On Monday, 11th November 2024, the Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) held an open meeting to update the student body on the work that they have been undertaking since the start of their term. With an unusually large turnout of about 45 students, the meeting largely involved the ministers talking about current achievements and future goals.
Apprenticeship Program
At the outset, Samarth Jain (UG’24), AUSG Vice President, Samarth Jain (UG '24), spoke about the First Years Committee’s (FYC) new “apprenticeship program.” Through this program, each member of the FYC will now work with a different facet of the SG. The aim is to introduce first years to the “breadth of the SG”, according to Samarth. This is “because in the last couple of elections, we felt that if first years come in through the ministry, they only know that ministry.” This way, they also get to know “what the cabinets do.”
What are the Ministries upto?
The ministries discussed similar work that they had put out in their August-September 2024 monthly report, and their upcoming plans still remain the same.
Arushi Malhotra (UG’2023), the Environment Minister, spoke about upcoming projects regarding e-waste and plastic segregation. The ministry has “created a comparison report with the three year sustainability policy that the admin releases”, Arushi said. The Environment Ministry has observed that the admin has actually not planted any trees, as opposed to their plan. Additionally, Arushi announced that the ministry now has a Point of Contact (POC) for sustainability. This person will manage major events next semester, such as Agneepath.
Sania Bhargava (UG’25), the Minister of Academic Affairs, spoke of some of the ministry’s achievements and aims – syllabus repositories and handbooks. They also have a “course registration workshop coming up, especially for first-year students to help [them] navigate the process.” Lastly, Sania highlighted the ‘Ashoka University Student Scholarly Communication (AUSSC)’, a collaboration with the library, where students can publish papers within Ashoka.
Aryamaan Girish (UG’25), the Sports Minister, discussed upcoming plans of conducting sensitivity training with the Ashoka sports coaches. A big part of the ministries’ budget (Rs. 4400) this semester was used to organise their Night Run event.
Urja Hansraj (UG’24), Campus Life Minister, discussed the survey conducted on outlet prices, which received over a thousand responses from the student body. Urja thinks this “brings back the hope that students care about campus issues.” The data collected, however, has not been published yet. The ministry has continued to work on reducing prices too. For one, they have “asked the admin to match mess prices, and every food outlet should have at least a couple options as a snack for 36-40 rupees. We are trying to make it as accessible as possible.”
The CLM has also collaborated with the transport department to improve safety at Jahangirpuri. The two are “currently in conversation” so that they can “figure out whether Jahangirpuri is the safest shuttle station.” If it is indeed, are there alternatives to where the shuttles can be parked?
The Technology Ministry has been working on efficient email systems. As The Edict reported earlier this semester, they have incorporated ‘SG Compose.’ At the open meeting, Ibrahim Khalil (UG’25), the Technology Minister furthered this conversation and covered the introduction of anonymous emailing. “What we aim to do is to institutionally protect correspondence, so that students are not individually targeted,” he said.
Padmasritha Morusupalli (UG’25), the Minister of Wellbeing, “speaks about introducing a language barrier form that will address concerns communicating with the infirmary” staff. Sia Sarin (UG’2023), member of Jazbaa, spoke about their push for “diversity in the leadership of other clubs.” Diversity in leadership “should represent the diversity of the student body.”
Committees: Ambitious Goals, Problems of Attendance
Ahana Walanju (UG’25), Speaker and Secretary of the Alumni Relations Committee spoke about the committee’s plans to tap into the alumni’s financial network and connect students with the body. “Initially we were looking at alumni willing to fund particular fests, but they requested that we collate information on the larger needs of the student body.” The committee also plans to release a monthly newsletter, which has “access to the Workers Samadhan Fund, gives an update on all campus-related events, statements sent out by the AUSG, and work undertaken by the ministries.” She ended, accepting that they did not have “the best attendance record,” adding that it is something they are trying to work on.
Ahana also spoke for Prachet Sinha (UG’25), the secretary of the National Engagement Committee. The committee has launched the “national engagement database”, alongside a corresponding form, to accept entries and inputs regarding issues of national importance. She says that the inductions to this committee should be open by the end of this week. However, there has been no further communication regarding the induction cycle.
Aditi Warrier (ASP’25), President of the AUSG, spoke about conversations with the Commitee against Sexual Harassment (CASH) and Committee against Disciplinary Infraction (CADI). “There are a bunch of things that CASH does that are in opposition to their policies, like putting out monthly reports and having an active CASH support group, so we are looking to work on these things.”
Samarth, the secretary for the Constitution Review Committee (CRC), spoke about a document with a new proposed structure for the government, which they “are currently debating” on. Interestingly, he noted that it is “a more Indian parliamentary system, where your ministers or cabinets would come from elected representatives.”
Ananya Makker (UG’2023), the ex-minister for the Financial Aid Committee, discussed how the members meet, but “because it is regarding financial aid it is quite complicated. Before we can do anything concrete, we have to discuss a lot.” They go on to say, “For ABA, we have decreased the registration fee, and that is the sort of stuff we want to work on.” Makker has since resigned from their position in the Student Government.
Parvathy Pradeep (UG’25), secretary of the Diversity Inclusion Committee, said, “We have representatives from TransUnion, Democracy Collective, Northeast Collective, and an international student rep.” The committee is currently focusing on the Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC), of which the elections are currently being held.
The UG Council Secretary spoke about the advances in the Cohort Leadership program and other delays in work. The committee meets weekly – but of twelve meetings held so far, three lacked quorum. She mentioned plans to “facilitate and make a repository and send it out to schools, and tell them about Ashoka” for students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
The AUSG’s ambitious plans seem to have remained much the same since their previous monthly report – but with concerns over attendance records and questions of inclusivity, the open meeting gives an outlook of what is to come.
[Edited by Madhumita GI]
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