Aureum is a yearlong Educational Rights Movement project that is an integral pledge of Eumjul, the 49th KU Student Association (KUSA). Aureum tries to listen to the need of the students, bring those voices together and deliver it to the school body. Usually, when students think of Educational Rights Movement, the first thing that comes to mind would be improvements in issues related to classes. However, Aureum will put emphasis on many different aspects such as problems that occur with tuition fees, admission fees, dormitory, minority human rights issues, and welfare issues.

 

Unlike last year’s KUSA Star: zari’s Why Not? Project, which examined three specific issues—reduction of tuition fees, dormitory issues, and educational rights—Aureum’s goal is to bring the already existing problems and focus on solutions. By identifying the root problem and solving it, not only will KU have a firm foundation of policies, but also will live up to its motto Libertas, Justitia, Veritas.

 

To that end, one of the most important changes to this year’s Educational Rights Movement is the set up an Academic Affairs Committee, whose job will be to communicate with faculty members. Even though last year’s Why Not? Project had more specific and realistic goals, it was not able to fulfill much because of the lack of communication between KUSA and faculty members of the university. The group’s director of education, Park Minn Jung (’13, Materials Science and Engineering) said, “By creating the Academic Affairs Committee, Aureum will successfully be the gateway between students and faculty members and deliver news more effectively.”

 

In fact, during the Aureum’s preparation period, the headquarters gathered the opinions and demands of students from individual Colleges before holding any protests against the school administration. Through successfully assembling all of the issues, Aureum collected opinions and demands from students. From those, Aureum prepared an 80-page proposal to deliver to the school body. This form contained all the problems that the students had encountered and explained the justification on its solvency to negotiate with the faculty members.

 

Furthermore, Aureum is trying its best to promote its goals before the student representative meeting on April 6. Even though Aureum might take longer than the Why Not? Project to blossom, Aureum is actively handing out leaflets and putting up posters as many students last year were dissatisfied with the way Why Not? Project was delivering the news to students—mainly through Facebook.

 

Aureum members realized that connecting with students via Facebook is less effective than communicating with students in person because their message was lost among other such announcements, advertisements, photos and all the other content found on the Social Network Services (SNS). As part of that effort, Aureum will participate in individual College events. Park stated, “Even though talking face to face with students might be less efficient, we believe it is much more impactful.”