Lack of space for students’ team-based activities: what can universities do to solve the problem?

Students at Seoul National University in South Korea are engaged in a variety of team-based activities, but there is a lack of space for them. We discuss how the university should address this issue.

 

These days, more and more courses require students to work in teams through a project format. To give a short but personal example, five of the seven courses I’m taking this semester require at least one team-based activity. In addition to regular coursework, students are also involved in many activities that involve large groups of people through societies and clubs. Seoul National University is composed of 16 colleges, and there are clubs for activities that do not depend on the nature of the department, such as bands and athletic clubs, in each college or department, as well as central clubs for all members. Currently, only 103 clubs are officially registered as centralized clubs, 24, 19, 25, and 35 in four departments, and it is estimated that the number of clubs registered as affiliated clubs in each of the five colleges could reach 200 or more, and the number is expected to be much higher.
However, there are currently only two of the 180 buildings in the university’s campus that have space allocated for these activities (hereafter referred to as student other activities). While each college has a certain amount of space in their respective buildings that can be used as club rooms, this is only after the college’s student government has actively requested the space and is subject to constant adjustment, so it’s still hard to imagine that students can freely conduct extracurricular activities. This is also the case for occasional but frequent gathering spaces, such as team building activities. In the immediate future, finding a place on campus to have long, closed discussions is not always easy, and even when it is available, “students” gathered to study are often kicked out of the “classroom” when discussions become lengthy and late into the night. This is supposedly due to the hassle of patrolling and the cost of operation.
Should the school authorities just look the other way and let the students deal with all of this on their own? I think that creating an environment that empowers students to grow as holistic human beings and develop themselves through constructive discussions and countermeasures is well in line with the educational purpose of universities, even before fulfilling any moral responsibilities. In addition, today’s employers are increasingly looking for talented people with diverse leadership experience and experience in team-based activities, not just knowledge of their majors, and the talent pool is diversifying. I think it is part of the school’s policy to respond to the needs of the times by organizing the curriculum with team-based activities and extracurricular activities in various liberal arts courses as well as majors. There are various competencies and qualities that such a curriculum can never develop. Therefore, in addition to increasing the convenience and efficiency of team-based activities in the curriculum, I think it is necessary for schools to take an active role in finding solutions to create an environment where students can gain rich experiences and grow through extracurricular student activities.
For him, the first thing to look at is the supply side of the problem. As mentioned earlier, including dormitories and research facilities, Seoul National University’s Gwanak Campus consists of more than 180 buildings. It can be argued that the space allocated for the self-governance, academic activities, and extracurricular activities of 17,000 undergraduate students in only two buildings is grossly inadequate in absolute terms. Also, since my enrollment, I have never seen a single day when there was no construction on campus. There are always new buildings being built, and several have undergone interior remodeling, even if the exterior remains the same. However, the number of food franchises that have come to campus, and buildings that have been built with corporate names on them in the name of research buildings and are used relatively little, if at all, has increased dramatically, while the only buildings I know of where “students” can truly engage in team-based activities late into the night or early in the morning are the privately funded Xinyang and Haedong halls.
I don’t want to argue that the only solution is to build new buildings for students, as there is only a limited amount of discretionary budget available for construction. Of course, given the current situation, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that the budget used to build public buildings for research or events be used to build new buildings for students, which are far short of the demand. However, I think it’s possible to meet some, if not all, of the demand by making operational efficiencies without building new buildings.
First, it is necessary to integrate reservation systems by college, department, or building. Currently, each building is usually managed by a college or department, and in the case of school facilities or special facilities, they are managed independently. However, the problem is that the classrooms that can be autonomously requested and used in those buildings are limited to students belonging to that college. This may seem like a logical step from the perspective of administrative convenience and the benefits of preventing classrooms from being damaged by unauthorized use. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement in the system, given that first, there is a huge loophole in the system that allows out-of-college students to apply for reservations under the accounts of their friends online, and second, as the saying goes, it is not reasonable to prevent students from studying or self-development activities for fear of disorganization and damage to the classroom.
The next step is to expand the scope of use. As a prerequisite, it will be more efficient and easier to use if the reservation system is unified and operated. This could be accomplished by allowing students to use the facilities of their choice without restriction based on their college affiliation and implementing a real-name system. By using the real name of the representative applicant, it will be possible to clarify the responsibility for the use of the classroom and provide benefits such as account suspension for a period of time for bad users and a one-time extension of the available time for good users, so that they can be expected to clean up after themselves, dispose of trash, and preserve the property.
The next step is to expand the range of classrooms and sports facilities currently authorized for students by each college. For example, in the College of Business, which consists of Bldg. 58 and 59, the seminar rooms on the fourth floor of Bldg. 58 are reserved for graduate students, but are rarely used, and the situation is no different for the seminar rooms in Bldg. 59, which are not available to undergraduate students. On the other hand, the seminar rooms for undergraduate students in Building 58 are fully booked until the moment the doors open and are forced to close. Where does the mistrust of undergraduate students’ usage behavior come from, and why are the seminar rooms being operated as a shiny dog house? If the rooms are intended for special audiences, priority for reservation should be given to such individuals or groups, and subsequent management problems can be managed by the real-name system and incentive system mentioned earlier.
In addition, it is necessary to classify the types of classrooms into multimedia use, team meetings and gatherings, exercise, and so on, and to make it possible for students to autonomously and easily apply for and utilize them without creating blind spots in operation and management during periods other than existing courses or specially reserved times. In other words, as mentioned earlier, it is necessary to expand the number of spaces that can be applied for exclusively, but classrooms that are used as lecture halls can also be used as alternatives in the evening by repurposing them. This would be the most realistic option as it is difficult to create dedicated spaces in the short term. On the other hand, if each building has a break room for basic needs other than the main use, such as eating and drinking, it will reduce the problem of trash and organization in the classroom.
Finally, in the long run, it is essential to expand the space for student activities by building new buildings or repurposing entire buildings. Currently, clubs are sharing small spaces due to a lack of space, which leads to a vicious circle of supply leakage and demand dissatisfaction, as the space becomes ineffective and underutilized, and is used as a simple storage space. While the benefits to students of having a coffee shop or branded restaurant on campus are obvious, both students and schools need to consider the opportunity cost. If the space and building can be used for team meetings, clubs and study halls, or practice rooms for dancing, music, and other activities, I think that would be a more valuable use.
There were many students who were kicked out by the janitor after discussions that lasted until dawn or barely managed to extend the time by dropping various aromas, students who sat on newspapers on the floor of the halls to play their instruments because there was no practice space, and students who spent money on other expenses off-campus because they were desperate for a place to practice dancing in the front mirror. Now, how much more relaxed and energized would school life be if students could have lively and heated discussions in a place with good internet access, share their discussions on the wall with a board pen, have meetings, close the classroom door and practice without being seen by passersby, and practice in a practice room with a mirror even during the saturated season before festivals and performances?
The underutilized buildings that have been built in the name of research wings and are empty after morning and evening are obviously the result of wartime administration. The school authorities have a responsibility to come to the student center with their eyes open to what students really want and need. It is their responsibility to carefully consider the voices of the student body and put them into practice. We look forward to a more enthusiastic and lively campus life in the future through the efficient and reasonable operation and expansion of space facilities.