MY LIFE AND ME ( A COLUMN BY FRIENDS FOR FRIENDS)

DEAR FRIENDS AND FOES ALIKE……FROM THIS WEEK I AM PROUD TO START A SERIES CALLED “MY LIFE AND ME” WHERE MY FRIENDS FROM ALL AROUND SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH ALL OF US

THE FIRST ARTICLE IS FROM MY FRIEND ARNAB DUTTA.

He completed his B.TECH from IIT(KGP) and is currently studying in Texas Austin . One of my best friends ,he has promised to contribute regularly to my blog . Hope he keeps up his promise.

LIFE AT TEXAS AUSTIN…….PART 1 BY ARNAB DUTTA

Scenario 1: I was having a chat with my cousin. He was supposed to be having his exams and I just asked how is it going. He replied that there is a students' strike and the exam has been postponed. When I pressed about the details, the gyst was like this - the results of the previous exam is out and some students have got much less marks than expected. They want to have a look at their graded answer sheets. And the authorities are not allowing it(as usual).

Friends, does this sound very familiar to you? If yes, then I'm not surprised.

Scenario 2: I happen to be the teaching assistant(TA) for one of the course. (For those of you who dont know what that means - In all US universities, there is a system where senior students help the professors to conduct a course whenever there is a large class. Duties include grading quizzes, helping out students with the material and stuff like that. In return, they are exempted from paying tution bills and also earn a decent stipend).

During one of my office hours, a student comes along with the professor. The student thinks he has been unfairly graded in his quiz by one of the TAs. The professor pulls out his graded quiz from the filing cabinet and then we have a look. We both feel that he deserves more credit and it was corrected and recorded in the database right on spot.

Simple scenarios yet strikingly contrasting.

More to come...

--
Arnab Kumar Dutta
Graduate Student
ECE Department
University of Texas, Austin