WITH the new semester approaching, Yangzhou University in Jiangsu Province has found a visible way to help some of its poorer students: It has built some dormitories for poor students.

More than 50 of the school’s poorer students are now housed in two of these buildings. The major difference between these and other dorms is that the housing cost is 500 yuan a year. In other residence halls, students pay 700 yuan more.

The buildings have proven popular, and many students have applied to get in them. The university screens applications strictly, since they were built to ease the financial burden on poorer students.

And, it works.

"Living here can save me a lot of money," said one freshman named Lou, who spends less than 3 yuan for three meals every day. "I’m poorer than many of the other students, but I work hard."

There is a downside to this, however. Some students said that being made to live in a special buildings put them in an unfavourable light.

"I’d hoped to be treated just like other students," said one student named Liu. "Living here makes me feel depressed. It seems that some inferior mark has been placed on the poorer students."