No.161 / Dec 12, 2022
On November 17, the 42nd student council hearing was held at YeonAm Hall at Ajou University. Unlike last year, the public hearing took place offline without restrictions on the number of attendants. After introducing candidates and the student council, We:A, the 42nd student council’s campaign was launched under the slogan, “Everyone dreams of us, drawing together.” After explaining their pledges, the first session was followed by questions from Ajou University Press: The Ajou Globe (The AG), Ajou University Newspaper, and Ajou Educational Broadcasting System (AEBS), and the second session was followed by offline field questions and online Q&A via QR codes.
Lee Hyo-sung (the Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering) and Lee Dong-hyun (the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) were the two candidates for student president. The pledges are divided into five areas: 1) Student society, 2) education/employment, 3) culture, 4) safety, and 5) welfare. There are 3 to 5 detailed pledges in each field, including transparent student autonomy, introduction of a 100-person agenda, improvement of educational infrastructure, and establishment of Ajou University.
The hearing started with questions about the five areas of pledges. The first field was about student society. Ajou Press asked Lee Hyo-sung about the difference between the student petition program that the student council responded to and the petition that more than 50 classmates sympathized with during the 14 days of the 41st student council, “Damah”. Candidate Lee Hyo-sung responded, “The ongoing student petition program is difficult to actually operate for various reasons, including the absence of publicity. We will reorganize the system so that students can express more opinions.” He added that the process and results of the agenda discussed by the Central Steering Committee that 100 people agree with will be listed on social media and the website, and it is different for the Central Steering Committee to discuss it, not just by the student council.
In the field of educational employment, Ajou Press asked about the improvement of Ajou University’s educational infrastructure. Among the three detailed pledges, the budget issue, the period required for replacement, and the priority of the all-in-one desk stool were enquired about. Candidate Lee Hyo-sung responded, “The budget is allocated to the replacement of aging facilities, but the priority of budget use will be discussed with the school and selected others, and the all-in-one desks in the aging classrooms will be replaced first and gradually.”
In the field of culture, Ajou Press asked questions about admission and graduation culture. Candidate Lee Hyo-sung was asked about the reorganization of the welcome package for freshmen and the graduation ceremony guidelines. He replied, “The welcome package for freshmen will consist of products that can bring a sense of belonging to the school apart from the admission certificate, not the existing product, and for graduation ceremonies, all graduation uniforms will form part of the department’s office and guidelines.”
Regarding the safety field, Ajou Press asked candidate Lee Hyo-sung about the issue of safety during school events. He was asked about the scope of the pledge and the specific action plan for completing first aid training for event staff. The candidate replied, “Although it cannot be enforced by other autonomous organizations, we will establish an environment where we can receive training for first aid, and we will receive this a week before an event. We have been promised first aid training from Suwon Fire Station and the Red Cross Gyeonggi headquarters.”
Finally, in the welfare field, Ajou Press asked candidate Lee Dong-hyun about the establishment of a barrier-free campus and how it would differ from the current map. He replied, “Since the existing maps for disabled students are not easy to update and promote, we will collaborate with the school’s student support office to produce and display them easily.”
In the second session, there were non-commitment questions, an on-site Q&A session, and online Q&A session. There was a question regarding We:A’s pledges and whether they were like those of the existing student council. He replied, “Because some of the previous pledges were not fulfilled, We:A presented pledges in a similar but slightly different direction to expand communication with students.” Some attendants stated that the answer was good, but others responded that the answer was superficial and not specific.
After that, online electronic voting results were received which took place from November 21 to 23. The total turnout was 63.09%, with 82.94% in favor and 14.40% in opposition, and We:A was elected. Let us wait and see what path We:A, the 42nd Student Council, will present and move forward, and how they will fulfill their promises.
By Kim Jae-hyun, AG Reporter
zxc2337@ajou.ac.kr
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