With COVID-19 once again spreading quickly, social distancing has been elevated to level 2. Sookmyung Women's University announced on August 20 that it would change its teaching system. The announcement said, "Until the end of level 2 social distancing, all classes, except those in which face-to-face classes are inevitable, will be operated untact." Then, the school administration team announced a reduction in the time operations of the audiovisual equipment rooms for the second semester of 2020. Because most classes will be conducted without any face-to-face interaction, equipment support will no longer be needed. According to the notification, the operation of the audiovisual equipment room at the Prime Complex will be suspended. Instead, it will be integrated into the audiovisual equipment room at Suryeon Faculty Building room 102. Operating hours will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The audiovisual equipment room allows students to borrow laptops for online classes. In order to borrow a laptop, however, you need to reserve one using the Sookmyung portal system and the laptop must be returned that same day. Wired microphones and pointers for face-to-face classes are also available for rental but these do not need a prior online rental application. When visiting the audiovisual equipment room, students must wear a mask. The change to operation times will start on September 1 and continue until December 21. The administration team did also announce that it would consider opening the Prime Complex operation room once the COVID-19 spread is controlled and face-to-face classes are restarted. Jang Dahae from the Division of Economics '19, said, "This year school facilities are not being used as frequently, but I think reducing the operating hours is a good decision." As Jang suggests, Sookmyungians have complaints about school facilities and the use of school equipment this year, but changes are necessary for the school and there is a need to provide alternatives.
