Opinion – The LUMS Post

30Dec

By adminNo Comments

Op-ed, Opinion

A Lobbyist’s Confessional

Author: Asfand Katchela The writer is from Sargodha. He writes every now and then. He has been a fan of LDS for very long. And as his first submission, he has clearly chosen the most popular take out there. There’s an American political thriller available online that’s far more gripping than the typical binge-watch fare. And no, for those of you who prefer your political dramas with a side of scheming presidents and backstabbing congressmen, this isn’t referring to House of Cards. The film I’m talking about is Miss Sloane, or perhaps more aptly, The Movie About Elizabeth the Lobbyist (cinephile creds destroyed already). The film is a masterpiece of suspense, pulling you into a high-stakes political battle where power, influence, and moral ambiguity c...

Rain Check: England and Pakistan’s T20 Preparations Drenched Ahead of World Cup

28May

By Iman AttiqueNo Comments

Opinion, Sports & Travel

Rain Check: England and Pakistan’s T20 Preparations Drenched Ahead of World Cup

By: Iman Attique The much-anticipated T20 series between England and Pakistan has been heavily affected by relentless rain, impacting both teams' preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup. With the third match in Cardiff abandoned without a ball bowled due to persistent rain, England's 1-0 lead in the series remains the only result so far. For England, this series was meant to serve as a final tune-up under the guidance of head coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Butler. England has played only 13 T20s since the last World Cup in 2022, a lack of match practice that could be detrimental, especially for key players like Jofra Archer, who has just returned from a long injury layoff. In contrast, Pakistan has had a decent run of cricket leading up to the tournament, with the Pakista...

16Mar

By adminNo Comments

Op-ed, Opinion, Uncategorized

A Golden Tragedy

By:Maarij Ali Tarar Cruising on the M2 motorway through the fertile tracts of central Punjab in winter, one is likely to see fields of green wheat stretching to the horizon. Come spring, these young green saplings will have matured into golden stalks, ready to deliver their fat grains into the calloused hands of the farmers. Of courses, it is also in spring, as farmers begin harvesting, that a farce on a grand scale begins to play out. This farce is the Punjab government’s wheat subsidy programme, a series of procurements and releases ostensibly to benefit the small farmer and poor urban consumer. In reality, however, each and every facet of this complex mechanism is designed to benefit large farmers...

The Productivity Games: The New Summer Olympics

28Sep

By admin1 Comment

Op-ed, Opinion

The Productivity Games: The New Summer Olympics

By Rida ArifThe words ‘summer’ and ‘productivity’ should be oxymoronic, or at least they used to be when I didn’t know what the word ‘productive’ meant.If you close your eyes and think of summer, do you imagine a fluorescently lit office, Excel sheets, and the burning blue light from a work computer? Seemingly, that’s what our student body dreams of — a glowing resume is the ultimate oasis. At the end of my sophomore year, my aspirations for the next few blazing months were very simple: watch movies, go ‘up North’, and read. What I did not anticipate was the guilt that followed.I felt the achievements of my peers creeping up on me like goosebumps in the cold: sneaky and uncomfortable. Every refresh of my Twitter timeline birthed more tweets about new internships, interesting coworkers, and...

The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Women’s Anger

18Sep

By Laiba AhmadNo Comments

Op-ed, Opinion

The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Women’s Anger

By Laiba Ahmad With Illustration from Maha Nauman (@mahnau on Instagram) TW: Mentions of harassment and violence against womenThree days after Noor Mukadam’s case broke out in the media my mother sat me down and said that if a man ever harassed me in public, I was to keep quiet and move on because we never know what men are capable of. What frustrated me was not the statement but how easily I accepted it. Gone was the raging sixteen year old who would have argued: “No. Men like this need to be put in their place.” I don’t know when it started, but my anger was seeping out and fear was crawling in.It was this moment of realisation which compelled me to explore how we, as women, are made to unfairly hold our rage in or abandon it in fear. From this exploration rises th...

Zoom: A Mirror Into Body Dysmorphic Disorder

17Aug

By adminNo Comments

Op-ed, Opinion

Zoom: A Mirror Into Body Dysmorphic Disorder

By Hajrah Yousaf TW: Body Dysmorphic DisorderHashim describes it as being hypnotized.As much as he wants to stop looking into a warped version of himself in the mirror, he just can’t stop. No matter how exhausted he gets (and exhaustion is always a given), he can’t look away. The vision in the mirror is a snake charmer, and boy is Hashim charmed. No, “charmed is the wrong word,” Hashim says. “It’s more like being repulsed yet still transfixed. If I could look away, I would.”Hashim suffers from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), which is a psychological disorder recognized by the DSM 5 and characterized by a preoccupation with a perceived flaw(s) in one’s appearance. These flaws cause a lot of emotional distress and can often impact one’s functioning. BDD is frequently accompanied by other men...

Choices and Obligations: To undertake a sense of responsibility

1Sep

By adminNo Comments

Op-ed, Opinion

Choices and Obligations: To undertake a sense of responsibility

By: Mohammad Basit Khan“We have a moral obligation. We have an ethical obligation. We have a legal obligation. We have a ... human obligation to be caretakers and gatekeepers of your welfare and your wellbeing, and we take that very seriously and we want you to be with us in this enterprise,” said Vice Chancellor LUMS Dr. Arshad Ahmad, during his address at the Town Hall Meeting held on Friday, August 21.When Dr. Arshad first addressed the burning question of campus reopening and declared the ethical standpoint the university had assumed during the 3- hour Zoom call, students were optimistic about having their demands heard at the Town Hall. After all, in the age of COVID, there is no doubt that the need of the hour is for compassion to be our guiding principle and to walk together to over...

31Dec

By adminNo Comments

Op-ed, Opinion

Digitising the Library

By: Mohammad Basit Khan and Wasay AliAre physical books really a thing of the past? In an era dominated by technology, e-books are all the rage, especially in academic institutions. Fears of obsolescence exist, yet libraries continue to be an integral part of university campuses. Instead, the inevitable has surfaced, in the way of collaboration, as a growing number of reputable universities all across the globe move towards digitization of libraries. At LUMS, the Gad & Birgit Rausing Library continues to thrive as printed books remain at the core of its services. A digitization project has been spotted at the horizon. However, budget constraints, infrastructural limitations, and user preferences on campus appear to be some major hurdles.The merits of digitizing the library make the cas...