THE CULTURE GAP
By Katerina Leinhart Staff Writer
Ithaca College – The Ithacan, NY
Dec 13 2007
International students say social barriers persist on campus
Senior Farlina Zailanni classifies herself as "other’."
"I am a huge mix of different Asian ethnicities," she said.
Which is why, when confronted with fill-in bubbles denoting ethnicity
on official forms, Zailanni opts for ambiguity.
Zailanni, who was born in Singapore and now considers herself a
"naturalized Australian," is part of a 2 percent minority at Ithaca
College – international students. They are diverse in nationality,
politics and perspective, but freshman Amanda Wong said they share
one unifying characteristic.
"We don’t have a lot of similarity," she said. "The similarity we
have is that we are different."
Wong is Chinese and has lived and studied in Hong Kong, Australia and
Shanghai. She said she, like many other international students at the
college, feels alienated from the majority of Ithaca students because
of her "foreign" status. Despite the college’s attempts to facilitate
an integrated campus community, Wong said American ethnocentrism
inhibits understanding across cultural barriers.
According to the Office of International Affairs, there are
approximately 150 international undergraduates on campus. A small
number of them find their niche in Terrace 3, which houses the
H.O.M.E. program, an initiative designed to create a community in
which international students live and work with American students. It
is also the mandatory residence hall for first year Roy H. Park and
MLK Scholars.
"We’re very cognizant of the facts of international students and
their transition to this culture," said Pranay Bhatla, residence
director, who estimated about 20 percent of international students
live in H.O.M.E.
Freshman Shiwani Neupane, of Nepal, said the smallness of the
international community forces international students to be seen as
an entity rather than individuals. Junior Sushant Shrestha, of Nepal,
said as individuals, international students still struggle to maintain
their cultural roots while simultaneously attempting to establish
themselves within the matrix of American culture.
"You want to be accepted into the society that you are in, so you
have to play two different roles," Shrestha said. "[But] when you
are with your people, there is a different sort of understanding."
Neupane said she has yet to sacrifice any of her cultural values.
"I’m not willing to give up what I’ve learned throughout my life just
because I am in America," she said.
Some international students, such as Shrestha, came to Ithaca because
they received grants. Others, like Zailanni, are on a semester
exchange. Freshman Horia Farcas, of Romania, said he was seduced by
the power of an American education.
"What better place to study business than U.S., the mother of
business?" Farcas said.
Wong said American superiority, inherent in many students’ mentalities,
limits the development of global consciousness.
"This culture of being on top of the world [has] kind of manifested
itself in everybody," Wong said.
About 10 percent of students in each graduating class studies abroad,
according to the Office of International Programs.
Junior Kate Trautmann studied at the London Center last spring. She
said her experience abroad expanded her perspective but doesn’t think
American students always recognize the benefit.
"There’s not a very strong international community [here]," she said.
"There’s not a lot of appreciation for it."
Zailanni said the only way to combat ethnocentrism is through exposure
to diversity by programs like study abroad.
"You cannot be a global community until you know what global means,"
Zailanni said. "You need to see it, touch it, feel it, breathe it
for yourself."
Diana Dimitrova, director of International Student Services, said
humans tend to gravitate toward the familiar, but she encourages
students to maintain connections to their roots.
One way to stay connected is through campus organizations. The
International Club is one of several multicultural groups on campus.
Others include the African-Latino Society and Asian Culture Club.
Though they provide an outlet for minority groups on campus, freshman
Yidi Wu, of China, said they can perpetuate divisions on campus.
"We feel an invisible line between each other," she said.
Wong said frustration with American mentality has made living on
campus more challenging.
"I felt like I was trapped," she said. "I didn’t want to stay here
because I feel like everyone is the same here."
Senior Varti Torossian, an Armenian from Bulgaria, said her own
roommates have pointed out her cultural differences in everyday
situations. They once brought up her nationality when she asked them
to be more quiet while she was writing a paper.
"I was like, Please, it’s our room," she said. "…And the answer was,
Well, it’s our country."
Regardless of her negative experiences, Torossian said she has more
appreciation for America than resentment and filmed a documentary
this semester about being an international student.
"The variety and the expanse of different personalities and people
who have different ways of living here is overwhelming," she said.
"That’s what makes me want to stay."
Dimitrova said some of the challenges that international students
confront are little things like turning on a shower or writing a check.
"One can sometimes never stop questioning, Why did I come here? Am
I stupid because I can’t understand?" she said.
Dimitrova said Americans’ interests in the international population
are ignited by their "exotic nature" and tends to be short lived.
"You can put them under your microscope, and you can study them from
whatever angle you’re interested in," she said. "But if you truly
want to make an impact, it’s a whole lot more than that."
Neupane said American students often assume that by virtue of her
nationality, she should be oblivious to Western cultural icons,
such as Coca-Cola.
"I know [Nepal is] a developing country, but that doesn’t mean we
are naive to everything in this world," Neupane said.
Despite students like Trautmann who have widened their perspectives,
Wong said integration among all students is an unrealistic goal.
"It’s not necessary to force an interaction between cultures and
communities of different backgrounds," she said. "It’s not realistic
to imagine this … college community where everyone is equal."