[Special] 2024 DGU Election Hearing – Day2

   On November 20, 2024, the second day of the public hearing for the election of Dongguk University was held. The public hearing was held from 6 p.m. at the seminar room of Dongguk University Hyehwa Hall, and concluded at around 9:10 p.m., followed by the College of Police Justice Student Council By-Election Branch 'Yeoul', the College of Police Justice Convergence Representative Council By-Election Branch 'Taepyeong', the College of the Social Sciences Convergence Representative Council By-Election Branch 'Hwarang', the College of Advanced Convergence Student Council By-Election Branch 'Chord', and the College of Education Student Council By-Election Branch 'Aureum'. It lasted about 3 hours and 10 minutes for intense questions and answers, followed by additional questions and answers to the candidates.

   The Dongguk Post asked the Yeoul of the Student Council of the College of Police Justice, Taepyeong of the College of Police Justice, the Hwarang of the Delegation Council of the College of Social Sciences, the Code Chord of the Student Council of the College of Advanced Convergence, and Aureum of the College of Education, excluding questions overlapping with other media. Among them, I will focus on the questions that were asked with the Student Council of the College of Police Justice and the Council of Delegates.

1. The College of Police Justice Student Council candidate, 'Yeoul'

Q. You said you would hold a vocational seminar, and we wonder what activities you plan to specifically pursue and whether you plan to receive opinions or reflect the needs of students to hold a seminar that reflects the needs of your classmates.

A. In our undergraduate school, there are many students who dream of various careers such as law school, auditing, correctional, and security services as well as the police. Therefore, we will contact senior students who are active in various series and have a 2-30-minute seminar on job description, study method, and Q&A. In addition, rather than listening to only one series of seminars, we will divide the time into 2-3 hours per person and appropriately distribute the number of people after a preliminary survey so that they can listen to various series of seminars. As far as I know, there was a survey on the reviews of the classmates after the job seminar this year. Based on the results, we will prepare a job seminar suitable for the class by grasping what series they are interested in and what content they want us to deal with. 

Q. Snack events during the exam are frequently held by other colleges and former student council members. Is there any direction of discrimination in conducting the event or any part that you thought should be supplemented in the course of the previous snack event?

A. The snack event is a welfare event that tries to help students who must be tired during the exam period, so I think there is no discrimination compared to other departments, but only a common direction that tries to be as strong as possible. Also, I think the 58th student council prepared well for the snack event during the midterm and final exams and successfully completed them. However, I saw a phenomenon where a large crowd gathered at once because it was a first-come, first-served method. In such a situation, we need to be careful not to cause any safety accidents and there may be lecture halls around the place where the snack event is held, so we will coordinate the field as well as possible to avoid any damage to the lecture. 

Q. The candidates promised to hold various events, but it may be too much for the budget to hold all events, so is there any countermeasure in case the budget is insufficient?

A. Most of the activities we mentioned in the pledge were carried out by the previous student council. Therefore, we will first plan the income and expenditure details of the event that will be held for a year by referring to the data from the previous convention and adjust the plan after each event is over. If the budget is insufficient, we will reduce the expenditure of the event or increase the source of income so that students can experience as many events as possible. Some events receive extra participation fees, which students will be able to adjust their budgets by receiving less or more so that they do not have to pay. Another way is to revise the expenditure plan of the event to reduce the size of the event or to combine the events that were originally held separately.

Q. You said you would like to push for an alliance project as a welfare measure, but  we would like to hear a clear plan to see if it is been discussed with the affiliate.

A. I have not contacted them yet, but I am planning to check what I need through the survey and find out what kind of partnership businesses had a good response.

2. The College of Police Justice Representative Council candidate, 'Taepyeong'

Q. For transparent audits, the audit results will be available on social media and in the student council room. It is natural to share the audit results, but it seems very important how the audit method is conducted. Specifically, we wonder by whom and how many months or weeks the audit will be conducted. 

A. In accordance with Article 7, the special audit committee for college students will consist of the chairperson of the college's delegation, a vice-chairperson of the college's delegation, a college student, and one member of the central audit committee under the other college. In addition, in accordance with Article 7 (5) of the same detailed regulations, about three additional students will be recruited for college students who are not members of the student council or the delegation council to form a special audit committee and to ensure transparency and fairness of the audit by making them familiar with the detailed regulations for implementing the audit. The audit will also conduct regular audits once in the first half and the second half of the year, as well as irregular audits for college events such as Saeteo, Daedongje and United MT. According to Article 11 of the same detailed regulations, regular audits for the first half of the year will be conducted from August 1 to August 31 of the relevant year, regular audits for the second half of the year will be conducted from December 1 to February 28, and irregular audits will be conducted within 30 days after the completion of the project. For other audits, transparent audits will be conducted and prepared in accordance with the respective detailed regulations. 

Q. You said you would prepare for factors that hurt the fairness and neutrality of the election, but we would like to ask what it was about if you discussed the factors that are worrisome or expected. 

A. From what we discussed, one could think of a dishonest campaign, accusations and distortions directed at another, cheating or pressuring voters to manipulate election results. Our council is prepared for those issues.

Q. Some of the pledges are related to the student council, but others may overlap with the work of the student council, such as keeping students safe. The student council is a check organization, but we wonder why you made the pledges in such a way as a student council.

A. Safety may be similar to the direction the student council is pursuing, but I think the safety of students should be the most important, so I made this pledge. I also promise to strengthen and develop student society by checking the student council.

3. The College of the Social Science Representative Council candidate, 'Hwarang'

Communication is the keyword of Hwarang, the campaign headquarters. The name of Hwarang means to open the future together through the power of communication. It wants to make sure that the student council and the representative council work together with mutual respect and cooperation to create checks and balances, and to make the student voice more powerful. Three of the main pledges include an opening assembly of delegates, an audit training program, and the formation of a self-legislating council. The focus is on raising awareness of the lack of the representatives across the College of Social Sciences and revising the outdated bylaws. Here are some questions and answers from The Dongguk Post. 

Q1. The candidate said that it will organize a council for self-legislation by selecting representatives from each department, and it is expected that it will be important to include the opinions of other students other than the representatives and get their consent. We are wondering if it has any thoughts on how to deal with the possible backlash from other classmates regarding the idea of self-legislation.

A: We are not legislating ourselves, we are just having a discussion about whether or not there is an opinion on the amendment and what the direction of the amendment should be. It would be against the bylaws for me to arbitrarily change the legislative body from the College of Social Sciences, and I promise I will not do that. The representatives are chosen from among the representative because it is expected that fewer people will be able to attend the meeting due to different schedules. I will allow the non-delegates to participate in this meeting and their consent will be taken at the representative council.

Q2. You are running as a single chair candidate without a vice-chair candidate, and we would like to ask you why, and how you plan to organize the representative council.

A: I had planned to run with a Vice Chair candidate, but due to personal circumstances, he had to drop out. I did have time to find another vice candidate, but I decided that it would hinder my ability to work with anyone other than person with whom I have a strong personal relationship and with whom I feel comfortable sharing my opinions, so I am running alone as a single chair candidate. I do not plan to have an executive board and will be the sole member.

Q3. You said that the College of Social Sciences has had a long absence of the representative council, why do you think that is? 

A: I think it is because many students were not aware of the existence of the representative, and I think the impact of virtual classes due to covid-19 has led to low interest in student organizations until recently. 

   When asked about the specific audit plan, which was not found in the manifesto, the candidate said that the audit will be conducted after reviewing the audit protocol and will be conducted in consultation with other colleges and the General Representative Council. 

4. The College of Advanced Convergence Student Council candidate, ‘Chord’

The Advanced Convergence College consists of the Department of Computer AI and the Department of System Semiconductors. The student council candidate group, “Chord,” emphasized the importance of the student council’s role in light of this restructuring. They expressed their vision of turning these new changes into a fresh start, uniting diverse voices and opinions, and moving forward in a new direction.

Q. As the former AI Convergence College transitions into the Advanced Convergence College, fostering unity between current students and incoming students is critical. Activities such as e-sports tournaments, which everyone can enjoy, seem ideal in this regard. Do you have specific plans for such activities, and how do you intend to encourage student participation?

A. We plan to hold e-sports tournaments regularly, once every semester. Currently confirmed games include Summoner’s Rift and Teamfight Tactics. Additionally, we plan to conduct surveys to gather student feedback on other preferred games and incorporate their suggestions. To efficiently manage and run the tournaments, we will use the Discord platform, enabling real-time communication between the student council and participants for a smooth operation. Regarding student participation, we aim to leverage the interest and enthusiasm students already have for the e-sports tournaments, as they have been an annual tradition since the establishment of the AI Convergence College. To meet their expectations, we plan to offer high-quality events and meaningful rewards to further encourage active involvement.

Q. Could you elaborate on your proposal to host a hackathon? What is the intention behind this initiative, and what are your plans to execute it?

A. The hackathon proposal is driven by three primary objectives: Firstly, to select award-winning themes from the hackathon and incorporate them into the following year’s Integrated Capstone and Innovation Project (ICIP) course, offering students a chance to develop these ideas further through practical projects.

Secondly, to increase accessibility to the hackathon and reduce participation barriers for underclassmen by adopting an individual application system, allowing students to join without pressure.

Finally, to establish the hackathon as a signature competition for the Advanced Convergence College, ensuring its continued hosting and enabling follow-up research in subsequent years.

Q. Considering the limited information available about the Advanced Convergence College, confusion among students is expected. Have you discussed specific measures to address this issue?

A. Acknowledging the current lack of information about the Advanced Convergence College, we plan to work closely with the administration to clarify and disseminate accurate information. Whenever new updates arise, they will be promptly and precisely communicated to students. To minimize confusion during this process, we will utilize various communication channels, including the student council’s social media, group chatrooms, and physical bulletin boards. Additionally, we will establish a real-time feedback system where students can ask questions or share their opinions, ensuring open and responsive communication.

5. The College of Education Student Council candidate, ‘Aureum’

Q. We think it is important to encourage many students to participate when holding association events at other universities. we wonder what method you have thought about to encourage students to participate.

A1. We plan to host various pre-event events to encourage student participation. Free stickers and lottery events will be held for those who regram our Instagram story. In addition, it will be promoted through Instagram, the student life platform, Everytime, and KakaoTalk.

Q. Regarding the policy of distributing the mock test for teacher employ exam, We would like to ask about the source of the mock test and I am also curious about the method of proceeding. In addition, we would like to ask if students in the teaching completion course can also participate.

A. The mock test is scheduled to be distributed in October or November, just before the teacher employ exam. In this regard, the academy that provides the mock test has an alliance with Dongguk University, and has already been discussed in advance. Therefore, the mock test can be distributed without any problems. In addition, we plan to provide the maximum amount of mock tests. The mock test will be distributed to juniors and seniors first, and the remaining quantity will be distributed to freshmen and sophomores in the field.

Q. We wonder what facilities you plan to supplement in the Hakrim Hall. Also, close contact with the student information and facility team is essential to supplement the facilities on campus, so we wonder how you will contact them and if you have any plans to form a TF team.

A. It will supplement the seminar room in the Hakrim Hall. This issue has already been discussed with the school. We also discussed with the academic operation office, and we plan to clean it regularly and pay attention to facility security in the future. Also, there is no plan to form a TF team.

Kim Do-hyun

Kim Ryeong-seo

Byun Jung-won

Jung Seo-yeon