Foreign students face
scholastic differences
By OSCAR HALPERT
Ot the Emarakt
Editor’s note: The following story is the third in a
series about foreign students
Just in case anyone is still confused, the
international study funds that University Pres
Paul Olum proposes to cut affect only the Univer
sity's contribution to the Oregon State System of
Higher Education's International Education Pro
gram. a study abroad program coordinated at.
Oregon State University.
The University 's international studies pro
gram - a healthy degree program directed by
Clarence Thurber - and the University's interna
tional services office are not part of the $146,000
cut
Imagine entering a classroom and listening to
a professor talk in a foreign language about a
complex subject
Imagine attending a party and making small
talk in an unfamiliar language while contending
with an unusual culture
At the University, hundreds of students do
this on a daily basis, besides dealing with the
problems of acedemia everyone else faces
The number of foreign students attending the
University hovers around 1,000, according to
Diane Hunsaker, University statistical clerk
Between fall term, 1980, and spring term, 1981,
there was a very small drop in foreign student
enrollment to just under 1 000, she says
Students who come from abroad often are
confused by casual conversation and are taken
aback, says Norman Sundberg. a psychology and
CSPA professor who spoke on culture shock to a
group of foreign students last week during an
orientation program
Just how each student adapts differs from
person to person
'Generally speaking, Americans are very
friendly and open, but it is really difficult to
develop a real friendship with them," says Alan
Chow, a business major from Hong Kong
Maybe it's because they realize that if they
get too close they might have to break it and
move on
"Somebody will pass you and say How are
you? and before you answer his question, he's
about a mile away," Chow says with a laugh
Unlike many of his Chinese friends, Chow
says he has gone out of his way to meet Amer
icans
Chow says an American dorm mate is one of
his best friends But being with Americans can
create problems because many of his Chinese
friends will avoid associating with his American
friends, he says
"A lot of Chinese just hang around with their
own group I think students should benefit from a
culture, get something new,” he says
"I think American students see us as secre
tive, studious, not very active When I first came
over, I decided I'd tell Americans they were
wrong ."
Despite the adjustment problems many for
eign students have, few return early to their home
country, says Thomas Mills, the University's for
eign student adviser
"Part of it may be because they put a lot of
time and effort into coming over," Mills says
Some of the adjustments foreign students
make involve only educational differences
One Japanese student says he was surprised
to find that "here, people can quit their profession
and go back to school "
In Japan, "people have to find a job right
away after graduating and then don't quit for life,"
says Aki Yamamoto, a computer science student
attending Lane Community College
“In Japan, it’s difficult to enter the university
High school students are the ones who really
study hard "
Part of the adaptation process by foreign
students involves forming opinions on Americans
and their educational system Not all the opinions
are positive
Hans Geiselmann, a German exchange
student, says American students are "immature"
even though they work a lot
"I think they are this way because of the
system,'' says the biochemistry graduate student
"They are used to having to be told what to do "
Last year, three of Geiselmann's roommates
studied at the University of Tuebing, West Ger
many, on a student exchange program All agreed
that, academically, German and American
educational systems have significant differences
Students in Germany orient themselves
toward long-term goals and are tested occasion
ally for accumulated knowledge rather than per
iodically for a small amount of material, as is done
in the United States, he says
Jan Mulder, a Dutch graduate student
majoring m business, says he finds American
students to be more serious, more honest "
"When a professor leaves the room, a
student here will stick to his own paper instead of
copying,” Mulder says
"I also find that they're playful They'll put on
clothes that a person in Holland would only wear
in certain situations '
It's hard to tell the college students apart
from high school students, he says
“There's a big difference in Holland The
people who go to college don't throw Frisbees
around ”
IFC declines to finance
trip to architects’ meeting
The Incidental Fee Committee
on Monday rejected a request
by Peggy Meneice, a senior
majoring in landscape architec
ture, for about $540 to fund her
attendance at a national meet
ing of American Society of
Landscape Architects this
month
Last year's committee
refused tc fund the same
request
Meneice, president of the
University's student chapter of
the society, told the committee
her attendance at the confer
ence would help the architec
ture and allied arts school
maintain its accreditation and
national ranking
"The other comparable insi
tutions (Harvard and Cornell)
are privately funded It is impor
tant that the value in operating a
state university be expressed,"
Meneice said
Oregon State University,
which doesn't offer a bachelor's
degree in landscape architec
ture and has also suffered bud
get cuts, will be represented by
eight students at the confer
ence, she argued
But IFC chairer Karsten Ras
mussen said that student funds
should not be used to maintain
or promote the ranking or
quality of departments and
schools
“Funding should come from
the school," added committee
member Xavier Romano
The campus society chapter
has 300 members and the ar
chitecture school's population
is 10 percent of the University's,
committee member David Gib
son said in support of Meneice's
proposal
The ASUO has funded
student trips before, but 'can't
do it this year with all sorts of
academic unions increasing
budget requests to fill in gaps
cut by schools and depart
ments," said ASUO budget dir
ector Alan Contreras
“We need to stop this before it
starts," Contreras said
Approval of such requests
and large budgets submitted by
academic and other student or
ganizations would force a raise
in incidental fees, he said
"Everybody wants to stick it to
the students,” Contreras said
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FLU VACCINATION
Vaccinations for influenza will be given at the University Student Health Center every
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00 to 9:00 am, beginning on October 21st and
continuing until the end of fall term
Students may receive the vaccine at a cost of $2 50 per injection
Faculty and staff are charged $3 50 per injection
Persons who have never received flu vaccine and who are under the age of 28 years need two
injections of vaccine four week apart Persons over the age of 28 need only one injection
If persons received one injection of the 1978-79, 1979-80 or 1980-81 vaccine, they would need
only one injection this year
Annual flu immunizations are especially advised for people with an increased risk of
complications from lower respiratory tract infections, including (1) Persons 65 years old and
older (2) Persons of any age over five months with any of the following: heart disease,
compromised lung functions, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, chronic severe anemia, and
conditions which compromise immune mechanisms For more information call the Student
Health Center at 686-4441