Many international students are stepping up their efforts to bring attention to international students’ rights and needs via on-campus clubs, off-campus independent organizations and international student campaigns. And their efforts are paving the way for a better global university experience for prospective international students.
Here are three key ways current international students are making a difference.
1. On-campus international student organizations: Many global universities have on-campus international student clubs and organizations that lobby for various issues on behalf of currently enrolled and incoming international students.
Richard Tanson, senior international student and scholar adviser in the University of Virginia‘s International Studies Office, says the school “is an institution known for promoting student self-governance, so student groups play a decisive role in the life of the university supporting our international community.”
[Discover three ways prospective international students can maximize campus life.]
One group, the Global Student Council, was established by then-undergrad Mongolian national Batkhuu Dashnyam along with 12 other international students. Dashnyam says the council worked with the UVA administration to bring a global perspective to courses and reflect the diverse student body and faculty.
The group also worked with the admissions office to reach out to prospective applicants by visiting high schools abroad and with the university’s alumni association and engagement office “to formalize and strengthen the university’s existing international alumni network.”
At Miami University in Ohio, Ancilleno Davis, an international student from the Bahamas, recently founded Graduate Students of All Nations. Davis says the group compiles “questions, comments, concerns and suggestions from international graduate students to present at meetings or forums” with faculty and staff. The group’s accomplishments range from providing input on the hiring of a new international student adviser to reviewing the draft of the university’s statement on diversity.
Prospective international students can reach out to current international students via university webpages to learn more about the school and available support. Davis says his group can serve as a resource by connecting prospective international students with current international students and other local resources.
[Check out 10 ways U.S. colleges work to support international students.]
2. Off-campus organizations: In some countries, like Australia and the U.S., off-campus, student-run organizations are playing a key role in advocating for international students.
Canadian Karen Cochrane learned about the Council of International Students Australia while active in her student union at the University of Sydney. International student-run CISA provides member associations, such as student unions, with representation to the Australian government on issues ranging from immigration to employment.
“We are also trained peer support assistance for students who feel they have been treated unfairly or unreasonable equity and welfare issues — for example, if students are having issues with grade appeals or need some assistance with their work rights while in Australia,” says Cochrane, CISA’s national public relations officer.
Indian national Surya Dev Aggarwal, a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, serves as the international student concerns advocate for the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, a student-run advocacy group. Aggarwal says along with others the group has advocated for the Optional Practical Training extension for science, technology, engineering and math students to help influence the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to expand the STEM OPT extension from 17 months to two years.
He says for years the group has also actively advocated for students with F-1 academic student visas to be allowed to renew their visas in the U.S. prior to international travel rather than at an office abroad.
For prospective international students, Aggarwal says he is currently working on a toolkit that will cover everything from cultural sensitivity to advocacy resources. The toolkit will be available soon on the NAGPS website and to member universities.
Current international students attending CISA- or NAGPS-member institutions can participate in advocacy efforts that benefit enrolled and prospective international students.
[Learn what to look for in international student services.]
3. Growing international student movement: For prospective international students, attending a university in a country that has a strong pro-international student movement means they can expect broader support as well as a platform to voice their needs once they arrive.
In the U.S., the #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign led by Temple University in Philadelphia was started to reassure prospective international students they are welcome. Many universities have joined the campaign, such as Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, whose one-minute video features students and staff from several countries welcoming prospective international students to campus in different languages.
In England, the #weareinternational campaign resulted from a collaboration between the University of Sheffield‘s Students’ Union and the university and has gained the support of more than 100 U.K. universities and the National Union of Students.
Romanian national Ana-Gabriela Popa, a campaign spokesperson, says #weareinternational began in 2013 as a solidarity call to action against the scrapping of the post-study work visa for international students in 2012, which previously allowed two years to seek employment after graduation, and since changed to four months.
She says the movement serves as a platform to lobby members of parliament and government “for a positive change in the treatment of international students.”
Abdi-Aziz Suleiman, a refugee from Somalia and a campaign co-founder, says the movement is determined to protect and expand the best interests of prospective international students.
Suleiman, a former University of Sheffield Students’ Union president, says the campaign “gives us great hope that the U.K. will remain and become an even more welcoming and life-defining place to study.”
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International Students Are Each Other’s Biggest Advocates originally appeared on usnews.com
