Recently, a lot of students at the University of Seoul (UOS) have visited the campus to attend face-to-face classes, but quarantine measures at the campus have been lax. In two months between April and May, more than five students who visited UOS turned out to be infected.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, everyone who visits UOS has been required to register personal data to enter all the buildings. This is because the Korean government forced every multi-use facility to record every visitor in case of the spread of the virus. Nevertheless, not many people seem to be following this rule these days. 

The UOS Times discovered that if there is no administrator who enforces to register at the entrance, most visitors ignore the requirement and just enter the building. Earlier this month, only a few buildings such as the Central Library were guarded. Most of the tables that have the registration lists and thermometers were empty not only in the evening after 6 p.m., but also during the daytime. People do not attempt to take their temperature and record it unless they face workers who force them to do so. 

Although students and faculty members need to tag their ID cards to enter the building, a lot of buildings are remaining open as well. As a result, it has become hard to track infection routes when one of the visitors turns out to be infected, making people shake with anxiety.
 

UOS has locked the stable door after the horse is stolen. After one infected student visited the Central Library, UOS closed the library on May 13 to sterilize the building. Also, when another student who visited the Liberal Arts Building and stayed there for undefined hours turned out to be an infectee, student councils from many departments had conferences to reinforce the rules about using department council rooms. 

According to Jeon Yoo-sung (Dept. of English Language and Literature, ’18), the student president of the Department of English Language and Literature, students in the department are no longer able to use their room in the Liberal Arts Building freely. Before UOS realized the seriousness, students could gather and stay there anytime as long as they wrote down their names. 
 

However, now everyone in the Department of English Language and Literature is required to report to the student council about who will be using the room and why they need to use it. Also, users are forced to sit at distant intervals, and they can stay for a maximum of four hours if they are taking online classes. For other purposes, only a maximum of two hours of usage is allowed. The room was shut down on April 23, and the student council announced the consolidated rules on May 12, reopening the room.

Members of UOS should be aware that the pandemic has not ended yet and that it is still serious. The school, too, should never reduce the tension and keep managing visitors for quarantine thoroughly. Also, even if there is no administrator checking visitors at the entrance, students must do what they are required to do. In order to escape from this disaster, everyone’s cooperation is needed. 

Lee Seo-yeon
sy001109@uos.ac.kr