The Public Policy Club (PPC) at BITS is an organization which seeks to inculcate an understanding of public policies and current events. The club provides a way for students to exchange ideas and views through fortnightly group discussions on current events from a non-partisan standpoint. PPC also organizes various talks and panel discussions on a variety of political and social topics throughout the year, along with specific events for Oasis and APOGEE. The OEP sat down with the coordinator of PPC, Avani Sharma, to find out more about the events that they will be hosting in Oasis 2019.

For the first time ever, PPC will be hosting two events in Oasis. The first is a popular event called ‘Turncoat’, which has been organized by the club for the last two years. It consists of an impromptu debate in which the participant must switch sides and counter their own arguments at the instruction of the judge. This encourages participants to see both sides of an argument. Avani believes that this event integrates the theme of ‘Neon Noir‘ which they interpreted as an oxymoron, much like the concept of Turncoat itself. The second is a completely new event called ‘Realpolitik’, an auction-based event where political leaders are auctioned. Each leader is assigned a price with seats on the cabinet as currency. The participants need to create a council of eight members by maximizing the popularity and tact, while simultaneously minimizing the volatility. This event was a huge success as a standalone one last semester, which encouraged the club to include it for Oasis as well. They have decided to integrate the theme by setting the stage in a dystopian future, in accordance with a typical noir setting.

In the weeks leading up to Oasis, the members prepare the topics for Turncoat debates while still working on Realpolitik. As the latter is a completely new event, it requires immense effort to be executed perfectly. In preparation for this event, the members must assign values to the leaders and make mock runs to test the smooth working of the game.

Avani added that she has had a positive experience as a coordinator, with everything running smoothly throughout the fest preparation. She added that these events have no prerequisites and encouraged students to participate in them. She hopes that these events can promote social and political awareness amongst the BITSian community in the most entertaining way possible.