December 1,1994
13
International students adjust to new culture
Jeff Wirick
Staff Reporter
\ LeavinglhefamiliarsuiTound-
itffc of home is one of the most
-ult adjustments that college
ents have to make when they
nc college freshmen.
I However, for most freshmen
^doesn’t include having to learn
irt» culture and primary language,
wjmething that international stu-
ilcnts must face.
There are about 50 intema-
tioajl smdents that attend Elon this
Kmester. They represent Japan,
iuJtria, Canada, Spain, India,
China, and parts of Africa.
' Most of the students are here
a full-time students as opposed to
one or two semesters," said John
Walker of the Office of Intema-
.ional Programs.
Their reasons for coming to
Elon range from the moderate cli
mate to small size. “A lot of them
were looking for a smaller private
school that offers the arts,” Walker
said.
Why do foreign students come
to America?
Walker said going to school in
America is a good way to learn
English, which is the world’s most
commonly used language.
International students also
come to the United States to learn
American customs.
Students get a taste of Ameri
can culture throughout the year,
such as they did on Nov. 20. Inter
national students joined Elon Col
lege President Fred Young and his
wife Phyllis for a traditional
Thanksgiving Day meal.
The Inter-Cultural Relations
club, an organization designed for
international students to get to
gether, meets twicc a month (the
first Monday and third Thursday of
every month).
“It is a place where interna
tional students can meet and talk
about the things that concern them,"
Walker said.
The organization goes on trips
outside of Elon to show interna
tional students what life is like.
“International students don’t
get a chance to see different cul
tures in the United States,” said
junior Ami Pathak, president of
Inter-Cultural Relations.
“Elon is so confided, the stu
dents don’t understand that so many
things are going on around them,”
Pathak said.
Despite the cultures that are
studied and experienced by the
members of the group, Pathak
stresses the club is also a social
organization.
Kelli BridgesH'he Pendulum
President Fred Young laughs with junior Ami Pathak at hjs home.
The group has campcd in the bcach, and is planning a trip to New
Blue Ridge Mountains, toured York City next semester.
Washington D.C., gone to the
Lack of financial aid available to international students
Gemma Cubero
: Reporter
After years of scrimping and
laWng to pay for his education,
Justo Arevalo’s family is going into
debt.
It is not that Arevalo doesn’t
want to work or wouldn’t take a
loan, but Elon College doesn’t of
fer financial aid to international
students.
Since Arevalo came to the
school in the fall of 1993, his fam-
il) has had to pay the $13,233 an
nual cost at Elon. With the ex
change rate of Spanish currency
into dollars, Arevalo is actually
' paying the rate of $17,300.
Out of the 55 international stu-
. dents enrolled in Elon College, only
the five who are on sports teams
rcceive scholarships.
However, Elon College has
never awarded an academic schol-
trship to a foreign student, said
Joel T. Speckhard, associate dean
ofFinancial Aid at Elon.
“International students are not
eligible for economic aid because
of the limited amount of institu
tional money at Elon College,”
Speckhard said.
Alejandro Amaro, a double
major graduate from Elon, believes
that it is a bad investment for the
school not to offer scholarships to
\ foreign students who have outstand
ing records compared to those of
U.S. applicants.
Elon international students,
„ juch as Alvaro Ramos, who is now
getting his master degree in public
relations at Boston University, "go
to the best graduate schools all over
the nation,” Amaro said.
“If Elon had scholarships for
these students, who then go to ex
cellent graduate schools, an increase
in prestige could occur for Elon,”
he said.
Speckhard said the school of
fers three types of financial aid:
Federal loans and grants that re
quire U.S. citizenship; state funds,
which require North Carolina resi
dency; and college and private
scholarships which have limitations
depending on the donor, “such as
being a resident of acertain county.”
Alice N. Essen, director of In
ternational Admissions, said appli
cants call from countries in Eastern
Europe, where their incomes are
too low to afford school in the
United States.
“The school has to say, ‘l^o,
we are sorry,’ “ Essen said. “I would
love to be able to offer financial
help, but Elon College does not
have enough private funds.”
William Rich, associate dean
of Academic Affairs, said some
schools have 25 percent to 30 per
cent of the budget in vested in schol
arships , while Elon has chosen to
invest in scholarships 12 percent of
its budget.
However, Rich thinks the
money from other schools is not
“real” money but “soft” money, a
discount that either comes from
charging more to the rest of the
students without economic need or
from an endowment.
Because the Internal Revenue
Service prohibits students who are
not U.S. residents from working
off campus, campus employment
is the only option for foreign stu
dents who need help with living
expenses.
Arevalo wanted to help his
family by paying out of his own
pocket the cost of books and laun
dry. But, Arevalo said, jobs on cam
pus have been impossible to get.
“I tried to work as a Spanish
tutor last fall, but occupations were
already taken," Arevalo said. “Then
I tried at the cafeteria twice, and I
didn’t even get an answer, which I
even found more discouraging."
According to the Office ofFi
nancial Planning at Elon, the stu
dent worker budget is divided into
two main funding sources: The
Federal Work Study (FWSP) and
the Institutional Work Study
(IWSP).
Kenneth M. Mullen, comptrol
ler at Elon, said that the federal
government supplies 75 percent of
the FWSP, while Elon supplies 100
percent of the funding for IWSP.
The institutional money for
work-study programs varies based
on funding availability and the pro
gram needs of each department.
Lorraine M. Allen, account
ing director at Elon, said the re
quest by each department is given
to the Budget Committee, which
includes the provost, comptroller,
the vice presidents of Academic
Affairs and Business and Finance.
“The committee distributes
the resources based on need,” Allen
said.
"The budget is confidential,”
he said
The budget for FWSP has held
fairly constant for the last few years
at about $ 190,000. The IWSP pro
gram had $ 570,000 last year,"
Mullen said.
Mo^ of the excuses interna
tional students get from depart
ments that offer jobs is the lack of
institutional money.
However, Mullen said the
1994-95 IWSP budget will increase
8.7 percent bccause of the need of
new programs and activities in
Koury and Moseley Center.
“Wc (foreign student) are not
asking for any sort of spccial privi
lege,” Amaro said. “Only to have
the same opportunities and to be
treated like any other student at
Elon.”
Elon College President Fred
Young was not aware that interna
tional students are not eligible for
college scholarships, such as the
Honors Scholarships program.
“I assume that international
students are eligible just as those
who need economic aid,” Young
said.
Kathy J. Lyday-Lee, director
of the Academic Honors Program,
said international students don’t
receive Honors scholarships be
cause they are not on campus for
the competition in February.
“We are now trying to find a
method by which wc can identify
those students that are likely to
excel and achieve,” Lyday-Lee said.
“If we can target some of our
good international students at the
very beginning, then wc will be
able to offer the on Honors scholar
ships," Lyday-Lcc said.
For now though, only athletics
scholarships are granted to interna
tional students.
Clay Hassard, assistant athlctic
director, said the coaches award
scholarships to athletes.
“The athletic scholarships may
range from $500 to a full scholar
ship," Hassard said. "It is an insti
tutional decision that Elon has made
since wc had international students
in the athletic program.”
However, Rich sees the possi
bility of creating a scholarship for
international students from money
raised in the last Investing in Ex
cellence.
“1 do know that people who
have made contributions to the col
lege for individual scholarships are
going to designate the money for
scholarships to international stu
dents," Rich said. “It may take
another two years before the money
is available."
Amaro sees that by including
international students in the schol
arships program, not only the
school’s diversity would increase
but its reputation.
“International students who
cam their education in the United
States usually hold the top manage
ment and leadership positions in
their native countries,” Amaro said.
“If Elon could widen their
scholarships for foreign students,
Elon College’s presence would
expand all around the world,” he
said.