The BOSM English Press (BEP) spoke with the CoSSAcn of the Department of Publications and Correspondence (PCr), Shreyas Sesham, to understand the department’s role in the upcoming fest.
The department’s primary duty is to manage correspondence and reprography. This includes contacting prospective colleges, handling registrations, and collecting payments. Their reprography work entails addressing the printing requirements of other clubs and departments. Furthermore, they are responsible for designing the logo, the brochure, and the access passes. They are in charge of conducting the fest snaps as well.
Talking about their pre-fest work, Shreyas explained that they start updating their contact sheet and reaching out to colleges around a month or two before the fest. Currently, they have 2200 registered students for this BOSM and are expecting more. He said that compared to last year’s number, they expect fewer last-minute cancellations and aim to bring in more than 200 girls and over 900 boys. Shreyas added that a lot of colleges that were not able to come previously are attending the upcoming BOSM, including IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, O. P. Jindal Global University, Ashoka University, and many more.
He shared that one of the issues they encountered was the limited accommodation available, especially for the female participants. This constraint impacted the number of students they were able to invite. However, Shreyas expressed his appreciation for RecNAcc’s efforts to improve the situation, stating, “RecNAcc is doing a very good job with respect to increasing the accommodation. I’m impressed with the way they have pulled it up”. Additionally, the department had planned to introduce a “variable sports registration fee” but it couldn’t be implemented due to certain limitations. Nevertheless, they are eager to refine the process and incorporate it in the following year.
Talking about his interactions with the CoSSAc and the institute, Shreyas remarked that they had been pleasant and smooth. He also credited the CoSSAcns for being understanding of each other. Additionally, he mentioned that collaborating with other clubs and departments, especially Firewallz, BoCo, SFC, and RecNAcc, had been effortless for them.
Providing insight into his role as CoSSAcn, Shreyas described it as an ‘eye-opening experience’. He emphasized that he had gotten to learn a lot and interact with a variety of people. ‘To understand different viewpoints and work together to make it a better version compared to the last BOSM was something really exciting to me,’ he added.
To conclude, Shreyas encouraged BITSians to attend the fest and support BITS’ sports teams. He urged the 2023 batch by saying, “Watch the games, eat at the food stalls, play in the adventure zone, go around various tents with your friends, and you’re gonna have the best five days of your college life.”