General View
With a semester gone by, we reached out to representatives and secretaries of BRCA to analyse how BRCA has fared and gain a behind-the-scenes perspective into the internal functioning of the board this year.
With the last batch of reps having carried out the transition to an online year of BRCA events, the new team was able to get an idea of the constraints they had to work around. Hence most of the members found the workload at par with their expectations, if not lighter. Club meetings were held at least twice a month, allowing the reps to get to know each other better. However, they felt that they couldn’t achieve the level of bonding possible in an offline setting.
The GSec is easily approachable at all times. He always seeks feedback from Club Secretaries during Board meetings, which are held at least twice a month. Most of the time, the feedback is acknowledged and acted upon as soon as possible.
In most BRCA clubs, there exists some feedback mechanism. Usually, the best way is to drop a message in the groups or speak up during meetings. Most issues get resolved promptly. Some clubs float forms to collect feedback from event participants or share contacts where they can raise issues.
Clubs promoted the conception of new events and competitions, especially from club representatives. Special meetings were held early in the semester for the same, as any institute-wide events had to be incorporated into the annual schedule of BRCA events. However, if the reps have any innovative event ideas during their tenure, these can be held as hostel level events.
Note: Projects marked with a * are points from the GSec’s manifesto.
Complete Projects
Advisory Board*: A 3-member advisory board was set up with 2 members representing non-performing arts and 1 representing performing arts. This allowed decisions at the helm to be made faster and with more insight.
Rule Booklet*: The formation of a rule booklet (stating the ECA points system and event formats) at the starting of the semester, with thorough inputs of the club secretaries, ensured smooth sailing in all events.
Balanced Schedule*: Devised a schedule at the beginning of the academic session, with a better balance of events in the odd and even semester.
DGSec*: After careful consideration and deliberation, the Advisory Board and GSec came to the conclusion that the introduction of a Deputy General Secretary post isn’t warranted.
Incorporation of Design Club: The new club has received a great response, with participation in events exceeding expectations.
Inter-IIT QC League: One of the highlights of the online semester, the thriving QC was able to organise the Inter-IIT QC League in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay and IIT Gandhinagar.
Partially Complete Projects
Increase Participation (Hindi Samiti, Dance Club)*: The offline-heavy clubs like Music Club, Dance Club and Hindi Samiti were granted a lifeline with the increasing student presence on campus. Grabbing the opportunity, these clubs lined up events and saw increased registrations. However, the re-emergence of cases poses the question of whether they can keep up the growth in the online mode, with a possible infusion of enthusiasm from the freshers.
Website*: With the task to bring all resources related to BRCA under one roof, the Board set up a Design and Creative team. However, the task proves to be gargantuan, and the website is yet to be formalised properly.
Similar to the point above, the team is also revamping the social media handles*.
The team is examining the administrative problems faced during Rendezvous ’20* in an online scenario, and are planning this year’s edition keeping all possible formats (online, hybrid, offline) in mind.
Transparency of Scores & Involvement of Cultural Secretaries*: Each club’s scoresheet is shared with the cultural secretaries. A compiled official sheet is maintained by one of the club secretaries, who informs the GSec before updating it.
GSec has held meetings with Cultural Secretaries regarding incorporating them in
greater depth in BRCA activities. A proposal is being drafted for the same.
Incomplete Projects
Hostel Points Trophy*: The trophy based on Rep Points was planned to honour the hard work done by the Club Reps to inculcate their respective club culture. However, some clubs are yet to formally award rep points, rendering the trophy's establishment to a future academic year.
A Short Conclusion
BRCA has fared quite well in the past few months. BRCA Night was a success, with 600+ students streaming live at its peak and the session having 7.5k+ views already. Hopefully, that translates to even greater participation in the freshers-only events lined up till their majors. However, with Rendezvous’22 yet to come, the real challenges lie ahead. The final question, and perhaps the most important one, is whether RDV will be offline or online. The Club Reps, and even the Club Secretaries to an extent, are yet to organise offline events on a big scale. With all these uncertainties, we’ll have to stay tuned and hope for the best.
Written by: Avi Patni