Student bodies gear up for new year

As the new academic year approaches, students’ councils across the city’s colleges are preparing a host of activities. Karishma Venkiteswaran and Sneha Koshy reports.

As the new academic year approaches, students’ councils across the city’s colleges are preparing a host of activities.

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Following the Delhi gang-rape last December, where a 23-year-old girl was killed, the student council of Sophia College, Cumballa Hill, has planned to launch an initiative, ‘Breaking the Culture of Silence’, aimed at spreading awareness about gender equality and to fight violence against women.

“We were enraged by the rising rape cases in the country and wanted to do something about it, being students of a women’s college. The idea for this initiative struck us as we were brainstorming in the canteen,” said Priyal Gala, 20, president of the student council and third-year mass media student.

”We also plan to organise gender sensitisation sessions for Sophia’s students and their parents. Workshops for other colleges is also on the agenda.”

At the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay, the manifesto ranges from improving their existing facilities to introducing new developments that will benefit students. “Like last year, we want to introduce a food brand on campus to ensure better quality services at a subsidised rate,” said Abhijeet Mukhekar, a fourth-year student and general secretary of hostel affairs.

“We are also carrying out the some minor maintenance works such as fixing faucets and electrical circuits, so that students do not face any problems once the year begins.”

‘Cashless Campus’, an initiative by IIT’s student body last year, encouraged the use of cards for cashless transactions in and around campus. “We improved the system to make it glitch-free this year,” said Mukhekar.

The students’ council of KC College, Churchgate is in the nascent stages of planning workshops on students’ safety and disaster management.

“Last year, we had an online agency that created awareness among students on ways to keep themselves safe, for instance, while commuting. This year, we hope to conduct workshops on similar lines,” said Sahil Visaria, 20, a third-year BMS student of the college, and the general secretary of the council.

“We hope to see more social service activities being planned, as we want to orient students from the classroom, to careers, to communities,” said Ayan Jeloka, 21, a graduate of HR College, Churchgate and general secretary of the outgoing students’ council.