MORE than 100 students signed up for an unconventional class at Zhejiang University last week.

Instead of listening to lectures, students at the two-day session participated in group discussions and "metaphor" games. They watched video materials, all aimed at persuading them to refrain from premarital sex.

The organizers of the "chastity" seminar said it encouraged students to discuss and debate the consequences of premarital sex. They hoped students would also develop a greater awareness of the threat of AIDS and learn about alternatives to premarital sex. Two dozen students signed up directly and more than 100 registered by text message.

News about this seminar gave rise to fierce debate online. Supporters say such seminars serve as helpful counterweight to the wave of "sexual liberty" that has changed many young Chinese in recent years. They say the seminars can teach them to behave responsibly. Opponents argue that such seminars represent an outdated view of sex. They say they may impinge on young people's natural right to have sex.

Do you think "chastity seminars" are good for college students?

Yes

The threat of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is real. Such seminars help young people protect themselves.

1. Such seminars don't just discourage premarital sex; they also teach students about responsible and safe sex. This is very useful knowledge, and for this purpose alone such seminars is positive.

2. Many seriously negative social phenomena have come about because people are having sex at increasingly younger ages these days. They often lack an adequate understanding of what they are doing. If college students voluntarily signed up for the seminar, they probably wanted to learn something about sex.

No

Such seminars unfairly confuse responsible sex with unsafe and irresponsible sex.

1. College students are adults who have sexual needs. As long as they understand their responsibilities, they can make their own choices about whether to have sex or not. This seminar conveys a conservative message to today's young people.

2. Encouraging young people to avoid having sex before marriage will only make them more curious and obsessed with it. It is natural for some college students to try sex; at the same time, they should learn about responsibility and protection.

chastity 贞节

impinge

metaphor 隐喻

obsess 使困扰

premarital 婚前的

Bonus

Expressions

counterweight n.平衡物

This negative review is a counterweight to the praise the book has won since publication.

那篇负面的评论是对这本书出版以来所赢得的褒扬的平衡。

refrain from 避免

Though she is curious about his past, she refrains from asking too many questions.

尽管她对他的过去很好奇，但她尽量避免问他过多的问题。

我同意反方观点。“AIDS”和性病不能成为禁止婚前性行为的充分理由。难道爱兹病专找未婚青年传播？关键还是要protect properly, including use condom.

太专业了~~~~

I think some social phenomenons like this,we can not change

As long as it's a consensual decision made between two responsible adults, I don't see the harm in it.  But nowadays, responsibility seems to be too much to asked (Please read the last sentence with sarcasm). At the end of the day, the two involved have to live with the consequences, be either good or bad, so who are we to judge?