(Disclaimer: None of the things mentioned in this report reflect the views/personal opinions of the writer or Leher at large. All of it is purely observational and strictly based on the general consensus of the attendees. We, at Leher, have tried to maintain utmost neutrality when it comes to covering the elections.)
The SIAS Student Government election season this year has observed some interesting trends. With the IC (a body historically known to be “not the meatiest position” according to one of the previous Representatives) having its speeches receive more turnout as compared to the MoCC and MoL debates, the Student Body has had extremely varied and unpredictable responses to the elections this time.
On 31st August, 2024, Seminar Hall 2 in the JSW Academic Building saw more empty seats than what would typically be expected of an MoCC Debate. The attendees speculated that it was the midterm burnout that led to a poor turnout (We totally did not try to make this rhyme on purpose). As five fierce candidates – Yuthika, Trisha, Pari, Krithvi, and Harigovind, all braced themselves to be questioned on their manifestos and plans, the SIAS Election Commission declared the debates open.
We had Harigovind Geethakrishnan (SIAS 2024-28), a candidate running for both MoF and MoCC, go first. He essentially set the tone of the debate by actively introspecting on his priorities between the two positions as well as what he envisions for the Ministry of Campus & Culture.
Following Harigovind’s opening statement, came Yuthika Mehrotra (SIAS 2024-28), a first-year, acutely aware of her status as a new student. However, she came in swinging with her points anchored in impressive amounts of research for someone who’s just begun integrating with the campus and its culture. Acknowledging that she doesn’t just want to restrict herself to the campus’ event planning, she highlighted the importance of the culture she shall aspire to contribute to. There were important mentions of leveraging the POSH Advocacy Group’s support and promises of bolstering the overall safety & security in her opening statement. Reminding the Student Body of their Constitutional Rights, she also mentioned wanting to foster moderated conversations between the two schools at Krea- SIAS and IFMR to have better cultural sensitization mechanisms in place.
Trisha Saini (SIAS 2023-27) went third, sparking conversation on the importance of honoring the rich sports culture that exists at Krea. She mentioned plans to upscale the grandeur associated with the annual flagship sports event BOLT, which saw support from a major soda brand Mountain Dew last academic year. Moreover, Trisha also planned to bring more attention and visibility to e-Sports as well considering the growing number of enthusiasts for F1 etc on campus. Lastly, she seemed to have an intimate understanding of the role and a good sense of delegation of work as she emphasized on the three distinctly defined roles of each member in the Ministry of Campus & Culture.
Pari Khanter (SIAS 2023-27) was up next. She mentioned having reworked her plans’ ambitions since her speech. Pari mentioned that she had changed the scope of her plan about eateries and food-joints being open on campus for 24*7 after labor laws and the logistical shortcomings associated with the proposal with it were mentioned. Her promptness did indicate that she was a flexible candidate who was receptive to feedback. So, as an alternative she suggested bumping up the timings of Kalai Naturals to an earlier time closer to breakfast, however that ensued a whole other conversation about procuring fruits from the Tada Market, prompting the student body to have a larger discussion on the nitty gritty of outsourcing things on campus. Pari also mentioned wanting to bump up the timeline of induction of the new PSVs (Peer Support Volunteers) to account for a seamless transition and a handover process. Moreover, she also mentioned using biometrics for entry to events (particularly DJ nights) to increase the safety & security. However, that proposal was also met with questions of timely retrieval and access and whether the sign-in sheets even require to be done away with.
Krithvi Vasan (SIAS 2024-28) went last and mentioned improving upon the cultural aspects and festivities on campus, citing the “shabby execution” of the recent Janmashtami event. Moreover, she mentioned wanting to bring back the activities carried out by Wellness Week by SIAS Embrace. Her proposal included having more art and dance therapy events, signaling the often overlooked need for such activities on campus.
However, the real show-stealer was the Situations Round where the Student Body members anonymously posed questions about relationship conflicts and put the candidates on the spot. They all seemed to take it in stride and have a good laugh about it. In all seriousness, there were also some situations which asked the candidates whether they would shut down an event or continue it in case of any emergency or potential safety risks. The candidates responded rather diplomatically, anchoring their responses in assessing the gravity of the given situation.
Overall, effective crowd management, revamping the PoC system for events, upscaling or increasing the scope of events, and the understaffing of Mental Health Professionals on campus seemed to be the hot topics of the MoCC (2024-25) debates.
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