▲ Leaders in The Representative Student Council are giving information and request to student.

 In Dankook University (DKU), there is an elected body known as The Student Representative Council. They have been around for a long time, but, what do we know about this body? It was founded by the ideologies of consciousness for national salvation, independence, and self-reliance. Its purpose is to support DKU’s student council and the democratic activities of our independent student organizations. Their principal role is to revise the statues of the university with input from representatives from each grade. Secondly, they supervise the student council elections and oversee the pledge of elected nominees. They are required to perform their duties diligently, gathering opinions of Dankookians (students of Dankook University) regarding the many ways to improve our culture of democracy at the university. Lastly, they inspect the student union fees and budgets of independent student organizations. However, how many Dankookians actually know about them?

 The Dankook Herald (DKH) interviewed two Dankookians. One student knew about the existence of TSRC, and the other student didn't. "I know about The Representative Council, because my fellow classmates were members. I think the role of TSRC is working to improve the autonomy and welfare of students, such as improving the female students lounge, solving school bus problems and handing out souvenirs,” said Song Keun-ae (Dept. of Food Science and Biotechnology, Senior). The other student, Yang Ho-seung (Dept. of Public Administration, Junior) didn't know about them nor had he ever heard of them. He said, "Although I have no idea about them, it seems to me they would likely fight against the university for benefits that improve our university life. In other words, the institution maybe protects student rights and improves conveniences for students.”

 These two interviewees were surprised when they learned about the real role of TSRC, which is mainly to inspecting student union fees, administer elections, oversee pledges of newly elected council officials and conduct an annual audit. Both of them had no opinion on whether they were positive or negative about TSRC. “I didn’t know what they were doing, so, it seems that they are not representing students well because I have never seen them conduct a survey targeting students. Therefore, I can’t believe their activities are any help,” Mr. Song said. Mr. Yang also agreed with Mr. Song’s opinion but he added, “It is not clear what has been improved at DKU so far. Even, I didn’t know their role and purpose, so, I have no idea whether they are doing well or not.” Therefore, many students don’t know exactly what TSRC is and does, and from our research, it was not easy to find someone who knew about them or who has heard about the institution. Even if students had heard about it, they didn’t know a lot about that they do. Despite their low popularity, it is really true that they have lots of useful functions, and these are predominately related to university life. Therefore, some actions should be taken to promote knowledge of their existence and role for the students as it is an essential institution in the university.

 Mr Song added, “The main role of TRSC is to audit the student union fee, and review the budgets of various independent student organizations. Also TRSC gets input for revisions to the regulation of students. The election of representative administration and overseeing their pledges are also a council responsibility.”

 The DKH asked about the biggest challenge handled by TRSC. “Actually I didn’t perform any tasks for TRSC last year, so I can’t answer that.  However, above all else, I think that the lack of recognition of TRSC and its representatives by students is problematic. So, I believe we should host information activities to promote the role of TRSC. This will improve the role of representative awareness,” he added.

 From April 5^th to the 7^th, the Student Representative Council ran a campaign for an ‘Upright Written Oath’ in front of Hyedang-hall, the Student Union building. The Oath was important for council representatives because it pledged to prevent corruption, operate with integrity, without sexual harassment, enhance the public’s right to know, and to take the initiative and set examples.

▲ Members in The Representative of Student Council at Jukjeon Campus.

 The Student Representative Council made an effort to develop proper etiquette for use in the library. Many Dankookians are using the library; however the behavior of many students is often inconsiderate of others. For example, students don’t always clean up their waste from the desks.  But there is no established etiquette for appropriate behavior in the library, so the council established guidelines for its use. Dankook University (DKU) can’t control all these improper behaviors, so the Student Representative Council tries.

 In second semester, The Student Representative Council is supposed to plan an event in support of democratic activities like the ‘Upright Written Oath’. In September, they will host a meeting of representatives and in November, they will take charge of representative elections.

 Most of all, the Student Representative Council and Chairmen of College and Representatives strive to develop a mature school with the interest and support of students. The Student Representative Council needs to let Dankookians know more about their purpose and projects and should continuously strive to improve their operations with an upright and fair mind.