Welcoming the last month of 2021, CBT reporters reported on what has been accomplished by the 53rd Cross General Student Council of Chungbuk National University over the past year. The reporters had an interview with Oh Tae-young, the current president.  In short, the main commitments made by the council over the past year were: ‘Entering buildings on campus with a mobile student ID QR code’, ‘Pre-freshman orientation’, ‘Improvement of the campus police system’ and ‘Gradually opening the central library for 24 hours on a daily basis.’

1. What were some of the most impressive and memorable episodes while running the student council for a year?
  There were positive and negative episodes. First, on a negative note, I attended the TF team meeting to decide on a face-to-face/non-face-to-face class management system in the second semester. Approximately 2000-3000 students were hoping for non-face-to-face lessons, and I communicated the preference of those students. However, since I was the only student representative at the meeting, it was impossible to persuade them.
  On a positive note, there was notable progress in the North-South game between Chungbuk National University and Chungnam National University. To make students feel proud of Chungbuk National University, I thought that internal cohesion had to be solidified first. For this reason, I had continuous discussions with the student president of Chungnam National University. Also, I think we were able to complete the game in non-face-to-face sessions thanks to a lot of interest from students.

2. What were the least and most popular events organized by the student council?
  It seemed that the students were most satisfied with ‘Entering the buildings on campus with a mobile student ID QR code.’ The mobile student ID QR code was very satisfying, because it has the added advantage that anyone with a smartphone could benefit from the convenience if they chose to do so. Also, I was very satisfied because it was a goal with long term, recurring positive effects.
  On the other hand, the worst example was the ‘Pre-freshman orientation’ which was a bit of a disaster. To be honest, the student council was ambitiously preparing for it, but at that time we also had the North-South game, Gae-shin festival, internal conflicts, etc. Therefore, it was disappointing that pre-freshman orientation was cursorily completed. Many of the new students did not know the location of the actual buildings on campus because of COVID-19, and they did not know much about the special school programs, such as the ‘lifelong mentor’ program either. When I try to honestly evaluate myself by asking “Did you meet their needs?,” it is difficult to give myself a good score.

3. Could you give us a progress report on your commitments; Which have been achieved, which are still in progress, and which have been cancelled?
  Let me mention two specific commitments. The first one is the pledge to set up physical education facilities, like horizontal bars, on the university campus. Dialogues are underway with the city hall and the Physical Education Promotion Agency, but specific discussions are currently still in progress on who will take charge of the facility management, who will be held responsible if anyone is injured using the facility, and where exactly to install it. Since these are all complicated questions, there is a strong possibility that this pledge will be handed over to the next general student council.
  Furthermore, there are pledges related to the operation of city buses on campus. Currently, the 710 bus runs through the university campus, and the student council is discussing the addition of another route, which was one of our main commitments. To this end, the student council is in a continuous dialogue with the ‘Traffic Management Division’ of Cheongju city hall, and the exact route has not been decided yet. This issue is also related to the traffic flow in Cheongju, so it seems difficult to get quick results. Students are also planning to hand it over to the next general student council.

4. Do you have any final words for the students of Chungbuk National University?
  I would like to sincerely inform students about our ‘Student Council.’ To some, the student council may be little more than a mechanism to carry out business, and some may think the student council is simply an institution, proceeding an event, or simply think of it as an insider group. Currently, however, Chungbuk National University consists of three social groups: a faculty society consisting of professors, a staff society consisting of civil servants working on the university campus, and a student society. I think that the student council must exist as an important mechanism to convey the opinions of the student society to the other groups.
  In addition, there will be a university presidential election at Chungbuk National University next year, but without the representation of a student council, students may not have their best interests represented. Currently, the student participation rate is 2.5% in the university presidential election, and students can see the downside of the university presidential candidate only committing to advance the interests of professors and faculty members. In conclusion, I think the student council is inevitable for the alumni and all the members of Chungbuk National University.

By Hong Soo-min | sm41@cbnu.ac.kr
By Choi Jin-hyuk | jh41@cbnu.ac.kr