The SGA started a sit-in protest to “visualize” Ewha students’ concerns and opinions on the issues of students’ welfare and improvement of the level of students’ autonomy.
“We have been gathering signatures and conducting ‘Red Tree Campaign’ to make students’ voices heard on campus, but it seems that those are not enough to elicit the school’s active response,” said Jung Na-wee (Sociology, 4), the president of the SGA.
“By living in a tent on campus, we would be able to visualize the presence of students’ opinions and concerns regarding students’ rights and welfare issues.”
For the protest, the SGA members take turns to stay in a tent which can accomodate 10 to 15 people, to make sure someone is present in the tent all day.
“The sit-in protest will continue until the SGA receives a ‘substantial’ response from the school administration on issues on students’ rights and welfare in Ewha,” Jung said.
The SGA states that the current sit-in protest is not a follow-up reaction after the attempted General Assembly on April 4 failed as only 417 students were present, insufficient to enforce a General Assembly to be effective.
“This sit-in test is not the first time in Ewha’s history,” Jung said. “In the 2000s, there have been previous cases of sit-in protests in 2006, 2007, and 2008. This protest is solely the SGA’s decision to actively represent Ewha students’ voices for our rights.”
On this protest, most students showed mixed responses.
“I think people should appreciate the SGA’s efforts to fight for students’ rights,” Kim Da-mi (Politics and Diplomacy, 4) said.
“However, I do not think just sitting-in on campus will bring substantial changes in Ewha. Also, compared to the efforts the SGA makes, it seems the reaction of students or school is not that big.”
Until now, school has not expressed its official standpoint about the tent.
“We are worried about students’ health. We will try our best to do what is good for the students and school,” an official from the Office of General Affairs said.
Yang Su-bin
subinyang@ewhain.net