Daijiworld Media Network-Bangalore
Bangalore, Jul 5: After a gap of eleven years, St Joseph’s College,Bangalore, played host to the student council elections, and the response from the students was over-whelming. Students of all three years, from various combinations in the science and arts sections of the undergraduate college, competed for the posts of president, vice president, general secretary and treasurer.
The post of joint secretary was reserved exclusively for students of the postgraduate college, while the post of vice-president was declared to be open to female candidates alone. This brought on an overwhelming participation from the women students of the college, who were not to be outdone by the men in campaign activities.
Charts, posters and banners added a splash of colour to the campus, while bonhomie increased with meeting the candidates.
Albert Antony Legori of II BVC found the atmosphere in the college during the campaigning lively and entertaining. “Previously all the activity outside of classes used to be concentrated only in the canteen, but during the run-up to the elections, the entire campus was colourful and festive,” he said.
Lasang Lepcha of II BA (EPS) agreed and added that the campaigning alone helped bind people together. “I have personally seen it happen; the best part of it was seeing people come together not as a race or a tribe but as students of a class, course, department or an entire field. Now with the elections done, I am pretty sure it has already paved the way for the unification of the college,” Lasang stated.
It was an exercise not only in artistic and creative expression, but also in social contact-building and good governance. This was further cemented when the student population got to vote through electronic voting machines, after which the results were collated and posted according to the number of votes each candidate secured. The newly-formed Students Council saw a healthy mix of students from the Arts and Sciences.
President-elect Nigel Dominic John of III BA (IES) said he felt elated at being elected. “Life in college is not going to be the same anymore,” he promised. “More music, more activities and more colour is what I’m working towards. I intend to offer equal opportunities to all students when selections for fests take place,” he added.
Beginners though they may be, the enthusiastic and enterprising candidates proved, through sombre celebration and a forward-thinking approach, that grassroots governance is best begun young.