Recently, multiple students from Hunan Normal University, a “211 key university” in mainland China, exposed the poor hygiene conditions in the graduate students’ dormitories. On September 11th, news of “18 students sharing a moldy dormitory at Hunan Normal University” went viral.
Pictures shared by several students on Weibo showed that the distance between the desks and bunk beds in the graduate students’ dormitory is only wide enough for one adult to pass through, extremely narrow. The shared toilets were so dirty that it made people nauseous, and the walls of the bathroom were covered in black mold.
A first-year graduate student at the Medical School of Hunan Normal University, MoMo (pseudonym), told Dahe News that she saw someone post a “survival guide” on social media, revealing that the dormitory building consists of three bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom, with each small bedroom accommodating 6 students, totaling 18 students sharing 3 toilet stalls. The dormitory is cramped, with mushroom growth on wooden doors, and clothes washed in the washing machine come out dirty. Some members of the new student group also shared videos that appear to show outdated facilities and poor conditions inside the dormitory building, causing her to worry about the upcoming campus life.
According to the official website, Hunan Normal University was founded in 1938 and is a “Double First-Class” university and a key university of the “211 Project” in mainland China. It was originally the National Normal College, the first independently established national normal college in mainland China at that time.
In response to the situation, a staff member from the university’s publicity department explained that due to the increase in enrollment, they recruited 600 more undergraduate students and over 400 more doctoral students, with minimal expansion at the master’s level, but overall, due to the increased enrollment, there was a shortage of dormitories.
However, netizens are not convinced, “Even the most normal person would break down after a few years in this environment, not to mention the proliferation of mold everywhere.” “Even dogs would shake their heads at this terrible living environment; they are not treating the students as human beings.” “Expanding enrollment strategically but neglecting logistics?” “The conditions of the undergraduate dormitories are far better than the graduate student dormitories; this is clearly unfair. Don’t take on more than you can handle.” “Take some of the scholarships given to African students, and everything will be resolved!”