SUC Report Card(2021-221): Venkata Vashishta
Written on June 14th, 2022 by {"login"=>"jcbphc21", "email"=>"f20181005@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"Journal Club", "last_name"=>"BPHC"}A thriving campus culture, fun festivities, and club events to create a vibrant atmosphere on campus, something that Cultural Secretary (Boys) Venkata Vasishta envisioned during his campaign ten months ago. As of the Second Semester 2021-22, out of the six points in his manifesto, 5/6 are in progress and 1/6 remain unfulfilled. Find the link to the manifesto here.
- Mental Health (Unfulfilled)
Owing to the pandemic, online classes, and the absence of peer bonding on campus, the Cultural Secretary, planned to introduce an “interactive platform” where students could play games and participate in events. However, no such platform was created. A prototype of the platform was also raised but it was still glitchy when the campus reopened. And given the fact that the classes were offline, the idea of an interactive online platform lost its requirement.
- Increasing GB’s participation (In Progress)
A Cultural Calendar with information on club events and inductions was to be released every month. This would build awareness among freshers and promote club engagement. According to the initial plans, it would have been a part of the SU portal. Venkata made an assurance that it will be available whenever the portal is complete.
He also planned to share a Cultural brochure that would outline all clubs' domains, purposes, and activities to appeal to students' interests and encourage participation. It was released as a part of the SU brochure containing all the relevant information.
- Off-Campus Engagement (In Progress)
The Cultural Secretary made an effort to increase off-campus awareness of our clubs and events. As intended, he instructed clubs to assign an ‘Outreach Coordinator’ to discover events outside our college for clubs to participate in. The coordinator would also locate freelancing and internship opportunities. It would expose our clubs to new elements to draw inspiration while increasing external participation in our fests. Outreach Coordinators were appointed with the aim before the fest. However, as the Cultural Secretary admits, there were still a few loopholes that ought to be filled. As a result, we couldn’t get the desired results but we can expect better execution and better results in the upcoming year.
- Monthly Cultural Nights (In Progress)
He came up with an exciting idea to hold monthly cultural nights for students to showcase their talents and interact with peers sharing their passion. A night to relax, have fun, and meet new people would be something to look forward to every month. One such night was organized during Diwali. However, it was only a one-time thing as future plans failed because of the hectic semester schedule and other logistical issues. We can expect more such nights regularly in the upcoming year.
- Online Sanskriti (In Progress)
The Cultural Secretary would organize an online Sanskriti to promote Regional associations’ participation and celebrate our cultural diversity. He hoped it would help orient 2020 batch freshers and improve socializing with peers and seniors. With the success of the fest, an attempt was made to organize an offline Sanskriti. However, the COVID outbreak and the approaching comprehensive examinations left the Culture Secretary with no window to organize the event.
- Campus Customs (In Progress)
Campus customs are what make college life the experience that it is. The Cultural Secretary emphasized the importance of student traditions and the memories left behind. To this extent, he suggested putting up a ‘wooden wall’ near Yummpy’s that the GB could paint and decorate.
He also suggested designating a “Fence of Memories” where graduating students would leave NFC tags to signify the memories they made over the years. An idea of constructing an aisle of BPHC is also in talks with the administration. The Cultural Secretary said that the administration welcomed the ideas. However, budget constraints forced them to delay it for a while. We can expect progress in the near future.