Many George Mason University Korea students who had planned on taking the Fall 2020 semester at the Fairfax campus but were forced by the COVID-19 outbreak to amend their plans. Instead of boarding the planes to the United States, some students, including Jin Seong Choi (Global Affairs, ’21), have decided to take Fairfax campus’ online classes while staying in Korea. Other students, like Youngseo Laura Park (Conflict Analysis and Resolution, ’21), took a leave of absence for a semester. The two Mason Korea students spoke with The Voice about their experiences, starting with what options they had. “Firstly, we could go to the Fairfax campus despite COVID-19” Park said. “Secondly, we could take the online classes in Fairfax from Korea. Lastly, we could just take more classes on the Korea campus.”
Knowing that the Fairfax campus was going to have hybrid or full online classes, Park was not interested in flying to the United States. Since Park has exactly two semesters left until graduation, the same number of semesters she is required to take at the Fairfax campus, returning to the Korea campus is out of the question for her as well. The only choice left was to take Fairfax campus’ online classes from Korea, which was what Choi did.
“I guess it is different for everyone depending on what they prioritize,” Choi explained. “My priority was graduating as early as possible. I signed up mostly for asynchronous classes, meaning I have a somewhat flexible schedule. I decided to use the free time I have got on doing an internship, so I’m working at a United Nations organization right now, gaining job experience.”
In Park’s eyes, however, taking this route had significant downsides.
“The school asked me what the problem would be with just taking online classes from Fairfax if I can’t physically go there,” Park recollected. “I found it hard to agree with the school’s opinion that physically attending classes in Fairfax and taking online classes from Korea was just the same. Studying at a campus is not just an opportunity to listen to the lectures from professors, but also to interact with fellow students and make use of the facilities there.”
After a great deal of consideration, Park submitted a leave of absence. She now works at the Peace and Conflict Studies Center Asia as a student research fellow, a position she has held from the Spring 2020, and is participating in The Voice, an independent student-run media outlet, and n-Lingual, a Registered Student Organization.
“COVID-19 is not the result of anybody’s fault,” Park said. “I hope the university would do its absolute best to provide students with a good environment of education they deserve.”
Uncertainties remain for the Mason Korea students who need to take classes at the Fairfax campus in future semesters. Looking forward, the school has not given a definitive answer as to how the transition to Fairfax would work in Spring 2021 at the Town Hall meeting held on 7 September 2020. One can only hope that an answer that everyone can be satisfied with will be given soon enough.
Written by Philip Kim | Staff Writer
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