Black Bean Revival :: Coffee Drinks Essays

Black Bean Revival Sitting in a corner or side booth with eyes bulging and steam rising from the small bowl of brew while pondering or talking was the common site of coffee shop goers that I’ve run across in my travels. Fueled by an interest as to why people buy more coffee than books at my former employment and why my mother orders coffee through a catalog for coffee drinkers by coffee drinkers is my search for reason and understanding behind the coffee bar explosion. The coffee shop revival and interest in high priced brew by the well to do is something that has been around for some time in the more metropolitan areas. In Seattle, Washington the whole coffee shop revival for generation X hit during the time that the grunge music genre developed. Not that everyone could afford the high priced brew, but that it was a place to hang out during the day and help keep the pied eyes open. A couple popular sleeper movies such as â€Å"Singles† and â€Å"So I Married an Ax Murder† have showed how some people’s routines often gravitate to the coffee shop. The show â€Å"Friends† also shows that in a more late 90’s perspective. This would seem to characterize certain divisions in clientele, but not so here in Fargo. Like many other genres that were part of a sub-culture, they, the neighborhood coffee shop are eventually making their way to the mainstream Around this area where the coffee shop trend is growing but not totally established, you might think that the strong shops are the ones that are incorporated or affiliated with a major nationwide branch. By this I mean that the shop has a network of personnel higher on the ladder to lend support from the company at large. Now this doesn’t mean that the smaller locally owned shops such as Atomic Coffee, Noah’s and Trentino’s aren’t successful; they are and at times just as busy or more so than their chain store counterparts. About the only upper hand that national chains have on the smaller local shops is the mass marketing to consumers through other chains such as Target and Daytons. What the smaller shops tend to do is include the community more. They advertise more local happenings and going on’s such as poetry readings and poetry slams, to an open mic night that would include music and other thought provoking talents that their customers poss ess.

Differences Between the Movie and Play: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

There are key differences and similarities between the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and its movie equivalent. Major differences would include the character Maggie, the possible homosexual relationship between Brick and Skipper, and the reason for Maggie’s distaste for Skipper. Similarities include most of the cast, the overall plot, and the bitterness that the family seems to not so secretly hold for each other. The character Maggie in the play version and in the movie version differs.In the play she admits to sleeping with Skipper so that both of them could be closer to Brick, so that both of them could feel like they were making love with Brick. But in the movie Maggie denies and apparently never had relations with Skipper. With this being said, in the play version Brick’s hostility for Maggie seems much more unjustified. Also, Maggie was the one to tell Brick of his father’s terminal illness in the movie version. This job had been left to the doctor in the play version.A second difference between the movie and play would be the possibility of a homosexual relationship or homosexual feelings between Brick and Skipper. In the 1950’s, when the movie was produced, it was unheard of to have any form of homosexuality in a production. This is a big difference because it leads to Brick not necessarily being weak because of the loss of a could be homosexual partner/friend but being weak because of the lack of love and compassion he received from Big Daddy. This leads to more drama between Brick and his father in the movie version.With the previous being stated there has to be a difference for the distaste between Maggie and Skipper. In the movie, Maggie apparently never had relations with Skipper and the only reason she had for disliking Skipper was the time that he took from her and Brick. She felt that as a young married couple that Brick and Skipper spent far too much time together, time that Brick could be spending with her. Though there are many differences between the play and movie (this is usually the case when it comes to Hollywood) there still are some important similarities between the two.The cast, with the exception of Maggie, are mostly unchanged. Brick’s alcoholism and the pain he feels after losing a dear friend, Gooper is hell bent on getting Big Daddy’s plantation, Mae is still a very easily dislike character who seems to be constantly birthing babies. , Big Momma is full of love and wants nothing more than to have one big happy family, and Big Daddy is still holding together the family for what seems to be the wrong reasons. The overall plot also seems to be unchanged.It starts the same, introducing with hidden distaste between members of the family and not so hidden distaste that Brick feels towards Maggie. Big Daddy’s terminal illness, Gooper and Mae being hell bent on getting what the believe should be coming to them, and the end all seem to be unchanged either way you look at it. Though it has been mentioned more than once before, it is important to notice a big part of both the play version and movie. That is the distaste that the family feel for each other.The feelings Brick has for Maggie, that Maggie has towards Mae and her children and vice versa, the way Gooper feels about Brick, and the way Big Daddy feels towards Big Momma are unchanging. In either, the family is completely separated and out for themselves. Each one, in their own way, are only out for themselves. With any comparison between a play and its movie counterpart there are bound to be major differences and key similarities between the two. In this case, both the play and the movie were spectacular for the same and different reasons.

Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - 1930 Words

Cody Theobald Miss Amoros Survey 19 November 2015 Title The saying â€Å"Life isn’t fair† is always right. No matter fair something seems, there is always something just about, no matter how small it is. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a young man named Tom Robinson is sentenced to death because of his race. Even though all of the evidence backs him up, he is still found guilty because he is African American. This happens because of all the prejudice that the people of Maycomb possess. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee depicts her views on prejudice and how it affects society. Harper Lee asserts that the amount of prejudice someone receives is dependent on one’s race and gender, and that to overcome prejudice one must become acquainted with many different groups of people. Many people are prejudiced against certain races, so a person’s race can have a negative impact on how they are treated by other people. As Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to First Purchase Church, Lula says to Calpurnia, â€Å"Y ou ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here---they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?† (Lee 119). When Lula says â€Å"You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here,† she is clearly demonstrating a lot of prejudice towards white people. Although there definitely are some racist white people in Maycomb, Lula assumes that they are all racists and treats them all like they are racists. So because Jem and Scout are white, they areShow MoreRelatedKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1049 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird: How a Story could be based on True Events in Everyday LifeDaisy GaskinsCoastal Pines Technical Collegeâ€Æ'Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a former newspaper editor and proprietor, who had served as a state senator and practiced as a lawyer in Monroeville. Also Finch was known as the maiden name of Lee’s mother. With that b eing said Harper Lee became a writer like her father, but she became a American writer, famous for her race relations novel â€Å"ToRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee1000 Words   |  4 Pagesworld-wide recognition to the many faces of prejudice is an accomplishment of its own. Author Harper Lee has had the honor to accomplish just that through her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a moving and inspirational story about a young girl learning the difference between the good and the bad of the world. In the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. Growing up, Harper Lee had three siblings: two sisters and an older brother. She and her siblings grew up modestlyRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1290 Words   |  6 PagesHarper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird during a rough period in American history, also known as the Civil Rights Movement. This plot dives into the social issues faced by African-Americans in the south, like To m Robinson. Lee felt that the unfair treatment towards blacks were persistent, not coming to an end any time in the foreseeable future. This dark movement drove her to publish this novel hopeful that it would encourage the society to realize that the harsh racism must stop. Lee effectivelyRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee873 Words   |  4 PagesIn the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates that â€Å"it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird† throughout the novel by writing innocent characters that have been harmed by evil. Tom Robinson’s persecution is a symbol for the death of a mockingbird. The hunters shooting the bird would in this case be the Maycomb County folk. Lee sets the time in the story in the early 1950s, when the Great Depression was going on and there was poverty everywhere. The mindset of people back then was that blackRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee963 Words   |  4 Pagesgrowing up, when older characters give advice t o children or siblings.Growing up is used frequently in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Lee uses the theme growing up in To Kill a Mockingbird to change characters opinion, develop characters through their world, and utilizes prejudice to reveal growing up. One major cause growing up is used in To Kill a Mockingbird is to represent a change of opinion. One part growing up was shown in is through the trial in part two of the novelRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1052 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama in the late 30s early 40s , after the great depression when poverty and unemployment were widespread throughout the United States. Why is the preconception of racism, discrimination, and antagonism so highly related to some of the characters in this book? People often have a preconceived idea or are biased about one’s decision to live, dress, or talk. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee examines the preconceptionRead MoreHarper Lee and to Kill a Mockingbird931 Words   |  4 PagesHarper Lee and her Works Harper Lee knew first hand about the life in the south in the 1930s. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926 (Castleman 2). Harper Lee was described by one of her friends as Queen of the Tomboys (Castleman 3). Scout Finch, the main character of Lees Novel, To Kill a Mockinbird, was also a tomboy. Many aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird are autobiographical (Castleman 3). Harper Lees parents were Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee. She was the youngestRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1695 Words   |  7 PagesIn To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee presents as a ‘tired old town’ where the inhabitants have ‘nowhere to go’ it is set in the 1930s when prejudices and racism were at a peak. Lee uses Maycomb town to highlight prejudices, racism, poverty and social inequality. In chapter 2 Lee presents the town of Maycomb to be poverty stricken, emphasised through the characterisation of Walter Cunningham. When it is discovered he has no lunch on the first day of school, Scout tries to explain the situation to MissRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1876 Words   |  8 PagesThough Harper Lee only published two novels, her accomplishments are abundant. Throughout her career Lee claimed: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction, and Quill Award for Audio Book. Lee was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. This honor society is a huge accomplishment and is considered the highest recognition for artistic talent and accomplishment in the United States. Along with these accomplishments, herRead MoreKill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee1197 Words   |  5 Pagessuch as crops, houses, and land, and money was awfully limited. These conflicts construct Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Lee establishes the concurrence of good and evil, meaning whether people are naturally good or naturally evil. Lee uses symbolism, characterization, and plot to portray the instinctive of good and evil. To Kill a Mocking Bird, a novel by Harper Lee takes place during the 1930s in the Southern United States. The protagonist, Scout Finch,

A Report On The Structure Of A Heavy Manual Worker Essay

. upper ureter may be unable to be passed spontaneously. Lithotripsy, sometimes called extracorporeal Shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) uses ultrasound to deliver energy to break up the large stone into smaller stones and debris that then can be passed or captured by ureteroscopy. Patients with a large stone that fills the whole kidney (staghoni calculi) may require removal using a special instrument inserted through an incision in the skin directly into the kidney (percutaneous nephro lithotomy). * Dietary management *Fluid-Stone formation is a gradual process, and the tendency in a susceptible person persists throughout life. Vigilance with adequate fluid intake and diet is needed indefinitely. Fluids like coconut water, barley water, sherbet, aerated water, fruit juice, and weak tea can be taken in order to ensure over 2000ml of urine per day. A heavy manual worker should take more fluid if working in humid climate to compensate fluid loss due to perspiration. The simplest guide is to drink enough fluids to see that the urine is very light in colour. Table - Food Rich in Calcium, Phosphorus and Oxalate Rich Sources of Calcium 1. Almost all green leafy vegetables especially, cauliflower green (626mg%), colocasia leaves ( black variety 460mg%) knoll-khol greens (740mg%), amaranth (200mg%), and omum (cerlery leaves) (230mg%) 2. Most dry fruits 3. All kinds of fish 4. Mutton muscle 5. Milk 6. Curds 7. Chainna ( cottage cheese) 8. Cheese 9. Khoa 10. Milk powder Rich SourcesShow MoreRelatedStandard Mcm Assignment Cover Sheet Essay2349 Words   |  10 Pages1. Standard MCM Assignment Cover Sheet 2. Title Page with the paper number and your own details 3. Executive summary. One page maximum. This provides an overview of the full report. As the name suggests it is aimed at those in senior positions (and others) who will not be reading the whole thing, but need to know what you were studying, why, how, what you found and what you think shoulod happen next as a result. 4. Contents table 5. Introduction. This should include the background story so thatRead MoreLeadership Style And Development Of An Organization1463 Words   |  6 Pagesnot have any adverse effects on the organisation structure. And those specific changes should always be accepted by every person involved for the implementation of project. Another most important factor is the management and leadership style, methodological techniques required for the project implementation or planning that always needs to be assessed and utilized very effectively to find out the readiness of the new project implementation. This report largely emphasize upon the different change managementRead MoreA Short Note On Health And Safety Of The Practice1345 Words   |  6 Pagesairconditioning machine for cooling and heating. There is a stair case which gives access to the warehouse. WHS GOALS: Hazards in the oce may not always be obvious. Oce workers may also face a range of health and safety issues, including poor job design, prolonged repetitive work, prolonged use of computers- looking at the screen too long, moving heavy loads (boxes, computers) , inadequate lighting and cramped or unsafe work areas. Our WHS goals are : †¢ raise awareness of health and safety issues in the oce;Read MoreEmployers Employees On Health And Safety Issues1351 Words   |  6 Pagesby the workforce or appointed by a trade union.    Employees: Workers have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your actions at work. Workers must co-operate with employers and co-workers to help everyone meet their legal requirements. Moreover, if an employee has injured themselves  or witnessed a dangerous occurrence whilst working they must abide by the regulation RIDDOR (report injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations).   Self-employed:Read MoreThe American Model Of Research Oriented Education1518 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican universities are the world’s best, producing excellent academic research and developing new technologies used across the globe. For this reason, universities of other countries have attempted to adapt their structure and approach to mirror the American model. Whether by adopting the American model of research-oriented education or by implementing mass higher education (as opposed to education for the elites), other nations are seeking to create world-class universities. This has createdRead MoreHarvard Business School: the Atekpc Project Management Office1550 Words   |  7 PagesOffice) Submitted by: KMO Greene Introduction The AtekPC Company found in 1984 has grown in size and scope to become a mid-sized technology PC manufacturer. The company now boasts 2100 fulltime employees with an additional 200 part time workers and revenues of $1.9 billion. AtekPC finds itself, like all other PC manufacturers facing a changing industry, one that is transitioning from a growth market industry to a maturing market industry and like all competitors in the marketplace, AtekPCRead MoreThe Construction Industry Has Incurred Losses From Meager Productivity1529 Words   |  7 Pagesblueprints, CAD drawings, budgets, schedules and purchase orders. Moreover, many of these documents are requisite to be perpetuated for several years, due to security and legal concerns. As the industry grows, its offices eventually stagger beneath the heavy load of paper. A paperless work environment, along with mobile technology, offers numerous opportunities to level the paper mountain and increase the productivity of construction process es (Moore 2009). Many construction leaders promote paperless workRead More Industrial Robots and Manufacturing Automation Essay examples3056 Words   |  13 PagesIndustrial Robots and Manufacturing Automation Abstract Automation started out as an assembly line of workers doing the same repetitive task all day long. Some of the jobs were very boring, dirty, unpleasant, and possibly dangerous. After the introduction of the first robot in 1961, automation began to advance in ways people could only imagine. Each of the six basic styles of robot used in industry today were designed with different applications in mind. Some of the robots were designedRead MoreBusiness Expansion in Indonesia1643 Words   |  7 Pagessituation is relatively calm in 2011-2012 (CIA). Economy- During the global economic crisis, Indonesia, China and India were the only G20 members posting growth. The government promotes fiscally conservative policies, and does encourage relocation and heavy trade with its neighbors, the EU and North America. The country primarily exports oil and gas, electronics appliances, plywood, textiles and rubber, about $202 billion; largely to Japan (17%), China (12%), Singapore (9%) and the United States (8%)Read MoreRisk Assessment and Risk Management2989 Words   |  12 Pagesregulations it is more important now than ever before to produce efficient risk assessments. Good risk assessments reduce hazards and fatalities in dangerous areas in the workplace. A good risk assessment will make workers feel safer and therefore happier and promotes a good business structure within the company. A good risk assessment will help prevent legal action against the company therefore saving the company money. Identifying Hazards When looking at a general workshop there are several hazards

The Anti Utopian World By Aldous Huxley - 1216 Words

The Anti-Utopian World Have you ever thought about how it might feel to have your life controlled by the government? Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel, Brave New World explores this very topic. An allegory of an industrialized society, Brave New World describes a kind of society that formerly gets inherited with specific traits in order to complete profounding tasks. The purpose of doing so is to keep the society running smoothly. Totalitarianism is subjected upon people from the day of their birth with the usage of much science and technology. There is much lack of individuality as every person is put in a specific caste which really determines who they are. Each and every individual is brainwashed by the government. The World State’s goal is nothing but perfection. However, none of it is for the benefit of the people as they have no freedom and face strong measures of inequality. In sum, in Aldous Huxley s Brave New World, the World State clearly portrays a dystopian society. To begin with, there’s no such thing as freedom for individuals in the World State. For example, the government attempts to use many types of methods to control people such as determining their caste. People are created to either be Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, or Epsilons. This also means that they have to do different jobs, according to their caste. However, it is understandable that everyone is happy with the caste that they’re and how they’re being treated by the government. The reason why is thatShow MoreRelatedBrave New World - Utopia or Dystopia?783 Words   |  4 Pageshowever Brave New World by Aldous Huxley could be seen as either. There are many aspects of this society which are perfect and completely cancel out many problems with our real world, nevertheless along with these are effects which could be seen as the opposite. This essay will discuss these aspects and effects and whether the Brave New World society is a utopia or a dystopia. A utopian society is one which is perfect (Mastin (2008), What is a Utopia?). In the case of Brave New World: everyone hasRead MoreAldous Huxley s Brave New World1310 Words   |  6 PagesAldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a fascinating and analytical work of fiction warning society of the possibility of a future world state eerily similar to the modern world. It could be argued by the fictional citizens and many others that the World State is in fact utopian. Constant happiness, fulfillment, and instant gratification. However, Brave New World clearly depicts a deteriorating dystopian society. Although by the World State’s citizens it is seen as an impeccable, expedient utopian societyRead MoreThe Modernist Period and English Literature1188 Words   |  5 Pagesthe War to End All Wars. World War I had just broke out and continued to ravage Europe from the years 1914 through to 1918 and the horrors that happened during this war had shocked the people of that time great ly, which left such an impact on their lives. This in turn made the citizens question their humanity and what the world was becoming of, thus turning all the past beliefs and assurance in things like religion, politics, or society now no longer relevant since â€Å" two world wars in the span of aRead More Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court as a Dystopian Work1397 Words   |  6 Pageslens of anti-utopian or dystopian analogy, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Courts finale becomes a grave prediction of mans industrialized future. Where Aldous Huxley augured mans enslavement to technology, its intellectual and critical emasculation in Brave New World, Twains work can be construed to encapsulate the pending destruction of societys innocence and idealism by industrialization and the development of weapons of mass destruction. Just as Huxley created an anti-utopianRead MoreDystopian Heroes1106 Words   |  5 Pagesand that is, â€Å"What if?† Typically, their g overnment, beliefs, and way of life are different from what we would find normal. All the literary works demonstrate a society unlike ours including: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Harrison Vonnegut, â€Å"The Pedestrian† by Ray Bradbury, Anthem by Ayn Rand, 1984 by George Orwell, and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. In every dystopian society, there isRead MoreThe Brave New World by Aldous Huxley1054 Words   |  4 PagesWhy are the people of the World State discouraged from having close relationships and families? In the Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, Huxley creates a world where it can be seen as both a utopic and a dystopic state. The story is placed in the World State, where the government controls the majority of the planets population. The government, controlled by ten World Controllers, mass produces people in tubes into five different castes. At the top the social class, there are the Alphas, who areRead MoreAldous Huxley s Brave New World Essay1800 Words   |  8 PagesAccording to Webster’s New World Dictionary, bravery is â€Å"possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance† (Agnes 178). Oftentimes, people are commended for acts of bravery they complete in the heat of a moment or overcoming a life-changing obstacle. Rarely one is commended for simply liv ing a brave life, facing challenges they do not even understand. The characters in the Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World live a peculiar lifestyle demonstrating bravery for just breathing. Although Huxley’sRead MoreUtopia, 1984 Comparison2284 Words   |  10 PagesResearch Paper: Love in Utopia, Brave New World and 1984 Love is without a doubt one of the most powerful emotions in the world. Most people in the world who have experienced this emotion know that with love, almost anything is possible.  ¡Ã‚ §When in Love, the greater is his/her capacity for suffering, or anything else in that matter ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Miguel de Unamuno, The Tragic Sense of Life). The governments in both Brave New World and 1984 understand that eliminating love and loyalty is important in their continualRead MoreAnalysis Of Ray Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451 Essay2089 Words   |  9 Pagesfour hypotheses precisely mediate with each other yet vary to stress the conflict between Technology and Literature. Dystopian literature has been described as fiction that shows a negative perspective without the limits of society and mankind. Utopian works ordinarily sketch a future in which innovation enhances the regular life of people and advances human advancement, while dystopian works offer an opposite perspective (Adams, John Joseph, 2014). Some basic topics found in dystopian fiction showRead MoreThe Engineering of Human Genetics in Dreams and Nightmares Essay1274 Words   |  6 Pagesaggressive† (Evan, 3). Richard Hindmarsh imagines a major threat imposing on our future’s horizon as a result of these possibilities. In his article, â€Å"The Problems of Genetic Engineering,† he stated that â€Å"When Aldous Huxley sketched the outlines of an anti-utopian society in his 1946 classic Brave New World, some did not take his fears seriously. But his dystopian society is closer to reality today than many could imagine (Hindmarch). Hindmarsh is referring to Huxley’s vision of a society where each person

The Influence of American Culture on Globalization free essay sample

A detailed look at how America impacted the development of globalization. This report looks at the impact of American culture on the development and advancement of globalization. The author first examines the history of Americanization during the 20th Century and then provides an extended look at several components of the American culture that are exported on a global scale, including technology, telecommunications, economics, goods and services, language, media, entertainment, and religion. In addition, this report examines how these have impacted countries such as: Western Europe, Japan and Canada. For centuries, monarchs, generals, explorers, and financiers have been creating an increasingly interdependent global economy. In todays modern age, unprecedented advances in communications, transportation, and computer technology have given new impetus to the globalization process. As the economies and cultures of the world become integrated into the whole of the global information age, the concept and reality of globalization becomes more complex and far-reaching. We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of American Culture on Globalization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One thing is for sure; globalization is challenging existing social identities across the planet in many important ways. A prime example of this process can be found in the influence that American culture is having in the modern world.

Innocence Turning Ugly Politics around a Student Death in West Bengal Essay Example

Innocence Turning Ugly: Politics around a Student Death in West Bengal Essay In the first week of April 2013, West Bengal witnessed a tragic death of a college student, Sudipta Gupta, while participating in a ‘law-breaking’ rally led by the CPI (M) student wing – SFI (Student Federation of India) against the decision of the state government to withheld elections to student unions in colleges and universities. Sudipta’s death was allegedly caused by the brutal beating of the police followed by the casualness of the medical staffs. The very next day entire Bengal, and thanks to community forum ‘face-book’ and some media channels, entire nation saw the innocent and bright face of the student and plunged into sorrow. Such a normal reaction over an innocent death was soon followed up by some ugly demonstration of protest and counter-protest allegedly by the student wings of both CPI (M) and Trinamul Congress (TMC). This article after taking note on these events concludes that in tune with the practical (non-ideological)   political milieu of our country, student politics too is getting deviated from its ideological position and becoming similar irrespective of the Leftist and rightist genre. Keywords: Politics, Student, Ideology, Elections, West Bengal *Assistant Professor of Political Science at University of Kalyani, West Bengal and can be reached at [emailprotected] co. in Introduction â€Å"I don’t want it to be fought at all! We will write a custom essay sample on Innocence Turning Ugly: Politics around a Student Death in West Bengal specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Innocence Turning Ugly: Politics around a Student Death in West Bengal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Innocence Turning Ugly: Politics around a Student Death in West Bengal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle, except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it. You know very well that it will not be fought on principle† (Shaw: 2007). The violent element in election arena is a matter of great concern of contemporary political analysts as well as psephologists and the situation become even more shocking once it enters in the educational institutions engulfing student politics. The event of untimely student deaths, a situation in vogue in West Bengal for the past few years, perturbs any sensible soul that prays for non-repetition of such incidents. As prayer cannot be the ‘only’ thing to be done in any circumstance, the series of student violence that characterizes contemporary student politics culminating into fatal injuries and even death, calls for in-depth analysis of the reasons for and solution to such incidents. The section I of the present paper based on some personal experience of student politics in West Bengal over the past decade tries to understand the shifts and changes in the outlook of students towards the political system and that of political parties to their   student wings. The section II tries to understand in greater detail the particular death of Sudipta Gupta and arguments based on ‘custodial death’ targeting the state government. Section III brings in theoretical understanding of student politics and tries to link it with recent events in West Bengal particularly as a critique of the politics of the Left leaning student groups. Finally a concluding section is presented to show that the overall trend of national politics does influence the politics at the formative ages of a person – at the level of student politics. I It was in the early years of this millennium that I joined as a student in one of the reputed government colleges in central Kolkata and was introduced to a dialogue between ‘political politics’ and apolitical politics’ taking place between several groups of students in classrooms, in corridors, in canteens and even in the streets leading to the college. Naive as I was to distinguish between the types of politics, I tried to listen carefully to the arguments of both the groups – one led by the leftist student wing (SFI, Student Federation of India) and the other by rightists’ student wing claiming independence from all political parties. The former accused the latter of diluting the ideological element in politics and promoting ‘emotional bond’ and ‘face politics’, i. e. popularizing certain key faces of students through their presence in canteen and cultural forums of the college and then seek vote in their support. The latter group   accused the former of politicisng educational arenas with political attitudes akin to programme of particular leftist ideology based political parties. Needless to mention, both the groups appeared to uphold the welfare and development of the college and its students as their topmost priority areas and they reflected their position through more or less similar ways of slogans, posters and campaigns in classrooms before elections. The rightist group used to get funds from outside (it was alleged so) while the state level leaders of SFI were visible in the campus to step up the electoral mood among students, particularly those supporting them. It was in the late years of the first decade of this millennium that I joined as a teacher (temporary) in a reputed missionary college of Kolkata. I found that everything was happening there – student seminars, cultural programmes of the students, fresher welcome party- as the case with the college where I studied but with a difference – a total absence of any popular and active student wing of any particular political party or any attempt to counter them by some other brand of politics. Here I found that the student union was present, active, vibrant and participative with regular change of portfolio holders but without any political approach. However in classrooms I found that the students were equally aware, politically and culturally about the happenings around them, just I found it among my peers in my college days. Outside influence of political parties or political student groups were at an arm’s length from the students and student union of   this college. Quite accustomed with the concepts and ideas of political science as a subject and politics as a process, I stepped in to a heritage college of South Kolkata as a full time teacher and taught there for three years where student behavior, student agitations and student union elections reminded of my college days. It was so similar but again with a difference –which I later realized, a difference structured by different generation. The students both in the left ideological camp (SFI) and in the right (for the first time I came across Chatra Parishad(CP) and then the TMCP(Trinamul Chatra Parishad), were extremely adamant to their positions and tried to take recourse to any means between themselves, even in the college premises in front of teachers, – threats, street fights, usage of slangs, physical brutal assaults – to see to it that decisions of college authorities come in their favour. Couple of student leaders on both sides were extremely   argumentative and at the same time quite logical with full information about the trend of party politics in the state. Being located in central place of south Kolkata, the student supporters of both the groups were influence by various street campaigns led by state level leaders of both the student groups just outside the college premises. Presently, as the millennium steps into its second decade, I’m engaged in teaching in a university in rural backdrop where I’m dealing with students mostly from economically and socially backward community students and to their vision ‘politics’ is simply defined as ‘student union’ and ‘student politics’ is just ‘to remain present sometime in the union room’! An interesting feature here is of a total absence of the opposition in student union. The only presence is of that student group which corresponds to the party in power at the state. A very recent instance would be total change of unit after unit of student union overnight from one party affiliation to another with the change of guards at the state power corridor. In the above narration of particular experiences over the last one decade some generalizations can be made: (a) student unions are always acting as the face of power of political parties (b) political parties view student unions as recruiting machines for being party members (c) the nature of student politics swings with the changes in state politics (d) the brute powerful influence of politics on student unions is more reflected in rural areas where political reasoning bypasses logical reasoning (e) in urban areas and gradually in rural areas as well, media attraction is a prime mover of violence in student politics (f) however a different model of student union, though not anti-political but innocent, sensible and logical, is available in the state. With this personal experience as a background the next section catches up with a particular incident of student death where politics, student union and party politics intersects – the death of Sudipta Gupta on April 2, 2013. II Unable to contain violence in college union polls, committed these days mostly by the TMC’s student wing after forcing police into inaction, the government had declared a moratorium on students’ union elections. Demanding its withdrawal, four left students’ organisations gave a call for â€Å"law-break† agitation. The programme was undertaken with prior permission from the concerned authority. However, due to high deficit in police arrangement minor scuffles ensued, and the students were lathi-charged. Then hundreds of students were packed in three or four buses, while according to media report, a circular from the police headquarters had instructed to keep at least 20 buses ready to take the lawbreakers to jail. On way to the Presidency jail, Sudipto Gupta, a state committee member of the Students Federation of India fell on the road with a serious head injury. He was taken to the hospital where, it is alleged by his friends, he lay unattended for   more than an hour. And finally when the doctors intervened there was little to do. A student of 22 years, the only son of an ailing widower-father, succumbed. According to the police, the death was due to an accident, but eyewitness reports give a totally different version of police beatings and callousness causing death. Important in this incident was the way in which the state government and its police forces were put under severe criticism over the issue of custodial death. The very fact that the students were taken by bus after ‘token’ police arrest having only two policemen as per report in the newspapers, led the critiques to term it as a death in police custody and hence ‘custodial death’ and thereby directly placing the responsibility on the police and the government. One of the comments publicized by the critiques read like this: â€Å"We have watched with disgust and horror the brutal police assault on students during a peaceful demonstration organised by four Left students’ organisations on 2 April 2013 in Kolkata and the subsequent death of Sudipta Gupta, a participant in the demonstration, while in police custody. Sudipta was a bright student and a leading activist of the Students Federation of India. We are shocked to see the chief minister of the   state absolve the police of any responsibility for Sudipta’s death even before a proper enquiry had been initiated†(EPW Letters :2013). Another critic argues: â€Å"Now, if under the pressure of the media and the people any administrative inquiry is instituted we can guess what findings it would come up with! The people of West Bengal are fast losing faith in the honesty and civility of the chief minister. The minimum that we as ordinary citizens of the country can demand and the government should be forced to grant is a judicial probe into the death of Sudipto† (Chakroborty: 2013). The problem with these arguments is to shift attention from student politics to state politics – from academics to politics. Moreover ‘Custodial death’ means the death of a person in the custody of a public officer or any person acting on behalf of a public officer. a) The term ‘custody’ includes all occasions where a person is detained by a public officer or any person acting on behalf of a public officer, irrespective of the legality, nature and the place of detention; (b) It includes judicial cus tody and all other forms of temporary and permanent restraint upon the movement of a person by law, or by force or by other means enforced by a public officer or any person acting on behalf of a public officer; (c) It includes deaths occurring whilst a person is being arrested or taken into detention or being questioned; (d) In all cases where the death of a person is within 72 hours after his release from custody, or at any other subsequent occasion and where the cause of death can be attributed to acts committed upon the deceased by a public officer or anyone acting on   his behalf while the deceased was in custody; (e) ‘Custodial death’ may have taken place on police, private or medical premises, in a public place or in a police or other vehicle(IPC Act, 2010). This definition in some remote way supports projection of Sudipto’s death as ‘custodial death as there are many brutal instances of custodial death on police torture in jail custody. Those ho ar e asking for a probe, indeed justifiably, are diluting their own position by branding the incident before the probe itself! The pent up anger against the state administration got reflected at New Delhi when the Chief Minister along with some important cabinet ministers en route to the finance commission office was mobbed and heckled on 9th April 2013, by left leaning student unions in memoriam of the ‘innocent’ death of their student leader, Sudipto. Present in this incident according to media footage was the all India general secretary of SFI. At any stretch of imagination this was an ‘ugly’ demonstration of anger seeking justice through judicial probe of Sudipto’s death. Such ugly demonstrations become more disturbing when it gets validation by one of the important left ideologue of the country in the following words: â€Å"Those who get perturbed by heckling and would like a more civilised and humane discourse, must themselves also engage in such a discourse. One cannot call the death of a young idealistic student, and that too in police custody, a â€Å"small and   petty affair†, a remark that is offensive to fundamental humanity; and then complain if angry demonstrators heckle one. To claim the right to make inhumane comments about others, and then to complain when others heckle one, amounts to having one’s cake and eating it too. Of course even when one’s discourse is perfectly humane and â€Å"civilised†, in so far as the consequences of one’s decisions are deleterious to some people’s lives, one still has to be prepared to face demonstrations and heckling. But if one’s discourse too is inhumane then the chances of this happening multiply several-fold† (Patnaik : 2013). This justification again gets political as it is directed against state administration and pats for the extension of student politics to the arena of state politics. The ugliest incident in this follow up of events was still to be seen and finally happened at Presidency College, Kolkata where some hooligans vandalized and destroyed   the heritage Baker Laboratory and to utter dismay this demonstrations carried flag of TMC and media footage showed the presence of the local councilor of TMC outside the gate of the college during the incident. This act was a protest against the demonstrations that TMC ministers faced at New Delhi. So, politics within academic arena, as showed by these incidents, no longer involves students only but the political party, their image and prestige, state power apparatus, etc. An academic explanation regarding the source of the SFI ‘law-breaking; rally and hence the source of all these follow ups involves the legality of the state government decision to withheld student elections. It reads: â€Å"In this milieu of violence even many well meaning people have started to blame student politics as the repository of violence and demanded that student union elections be banned in the state. This debate started when an on-duty police officer was killed by goons belonging to the ruling TMC during the process of nomination in a Kolkata College. Subsequently, the government announced that student union elections will be withheld for 6 months and with the incident of Sudipto Gupta, the clamour has increased that students should be kept out of politics. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Prima facie, the demand to ban student union election is unconstitutional. The Constitution of India gives every person the right to form associations; hence students cannot be   arbitrarily denied this right. Secondly, the Lyngdoh Commission constituted by the Supreme Court to frame guidelines for conducting student union elections is unambiguous when it comes to the question of whether election should be held or not. It states, â€Å"Universities and colleges across the country must ordinarily conduct elections for the appointment of students to student representative bodies. These elections may be conducted in the manner prescribed herein, or in a manner that conforms to the standards prescribed herein. † (Lyngdoh Commission Report, Page: 40)†(Chowdhury: 2013). However such arguments falls flat in a politicized environment as is seen in contemporary West Bengal where student supporters of particular opinion behave like party members. They are becoming that rigid and closed. Student politics, or for that matter politics, ideally must depend on taking advantages of situation created. In the events that happened both the SFI and TMC leaders were becoming more similar in their self-destructive positional tactics(both were leading destructive marches) thereby leaving the space of politics of students in an ideological and programmatic vacuum in the days to come. III Given the special significance and weight of students in the politics of many new nations, the questions: (a) whether or not their politics are like national politics and integrated with them; (b) whether student polities are separate from, opposed to, or ahead of, national politics; and (c) what conditions promote one or another of those tendencies; become questions of some interest and importance. In India, student politics tend towards congruence with national politics. Unlike industrial workers, peasants, or capitalist, students have not aspired to be a ruling class; they lack the ideological identity and mission in the political system. If students have not—and perhaps cannot—become one of the political classes that aspire to power in their own right, they have become on occasion a leading sector in the political system—-expressing in an organised and militant form dissatisfactions or aspirations well before such sentiments have been clearly   articulated and expressed by the established means of political representation and leadership. While students have often played a role in the regime politics of a number of nations and in the ideological politics of others, in India the orientation of student politics in the aggregate has remained relatively congruent with that of national politics (Rudolph amp; Rudolph : 1966). Professor T. K. Oomen succinctly describes the situation leading to student unrest in campuses: â€Å"The exercise of student power in India is constrained by several structural factors. Student politicians are rarely, if ever, autonomous. They depend on political parties or other outside agencies for ideas, finance and organizational support. It is but natural this involvement by outsiders is based on expectation of political payoffs. Often this takes the form of the student politician becoming their agent or propagandist on the campus. Naturally he has to abide by the instructions of his patron; the relationship between political parties and student political organization is always a hierarchical one and the latter is usually at the receiving end. (p. 255) The real task of the politically oriented student activist is to transform the latent discontent and vague rebelliousness into a coherent revolutionary vision. Usually the passive, indolent, dull majority   is provoked through the offering of an occasion to be involved in a demonstration. Here what is important is not the cause for which students agitate but the fact of their involvement in agitation†¦Sometimes the zeal and commitment of the passive many is greater than that of routine activists, once they are involved. Often physical violence will be deliberatively planned by student leaders by destroying public property or by assaulting some higher official of the university. Once this happens usually the formal agencies of social contract, particularly the police and the press, step in†¦If the attempt of student leaders to ‘manufacture’ a couple of student martyrs succeeds they are at the height   of their glory. The martyrs are those who get shot, injured, arrested, dismissed or suspended. Student power is often effective only through violent agitations and this is for three reasons:- first, violence is the most effective means of focusing   attention on issues and this invites the sudden intervention of higher authorities. Second, violence is the medium through which the passivity which envelops the majority is at least temporarily effaced, galvanizing it into action. Third, it is violence which makes the hitherto unwilling university authorities concede demands which they have been continuously refusing. (Oomen: 2010; 255, 263, 264). Over the past three decades, college and university elections in West Bengal in particular and the country at large have become arenas of contest among political parties. One of the reasons behind this is the manner in which much of the student politics in most of these institutions have come to be reduced entirely to winning or losing students’ union elections. Earlier, the elections used to be at an intellectual level but now the environment has entirely changed. Some years back the injury suffered by a student named Souvick   Dutta(who lost one of his eye forever in a pre college election violence) in a south Kolkata college led to the SFI union leader leading the protest in front of the residence of the then opposition leader and landing up getting a party ticket to contest the assembly polls in 2011 from the adjacent locality only to cash in on the sympathies generated by the incident! Is it a transition from ideological politics to emotional   politics? Well on the extreme right the instance is even horrifying. The well established student leader of Chatra Parishad(CP) who continued to criticize TMC and TMCP positions tooth and nail simply went to join the very ame TMCP in the same designation just after the elections were over! A transition from ideological politics o self-interested politics is reflected thereby in student politics. Now elections are stopped for some period by the state government (for reasons of security). There ar e arguments to bring back ‘party based elections’ in the name of democratic participation of students in the formation of college unions (keeping in mind the sad stories of violence leading to the recent incidents of Souvick Dutta and Sudipto Kole) criticisms are at a galore. The SFI general secretary comments: â€Å"But the protest is very much in the air. There are Left students who are not allowed to enter campuses†¦. But still they have not given up the   flag of SFI. They are in the barricade of resistance. The wall writing is sharp, bold and clear- ‘If politics determines our education we must determine the politics’. This determination to determine politics is the silver lining in this worst of times†(Bhattacharyay : 2013) Hardly one can find arguments calling upon general students belonging to all ideologies to come together and form ‘party-less union’ for cultural and social development of the students in colleges. IV An innocent death of a student occur, the student is highlighted as a party cadre and brought into the limelight, police officials and home minister, i. e. he chief minister is accused,   activists of the deceased student camp heckles chief minister and cabinet ministers, in that situation the general secretary of the deceased students’ group was seen, the act has to be condemned but not by words but through retaliation, the vandalism in the Baker laboratory of Presidency University was carried out and in the scene was noticed the councilor of the chief minister’s party. This running summary shoes that how an innocent death turns political and utterly ugly within a fortnight leaving a lasting impact on student politics of the state. The central question is to search for alternative model of organizing student politics. Ranabir Samaddar argues, â€Å"In West Bengal large student movements have never been organized centering on union elections but rather on bigger issues of society regarding education and solidarity of labourers, sometimes even on international issues particularly anti-imperialism. At time students and youth would join hands to manage disasters like drought or floods and thereby such days of student politics were marked by ideological and philosophical politics far away from the present institutionlaised election centered student politics. The first effect of such calculative student politics is its politics and career centricity cut off from the real problems of society and thus marked by ‘academic nobility’ and for this vacuum general students are in favour to stay away from such ‘bad politics’ and student politics is under the threat of corrupt practices. Such practices have surfaced in recent years in liberal society of United States. Thus not   United States but the European student politics particularly that are seen in 2010-2011 in Italy, France, Great Britain, Spain must be the model for student politics in the coming days. Thousands of students protested in the streets of Barcelona, Bolonia, Rome, Paris, London, Berlin demanding the removal of neo-liberal policy restrictions on educational campus, ending oppression to immigrants and ensuring security to common people. Student politics must return to its golden days not for its reiteration but for its renewal. During 1966-77 student protest in Presidency stroked chord among student community at large as in the face of threats of bombing, police activities in the college the elite students were saved by students, teachers from outside the campus. The model is to break free from party affiliations and dictates and to move ahead for student solidarity across party lines† (Samaddar : 2013). The idea that students can be or should be kept out of politics comes from a narrow understanding of what politics is. Politics is not simply about what political parties say. Politics is basically about a debate, a discourse on what society as a whole should or should not do. For example, the courses studied in our universities, the amount of fees that we pay, the level of salaries of the teachers etc all are decided by politics. Students, who are the most vibrant section within the society, cannot be kept aloof of this debate and discussion or politics. They must be free to listen to every view and form their own opinions about it. †¦But politics is not merely about debates and discussions. Politics is also about power (Chowdhury: 2013). So, all debates among student groups have boiled down to powerful and violent rigid explorations of one’s position diluting the age-old open policy of ‘Let the Hundred Flowers Bloom’. The student movements, in   this spirit, ultimately get marred by violence and get robbed off its traditional mission of positive contributions to society, with one exception, organizing blood donations camp has been a matter of competition among competing student groups and at least blood donation is made. The student movements of any particular period reflect the direction of the character of the new vision of the society at its micro level. Students get into the process of political socialization through their participation in these movements. In the process the role of social and political culture, information and communication channels and technological advancements becomes critical in determining the intensity of student movements. In a globalised world students are the most susceptible section of the society to cultural influences. The various ways by which the students try to popularize their support base among their peers, mainly through facebook and twitter and email and ‘sms’ exchanges,   indicates the new cultural influences on them across the left and right wing student groups. In this flow, both the left and right wing student unions are in same direction. The way picture of a blood ejecting one eye lost Souvick Dutta, bandaged picture of   Sudipto Kole’s dead body and picture of innocent Sudpta Gupta’s face has been spread over the web world and in the streets, to generate awareness of the degree of violence and to create emotional attachment – a question crops up – has the left student unions, particularly SFI taken recourse to the same ‘face politics’ of the type they hated most in my college days? The article tries to contextualise the events unfolding around the death of Sudipta Gupta in the overall perspective of trends in student politics, particularly in West Bengal. Though some personalized particular experiences have been the basis of this paper but that does not debar from making generalizations as it is an in depth study of a particular death and politics surrounding it. Is it a ‘political death’ or ‘custodial death’ or ‘death of student politics itself’? In the present context of the state politics, these questions are tricky and complex and their answers are elusive. The present paper sounds at times a critical commentary on SFI politics but that is only because as a heritage student group the onus is more upon them to be calm, positive and constructive in their outlook and concentrate on making their own ideological position contemporary. There has been a sharp increase in violence in student politics but the present   incident is not a cause of inter-student front collisions but due to lack of humane management of the situation. It is also of deep worry that one can hardly find any difference between the tone and texture of the student politics pursued by the leftist and rightist camps presently in West Bengal. In most instances the campus politics are based on party line divisions of ‘us’ and ‘them’ as reflected in the local, state and national level political space. Gone are the days when student politics of debates and discussions, of academics and society coated student agitations. Now it’s all about politics, in the bad and amoral sense of the term. To conclude one can reiterate the lines of Rabindranath Tagore:       â€Å"Firbey Na Ta Jani, Tobu Tomar Potho Cheye Joluk Pradipkhani.. †(†¦The student politics will never be the same, but let us keep our hopes lightened in the anticipation of the return of a more open and civilised approach to society and politics. †¦. ). Politics in the college premises must be seen in terms of socialization rather than politicization   and academic environment related specific demand based movements must replace popular political politics. It is in college and university that a person is in his/her formative ages and to be groomed to be a ‘good citizen’ and not to be a trained political-party supporter. It is now a duty to all persons related to academics- teachers, students, non-teaching staffs and even a transformed open ended student groups to work together in that direction. Sudipto Kole and Sudipto Gupta are dead but Souvick is alive with one eye and a violence free academic campus will be the best homage to all of them. Let’s start making the gift. References: 1. Banerjee, Ritabrata(2013): War Against Democracy: Designs to Ban Politics in Bengal Campuses, http://www. cpimwb. org. in/feature_details. php? features_id=14#sthash. i7M8sfIH. dpuf (accessed on 26. 06. 2013). 2. Chakraborty, Satyabrata(2013): Anarchy in West Bengal,                                                                      Economic and Political Weekly,                   Vol. XLVIII No. 17, April 27, 2013 3. Chowdhury Subhanil(2013): In Defense of Student Politics, http://www. pragoti. in/node/4938 (accessed on 22. 06. 2013). 4. Oomen, T. K(2010): Student Power Mobilization and Protest in Social Movements: Concerns of Equity and Security, Vol. II , T. K. Oomen (ed. ), Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2010. 5. Patnaik, Prabhat(2013): Heckling As Violence, People’s Democracy, Vol. XXXVII , No. 17, April 28, 2013 6. Rudolph, Lloyd I Susanne Hoeber Rudolph amp; Karuna Ahmed(1971): Student Politics and National Politics in India, Economic and Political Weekly, Special Number, July 7. Shaw, George Bernard(2007): Back to Methuselah, Iowa, 1st World Library. 8. S