One of the first words Arnab Karmokar (‘25) used to describe the role of student government was “fun.” A three year StuCo veteran, Arnab knows the ins and outs of emceeing at class competitions and organizing Selfie Knockout—things the student body sees on the “outside.” But Arnab says there is another side to StuCo that is just as important. On the “inside,” he believes StuCo needs to become the motor behind systematic changes at ASIJ.
A crucial point of focus in Arnab’s campaign for Student Body President and one of the primary systemic changes he thinks StuCo should drive is improving the high school advisory program. Arnab believes the advisory system, as of this year, falls short not only of what it claims to be in ASIJ’s handbook, but also of its potential. Advisory, says Arnab, is a key time where serious and meaningful conversations about social issues should take place alongside fun activities that would knit advisory groups closer together.
Yet in conversations with his peers and through a survey on the effectiveness of advisory that he conducted as part of his final AP Statistics project last year, he’s convinced that advisory isn’t hitting the mark. “Right now, the ‘fun’ [part of advisory] isn’t necessarily fun and the ‘serious’ isn’t necessarily effective,” Arnab said.
Arnab says a change to the advisory system needs to come from students. He cited the work Enough is Enough did last year raising awareness about sexual harassment and sexual assault as an example of the power of a student-led initiative. “I think it was effective because it came from people who were passionate,” he said. A similar initiative is what will improve advisory, Arnab says, and he believes he can lead it.
Arnab derives the strength of his leadership from his extensive experience. As a StuCo representative for his class since ninth grade, he has built a strong connection with the members of his grade and his continual role on the council has given him the opportunity to observe and learn from past efforts led by former StuCo teams.
He is also a leader for the South Asian Student Union (SASU), the Music Production Club, and was the speaker manager for TEDxYouth@ASIJ this year. An active member of ASIJ’s theater community, Arnab often earns himself leading roles on the stage and amongst his peers behind the scenes.
Furthermore, Arnab says that, as a member of a minority group at ASIJ, he is able to represent a diverse set of voices. His work at SASU and TEDx has been all about uplifting a variety of student identities and stories, and he hopes to continue doing that in his efforts to restructure the advisory program if he were elected as Student Body President. “I want to incorporate more student opinions, more student perspectives, more student feedback,” Arnab said.
Fun is still a part of Arnab’s plan, but he also wants to make sustainable change for years of high school classes to come. For him, it starts with advisory.
