

　　Some time ago, China’s Ministry of Education banned university students from renting private accommodation during their studies. To this people’s attitudes differ sharply. What do you think? Write an essay of about 400 words.


　　You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.




　　Some time ago, China’s Ministry of Education banned university students from renting private accommodation during their studies. This has given rise to a heated discussion. Some people, especially school management and most parents, embrace such a ban, while others criticize it fiercely. Personally, I am against the ban.

　　First, most college students are adults and should enjoy the right to choose where to live. In banning off-campus housing, the education authorities seem to believe that college students, most aged 18-22, should be treated as children, rather than adults. Some administrators claim that students lack self-control and cannot make proper decisions for themselves. This is surely not fair treatment for such a bright young generation. If these students didn’t attend colleges, but worked in companies or joined the army, they would be treated as adults.

　　Secondly, private accommodation is indeed preferable to living on campus for many students. It is true that living on campus promotes a sense of belonging by being closely connected with other students. This could truly be a valuable part of the four-year college education. Students living on campus also have easier access to vast school resources, such as libraries, computer rooms and various evening seminars. But crowded dormitories, high noise levels, early electricity curfews and other strict codes also make dorms less attractive. At least dorms are not the right home for everyone. Off-campus housing, meanwhile, offers a greater degree of freedom. That is especially true for self-motivated students, students studying late for important tests or working late on academic projects. Many students living off-campus also share rooms. They have to negotiate contracts, pay utilities and probably cook for themselves. All help prepare students to better manage their study and life. In fact this also conforms to most schools’ creed that students should be in touch with the real world as much as possible.

　　One of the motives for the housing ban is that education authorities hope this will help prevent students from cohabitation and having sex during school years. But since students can now legally marry in schools, why should they be banned from having sex? Reality tells us that this is wishful thinking. Banning sex among students has been and will be a mission impossible. This is probably why some schools have installed condom vending machines on campus or provide free condoms in school clinics, which tells students to have safe sex, rather than no sex.

　　To sum up, we should treat students as adults instead of children. Though there might be problems in allowing students to leave off campus, we should not give up eating for fear of choking, as the Chinese idiom says. In today’s diversified world, schools should show respect to students in making their own choices. After all, schools are not military barracks and students are not soldiers.
