In KAIST,
What constitutes the essence of college life - the casual drinks, impromptu talks, and nights out - seem eternally sandwiched between exam weeks. There is no better demarcation of what makes college life bearable or intolerable than the uncomfortable acknowledgment of looming exams. Thankfully though, in the weeks leading up to exams, life is culturally rich, mainly due to the innumerable events and opportunities to be found on the school campus.
Partnership with Leechard Pro Hair
In a biannual newsletter published by the Undergraduate Student Council (USC), it was found that most KAIST students would favor increased partnerships and discount privileges with regards to restaurants, cultural/ leisure activities, and public transport. In the category of cultural/leisure activities, students wanted cinema, hairdresser’s, and amusement park discounts the most and some suggested sports equipment, futsal fields, baseball matches, and gaming. With these results in mind, the USC prioritized discussion with cinemas, hair shops and considered implementing coupon systems for some delivery restaurants.
It strikes many people by surprise that this particular hairdresser's is spelt Leechard, as opposed to the more common English given name Richard. Its queer naming put aside, Leechard is one of the most frequented hairdresser's by KAIST students. Therefore, the USC announced in late September that it will work on forming a partnership with the hair shop, providing a 20% discount on all styling services available to all KAIST students (postgraduates inclusive) as well as employees. The discount will be put into effect if at least a minimum of 100 people sign up.
As these partnerships are open to the entire KAIST student body, the USC understands how important publicity is. In the past, people have not been able to take advantage of these perks simply because they were unaware. Accordingly, a list of partnerships will be put up on Facebook, the USC's homepage, and our school's online community, ARA, to ensure every constituent of the KAIST community can utilize it.
Organization of the KAIST Art &Music Festival
The fourth annual KAIST Art & Music Festival (KAMF) took place on the third and fourth of October. Over the years, the festival has gained a reputation for mediocrity. In a poll conducted by the USC, only 22.7% responded that they participated in the 2014 KAMF. Of those who participated, 31% thought the organization of the event was poor, 29% thought the ticket pricing was problematic, 19% disapproved of the lineup, and only 9% declared that the event was held smoothly. In order to increase the overall satisfaction of KAMF, the USC set out several pledges. First of all, they changed the initial planning agency from 'Enjoyment Howl', which has been prone to countless complaints, to 'Hyupdong Johap Monddang Classic'. Moreover, to improve sound quality, the venue has been altered from the Sports Complex (N3) and Outdoor Theater (W9) to the grass fields encircled by the Creative Building (E11), the Main Administrative building (E14), and the Main Library (E9). In addition to this, the USC recruited 'LP Sound', a company which is responsible for sound systems in Seo Tai-ji's concerts. On a separate note, there have also been comments that the 'art' aspect of KAMF has been overshadowed by the performances. The number of participants at art booths have been on a steady and steep decrease, mostly because little revenue is generated from installing and managing these booths. In order to solve this problem, this year, the USC has attempted to garner more publicity by inviting renowned artists such as webtoon author Poong Kim. It is expected that KAMF gradually improves its overall quality in the near future and establish itself as a major cultural event in Daejeon.