Insight Freshers' Newsletter 3.1

LAPTOP : TO BRING OR NOT TO BRING Anshul Avasthi “To Bring” Whether or not you chose to read it, all your JEE acceptance letters came with a message warning you not to buy personal laptops for at least a year. Even if one completely ignores the philosophical problem with an Institute trying to dictate the buying habits of its students, there’s still the matter of them dictating the correct habits. As someone who bought a laptop in his first month at IITB (and did not end up completely ruining his life) I’m going to try to convince you that not buying one is a terrible, terrible idea. The traditional arguments for not buying laptops have always been that students tend to waste too much time gaming, watching movies, etc. And end up not participating as much in on-campus activities (academics included). First things first - there is already a check in place to prevent students from engaging in online gaming/general lukkhagiri all night long. It’s a term that all of you will eventually (or have already) come to fear and loathe - the LAN Ban. There is no reason to believe that a method that’s supposedly sufficient to keep in check seniors who are barely a year or two older (and allegedly, a little bit more mature) will not suffice for freshmen. When faced with this argument, most people respond saying that freshmen have to adjust into a completely new lifestyle and are far more likely to be led astray since they’re probably unused to the freedom accorded to them in IIT Bombay. Fair enough. But, if one was to take that stance, they’d have to concede that all extra-curricular activities should be discouraged in similar fashion. On the contrary, students are heavily encouraged to participate in almost every activity under the sun. Why the double standard? Eventually, I am not going to claim to know more about you than you do. All I’m asking is that you try to weigh the pros against the cons objectively - and make up your mind, assuming that no semi-authoritative figure had picked your sides for you.

Shreerang Javadekar “To Bring”

Okay, you have now left home at the ‘tender’ age of 18 and already given your parents sufficient reasons to worry about your well-being. On top of that, the request of bringing a laptop is only going to make their blood run cold. But, believe me, as someone who brought a laptop in his 3rd week, it was a salubrious decision.

Almost all of your academic notes, answer keys, mark lists and lecture updates are posted on IITB’s online forum, Moodle, and it is expected that a student monitors that forum regularly. Having a laptop helps a lot in that sense. While, group study is useful in its own way, I personally preferred studying on my own first, and my laptop came to my aid there. Moreover, I found out that most of my batchmates who didn’t bring a laptop would rely on the few computers in our library making it all the more difficult to study as per one’s conducive timings. Eventually, a course demanding a great deal of practice in writing code will pop up in your curriculum and easy access to a computer shall be deemed vital.

Your freshmen year is filled with a glut of fun activities and new experiences. I did not spend time in my freshmen year watching some TV series or gaming; rather never had the time for it as some or the other event in insti kept me engaged. The remaining free time was spent travelling around the city with my newly made friends. The institute has also instated measures to curb excessive and unwanted laptop usage. With a little bit of self-control, you are good to go.

Chirag Chadha “Not to Bring” The laptop issue has popped up out of nowhere in the last few years. IIT Bombay has been advising new entrants about not bringing laptops to the campus in their first year through an advisory letter and also through the Student Mentors allotted to Students. Before blaming the institute about making a huge blunder and alleging that the institute does not understand the importance of social life, it would make sense to understand how and why this policy was adopted. When freshmen join IIT Bombay, a lot of things change in their life.

They meet new people on campus, live in a wing with unknown people and have the opportunity to explore a huge and amazing city like Mumbai. Getting used to the new environment after coming from cozy homes might prove to be a tough transition for a lot of students. Also, most freshmen have this new-found sense of freedom after 2-3 years of rigorous studying. Since there is no control, some people might assert their independence in not-so-advisable ways. Laptops are one such medium of getting involved in the wrong things. Most freshmen are fascinated by the fast Internet speeds and the plethora of movies, TV shows and videos (:P) that the institute network offers and it is very easy for them to get addicted to that. People tend to spend hours (in fact days) gaming and watching movies right from the start of their stay on campus. While this is a completely personal decision, chances are that you might probably regret this later, which is exactly the reason behind the advisory letter and your mentor’s advice. Since the academic workload in first year courses tends to be low and printed notes are easily available, it is advisable that freshmen leave their laptops behind for the first year and start spending more time interacting with people (especially their wingmates) and exploring the city. You might also want to spend that time trying to do new things in your life or pursuing your hobbies/passions.

Niranjan Thakurdesai “Not to Bring” I did not bring a laptop in my first semester. In fact, none of my wing-mates did (except one, who was a coding enthusiast and a computer was a must-have for him). The result - none of us would sit sprawled on our beds watching sitcoms and gaming all day. We would step out for a game of cricket/football/badminton or go exploring the city (Marine Drive, Juhu Beach, Bandstand, hell yeah!) and whilst in our rooms, we would play Mafia until the wee hours of the morning (no morning lectures. Peace Yo!). This is an extremely good way to connect with your wing-mates and strengthen your friendships. Believe me, these guys will be the ones whom you will stay closest to during your subsequent stay at IIT. And it is at least as fun as LAN-gaming if not more.

What about notes? We would print them out and photocopying is cheap (at least at IITB). In addition, I did not have a computer programming course in my first sem, therefore the absence of a laptop caused me absolutely no problems. You can always check your mail on your phone (if you are complaining about data charges then there is a way around that too. Typically, at least one of your wingies will have a laptop. Create a Wi-Fi hotspot, and happy high-speed surfing!).