Fu Jen Catholic University students yesterday petitioned against a curfew on female dormitories, saying that it violates students’ personal freedom and is gender-based, as male dormitories are not under the same restriction.
First-year student Kuan Chih-sung (關芷頌) said that a curfew from 12am to 6:30am is in effect for women’s dormitories on campus.
While male students can come and go as they please from their dormitories via an access-control system, female students who return after 12am must wake up managers to get in, she said, adding that if a student violates curfews more than three times they are summoned by school authorities for an interview.
While no students have been expelled for curfew violations, the rule puts students under pressure and is a form of institutionalized gender discrimination, petitioning students said.
Saying that adult students are responsible for their own behavior, the petitioners said the university should not infringe on the personal freedom of female residents by imposing an outdated curfew on them in the name of safety.
The students also urged fellow students to sign a petition asking the school to lift the curfew.
The university said that it had pushed back the curfew by 30 minutes in 2009, so that it now started at midnight rather than 11:30pm.
The university said it only offers guidance to students who miss curfew, and does not require them to move out.
The university said it is open to using access-control systems in a female dormitory on a trial basis, adding that the school’s student association is collecting opinions on the curfew.
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