The Guindy Times, Issue 2022 - 2023

the guindy times

GOOD TIMES. GREAT TIMES.

THE OFFICIAL CAMPUS MAGAZINE OF CEG, ACT & SAP

Issue Page 1

Origin of our College

Written By: Jovina Virgin, Information Technology Research: Ragul Prasath G, Printing and Packaging Technology

Oh, how magnificently does the red building stand! With its red-stained brick hallways and white-coloured marble stairwells, it stands the testament of time. Apart from giving birth to the

JANUARY 2023

Engineering, Guindy. They had the ingenious idea of teaching the natives this theory so that they could complete the job at hand with much ease. And it worked! Back in the day, the government was big on the construction of roads, dams, bridges, and timeless properties. So, along with this, they also started civil and mechanical engineering courses. These courses had many practical papers, and they did not have enough comfortable space to practice these courses. In 1920, they considered moving to CEG’s current location, Guindy.

greatest minds in the country, even after 228 years, it still houses the warm emotions of friendship, love, laughter, excitement, and compassion. Safeguarding infinite memories in the years of study, CEG truly does hold some magic, doesn’t it?

During the British rule in India, the government was very keen on knowing the city boundaries, but they unfortunately lacked manpower. They needed someone with knowledge of the concept of surveying and had to fly in someone from England, which wasn’t always feasible. So, in 1794, based on the suggestion of Michael Topping, the Chief Marine Surveyor of Fort St. George founded what is known today as our very own College of

There weren’t a lot of occupants residing in Guindy during that time, and most of it was a forest. And then began the construction of the first engineering college in South India. The college was designed by architect W.A James, who conceived the building based on Mughal and Dravidian styles of architecture. In 1940, two women students were admitted into the college for the very first time.

Initially, the college was affiliated with Madras University but because of management problems, CEG was separated from Madras University and along with three other colleges–Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Alagappa College of Technology (ACTech) and School of Architecture and Planning

(SAP) - became Anna University in 1978. But the legacy of Anna University does not stop here. As days went by, it kept growing and changing. Auditoriums, canteens, galleries, swimming pools, labs, hostels and all the perks of Anna University were constructed. But even then, there is just something so inviting about the place. The lush green trees, the trampled leaves on the roads, the young blossoms along the pathways, the dewy green grass and corridors echoing with the laughter of students- it is, beyond doubt, magical. That is why a survey school that started 228 years ago, with just 8 students and 1 department, now spans 223 acres and encompasses 550 colleges and 101 departments. That is the magic of Anna University.

Foreign University Tie-ups

Written by: Sai Tejeshwini Rajaram Printing and packaging technology

Ashraff Poornachandran

Edited

by Sahana Dinesh

Since its inception, Anna University has long strived for educational excellence and has constantly made efforts to improve the quality of the environment made available to its students.This led to the establishment of the Center for International Relations (CIR) in 2001. The CIR has collaborated with several institutes across the world to ensure that Anna University's students gain opportunities, experience, and exposure to enrich their personal development.

The CIR’s primary aim is to encourage bila teral research and academic programme participation and facilitate the exchange of students with foreign universities. Students gain analytical and problem-solving abilities, linguistic proficiency, an understanding of other cultures, and general knowledge through the programme.

Additionally, it provides support and guidance to students pursuing higher studies in countries such as the UK, Malaysia, Italy, and Germany, to name a few. Students in their final semester have also been chosen to do projects in universities abroad. One such offer was provided by the Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, with whom Anna University has a Memorandum of Understanding. It was for those currently in their 7th semester who were also interested in doing their projects at the Swinburne University of Technology, Malaysia. The scheme has no restrictions on the stream as it allows students to do a cross-domain project.

A Serious Report on the War of AU

Credits: “The Guindy Times Editors”

On the 30th of February, in honour of the most important carriers of the Anna University campus history, reporters of the Guindy Times interviewed members of the present generation. The animals of the campus have impacted anyone who has stepped foot onto the premises. Just yesterday, our campus witnessed a major event that will go down in history - our beloved monkeys and dogs were waging a war. The incident left a mark for both parties, we are told by the witnesses, the Indian Red Bugs.

A GT interviewer, Jethasri, somewhat proficient in the woof language tries to grab the attention of a seemingly harmless spectator puppy.

J: Excuse me! Hi! Yes here, please come, come!

P: Yo man! (She prances near excitedly and licks the hand of Jethasri along with the mic she’s holding. Disgusted by its taste, she retreats back a few steps.)

J: What’s your name, cutie?

P: Elsa (and holds her head high with pride too much for a puppy her size)

J: (grins and continues) Nice! Now will you be a good girl and tell me what this ruckus is all about?

P: (getting excited again) Yes, yes! My twin Charlie is a budding researcher. He had a peculiar curiosity about monkeys’ tails. He wanted to know whether they really can get elongated like Hanuman’s.

An hour ago, when he was strolling on the sports ground, he found Maruti sitting atop a low branch peacefully snacking on some Bourbon. His long tail was swaying gently in the wind. That was the perfect set-up for his experiment. Charlie’s mouth got tempted, grabbed the innocent tail and gave one tight pull!

J: (gasps) Then?

P: (solemnly) The rest is history. That timid monkey gave out a yelp and jumped onto the ground, trying to pull free. But the iron grip of Charlie refused to budge. With his tail in Charlie’s mouth, Maruti ran around the ground at least 10 times before he could free himself. After that Charlie gave up, his experiment was a disaster and all that these people care about is Maruti’s tail! In fact, he should thank my brother for such

Both undergraduate and postgraduate students are being assisted in undergoing an exchange program at foreign universities. Not long ago, the CIR offered courses in Japanese and German for students who wished to pursue their higher education in those countries or would have liked to participate in any of their universities' exchange programmes.

Recently, a public university, Politecnico di Milano, offered a student-exchange program for a semester or two in Milan, Italy. The Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, has also been actively fostering partnerships with AU in providing summer research internships, scholarships, master's programmes, and Ph.D. programmes.

The Universities of Bern and Skovde in Switzerland, and Ecole Centrale de Nantes in France among others have continually hosted AU’s students as exchange students with open arms for the last couple of years now, providing them with the option of completing a semester or two.

In addition to exchange student programm es, the university and the CIR also organize international seminars on Applied Sciences, Technology, and Engineering regularly, with experts from foreign universities serving as resource persons. The lectures are given by counselors or delegates from universities under the MoUs. They prove to be useful for students who are still unaware of what their journey entails. The students interested in participating in programs are encouraged to keep themselves updated with the CIR’s website so they may utilise opportunities that present themselves.

Gallant voices of AU: Archived

Written by: Krithika Priya M Computer science and engineering

Hariharasudhan V Printing and packaging technology

“Protest” - a word so courageous and righteous. Every college has its fair share of protests. Our college’s history of protests stands out as usual. They have evolved through various dimensions over the years since the time our college was established as a “survey school” in the late 18th century.

"Every time the red building bell strikes, voices and beliefs carried over the centuries of protests are reminisced".

The incipient stages of protests at Anna University started in the pre-independence days

a good exercise. (suddenly notices Charlie growl ing)

Alright I have to get back to Charlie. Bye! ( gives one loving lick and scurries away)

Now that one side of the story is unveiled, our brave interviewer proceeds to get the monkeys to give their comments on the matter

J: Hello there… Maruti, is it?

M: Yes, I am Maruti. This better be important, my tail still hurts!

J: That’s exactly what I came here to talk about! I’ve heard some rumours regarding a somewhat embarrassing ordeal between you and a puppy named Charlie.

M: Alright, I’ll tell you what happened. I was sitting there, minding my own business, snacking on some bourbon I stole…

J: Then what happened?

M: Out of nowhere, I feel someone tugging on my tail. I thought it was my mate Pranav just messing around, but it was Charlie! I thought he was my friend!

J: You had no idea why he was doing this?

M: None at all! (slurps Frooti loudly) I kept trying to pull free but I couldn’t get him to let go. All I could see was a bunch of other dogs laughing at me.

J: Oh gosh, that sounds horrifying! So what did you do next?

M: I called for a meeting of the 3 families. I told them everything. We aren’t letting this slide.

J: How do you think -

The interview gets cut short as a dog makes a run at Maruti, sending him scampering up a tree. Biscuit crumbs fall all over our poor interviewer. The only thing left is for us to get an unbiased opinion from other spectators.

Jethasri walks around campus searching for those who witnessed this event. To her surprise she finds a row of Indian Red Bugs marching towards the ground, she tries to inquire but they don’t seem to notice her, so she decides to follow them to their destination. Once she gets to the sports board there seems to be an intense discussion taking place between almost a hundred Indian Red Bugs.

when it was a survey school, for issues relating to education policy and the fight for freedom. After transforming the survey school into a Civil Engineering college in the mid-19th century, there were objections by Britishers that the college must be closed since it taught only downtrodden Indians. Students conducted protests and disregarding the dissenters, our college flourished.

When a British principal kicked off a Diwali lamp placed at our campus during the Diwali celebration, students protested against him, which resulted in his expulsion. This was a notable protest which paved the way successively for an Indian to hold the post of Dean at our college for the foremost time. After independence when secu-

B1: The rivalry between the dogs and monkeys seems to be growing.

All bugs in unison: Our plan is finally working!

B2: They will pay for the hundreds of our brothers and sisters they’ve marched over without a second thought.

B1: Good job planting the thought in Charlie’s head, these dogs are the most gullible of us all. We’ve heard that there’s a reporter trying to get to the bottom of this, and just as we planned she thinks we were mere spectators, but little does she know that it was us who orchestrated this fiasco. (laughs maniacally)

B2: Let's set phase 2 into action, we’ll partly blame the dogs and the monkeys and propose a ban on them from entering certain parts of our college. The confinement will drive them insane and they’ll be forced to leave college also-

J: (enters the scene with her phone in hand) I have recorded all of your conspiring, the poor monkeys and dogs took you as their ally but you double crossed them both! I’m going to head over to them at once before this escalates any further.

B1, B2: Stop her! (screams in tiny)

larism was proven all over the nation, our college students from North India participated in Anti-Hindi protests by knowing the notion of the issue.

Over the years, the intense emotion of unity for a cause never changed in the college. Whenever there was a need, there came the voices. One such incident is the 2013 students protesting the Sri Lankan Government for the Genocide of Tamilians during the Last Eelam War with the LTTE. Though there were protests and issues organized by various political parties throughout the state, this protest by students was nothing but humanitarian support. Students were not allowed to come out of their classrooms and were all strictly guarded by watchmen during this protest. Later, they managed to sneak out of the locked room to join the protest in front of the red building. They were able to make flexes within an hour and held hand-drawn posters and placards. Money was collected by the students themselves and biscuits, water packets were bought from our old canteen to make them stay energized. What is so insightful in this incident is the amazing coordination among students and their youthful spirit.

In 2017, our college students protested the ban on Jallikattu in front of the red building. A

J: Justice will be served (runs out of sight)

Jethasri prances towards the gang of dogs outside Gurunath. The bug masterminds sprint behind the reporter but are instead abruptly stopped. They look up to find that their vision was completely occupied by an enchanting blue waterfall that ever-not-so-slightly overtook them.

(B1

and B2 shriek for dear life.)

As it turns out, Jethasri had startled Charlie and Elsa, who may have tripped and rolled limbs-first onto an emerging crowd from Gurunath, thereby knocking a blue goli soda bottle out of the hands of a thirsty customer and a chips packet from another.

Maruti seemingly pops out of nowhere and throws herself at the centre of the group to get her hands on the chips packet, effortlessly succeeding. The students run off, finally freeing the doggie limbs and tails from the mini stampede that had erupted. Just as Jethasri picks herself up, a feeble and monotone voice is heard in the background. A slimy brown and beige creature with a hard shell (very) slowly walks towards them and explains its observances of the

backstabbing bugs. circular stating "All the symposiums and cultural

fests will be suspended for the upcoming semester" was passed because of the protest. The students stood for their culture despite losing their cultural entertainment for the semester.

In September 2020, professors wore black badges to protest the change of the University's name and bifurcation of the Institution. In November 2020, when there were allegations of corruption against the then VC Mr. M.K. Surappa, two groups of students for and against the issue raised their voices on campus. This shows the rationalistic individual opinions of the students and their courage to stand with them. Starting from reformations done in the "survey school", till the regulations change in "Anna University", the history of protests in our college is very distinctive and exceptional.

A unified voice that surprised everyone was during the global pandemic on virtual forms such

Anna University and COVID

Written by: Shreya Vishwalingam Computer science and engineering

Ajai Krishna T S

Computer

science and engineering

Anna University has endured many ups and downs, but none as unique as COVID-19. This event has proved to be a game changer for many of us, but Anna University has a tale to share.

We begin the story of the purple tags. They were the first batch to have their placements online.

Snail: For one truly does find it easy to distrust the other, but true trust lies in the sharing of food with one another.

Charlie watches the now-glowing-blue bugs scramble off as the view of a chips packet and ready-to-share monkey arms enter his vision. Jethasri, who by now had pulled out her phone and recorded the life changing moment, smiled contently and walked off. She heard the AU tower ring 13 times as she took a left for the library.

as tweets, polls, and social media posts against the conduction of offline exams amidst the pandemic. All these incidents remind us once again of the strength and history of the majestic red lady and her student community over the years. Years may pass but together we come, express, win, lose, laugh, and cry for and because of the one emotion

that unifie us all.

Nevertheless, this had a positive effect on them as a whole. They had time to prioritise for their GATE or UPSC exams and also had time to develop their skills, as shared by a purple tag from the ECE department.

Moving along to the grey tags- they had a long break from the middle of March till the second week of August, during which they were relaxed and had time to develop their skill sets by taking courses. However, the consequent months proved to be a challenge for them. A grey tag ECE student shared

that having online sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and assessments scheduled after 4:45, proved to be stressful.

a shared who tags, red the along came Then fate similar to the purple and grey tags. “Exams proved to be a mishap, and the real face of “Wi-Fi issues” came into play. The exam software was monitored by AI and even for the slightest sounds, warnings were displayed”, shared a red tag student.

The brown tags had their admission duri ng COVID-19. Even their induction program was held online. This was a challenge to them since they lacked face-to-face contact with each other and had hurdles in establishing a connection within themselves as a student body. However, once established, they had several online coding sessions, group study sessions, and much more.

Orange tags had a hybrid mode in every aspect of their college-life, starting from induction to the classes. They also had the misfortune of writing their first semester exam in offline mode. Though they faced issues because of COVID at school, they didn’t face many issues due to it in

college.

Our college also acted as a self-isolation centre for the citizens that were affected by the virus. “Separate isolation centres were arranged, and those who were suspected to be infected with the virus were taken there” shared a professor from the CSE department. “Individual rooms were provided along with regular checkups from the corporation. Healthy and quality food was also provided” shared a student who was in isolation.

A lot of measures were taken by us as dutiful citizens, such as getting vaccinated. Many people experimented with various streams of medicine as well such as homeopathic medicines, “kabasura-kudineer”, and “arsenic-album30”. We also maintained social distancing and wore masks as a precaution.

In conclusion, this lockdown and isolation time acted as a period for self and career development for a large number of college students. It was an added benefit for many hostellers as they got to spend time with their families. Though it may have brought a downfall to some, many had a chance to get benefited in terms of self-enhancement and exploration.

Charan, 3 year

Textile

Velvikram, 4 year

Civil

Subendiran P, 3 year

Nithi arasi, 2 year

Food technology

Bavatharani, 3 year

photo corner

Hemanthkishore, 2 year

Printing and packaging technology

Shahid Malik A, 3 year Food technology

Nithish Narayan S, 4 year Mechanical

Roshini S, 2 year Civil

Printing and packaging technology

Shreya V, 2 year CSE

Vignesh, 2 year SAP

Kaaviya J, 2 year Food Technology