SOCIETY, Commentary: High Speed Internet Access? BFSU Students Still Second Class Citizens
By Li Shuting
For years, students in Beijing Foreign Studies University have been experiencing embarrassing moments when they try to get access to the Internet. If one wants to be on the net, there are only two ways to go. However, both of the ways would drive a normal person mad.
Firstly, one can use the telephone line in the dormitory for dial up access to the net, which ties up the line for incoming phone calls. By doing this, one must offer a good reason, or roommates may be resentful. Besides, it usually takes an hour to download a 4 MB document, with a charge of 4 Yuan per hour.
Secondly, one can use the computers in the library if one doesn't mind the wait due to the crowd with the same intentions. However, it takes years to open a web page, and the charge is 3 Yuan per hour.
The rates may sound confusing and difficult to judge; some statistics may help: a student in Peking University pays only 8 Yuan and has unlimited access for a month. The sharp contrast may be unbelievable, but it is true. The more surprising fact is that this unfairness has existed for years but has never been formally questioned or condemned by the students in BFSU. Even complaints sounded like begging.
On September 15th, 2005, the painful waiting finally ended. At least, people thought as much. Pushed by the expectation of thousands of students, Broadband (through which people can get on the net conveniently) was dilatorily installed. However, before students' celebrations even began, the stated charge froze the smile on all faces--40 Yuan per month, in other words, 5 times the charge at Peking University. Instantly, appreciation was replaced by rage and condemnation. This originally popular installation was depreciated.
The reasons for it being so expensive were inquired into, but in time the answers turned out to be just crude excuses. The official version is: firstly, our technique is more advanced than those at other universities. The better service deserves a higher price. Secondly, the total expense to install the equipment is great, and students should pay their part. Since BFSU has a smaller number of students than most universities, the average charge is unquestionably higher.
It is not difficult to find both of the excuses ridiculous. Firstly, it is not a problem to charge for better service with a higher price, but the problem is who can prove that the service is better? None of the students can analyze the equipment from the technical sense. At the same time, none of the students believe the service is comparably impressive. If it is better, where is the proof?
Secondly, this equipment is so common in universities today that it has been acknowledged as a kind of infrastructure. Consequently, it is students' right to have it, and it is the university's obligation to provide it. There is no reason for the students to pay the added expense. (However, if this "population theory" does count, many other weird phenomena in BFSU can be explained, such as the expensive charge for the tennis court. It might be a wonderful excuse, but it is ridiculous.)
Considering the unfair charge, some students tried very hard to resist the new, expensive service, but soon their revolt turned out to be a failure. With the charge of the library greatly appreciating, they realized that to be robbed of some money was better than to be robbed of a fortune. Clearly, Broadband was the one that robbed "some money," so it won.
Since it is robbing, convincing reasons are no longer necessary. What's more, the long period of waiting and expectation killed initiative. The Internet is too attractive to reject. It is just like electricity--as long as people know they can use it, no one can bear losing it. So voluntarily or reluctantly, students compromised anyway. By this time, we have almost become indifferent--both to the unfairness and to our rights.
Maybe we should try to see the bright side. The hurricane of Broadband has changed life in BFSU rapidly and greatly. With it, the world is brought nearer to the students; with it, BFSU is no longer an "information desert"; with it, students' lives are not single and boring any more.
However, new embarrassing moments are coming. Often, one has to try a million times until one can finally get on the Internet; sometimes, not a single web page can be opened; usually, the system stops working without reason; and the download rate is always surprisingly slow.
So even with the expensive charge, adequate access to the Internet is still a fancy dream at BFSU. The unfairness is still here, but there are no longer condemnations made or questions asked. We are now beyond indifference.
For years, students in Beijing Foreign Studies University have been experiencing embarrassing moments when they try to get access to the Internet. If one wants to be on the net, there are only two ways to go. However, both of the ways would drive a normal person mad.
Firstly, one can use the telephone line in the dormitory for dial up access to the net, which ties up the line for incoming phone calls. By doing this, one must offer a good reason, or roommates may be resentful. Besides, it usually takes an hour to download a 4 MB document, with a charge of 4 Yuan per hour.
Secondly, one can use the computers in the library if one doesn't mind the wait due to the crowd with the same intentions. However, it takes years to open a web page, and the charge is 3 Yuan per hour.
The rates may sound confusing and difficult to judge; some statistics may help: a student in Peking University pays only 8 Yuan and has unlimited access for a month. The sharp contrast may be unbelievable, but it is true. The more surprising fact is that this unfairness has existed for years but has never been formally questioned or condemned by the students in BFSU. Even complaints sounded like begging.
On September 15th, 2005, the painful waiting finally ended. At least, people thought as much. Pushed by the expectation of thousands of students, Broadband (through which people can get on the net conveniently) was dilatorily installed. However, before students' celebrations even began, the stated charge froze the smile on all faces--40 Yuan per month, in other words, 5 times the charge at Peking University. Instantly, appreciation was replaced by rage and condemnation. This originally popular installation was depreciated.
The reasons for it being so expensive were inquired into, but in time the answers turned out to be just crude excuses. The official version is: firstly, our technique is more advanced than those at other universities. The better service deserves a higher price. Secondly, the total expense to install the equipment is great, and students should pay their part. Since BFSU has a smaller number of students than most universities, the average charge is unquestionably higher.
It is not difficult to find both of the excuses ridiculous. Firstly, it is not a problem to charge for better service with a higher price, but the problem is who can prove that the service is better? None of the students can analyze the equipment from the technical sense. At the same time, none of the students believe the service is comparably impressive. If it is better, where is the proof?
Secondly, this equipment is so common in universities today that it has been acknowledged as a kind of infrastructure. Consequently, it is students' right to have it, and it is the university's obligation to provide it. There is no reason for the students to pay the added expense. (However, if this "population theory" does count, many other weird phenomena in BFSU can be explained, such as the expensive charge for the tennis court. It might be a wonderful excuse, but it is ridiculous.)
Considering the unfair charge, some students tried very hard to resist the new, expensive service, but soon their revolt turned out to be a failure. With the charge of the library greatly appreciating, they realized that to be robbed of some money was better than to be robbed of a fortune. Clearly, Broadband was the one that robbed "some money," so it won.
Since it is robbing, convincing reasons are no longer necessary. What's more, the long period of waiting and expectation killed initiative. The Internet is too attractive to reject. It is just like electricity--as long as people know they can use it, no one can bear losing it. So voluntarily or reluctantly, students compromised anyway. By this time, we have almost become indifferent--both to the unfairness and to our rights.
Maybe we should try to see the bright side. The hurricane of Broadband has changed life in BFSU rapidly and greatly. With it, the world is brought nearer to the students; with it, BFSU is no longer an "information desert"; with it, students' lives are not single and boring any more.
However, new embarrassing moments are coming. Often, one has to try a million times until one can finally get on the Internet; sometimes, not a single web page can be opened; usually, the system stops working without reason; and the download rate is always surprisingly slow.
So even with the expensive charge, adequate access to the Internet is still a fancy dream at BFSU. The unfairness is still here, but there are no longer condemnations made or questions asked. We are now beyond indifference.
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