July 10, 2007
Education Ministry mandates curfew and bedchecks for university students
Harshing the mellows of college kids all over China, the Ministry of Education has announced a ban on off-campus student housing:
In a notice issued on Friday, the ministry instructed all universities to make the dormitories "another front for political and ideological education" to create "a good climate for the students' growth."The ministry told the universities to strengthen the administration of dormitories, in what it says will ensure the safety of students and heighten communication between them.
It also ruled that students sharing dormitories should be classmates to make it easier for teachers to monitor behavior outside the classroom.
Such naughty behavior as late-night study sessions will be strictly prohibited:
Zhang Ting, a student at Renmin University in Beijing, complained to the Beijing Morning Post about her university cutting the electricity off too early every night. In most universities, the lights go out at 11:30pm during the week."We know they just want us to have a good sleep ,but we need more time to study for exams," she said. "Universities should be more flexible towards the administration of dorms."
Sweet as Ms. Zhang's sentiment is, we consider her diplomatic argument evidence that extant "ideological" training is working pretty well; this girl needs a position in government public relations, stat. Most students-- speaking only on terms of anonymity-- expressed, uh, normal reasons for not wanting nightly bed checks:
Some of the students rent houses for privacy rather than study, particularly if they live with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Students say it will be difficult for the universities to prevent this practice. Another Renmin University student, speaking anonymously, said one of her roommates never slept in the dormitory because she lived with her boyfriend in a rented apartment.
While the shift in regulations may not be optimal for sexually acti-- er, really studious-- college kids, netizens may rejoice the likelihood of more Back Dormitory Boys-like viral phenomena in coming years.
Shanghai Daily: Boycott Placed on Students Living off Varsity Grounds
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Beijing is afraid, very afraid.
nanheyangrouchuan
These adults are being treated like middle school kids.
Then it should be no wonder they have kid-like mentalities. Serious, all the Chinese people I meet at my school remind me of people from middle school. They have the social skills of blind orangutans.
As a blind orangutan, I take offense at that.
Prepare for student rebellion. We all know what happened last time. The other option is an even more brainwashed, dependent generation.
Notice that no students (or graduates) have weighed in here - most likely none will either. In China, Apathy is a virtue - while having an opinion about anything vaguely inflammatory is not.
There is no need to insult the social intelligence of University students - they are mostly well-adjusted people.
But their own apathy, their complete unwillingness to stand up for their personal freedom is astounding.
"The other option is an even more brainwashed, dependent generation."
That's not a problem for foreign companies, they are willing to spend whatever it takes to retrain them, including hygiene training, instead of hiring one competent person in those companies' home countries.
nanheyangrouchuan