Chang Dadui (Foshan Daily): I support Xiamen University's ban on tour groups. Universities are supposed to be a quiet place for academic work. Too many tour groups lead to noise and other problems. Meanwhile, students' safety is also under threat in such a crowded and disordered environment.

Opponents

Li Liyan (The Beijing News): The ban of Xiamen University aims to prevent tourists from damaging the campus environment and squeezing resources, so that students' daily studies and life won't be interrupted.

Such bans are often applauded by students and teachers but attacked by travel agencies and tourists. People all tend to think about the problem from their own perspectives. The important thing is how to reach a balance between the universities and tourists.

Universities should stop regarding themselves as ivory towers immune from social influences. As public institutions, they are obligated to be open to society. University campuses are special resources. It's unwise to simply reject tourists.

Apart from the "bans," there should also be "guiding." It's necessary for education authorities and relevant departments to cooperate with these universities, in order to properly and moderately make use of university resources. Thus, these prestigious universities can play a positive role in improving the public's cultural and academic level.

Wu Binbin (www.xinhuanet.com): It's better for universities to moderately open their tourism resources than to ban tourists outright.

Campus tourism has pros and cons, and so how to balance tourism and academic work is key. Here, we stress moderation. Tourists should be allowed on campuses but campus resources must not be over occupied by tourist groups. If schools can properly make money from tourism to supplement their daily expenses, it's a win-win game.

If university tours develop into a good project, students can have more opportunities to make money and even start their own businesses. Tourists will surely spend money on campus tours. Besides, students can also serve as tour guides to present schools' culture and history to the visitors. Tourism is in nature an economic activity. Universities can charge fees for campus tours, and this to some extent helps to improve the school's economic situation.

Universities' fame and influence will be further expanded once campus tours are well developed. This is probably what all universities and colleges hope to see. With the expansion of college recruitment, the competition among universities is increasingly fierce. Thus, making themselves known and appreciated by more people will be very important for universities.

Meanwhile, as a kind of public education resource, apart from educating students, universities also have certain social responsibilities. By opening to tourists, universities can help ordinary people pick up some scientific and cultural knowledge.

Particularly, universities' resources are unused in holidays,. At that time, it's a good idea to develop these prestigious universities into education bases, receiving visiting groups and tourist groups.

Daoke KoKo (www.fjsen.com): It's unwise for universities to ban tourists from entering the campus just because the schools find it difficult to manage the situation. Ordinary people also have the right to visit and appreciate prestigious universities. Universities are supposed to be tolerant and open to the outside world.

Dear Readers,

"Forum" is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society. We invite you to submit personal viewpoints on past and current topics (in either English or Chinese).

E-mail us at: zanjifan@bjreview.com

Please provide your name and address along with your comments.