In his candidate Public Hearing speech in the Fall semester of 2019, current Student Council President Minsoo Chung (Economics, ’21) made sweeping claims that he would find unique ways to engage with the student body and promote transparency. Since his election, however, many of those promises remain unfulfilled. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by The Voice, only 45.7 percent of the student body either approve of or strongly approved of the performance of the Student Council. Recognizing the ongoing challenges that COVID-19 presents to both the Student Council as well as the student body, it is critical to better understand why this dissatisfaction exists and why the student body should be more concerned.
In the Fall 2020 semester Town Hall meeting with Dean Matz, the student body was introduced to a very different Student Council than the one they had elected less than a year ago. From a new Event Representative to an entirely new position in the Finance Manager - without having a single meeting with the student body - the current Student Council drastically restructured itself.
With such drastic changes, it would be expected that the Student Council would hold regular meetings to ensure that these new members and new positions would be fully integrated with the rest of the Student Council that was originally elected; however, according to interviews with The Voice, multiple members of the Student Council confirmed that the Student Council did not have regular meetings throughout the entire year. Instead, they relied on messaging apps like KakaoTalk to communicate. They continued to note that most of the information discussed between Student Council members emerged during private chats rather than the official group chat, resulting in confusion on many occasions. This ultimately resulted in some Student Council members feeling dissatisfied with their communication, with the average rating of three out of five for communication, a concerning sign for the student body whose only form of representation is through a group that did not meet on a regular basis.
Similarly, external communication between the Student Council and the student body was limited to the George Mason University Korea official KakaoTalk group chat. This trend is in direct contrast with statements from the Student Council President in the past. In past interviews with The Voice as well as during the Fall semester 2019 Public Hearing, he stated that he wanted to allow members of the student body to observe Student Council meetings in order to guarantee transparency was being ensured. While this might not sound like a problem on paper, on many occasions throughout the semester in which important decisions needed to be made collectively, there was no meeting to allow students to have their opinions heard or inform them of the decision, such as the various changes to the Student Council charter throughout the past two semesters.
This lack of internal and external communication often resulted in a Student Council that had difficulties fulfilling its responsibilities. Paired with numerous Student Council members who resigned from their positions throughout the academic year for various reasons, the Student Council sought to consolidate power into fewer individuals to continue fulfilling their duties. This ultimately resulted in the Student Council charter, essentially the constitution of the organization, becoming unilaterally revised on many occasions regarding who could fulfill what position. For example, in the past, Student Council members could only fulfill one position at any given time. However, currently, the Student Council President is fulfilling the role of Economics Representative as well. Additionally, many members of the Student Council, such as the Event Representative and Secretary, do not meet the eligibility as they both were not sophomores when appointed.
In an academic year marked by controversy and COVID-19, it is critical for the will of the student body to be represented in the decision-making process. However, due to various problems, that has been limited under the current Student Council. While the Student Council has made some serious steps to improve the lives of the student body, as Chung said in an interview with The Voice in Spring semester 2020, “Criticism will be seen as a positive by my administration.” Yet, the student body should be more active in addressing these concerns. It is only when the student body has an honest conversation around these promises that we can hope to come together, improve, and build a better George Mason University Korea. With Student Council 2021 elections right around the corner, hopefully, the student body will be aware of the previous problems and be more active in the decision-making process.
Written by The Voice Board Members
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