Ashoka Zoom Cohort: By Sanjna Vivek
As yet another member of the zoom Ashoka cohort, what I can review with complete confidence are the virtual events that clubs and societies host. Last year, as a freshman, I felt inclined to attend most of them just to see what was going on and to feel like I was part of a community. What I soon came to realize, however, is that those one hour ‘game nights’ or movie screenings are fun mostly only for those who either host it or those who already have friends who participate in it. Other than somewhat getting the inside jokes that get posted on the instagram meme pages, personally, they didn’t do much for my social life. Honestly, who wants to attend another online meeting after a day full of zoom lectures. I get that watching Netflix is also staring at a screen, but attending a meeting even just to keep your video off and muted, is an effort that is still incomparable. On top of that, are the events where the hosts request you to keep your video on. Do you really expect me to look presentable on a saturday night where I have nothing better to do than to remotely attend a ‘fun’ event?
Thursday is the new Saturday: The Ashokan Weekend: By Maanya Vasishtha
For most people, the weekend starts at the end of Friday, signifying that there are two days ahead of them dedicated to relaxing and having a good time. It’s like receiving a reward at the end of a tiring work week. For an Ashokan, on the other hand, the weekend begins as soon as classes end on a Thursday. Thursday night may appear to be the most unlikely time to get up and start partying, given that it is smack dab in the middle of the workweek, but not for an Ashokan. For us, it’s like receiving a bigger reward than anticipated, and much sooner than we expected. Because a Thursday at Ashoka feels like a Saturday. The atmosphere is both lively and laid back, and people have a whale of a time, truly unwinding and making the most of it. It stems from the excitement of having an extra day to enjoy and look forward to, in contrast to the rest of the world, for whom it’s still a dull and exhausting day. It’s a weird concept that only exists at Ashoka, and it gives the impression that we have an unfair edge over people in the outside world since we have an extra day to chill but in reality, it’s not weird at all; it’s incredible, and it makes life a little less tedious and difficult to live with.