Student association leaders and lawmakers today advocated for abolishing curfews at university dorms today, saying that they infringe on the rights of university students as legal adults.
Student rights advocates held a news conference at the Legislative Yuan, led by National Students’ Union of Taiwan chair Chen Yu-jen (陳昱仁), Student Rights Committee chair Huang Lang-teng (黃莨騰), Chung Yuan Christian University Student Association director Shih Yu-feng (施宥烽), Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞).
A surprising number of universities still have dormitory curfews and enforce them through attendance, locking doors after hours and not allowing students out, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of National Chi Nan University
If students return late, schools notify parents, issue demerit points and may even evict students from dorms, he said.
This is harmful to students, as they may disregard their own safety as they rush back to the dorm, Chen said.
Economically disadvantaged students who work part-time may miss curfew because of working overtime, and their financial situation would only worsen if they were subsequently evicted and need to find other housing, he added.
For adult university students, curfews are a form of imprisonment, preventing them from even buying a late-night snack or breakfast in the morning, Chen said, urging the Ministry of Education to address the issue and ensure equality across campuses.
Sixty-nine universities and colleges in Taiwan still enforce dormitory curfews, with such rules in place at 67.4 percent of private institutions and 14.9 percent of public ones, Huang said.
Dorm curfews are a means of infantilizing and controlling university students, the student leader said, advocating that curfews should be abolished and students allowed to enter and exit freely with access cards or student IDs.
Dorm safety should be ensured through access control systems, adequate lighting and proper reporting mechanisms, rather than restricting students’ freedom of movement, Wu said.
Since the law recognizes university students aged 18 and over as adults, schools should trust them and let them manage themselves independently, she said.
Dormitory curfews are an outdated, unreasonable and unfair practice that is not necessarily effective in ensuring safety, Ko said, adding it is no longer needed in today’s technologically advanced era.
Ko questioned why schools restrict university students as if they were minors when they are already adults.
The Ministry of Education should help universities strengthen students’ safety and education and cultivate responsible modern citizens, rather than students who blindly obey rules, he added.
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