Many
knew
General
Secretarial
candidate
Naman Munot
before they set
foot in BITS
Pilani.
He
claims he was
actively helping juniors out before the onset of
this semester, and clarifying their various doubts
about college. “Everyone I helped didn’t end up
in BITS Pilani,” he says.
When asked to weigh his chances for the
position of General Secretary, Munot chose to
make his stand clear by to kick-starting
discussion on his manifesto points and their
feasibility. When asked why he decided to stand
for the post of General Secretary, he hinted at
his interest in taking up leadership and leading
the Students’ Union for the benefit of the
BITSian junta. Certain speculations are
understandable, especially after the Auditorium
Debate, but Munot remains confident. “The
Auditorium Debate went fairly well, I was
thrilled to hear the support from the back seats,
where the first years were seated.”
Munot takes great pleasure in talking about his
innovative,
albeit
somewhat
ambitious
manifesto. Firstly, the ‘biometric mess signings’,
which he wants to bring in to avoid proxy
signings for all mess signings in general, relies on
using a finger print scanner. Though it appears
that the final power still rests with the head of
the club, department or association to forcibly
sign people, Munot feels that the number of
fake signings will be reduced.
Another interesting proposition is his idea of
having ‘XF’ in BITS Pilani, for people who want
to learn a particular skill. He assures that he
could pioneer teaching dance, photography and
technical skills like coding etc. to students by
seeking professionals who can come once in a
week and extend service at low costs. Though it
appears to be a promising idea on the surface,
this could ruffle some feathers in certain clubs
and departments that conduct such workshops
during Oasis and APOGEE.
A few of his manifesto points proved to be
better thought out, though they may require a
little tweaking. His idea of having fruit stalls
around campus seems to have garnered great
support, as has his idea of having a career fair.
This would help build relations with the vast
BITSian alumni as well as an insight into the
kind of studying required for exams like CAT,
GRE, IAS, IES, UPSC and GATE.
Furthermore, the proposal to bring the facility
of medical check-ups for students, in
collaboration with hospitals outside Pilani, is
something Munot feels is the need of the hour
in our campus.
The Sports Elective offered in his manifesto
needed better backend planning, though.
Moreover, the grading for this course would
have to be standardised in an adequate manner.
“I’ve executed everything necessary from my
side. I’ve submitted the proposal; if they accept
it, they need to come up with the kinds of tests
to be given. Moreover, it’s targeted at creating a
healthier BITSian community rather producing
athletes.” He suggests creating a separate
department and recruiting more faculty for
sports for this purpose.
As a message to voters, Munot says that he isn’t
a political person, and doesn’t want to play by
the set norms and conventions of politics, unlike
the others. The same applies to his manifesto
points which are, he claims, fewer in number
and more realistic than those of others. He says
that he will make no empty promises and if
elected General Secretary, he will do his best to
lead the Students’ Union. Here’s wishing him
the very best for these elections!