From “Aao Aao, Natak Dekho” to the melodious voices of students from the music society filling the air with magic, college societies are a wonderful getaway from the hectic schedule of classes and assignments. You might be a part of a society or may have tried to join a society or catch a performance sometime. Ever wondered what goes behind creating these societies and starting from scratch?
I am a third-year BCom (prog) student from Motilal Nehru College, Delhi University. And it is a fact that our college isn’t talked about much in the circuit. But honestly, it is like any other college with its sheer number of ups and downs. This college gave me and my friend an opportunity to intern with a firm during the summer break. The company wanted to open clubs in different colleges to improve financial literacy among the youth. We had a fair idea of the number of problems we might face. But it was only when college started that we realised that starting something from scratch is not the easiest thing to do. We went to talk to the administration regarding our plan, and we were indirectly turned down because of ‘long procedures’, ‘too many full-fledged meetings’ etc.
Most colleges in Delhi University have a strict administration that doesn’t allow new societies or clubs to open. When I said ‘long procedures and meetings’, I meant that to open a new society of any sort one has to take permission from the highest authority concerned. This is not a simple procedure because there is a whole committee that sits to decide whether they should permit the students to start something new. And the board includes everyone who is associated with the college administration. The plan was to open a new society which would aim at increasing the financial literacy of the students. We’ve all heard of stock markets but not all of us possess the knowledge that one requires to understand the market better. This was our aim – to make students aware of the technical and financial aspect of the market.
So currently, we are trying to open the club unofficially, which means not having any support from the college administration. Though it isn’t easy because if we ever have to organise a seminar or something the college administration would interfere. Unofficial clubs have a lot of barriers too. For example, it is not easy to promote a club that isn’t official. This is because students in colleges look for certificates and recognition of some kind, and being unofficial makes it difficult.
We were disappointed because we felt like we had a plan in hand and strong backing from the company itself. But after thinking over this, I realised that maybe our college did have a point. Maybe the administration can not just let anyone do whatever they want to. However, if our administration had given us a little more support, then perhaps we could have had an official trading club in our college.
One reason why a college like ours is probably not among the ‘top ones’ is due to the lack of platforms to showcase our talent and groom ourselves in a way that brings a positive change within us. Our college has a plethora of talent, but when sometimes even established societies are unable to get the support that they require, starting a new one altogether becomes a challenging task. In the end, all colleges face problems when it comes to dealing with the administration, but one must not give up.