The bed curtain is small, but it protects privacy. Although the university is big, there is no room for personal space?
According to the website of Xinjiang Medical University on March 27, after research by relevant departments of the university, it is forbidden to hang bed curtains in student dormitories. The school said: the student apartment is a densely populated place, there are certain fire safety hazards in the dormitory hanging bed curtains, bed curtains are flammable, once there is a fire, the fire may spread rapidly along the curtain, seriously threatening the safety of students' lives and property, so the school uniformly requires that bed curtains are not allowed to be installed in student dormitories. At present, many colleges and universities have banned students from hanging bed curtains. In January this year, Northwest University for Nationalities issued measures for the management of student apartments, strictly prohibiting students from hanging door curtains and bed curtains (cloth curtains) in dormitories. On March 27, the Department of Foreign Languages of Gansu Normal University for Nationalities held a meeting of dormitory directors for the spring semester of 2024, and also demanded that behaviors such as pulling bed curtains without permission should be prohibited. Hebei Zhangjiakou University has also recently carried out the "special rectification of bed curtains in student dormitories". A counselor at Nanyang Normal University in Henan Province said, "The bed circumference of the dormitory has become an 'invisible wall' for potential safety hazards and interpersonal communication, and it is strictly restricted by the school."
The thin bed curtain does not carry the resistance to interpersonal communication, but the respect and cherishing of personal space. The students attend classes and study together every day, eat and exercise, and there is no shortage of communication opportunities. Can you communicate at any time throughout the day, but is it not enough to communicate at bedtime? Do you have to extend human interaction to the edge of the dream to be considered "gregarious"?
Such a demanding demand is tantamount to forcibly erecting a searchlight on a spiritual haven for social terrorists, so that they have nothing to hide. And for those who long for a moment of tranquility, or for independent thinking, where can they find a refuge for their souls? Not to be allowed to hang a bed curtain, or even to change their clothes, to face everyone's scrutiny, for the shy, this is simply a punishment for picking up clothes.
It is far-fetched and unfair to say that bed curtains have potential safety hazards. Although fire safety is very important, it is too biased to take out the bed curtain sheet as the main culprit of fire hazards. If we deduce from this logic, should all combustible materials be removed from the dormitory, so as to show the school's ultimate pursuit of safety?
Obviously, this is neither realistic nor reasonable. Real safety management should focus on improving fire protection facilities and strengthening fire prevention education on the basis of respecting individual rights and interests, rather than simply and rudely transferring the responsibility to innocent bed curtains.
A leading university known for its academic excellence and freedom of thought, rather than for its many rules and regulations. The "bed curtain ban" is just like a mirror, reflecting the tendency of the management thinking of some colleges and universities to be young and trivial, and it is obviously inappropriate to treat college students as primary and secondary school students to manage. The greatness of the university lies not only in the majestic buildings and the gathering of masters, but also in the spirit of embracing diversity and respecting differences. The world's leading universities have never heard of such an absurd ban on hanging bed curtains, but rather respect individual choice and privacy.
On the other hand, some colleges and universities are making a big fuss about irrelevant details and extending their management tentacles to the private sphere, which is suffocating: when will our higher education really get out of the shackles of "nanny-style" management, and let college students experience an independent and autonomous life within the framework of reasonable rules?
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"The way of the university is in Mingmingde, in being close to the people, and in stopping at perfection. The "bed curtain ban" in a small number of universities today has deviated from the essential pursuit of university education, which not only fails to demonstrate morality, but also suppresses individuality and alienates people's hearts. Don't let a bed curtain become a yardstick to measure the spirit of the university, and don't let excessive intervention damage the last trace of admiration for young students for the temple of knowledge.
University administrators should understand that if they want to build a first-class university, they must first cultivate an inclusive mind. The tranquility behind the bed curtains of the students can reflect the "tolerance of the university and the boundlessness of beauty".