Society

Suicide draws criticism to university

By Lu Junting (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-11 07:48

SHANGHAI: The lingering controversy surrounding the death of a young woman who committed suicide last month has brought into focus the alleged lack of sensitivity to the problems of out-of-town students in Shanghai's many colleges.

Yang Yuanyuan, a 30-year-old postgraduate student at Shanghai Maritime University, was found dead last month in the bathroom of the dormitory where she lived. Police said Yang used two towels to hang herself on a sink faucet in the toilet on Nov 26.

Suicide draws criticism to university
The mother of Yang Yuanyuan, who killed herself, was allegedly evicted from her daughter's university dormitory. [Wang Haoran]

An unnamed letter posted on an online forum linking her death to her university has stirred protests from many people who blame the rigid rules of the university for trying to kick Yang's mother out of the residence - which it claimed pushed her to end her life.

The university Thursday denied the charges, claiming that it offered assistance to Yang, a native of Hubei province, by helping her find part-time work in the school and offering her and her mother subsidized housing on campus.

The incident gained national significance because Shanghai, with its many top universities, has become a magnet for aspiring students countrywide. Yang, a graduate of business administration at Wuhan University, had sought to further her studies in a more specialized field of maritime law in Shanghai, which provides much better job prospects.

Yang's mother came to stay with her in the dormitory in Shanghai against the rules of the university. Messages on the Internet alleged that attempts by the university to evict her mother had caused her so much grief that she took her own life.

Shanghai Maritime University told China Daily yesterday that it did not force Yang's mother to move out. Instead, "we tried our best to work with Yang to help her find alternate accommodation for her and her mom", a spokesman for the university said.

Yan Zhengwei, principal counselor of Shanghai Wales Clinic, said that Yang's death may be directly related to her family's financial situation.

"She was probably very dissatisfied with herself and had difficulty adjusting to the new environment in Shanghai," Yan said.

Shan Huaihai, a doctor at the Xuhui District Mental Health Center in Shanghai, suggests that psychological health centers in universities and communities should play their part in suicide prevention, and professional training is urgently needed.