Female Students at Dongduk Women's University Oppose Coeducation Transition
Recently Conducted F Grade Relay Certification on SNS Accounts
"To Avoid Shame," They Also Forfeit Scholarship Benefits
Students of Dongduk Women's University who protested against the school's plan to transition to a coeducational system have recently been sharing their report cards showing F grades, drawing attention. On the 8th, a social media account named ‘Dongduk Women's University Engineering Transition Opposition Class Boycott Records’ uploaded 49 report cards with F grades. The account includes photos of report cards received by Dongduk Women's University students who participated in the class boycott, along with explanations of their reasons for joining the ‘F Grade Certification Relay.’
A student from the Department of Computer Science said, “To not lose to the deans who try to ignore the students until the end, for solidarity, and for the school.” A student from the Department of Health Management said, “I thought that to stand against the school's unreasonable situation, even one more person must join in solidarity,” and a student from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature stated, “The school is terrible, and it seemed meaningless to learn anything at such a school.”
Some students also gave up scholarship benefits. A student from the Department of Information Statistics wrote, “I thought that reclaiming students' rights was more important than money,” and a student from the HCI Science Department said, “Considering the time of my youth that will be wasted to earn tuition, I do this so that I am not ashamed at this moment.” An economics student who shared a report card with F grades in only 2 out of 6 subjects said they partially participated in the class boycott to meet the minimum credit requirement of 12 credits and a GPA of 2.5, as they could not attend school without receiving the national scholarship.
A student who shared a report card with F grades in all 6 subjects said, “I was never taught to remain silent in the face of injustice. I was never taught that cowardice is right,” and added, “The only resistance I could do was to boycott classes and exams, and I just acted as I was taught.”
Last November, Dongduk Women's University announced, “Incorrect information regarding classes, final exams, and grade processing is being shared among students,” and stated, “Courses with insufficient attendance or failure to take the final exam will be unconditionally graded as ‘F.’” They also emphasized that “the responsibility lies with the individual student.”
At the end of last month, Dongduk Women's University formed a committee including student representatives to publicize the issue of transitioning to coeducation. In the fifth meeting between the university’s deans and the student council, it was agreed to promote the ‘Coeducation Transition Public Deliberation Committee’ for six months starting from March this year. However, legal disputes related to the students’ protests continue. The school maintains its position not to withdraw complaints filed with the police against some students involved in the occupation protests, while the student council has filed a police complaint against the Dean of Academic Affairs and others for illegally viewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage containing personal information.
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