We have various expectations about university. Some of the examples are club, CC, and MT. This article focuses on clubs. If the clubs do not operate properly or there is a lot of conflict between the school and the clubs, the romance will disappear. There is the 35th association of clubs LINK, which provides a link for the smooth relationship between the school and the clubs at Gachon university. I met Kim Yoon-tae, the chairperson of the association of clubs, to find out what the association is doing in detail.
1. What does LINK mean in this context?
"LINK" means connection. As such, LINK is an association of clubs that acts as a link between the school and the clubs.
2. Why did you become chairperson of association of clubs?
Before becoming the LINK's chairperson, I was the chairperson of the UNESCO union volunteer club, Kusa. Until then, I have not aware of the existence of the association of clubs, but when I was appointed the chairperson of Kusa, I learned how it helped the university’s clubs. Since then I wanted to help the clubs as the chairperson of the association, so I became the chairperson of the association.
3. What does the association and its leadership do?
The president oversees the work of the association as a whole. The association acts as a bridge between school and central clubs. The association works to deliver the central club members’ opinions to the school to make club activities run smoother. The association also acts as a mediator to prevent conflicts between the school and central club members. The major events organized by the association are the promotion exhibition of the clubs at the beginning of the semester and summer LT that can make a place to help facilitate harmony among different club members.
4. What are the main issues that come up when you are meeting at the association?
The main issues are the promotion exhibition of the clubs, the summer LT, and the clubs festival. And there is a representative meeting of each club president and club association. At the meeting, issues such as improvement of inconvenience for each club are on the agenda.
5. You must be really quite busy with all of your duties, not to mention your normal school life and searching for a job. Has there ever been a situation where you had to give up something to fulfill your duties?
During the semester, meetings are usually held at 5 p.m. As a result, I have to give up family events or personal social activities would have otherwise overlapped with the time of the meeting.
Also, during the exam periods, I have to spend time on my studies. If I have something to do urgently, I am not able to concentrate on my studies because of my work. But rather than thinking of this as giving up, I feel responsible for the position of the chairperson.
6. What does each member of the association do?
The association consists of the chairperson, vice chairperson, and the heads of the planning, office, promotion, welfare and general team. The head of the planning team oversees planning the event and collecting and organizing information necessary for planning the event. The head of the office team writes all the necessary documents including the minutes of meeting and notice. The head of the promotion team sends or promotes information for many people using SNS, cafe, and posters. The head of welfare team ensures that all clubs receive welfare benefits fairly. The head of general team works with the four heads above so that the tasks can be handled smoothly.
7. What are the proudest moments and most difficult moments a you’ve experienced as a chairperson?
I am proudest when the event is conducted as planned without big troubles, and when I am praised after the event. I do not think it is big, but when I see comments on the SNS, such as "This event was fun." I think it's good to be the president. The difficult moment are when the association fails to proceed with the planned work due to various external factors, such as the school side or the clubs objections.
8. The association of clubs exists to help the school's clubs act well. What kind of support does the association provide?
There is club room support, activity subsidy support, rental business, and printing business. The club room support literally provides space for club activities. Usually the club rooms are located mainly in the student union hall. An activity subsidy of 300,000won is also provided each semester. This is a deferred payment system that first clubs pay, processing of receipts and, afterward checking whether the payment was made in accordance with the purpose of the club subsidy is deposited. The rental business rents beam projectors and seminar rooms for smooth meetings of each club and lends cleaning supplies such as vacuum cleaners and mops for the management of each club room. In addition, it rents various board games and sports equipment such as ping pong balls, soccer balls, etc.
When I asked him if he wanted to say anything last, Kim Yoon-tae, Chairperson of the Association of Clubs, said “The Association is not an organization that represents the school`s position. It is a student self-governing organization made up of students and it is an organization for students." As such, we that want to become a strong link between the school side and the club side at Gachon University. The association is working hard for the convenience of club’s members through various projects. I hope that both students who are unfamiliar with our association and those who are active club members will read this article and become better acquainted with us and our role at the university.
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