On the 16th, a male student surnamed Qiu from the 2012 class of the School of Computer Science and Engineering at South China University of Technology suffered sudden shock after completing a 1,000-meter physical education test and died despite rescue efforts. Coupled with several recent cases of sudden death during long-distance running, the debate over whether long-distance running should be kept or removed has once again touched a sensitive nerve.
Opponents: "Formalism" Should Be Eliminated
Many netizens believe that college long-distance running tests are entirely "formalism" and should be canceled.
The reporter reviewed the "College Students' Physical Fitness Test Standards," which includes a regulation stating, "Students whose test scores under the Standards reach good or above are eligible to participate in the selection of 'Three-Good Students' and scholarships; those who achieve excellent scores are eligible for physical education bonus credits." Students who fail the Standards may retake the test, but those who fail to meet the 50-point minimum in the Physical Health Standards upon graduation will be treated as having dropped out.
Netizen @Pea-tionSi believes there is a contradiction between the system and its intentions.Some other netizens think long-distance running should be adapted to local conditions and individual differences and should not be mandatory. "It should be canceled—those who like to run can run on their own," said netizen @zhiyuan-yunkai.
Pro: If We Don’t Run, Our Bodies Will Get Too Weak
A considerable number of netizens believe that sudden death is just an issue of individual physical condition, and that physical fitness is as important as civilized quality, so long-distance running should not be canceled.
Netizen @gengshen-lan- said, "It cannot be canceled.If people drop dead after running 1,000 meters, society will become physically weak in the future!" Netizen @Taomuzi2013 said, "What have our kids become?If we don’t wake up now, do we have to wait until we’re labeled 'sick men of East Asia' again?"
Netizen @MONSTERHua believes the key is that students need regular health check-ups and to establish health records.
Bai Yansong once pointed out in his article "To Run or Not to Run" that since many primary and secondary schools no longer have mandatory middle- and long-distance runs, students are buried in bottomless oceans of exam questions, and running has long become a "strange sport"; by the time they get to university, running long distances suddenly begins, increasing the likelihood of accidents. Bai Yansong believes that the current reality in which some schools have removed middle- and long-distance runs is the real culprit behind these accidents.