Introducing ELA

The word 'ela' here has nothing to do with the word commonly used by the younger generation to express something close to "awesome", it's actually an acronym for English Literary Association. I was informed that I, along with the other 60-something students in my class am a member of this group by default. Apparently every student who reads English as part of their curriculum for a BA is automatically a member of the ELA. Now, I don't know who the ELA is, or what the ELA does, but I must pay Rs.50 to the class representative (how often I wonder?), ASAP. Apparently they "really need" the money. For what?

I admit, I didn't want to make a scene so I just kept my mouth shut and listened to this cute little senior give us this info when she strategically caught us right after a lecture on Bernard Shaw. Her words were punctuated every few seconds by an "okay?" which although written here might mean "did you understand darlings?" (when looking at the person who was saying it) actually seemed to mean "fuck you, just pay the goddamned money" (okay, I'm possibly disillusioned).

This girl is not my favorite senior (she's so fragile), so I chose one closer to that to pose my questions to. Apparently the English Literary Association of the University of Peradeniya:

1. Organizes Book Launches
2. Has Alumni Nights
3. Hosts Peduru Parties

I see 30% of this having any connection with English Literature. I see 0% of this being beneficial to the students who are compulsory subscribers. Maybe I'm just ill-informed about the whole thing, but hey, all the 'representative' kept saying (very emphatically) was "just pay the fifty bucks"!

I'm not grudging them the dough, but it seems that leaving the crucial question unanswered is a popular thing here. What are we paying for?