In about three months, many students will leave universities or colleges after four years' study. There are some graduates, however, who might prefer to stay on campus. For these students, there are a lot of attractions on campus that will keep them remain in school.
A China News Service report indicated yesterday that those dandy boys don't worry about making a living. And the student Azhe is one of them. He organized a music band with several of his friends before graduation. The music band has made some performances in the past. Now Azhe graduates, but he does not want to give up his dream, "I don't want to leave school and my parents don't stop me, either. For me, here is a place where my music inspirations come from. I love music, so I will stay on campus."
But there are some making up for their lost time. A student named Ali studies in a renowned university in Beijing. He should have graduated last year. However, regretting that he had played too much and missed much studying time in the four years, he applied to the school board to extend his school life for one more year. In this "extra academic year," he did nothing but studied either in the school library or in the self-study room.
Another group of people are working hard to pass the postgraduate entrance exam. In Beijing's Zhongguancun district, where many universities and colleges gather, house owners never worry that their houses would be vacant because many students from other provinces travel long distances to Beijing in order to rent a room to study, hoping that some day they could pass the postgraduate entrance examination. Some students had taken the tests for three years and some even for seven years. Constant failures do not depress most of these people, who merely spend all their time studying on campus in addition to eating and sleeping.
Further, there are ones living a double life. Skateboarding is quite popular on campus now. On calm and clear nights, a group of young people dressing in fashionable sportswear will gather on campus practicing the sport. Some of them already graduated for several years. However, they managed to find and rent some beds in the school dormitory. They go out to work during the day and return to school in the evening, eating, skateboarding and sleeping on campus. For them, "Campus life can make them feel really young and energetic."
(China News Service March 14, 2006)
