▲ The view of Changwon University's dormitory. (Source: Changwon National University dormitory homepage)

Changwon University's Dormitory consists of a total of seven buildings, numbered from 1 to 7. In particular, beginning this year, Building 1, will be opened after completing interior design and new construction. Since the facilities, location, and conditions of the buildings are all different for each building, the opinions of various students are also expected to vary, when using the dormitory. Therefore, a survey was conducted with schoolfellows who used the dormitory, in order to hear various opinions, and gain important insight on the use of the dormitory.

According to the survey, the buildings used by the survey participants were all distributed from buildings 1 to 7. When asked about the disadvantages of using the dormitories, 41 participants responded to insect control issues and 36 responded to unsatisfactory cooling, heating, and hot water supply. When using the dormitory, it can be seen that they are experiencing inconvenience in cooling, heating, and hot water, which are provided only at a fixed time and insect intrusions. 66 people responded with the highest percentage of refrigerator arrangements, when asked what they wanted to improve in the dormitory. Based on the contents of the survey, items with a large number of responses could be answered by Kim Gil-beom, a Person in Charge of the dormitory facilities.

Q: According to my survey, 48% of the survey participants are suffering from insect problems. Do you have any policy regarding the issue of pests in a dormitory?

Kim: First, pest and insect prevention are conducted every month. Second, we install insect screens and other facilities to prevent the inflow of bugs. Since the location of the dormitory is under the mountain, there is a limit to the defending off of the bugs. It is difficult to completely eradicate pests.

Q: It is my understanding that cooling, heating, and hot water in the dormitory are provided only at a fixed time, under Central Control. Is there a reason for installing Central Control?

Kim: Yes, there's a reason for installing it. This is because in the case of the dormitories, hot water is heated through a large water tank, and the water is shared. Therefore, when the heated water is exhausted, time is required to reheat it. That's why hot water cannot be used except for a set period of time.

Q: According to the survey, 77% of survey participants are demanding refrigerator placements in their dormitories. Do you have any plans to place refrigerators in the dormitories in the future?

Kim: No, we are not reviewing the refrigerator placement issue in the future. The most important reason for not placing the refrigerators in the dormitories, is that the accident rate is high, due to the items in the dormitory room. The second, is that there are many cases in other universities, where students suffer illness, such as food poisoning, due to spoiled food.

Q: What do you think about placing individual refrigerators or public refrigerators in living areas?

Kim: In this case, the electric capacity used by the building is not large enough to operate individual refrigerators, so there is a limit to the allotment of the placement of individual refrigerators. Also, we are not reviewing the issue regarding the placing of a public refrigerator, because of the large problem of food management, and food disposal from the public refrigerator.

Q: If the refrigerator is not placed, there are students who will ask for permission to place mini refrigerators personally. What is your opinion on this?

Kim: Current dormitory regulations prohibit the use of refrigerators or personal electric heaters. The reason why personal electric heaters and refrigerators cannot be used, is that the risk of fire is very high, due to the possibility of overloading the electric capacity of our system. In particular, in the case of a dormitory, it is quite difficult to allow refrigerators to each individual because the damage caused by the fire could lead to major accidents, not only for the students themselves, but also for others.

Lastly, from this semester, new residents are expected to flow in, due to the conversion of face-to-face classes and the admission of new students. Through the survey, we were also able to get tips for the new residents. Opinions such as, "The back road is a shortcut in the case of Building 7," "It is convenient to collect separate collection in a large container," and "There are many students eating alone in the dormitory restaurant, so don't feel pressured," will be helpful. New students can refer to them when using the dormitories. We hope that Changwon University's dormitories will develop further in the future, and we cheer for the pleasant college life of Changwon University dormitory residents, who will return with a new mindset for the new semester.

By Kim Su-gyeong, cub-reporter  tnrud2824@naver.com

<저작권자 © The Campus Journal, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지>