The election for 54th General Student Council, which was to be held online from Nov. 24 to 25, was officially declared invalid on Nov. 25. Woolim has registered as the sole candidate, with Chang Eun-ah, a junior majoring in Chinese Language and Literature, as president and Park Seo-lim, a sophomore majoring in Global Sports Management, as vice president. The name Woolim, meaning echo in Korean, reflects the council’s determination to actively hear out students’ voices.
However, as of Nov. 25 8:40 p.m., the election campaign headquarters have received three penalties for submitting the poster and information package late, not revising the promotional materials, and posting incorrect profile information on the presidential candidate’s profile. After receiving the final penalty, Woolim filed an objection, but this was rejected by the Central Election Administration Commission. There was no objection from students and the election became invalid. Woolim was officially disqualified from the candidate positions, and it has been announced that there will be no re-election in 2021.
Woolim’s pledges and public hearing
Next year, in 2022, the Central Election Administration Commission will decide on whether a by-election will take place. If no candidates stand for the by-election, the emergency planning committee will again replace the General Student Council.
Woolim held two election campaigns on Nov. 17 and Nov. 22. They set four main pledges prior to the election: solving the lack of courses, resuming cultural activities, lowering tuition fee, and improving the school’s public image.
For the upcoming year as new student representatives, they promised to ensure students’ right to learn and increase the quota for classes. Through the formation of task forces, they plan to conduct surveys and request an increase in the number of full-time faculty. They pledged to ask for a change in teaching methods upon the government’s Living with COVID-19 policy and reduce the mandatory semesters for chapel classes.
Woolim further made a pledge to resume “Welcome Back Ewha” cultural programs that have been suspended due to COVID-19. They have also promised to solve the problem of tuition fees long considered unfair by students, by demanding special scholarships until the pandemic ends and a more transparent financial management from the school. They were to ask the school to expand its legal cost and funding for the school council.
Last but not least, Woolim was determined to deal with offensive internet postings about Ewha by forming a legal advisory group and strengthening monitoring on false information. They planned to actively improve the school’s public image through YouTube.
Based on these pledges, a public hearing was held on Nov. 18 at the Student Union's Small Theater. It started with Woolim presenting its policies and answering the Central Election Administration Commission’s questions for 15 minutes. Afterwards, there were supplementary questions on the candidates’ pledges including a detailed plan of the “Welcome Back Ewha” cultural program and how they will solve the contrariety of the tuition fee reconstruction.