What does it take to graduate from university? Some papers or high scores in exams? Well, these are not enough if you are a student at Tsinghua University.
According to a new rule of the university, students must prove (证明) themselves in the swimming pool. They need to pass a swimming test of at least 50 meters, and those who fail the test will be required to take a swimming course throughout their school years. By the time they graduate, they will have known how to swim; otherwise they can't graduate with their bachelor's degrees (学士学位).
The news made waves in Chinese social media (媒体). Some people praised the university for requiring a necessary skill that can save lives, and they also believed that the rule would help improve students' health. However, others questioned if it was fair to expect those who come from inland cities (内陆城市) to be able to swim.
In fact, this is not a new rule. Tsinghua University first made swimming a requirement in 1919 but later gave it up because the number of students became too large and there were not enough swimming pools in the school for them to learn swimming.
Anyway, it is still good news that Chinese students' health has become more and more valued. Why not just take this chance to learn one more life-saving ability?
