College ‘buddy system’ sparks suspicion of ’foreigner privilege’

高校“学伴制”引发“外国人特权”的质疑

Controversy over international students’ "privilege" in China has returned to the spotlight on Chinese social media after a university in East China’s Shandong Province was reported to have "allocated" three study buddies for each international student.

在中国东部山东省的一所高校为每位留学生“分配”三名学伴的新闻被报道后，有关留学生在中国享受“特权”的争议再次引发了中国社交媒体的关注。太原理工大学考研论坛

Reports went viral on Sina Weibo recently, saying that the Ji’nan-based Shandong University (SDU) allocated 141 buddies for 47 international students in 2018 and most of the buddies were female, while their international partners were male.

近日，一则报道在新浪微博上疯传，据称山东大学在2018年为47名留学生分配了141名学伴，其中学伴大多数为女性，而留学生都为男性。

The reports showed an alleged list of these students, on which the Global Times reporter found no indication of gender. The widely circulated list could not be found on the SDU’s website.

报道还展示了一份据称是这些学生的名单，《环球时报》的记者无法辨别这份名单上学生的性别。而在山东大学的官网上也找不到这份广为流传的名单。

The reports triggered heated discussions on social media, with many netizens wondering why one international student needs so many buddies. Some even asked if the university was looking for mates for international students.

这些报道在社交媒体上引发了激烈的讨论，许多网友表示疑惑，为什么一名留学生需要这么多学伴。一些人甚至质问山东大学是否在为留学生找对象。

The SDU did not reply to the Global Times as of press time, but an alleged statement released by the university on Sunday spread on the internet said its buddy program was aimed at promoting the studies of domestic and international students and was carried out voluntarily.

截止发稿前，山东大学并对《环球时报》进行回复，但该校周日在网络上发布了一份声明称，“学伴制”旨在促进国内外学生的学习，是自愿开展的。

It also noted that the buddy program is common in many Chinese colleges to promote communication between domestic and international students.

该声明还指出，“学伴制”旨在促进国内外学生之间的交流，在中国高校中很常见。

An anonymous member of staff from the Office of International Cooperation and Exchanges of Nanjing University (NJU), Jiangsu Province confirmed with the Global Times that they had been carrying out the buddy program for many years.

江苏省南京大学国际合作与交流办公室的一位不愿透露姓名的工作人员向《环球时报》证实，他们多年来也一直在实行“学伴制”。

Many students from Beijing-based colleges, like Peking University and Beijing Language and Culture University, reached by the Global Times reporter also said buddy programs were common in colleges for international students.

《环球时报》的记者采访了来自北京大学、北京语言大学等北京高校的许多学生，他们也表示，“学伴制”在高校中很常见。

(全文共285个词，环球时报)

重难点词汇：

spotlight n. 聚光灯;反光灯;公众注意的中心 vt. 聚光照明;使公众注意

allocate vt. 分配;拨出;使坐落于 vi. 分配;指定

indication n. 指示，指出;迹象;象征

trigger n. 扳机

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