Master's thesis acknowledgment: School lets scrap collector enter campus; mutual kindness warms hearts.
It's graduation season again. Feng Zidong, a 2026 master's graduate from Lanzhou University, specifically mentioned in his thesis acknowledgment that the university tacitly allows scrap collectors to enter the campus, touching many netizens. He said this is an important lesson taught by Lanzhou University.
In the thesis acknowledgment, Feng Zidong thanked a special department—the Lanzhou University Security Department. He mentioned that the security guards at Lanzhou University always tacitly allow scrap collectors to enter the campus, giving them space to make a living. These scrap collectors do not rummage through trash indiscriminately but clean up the area around the trash bins. Feng Zidong wrote: "I think this sincerity is mutual. Lanzhou University provides shelter for the elderly, and the elderly repay the favor by cleaning the campus. I hope that in the future, I can build on my academic path and become a person with some ability, not necessarily to help the whole world, but to help those in need as much as possible."
Feng Zidong, 25, is from Cheng County, Gansu Province. He studied for a master's degree at Lanzhou University and will pursue a PhD at Fudan University after graduation. Lanzhou University has a reservation-based entry system, but since his first year of graduate studies, he noticed that the security department always silently allowed an elderly woman pushing a cart with a bent back to enter. This elderly woman almost daily entered the campus to collect cardboard and bottles, and after collecting, she would use a cleaner's broom to sweep around the trash bins and put the trash back in place. "I've seen this scene for three years," Feng Zidong said. The university tacitly allowed this kindness, and the elderly woman repaid it with labor. This is a manifestation of the goodness of human nature, a very meaningful thing, so he specifically wrote it into his thesis acknowledgment.
Many netizens were moved by this simple and warm mutual kindness, leaving comments and likes: "A loving school, an excellent student." In response to netizens' praise, Feng Zidong said that this elderly woman strengthened his determination to help others as much as possible on his academic path, and the inclusive and warm care from Lanzhou University and the Security Department deeply influenced him.
