University Daily Kansan / Friday, March 13, 1987
5
Life hard for some foreign students
Bv ROGER CORFY
Staff writer
When an Asian student returned home earlier this semester because she found life at the University of Kansas too stressful, Patricia Willer was disappointed.
Willer is the,which helps foreign students with immigration problems, personal counseling and special educational needs.
This spring, 1,723 foreign students from 100 countries are enrolled at the DIPP.
Willer said that the Asian student found being a stranger at a U.S. university very difficult and that her classes were different than she had expected.
"She only lasted two weeks," Willer said. "And what's amazing to me is that this situation happens very quickly that students make the adjustment."
Foreign students also often face a political crisis or catastrophe in their country or an illness or death in their family.
Foreign students have special problems not often encountered by U.S. students, Willer said. Loneliness is one of them.
"When Beirut was being shelled, several students were upset because they couldn't reach their parents," Willer said.
The same thing happened with the earthquake in Mexico in September 1986
"There's not much of a support group, and when you're sick with mono you can't fly back to Bangladesh for a week to get nursed," she said.
"The students got through on a telephone line to Mexico City and kept it open until they received
information about their families," Willer said. "They shared connections to get the information, and I was very touched."
The cross-cultural difference between life in Lawrence and the student's home country is another obstacle many foreign students face. Tana Akou, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, graduate student, enrolled at KU in January. Akou said she was shocked at the coldness of the Kansas winter. The temperature had been 100 degrees when she left her home in Abidjan. It was 10 degrees when she arrived in Lawrence.
"We send them an orientation letter when they are accepted to the University," said Clark Coan, director of foreign student services. "We tell them to bring boots, but the students don't really know what is needed until they get here."
"Even something as simple as rice can be a problem." Willer said. "I've had Asian students tell me rice isn't prepared the same here."
Food also can cause problems.
Akou had brought a suitcase of clothes with her, but she realized the clothes were useless against the sharp wind on Jayhawk Boulevard. So she went out and bought some warm U.S. clothes.
Many foreign students also suffer financial problems. Although not allowed to work off-campus, foreign students are restricted to 20 hours a week of on-campus work. With many campus jobs paying about $3.35 an hour, students with financial trouble sometimes have difficulty earning enough money.
Foreign students who study in the United States may enter the country under one of two visas. A J-1 visa applies to exchange students, visiting
Willer said visa problems arose when students wanted to drop a class after the semester has started. The F-1 visa requires that a student be enrolled full-time. If a class is dropped, this might jeopardize the student's legal status to remain in the United States.
faculty members and sponsored students. A F-1 visa applies to full-time students who have been accepted by a U.S. university.
"Most of our students have F-1 visas." Miller said.
"We have a medical orientation for them each fall." Willer said. "We want them to know if they've having surgery or to a doctor, they can call our office."
Coan said foreign students often had difficulty moving money from their country to the United States. Depending on the political or economic situation in the country, this can amount to considerable paperwork.
The service also provides Watkins Hospital with a list of interpreters for cases when foreign students are unable to explain their symptoms in English.
Willer said medical insurance was another problem for foreign students.
"After the first semester, they learn to get their money sent ahead of time." Coan said.
"Very few of the students come from countries where health costs are so expensive," Willer said. "Sometimes the medical bills are in the thousands, and if the students can't pay it's a problem."
The service also tries to adjust foreign students physically to their new environment.
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A tape recorder valued at $1,400, two microphones valued at $77.95 and a speaker valued at $19.95 were taken Monday or Tuesday from a room in Haworth Hall, KU police reported. The items belong to the biological sciences division.
- Two stereo speakers belonging to the departments of music and dance and valued at $75 were taken Friday or Saturday from a locked office in Murphy Hall, KU police reported.
■ A Sony AM/FM cassette Walkman, a checkbook and a day planner, valued at $114, were taken between 2 p.m. Tuesday and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday from two student's room in Templin Hall, KU police reported.
While a professor of theater was taking a shower in Murphy Hall between 8:50 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday, $75 cash was taken from his wallet in the men's locker room of that building, KU police reported.
A radar detector valued at $90 was taken between 8:10 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday from a KU student's vehicle parked on the east side of the top level of the Jayhawer Towers' parking garage, KU police reported.
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