Students in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province in central China, have rioted over the prestige of the diplomas they will receive. Authorities have decided that students at  Shengda Economics, Trade and Management College in Zhengzhou will no longer receive diplomas carrying the name of more prestigious  Zhengzhou University, with which Shengda is affiliated.

I consider this a sign of great progress. In the past, riots in China have been associated with food chartages, or political abuse. That students are rioting over the name appearing on their diplomas betrays a certain faith in the future progress of the economy, as well as a desire to cash in on upward mobility.

Meanwhile in the United States, our most prestigious colleges are rushing headlong to damage their prestige, admitting Taliban officials, causing university presidents to resign over telling the truth, and hosting assorted lunatics in the social sciences and humanities spouting the dogmas of feminism, deconstructionism, queer theory, and the like.

Hat tip: China Challenges

Thomas Lifson   6 20 06