Approximately 5 percent of the University’s entering class are non-U.S. citizens. This statistic, however, does not include U.S. citizens who have grown up overseas or have dual citizenship. If we include these students, I’d guess we might get up to 7 percent — but even this is not a particularly impressive statistic when compared to other universities. The University of Michigan, for example, is 13.7 percent international. That being said, approximately 10 percent of our undergraduate student body has participated in education abroad, showing there is a desire here to immerse ourselves in new cultures and experiences.
Why then do students at the University have a limited understanding of what it means to be international? One issue is the clear divide between certain international populations and U.S. residents, some due to language barriers and some due to cultural differences. Another issue is that there is a lack of international students in leadership positions in the more prominent and perhaps more "visible" organizations on Grounds. If international students or students who have spent multiple years living abroad take on leadership positions in these larger, university-wide organizations, we might be able to make up for our small numbers.
More students need to make efforts to bridge the gaps between communities of nationalities or cultural groups to increase dialogue and inclusivity on Grounds. In order to begin communicating across groups openly, the first step is understanding more about the international population. We are not a homogenous group — there are many different types of international students, ranging from U.S. citizens who lived on army bases to foreign nationals who were born and raised in the same town until they came to the University. Internationalism is a spectrum. There is a whole heap of us with tremendously diverse stories. Here are some of the categories internationals might fit into:
Foreign national and resident
These students were born and raised in the country their parents are from. After growing up in one country their whole lives, this is their first time living abroad. This type of student is what most people think of when they think of "internationals." As foreign residents, they have a deep understanding of their home culture and are probably fluent in their national language. These students have a lot in common with local, American students, as both groups might have left home for the first time to attend college. The big difference is that their home might be 9,000 miles away.
Missionary/military/State Department kid
These students are U.S. citizens whose parents probably grew up in the States (or lived internationally for the same reasons), and they have a good understanding of American culture. They probably know how to play football and baseball and went to American or international schools wherever they lived. Summer vacations growing up consisted of visiting the States, but they still might not feel fully "at home" here. They have U.S. passports (some lucky ones even have diplomatic passports allowing them to skip terrifyingly long lines at immigration) and might even be dual citizens. Moving around was most likely due to their parents' jobs, and as a result they have a good understanding of multiple cultures. International missionary/military/state department kids might introduce themselves as American, but certainly have a wealth of international experiences and perspectives.
Third culture kid
These students grew up in one or more countries that are not their parents' home country or their passport country. As a third culture kid myself, I frequently have identity crises and feel very strange reducing my answer to the question "Where are you from?" to one country. These students can also be U.S. citizens, or dual citizens, and probably went to international schools growing up. With ambiguous accents that are neither American nor British (nor anything else, for that matter), they are very good at adapting to new environments. After living in a different culture from their parents, they have a tough time with national and cultural identity. Never quite feeling "at home" anywhere, they might be bound to a life of constant traveling.
This list of categories is by no means extensive, and it attempts to condense and generalize incredibly diverse sets of experiences. These categories come from my personal experiences growing up as an international student and are by no means grounded in scholarly research. Some of the descriptors could even apply to students who studied abroad for a semester, or first- and second-generation U.S. citizens. International students have fascinating backgrounds, and learning about them can greatly benefit our community. Gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the nuances and diversity within our international population would create a more global community on Grounds. It might attract more of this population to apply for positions of leadership and might even increase the number of internationals who decide to enroll at the University.
Nayantara Roy is a third-year student in the College.
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