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Articles by Aakshi Chaba
Sambandh Blog | Fuzzy frames: Mobile borders versus rigid boundaries in India’s neighbourhood
In the first of our blog series on issues related to India’s neighbourhood connectivity, Nidhi Varma interviews Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Visiting Research Associate, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi. Q: In your article, you examine the differences between how fragile borders are perceived by states and residents, with a focus on the India-Bangladesh border. You say, ‘the borders of the state are reproduced through the structure of the market itself’.
Is India still the neighbourhood’s education hub?
Introduction India has long been an education hub for students from its neighbourhood.[2] Besides economic benefits, India’s capacity to attract students from neighbouring countries has helped it to form closer political ties and spread its cultural influence and values to the surrounding region. India’s ability to provide quality higher education is a form of soft power that, subtly but surely, enhances India’s connectivity with its neighbours.
Is India still the neighbourhood’s education hub?
By Aakshi Chaba, Geetika Dang & Constantino Xavier Brookings India became the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) on September 10, 2020. This work was done before the transition. Introduction India has long been an education hub for students from its neighbourhood.[2] Besides economic benefits, India’s capacity to attract students from neighbouring countries has helped it to form closer political ties and spread its cultural influence and values to the surrounding region.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals invests in New Haven
Aakshi Chaba 2:47 am, Sep 19, 2019 Staff Reporter Yale Daily News Two years after the global biopharmaceutical company Alexion moved their headquarters from New Haven to Boston, the company announced on Wednesday that it would invest approximately $10 million into expanding their Global Product Development Lab in the Elm City. The company, which was founded in New Haven in 1992, moved its headquarters to Boston amid a company restructuring in 2017.
Chief state’s attorney Kane retires
City | Chief state’s attorney Kane retires Aakshi Chaba Aakshi Chaba 1:10 am, Aug 29, 2019 Staff Reporter Connecticut’s longest-serving Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane will retire on Nov. 1, Governor Ned Lamont announced on Tuesday. The chief state’s attorney leads the Connecticut’s Division of Criminal Justice, an independent body in charge of investigating and prosecuting all criminal cases within the state.
YCC focuses on Yale-New Haven relations
Robbie Short The Yale College Council’s new Yale-New Haven relations task force held its first meeting last Sunday afternoon. Comprised of roughly 17 students, including members of the YCC’s Council of Representatives — a body made of student leaders from across campus — the Yale-New Haven relations task force is a key part of the YCC’s efforts to strengthen the relationship between the University and the Elm City.
DataHaven launches project on gender equity
DataHaven launches project on gender equity Aakshi Chaba 1:14 am, Dec 06, 2018 Staff Reporter DataHaven, a New Haven-based nonprofit that provides policymakers data reports on community issues, recently launched a new project focused on gender equity in Fairfield County.
Urban Improvement Corps turns 50
Urban Improvement Corps turns 50 Aakshi Chaba 1:46 am, Dec 05, 2018 Staff Reporter Daniel Zhao Members of the Urban Improvement Corps, founded in 1968, are celebrating the organization’s 50th anniversary this year, marking the occasion by doubling the number of tutors they have and celebrating with students’ families.
Controversy surrounds University’s voluntary payments
Aakshi Chaba 2:23 am, Nov 30, 2018 Staff Reporter Daniel Zhao As a large budget deficit faces New Haven this year, residents are continuing to call for the University to provide additional financial support to the city they call home. Due to its status as a nonprofit, Yale is not taxed by the state of Connecticut. This status specific to nonprofit organizations, including universities and hospitals, is written into the state constitution.
The Elm City’s polling predicament
Aakshi Chaba Marcello Rossi ’21 came to City Hall twice on Nov. 6 hoping to register to vote using Connecticut’s Election Day Registration. After seeing long lines as early as 11 a.m., he decided to attend a class and return later. When he entered the line again at 4 p.m., he was greeted by a New Haven official, who told him that it was unlikely he would be able to vote before the 8 p.m. registration deadline, given the four-hour-long waiting times.
Local company employs refugees
University officials and a local nonprofit refugee resettlement agency, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, are working with a refugee-led company to provide employment for new refugees resettling in the Elm City. Founded by immigrant Rafid Bayati, Golden Gate CT began as a project in September 2017 to help integrate refugees new to the New Haven community.
New Haven celebrates Veterans’ Day
A bell was rung 21 times at the steps of City Hall on Sunday morning to mark 100 years since the end of World War I and to commence the Elm City’s recognition of Veterans Day. Veterans Day, an annual tribute to current and past members of the U.S. military, was commemorated in New Haven with an hourlong ceremony on Nov. 11. The event featured short speeches from veterans and the placement of wreaths on the World War I monument on the New Haven Green.
YPD launches new outreach efforts
In their first month as the Yale Police Department’s inaugural community engagement officers, University officers Martha Ross and Martin Parker have gone apple picking with students from Benjamin Franklin College, dressed up as M&M’s for Halloween and created their own Instagram page: @officers_mnm. The Community Engagement Team officer positions were created under the leadership of Yale Police Chief Ronnell Higgins in October.
Looney, Duff re-elected to lead state Senate
Members of the new Connecticut Senate Democratic Caucus unanimously re-elected state Sens. Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, to serve as president pro tempore and senate majority leader for the 2019 legislative calendar. The Democrats made significant gains in the Connecticut Senate following Tuesday’s elections — winning at least 23 of the 36 seats in the legislative body and giving the party a commanding majority after two years of evenly split representation.
Long lines turn away voters
Hundreds of students and New Haveners spent hours waiting in line to register to vote at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon, forcing many potential voters to either give up on registration or be turned away, stirring up controversy around last-minute registration. Connecticut implemented laws allowing for Election Day voter registration in 2014.
Campus student groups encourage voting
Student organizations across campus have been hosting events, canvassing and tabling on Cross Campus and in community spaces to encourage students to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. The Yale College Democrats, Yale College Republicans, Every Vote Counts and the Yale College Council rallied together earlier this year to found “Yale Votes,” a coalition that aims to increase political engagement among students.
Democrats host final voting rally
The New Haven Democratic Town Committee held a Get Out To Vote rally on Monday evening, featuring Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont SOM ’80, Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-New Haven, among other Democratic candidates running for positions in the state’s midterm elections.
Grad students express mixed feelings on 272 Elm St. housing
After the Hall of Graduate Studies closed for renovations in May to become a humanities center set to open in 2020, many of its former residents moved into the newly built 272 Elm St. graduate dormitory. The housing at 272 Elm St. will prioritize availability for first years in the University Graduate School of Art and Science. But it currently also houses students who had lived in HGS.
Students, New Haveners Rally for Juliana v. US
Approximately 30 New Haven community members, some holding signs reading “Stable climate is a constitutional right” and “Demand climate justice,” joined together to show support for the plaintiffs of a federal case fighting for improved climate policies. In 2015, 21 plaintiffs, all of whom are 22 years old or younger, filed a court case — Juliana v.
Dwight Hall holds reopening
David Warren DIV ’70 ARCH ’70 has lived on the Manhattan Project site, marched through Selma with Martin Luther King, Jr., met with leaders of the Black Panther Party and studied in Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram. On Wednesday afternoon, he gave a talk to the Yale community members in Dwight Hall. Over a dozen Yalies gathered in the Dwight Hall Common Room to hear Warren, the founder of the Dwight Hall Summer Fellowship, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, speak.
Yale-United Way campaign begins
The 2018 Yale-United Way Campaign kicked off on Oct. 15 with a University-wide email from University President Peter Salovey. This year’s campaign — which is organized through a partnership between Yale and local nonprofit United Way of Greater New Haven — aims to raise $1.4 million by the end of the semester.
Dwight Hall, United Way, YCC hold first New Haven Day of Caring
Nearly 300 members of the New Haven community spent their Saturday morning cleaning up various areas of the Elm City as part of the first New Haven Day of Caring. Organized by the United Way of Greater New Haven, Dwight Hall, the Yale College Council and the New Haven Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees, the event was hosted at seven sites across the city, including Lighthouse Point Park, East Rock Park and Long Wharf.
Chamber of Commerce recognizes local boutique owner
The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce awarded Kimberly Pedrick, owner of the boutique stores Idiom and Dwell, the Small Business Achievement Award at the 2018 Annual Business Leadership Awards Luncheon last Thursday. More than 500 people attended the luncheon at the Omni hotel, according to Tameika Miller, GNHCC’s director of marketing strategy and communication. Pedrick was one of 10 award recipients.
Students push for MENA Cultural House
The Arab Students Association, alongside other student groups, is working with the Yale College Council to push for the creation of a fifth cultural house for students from the Middle East and North Africa. Currently, students from the MENA region are given peer liaisons from the Asian-American Cultural Center or the Afro-American Cultural Center, depending on what specific country they identify with.
HAVEN Free Clinic hosts sixth annual 5K
More than 300 participants crossed the finish line at HAVEN Free Clinic’s sixth annual 5K race at New Haven’s Edgewood Park this Sunday. The student-run HAVEN Free Clinic partners with a variety of Yale’s professional schools — including the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing — to provide primary care for uninsured and underserved members of the New Haven community.
New YCC Council of Representatives holds first ever meeting
To the tune of High School Musical’s “We’re All in This Together,” 232 students filed into Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall for the inaugural meeting of the newly formed Yale College Council’s Council of Representatives. The Council of Representatives, a body comprised of student leaders across campus, is a subsidiary body of the Yale College Council.
YCC launches financial reforms
That’s how Kahlil Greene ’21, the Yale College Council’s finance director, described YCC’s financial reforms this year, less than a year after the group bought Patagonia sweaters for members using student funds. The council’s new policies include mandatory briefings for each YCC member on financial best practices, new pre-purchase and post-purchase forms and strict oversight by the finance and events directors.
YCC looks to improve Yale-New Haven relations
As part of a broader effort to strengthen ties with the Elm City, the Yale College Council is partnering with United Way of Greater New Haven, a local nonprofit that focuses on health, education and financial stability. The partnership will include a series of lunches, open to all students, in which United Way of Greater Haven members will talk about issues that New Haven faces as well as volunteer trips to schools.
New reps elected to YCC
Following a series of elections last week, the open positions on the Yale College Council Senate and the Freshman Class Council are now filled. The YCC consists of multiple representative bodies. The Senate features two students from each residential college, whereas the four class councils, including the FCC, are comprised of two representatives per college from a given class year.
YCC elections on horizon
The Yale College Council’s fall election season started off with a mandatory information session for interested candidates last Tuesday. Several positions are open, including seats on the YCC’s newly-rebranded senate, all those on the First-Year Class Council, Sophomore Class Council and Junior Class Council, and positions on all five of the YCC’s committees. Sal Rao ’20, YCC president, expressed excitement about the upcoming elections, saying there was a high turnout at the informational meeting.
YCC rolls out new initiatives
The Yale College Council announced plans this week to expand its disposable menstrual products program, reduce the costs of student services and bolster mental health initiatives. At the core of their multiple goals this year, leaders of the YCC stressed at a weekly press meeting, is an effort to ensure undergraduates feel that the council represents them and their needs.
Student band Vern Matz to perform at Spring Fling
Student band Vern Matz will open the outdoor concert at Spring Fling on Saturday, joining outside performers Cupcakke, Dagny, A$AP Ferg and Madeon. The indie band was declared the winner of this year’s Battle of the Bands by Yale’s WYBCx Radio. Hosted by Yale’s WYBCx Radio on Monday night, the competition featured four other acts, including jazz band Hersh and the Guptas, rock band January, rapper Billy BOAT and indie rock band Sargasso.
YCC pilots menstrual hygiene program
The YCC last Sunday launched a pilot program to provide free menstrual hygiene products in Morse and Silliman colleges. And while only a week’s worth of data has been collected so far, there appears to be demonstrated student interested in the initiative, according to YCC organizers. Over the past week, 472 provided products have been used in Silliman College, and 194 in Morse College.
Rao ’20 elected YCC president
Sal Rao ’20 will be the next Yale College Council president, after winning last week’s election with 961 votes, or 38.22 percent of the total. Heidi Dong ’20, Rao’s running-mate, won the election for YCC vice president, claiming 1,386 votes, or 55.07 percent of the total. Rao will become the first female YCC president in nine years, and she and Dong will be the first female president–vice president team in a decade. Caleigh Propes ’20, who ran uncontested, was elected events director.
Rao ’20 elected YCC president with high voter turnout
This is a breaking story. Please check in for more updates. Sal Rao ’20 will be the next YCC president, after winning this week’s election with 961 votes, or 38.22 percent of the total. Heidi Dong ’20, Rao’s running-mate, won the election for YCC vice president, claiming 1,386 votes, or 55.07 percent of the total. Rao will become the first female YCC president in nine years, and she and Dong will be the first female president–vice president team in a decade.
Wang and Rao get most endorsements
Eleven student organizations — including Dwight Hall, Unite Against Sexual Assault Yale and the Asian American Students Alliance — had officially endorsed candidates for Yale College Council president, vice president and events director, as of 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. Shunhe Wang ’20, who is running for YCC president, received five of the 11 official endorsements, the most among any of the candidates.
CANDIDATE PROFILES: Caleigh Propes ’20
In her two years at Yale, Caleigh Propes ’20 has hidden 4,000 eggs on Old Campus, helped organize the college’s first Trap Yoga event and read all 2,426 responses to the Yale College Council Spring Fling survey. Now, she is set to become the YCC’s events director for the 2018–19 academic year. Propes, who is running uncontested for the position, said her main objectives are to increase student outreach to student groups and student athletes and to diversity the array of events offered.
Candidates face off at YCC debate
The Yale College Council faced criticism last year for the meager number of candidates running for leadership positions on the council. But this year, nine candidates — five for president, three for vice president and one for events director — participated in the annual candidates debate co-hosted by the Yale College Council and the News on Tuesday evening.
CANDIDATE PROFILES: Chris Moeckel ’20
Chris Moeckel ’20 had no intention of running for YCC president before a friend invited him to attend a YCC meeting last year. Disappointed with the lack of concrete steps taken by the student government, Moeckel launched his “Shake Up YCC” campaign to bring about change. “This campaign is about actionable policies, policies that we can deliver, policies where we lay out specific steps and how we’re going to do it,” Moeckel explained. “So we’re not going to throw out huge, ambiguous answers.
Five seek YCC presidency
Five students will vie for Yale College Council president in this year’s election, making for a significantly more competitive race than last year, the YCC announced on Thursday. Aadit Vyas ’20, Azaria King ’20, Christopher Moeckel ’20, Saloni Rao ’20 and Shunhe Wang ’20 will all be running for the position of president. In addition, three students are running for vice president and one for events director — the two other YCC officer positions.
YCC to pilot free menstrual hygiene product program
The Yale College Council will launch a pilot program starting next Sunday to provide free menstrual hygiene products in three residential colleges. Based on the findings of its January report on menstrual hygiene, the YCC will start by implementing the pilot program in Morse and Silliman colleges.
YCC kicks off election season
Around 30 students attended the Yale College Council’s first candidate information session on Wednesday evening, marking the beginning of the YCC’s 2018–19 election season. Candidates will be running to fill the YCC’s officer positions, which include president, vice president, events director, Sophomore Class Council president and Junior Class Council president.
YCC holds faculty diversity town hall
The Yale College Council, in collaboration with the Graduate Student Assembly and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, drew a crowd of around 30 attendees to a University-wide town hall meeting on faculty diversity Tuesday evening.
YCC report calls for more athletic trainers
The Yale College Council on Saturday published a report recommending that Yale’s athletic department invest in more athletic trainers, expand meal swipe options and start a tutoring program for student-athletes. Authored by the Yale Task Force on Student Athletes, the report is based on data gathered from a November town hall, a series of surveys, an assessment of athletic facilities at other Ivy League schools and the personal experiences of members of the Yale Student Athlete College Council.
This year, don’t call it Screw
On Friday, Feb. 16, just as they do this time every year, hundreds of first years will hit the dance floor accompanied by blind dates. Some may end up spending the night together.
YCC calls for longer dining hours
The Yale College Council has found that the dining halls are becoming increasingly crowded as the undergraduate population grows, according to a report released on Sunday night. The report also concluded that the University should shift dining hall hours to better accommodate student preferences. The YCC decided to investigate the topic after a fall 2016 survey revealed that many students are dissatisfied with dining hall hours and the flexibility of using Durfee’s swipes.
A$AP Ferg to headline Spring Fling
Hip-hop artist A$AP Ferg will headline Spring Fling this year, the Yale College Council announced on Wednesday at Toad’s. In an announcement video starring “Psychology and the Good Life” professor Laurie Santos, which drew cheers from the crowd at Toads, the YCC revealed that CupcakKe, Dagny and Madeon will accompany A$AP Ferg at this year’s concert.
College courtyards go smoke-free
All college courtyards will now be smoke- and vape-free, according to an email sent by Head of Hopper College Julia Adams to members of the college community on Monday evening. The Council of Heads of College voted to make residential college courtyards smoke-free during the academic year, Adams wrote in the email, which said the rule will apply to both smoking and vaping.
Blood drive raises 251 pints
As Yale and Harvard squared off this past weekend in the hockey rink and on the basketball court, other students participated in a different type of competition — the annual Yale vs. Harvard blood drive. Sponsored by the American Red Cross Association, the blood drive takes place every January at Yale and every February at Harvard. This year, Yale’s drive collected 251 pints of blood, surpassing last year’s total by 12 pints.
Students begin master-class series
Paul Gross ’20 and Michael Michaelson ’20 were eating in the dining hall last fall when the idea for the Yale Politics Initiative came to them. Noticing the lack of activities on campus focused on political practice as opposed to public policy, the Grace Hopper College sophomores envisioned a nonpartisan organization in which students interested in politics could learn from experts and each other.
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