“Shijiazhuang, Hebei: Over a Thousand Students Launch ‘June 12 Uprising’ to Protest Delayed Summer Break (2025.06.12)”
More than a thousand students at Hebei International Studies University gathered on campus Friday night to protest the school’s decision to delay the summer holiday.
According to multiple students, the university had originally planned to begin summer break at the end of June. However, due to upcoming performances by the Art Department for visiting foreign guests in July, the administration recently announced that the entire school’s vacation would be postponed until mid-July. The sudden notice sparked widespread discontent among students, many of whom took to social media to voice their anger. Some even speculated that the real reason behind the delay was to help campus shops earn more profit.
On the night of June 12, the protests escalated as over a thousand students gathered on the school’s athletic field, chanting slogans demanding the university stick to the original holiday schedule. Videos from the scene show students shouting “Let us go on break!” led by a peer holding a megaphone. At one point, school officials appeared and spoke with the students, but gave no indication that the delayed holiday plan would be reversed.
In the aftermath, students dubbed the protest the “June 12 Uprising” and nicknamed the student leading the chants “Thermos Hero.” They also called on more classmates to join the movement and remain steadfast until the administration agrees to revise the vacation schedule.
