On November 20, at 7:00 p.m., in the unit 207 auditorium of building 303, a public meeting hosted by ‘ALPHA’, an open-circuit candidate of the 61^st Chung-Ang University student council, was held ahead of the elections on November 27 and 28. ALPHA made a total of 32 pledges in 5 fields: 1. Communication 2. Rights Security 3. Welfare 4. Education 5. Social Solidarity. The meeting was divided into questions of the press and students of CAU. The most controversial pledge at the hearing was about communication and education.

 

In the category of ‘communication’, questions followed regarding the creation of bulletin boards for the petitions of CAU students and the activation of ‘CAU Chung-shim‘, a community site run by the student council. First of all, a deputy candidate said they would open a board for petitions so that they could hear the concerns and stories of many students of CAU. He revealed that they will respond to petitions which received more than a specific number of likes, which will be decided afterwards. He also mentioned that they will open an information board on various areas that students are interested in, including employment. In the process, they claimed that the anonymity of users will be guaranteed while making them use fixed nicknames so that the community can remain clean.

In the category of ‘education’, there were questions about the reorganization of academic regulations related to the maximum grade of retaken classes, the expansion of numbers of reading rooms in building 310, and the environment of the classroom. First, questions about to whom, and when the reorganization of the maximum grade for retaken classes will be applied followed. The candidate started by saying that this pledge is a solution to the problem of CAU students losing competitiveness since the acquisition score of retaken classes has been limited to B+. Regarding it, he mentioned that it would be applied to all students, but he did not give answer in detail about the timing of the application. There were also questions about increasing the number of reading rooms in building 310. In response, candidates confirmed that there are many unused spaces in the building, and they are considering utilizing the space used by the election headquarters first. Regarding the management method, they said they will apply the process currently being used in each department. Questions regarding the installation of monitors in classrooms for convenience followed. In particular, there were many budget-related questions, and the candidates revealed that CAU had confirmed side monitors could be installed anywhere if students need them. They also said that though the exact number of the monitors has not been discussed yet, they will be installed first in large, non-stair* classrooms.

           In addition, several questions about guaranteeing the rights of disabled students and foreign students followed. Regarding the pledge for disabled students, the candidates explained that they will continue to run the Committee for Disabled Students TFT, which was started last September. Regarding the direction of the TFT, the candidate said that the committee will be established under the umbrella of the Committee of Student Rights and they will provide practical assistance linked with the Disabled Student Support Center in CAU. There was also a question about a recent controversy over the exclusion of the foreign students from voting. In response, the candidate said that the right to vote must be guaranteed as a Chung-Ang University student. In addition, he emphasized that it is urgent to improve an awareness of the rights of the foreign students, mentioning an anecdote of a meeting with foreign students during the election campaign. For this reason, he said that he will amend election rules while improving the awareness of foreign students, so that they can find their own rights as Chung-Ang University students. Lastly, there was a question regarding foreign students' tuition, which was increasing up to 5% annually, opposed to Korean student’s tuition, which have been frozen for years. The candidate said that they would find out why the foreign students' tuition fees are going up if they are elected.

 

In this public hearing, there were many questions to the ‘Alpha’ election camp from the press and the public. The candidates gave specific and plausible answers to some questions, but other answers seemed to be unsatisfying. However, it was impressive since there were many questions from various groups, from disabled students to foreign students. CAH hopes this public meeting will serve as a springboard to implement practical policies for students by supplementing the weaknesses of the pledge.