As a temple of knowledge, universities are not only places for students to pursue their dreams, but also attract a large number of tourists. Prestigious universities often become popular destinations for tourists who want to experience the academic atmosphere and bring a unique educational experience to their children.
However, whether the entry of tourists into universities will have an impact on students, and whether tourists should demand too much from universities, is a topic of great concern.
Recently, a female tourist sharply criticized Xiamen University, which attracted people's attention. As a 985 university, Xiamen University has impressed people with its beautiful campus and literary graffiti. However, the female tourist said in her comments that Xiamen University is the least worthwhile attraction, believing that it is too commercialized and no longer in line with the essence of the university.
First of all, female tourists enter from the South Putuo Visitor Center and feel a huge underground shopping mall with a strong commercial atmosphere, which is incompatible with the academic atmosphere of the university.
She even mentioned that she could not find a bag storage room and a nursing room in the entire underground mall, and questioned the university's service facilities. Secondly, she was troubled by the search for the entrance to the campus, and the lack of clear signage along the way caused her to have to repeatedly ask for directions and walk a kilometer to reach the entrance, which greatly affected her excursion experience.
The long waiting time at the entrance and the inability to enter due to overtime made her feel disappointed.
In addition, when she entered the other gate of the campus, she encountered a group of scalpers who asked if they wanted to enter the campus, and mentioned that the White City Beach was not worth seeing. This series of chaotic situations made her feel that Xiamen University was poorly managed, scalpers were rampant, and the tourist experience was seriously neglected.
In response to the criticism of the female tourist, the students of Xiamen University expressed their views one after another and refuted her remarks. Students believe that the school primarily serves students rather than tourists, so it makes sense to focus more on the needs of students in the planning of the facilities.
The school's facilities should be designed to cater primarily to academic and living needs, rather than catering to the visitor experience, and services such as nursing rooms should be provided in commercial areas.
In addition, the students questioned the confusion of female tourists about the positioning of the school. They make it clear that schools are places that provide students with an academic environment and educational resources, not tourist attractions.
As a result, the expectations and needs of visitors differ from the learning environment of students, and schools should be student-centred in planning and management.
However, the female tourist did not seem to understand the school's positioning and continued to make more heated statements. She even felt that Xiamen University students had low self-esteem and xenophobia, and could not accept external criticism.
In one incident at Wuhan University, a college student riding an electric scooter on campus nearly collided with a tourist, which eventually turned into an unpleasant dispute. This has led to a deep reflection on the quality of tourists.
The opening of the university to the outside world is a well-intentioned move in itself, but some tourists fail to understand it, make excessive demands on the school, and even cause conflicts over trivial matters. This begs the question of whether visitors should focus more on improving themselves, learning to be respectful and understanding, rather than asking too much of the university to provide them with special services.
The decision to open the university to the outside world is a compromise, but it would be unfair to students if visitors fail to understand and appreciate the move and instead demand more services from the university.
In doing so, we should be grateful for the school's openness to visitors and its efforts to promote exchange and understanding.