“YOU BETTER watch out. You better not cry. He knows if you've been bad or good.” This is part of the lyrics of the popular Christmas carol, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” As children on Christmas Eve, we used to go to bed, hoping we had been good children. This was all because Santa Claus gave gifts to only those who were well behaved. Now that we are university students, we may wonder which of us would actually receive gifts from Santa. If Santa Claus really existed, for whom would he sneak into chimneys? In this month’s Voice on Campus, The Yonsei Annals asked various Yonsei University students about the types of college students they would give Christmas gifts to if they were Santa, and whether they themselves are eligible to receive gifts according to their own standards.

Kang Byeong-hwa (Jr., Dept. of Church Music)

   If I were Santa Claus, I would give presents to students who could not get enough sleep throughout the year due to school assignments. I believe students who have suffered so much completing their assignments should be rewarded. Furthermore, even though they have sacrificed their sleeping time for their assignments, they may not have been able to earn good grades. So I would like to compensate them with presents. My second criteria would be applicable to students with long commute times from home to school because it is extremely tiring for these students to go to school and come back home every day. Finally, I would like to give presents to those who spent moderately throughout this year, as a reward for their efforts to save up money. I am a great candidate for winning a Christmas present based on the first two criteria. However, I would stand less of a chance according to the last one.

Tchai Da-yeon (Fresh., Dept. of Korean Language & Literature)

   If I were Santa, I would give Christmas presents to college students who have not done any “free riding” in their study groups this year. I have seen so many freeloaders, ignoring group chats and not showing up to the meeting at all. Some of them even notified that they could not make it to the meeting just 30 minutes before the arranged time. This kind of behavior is unacceptable, because it not only affects the group grade, but also does not show any respect towards other group members who actually work hard. I would be able to receive the present because I can proudly say that I have never freeloaded in any of my group activities.

Ham Jong-min (Sr., Dept. of Law)

   If I were to give presents to students in Yonsei University as Santa Claus, I would want to set some qualification rules. First of all, I believe that age should be considered primarily. Younger students in school possess more opportunities to get presents in the future than the older ones. Hence, I think the seniors deserve priority. Also, people who have not been able to get employment despite attending an extra school year should be given preferential treatment. In addition, I will give extra credits to those who have been single for a long period of time, or those that are majoring in law. There aren't any freshman majoring in law anymore and a social trampoline has to be built for these people. I am depressed that I perfectly correspond to all of these standards. I even feel like begging Santa Claus for a job.

Park Sang-jun (Fresh., Dept. of Business)

   There is a saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” It means that people who complain the most get what they want. It can also mean that we should help those in need. In our society, there have always been a hoard of neglected people. They are the ones that are isolated in society due to their low social position. College students nowadays are no exceptions. Some students get into college because they made big donations to the school, while there are others who cannot afford the admission fee. If I were to give presents to college students as Santa, I would give presents to those that are in need. I would not hesitate at all if the presents would be able to cheer them up. Sadly, lots of students around me fit into this category. I hope that there would be no neglected people in our society soon so that everyone can be happy even without any presents from Santa.

Shin Hyun-ah (Sr., UIC, Dept. of International Studies)

   If I were Santa Claus, I would not set any standards. I would hand out gifts to all college students, not discriminating between anyone. “Giving out presents to kind kids” is a standard created by humans and society in order to make kids listen to their parents and be kind to their neighbors. However, Santa Clause’s true purpose in giving out presents is to help everyone share happiness together at every year’s end. Santa thus represents happiness and benevolence. Therefore, if I were to be Santa, I would want all suffering college students to equally receive gifts on Christmas. This would include those who suffer from overwhelming workload or from being alone without a partner throughout the year. I wish that on this festive day, everyone is able to become happier than before.