The Oasis English Press recently sat down with Arshita Mittal, the StuCCAn of the Department of Reception and Accommodation (RecNAcc), to get an insight into how the department works for Oasis.
Arshita began by mentioning that while most people know them as the ‘accommodation department’, they also handle inventory among various other things. Elaborating on that, she stated that they provide accommodation to all the judges, chief guests, artists, their crew members, and all the visiting participants. She added that they also handle the inventory used on a temporary basis during the fest, which includes basic needs such as mattresses, chairs, and tables, as well as special inventory like fairy lights and gazebos, amongst others.
Arshita explained that their pre-fest work comprises obtaining permissions, and arranging and tagging up locks and keys for all the rooms. In the weeks leading up to the fest, the department also works on collecting the inventory requirements of different clubs and departments, and booking the hotels off-campus and VFast for accommodating important guests and artists.
Talking about the challenges faced, Arshita mentioned that a major one each year is the accommodation of female attendees. This is primarily because there is only 1 girls’ hostel with limited capacity, in comparison to the 13 boys’ hostels. To overcome this, she stated that this year they would also be using the D Block of Srinavasa Ramanujan (SR) Bhawan to ensure enough accommodation for female participants. She added that the administration had been very accommodating of all of their requests.
When asked about her experience of managing the workforce as the StuCCAn, Arshita said that one of the major incentives she had was to ensure that her department was well-bonded and that there was an open channel of communication and mutual understanding amongst everyone.
On a parting note, she said that, ‘The fest is more than just a prof show, it is a lot of people putting in effort day and night to bring a sense of community and liveliness to the campus.’