The English Press Club interviewed Adit Mittal, one of the two candidates standing for the post of General Secretary in the 2024 Students’ Union (SU) Elections. Adit is a third-year student pursuing Electronics and Electrical Engineering, as well as a member of the Snooker team and the Economics and Finance Association. He shared that he is ‘heavily interested’ in finance, entrepreneurship, and consulting, and has been working on multiple startups and businesses. Adit was the Hostel Representative of Ram Bhawan last year and claimed to have completed more than 70% of his manifesto points. He further added that this was the highest percentage among any other Union Council member. He explained that he initially was skeptical about entering the Students’ Union because ‘it was conjoined with power-hungry men, dirty politics, and corruption’. After a month of thought he decided to take the step because he wanted to work for student welfare. He elaborated that the multiple problems faced by him personally and those around him motivated him to run for the Hostel Representative elections.
Detailing the issues he resolved as a Hostel Representative, he stated that he made newspapers and magazines available in the common rooms, maintained a fully equipped first aid kit for emergencies, and got filters for water coolers replaced. He also fixed the flood light placements of the QTs and arranged a separate shelf in the laundromat to keep the bags from getting damaged. He further mentioned that he got soap dispensers installed in each washroom and ensured regular filling of them by personally checking each soap dispenser every week. Adit explained that even though he did not add it as a manifesto point, he solved the ‘slow wifi issue’ in Ram Bhavan after a long three-and-a-half-month battle.
Adit expressed that his initial apprehension for the post turned into motivation, leading to the completion of his manifesto points. He later understood that many problems were not hostel specific and they could not be solved by the post of Hostel Representative hence, he took the decision to stand for the General Secretary.
When asked about the initiatives he took forth, he said that he conducted the successful live streaming for the 2023 ODI World Cup final, the successful conductions of ORM and ARM, eatery extensions, NAB timing extensions, Holi celebrations at South Park, and the SU Suit Service. He also claimed to have clarified various union discrepancies faced by multiple people throughout the year. Adit further mentioned that he was the sole representative of the Student Union managing Oasis and APOGEE as part of the Union Council.
When asked about challenges that he faced he explained that he was not familiar with the administration and was a bit hesitant to work with them. Initially, it was a barrier. However, once he started interacting with them, he got over his fear and started attending regular meets.
Adit ended with a message for the GBM saying that representatives sometimes got confused with ‘power hungry men or someone who is not reachable’. He emphasised that the GBM elects the heads and urged everyone to reach out to them.