YONSEI UNIVERSITY, besides from being one of the most prestigious universities in Korea, is one of the biggest universities. Among the large student body, the Students’ Union is the most influential organization that represents the student body. Students’ Union is a channel for the students’ voices; it has always tried to deliver students’ opinions to the school administration. However, a large fraction of the student body seems to have little interest in how the Union represents them. Why are so many students apathetic towards the Students’ Union? It seems only natural that students would care about the Students’ Union. First of all, the Students’ Union is the only major organization that protects and speaks out on behalf of the students. When the university proposes a major change that affects the students, the Union takes immediate measures to ensure that student concerns are considered in the decision making process. Recently, when the school administration decided to make major structural changes for the departments in the Underwood International College, the Students’ Union took a direct stance against the school and voiced the opinions of the student body. Without the influence of the Students’ Union, it would be extremely difficult for students’ voices to be heard and for the student body’s rights to be protected.

   Also, the Students’ Union provides the student body with great opportunities and events. Just this year, the current Students’ Union, Focus On Story, launched a service called Y-planner in order to help students prepare their new semester schedules. There are also other services such as On App, which offers a variety of functions like lost and found. During the midterms and finals, a snack sharing event was held. The Union also helps organize some large-scale events like the annual Yon-Ko Festival. The Students’ Union operates very systematically in holding various events for the student body and needs students to keep up with what the Students’ Union has to offer them.

   More importantly, students need to pay constant attention to the Students’ Union since it is the students that will have to face the consequences if the Union makes a mistake. In other words, while things may be of no great concern when the Students’ Union fulfills its duties well, there may be times when students will have to act as an anchor and help the Students’ Union from swaying in a direction that the student body does not want them to go to. The Students’ Union is like the face of the students; constant interactions are therefore very important.

Lack of direct communication between the students and the Union seems to be an issue that must be considered. Even though the Students’ Union uses a variety of methods to keep students up to date, the student body seems to lack interest in the Students’ Union.  There are only five thousand followers on the Union’s Facebook page. The Yonsei community consists of hundreds of unique individuals, and it is a challenging task to gain a respectable amount of representation from students of diverse standings. However, it is time that the student body stops and thinks about who is representing them, because after all, the Students’ Union is the face of the student body.