Proposal Critique — Vaibhav Chauhan — Vice President
Link to the complete proposals:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6l-0n0wTIWjWkRPU0RpZXN2dms
Proposal 1: Earn as you learn
Need: The intent behind this initiative is noble. The institute does have a number of weak students and help from peers can usher in a climate of learning. However, most faculties are already occupied with projects and have to invent projects for BTPs. The student job posting is a noble motive, practised in many institutions abroad, however, it may be redundant alongside the existence of social media, DC++ and peer recommendation. We note that the candidates drafting is in detail and his groundwork is impressive.
Feasibility: The ERP changes require major technical shake up and may take a long time to be implemented. If the student assistants have poor teaching skills, this scheme may fall apart soon. Since this requires assents at many bureaucratic levels and involvement of hundreds of professors and students, it will be a Herculean task to get this going with the assent and involvement of respective professors. We hope that the candidate will know better to start small on a trial basis and expand if suitable.
Impact: Currently, most 4 credit subjects already require 4 hours of classes per week and extra classes in addition to regular classes may be a further burden on academically weak students, especially if they are mandated. Besides, academically weak students are much less likely to attend classes in general, hence we wonder how effective extra classes can be. These classes, targeted at weak students will stratify the students and may become unpopular. A better approach may be to adopt techniques from foreign universities where student assistants help out all students and help in updating courses and preparing course material and evaluation and not just weak students, part of which is already fulfilled by TAs. The projects and the campus jobs segment of the proposals will democratise the existing opportunities and make them available to all students. However, we disagree with the candidate on the claim that it will create more jobs or project opportunities, it will merely appoint a different and possibly better applicants, at the cost of redundancy in the presence of DC++, FB, ERP mail and VP google group and additional effort in getting signed forms and appointing and maintaining web coordinators.
Proposal 2: Reaching out to and through the Counselling Centre
Need: Extremely needed in the wake of recent happenings on campus and across IITs. Identifying signs of depression and gatekeeping programs are required today.
Feasibility: Conducting tests via ERP is a relatively easy matter. However, with the current strength of the counselling centre with only 5 members, it is questionable whether they can serve a campus of 10000+ students.
Impact: While the problem persists, there’s no conclusive proof to the end that the reason depressed don't approach counselling centre can be attributed to the social stigma around counselling. A survey among the electorate could’ve proved or disproved that assumption. While the tests attempts to gauge behaviour of students, there is no precedent mentioned to prove that such tests may be effective in identifying disturbed students and can’t be faked. Other than diagnosis, the proposal should also aim to reach out effectively, by reinstating previously successful programmes such as the reach out week. Additionally, it should aim to educate students and professors in identifying stressed students and effective ways of dealing with depression of self and others.
Proposal 3: 5 Point Approach for Improving Placement Preparedness
Need: There is a lack of transparency and access to information among final year students when it comes to the pattern of tests and questions asked. This proposal can go a long way in democratising the process. However, there are existing, crowd sourced and well maintained repositories on MetaKGP and CDC website regarding placement process. Involvement of RS students is a necessary step since their placement statistics aren’t sparkly.
Feasibility: Most proposals are very doable. However, extra classes by department faculty for placement preparation will be hard to implement, since professors are already strained with work load. Additionally, number of core companies are very few making department and subject wise teaching efforts ineffective. A better approach would be to encourage registration in subjects like algorithms, machine learning, probability and statistics etc that are required skills during placements. That way there’s no hassle of extra scheduling of classes and other organisational problems associated with department wise preparation.
Impact: The candidate treats counselling as a one stop solution to placement depressions. Anybody who went through counselling knows that it requires several sessions before noticeable results and are a cure to sustained depression than a day of dejected mood. Students are more likely to rely effectively on friends and batchmates at this time than strangers.
The handbook and inclusion of RS students and alumni is likely to have a very positive impact on placement situations.
Proposal : Introduction of Performing Arts (Music, Dance, Drama) as Extra Academic Activities for First year and Second year UG Students
Need:The course structure as described by this proposal involves a rigorous education in the allotted Performing Arts, and is abstract. Our students get involved for Performing Arts not to analyse music across the centuries or to think about how to communicate ideas through dance, they are simply there for the fun that Arts entail. Societies and hall activities exist for this very purpose of developing skills in performing arts and other areas.
Feasibility:As the candidate claims to have contacted relevant authorities for support such as local artists and the Dean UG and received a favourable response with respect to their enthusiasm in implementing this proposal, implementation does not seem to be much of a problem. Nevertheless, teaching performing arts to hundreds of students and incorporating the diversity among the arts as the candidate mentioned would require a large number of instructors and their fee. Students’ enthusiasm to take part in such an analysis-heavy form of the performing arts is doubtful at best.
Impact:This would have a good impact in generating the taste for the arts among students. Nevertheless, these tastes are fairly indulged by societies like ETMS, WTMS, TDS, the four drama societies, and various competitions like the GCs and external competitions which provide a more enthusiastic platform among more experienced practitioners. Further, the activities listed as part of the course structure, such as performances at villages would involve a lot of investment of time from the students, unlike non-rehearsed activities like road construction in NSS. Adding this to the already strenuous academic schedule would discourage participation in other extra-curricular activities like soc-cult societies, in which performing arts are pursued under the banner of pure enjoyment.
Proposal 5: Profile Repository for RS Students
Need:There is a lack of visibility regarding ongoing research in different departments of the institute. Undergraduate students find it difficult to access information about the research projects going on in the institute, and since research scholars are heavily involved in all facets of research in the institute, this proposal would be welcome.
Feasibility:The workflow has been described in detail, and the webpages will be managed with help from the Web Coordinator of the Technology Students’ Gymkhana. Gathering the requisite data will be done with help of the Dean RS and Department RS representatives and compilation will soon be done thereafter. Feasibility is not an issue here.
Impact:Undergraduate students who are looking for complete information regarding ongoing research in a department will no longer have to struggle to approach several people since the information will be directly available on the institute website. An official repository of information regarding their work would prove helpful to research scholars for their future applications as well. However, the proposal states that better funding will arise without providing details of how and why said phenomenon would occur.
Proposal 6: To officialize a Food and Mess Monitoring Committee in order to communicate the grievances of the student community regarding mess food to the HMC and appoint two General Secretaries for the same.
Need:There is a dire need to involve the student community in policies regarding mess food as the HMC makes decisions without students’ concerns having any bearing on the outcome. There is a lack of monitoring of quality as well, which poses a threat to the nutritional welfare of our students.
Feasibility:A lot of students would be happy to work towards the improvement of the quality of mess food. To that effect, finding capable office-bearers should not be a issue. Standardising food across all messes will prove difficult however, as mess funding for some halls comes from unorthodox sources, resulting in a different selection of food.
Impact:Students have many a time filed complaints regarding the below subpar quality of the mess food till date, with little to no avail. Who is to say it will turn out any different this time around? The General Secretaries of the messes of individual halls already have the power to hold the hall accountable for providing food of poor quality. Perhaps, then, the problem lies elsewhere?
