Oculus 2020 Pre events

SPIT MUN

Model United Nations conferences are renowned for being highly engaging and thrilling. It is a platform for students to bring out their diplomatic nature. A stage where they can portray how well they grasp international politics and perform negotiations. With fruitful conferences held in the past, this year the Sardar Patel Institute of Technology was back with the seventh edition of its Model United Nations. Like the previous year, it was held as a literary pre event for the college’s techno-cultural fest, Oculus.

This two day event was attended by various students coming from and beyond S.P.I.T. This year’s edition featured two committees. The first was the United Nations Economic and Social Council or the UN ECOSOC, headed by Shivam Jain Kakadia as its president. The agenda for this committee was the discussion of the national economic restructuring of Latin America. The second committee was the United Nations Human Rights Council or the UNHRC. It held the deliberations over the protection of victims against torture in penitentiary systems, headed by Apurva Singha as its president.

With both committees being headed by esteemed executive boards, the sessions became quite fun and intense. The boards explained the rules of procedures as and when required. Every session consisted of debates and discussions where the respective delegates tried to explain their country’s stance on the agenda. Each committee had a logistics team to ensure smooth flow as well as photographers and a press team on board. The delegates were marked upon how well they represented themselves in their committees as well as their ability to tackle questions and counterpoints. The second day of the event was about introducing working papers and draft resolutions. Each committee had split into separate blocks which advocated their own set of points and tried to set up alliances to get their resolutions voted upon.

The event came to end with a closing ceremony. Both the presidents expressed their opinions on how they enjoyed chairing their respective committees and commended the performances of the delegates. The top delegates of each committee were awarded with a best delegate prize, while the other well performing delegates were awarded with special and verbal mentions for their efforts. This marked an end to another year of a successful MUN hosted by S.P.I.T, where every delegate, whether a beginner or professional, gained new insights and left with more experience than before.

“As a first time participant of the MUN, it was a great learning experience for me and I am inspired to participate in such events. “, said Shreya Gokhale.

Open Mic Night

An Open Mic Night was organized by SPark on 5th February 2020 as one of the flagship pre-events of Oculus. The decorated amphitheater added to the scintillating aura of the amazing night to follow. The sunset, the pristine view of the lake and the slight breeze, transformed the stage into a perfect ambience for the participants to perform their heart out and for the crowd to witness it. The host for the night was Mr. Pranav Nambiar better known as “Mr. Funny Bones”. The house was full, carpets were rolled and it was the time to begin the night with a bang. The show began with comical gigs by stand up comedians and the audience was in splits. They set the perfect tone for the performances to follow. There was a fine display of talents by artists who sang some dulcet Bollywood melodies leaving the crowd awestruck. Next on stage were the three standup comics of SPIT who performed the ‘SPIT Roast’. From spilling all the secrets of the college to passing sarcastic comments loaded with puns, they left the audience roaring with laughter. First-year students of SPIT also participated in great numbers by playing musical instruments flawlessly leaving the audience mesmerized. There was also a performance by a professor of SPIT Mr. Kaisar Katchi who sang melodiously setting the stage on fire. Several noteworthy acts like beatboxing and the recitation of self-composed poetry glorified the night and won the hearts of the audience. The experience of organizing this starry night was summed up by one of the organizers Sanjana Addagarla.

“Every performance was unique in its way and I was amazed by the talent of every single artist. It was an honour to organise this magical night.” says Sanjana.

Cubenama

One of the most significant and inspiring pre-events of Oculus 2020 was the Cubenama. The entire college was decorated with vibrant colours. A portrait of Elon Musk made entirely of tiny cubes was a spectacular attraction.The event saw a huge footfall of many cube lovers across the city. The event was a speed cubing test where the cubers had to solve their cubes in the shortest time possible. There were many categories including 3*3, 4*4, 5*5, pyramix and megamix. The competition was stiff and every second in the cube solving task mattered. The participants ranged from school going children to graduates filled with determination to solve the cube in minimum amount of time. The competition also saw the presence of some well known speed cubers who hold national and international records. We had Sheldon Rego, the national record holder for 6*6 category and also Bhargav Narshiman, the 3*3 one hand cube solving expert. Seeing the participants apply algorithms and solve the cubes within seconds left us all in awe and respect for their talent. There was a PS4 game lounge and a refreshment corner set up for the participants as a stress buster. The event concluded with the announcement of the winners in each category and were awarded certificates, medals, vouchers and cash prizes.

The Oculus pre events were huge successes and set the stage for what was to follow.

– Samveg Shah (FE COMPS) and Husain Challawala (FE EXTC)

Photography by Hrusheekesh, Gaurav, Rounak, Vaibhav and Sumit