By Rajendra Mohapatra

Cuttack: At a time when several educational institutions across Odisha witnessed chaos, violence, and the hurling of bombs during the recently concluded college elections, a completely contrasting environment prevailed at Udayanath Autonomous College (UN College), Adaspur.

Located around 35 km equidistant from both Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the institution set a unique precedent by choosing a peaceful selection process over political elections through a unanimous student consensus.

While academic activities were disrupted across half of the state's campuses due to election-related clashes, UN College kept its classrooms running smoothly and conducted national seminars instead of rivalries.

Institutional Legacy Enabled Consensus

The transition to a selection process was driven by the college's long-standing institutional framework. According to Hiranmayee Mishra, Administrative Bursar of UN College, the foundation lay in the campus's active Student Council system.

"Regarding our college, the students here are so good and well-behaved. Although we had to put in a lot of hard work and faced some stress, there was absolutely no unrest or disturbance among the students," said Hiranmayee Mishra, Administrative Bursar. "We convinced the District Collector that our students did not want political elections by presenting records from our Student Council over the past 15 years, where two student representatives are selected from every classroom for monthly issue resolution."

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Upon reviewing the historical records and receiving written consent signed by all 118 Student Council representatives stating they wished to avoid party politics and focus on academics, the District Collector and Education Department Director granted permission for the selection process.

Merit-Based Selection Criteria

To ensure fairness, a dedicated committee guided the nomination process. When multiple candidates applied for posts like President, Vice President, and General Secretary, candidates were evaluated based on a transparent, merit-driven evaluation framework comprising academic marks- 40%, attendance- 30%, cultural and co-curricular activities- 15%, conduct- 15% and personal interview- 10%

Healthy Environment Applauded

Principal Lulu Mina Dash emphasised that the success of the selection process was a collaborative effort involving students, faculty, management, and the local community.

"As per government directives, our college opted for the selection process. While violence and arson were occurring in other colleges, classes were running normally here. Students exchanged roses across departments and we even conducted a national seminar during this period," said Lulu Mina Dash, Principal, Udayanath Autonomous College.

"I extend my gratitude to the students, faculty, managing committee, and local villagers who expressed relief that no unrest took place, she added.

Student Representatives Reject Claims of Coercion

Addressing concerns about whether substituting elections with selection compromised democratic norms or was imposed upon the student body, newly elected student leaders clarified that the decision reflected a collective student choice.

"Politics should not enter our college, and the peaceful environment must remain secure. We were able to maintain that through the selection process. There was no imposition or unrest created," stated Pritikanta Panda, President of the Students' Union.

"Our primary focus is to fulfill our responsibility to protect the honor, safety, and infrastructure of the college built over decades," he added.

Echoing similar sentiments, the newly elected General Secretary affirmed that the process was both inclusive and peaceful.

"Our college's process was the most peaceful. In other colleges, I see a lot of violence and jealousy among students, but nothing like that happened here. Everyone was given equal opportunity, and all students together decided that the selection process was better," added IshaniAishwaryaNayak, General Secretary of the Students' Union.