A Lesson in Love?

A university course has been designed to help students escape singlehood. I am serious. At China’s Tianjin University, a special course has been organized by the campus’ matchmaking club. The class, which has been open to all students since mid-September, provides instructions on how to finally get struck by Cupid and find themselves a loved one.

Every student enrolled in the course has to finish both theoretical lessons and fulfill practical activities. According to one of the class’ organizers, the practical activities encourage students to try to find a girlfriend/boyfriend in real life, and only those who find one are likely to get all credits.

The story has sparked off as wide discussion on China’s social media. Many of Tianjin University’s graduate students jokingly grumble that they should have had the same class, and students from other universities also agree that the course would have been quite an interesting experience.

However, critics are questioning why a course, led by a campus club, can offer students credits. In fact, the course has no teacher but offers open discussions. In other words, it isn’t a traditional academic course; instead, it is defined as an extracurricular course by Tianjin University.

Despite these frivolous issues, one question needs to be asked: how important is the course to the current Chinese undergraduates, and should other universities have the similar course? Unlike in the West, most Chinese young people formally start dating after starting college (puppy love in high school is common but mostly kept in secret).

In a survey by an academic research and investigation website in 2013, 26 percent of Chinese college students in pursuit of love agree that they date mainly for gaining the experience, 24.5 percent only for fun. Besides, these students with interest of having a partner only account for 63.4 percent of all students, and the rest shows no enthusiasm for dating. However, college is regarded as the birthplace of long-term love.

Many college students want to come across someone that turns them on in college. According to a survey by China Youth Daily, 41.3 percent of 2001 interviewees said staying single makes them feel down during their college days. Similarly, a number of the college students’ searches for a partner were unsuccessful. Hence, a love course could really help these lonely youngsters. However, one concern over the course is how to give better guidance to the students without pushing them just to achieve high credits.

The love course is just one out of a wave of recent unconventional courses that have sprung up across the country as Chinese universities attempt to reform themselves. This September, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, located in Chengdu (capital city of Sichuan), began a new class dedicated to the art of cooking Sichuan cuisine. The students can try to replicate the well-known dishes in the university’s kitchen. Even though the class is only open to 50 students, over 200 students have applied for it. Similarly, since 2013, Nanchang University runs a class about the popular Chinese card game, sanguosha, ( which means “Killers of Three Kingdom” in English). The course has drawn applications from 300 individuals.

In addition, since 2012, Cornell University has been offering a tree-climbing class. In 2014, the school also introduced a red wine tasting class. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology also provides a course on the right way to watch TV.

Indeed, universities should be given more room to offer students the opportunity to benefit from diverse range of subjects – regardless if they are academic or practical. More importantly, an innovative university class becomes valuable only when it is suitable to human interest and societal trend; besides, the university should give appropriate guidance to keep this type of class on the right track.