The Postech Times interviewed student president Ju Ui-son (CSE), who entered POSTECH in 2019, and vice president Park Hyun-yong (CSE), who entered POSTECH in 2020.
What motivated you to run for student president and vice president?
President: As the entering class of 2019, we are a small group of students that understand life at POSTECH before COVID-19. I was sad that we were unable to enjoy university life due to the pandemic. I thought that we should re-introduce our current students to the culture of enjoying ourselves, and I decided to run for president because I believed someone should help students enjoy university life even more.
Vice president: I experienced many different student meetings while being a part of the student council, and I felt that many students were not passionate about student organizations. Perhaps this is a problem due to COVID-19, or because of the student culture that is moving away from group activities. I wanted to let students understand that student activities can be fun and memorable, not to mention an integral part of university life.
How did you feel when you were elected?
We felt unsure of ourselves while preparing for the election. However, since being elected, we should be feel confident in carrying out our campaign ideas. As student leaders, we should make decisions and be responsible for them. We will become hardworking leaders that represent the student body and work responsibly for POSTECH students.
Please introduce some of your campaign ideas.
We have three main ideas as ‘Saeum’, the 37th student president body. First, we want to remove problems that resulted from student society being largely neglected. Specifically, we want to change the structure of affiliated groups within the student body, improve the student center, and solve the Wi-Fi problem. Also, we want to reignite the school activities that have disappeared. It is also important for us to solve the problem of limited meal choices for students and to strongly encourage school activities. Lastly, we want to introduce a new student culture. We would like to renew student cards, establish coin karaoke rooms, and ensure better communication between the all members of the student body.
What do you want to accomplish as head of the student body?
We want to create a school where students think that university life is youth itself. We will do our best to improve the student culture after COVID-19 and create a school where students are connected with each other. Our hope is to encourage all students to enjoy their early twenties, one of the happiest periods in life.
What do you want to say to the students of POSTECH?
Since we are the first student council in three years, after an emergency committee has been in operation for a long time, most of the people who have experienced the previous student councils have graduated or have left POSTECH. Therefore, we do feel that there are some concerns because there will be some trial and error while proceeding with our ideas. However, since the quality we value the most is the ability and the responsibility to right mistakes after they have been made, we would like to be leaders that do not give up and take responsibility until the end. Please take interest in what we do and give us your support. Thank you.
