As the race for the post of General Secretary is heating up fiercely, the English Press Club (EPC) interviewed Moksh Goel, one of the three candidates contesting this year’s Students’ Union (SU) Elections.
Moksh is a third-year dual degree student pursuing an M.Sc. in Chemistry and a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Talking about his motivation to join student politics, he mentioned that he was rather uninvolved until his 2-2, primarily focused on his academics instead. His breakthrough occurred when he noticed the general inactivity of cultural associations and tried to bring them together through the Inter-Cultural Association Sports League (ICL).
According to Moksh, ICL observed a footfall of around 900 students per day and taught him about sponsorship negotiations, logistics, and the permissions mechanism of the institute. Expanding on his initiatives, Moksh talked about the semester-end storage service for coolers, the SU bus service, the branch-wise and SI talks, and academic drives for students, including the HuEl navigator. He also highlighted the introduction of complimentary access to Adobe Creative Cloud products, which he facilitated.
When asked why he decided to contest for the post of General Secretary rather than President, Moksh remarked that the General Secretary is involved in representing the institute at both internal and external events, which is something he wishes to work on. He added that the General Secretary is more focused on the ‘on-ground’ welfare of the students, which is where his priorities lie. Additionally, Moksh aims to improve the representation of clubs, departments, and technical teams through the Students’ Innovation Fund highlighted in his manifesto.
Talking about the future of the Union and GBM if he’s elected, Moksh highlighted the five pillars of his manifesto: infrastructural development, academic and career-oriented enhancements, betterment of student life and culture, strengthening campus partnerships, and improving student representation. His key points included making SAC accessible 24×7 with improved gym equipment and introducing transparency around PS-I fees and post-comprehensive-examination grading data. When questioned about the approvals required to complete his promised initiatives, he asserted that most of his points had been approved by the relevant authorities and deemed the remaining ones ‘visionary’, assuring that they too would be approved in the near future.
Highlighting the point about summer internship exchange programmes, Moksh claimed to have conferred with the Associate Dean of International Programmes and Collaboration Division (IPCD), who liked his idea of leveraging the existing 2+2 collaborations (such as RMIT and CentraleSupélec) to also include exchange programmes for all BITS students.
Upon being questioned about his lack of commitments and subsequent lack of leadership experience, Moksh firmly said that his ‘independent’ initiatives made up for the skills that being in commitments typically offer, such as logistics management, negotiation, and leading from the front.
Moksh remarked that an ideal President, General Secretary, and Students’ Union should work for the welfare of students in every way possible, and hoped for a ‘synergy’ between the elected representatives. On a parting note, he urged the GBM to utilise the ‘excellent’ environment around them and make good use of the alumni network. He advised the students to vote wisely and make an informed decision considering all the candidates.