The admission policies have an unerring weapon that serves the purpose of inclusion: the interview. Every Stephanian has to cross this, and these are the ten minutes where the student will be asked her economic and religious background. But most important is the column at the bottom of the admission form, which asks the student about herself. You can’t ace it until the college teachers see a spark in the student. That’s why there is no crash course yet for acing the Stephen’s interview.

The interview in itself makes space for a student from a disadvantaged background. The new symbol of power for the institution are the Christian students who build their identity, and sense of self-worth, by applying through the general category. There is space in the mandatory individual interview to provide for a poor or disadvantaged Christian, yet deserving, scholar. The college has always provided financial assistance to those who need it. This can be explored further.

And it’s not as if quotas don’t loom over the quota students. Myths abound: like the large history and BA programme classes are just ways for Christian students to get in. Students who get in through the ST quota wished they didn’t apply through it, while others, like my friends, both ST and Christian, applied through the general category. The flip side is the Hindu students who produced fake baptism certificates.

The college now has two things to protect: its identity as an institution which handpicks and grooms all its students. But more important is the sense of community that the college has built within its walls.

... contd.