In classes, university separates girls, boys

Shanghai University will organize this year's freshmen into classes based on their dormitories, which will end up separating the classes by sex, a university spokesperson said Thursday.

The university's move to divide classes based on their dormitories departs from how local universities have organized incoming students in the past, leaving some students worried that it will be just that much harder to get to know members of the opposite sex.

Typically, universities in Shanghai divide freshmen in groups, called classes, whose members take many of the same courses together, especially in the first year. In the past, university administrators created these classes based on students' majors, so they always contained both boys and girls.

Because Shanghai University has separate dormitories for boy and girls, its new method for carving up the student body would ultimately leave them segregated by sex, though that was not the university's goal, said Liu Shaoxue, a spokesperson for the university.

"We were told by the university during training for freshmen orientation this year that the purpose of the new method is to improve communication between students and their class counselors and help the university better manage students," said Chen Ke, a sophomore who will help with freshman orientation this year.

Chen told the Global Times that student affairs counselors will have offices in the dormitories and will live with the students they supervise, so that they can offer help when necessary, especially during emergencies.

Qian Haomin, a sophomore majoring in history, believes that it takes time for students to get to know members of the opposite sex. And if they are separated at the beginning, it will just take longer. "I think the new method will be an obstacle to boys and girls getting to know each other," Qian told the Global Times.

However, the university does not think that the measure will hinder boys and girls from meeting each other because they will still take many general courses that are not restricted by class, according to a report in Youth Daily.

Still, for Qian, the first year is a critical period for establishing new relationships, as freshmen in the university have not yet chosen a major.

"In the first year, student from the same class spend more time together, maybe two hours a day. The bonds between classmates will loosen in later years as they choose different courses to attend, so boys and girls will still have opportunities to mingle," Chen said.