Students at Donghua University who don't want to get out of their cozy beds in the morning to take part in compulsory jogging have taken to buying their way out of exercise.

 

Several undergraduates at Donghua University have put up notices on the campus bulletin board offering up to 100 yuan (US$12.5) for jogging exemption tickets which are given to students who give blood or take part in campus sports activities.

 

Students at the school must go jogging between 6:20 AM and 7 AM at least 16 times a semester. Teachers responsible for the activity stamp their sports cards every morning they go for a run and those without at least 16 stamps by the end of the semester will fail 'phys-ed'.

 

"As a cold winter is drawing near it'll be a big torment to go jogging that early in the morning," said Jason Yu, one of the students offering to pay money to avoid the early morning exercise session. "I've already missed many opportunities so far this semester so I must seek some other ways out."

 

Yu said he isn't willing to give blood or take part in campus sports so he's offering up to 50 yuan for 10 exemption tickets. Students who give blood or play sports receive between five and 15 of the tickets. Several other students have put up notices offering to pay up to 100 yuan for 10 tickets. Although each ticket bears its user's name Yu and other buyers say it is easy to change the names on them.

 

University authorities were unaware of the ads before Shanghai Daily contacted them yesterday.

 

"We used to hear that students crowded sports games or blood donation application sites to get the tickets but we've never heard of them paying cash before," said Lou Xiaojuan, vice director of Donghua's phys-ed department.

 

She said students caught using someone else's tickets will automatically fail the phys-ed course which students must pass to graduate.

 

(Shanghai Daily November 14, 2006)