Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
Imagine you have just arrived in a new country with hopes of studying at a well-reputed university. You get off the plane, hop on a taxi and arrive at the university, absorbing your new surroundings and home. You encounter many new faces within the first few days at this university and in this nation. The people seem friendly, everyone is welcoming, but it never quite feels like home.
About 4,993 international students are enrolled at this university in fall 2024. Despite this population and university efforts to help students adjust to campus, like the protection of undocumented students on campus and the weekly International Coffee Hour event, many international students could face difficult adjustments with cultural and language barriers.
With this in mind, this university must help establish specific clubs for students coming from abroad. There are clubs that help students connect with their heritage, such as the Indian Students Association, South Asian Student Association and African Student Association, but the new club should be focused on undergraduate students seeking to develop and foster new connections with fellow international students on campus.
While an International Student Union exists, it has grown to have a less active presence on campus. If the university were to help create an undergraduate international student club, new students could make the necessary and life-long connections with other fellow international students during the first few months of their college years, making these months the best time for these new students to build a reputation for themselves in the greater campus community.
By establishing and maintaining an international students club with many different subgroups based on someone’s home region, these students will have more confidence in developing relationships with students in similar situations, which makes the first year experience much more comfortable.
When a student feels part of the community, they feel culturally appreciated. The University of Missouri has a program to help transfer students acclimate to campus life. Although this program is for transfer students, the welcoming process is the same in terms of helping students assimilate into campus life and make the connections they need. When a university fosters connections with new students on campus, their wellbeing and confidence increases. The same can be said for international students at this university with an undergraduate club tailored to supporting them.
In addition, when students come to the U.S. from abroad, they often miss the cuisine of their home countries. To help these students feel culturally appreciated and welcome in a way that helps diminish their homesickness, this university should also consider partnering with food organizations to distribute meals for international students craving a taste of their home country’s cuisine.
These partnerships would be with other restaurants, cultural centers and religious houses of worship. For example, in the case of much of the Indian community, this university should partner with local temples in order to facilitate this food distribution, which could allow students to purchase food options for a very low cost. The Yahentamitsi Dining Hall diversified its menu with cooks preparing their own cultural dishes since it opened in 2021, which helps international students enjoy the cuisine they grew up with and the diets they have been used to their whole lives. While this approach may not be feasible for all students from many different countries, the partnership option provides a possible solution to help specific international students receive the food they crave that reminds them of home.
The university has done a fair amount to help international students adjust to campus life in the U.S., but it does have the power and capacity to specialize in assisting specific groups of people. By living up to its ideal of creating an environment of diversity, and valuing and serving each individual, international students will perform well academically, make the new life-long connections here in college and embark on a new endeavor in this country, one in which they will make great memories and have a smooth transition into college life.
Rishab Sai is a freshman student majoring in Public Health Practice. He can be reached at rsai1@terpmail.umd.edu
