Written by: Paranjaya Mehra
3 min readChandigarhAug 4, 2019 12:43 PM IST
First published on: Aug 4, 2019 at 09:40 AM IST
“In 2014 I used to fumble while giving presentations. Today I am confident about what I want to say,” Kanupriya says.
In September 2018, Kanupriya, then in second year of MSc Zoology, became the first ever female president of Panjab University’s student council. As PU once again gears up for elections, Chandigarh Newsline looks back at the journey of Kanupriya and SFS.
Talking about her tenure, Kanupriya, who completed her BSc and MSc in Zoology, says, “We worked against the privatisation of education. We worked for the 24*7 timings of girls’ hostels. However, we missed out on highlighting the fact that the permanent faculty in our campus is very less.”
On her future plans, she says, “Now I wish to move to social sciences from sciences. I have already secured admission in Women Studies department for post-graduation. I also wish to learn journalism. In 2014 I used to fumble while giving presentations. Today I am confident about what I want to say.”
About the students council office, she says, “After I became the president, the female students feel more comfortable in walking up to the cabin structure.”
“I wish the next president has a good perspective and thinks about people first,” she says .
Professor Harpreet Kaur, Head of Department, Zoology, says, “Kanupriya was always a good student. During an educational tour to Goa, I saw a different side of her. She used to mix with the group but also spend time alone, clicking pictures. That is when I realised her love for photography. She gave me printouts of two pictures clicked by her. She was like any other student, never among the extraordinary. All of us were surprised when she contested for the post.”
PU has a 75 per cent attendance rule for students to be eligible to take exams. Regarding her attendance, the Professor Kaur says, “ We kept reminding her about the same and were strict with her. She did not fall short of attendance.”
Vipul Atray, NSUI member from University Institute of Engineering and Technology and Joint Secretary of the student council, says, “Keeping in mind the communist policies of her party, I think she did well as a leader. Although she and SFS fell short in doing something academically substantial. They also missed out on their promise of vehicle ban on the campus.”
While Kuldeep Panghal, ABVP President, says, “while protesting, Kanupriya and SFS members forget that at the end of the day, they are protesting against their teachers.” Antarpreet, an SFS member said that the party was open to the idea of fielding another woman candidate in the forthcoming PUCSC polls.
“In 2014 I used to fumble while giving presentations. Today I am confident about what I want to say,” Kanupriya says.
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