The Representative Face of the School: The Student Council President

There have been many incidents since the In:K Student Council was elected. In particular, the resignation of the vice president of the In:K Student Council caused a setback in the work of the In:K Student Council. This makes the In:K Student Council president’s job more difficult. The Pharos looked at how the president of the In:K Student Council will overcome the challenges facing him and what aspirations he has for his presidency. We also asked if the In:K Student Council’s initiatives and pledges were being carried out well. We met the president of the In:K Student Council, the representative face of the school, so we could ask the following questions and hear his answers.

Q. Please introduce yourself.

A. Hello. I’m Choi Yun-seong, the 32nd student council president of Kyonggi University and the head of the In:K Student Council. I am in charge of the student council's departments as a whole, and I am reviewing and pushing ahead with the student council's plans. The In:K Student Council must have had difficulty in regard to the situation of the vice president.

Q. How are you solving the problem? In addition, do you have any plans for the vacancy left by the vice president’s resignation?

A. When the In:K Student Council was elected last year and the stories about the vice president were posted on community sites and other types of social media, all of us were confused. The vice president was hurt and mentally traumatized, so he eventually decided to resign before the first semester began. Due to the vacancy resulting from the vice president’s resignation, I and the other members of the In:K Student Council have larger roles to play. At first, we had a lot of difficulties, but now we are fortunately working on our plans by doing our best. About the second question, I discussed with school officials whether the In:K Student Council could fill the vacancy with another person when the vice president resigned. They said it was impossible to appoint a new vice president because the position of the vice president is directly elected.

Q. How are you going to improve the low credibility of the In:K Student Council among students at Kyonggi University?

A. That’s a difficult question. I think the credibility of us is at a low level due to the incident involving the vice president. A lot of opinions have been expressed publicly, and people around me have negative perceptions. I and the members of the In:K Student Council worried about this situation, and we thought about ways to overcome students’ credibility issue. First of all, we think students’ perceptions will improve if the pledges we made during the election campaign and the events we have prepared go smoothly. We think showing the hard-working In:K Student Council to students will improve our credibility.

Q. There was a pledge about installing an elevator in Building 5. Is this pledge being worked on?

A. I keep talking about that matter. I have been discussing whether to install the elevator inside or outside the building, and how to apply the Building Safety Act depending on the circumstances. Currently, it is at the stage of conducting the internal safety inspection of the building to ensure the safety of the construction work. Then there’s an organization called the Council for the Advancement of the University that manages the budget for the school’s welfare requirements. The organization is trying to implement this pledge by designating it as a first-priority plan. Based on being chosen as a self-improvement college after the restructuring in 2017 and 2018, the school will receive about 8 billion won from the government. Also, I have had a lot of discussions with the president to appeal for the improvement of the educational environment.

Q. What’s the controversy surrounding the credit drop policy and how’s it going?

A. After the make-up policy was implemented, it caused harm to students. The credit drop policy is needed to help students who are unable to make up lectures. The school has expressed concern about this issue, since re-instituting this policy could have a negative impact on the university’s assessment. I inquired about this matter to the National Sinmungo. They answered that when the last assessment was administered, the credit drop policy was not a relevant factor. In other words, this policy is not going to harm anything. Therefore, to be sure of it, I am trying to receive an official document from the Ministry of Education, which confirms that it will have no impact on the university’s assessment.

Q. Is it possible to promise to make a library book cafe?

A. I have talked to the library a lot. Next to the campus shop in the lobby, there is a library office. This space is going to become empty due to downsizing and the library will switch it to a book cafe. There is no need for the office to use that much space, so this is the perfect space for a book cafe. The chief of the library gave a positive response and the plan is almost done. Once the School Strategy Planning Team confirms the plan, I think it will be possible to open the book cafe before my term is over.

Q. What is the student council doing to improve students’ welfare?

A. We are very concerned about students’ welfare. For example, we are working on plans related to the elevator installation in Building 5, the shuttle bus and the dormitory refrigerator. Specifically, we are concerned about education and welfare the most. That the largest number of us are committed to the welfare team is evidence of this. Many complaints and various welfare concerns have already been taken care of by the team. Staying at night in the student’s building, getting hot water in the lecture buildings and cheering up students during exam periods have all been problems that the team has worked on. To be specific about staying at night, we are trying to shorten the administrative procedure so that students can stay easily.

Q. Do you have anything to say to students?

A. It is very obvious that we are doing everything we can. We can promise you. There are students who think the student council is difficult to communicate with. We want to say that it doesn’t have to be this way. Particularly, visiting us is the greatest burden for students. That’s why we have opened many channels to communicate. We ask you to talk to us a lot because we want to hear from you. Kakao Talk and Facebook are your easily accessible channels to reach us. We are here for students.

The student council has prioritized reconstructing the faith of students because of what happened during the election. To rebuild faith, they have shown their resolute will to hear students’ opinions and respond to them. Also, like the spring festival, fixed schedules must be kept without any problems since this can be the start of rebuilding faith. This is not going to happen suddenly, but rather gradually the relationship between students and the student council will improve if all goes well. The school will also benefit from this change.

71st Reporter•PARK SINUI•dean0305@naver.com

71st Reporter•KIM JIN•coo0714@naver.com