Forced Attendance at Department Events Like Classroom Cleaning and General Meetings
Consistent Refusal to Disclose Student Council Fee Usage Details
A so-called 'strict discipline' controversy has erupted in the nursing department of a university in a provincial area.
On the 28th, a post titled "Ruthless strict discipline culture at a provincial university, please help" was uploaded on an online community, sparking controversy.
The author, A, who is currently enrolled in the nursing department of a university located in a provincial area, uploaded screenshots of KakaoTalk group chat notices from students belonging to the student council. The content included threats from the department's student council to penalize students who do not attend classroom cleaning, general meetings, and other department events.
According to the post, the student council announced that, citing it as a "professor's notice," they would carry out facility replacement and furniture rearrangement on the 4th and 5th floors of the building from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, requiring full participation from all nursing department students. The student council emphasized, "No absences allowed for personal reasons," and stated, "Since the nursing department shares this space collectively, there are no exceptions for adult learners, returning students, or transfer students."
In response, A claimed, "They suddenly ordered us to clean floors that are not even used, dusty empty classrooms that seem to have been unused for years," and added, "When I did not participate in the cleaning, they threatened to hand over the list of absentees to the professor to impose disadvantages."
Additionally, when the student council posted a notice about holding a general meeting in the chatroom, they firmly stated, "No exceptions for enrolled, returning, or transfer students. Everyone must attend." It was reported that the student council demanded attendance in a high-handed manner from students who could not attend the meeting due to unavoidable circumstances.
When a student from the student council said, "I am a mother with a child and cannot attend the general meeting because I have to pick up my child at that time," the student council replied, "You can have other family members pick up your child, or you can bring your child with you," and added, "We will wait until you bring your child. Also, you must ask for permission rather than just notifying of your absence."
To a message saying "I am busy due to personal reasons and cannot attend," they responded, "Why do some people have free time to hold the general meeting and others have free time to attend it?" and "If you are not going to contribute even minimally to the department, we recommend you withdraw. We will consider you as no longer part of the department," showing a somewhat coercive attitude.
To a student who said, "I have a part-time job," they replied, "Isn't your status a student? I think you should prioritize school social life first," disregarding the student's personal circumstances.
When asked, "Will the student council fee usage details be disclosed at the general meeting?" they drew a line by saying, "There are no plans to disclose the student council fee usage details separately."
Netizens expressed anger, commenting, "There must be cleaning staff at the school, yet they forcibly mobilize students," "Even in the 1980s, we never cleaned classrooms," "They notify first but tell students to ask for permission," and "Violence is not only physical hitting."
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