College Students’ Image Reconsidered

为什么上一代人会对大学生有意见？

 

Nowadays, college students comprised of the post-80 generation and the post-90 generation are always put in the storm of criticisms. To list a few of these criticisms, they are accused of being spoiled by their parents, for the majority of them are the only children of their families. Brought up in the social context of opening up and reform, they are always renounced by the older generation that they have been westernized looking to western cultures as fashionable and being cynical the Chinese counterpart. Given more and more college graduates have difficulties in finding decent jobs, they are perceived by the older generations as not competent as college students of the older generations.However, I am of opinion that the aforementioned negative image is imposed upon the post-80 and -90 generations, which is unfair.

Firstly, as the majority of post-80 and -90 generation college students are at school or in the lower layers of social myriad, they are vulnerable to their superior’s judgments. As is known, those older generations were brought up in a less affluent and isolated society, they were denied a favorable social background. College students in the past had to work harder to be admitted due to the limited resources of higher learning. When they were in college, many could not gain allowance from their families so that they got into the habit of frugality. Before the adoption of opening up policy, it's difficult for them to get access to foreign cultures, not to mention American movies and Japanese cartoons.

As a result, those older generations are likely to deem any behaviors different from their own experiences as unacceptable and due to their seniority they are able to express their judgments on various occasions. On the contrary, the post-80 and -90 generations can not voice their opinions in a society dominated by the older generations. Secondly, admittedly, part of the post-80 and -90 college students fit into the negative image, but they can not represent all the college students. According to our experience, there are students who are obsessed with computer games, who spend a lot of time keeping love affairs, and who spend money in an extravagant manner. In comparison with these students, the majority of the post-80 and -90 students can fit into an ideal model of college students. Some absorb themselves in the library all day long. Some take part-time jobs in their spare time to pay for tuition fees. Some voluntarily go to the remote areas to teach poverty-stricken students. I was wondering why the media do not provide more reports of those positive aspects of the post-80 and -90 generation college students.

On all accounts, the negative image is imposed by those established older generations, and can not represent all the college students. As a member of the post 80 and 90 college students, I believe that we will still be the backbone of our society in the future.