Monday at 9:23 AM, GMUK students were wakened by an email sent by Provost Wu, stating former President Lee’s resignation. The email shocked students, staff, and faculty, as no one anticipated that such would happen. Furthermore, student reactions were that the email was constituted of vague terms and lacked informative details of the situation. Yihyun Kwon, a Conflict Analysis and Resolution Freshman said, “It felt like a skinny statement.”
The email further asked students to join the interim leaders of GMUK in discussion and questions of what might come in the next few months. On Monday, at 4 p.m. students gathered together in the Welcome Lounge on the 5th floor slowly as several classes conflicted with the time scheduled for the meeting. As a result, only a total of about twenty students were able to make it to the site. Students complained that such a meeting about an important issue was placed in a time that many people were not able to participate.
Executive Director Gbemi Disu began the meeting by stating the reason why students and leaders of administration have gathered. She stressed the part of the administration being committed to sustaining the institution, stating, “The institution (GMUK) is part of the global strategy.” When asking students of how they grasped the comment, many were not able to define what the global strategy is. Joshua Cho, a Global Affairs and Conflict Analysis and Resolution freshman, felt that Fairfax is stepping in because the institution in Korea did not work out as planned. An anonymous Management senior, added that the reminisce of the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) campus in the UAE failing to continue after three years keeps the high administrators at Fairfax to stay on their feet when observing Mason Korea.
Granted that GMUK is “part of the global strategy,” Provost Gbemi Disu emphasized the part of being one university and agreed that the organizational transition brings in the concept of being “under the umbrella of Fairfax.” In an interview with The Voice, Dr. Kwak, an Economics professor, acclaimed that he doesn’t understand the concept of being “under the umbrella of Fairfax.” He wondered the extent of abiding to the rules and follow ups of reports Mason Korea has to be giving Fairfax. Students, though reacted positively to the ideal idea itself, questioned the actual implementations and felt that the concept “doesn’t come to their skin.”
After Director Disu finished introducing the purpose of the meeting, Associate Provost Muir brought in her introduction and reassurance to students of their intent of the transitional change in leadership. However, one statement of hers stirred confusion among students. She stressed twice that, “There is no intent (interest) in closing the campus.” Although with a supposedly comforting purpose, students reacted as to saying it brought them to think if the administration did ever think of closing the campus. Since students rarely even imagine about the campus being closed, the statement only brought more concerns. Young Seo Park, a Conflict Analysis and Resolution freshman, felt that it was an “early statement.”
Students’ attention was brought to the center, as the grand question of the reason behind former President Lee’s resign was brought up. However, the answer, “as a result of personal reasons given,” only disappointed students of the information disclosure and stirred even more rumors. Anonymous reports state the President Lee left for a business trip in the first week of May and did not report to the school since then. Furthermore, when President Lee arrived at GMUK on July 13, 2015, he signed a three-year contract that was obviously ending in early July or late June this year. In spite of all the insights, Sunghun Jang, an Economics junior, argued that, “The important thing is that the school is ready to welcome a new leader. This is the emergency issue we should face.”
Seihoon Lee | Secretary
Comments