Every year—near the end of the Fall semester—AUA is full of pre-election posters, campaigning activities and promotional events; Student Council (SC) candidates compete for their spots in the Council. In the last couple of years, there was almost no competition and some seats were even left empty, having only two SC members in 2021. This year, AUA has five undergraduate representatives: Dayana Amirkhanyan, Armen Torossian, Arman Babayan, Hripsime Voskanyan and Ani Shahverdyan.
Currently, the Student Council (SC) has representatives from all colleges, but it’s not usually the case. In the last couple of years, the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) was the most underrepresented department, having one or two candidates, and for the previous two years—none.
“There should be someone from the CSE department because we feel kind of left out when the SC organizes something,” shared Hripsime, DS Junior. “They don’t know our problems very well.” A part of Hripsime’s motivation was to represent the CSE department in the Student Council, especially from the DS program, which, being a relatively new major, had no previous SC representation. Hripsime’s main role on the Council is event management and coordination.
While the students from CSE are active in other AUA initiatives, many shy away from applying for the SC because of a lack of time, motivation and application requirements.
Arman, CS Junior, explains that because of the difficult curriculum in CSE, often the GPA falls below 3.0, and students cannot apply for the SC. Many struggling with their classes might miss the opportunity of taking a leadership position. Even though volunteer work and community engagement are important, they shouldn’t jeopardize students’ studies. “There has to be some kind of limits and requirements; the University tries to find students who can both keep their grades up, get proper education and do volunteer work,” adds Arman.
Like Hripsime, Arman wanted to represent CSE and its students and give back to the supportive community. He believes that CSE faces a few problems that are not raised, and he wants to share the students’ concerns and make their voices heard as the SC representative.
Last year, not only the CSE department was underrepresented, but all the other departments as well. In 2020, SC had only two candidates, who later were voted to be members. The war and the pandemic were two obvious explanations of the lack of competition. “With the COVID and the war, people weren’t inclined to do new things and they were kind of depressed; so was I,” shares Ani, Business Sophomore. However, she is sure that as the students return to the campus and get involved in various SC events and activities, they will be more aware and interested in SC. Armen Torossian, who has been reelected for the Student Council in the 2021 elections, notes differences between the online and offline work of the SC. He points out that offline the SC is more effective and has an option of more engaging and fun events. With the students back on campus, SC’s efforts are more inclusive and touch a larger body of students.
Despite the decrease in motivation during the events of 2020, they encouraged some to be more active and extroverted. After online classes and being in a lockdown for more than a year, Ani “wanted to make up for that missed year, and make the coming years more effective and fun.” On the other hand, Dayana, EC Junior, knew that she wanted to be a part of the SC even before she got into AUA. In her application essay, she mentioned many activities that she wants to initiate or be involved in, and one of those was the SC.
DISCLAIMER: SC doesn’t only organize events.Â
Students might only notice SC efforts in event organization, yet that’s not their only role and responsibility. A lot of the work of SC happens backstage. They regularly meet with the AUA Advisory Board and the students. Armen emphasizes the importance of a dialogue between the University Administration and the student. He is also a part of the internal advisory board representing the voices of the students. “I wanted to keep that link between the students and the administration,” he explains. This year, particularly, SC members want to strengthen the bonds and connections between the students. “We are scattered around and we are not connected as much as we could; we are too independent,” shares Ani. While AUA students benefit from choosing their own courses and sharing classes with different majors and years, there is no sense of unity and bond among the students. SC has taken the role of being that connecting link for the students.
Another primary goal that SC 2022 has is to develop relationships with other universities in Armenia. Dayana and Ani are responsible for organizing joint events with other universities this year. “They do fun activities together, but without us,” says Ani. “We are the university that no one approaches.” The SC will break down this existing barrier and create fun networking opportunities for AUA students and Armenian youth. Dayana also works on social media to ensure SC’s online presence and make them more approachable.
Despite the lack of competition and student involvement, the SC remains a vital representative body at AUA. SC 2022 has already organized a few events and made progress in its internal activities. SC members suggest the students trust them and be in a continuous dialogue by emailing, attending the events, and following them on social media. Hence, they know what the student body needs. Without students’ cooperation and support, their efforts cannot be effective, successful and fun. And maybe, inspired by this year’s success, AUA will witness heated campaigns next year and students will have to make a tough decision casting their votes.
