Striving to make each vote count

It’s election time on campus and the student candidates of St Joseph’s College of Commerce were in their element, leaving no stone unturned to secure their votes.

   From decorating the college with colourful banners to dancing and beating drums, those standing for election wanted to make sure that their peers had a ball before they set out to cast their precious votes.

There were many positions to be filled, including that of student body president, vice-president, treasurer, general secretary, ladies’ secretary and the cultural, academic, sports and BBM coordinators.

Like in any democratic set-up, any number of students were allowed to stand for
election as long as they fulfilled certain criteria.

Says Sneha Rai, the student body governor, “All those interested can stand for elections but they need to have scored at least 60 per cent in all their subjects, have no backlog and maintain a good record in college. The student body should ensure smooth functioning and work as a bridge between the students and the administration.”

The students had only a week to file their nominations and come up with innovative campaigning strategies before the final voting day. And even on the voting day, everything was organised perfectly at the auditorium.

The electronic voting machines were brought in and every student stood in a line, patiently waiting for their turn.

There were 25 candidates who stood for elections. It was mainly open for the second and third-year students, but the first-year students enjoyed the campaigning too.

“It was like an ice-breaker for them and a great way to get to know the seniors,” says Tresseta D’cruz, a second-year student, who was standing for the post of vice-president.

Candidates had different motivations behind standing for elections. For Aquila, a second-year BBM student, who was contesting for the ladies’ secretary post, it was the need to bring her hard work to the fore.

“Last year, all of us put a lot of hard work into all the events held in the college. So, I felt it was time to take up more responsibility and put in more work for better functioning of the college,” she adds. Rahul Gomes, a third-year student, who stood for the president’s post, agrees.

“I was actually hesitant to stand for elections but it was the faith given to me by my friends and even Nixon, last year’s president, that urged me to give it a shot. I believe that I can fulfill the responsibility of the post.

The rest is left to the students,” he states. The nervous bunch of candidates say that no matter what the results turn out to be, they will still work hard towards making the college a better place for every student. Interestingly, majority of the candidates have similar goals in their campaigning.

“Ultimately, we want the college to be one big family and work as one,” says Suveer Ahuja, a second-year student, who was contesting for the post of general secretary.