stethoscope. My teachers tell that the same were the problems back in the previous building. No technical and LOGICAL improvements have been made.

May be the authorities wanted the Mass Communication students to be in shape cause if the conditions are same and nothing was changed except for the distance from the entrance gate, I guess the reason I just mentioned, was the reason to build this masterpiece. I will definitely investigate and make news out of this. but whenever I look at this building I think

 “kuch toh socha hota banana se pehle”

Psychology as your choice...

 By Sameen Meher

Before applying into any department, my aim was to become a psychologist. But people suggested me to choose a field which had a bigger scope. At that time I was not aware of the scope in psychology therefore I took admission in Mass Communication. But to keep up with my aim I chose psychology as a subsidiary.

Few of our class mates wanted to take psychology as a minor subject, thus we reached to the psychology department. There we met a major’s student who gave us frightening views about the subject. Except me, rest of my classmates got scared and decided to reject psychology.

In these two years only psychology has proved its worth. Rest is just theoretical headaches.

Basically psychology is a study of unconscious behaviors, how we get aware of them and generate them.

It’s a popular myth regarding psychology that it deals with “psychos” especially the ones like Norman Bates. Therefore parents never let their children opt for this subject.

People may also think that students of psychology become AAMIL BABA and will tell your profile by watching your body language. Well its not true.

Humans are very complicated creatures of Allah that show various aspects of their personality in different scenarios. Therefore psychologists never take decisions about anybody without a case history, interview, assessment test or any experiments.    

In our society people avoid to go to the psychologist as they think only the 'nut cases' seek help. I convey a message to you all: please stop this prejudice against psychology. Because of these myths, our society suffers with a number of problems which may never be resolved without an expert behavioural analyst..

I suggest people should study psychology literature under good guidance and I believe that it will help you in further life and you will feel dramatically changed in your present behavior.

IT’S ALL ABOUT MUFTA…

By Sehar Azhar Dar

My life was going on in a very peaceful and safe manner when I was not a part of Karachi University. Once I became a part of KU, all the peace of my life vanished suddenly as it was never there in my life. Apart studying, “Mufta” is another purpose of getting enrolled in KU because we, the youth always wait for a “party”. Mufta is the biggest advantage of being a KUrian.

Mufta is something when you look for a reason to hang out with friends and the most important part is, only one person is targeted to pay the bill. We call that one “bakra of the day”.

Friends are a blessing but when it comes to a treat, the blessing turns into a suffering because the amount of friends and the amount of bill is directly proportional. But all this is a part of our enjoyment, even if one doesn’t have enough money to pay for the treat, it’s taken as a joke and then everybody contributes their share.

KUrians mostly enjoy Mufta at Burger.com, KFC, Pizza Hut, Sufi and Majida Hotel. Hope next time you guys plan a Mufta; you do it the KUrian way. Go find your “bakra of the day” and don’t forget to invite me!

Water issues…

By Summya Khan

Water is life… well we all agree on this one. Without this ‘hydrogen-combined-with-oxygen-in-a-two-is-to-one- ratio’ compound, we are nothing but dust. And when we are at KU, the normal requirement of this liquid is abnormally, doubled and sometimes tripled.

All the readers of Sahafionline must have learnt these facts by heart now: how we travel long distances to get to our Mass Communication department, how we wait on shuttles that arrive late, how we bargain on fares with the rickshaw folk, how we take the risk of lifts and how we sometimes get chased by dogs. After clearing all these levels, one gets tired and when one gets tired one gets thirsty. And one gets insane when one finds out that there are no water coolers inside the department. Yes, nowadays at Mass Communication we have been deprived of this blessing. Reason is still unknown, but my guess is that they have been removed probably because of the unhygienic conditions of the water cooler and the place where it stood.

Whenever I feel thirsty I drink water from my own bottle but a time comes during the day when it gets all empty and I am forced to visit that cooler. On its drain slab, I mostly find betel nuts and “supaari” wrappers. Now, how am I supposed to drink from this thing? It’s disgusting to see the traditional eastern broom a.k.a. ‘jhaaroo’ leaning comfortably against the water cooler (as if they have been good pals). And the filter is there only for ornamental purposes. It doesn’t work I guess. Does it? It’s for me to know and for you to find out. I don’t want to confirm my doubt as many of my friends pleasurably drink from it or used to. There are no coolers for now.

 I would want to request my authorities to at least install hygienic and reliable water coolers instead of removing them. We need them since we can’t buy dozens of Mineral Water Bottles everyday. And please, don’t drink from those installed at the Sociology department especially…their connections come from the washrooms. God knows if they are “REALLY” connected or not. Better safe than sorry people.

SIR FAISAL, THE BACK BONE OF THE I.R DEPARTMENT: BECAUSE OF HIM IS THE STRENGTH OF I.R

BY ZUBIA NOOR

‘INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS’ is my most favorite and preferred subject at KU. There are many reasons for loving this subject but there are a few I would want to share with you guys.

I.R. is a very beautiful department with a calm atmosphere and a lush green garden outside our classroom. The classes are large and airy with big maps of the world; they really come in handy while studying world politics. It really creates an environment that we all are present (and alive) in an ‘international relations’ class. Besides this, I am impressed by many teachers at I.R. Miss Nabiha Gul, Sir Moonis Ahmer, Sir Faheem uddin and Sir Faisal Awan are some prominent names of the capable I.R. teaching faculty. My favorite is Sir Faisal Awan. I can safely label him as the ‘back bone of I.R. dept’. He taught us in our first semester and did it with absolute perfection. He never ignored his purpose: passing on his knowledge to his students. He made us fall in love with I.R. which is, according to some, a really dry subject. The concepts he taught us, are engraved on our minds forever.

I would like to appreciate him since he is a hard working teacher and is well- informed about all the politics, history and all the policies of the world. I know he should know that since he is a world politics professor, but what makes him different is his compassion and perspective and outlook towards the world which is outstanding and better than all the other teachers of I.R. at KU. His examples go nicely with the information and are clearly understood by the students. He gives lectures both in English language and Urdu.

Sir Faisal Awan is a very polite teacher and has never scolded a student in his class, ever. It’s because he believes that if a student is given what he likes, no problems can erupt between the teacher and a student. His words are like tranquilizers that take us deep down where he wants us to be…world politics of course. Yeah, I know I am exaggerating, but once you attend one of his lectures, you will definitely agree.

He also gives us Islamic information while maintaining a balance with his actual subject. He also adjusts timings with the consent of students and help us get rid of the ridiculous time table revealed from ‘his highness’ office. I really enjoyed taking his classes and he has had a good influence on my personality. For all the aspiring I.R. students, watch out for him, you will only benefit from this man. He is truly an inspiration, one that you hardly find at public universities nowadays. hats off to you!

Where to apply the 'Applied Chemisrty' ? ?

By Syeda Nadia Zareef.

A beautiful, well designed, and well decorated house with a beautiful garden and swimming pool outside attracts everyone but this structure cannot be called as complete until it has all necessary rooms and places with proper and well planned construction.

But Karachi University has many such departments which are very well designed and looks beautiful from outside but when you step in, you find major flaws in their construction. Same is the case of the new building of 'APPLIED CHEMISTRY' which is well constructed and looks nice as compared to its old building but unlike its old building it has no proper practical labs.

Meaning of Applied Chemistry in dictionaries: 'The applications of the theories and principles of chemistry to practical purposes'

But unfortunately the department of applied chemistry in UoK has no  proper places where the applications of the theories can be put to practical purposes !!

Yes it sounds really surprising that the Department has no proper labs.There are very few Chemical Labs in the department.Beside this other important labs of Workshop, Heat and Mass Transfer and Unit Operation are conducted in the old building which is miles away from the new one.

Every day students have to rush towards the old building in  hot sunny weather for their labs not to mention that the old building seems like a horrifying castle that we usually see in horror movies.

The doors of the department produce suspicious and horrible sounds.It has no proper electricity system neither the labs are provided with proper apparatus.

Its not at all a new issue in UoK,every year the authorities assured students of the betterment and progress but no such step has ever been taken that proves that they actually want betterment in anything at the Campus.

And as these days our University is already suffering from lack of funds so there is no hope for the students and they have to carry on with these problems.

This is only one example but there are several other examples regarding the lack of perfection in the construction of buildings.

We all know that there are no satisfactory outcomes of the appeals of students but we still have hopes for good days and betterment in the entire system.

The show must go on. . .

By Sana Batool Naqvi.

Blogging is a kind of work which is seen by the readers daily just like a newspaper so there is no space for mistakes and irresponsibility.'Time' has proved to be the most important factor in the whole process especially when we have other people in our competition.

We faced and are facing countless problems for the accomplishment of this task but I and my group members have always focused on the point that 'the show must go on' .We learnt that whatever are the circumstances and issues between and among the group members,the focus should be the task and the learning process that we are going through.This assignment helped us alot in increasing and polishing our writing skills and gave us an opportunity to let others know about our writing abilities.

Blogging has proved to be something that has engaged us on daily basis.Its just because of the readers ,their feedback and off course the marking that makes us punctual in blogging..

All my group members went through different busy situations in which they had no time for blogging but its because of dedication to our work that the rest of the members put all their efforts to fill the space and finally became successful in keeping the interests of the readers alive and helped for the show to move on..

Beside this we also faced alot of discouragement and  critical comments and  feedback that becomes the reason of disappointment of all the group members.

I also had some major problems due to which I was not able to work ,but the idea that 'the show must go on' somehow compelled our muscles to move and write for our blog.

In the end I would like to conclude my piece with an advice that being sincere to whatever work we do is the key to success.We must have a plan 'B' for the situations in which we fail to do what we actually planned to ,recover the situation and to manage in difficult times and this is what I have learnt through this 'blogging'.

The most successful people are those who are good at plan 'B'..

                                                                       (James York)

In the light of the above quotation I can say that despite of the problems and hurdles in life one should never give up rather should manage the situation.

This piece is something that I have written in complete illness with  no such interesting material..but I believe that...

THE SHOW MUST GO ON..!!

 

Despair. . .everywhere. . .

By Kanwal Naz

I am tired of writing negative views about my varsity, but whenever I set out on a mission to find positive points, I find something rather irritating and then I am forced to write about it. For instance last week I decided that I will not write a post unless and until I find something interesting to share. I entered my International Relations classroom, while discussing these plans, where I saw something really annoying.

All my plans of writing “happy-happy” views about my beloved KU vanished when I saw that absolutely pathetic teacher’s desk facing the class. International relations is one of the best departments we have at our university, often where foreign delegates give lectures. It is frustrating to see how the administration is neglecting its duties. Okay, we are well aware of the fact that the university is not getting funds and blah blah…but is there not enough money to buy decent furniture for the teachers? That table, for a whole week now, is standing in the same terrible position. My requests to that irritable receptionist have had no effect. And this is not the only table that needs to be replaced; there are hundreds of chairs, fans and tube lights that need to be thrown away.

But my focus is this desk. Just take a look at it if you ever visit KU these days. Room no.5 ‘International Relations’ department. This table is a masterpiece of its own kind and the best part about it is that you will find it in the same pose every time you visit it. It is a sign of creativity on the students’ part, because I am sure of the fact that its stability up till now has been maintained by the I.R. students. It’s a regular teacher’s desk which should have, like any other desk, four legs. Unfortunately, it lost its two left legs (God knows how and when) and now, after two whole weeks, someone was kind enough to take out its drawers and place them under the “deprived-of-legs-side”. (It reminds me of those pirates with wooden legs)

All said, that table and her sisters are older than the Victorian desk present in the White House. Please I.R. authorities. Wake up! Change this table before it loses all its legs and the teacher will have to carry it in his lap. Wake up!!!

I did my bit. . .

By Sameen Meher

This is my first article in which I will share my personal experience, before this all my articles were based on observation. This is about a trip to “COD” (an army base camp) where I, along with my friends, went for our flood-hit people who need our help, support and donations as well. Majid Bhai, student of Chemistry department, Karachi University, made a plan to visit COD for packing boxes and helping army officers there.

On the 25^th of September, Saturday, students gathered outside the ‘Dean Office’ of the science faculty. At about 11 o’clock we left for COD. When we reached there, Majid bhai approached the guard for entrance. After that Majid bhai told about our intentions to a senior army officer. Fortunately, we got permission!!!

We were instructed to switch off our cell phones and then they took us to a huge hall, full of food items, packets of flour, water cans, banaspati ghee, oil tins, biscuits and other stuff. We were provided with an instructor who guided us how to start packing. He divided us into two groups of boys and girls. Then he instructed us to shift huge bags of flour from outside. We made a chain and set off to work. We also packed different food items and clothes. You might think it’s an easy task but it is a very hard job indeed. We also got covered in some white powdery layer of flour.

The officers gave us a token of their appreciation…food of course. We really needed it after the work we did. We got tired and wanted energy so they gave us plenty of biscuits and cakes with tea. But some of the boys there, who were not a part of our group, shamelessly stole boxes of biscuits and cakes.

On leaving the hall the guard caught those boys enjoying the stolen goods. He scolded all of them on committing such a reprehensible act. He could have handed all of us to the cops since he thought everyone of us was guilty. Thanks to Majid Bhai who handled the situation and explained everything to that furious guard.

All in all, the experience was incredible and I would love to go and help again. I hope that the donation reaches to the flood victims. They need it more than ever.

No apple for the teacher. . .

 By Fatimah Mazhar

Teaching is one of the noblest professions  and personally it’s one career I would want to pursue if I ever get the chance. It has so much to it, you not only share the knowledge you have but also a teacher can make a huge difference in a student’s life. That change, if positive, can do wonders for him. Therefore, we should and we must respect our teachers because they deserve it after what they give us.

Sadly, the situation of teachers at the University of Karachi is quite depressing.
First of all, the students in their first year at the university come with an attitude that they are now adults who are answerable to none. They take everything for granted, from the security guards to the vice chancellor, nothing stands in their way. Bunking classes, cheating while taking an exam, using cell phones in class etc. are some of the activities that were not a part of our student life before. But after getting into university, these are the "trends" one eventually follows. The reason is simple: there is no fear of any authority that could stop you from bunking lectures or chewing gums in class. Each and every student, long before applying, knows that university professors are not really concerned with students outside class. They are just considered as public speakers who speak what they have been assigned for the semester, and end the lecture without even bidding ‘good day’. It is a state of mutual understanding; neither the students nor the teachers are willing to associate.

This was the mindset of the average student, now let me tell you about the situation of the "special students" we have at KU. (No not those special students) I am referring to the people who come to the university for social and political purposes rather than academic. Yes, I mean the student activists working for different political parties. These are the ones, mostly, who don’t have a shred of respect for the professors. Too busy (and sometimes too holy) to attend a lecture, these beings once in a blue moon, enter class and grab a seat somewhere at the back. And if the teacher dares to ask them about their attendance, they get displeased. To show their displeasure, some leave the class without even answering and some who are too bold (shameless if you ask me) prepare for a cold war with the teacher. In short, the teacher has no right whatsoever to ask these "special students" about their activities and especially about their attendance.

A rather shameful scene is sighted during mid term exams and finals, when teachers ask students to be disciplined for once. Still then, no student bothers to show up on time, discipline is hardly maintained and admit cards are not brought. Teachers also have no control over the seating arrangement. I have seen many blows exchanged between students and professors over this petty issue. As for our "special students", they take and submit the papers at their desirable moments. Teachers prefer to stay away form these characters because they know what conflicts can emerge if they try to have a conversation with them.
Our youth will never prosper if we continue with this disgraceful attitude towards our teachers who could be our mentors if we show them the respect they deserve. Beating up professors over negative marking is not a sign of a civilized society.

Constant Vigilance!

Whats the solution??

By Zubia Noor.

Presently, there are just 27 point buses to cater the needs of some 28000 students and teachers, and the Campus requires at least 80 more buses to facilitate its students, faculty and non-teaching staff. 

Incharge Transport Committee, University of Karachi, Zulqarnain Shadab said that presently there were just 34 point buses and just 27 were in working order.Presently, there is one bus to serve more than 1000 students, he said.

The administration realises that the issue of point buses should be taken into consideration but somehow they failed in satisfying the students in this regard.

The administration said that as in the past a number of students had died and injured after falling from these overcrowded buses so there is a need to increase the number of points buses to facilitate students.

But unfortunately there are a number of such promises made by the administration of the Campus after every bad incident ,but the matter is still unsolved.

The students of Karachi University have a lot of complaints about the point buses."It is not at all safe to travel in these shabby point buses, as they are dangerously overcrowded and recklessly driven," said the students.

In spite of so many problems,students still use point buses to travel as it charges reasonable amount of money as compared to public transport..

But the question arises..

Whats the solution??

Something,I was never fond of. . .

By Sana Batool Naqvi.

Lead,five 'Ws and H',Inverted pyramid ,newsworthiness,news values,elements of news,Byline,Date line etc.I never was aware of these words before I got admission in the Department of mass communication.Now when I read newspapers I can figure out many things in a single piece of news, can talk about them,enjoy reading it and can understand it in a much better way than before.

Two years back,newspapers for me,were just a waste of time and I always preferred watching the news on t.v rather than reading it in a printed form which sounds boring for majurity of people.

My parents kept telling me the benefits one can get by reading a newspaper and the most emphasized one by them was the 'increaes in vocablury' but they failed  to generate my interest for reading a newspaper.

But the Department I got admitted to,compelled me to do this boring job daily and became successful in it.

Now the situation is quite different.I read 2 to 3 newspapers daily and don't find this job a waste of time or anything.

I get two newspapers daily at the doorstep of my home early in the morning and it cost me a considerable amount of money that I pay by myself.When at first I had little interest in reading them,this whole process( including the money  that I give by myself out of my pocket money)compels me to take  even more interest in it..Other than those two,I read online newspapers as well.

Now the whole of my store room is dumped with newspapers .It seems as if a truck comes every month and throw piles of newspapers there.

If I am not wrong, I haven't read as much course books as newspapers since the day I got admission in this Department.

To conclude the story I would say that I am now surrounded by something that I was never fond of but at the same time this task has contributed a lot to my vocabulary and off course its helping me out in my major classes but this process needs so much effort and hard work as I have figured out that I am still very bad at writing news stories and have to put a lot of my efforts for this particular thing.

Beside this,another important task in my 'To do' list is to call a 'Raddi paper wala'(the task which is highly embarrassing according to my mom) at my place,earn some money by selling out the huge amount of newspapers and clean my store room.