International student relations can be fostered

In recent years, USC has made monumental accomplishments and, as a result, has risen in multiple rankings.

During the precipitous rise, USC has also seen its profile grow internationally. The international population at USC has never been larger, and foreign recruitment is among the university’s top priorities.

Though the presence of international students on campus enriches the student experience, the individualism of the international students is oftentimes lost, leaving them to become isolated while being lumped together by the university.

Before visiting USC’s campus for the first time the international composition of the student body did not seem to be a factor in deciding which college I would go to.

The variety of cultures and nations represented around campus, however, was immediately impressive. In short, there is a very international feel to the campus, and the value of being in such a diverse environment was apparent.

That being said, USC’s constant focus on international students runs the risk of distracting from students’ accomplishments.

In pushing for a student body composed of more foreign students, less focus could be placed on an admitted student’s qualifications and more on what country appears under the citizenship section in their official documentation. Though the latter is
important, actual achievements should be given more attention than should something that is beyond students’ control: their birthplace.

Once international students come to USC, however, it seems that many can become isolated and almost forgotten by the rest of the student body.

Parkside International Residential College can seem like its own country at times with its location in a corner of campus that is far from where many social activities take place, like McCarthy Quad and The Row.

The name International Residence College can also cause concerns among the rest of the student body, who might feel the hall is mostly international. This only serves to defeat the purpose of an increasing international presence at our school.

Instead of encouraging assimilation and cross-cultural friendships, Parkside IRC’s set up attracts more foreigners by showing them an internationally tailored side of campus.

This could potentially make it somewhat more difficult for students to make more friends, both international and domestic, in those crucial first weeks of school.

After zealously recruiting international students to gain recognition and prestige, more focus should be placed on these students before they become just another number in USC’s demographic reports.

Though USC has an uncanny ability to make prospective international students feel welcome, we need to do more to promote intercultural interaction among foreign students who do commit.

A university is supposed to expand people’s minds and give them a more tolerant, educated world view; furthermore, USC has a specific dedication to globalization and creating worldly members of society.

The university’s current inaction could create a microcosm of foreign students who don’t really have an impetus to step out of their comfort zones further or to challenge themselves socially or culturally. International students have Parkside and exclusively international student unions, and many stick together as a result.

But international students don’t come to USC to have their homes recreated for them. They come to really experience studying in America and gain a greater understanding of other cultures.

No matter how many foreign nationals commit to being Trojans, the relative isolation the international student
community sometimes seems to prevent them from fully experiencing what it is like to live and learn at USC.

That is not to say international and domestic students alike don’t benefit greatly from the increasing international presence on our campus. USC has done, and will continue to do, an excellent job in bringing more international students to our campus.

But it wouldn’t hurt to reconsider how we do that and what we do once these students officially become a part of the Trojan Family.

 

Sarah Cueva is a sophomore majoring in political science.