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USU welcomes increased diversity in the student body By
Natalie Larson
The number of international students at Utah State has increased from 856 to 917 students from 82 countries, according to the statistics from Fall 2000 registration. Reasons for the increase in the numbers of international students and countries include: The Dominican Republic made an agreement with the university to exchange students. The Study Abroad Program, under Kay Forsyth, continues to increase from recruitment. The Chinese and India Student Associations spread information about Utah State by word of mouth. "Many of the students here heard of Utah State through various means. They might be here because of safety, the tuition or for specific programs," Craig LaRocco, the assistant director for the Office of International Students and Scholars, said. "Generally they hear about us through word of mouth. Utah State has a good reputation abroad. We're top in the world in some of our programs like Water Resources, Agriculture, the College of Natural Resources and Instructional Technology." The majority of foreign students are from Asia, and they often go into fields related to computer science and engineering. Math and science are universal languages. "There are such a vast number from Asia because the economy is flourishing there right now," LaRocco said. "During the Asian economic crisis about three years ago, our numbers dropped significantly." The countries with the most students at Utah State are China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and India. They have been the top countries for at least 10 years. "Having a diverse student body allows us to understand how other people see us and how we see them," LaRocco said. "When we see this, cultural prejudices and biases tend to break down. Having all these students from different backgrounds helps us prevent these misunderstandings and conflicts." Examples of such conflicts include issues involving the people who took hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Iran and the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Many were educated in the United States. "This tells me that they didn't have a positive experience; they had a bad experience," LaRocco said. For many, Utah State acts as kind of neutral ground for cultures to develop friendships and mutual respect. "We can overcome traditional barriers at an educated level like this," LaRocco said. "We'd better learn outside the classroom what the world is really like. Here it is brought to our doorstep." Overcoming traditional barriers was illustrated last year when two students from South Africa, one Caucasian and the other of color, attended Utah State . While they were here, they had the opportunity to become friends in the midst of the racial hostility prevalent in South Africa. Another example involved one student from Jordan and one from Israel that became close friends. "They maybe couldn't have done that in their home countries. These images will remain with me forever," LaRocco said. Utah State offers several organizations and groups focused on multiculturalism and diversity. "I want to stress the definition of multicultural," Mandy Richmond, the secretary for the Multicultural Sorority, said. "It can mean anything from a lifestyle to a background. We hope to educate the campus and community on what that really means and what we stand for." "Multiculturalism doesn't mean minority, " Duane Finley, the president of the Multicultural Fraternity, said. "Everyone is invited to join our fraternity. We have a wide range of members. I want to have a brother from every culture and diverse population." "I can't stress it enough that diversity is the key to the future. That's where we're headed. We need to watch for it especially in Logan, UT. Diversity is the way of the future," Finley said. As more cultures are integrated into the student community, many changes are subtle enough to go unnoticed. Students have the opportunity to learn from the cultures on campus to prepare themselves for a future of international involvement. "With many of these foreign students, their classmates might not even know they're not from the United States," LaRocco said. "Diversity is important at the university level because we are becoming a much smaller world. Graduates are going out into the world of business with multinational companies to work with. They need to have some exposure before they can go out there." Getting beyond misconceptions and fears of other cultures is the first step towards acceptance and mutual respect. "We need the experience of interacting with as many cultures as possible. When you start associating more with them, you lose sight of the differences and see only the similarities between us all," LaRocco said. "It's about getting beyond the discomfort level to find out who people really are and to face and overcome those fears to establish broader understandings of humankind." Statistics from the third week of registration, released Sept. 22: 917 foreign students 82 countries 1 - Armenia 2 - Angolia 2 - Argentina 3 - Australia 5 - Austria 1 - Barbados 1 - Belgium 1 - Bahamas 3 - Bangladesh 1 - Belize 6 - Bolivia 2 - Belarus 11 - Brazil 16 - Canada 2 - Croatia 168 - China 1 - Chile 6 - Colombia 2 - Denmark 33 - Dominican Republic 5 - Ecuador 2 - Egypt 7 - England 1 - Eritrea 2 - Ethiopia 4 - Finland 8 - France 6 - Germany 2 - Ghana 1 - Guinea 4 - Hong Kong 1 - Honduras 1 - Hungary 8 - Indonesia 171 - India 2 - Iran 2 - Israel 2 - Italy 100 - Japan 1 - Jamaica 5 - Jordan 5 - Kenya 88 - Korea 4 - Kuwait 5 - Lebanon 1 - Liberia 1 - Mongolia 1 - Malawi 1 - Morocco 3 - Oman 12 - Mexico 26 - Malaysia 1 - Nigeria 2 - Netherlands 1 - Norway 2 - Nepal 4 - Peru 5 - Pakistan 10 - Poland 1 - Panama 2 - Palestine 1 - Portugal 3 - Romania 6 - Russia 3 - Saudi Arabia 1 - South Africa 4 - Singapore 6 - Spain 2 - Sri Lanka 1 - Swaziland 1 - Sweden 1 - Switzerland 1 - Tonga 2 - Trinidad; Tobago 40 - Thailand 5 - Turkey 55 - Taiwan 1 - United Arab Emeritus 2 - Ukraine 2 - Uruguay 2 - Venezuela 1 - Vietnam
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