Date: 2019/12/29
Data Source: Youth Development Administration
Case Officer: Lulu Chen
Tele/Mobile:(02)77365175
E-mail:luluchen@mail.yda.gov.tw
Contact: Chia-Ting Huang, Section Chief
Tele/Mobile:(02) 77365172/ 0919209046
Over the years, university students have been less willing to participate in school affairs. To help students identify themselves with their schools and facilitate the operation of students’ unions, the Youth Development Administration of the Ministry of Education organized a training program aiming to promote deliberative democracy among university students. Four teams were formed in the program to promote the spirit of deliberative democracy, initiate discussions, and develop feasible proposals for improving public spaces in dormitories and learning spaces.
Tunghai University will build new dormitories in the next few years. To encourage students to participate in the project, the Students’ Council of Tunghai University, one of the four teams formed in the training program launched by the YDA, organized a deliberative forum on November 30th, inviting teachers and architects to present the progress update and explain the design ideas. Students propose to build unisex public toilets, accommodate more chain restaurants in the canteens, and resume mechanisms that guarantee on-campus housing for students from other cities, counties, and islands. According to Lin, the chair of the council, the agenda covered topics that interested students, gaining recognition from teachers. The school was also willing to accept recommendations from students. The concept of deliberation should be promoted in schools. The council will continue to discuss with the school and focus on issues that related to student's rights and interests.
“The campus is small. We don’t have enough spaces for student clubs” is a piece of comment collected by the students’ union of Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages using bulletin boards. The Students’ Union organized a forum aiming to reinvigorate spaces for student clubs on December 2nd following an investigation into on-campus space utilization and visits to colleges and universities in Kaohsiung and Pingtung. Participants offer pieces of advice, such as arranging dedicated spaces for student clubs, creating more indoor performance spaces, and arranging idle classrooms for student clubs. Yeh, the deputy chair of the council, pointed out that the forum enabled more participation and recognition from students as well as effective communication between students and the school. The school has started to arrange storage for musical instruments. More detailed discussions and plans will become available to students.