While it may be true that there are some college students and people that prefer to live their lives based on the directions of others, most people prefer freedom of choice, particularly when choosing an education and the future paths of their own careers. There are certainly some institutions that can benefit by eliminating as many choices as possible, but on the whole, students and people in general must be given free rein over the choices that they make in order to control their own lives.

The freedom to choose one’s own destiny is a fundamental human right. While it is true that simply because a college eliminates as many choices as possible to give students a clear direction does not deny any individual that freedom (they can always choose another university or choose not to attend university at all), it is still a somewhat disturbing idea that students would actually need such an action to guide them through their university years. It is absurd to think that college students would actually want a reduction in their number of choices in the educational process, particularly at that age where they are just now being allowed to finally make some of their own choices. It is a fundamental part of the normal process of maturation at the age when young adults are finally given the freedom to make choices of their own volition.

Certainly there are some institutions that can benefit from a policy of narrowing the choices for students to give them clear direction. One example would be that of the military training schools, where freedom of choice is secondary in importance to learning to behave in the same manner, no matter what the situation is. Future military personnel must learn how to follow orders in order to ensure the success of the military organization as a whole. For these students, a clear sense of direction and a well-charted path to development is a necessity. The need for regimented training and an ability to follow orders to the letter in a military situation fundamentally requires that the students have fewer options to choose from, even in a university situation.

Additionally, consideration must be given to the fact that giving students or people in general more choices rather than less can be conducive to the development of that person as an individual. With a wider variety of choices, it is more likely that a student can choose exactly the courses that he or she wishes to take in order to reach his or her fullest potential. Narrowing the choices available also narrows the skills that future graduates from that particular university will have. Although having fewer choices can simplify the process of making a decision for students, it also results in more homogeneity of the graduates. As more students are required to pursue the same educational path, the competition among graduates for finding a job will be even tougher, as employers will look upon them as all the same. It is possible that only the best and brightest of these similarly educated graduates will find employment in their areas of education simply because there are too many of them with the same educational backgrounds.

Narrowing a student’s choices is a seemingly simple and relatively harmless way to sharpen his or her focus upon entering college. But the end result of such a policy is to increase competition among college graduates, to create more dependency on others to make choices for them, and to constrain students from making more specialized choices in education to fulfill their goals of self-realization.

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参考译文

大学学生——以及普通民众——宁肯听从指令也不愿意自己做出决定。因此，大学应该尽量地取消选择，以便给学生提供清晰的指令。

尽管确实有些大学学生和一般民众宁肯按照他人的指令来生活，但是大多数人却喜欢拥有选择的自由，尤其是在选择教育以及他们职业生涯的未来道路时更是如此。确实对有些机构来说取消选择是有益的，但总体而言，学生和普通民众应该拥有选择的自由以便支配他们自己的生活。

选择自己的命运是最基本的人权之一。的确，仅仅因为一所大学尽量取消选择以便给学生提供清晰的指令并不意味着剥夺个人选择的自由(他们可以选择另一所大学或选择不上大学)，虽然如此，但学生实际上需要这样的行为去指导他们度过大学时光，这却是一个令人甚感不安的观点。同样荒谬的是认为大学生实际上想要在大学教育过程中减少选择的数量，尤其是在他们刚刚被允许做出自己的最终选择这一年龄段上。年轻人最终得到按照自己意愿进行选择的自由，这是成熟过程中不可或缺的一部分。

当然，有些机构缩减学生的选择范围并且给学生提供清晰的指令，这会来得更为有利。以军事训练学校为例，这里，从重要性上讲，选择的自由已让位于学会步调一致地行动，无论情况如何均是如此。未来的军事人员必须学会遵从命令，这样才能保证整个军事行动的胜利。对于这类学生，清晰的指令以及明确的成长道路都是必要的。严格统一的训练之需要以及一丝不苟服从命令之能力，在军事环境中本质上要求学生拥有较少的选择余地，甚至大学学习中亦复如此。

此处，必须考虑到这样一个事实，即给一个学生或普通人更多的选择会有助于这个人的自身发展。有了广泛选择的机会，学生就更可能选择他/她所想选择的课程，从而充分地拓展他/她的潜力。缩小选择的范围，同时也缩小了这所大学未来毕业生所具有的技能。尽管提供较少的选择可以简化学生的决策过程，但它同时也会产生毕业生较大程度上的同类性。随着更多的学生必须踏上相同的求学道路，毕业生寻找工作时竞争会更趋激烈，因为雇主会认为他们都一样。因为有太多的毕业生受教育的背景相同，因此很可能只有最优秀、最聪明的毕业生才能在他们所受教育的领域中找到工作。

缩小学生的选择范围，似乎是学生在踏入大学校门之际突出他们学习重点的一种简单且相对无害的方法。但是，这种政策的最终结果是增加了大学毕业生之间的竞争，使他们更加依赖别人进行选择，并且限制学生在受教育过程中进行更专业化的选择，从而限制了他们的自我实现和自我发展。