Diet Coke is essentialFor Sri Venkateswara College fresher Ronil Batra, the election wishlist starts with a canteen upgrade: affordable Diet Coke, especially during exam season. “Diet Coke is basically the drink of Gen Z and the fuel during exam season. Give us Diet Coke and see how our productivity doubles. We’re not surviving on canteen chai alone anymore,” he says, asking for the product to be available at discounted rates in canteens or vending machines: “Whoever makes this happen instantly gets our vote.”Better Surprises, pleaseKirori Mal College fresher Gayatri Dave wants college fests to deliver on their “big surprise” promises. Her pick is California-based band Ignite. “Every year college fest committees promise a ‘big surprise artiste’ and I have heard every year we get someone nobody’s heard of, performing to an empty ground,” she says, adding, “We should, at least, get a lineup we’re excited to skip classes for.”Water shouldn’t be a treasure huntFor Sanya, a first-year student at Gargi College, finding a working water cooler shouldn’t be part of the timetable. She says broken coolers, dirty water and empty dispensers leave students buying bottled water between back-to-back classes. “This isn’t asking for AC classrooms; it’s asking for clean water that works. How is that still up for debate every election?” Sanya says.WiFi, but make it workAt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Kishank Singh has a simpler demand: campus WiFi that doesn’t collapse when students need it the most. “It disconnects every ten minutes and is basically useless,” says the fresher, adding that students often have to fall back on mobile data during submissions and study sessions. He adds, “Fix this one thing, and honestly, that’s half the manifesto sorted.”
