Controversy Erupts Over the Self-Quarantine Facilities at Danwoo Hall

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   In July, Dankook University(DKU) unilaterally served notice to students living in ‘Danwoo Hall’, one of the dormitories on the Cheonan Campus, that the facility would be used for incoming international students to self-quarantine. 139 students, lived in the dormitory at the time and were asked to move their belonging to nearby Bongsa Hall to accommodate the newly arrive foreign undergraduates. The students that were impacted, complained about the situation on the school community 'Everytime’.

   Last semester, Woongbi Hall was used as a self-quarantine facility, but Danwoo Hall was added this semester as DKU decided to expand its face-to-face classes. This meant an additional 700 students were expected to enter the country for the fall semester. From July 5 to 16, DKU explained its change in policy to students affected by the change and listened their thoughts by conducting room-by-room counseling. To accommodate the international students who began entering the country from August 5, Danwoo Hall residents had to move their belongings to Bongsa Hall between July 23 to 25. The self-quarantine rooms for foreign students were operated from August 5 to 24. On August 26, the displaced students were able to return to Danwoo Hall. In a notice to the affected residents, DKU said they understood this was a burden and would refund all the money students paid in advance for their accommodation, without penalty, for breach of contract, to those who wanted to move out permanently and pledged they would do all they could to minimize the inconveniences they faced.

¡ã Danwoo Hall (Photo from DKU News)

   The Dankook Herald (DKH) interviewed three anonymous Dankookians (students of DKU) who were affected by the forced move from Danwoo Hall, to understand the problem at hand and to impart their complaints and concerns to DKU afterwards. All students agreed they were dissatisfied they had to pack up all their belongings abruptly only to return a few weeks later. They said, “It is a shame that the dormitory notification was unilateral without collecting opinions from Dankookians in advance.” One Dankookian also said, “When I moved to Bongsa Hall temporarily, it was pretty unsatisfactory because the room was not clean. I needed to ask for repairs as the bathroom sink was clogged.”

   The DKH also asked about their discussions with the DKU dormitory officer. One Dankookian said they only received an apology from the manager. They anticipated they would get a discount in dormitory fees due to the discrepancy in rent between the two facilities, but were told it was not possible because international students pay for Bongsa Hall facility fees. Many Dankookians felt this was unfair. In response, they were told that the final decision on the matter was still pending, an official response on the matter would be delivered later by the dormitory officer. The impacted students were disappointed in the lack of action and argued that DKU did not take into serious consideration how the inconvenience would impact them. For the last question, DKH asked what kind of improvements DKU needed to make if they are going to designate one of dormitories for on-campus self-quarantine in the future. Dankookians said that it would be better to let Dankookians know about this decision before dorm admissions begin and offer more benefits than just merit points to students who moved to Bongsa Hall. Lastly, they asked about the specific management measures in place for on-campus self-quarantine facilities such as meals and disinfection. They wanted to ensure their safety was being taken into consideration.

¡ã Dormitory notice about incoming international students using ‘Danwoo Hall’ as a self-quarantine facility. (Photo from Dankook University)

   

   The DKH interviewed DKU’s Cheonan Campus Dormitory Administration Team (DAT) for further information about the matter. Dankookians reported, the biggest inconvenience they experienced from the use of Danwoo Hall as a quarantine facility was its unexpected and unilateral announcement. DAT told us the situation was unavoidable. They were asked for cooperation by DKU’s International Affairs Office, the department managing quarantine for international students, at the end of June 2021. The International Affairs Office did request a quarantine exemption for its incoming students, but the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Ministry of Education declined. Furthermore, the plan to quarantine all international students from external institutions didn't proceed as intended, so they had no choice but the use the school's dormitory and DAT had no choice but to agree. They posted a notice to students on July 2, 2021. DAT also addressed concerns about management, meals, and disinfection. All the services were organized by specialized external companies and students were told to stay in individual rooms during quarantine. Lastly, DAT stated that if the school proceeds to use the dormitory as a quarantine facility in the future, they will notify the students in advance of the decision. “We will meet each student, listen to their opinions, and improve the areas that need to be improved,” they remarked. They also mentioned that merit points will be given to the students that gave up their rooms in Danwoo Hall and they will receive a small scholarship for their inconvenience. Moreover, it was decided that they will install microwaves on each floor in both Danwoo and Bongsa Hall’s lounges in response to the student requests.

   The controversy over the use of Danwoo Hall at the Cheonan Campus as a quarantine facility seems to have ended, however, most of the students impacted were left feeling dissatisfied with the process. Many were disappointed about the lack of prior notice and the fact that they were being asked to understand the situation. Given the discontent regarding the management of this situation, the school must come up with a better and more proactive plan for dealing with quarantining students to avoid unnecessarily inconveniencing others. Attention and consideration should follow when looking for voluntary cooperation from impacted parties.

 

 


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