Most high school students progressing into university would have dreamed of a more independent life, a life that they are fully in control of. However, the situation on campus does not allow students to be independent. Although one may be a student of KU, one may still not be able to use certain areas on campus. In the case of KU, where significantly large areas are restricted for students, the case can be interpreted as refraining students' rights to become fully independent. Regardless of the high tuition fees, students still do not have enough space to pursue autonomous activities.

 

The first and most basic problem emerges with the absence of independent space for students of the same major. In the case of Business School, there are approximately 2,000 students who do not have a single Student Union Room. Students of other majors may think that Business School students have the most independent space, some even available exclusively to Business School students. However, these students do not have a space on campus where they can meet each other and get to know other students who are majoring in the same area. Therefore, some freshmen have difficulty making friends quickly and there is less sense of community amongst Business School students.

 

However, having a Student Union Room does not necessarily mean that students benefit greatly from the designated space. The College of Liberal Arts consists of 15 majors and approximately 4,000 students, which is the largest number of students associated with a single college in Anam campus of KU. Because of the great number, all majors of the College of Liberal Arts have a separate Student Union Room at the Communications Building. In each room, students of the same major have a chance to meet each other and form a sense of community amongst themselves. All this may sound like good news. 

 

 

The sad reality is that different majors within the College of Liberal Arts show great variety in terms of the number of students, but the space designated for each major is the same. For instance, there are over 100 freshmen every year at the Department of English Language and Literature. The amount of space given for this department is the same as other departments such as Russian Language and Literature or German Language and Literature, where each has only about 40 freshmen every year. Thus, those majors with more students suffer from a lack of independent student space and do not see clear advantages of their given Student Union Room.

 

Another problem is the absence of comfortable facilities for male students in the Liberal Arts and Humanities Campus. Although there is a significant number of male students, they do not have space to quietly take a nap or simply rest without disturbance. Female students have such a space at the Dongwon Global Leadership Hall, but the number of beds is far from sufficient. The Life and Welfare Bureau of KU Student Association (KUSA) is planning a solution for this problem.

 

According to KUSA, there is unused space on the fourth floor of the Centennial Memorial SAMSUNG Hall, which has belonged to the students since last year. The Life and Welfare Bureau of KUSA is planning on creating a resting facility in this area for both male and female students. As specifics about this project were presented at the General Student Representative Meeting that took place on March 29, currently the project is in the process of suggesting some possible ways to use the area efficiently and effectively. The bureau is also considering an increase in the amount of area for male students because female students already have some space at the Dongwon Global Leadership Hall.

 

Do male students not have a single place to take a nap during tiresome days of study? There is a resting place at the Science and Engineering Campus, where there is a greater percentage of male students than the Liberal Arts and Humanities Campus, but students unanimously agree that the space is not very sanitary. Moon Hyun-Seung ('13, Electrical Engineering) complained, "Although there is a resting place around campus, I would never use it because it is simply too dirty for anyone to take a nap there without worrying about getting sick from the smell and unsanitary condition." Therefore most students who do not live near the university are looking forward to the future changes at the Centennial Memorial SAMSUNG Hall.

 

The third problem associated with the lack of independent student space is the difficulty accompanied with borrowing auditoriums or group study areas for any kind of group work. Students often have group assignments from lectures or meetings from various student bodies. However, there is not enough space on campus for students to carry these out. The lack of space for groups to sit down and focus forces them to move outside the campus and end up in cafes. Jung Da-Yeon (’14, Russian Language and Literature) stated, “I often have various meetings, so I need a reliable space that I am sure would be there. However, it is so difficult to reserve a place on campus, especially if I need space that can accommodate more than 12 people. I wish the university can make effective changes as soon as possible.”

 

On the other hand, some students argue that there is enough space, considering the number of auditoriums and open spaces on campus. Although most students can only use auditoriums that belong to a department that they are a part of, there are students who argue that that is enough. Lee Ji-Woon (’10, Physics) stated, “In our case, we have a Student Union Room, a discussion room, and plenty of rooms at the Science and Engineering Campus that students can usually use any time. High tuition fees do not mean that we should have more student amenities. It would be better to simply lower the tuition fees.” However, most students of the Liberal Arts and Humanities Campus argue that those majoring in the humanities often have more team work assignments, which is why they realize the lack of student space. 

 

Students pay high tuition fees to study at KU and ultimately become more educated and civilized. KU realizes these expectations and claims to bet the world if students bet their youth. However, if students waste their youth trying to find places to meet people in their major, trying to find places they can quietly take a nap during a tiresome day, and trying to find places they can work and study together, KU would have to stop claiming they can bet the world to students.