The 2nd half of the 2009 spring semester has already begun. How time flies.

Much has happened during the first half of the semester. Within the campus, student bodies have continuously taken a stand for the betterment of student welfare, such as promoting the necessity of a new sports facility to students, requesting an administrative blueprint to new Songdo Campus, and, of course, contending for more transparent and reasonable financial running of Yonsei Univ. Off the campus, North Korea launched a missile, Korean ice-skating heroine Kim Yuna set new world records, and Korea finished runner-up at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Returning to issues on-campus, the patterns of Yonseians’ requests mentioned above seem to show a pattern emerging at Yonsei Univ.: a pattern of Yonsei Univ. not being able to address the actual needs of the students.

Songdo Complex was pursued in hopes to advance Yonsei’s educational standing in North East Asia, but seemed to have become more of a burden than a benefit. While its intentions are good, one has to wonder, with no clear plan of what will happen to Songdo after its completion, whether or not the time and money of Yonsei Univ. could have been used with more sensitivity. A new sports complex, a new student union building, a new Business School building: these were promises once made by Yonsei Univ. for the welfare of the student body, which somewhere along the line seemed to have been forgotten. Instead, entrance ways of a few buildings are being renovated; while the classrooms remain as it were.

There are many other ways that the university could decide to spend its money and time. A more down-to-earth, a more direct problem of students that could do well with the attention of Yonsei Univ. is the issue of housing around Shinchon campus. This is dealt with in this month’s Cover Story of *The Yonsei Annals*, and with such an article being published, it is hoped that the university will take an interest in what the students are going through.

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