‘SSU:TART,’ the 61st Student Council of the SSU, fulfilled its pledge in the midst of an off-season, representing students for a year, in 2021. At the end of their term, ST met with the president of the student council, and looked back on our year. ....................................................................................................... Ed
Many things happened in 2021, and it was a difficult year for everyone. There must have been many Soongsilians who experienced difficulty in visiting the campus due to the spread of COVID-19, compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, time passed quickly, and we are nearing the end of the year. We didn’t stop either. If not, offline? Even online, all members of SSU did their best in the untact era. They also spoke out to protect their rights. At the center of the voice was SSU’s 61st student council, ‘SSU-TART.’ ST planned an interview to look back on this year, and found the future direction of the student society, with Kim Chae-soo (Accounting Department, 18), the president of the student council.
ST: In May, the Online Spring Festival was successfully completed. ST wonders if there is anything special that you are focusing on for the event planning in the second half of 2021, including the upcoming Halloween Festival.
KIM: The point of the festival is ‘Participation.’ It doesn’t end with watching YouTube videos, but it’s designed to vote in person, and to communicate in real time. Moreover, the product was not in the form of a random lottery, but through participation in the website, points were obtained directly, and the desired product was purchased with the points they earned, prompting many students to participate. We wanted to make my classmates enjoy their college life for the last two years. We wanted to break the prejudice that the festival cannot be enjoyed because it is held online, and we prepared it so that anyone could easily participate. We prepared hard so that our friends could enjoy the direct benefits. It would be nice if you could participate in the festival with a happy heart. (Based on October 27)
ST: After the start of the second semester, students were confused about how to participate in the class. ST wondered how the discussion was conducted with the school.
KIM: SSU headquarters notified professors that non-face-to-face classes must be provided simultaneously for students who are unable to participate in face-to-face classes, and promised to guarantee students the right to learn. In this regard, the 61st Student Council was concerned that, with the delayed notice and change of operation policy, the academic notice might not be delivered smoothly to students and teachers. So, we requested to notify the professors through the Office of Education. However, despite such efforts and promises, it has been confirmed that many lectures do not guarantee options. Accordingly, the 61st General Student Association conducted and delivered a survey to report classes that failed to comply with the class method, and tried to implement the class method that was decided by the professors at the headquarters. As a result, many classes are being converted to simultaneous non-face-to-face classes and real-time video lectures. However, we were still able to check the classes that went according to the professor’s selection.
To guarantee the choice of our classmates, the 61st Student Council posted a letter on October 6, strongly demanding that the school headquarters fulfill its responsibility to comply with the headquarters’ policy and to ensure students’ class options. Furthermore, through a meeting with the head of the school on October 6, we again requested professors to disclose the report of non-compliance with the class method, and provide non-face-to-face classes at the school headquarters. Moreover, we were promised by the Office of Education to fulfill the responsibility of the headquarters to ensure that teachers comply with the principles of the headquarters.
ST: You’ve exerted efforts to fulfill and realize various pledges so far. Can you introduce a representative policy that you think you have implemented the best throughout the year?
KIM: I remember the remodeling of the library that was in agreement with the school headquarters at the beginning of my term. The school headquarters maintained that the library was scheduled to be remodeled in the future, and that it was difficult to implement this year. However, based on the need to reorganize library facilities, meetings with the school-related departments were held several times to persuade the school executives. The remodeling of the library was finalized in 2021.
The library currently consists of ‘Soongsil Square’ on the first and second floors. The reorganization of library facilities was conducted after about four remodeling meetings, reflecting student opinions from the central library, the student council, and the central steering committee. Many changes have been made to the library this year, but I hope that the library, a space used by many students, will be reorganized further. I hope the library will not just be a study space, but a library that students want to visit often.
ST: Do you have anything more to say to the Soongsilians?
KIM: If you look at the student society as a large ship that is floating on the sea, the Student Council in 2021, including this 61st leader, will be pushed back by waves after his term of office. However, the big ship of the student society must continue to move forward. For the student society to continue to develop and move forward in the future, student representatives are the most important components. Currently, regular elections for the Student Council in 2022 are taking place. Please pay plenty of attention to it. Thank you.
Park Jun-young (Web Editor)
juninge@soongsil.ac.kr
Park Hyun-tae (ST Reporter)
htpark@soongsil.ac.kr
