{"id":244,"date":"2017-12-17T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2017\/12\/17\/20171215international-students-and-the-challenges-they-face-at-quinnipiac\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:49:28","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:49:28","slug":"20171215international-students-and-the-challenges-they-face-at-quinnipiac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2017\/12\/17\/20171215international-students-and-the-challenges-they-face-at-quinnipiac\/","title":{"rendered":"International students face challenges at Quinnipiac"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Camila Costa<\/p>\n

For most Quinnipiac students, not seeing a parent for almost 10 years is unusual. For Jiseok Hyun, it\u2019s a reality.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Hyun talks about his obstacles at Quinnipiac in the multicultural suite on campus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The senior computer science major came to the United States in 2008 from South Korea. He has not seen his mother in four years and his father in almost 10 years.<\/p>\n

Jiseok Hyun, pronounced Ji-suk Hyawn, has not been home since 2008. And if he goes back, there is a chance he might not be able to travel back to the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Korea, all the males have to go to military service for about two years,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I happen to go, I have a slim chance to come back here to continue my education.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Hyun, Quinnipiac has become his home away from home. But he has also endured challenges here, including discrimination and a feeling of not being included on campus.<\/p>\n

Hyun is not the only international student who struggles with difficulties after coming to Quinnipiac. International students like him say that while the university does offer resources during the application process and early arrival, it needs to do more during the four years international students work and live at Quinnipiac. Specifically, international students say they want the university to reduce discrimination, educate the general student body and have a better support for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners.<\/p>\n

International students are often being discriminated by other students or staff and faculty on campus, whether it is caused by their different appearance or their foreign accent. Regardless of the reason, Quinnipiac has not been able to stop this issue from happening.<\/p>\n

Students say the university is also failing at teaching domestic students about other countries and cultures, which leads to a lack of understanding of cultural norms in other countries, which can also lead to discrimination against international students.<\/p>\n

These students complain that not having the ESL support makes it more difficult for them improve their English skills. They say they feel embarrassed for their background and almost ashamed of where they come from, especially when they have to speak up in the classroom and other students discriminate them for their accents or wrong grammar.<\/p>\n

While the university does provide support and services specifically targeted to international students, they say it needs to do more to prevent or stop those issues on campus.<\/p>\n

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HOW INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FACE DISCRIMINATION ON CAMPUS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cI have experienced many discriminations,\u201d said Ahrim Kim, senior health science major from Korea. \u201cI felt like people were looking at me, and talking about me, and judging my accent and my grammar. Whenever I walk around, people will look at me, I could feel the stare and the judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyun has also been discriminated because of his appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t specifically face discrimination because we are international students, but by race I\u2019d say,\u201d said Hyun. \u201cAs soon as I walked into this place, this lady asked me \u2018What part of China are you from?\u2019 I\u2019m not even from China!\u201d<\/p>\n

Student clubs are an important support group for struggling students.<\/p>\n

Hyun became the president of the International Student Association (ISA) to help others facing the same challenges he did at Quinnipiac.<\/p>\n

Although he organizes many events for the association, he is also a supportive member for his peers. Especially when suffering discrimination from others, international students have to stick together.<\/p>\n

Abbie O\u2019Neill, specialist for student engagement, also admits that this is indeed an issue on campus.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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O’Neill opens up her doors for any international student who is struggling and wants to seek help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere is discrimination on campus against international students, I can\u2019t talk about particular cases and what not, but I do know that it does exist and some of it is just a lack of understanding from other students as to what culture norms are in other parts of the world,\u201d said O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n

Quinnipiac, although providing support for international students that face discrimination, is not doing much to stop this.<\/p>\n

Director of Global Education Andrea Hogan believes this is related to the lack of diversity at Quinnipiac.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some students are educated about other cultures, but I think the majority probably are not,\u201d said Hogan. \u201cMost of them are from New England and so many students have not been outside the U.S. or they\u2019re from towns where they don\u2019t see a lot of diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n