FSO assists foreign students in adjustment
By Julie Shippen
Of the Emerald
Acquainting foreign students with American life,
the University and each other are a few of the many pur
poses of the Foreign Student Organization.
But because many students new to both the country
and campus have language problems or are just un
prepared for the culture shock, this task is often easier
said than done, says Vijay Balan, who has been involv
ed in the administration of FSO for the past year.
‘ Many (foreign students) come here knowing very
little English,” Balan says. ‘‘It’s very hard for them to
converse with Americans. Who wants to sit down and
try to understand English not being spoken very well?”
As a result of language barriers, many of these
students may avoid mixing with American students
and cluster with members of their own nationality in
stead. ‘‘It makes them shy — they revert to being with
other (foreign students),” he says.
One example of this problem is the Singaporean
sector of students living here, which Balan says lives
together in a “whole block of apartments” near cam
r
Number of students
pus. Although doing so may help these students to feel
more at-home here, he believes this practice is a less
than-correct approach to studying abroad.
“That’s not right,” Balan says. “You come to this
country to get to know Americans and you want
Americans to know that you exist. The whole motive is
to get foreigners to know each other, know America.”
Another problem that hinders some foreign
students in America is a slowness in adapting to the
new country’s lifestyle, Balan says. Many dilemmas are
minor, but some situations this attitude fosters can be
more volatile, he adds.
Balan relates one case of the latter where a group of
students from the Middle East voiced an objection to
the flag of Israel at the opening of International Night in
early April of this year. As people of the Middle East do
not recognize Israel, these students were simply carry
ing out their beliefs, he says.
“Many don’t want to change when they come here,
either,” Balan says. A prime example of this are the In
dian students who are accustomed to bartering before
buying. To not barter in India is either a sign of
weakness or an insult, he explains, whereas in America
——-—— _. it is just the opposite.
But no matter the
background reasons, Balan
believes a willingness to
learn the different ways is
best. “If I come to America, I
want to learn American ways
and not just completely
ostracize myself,” he says.
Even those who are willing
can have difficulty in adap
ting, he says;. Foreign
students from Africa, Asia or
South America not only must
deal with a new way of
thinking, but also with a dif
ferent environment, Balan
says. Whether it’s the con
tinuous rainfall they never
experienced in their country
or the independent, separate
nature of America’s family
structure, students from
these three areas in par
ticular find adapting to
American life most difficult, he adds.
Still another side of the international coin are the
groups of foreigners who do not wish to be considered
as such because “it’s like a stigma to be considered
foreign,” he says. Europeans are most well-known for
this, he adds.
“Most Europeans feel they can identify with
Americans... since we (Americans) originally came
from there (Europe)," he says. “While Americans con
sider themselves foreigners in Europe, they (Euro
peans) don’t consider themselves foreigners (here),”
Balan adds.
As blatant proof of this, Balan points out the
absence of special organizations for the German,
French, Swedish, etc. students on campus. Thus far,
only the Norwegian students have formed a student
group, which has been a very recent effort, Balan says.
For the most part, European students are hard to get
together, he adds.
One way that FSO helps foreign students meet each
other is at regularly scheduled coffee hours, where
Balan originally became interested in the organization.
The group also formed the Intercontinental Soccer Cup,
which was made up of six countries and created by
Balan and his co-director, Alberto Foyo, upon their of
ficial addition to FSO.
The organization also sponsored a week-long Inter
national Week where many of the 1,200 local students
representing 72 countries held slide shows, films,
forum discussions and booths with information about
their country, he says. Balan hopes the festivities can be
expanded from a week- to a month-long event this com
ing year.
The primary purpose of FSO is to oversee the
finances of the dozen foreign student groups on cam
pus, he says. The ASUO office afforded FSO a $7,40C
budget last year to allocate to the different groups, he
adds.
The group has its recreational uses, as well. For in
stance, last year FSO organized an inexpensive bus-trip
to Crater Lake, which turned out to be almost too suc
cessful as three times the expected number of interested
students turned out for the venture, Balan says.
Among the many informal parties the group ar
ranged last year was a “goodbye” party for the
graduating foreign students, which Balan says was the
least FSO could have done for them. “They paid a lot to
go to school here,” he adds.
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