http://evoice.ewha.ac.kr/

Bi-weekly Student NewspaperSince June 4, 1954

Volume 66, Number 5 June 15, 2020

Eco-friendly movement in Ewha.The students of Ewha sell the eco-kit for protecting environment. They repackage the existing eco-items. This movement is the first step to promote the environment. Photo by Cho Su-hui

Opinions clash over online team projectsBy Shim Ha-eun, Park Sae-eun

To avoid in-person student meetings amid the coronavirus pandemic, many professors chose to replace team projects with individual assignments or essays. However, some went ahead with assigning team projects to students. Student responses to the changes in team projects method have been mixed. While some have said that they had difficulty communicating online, others have indicated that convenience was a notable merit.

Many students used platforms such as Zoom, Skype, or KakaoTalk to meet online and share opinions.

Kim Kyu-ri, a sophomore in the Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Division, shared her thoughts regarding online team projects.

“With in-person group meetings, everyone tried to show up on time,” Kim said. “But with online team projects, many people tended to be late and some were clearly not present.”

K i m t h i n k s e a s y a c c e s s t o messenger platforms made students consider less about punctuality.

“Even though it was a group project, there were people in every lecture who did not show up on time and did not take part,” Kim further commented. “This discourages those who are willing to participate eagerly in the coursework and eventually leads to poorly executed group projects. I am worried that this will result in bad grades.”

She pointed out another difficulty of online team projects, especially in lectures that use computer programs.

In an in-person environment, Kim was able to show her laptop to teammates sitting next to her. This has become difficult as face-to-face meetings have become rare.

“In some cases, I have to show and explain the overall script of the coding outcome,” Kim explained. “Before, I could just scroll my screen and briefly explain what I did to the people next to me, but now I have to take screenshots of my screen bit by bit and send those photos along with an explanation via a messenger program.”

Kim stated she and her colleagues now use Zoom’s screen-sharing feature to facilitate the discussion, but she maintained that online group meetings still hinder the quality of assignments.

On the other hand, Kim Min-sol, a junior majoring in Korean Language and Literature, commented that it was more convenient to do team projects online.

“The most convenient part is that we don’t have to meet in person, which saves a lot of time,” Kim stated. “It normally took more than 40 minutes for me to go to school to meet my team members, but now I can meet them online at home.”

According to Kim, being able to participate in team projects from anywhere at any time was the most efficient aspect of online group assignments. She said that people seemed to work harder to finish the group assignments efficiently as they knew that there were limitations in communication.

Kim further expressed that it was easier for her to present the projects to

the class since all she had to do was to share her screen online. Moreover, the burden of public speaking decreased for her.

“Doing team projects online certainly has its own merits,” Kim said. “However, I agree with what other students say in that there are more active discussions when we meet in person. Considering all the possible situations, it would have been better if the professors had chosen not to give any team projects in the first place.”

There are some professors who decided to remove team projects this semester. Min Ja-young, who is teaching an elective course Modern and Postmodern Culture, changed the team discussion that was scheduled in mid-June to a written assignment.

“I thought immediate interactions and questions would be impossible in case of online debate,” Min commented. “So, I decided to give a paper assignment instead for the students to develop deeper thoughts on the works I dealt in class.”

She also decided to utilize the discuss ion board funct ion on the CyberCampus to replace the discussions that were supposed to be held in regular class.

“At first, I was surprised to see the in-depth discussion that students posted on the board,” Min stated. “It was beyond my expectations. However, I still think that there are weaknesses in online discussions since it reduces opportunities to listen to what other people think and hinders interaction between them.”

517shim@ewhain.netparktpdms4065@ewhain.net

Campus NewsBusinesses on campus suffer from lack of customers 2p

Sodong Festival, a taste of the upcoming Daedong Festival 3p

CultureImlala on being a comedian and a YouTuber

Rise of untact culture in movie and theater industries 4p

Social IssuesIncrease in delivery wastes called out by environmental activists 6p

PeopleRenowned theatre actor Park Jung-ja shares her experiences of constantly challenging herself

Kang Min-ji describes a life of freelance announcer 8p

Correction

In Volume 66-4, article “The youth and the older generation’s efforts on creating politics together” needs a correction in the off ic ia l Engl is h name. “Korea Communication Association” should be corrected into “Korean Society for Journalism & Communication Studies.” We apologize for the error.

A note on publication

Volume 66-5 marks the final printed edition of Ewha Voice for the 2020 s p r i n g s e m e s t e r. A l l printed material and web articles are available on our website (evoice.ewha.ac.kr).

Students sue universities to get refunds on tuition feesBy Yang Nam-kyung, Kim Yea-na

Whether or not students are entitled to a refund on tuition fees has been the center of attention ever since schools announced that lectures will be conducted online. According to All-Korean University Student Council Network, a network of general student councils from 32 universities within Korea, over 99 percent of the 21,784 students who participated in a survey voted that a refund of tuition fees is necessary. With the vast majority of surveyed students wishing for a reimbursement, the network decided to file a lawsuit against universities and the Ministry of Education. Various groups from Ewha are also engaging in the movement.

Among over 100 representatives of this movement, five are from Ewha. The 52nd General Student Council, 52nd Central Steering Commission of Student Representatives, and student councils from the Department of Elementary Education, College of Art & Design, and College of Music are part of the movement. The rest of the student councils of the school are participating in this lawsuit through the Central Steering Commission.

“I strongly support the lawsuit,” said a sophomore from the College of Music who wished to s tay anonymous. “Not only are we unable to use school facilities, but there are many limitations to offline classes. It is harder to receive constructive feedback on our performance and we often have to rent halls to practice and hand in video assignments.”

A sophomore from the Department

of Elementary Education who wished to stay anonymous also showed support for the lawsuit.

“Mandatory lectures needed for graduation were only open for students in their last semester so the classes I registered for were cancelled,” she commented. “Furthermore, the quality of lectures, which formerly focused on active debate, had also greatly diminished; I definitely think a partial refund of tuition fees is necessary.”

The lawsuit will be filed by M I N B Y U N - L a w y e r s f o r a Democratic Society. Ewha Voice interviewed lawyer Ha Ju-hee, a member of MINBYUN, to consult on the legal basis of the procedure.

“Schools signed a contract with students to use the tuition fees received and provide appropriate services,” Ha explained. “University budgets typically include labor costs, facility fees, management and operation expenses, research expenses, equipment and material costs and more, so these are the things schools should provide students. When they fail to, students have a legal right to receive a reimbursement. We plan on making a claim based on this General Contract Law Principle.”

Ha stated that MINBYUN will demand at minimum of one-thirds of the tuition fees to be refunded. The money would go directly back to students who had participated in the lawsuit. Although Ha was hopeful about the results, she stated that continuous attention is crucial as there is no saying on how long this fight will persist.

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