In order to enter the E-House, temperature check and hand sterilizationare essentially required. Photo by Heo Sol
In order to enter the E-House, temperature check and hand sterilization are essentially required. Photo by Heo Sol

Despite the continued surge of the pandemic, dormitory entrance for the 2020 fall semester occurred/happened. In the case of the spring semester, dormitory admission was canceled due to the onset of the pandemic. Limited registration was offered for the summer as students were required to take remote classes. However, for this semester, the dormitory provided regular admission process with new principles.


First, those who were eligible for admission were those who were confirmed for the residence in the spring semester and guaranteed to live in dormitory for the fall semester.


The dormitory assigned one room per person in accordance with the social distancing guidelines. However, the rule of single occupancy has increased the cost burden on students who wanted to apply for the dormitory.


According to the 2020-Spring Dormitory Application Guide, E-House Quod room was around one million won, but the expense increased to 1.7 million won for this semester. Overall, dormitory costs have risen from approximately a 100,000 to 800,000 won.


Park Da-in, a freshman of HOKMA College of General Education, has been confirmed to join the dormitory for the second semester. She shared her thoughts on the increase of dormitory fees.


“Even though dormitory costs have increased, and are more expensive than other schools, I had no option. I am not from the capital area, it is cheaper to live in the dormitories than to live alone in Seoul.”


Park also applied for the dormitory because she wanted to take offline classes if possible, but the price seemed too burdensome for students.


The school dormitory implemented two stages for the admission process. First, students living in areas where it is possible to commute to school via public transportation were restricted. This means as long as public transportation for commuting on a daily basis is accessible, students are not eligible to apply.


Under the new regulations, students living in certain areas of Gyeonggi Province, including Goyang, Bucheon and Gwangmyeong, as well as Incheon and Seoul were restricted from entering dormitory.


After the announcement was made, students raised concerns on the school community such as Everytime. Students who reside in Incheon and some parts of Gyeonggi Province, where entry of dormitory was not supported were excluded entirely from the process. The main concerns were about the fact that commuting time for the restricted regions is not short, when compared to other regions that met the standards.


Lee Seo-woo, a freshman majoring in English Education who lives in Incheon, shared her feelings about the situation.


“I thought some of the students living in Incheon might be worried by the inability to apply for the dorms,” Lee said. “The sudden restriction to apply for dormitories might become a disadvantage for students living in the area, including myself.”


Lee also added that since the decision from the school was ultimately for the safety of the students, she felt the need to comply.


However, the school opened the second round of dormitory applications on Aug. 13. It announced that Incheon and certain areas in Gyeonggi Province were changed into eligible areas, which were originally restricted from applying in the first application.


“I think it was very fortunate that students living in Incheon and some areas of Gyeonggi Province could apply for dormitory,” Lee said. “Given this chance, it allowed students who have had difficulty in commuting to school or finding a place to live can now be in a better situation.”


Ewha Voice asked the dormitory manager for an interview about the information regarding admission process for this semester. However, the dormitory rejected the interview due to the heavy workload for the preparation of the fall semester and COVID-19.

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