New Delhi: Rohit Kumar Yadav has been elected as the student union president of the prestigious St Stephen’s College. His victory even sweeter as he is the son of a senior gardener in the college.
The elite institution saw Rohit contest his entire campaign in Hindi, a first in the college’s history.
Harish mali is a familiar face – he’s been with the college for over two decades – and Yadav is a final-year BA Programme student. Times of India quoted College principal Valson Thampu as saying, “This is the first time that the son of a Class IV employee has become the president of the students’ unionâ€, adding, “It is indicative of social change and also the change in the attitude of young peopleâ€.
Teachers couldn’t be more chuffed for the student who’ll take the position once won by Shashi Tharoor and lost by Salman Khurshid.
Yadav’s win is no fluke either. He was ahead of his closest rival by 134 votes. There were three contestants for the post and polling took place on Saturday. The Open Court – the college’s version of the presidential debate – was held two days ago and there, Yadav became the first candidate to address the student body in Hindi.
As the ward of a staff-member, Yadav was automatically eligible for admission into the college. “The children of the staff were always admitted but it’s great to see them becoming confident enough to contest and their acceptability rising. Clearly the snobbishness of the college’s students has been tempered,” said another teacher at Stephen’s and DUs Teachers’ Association president, Nandita Narain to Times of India, adding, “Some years ago there was a conscious decision to admit students from a variety of backgrounds and that has changed the composition of the student body.”
College spokesperson and English teacher Karen Gabriel seconds that. “There are students from a wide cross-section of society. And there are attitudinal changes as a direct result,” she says.
This is also not the first time that a contestant from a humble background has fought the election but it is the first win for one, Narain pointed out.
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