“This behavior damages the trust and broad democratic principle within the student society.” This quote is from the Korea University Club Association (KUCA): one of the two conflicting sides — the other being the KU Skin Scuba Diving Team (hereafter Skin Scuba) — behind Skin Scuba’s allegedly unauthorized occupation of a club room, still ongoing after more than five months. For those who wish to know more, the Granite Tower (GT) attempts to provide a summary of the situation as well as what will happen next.

On November 7, 2019, the agenda regarding the expulsion of Skin Scuba from central club status was passed during KUCA’s Club Representative Meeting. Despite the decision, disagreement between KUCA and Skin Scuba about the legitimacy of the expulsion followed. Since then, Skin Scuba has occupied their club room in the Student Union Building — a privilege only central clubs have — despite continuous requests on KUCA’s part to vacate it. GT confirmed Skin Scuba’s occupation has continued at least until April 8.

Although five months have passed, Skin Scuba has not yet defended their actions through an official channel; it can only be presumed that Skin Scuba’s club room occupation is a means of protesting their expulsion. Several reasons seem plausible for their refusal to accept the expulsion. As pointed out within KUCA’s meeting log, being left without a club room due to a change in status may be challenging to Skin Scuba, a club which requires owning and storing equipment.

However, the position Skin Scuba holds as a club within not only KU’s student community but also alumni society may be a more probable reason. From its establishment in 1968 to recently, Skin Scuba has always been a central club and carries on a long history. Moreover, Skin Scuba’s alumni make enthusiastic contributions in many aspects; some alumni provide free diving lessons while others provide financial support. Therefore, it may not be far-fetched to suggest that Skin Scuba’s hesitation to surrender partly lies in its affiliation with more than just student members as well as their noteworthy history.

By early March, KUCA had sent an official note to the KU Alumni Association (KUAA) in order to request cooperation and publicize the controversy by way of the Student Affairs Department. Additionally, they attached a campus poster calling for Skin Scuba’s immediate evacuation of the club room. As stated in the campus poster, KUCA is taking steps to put an end to the situation. “Although delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, KUCA is in cooperation with the school administration to involve law enforcement in the vacating of the club room.” The 37th president of KUCA, Woo Jung Min (’18, School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering), commented, “It is unfortunate that the situation couldn’t be resolved autonomously between students. However, school cooperation has become necessary, especially since the club room is legally a possession of KU.”

Concluding this controversy as soon as possible will benefit all parties; KUCA can resume all their normal duties and Skin Scuba can continue to be a KU club with a history to be proud of, regardless of their change in status. Hopefully a resolution to this conflict will be achieved in the near future for the healthy continuation of autonomous student activity.