I was very saddened when I read the opinion article written by the Mirror’s editorial staff. The topic is one that certainly needs discussing. I was thinking of international students reading it and feeling that the domestic students had such negative feelings towards them.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all domestic students to come to the Study Abroad Office in Old Main 33 so that I can help them pick a place to go for a semester or a summer. It takes a very brave person to leave his or her home and decide to study in a country whose language is not their own. It takes courage to practice that other language and to forge ahead trying to meet people from the host country. It’s an experience that blows your mind, changes your perspective of the world and teaches you a lot about yourself. I encourage the domestic students to take a risk and go somewhere else to study. You’ll never regret it, and I imagine that when you return, you’ll approach our LC international students with a lot more empathy.
I would also like to point out that nobody is “forced” to join the Conversation Partner Program. It is an opportunity to foster intercultural communication. International students eagerly sign up for this program for the chance to make an American friend, because meeting somebody one-on-one is much less scary than plopping down at lunch with a table of unfamiliar students and striking up a conversation in English. The fact that there are always many more international students that sign up than domestic students indicates that it’s not the international students standing in the way of intercultural communication, but the American ones. I encourage the domestic students to contact me and sign up for the program. Making an international friend will be fun and rewarding!
Jen Siebert
Director of International Programs/ Instructor of Japanese/ Co-advisor of the Conversation Partner Program