The Parting Gensecs: Vijaya Gonugade
By: Shreya Murudkar, Elisha Joel, Panav Arpit
As the Students' Gymkhana representatives of the year 2021-2022 end their tenure, we look back at the journey of the Gymkhana core members, their ideas and vision for their respective councils, as well as their ongoing, incomplete, and complete projects. Read ahead to find out from none other than the ex-Gymkhana core members themselves - the VP, UGR, PGR and the GenSecs of the 5 different councils. This is an 8-part series with full-length interviews of ‘The Parting GenSecs’.
VIJAYA GONUGADE
EX-VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President is the central pillar of the student community in IIT Patna - looking over almost everything and anything that happens in and out of the campus concerning the students. The sanctity of this position has been admirably upheld by Vijaya Gonugade for the year 2021-22. Here are some of the questions that we had asked her about her journey, the numerous responsibilities, the ups & downs she had faced, and some takeaways.
Q - We just had our Gymkhana Elections and a new Vice President has been elected, what do you feel should be improved by the new Gymkhana, or would like your successor to work on.
Vijaya - There are a lot of things that need to be worked on. Now the common scenario is that, as a Gymkhana representative, you will face a lot of issues on a daily basis which will consume most of your time and prevent you from taking new initiatives. One of the most common and recurring problems is the hostel mess issue, which can be easily resolved if you decide on a proper mess vendor and working system, at the beginning of the academic year and pay detailed attention to their selection. Working on these issues from the beginning, would just save a lot of time and energy, and help you take more new initiatives over the course of your tenure.
There are many things that were planned to be implemented by me and my team but couldn’t due to the circumstances - such as the public bicycle system, gender-neutral entry into the common areas in hostels, and bringing the transportation facility back to campus. I would appreciate it if the new representatives take up these initiatives. I have also seen that the mental well-being of students is hampered a lot on-campus and off-campus. So I hope the future Gymkhana will work on forming listening groups in college where students can come and share their problems in a peer group. I think the main motive of the VP should be to resolve issues and make campus life enjoyable and productive.
Q - Your term included online semesters and the inevitable COVID waves which obviously meant that you had a lot on your plate and some extra responsibilities that came on your shoulders. Tell us more about how you took on these challenges.
Vijaya - It was a very challenging phase. As the head of the student body, it’s hard to do much just sitting at home. I had a very good team in the Gymkhana and supportive Deans in the administration. Even the administration wanted us back on campus but there were too many complications. We had a choice - we could either go against them and fight for reopening the college or co-operate with the administration and put forth our points and requests. To do the latter, the first task was to ensure that the administration understands that we want to work alongside them and not against them.
I spoke to students of other IITs and they had decided to go against their administration. I believed that if you do something chaotic and unorganized, then things won't work. For example, spamming with emails would rather agitate them and make your problem more complicated. I did not agree with this approach, I decided to do things more calmly. My approach was systematic - we created documents, studied the issues, and presented them before the administration.
Another issue was the communication gap in the online phase. Connecting a team during this phase, especially in the Gymkhana is quite difficult because people tend not to attend meetings and virtual sessions. Connecting with people improves massively in the offline mode.
Q - In your term, there must be a lot of things that you are proud of or that hat you have worked towards and you would like to pass them on as your legacy. Would you like to share some of these instances or some initiatives that you would like to be better in the future?
Vijaya - In a position such as this, you are working with the administration, and the people are looking up to you. Students expect a lot from you, so being a student representative is considered a big deal at IIT Patna. I mean, the administration had a reputation of rarely considering student involvement. Students were usually informed after they made a decision. A mail would be sent to inform students of the decisions they’ve made, and you must accept it with the excuse that no changes can be made at this point.
During our Gymkhana tenure, we had a new Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Smriti Ma’am, who was the A.Dean Academics previously. Atul Sir then took over as A.Dean Acad later on. Initially, all the emails that were sent did not involve student representatives. None of us were kept in the loop when decisions were made, even regarding matters like college reopening, and questions such as ‘who would come first’, ‘what are the accommodations we should follow’, or ‘what are the SOPs to be followed’?
In a phone call with the A. Deans around August 2021, we made it clear that the student reps were to be heard. The student reps refused to be limited to only conveying the messages to students and not being involved in the decision-making process. We explained to them that it should be a two-way process. The administration was made to realize the importance of the student community and its representatives. The position holders always do more for the student community since we have to work day and night, and I am not exaggerating here.
There were many situations where the student community had no idea of what the student representatives had to go through to make something happen. So, I think that student representation now has become a solid point for the administration. Now our voice is being heard. Even after we arrived at college for offline classes, there were scenarios where our opinions were not considered, and we had to argue a lot to have our say. We conducted open houses and constantly fought with the administration.
We held so many meetings to ensure that the students were heard, and we heard many bad things from the students. So I would suggest the new position holders maintain this relationship with the administration and help make everything at IIT Patna better.
Q - What is your personal takeaway from your tenure as Vice President?
Vijaya - There is so much to take from this post, this year, and all these experiences. All the love and respect that I received, criticism, diplomacy, friendship, enmity, and everything else was. I had to put aside my personal identity after I took this role, every time I walked on roads on campus, people used to say “VP didi ja rahi hai “. Once a post is added to your name, your identity changes with it and responsibilities add up with it. Carrying that identity well throughout is a whole thing in itself but it shouldn't go over your head, be egoistic and misuse the power. Having the power and as well as the responsibility, you can't fly high with it.
Changing the perspective of people and their mindset is what I would like to say one of my biggest achievements during my term. I’ve heard people always remark that ‘if a girl is standing up for the position, then we won't vote for her’, ‘after all what can a girl do?’. I wanted to change this notion, I did not want to add up as a ‘female’ VP, rather just let me be a good VP. At times I’ve received emails stating ‘Dear Sir’ , ‘Thank you bhaiya’. It’s as if people have set in their minds that a VP would only be a guy. So I wanted to bring this change into the atmosphere, and even in my journey ahead, I have realized that it doesn't matter if you are a guy or girl for any role.
Problem-solving was also another takeway. I don't have a habit of cribbing, I don't tell people about my problems as a VP and only rant about the administration not doing something or the students not doing something. Instead, I think and try to find a solution on what I can do and change the approach towards it. This changed things fast and to a large extent. This term also helped me work on my impulsive nature, I’ve become more calm, composed and patient. I learnt to be more diplomatic, to respond properly and according to the circumstances.
I learned to take criticism in a positive way, I learned to be a good leader. The VPs prior to me were not so easy to approach and people were quite scared of them. I made sure anyone could approach me at any time, I was open to communication. Although, I do feel that communication can be a part of the solution to your problem, but you should communicate it with the right people and at the right time would solve your problems faster. This term helped me learn how to handle stressful situations and I am more grateful for everything now. Thank you to everyone and thank you for giving me this opportunity, IITP junta.
You’ve reached the end of this interview! Thank you for reading the 1st part of the 8 part series - The Parting GenSecs. If you found this article interesting, do like the article and share it with your peers. Click on the button below to read the 2nd part of The Parting GenSecs!