Traversing through the Townhall Finale

Photograph of the Townhall by Saanvi Saurabh (Cohort of 2028)

On the 12th of February 2025, Seminar Hall 2 of the JSW Academic Building thronged with a cacophony of the student body abuzz with bittersweet energy as the SIAS Student Government 2024-25 observed their term’s last Townhall together.

MoCC Updates

The Ministry of Campus & Culture initiated their ministry-wise updates where they shared the plans they have for the upcoming festivities of Holi and other awareness workshops they wish to conduct, leveraging the institution’s support. 

MoL Updates

Followed by them, the Ministry of Learning addressed the elephant in the room, about the longstanding confusion between dual degrees and double majors. Dhruv Raghavan, the Year III MoL Representative clarified that there are no dual degree programs at Krea. All students pursuing double majors will still get a singular degree, the details of those pursuing a BA and a BSc shall be chalked out soon. Moreover, Trishna Saha, the Year II MoL Representative also asserted that the ERP system will be the dominant model for recording attendance and that the transcripts for Trimester 2/5/8/11 shall be circulated at the end of February. 

MoF & IC Updates

The Ministry of Finance updated the student body about the progress they have made thus far in extracting details about the Fee breakdown. Followed by them, the Information Coordinators, shared the progress on the PoC Document which has been underway for a while. They stated that they are working proactively with the Office of Student Life to ensure that an updated working document is released. 

Social Media Associate Directors & Election Commission Announced

Moreover, some major updates in committees associated with the Student Government were also shared. Amandeep Singh & Alaika Bansal, the Directors of the SG’s Social Media Wing announced that Aura Patnaik, Saanvi Saurabh, and Thanisha Sriraghavan would be assuming their positions as Associate Directors of the wing now. Shortly after, the SIAS Election Commission 2024-25 proceeded to reveal that the trial amendment for conducting interviews for the EC members didn’t work logistically and they are reverting to the Random Number Generator to select the new EC. In addition to that, they also mentioned that a cluster of CS Majors also volunteered to help design an alternative to ElectionBuddy, in light of OSL pulling funding from the platform for the elections. The following members were announced as the SIAS EC 2025-26: Aariya Thoumoung, Arnav Madhura, Kaif Patel, Namrita Thakur, and Natanya George. 

The Chairpersons’ Address

Lastly, the Chairpersons Harini Bhatia & Harshi Shah delivered a heartfelt address, reflecting upon their time as the longest-running Student Government members. However, it wasn’t long before there were a slew of questions about cross-access and the early onset of NOCs/room vacating procedures were posed to them. The key grievances included an extension of cross-access timings as well as addressing the limitations of provided luggage space in common rooms, particularly for International students as well as the beneficiaries of the Financial Assistance at Krea. The Chairpersons made note of all of these concerns and assured the Student Body, that despite this being their last Townhall, they shall continue to garner as much clarity on the matter until the official handover. 

Present Updates

As of now, the SIAS Student Government 2025-26 forms have been closed, and we await to find out who the new candidates are. Moreover, the SIAS Student Government 2024-25 has also issued a statement about the recent university-wide substance abuse advisory that was just shared. They have asked people to be responsible, safe, and ensure that they adhere to the campus’ general guidelines about the Zero Tolerance Policy about substances.