Blackout:  Freshers’ views on the Blackout Period

Credits: Tanvi, Arnav
Mentors: Dhanay

This article is written by a panel of freshers as a part of Insight’s Be the Panelist, highlighting their experiences regarding the Blackout period that is observed in IIT Bombay.

Introduction 

Blackout was introduced in IIT Bombay to eliminate the ragging culture that had long existed in student life. Despite being well-intentioned, the rule continues to shape the early experiences of each new batch in complex and sometimes unexpected ways. 

Under this policy, no seniors are allowed to enter fresher hostels- H1 and H16, or to interact with first-year students, until the end of the mid-semester examinations. Additionally, no student body (except the general councils) is allowed to conduct orientations, events, or competitions in this period. During this period, forming unofficial social media groups with freshers and organising online meetings or informal sessions is prohibited.  

At this stage, the Institute Student Mentor Program (ISMP) serves as the only channel of communication, information, and guidance for the freshers. Though extremely valuable, many freshers find this to be very limited, given the numerous challenges they face in terms of adjusting to the new environment while staying away from home or the new academic rigour compared to the JEE times. 

The blackout period is observed till the end of mid-semester exams in IIT Bombay, following which these restrictions are lifted. Post this, general senior-freshman interaction is permitted, and all activities involving freshers, such as club orientations and events, begin. 

The End of Blackout (Orientations) 

With the midsems ending, the blackout period at IIT Bombay also comes to an end. As the restrictions on senior-junior interactions and other activities being conducted for freshers are lifted, all student bodies and clubs start conducting their respective orientations. 

With two months left for the semester to end, all student bodies rush to conduct their respective club orientations, and as a result, they take place over the span of two weeks instead of getting spread out. A lot of these events often clash, and things get quite overwhelming for the freshers to manage. As one fresher quoted:

“With so many orientations happening over a very short time, there were a lot of slot clashes, and we eventually had to choose what we wanted to attend, even before we knew what the club did. This, I felt, took away the sole purpose of conducting orientations, which should have been to give us exposure to all the activities and events that a club conducts, such that we can eventually decide what we’re more inclined towards and pursue that further.’’ 

Apart from the orientations, the various tech teams in the institute also start their recruitment drives. Each tech team wishes to complete its recruitment drive at the earliest in order to receive the maximum applications and also to recruit the best students. It is quite possible that a fresher isn’t really aware of what exactly a particular team works on, or whether they are actually interested in being a part of it. On top of that, their test and assignment dates also often clash with other orientations. This adds to the already overwhelming schedule for the freshers.  

With so much going on, freshers might start feeling like they’re missing out on so many things because they aren’t able to explore everything that’s happening around them. Some might feel so overwhelmed that they give up on exploring anything at all, or for others, it may feel like they are doing things they’re not even interested in just because everyone else is doing it. Neither of these outcomes are very healthy when it comes to personal growth. 

However, an alternate aspect to this can also be that a lot of freshers might actually need time to adjust to the new environment upon joining the institute, and thus,conducting these orientations earlier may overwhelm them, given they’re still new and adjusting to all the changes away from home. 

The post-blackout period is certainly very different from the time before in terms of the events happening, or the pressure one may feel to balance everything. A lot of students struggle with balancing their academics with all these activities swirling around, given that pre-blackout academics were all that they had to focus on. One might suggest that a possible solution could be to spread out the orientations such that the freshers can explore everything without getting overburdened. This, however, might not be practical, considering how every club has its other events and activities scheduled, and postponing the orientations further would mean delaying those events too. 

Senior- Freshers Interactions

Blackout, while originally introduced to prevent ragging and aid a smooth transition for freshers into campus life, has possibly become the equivalent of bringing guns to a knife fight. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the consequences and benefits of a slow and quiet start to campus life.

During the blackout period, seniors actively try to avoid freshers, not out of disinterest but out of caution. Accidentally breaking any rules and facing major consequences for something as small as a friendly conversation makes the option to completely tune out freshers much better. Many freshers don’t even know what blackout is or what it entails and as a result end up feeling clueless.

“Initial days in the institute felt more like a boarding school with the cycle of attending classes and completing chores in hostel rooms repeating endlessly. I sometimes wondered if this was what my next four years would be like.” A fresher recalled.

A few college tips from more experienced seniors might help in a smoother transition from the JEE life, enabling freshers to enjoy more right off the bat instead of college feeling like a glorified boarding school. In the current arrangement, the first two months of college might feel like a blur of classes and daily life chores. Most of the freshers are new to the city and just adjusting to living in hostels, so no one really knows any pastimes on and off campus. Seniors’ experience can help a lot in this aspect as well, be it fun activities in the city or some hidden gems on the campus.

In this silence, the Institute Student Mentor Program (ISMP) becomes the only formal link between seniors and first-years. Each fresher is assigned a mentor, a senior selected through a rigorous interview process, to guide them through their academics and campus life. On paper, it’s a thoughtful system designed to make sure every newcomer has someone to turn to, but like any relationship, its success depends on how well the two connect. Each mentor is assigned multiple mentees, hence their bandwidth is greatly reduced. The ISMP mentors are all third and fourth year students, who generally have extremely busy schedules with their internship and placement seasons going on, hence it might be difficult for them as well to manage multiple mentees, and personally attend to everyone.

Additionally, not every mentor–mentee pair clicks right away. In some cases, a mentee may not feel inclined to reach out to their mentor, not because the mentor isn’t capable of helping but simply because they couldn’t connect with them enough to trust them. This is where interaction with seniors might help. Multiple perspectives can help newcomers make informed choices— be it academic, cultural, or personal, and help them explore their interests. Often, an informal chat with a senior can offer the kind of honest, experience-based guidance that structured programs like ISMP might miss.

Although no restrictions on senior interaction and club orientations have their downsides, many freshers appreciate the peace before all the extracurriculars begin. No senior interaction right from the start also allows freshers to get acquainted with their batchmates. The interaction restrictions allow freshers to explore everything on their own without any fear of hazing or bullying. Freshers begin their campus life without having to worry about senior- fresher power dynamics right off the bat which facilitates a smoother start.

A Step Beyond Blackout

A long time has passed since blackout was introduced to put an end to ragging culture. It was designed to help our institute get out of a vicious cycle of ragging and promote a healthier campus culture. After all this time, the institute has definitely come a long way from those days, where today ragging has significantly reduced and the blackout policy has certainly played a huge part in this success. Thanks to  the strict directives and their rigorous enforcement the campus has become a safe space where newcomers are welcome and don’t have to be afraid of potential college hazing.

Although it has proven to be successful in its purpose, blackout still comes with its share of consequences. Freshers are completely isolated from the rest of the college, and this feeling of isolation can cause distress. The no orientation rule also intensifies the post midsem chaos, with numerous slot clashes and completely packed last two months of the semester becoming unavoidable. 

Thus, while this policy is essential to enforcing the institute’s zero tolerance policy towards ragging, some changes could certainly be made in its implementation. While rules such as entering fresher hostels and no trips for first-year students are totally valid, maybe some rules can be altered to fit today’s scenario better. Orientations can be allowed during blackout, spread out over time to avoid slot clashes later on. Some informal interaction with seniors can also be allowed. The prohibition on forming social media groups and hosting informal online meets can be reconsidered.

Ultimately, college isn’t just about classes and deadlines, it’s about learning from those who’ve walked the same corridors before. The question now is whether this policy can adapt to today’s campus community, maintaining the safety it offers while also enabling the meaningful connections that freshers genuinely need.