Unopposed IVP candidate Komal Luthra plans academic, leadership initiatives
Komal Luthra, the unopposed candidate for Student Association Internal Vice President, has a platform featuring a focus on academics and SA leadership.
As current chair of the Academic Committee, she has focused on getting students more involved inside and outside the classroom. She described two of the committee’s goals: encouraging communication between students and professors outside of class time and eventually creating a used book exchange event to supplement online postings through Facebook groups.
Luthra, a Hanszen College sophomore, said she wants to continue academic reforms and particularly emphasizing teambuilding and leadership training. According to Luthra, the SA should have more leadership retreats for their members. The current retreat organized by the SA takes place in the beginning of the year, and Luthra said she believes more retreats should take place to connect New Student Representatives serving on different committees.
“The committees right now are functioning individually and I feel like there needs to be more communication between them whether it be on or off site,” she said.
She also said she hopes to connect with the New Student Representatives as IVP to improve the NSR program.
“There not only needs to be more one-on-one attention between the SA IVP and each NSR but there needs to be more collaboration so committees can work on something related [together],” she said.
For all students, Luthra wants to organize meetings offering leadership training and teambuilding.
Luthra is running currently unopposed. She voiced her excitement to become a part of the SA’s next group of executive members.
“My previous experiences have kind of inspired me to continue to push for change at Rice and improve things for students,” Luthra said. “I’m very confident that I can do so.”
More from The Rice Thresher
Startup incubator unveiled in Ion District
The Rice Nexus in the Ion building was opened to the public Feb. 14. The Nexus will assist selected faculty, student and alumni startups with office space and industry mentorship, free of charge.
Rice testifies for lawsuit against ‘devastating’ federal funding cuts
Rice joined 70 other universities supporting a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health, which may reduce research funding by billions of dollars. A Feb. 7 NIH memo announced a drastic cut to indirect costs, which covers overhead for research institutions; including funding for lab spaces, water and power bills and paying subcontractors, according to testimony from Provost Amy Ditmtar.
‘Collateral damage’: Houston’s top horn musician allegedly harassed Rice students for decades. And the school knew.
Rice University’s famed horn professor William VerMeulen abruptly retired last spring amid a swirl of sexual misconduct allegations. But dozens of students and industry insiders say “the administration has known for 30 years” — and failed to act.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.