A moment when professor thinks he is a God
By Elvira Fidelia Tanjung
Graduation day is one of the most awaited days for every student. The day full of smiles makes it easy to forget the many tedious hours of homework, reports and term papers that characterized our study time.
But that is not happening for two Indonesian students who studied at the Gyeongsang National University (GNU) majoring in mechanical engineering during the course of their master’s program. They are myself, Elvira Fidelia Tanjung, and my lab mate, Merisha Hastarina.
On graduation day, Feb. 22, 2013, about 30 minutes before the ceremony was to begin, someone from the department office phoned to inform me that I could not receive my certificate that day, explaining that my professor wanted to personally present it after he returned to Korea three days later.
The normal procedure is, when a student returns the graduation gown to the graduate office, they exchange it for their certificate. Therefore I visited the graduate office to confirm one more time about our certificates (Merisha was in Japan attending an international conference with our professor).
I told them I just wanted to see my certificate, take a picture and send it to my parents. I ran away with it and I did so on purpose. Is it wrong to have my own certificate? It’s my right because it is mine, and has my name written on it. No one should run away with their eyes full of tears trying to keep their own certificate, but I did that on my graduation day.
This case is strange, as both of us passed the course requirements and, according to the university system, were on the graduate list, the International Office said after checking with the graduate office. So for what reason would the professor keep our certificates from us?
It became very clear that my professor was trying to keep my certificate without specific reason or a clear statement. He might have had his own plan behind this.
After the professor returned to Korea, he visited my rented room. He was visibly angry and yelling at me. He threatened to cancel my degree. I was shocked but I wanted the world to know how horribly he dehumanized me, record it and upload it to YouTube.
I would like to give information to other prospective students out there, because I don’t want other people to experience the same thing we did. That video probably lasted only four minutes, but that’s what happened to me almost every day during the past two years I studied under his supervision. He never treated me with dignity at all.
Those words and treatment are unacceptable; we could sue him for insulting someone from another country. All we could do before we go back to Indonesia was to report this problem to the Indonesian embassy in Korea and send them the video. Staff from the international office at GNU talked by phone to staff at the Indonesian embassy to clarify the problem.
We would like to urge all foreign students here to speak up and do something while we can, especially when one is treated badly. Professors should be respected and honored, but once they thinks they are god and treat you badly, show them that you also deserve respect.
The writer is an exchange student at Gyeongsang National University (GNU) majoring in mechanical engineering. She can be reached at vira_arch@yahoo.com.