In November 2009, the presidential election was invalidated when one of the participant parties Real Ewha was disqualified because of receiving three warnings for violating election rules. An election boycott broke out when candidates from Real Ewha shaved their heads to express their dissatisfaction towards the Election Management Committee (EMC)’s tight regulation. Reset Ewha, another candidate party, and students soon joined in the boycott and new elections were declared after only 20.41 percent of the student body voted.
The Ewha Voice asked the students about their hopes and expectations for the newly elected SGA. The survey was conducted on 139 students from 10 colleges, with numbers surveyed in proportion to the size of each college, from March 15 and 16.
More than half of the students (57.6 percent) answered that they wanted the next SGA to be responsible in keeping their promises. A second concern was from students who wanted a transparent SGA, with 21.6 percent choosing their characteristics over other keywords such as friendly, and socially conscious.
Regarding the official pledges of the two candidate parties, 44.6 percent of the respondents wanted expanded scholarships. Students also looked forward to an accumulating academic credits system (20.9 percent). A more exciting May festival attracted 12.2 percent of respondents; a tuition payment with credit cards was rated by 9,4 percent; the chance of various discounts on specials from businesses in Seoul as well as around school appealed to 8.6 percent. An early class registration system was rated by 4.3 percent.
Differences were found among students according to academic year. The majority (23 percent) of freshmen participants wanted a more exciting May festival, such as a collaborative festival with other universities in Sinchon. However, most juniors and seniors wanted the accumulating academic credits system along with expanded scholarships.
Inconvenience due to the absence of an SGA is another reason why students have been waiting for the new SGA. More than half of the sophomore, junior and senior participants (51.3 percent) said they experienced more inconvenience than last year, when there was a SGA at the beginning of the semester. Among respondents who felt inconvenience 89.7 percent said it was because they still haven’t received a student planner.
"I have to check crucial information on the school's academic calendar by myself. I did not buy my personal scheduler until March, and bought one recently. It is waste of money and resources if SGA makes student planners on May, because there are many students like me," said Choi Jin-sun (Economics, 4)
Some freshmen indicated that, without an SGA, they had no place to ask about school life and school clubs. But only 31 percent of freshmen participants who did not witness last year’s election process answered they had experienced inconvenience.
Son Min-ji
minjison@ewhain.net