Geneva Yancy

Robert Vincent

HDF 414

December 1,2018

Social Change Project

For my social change project I want to focus/advocate for International students with

culture shock on campus and disciplinary actions. The reason why I chose this topic is because

when we look at it alot of international students come to the University Of Rhode Island. They

come from many countries just to get an education abroad and to learn from their experience

form the country that they are temporarily visiting. For my research, I want to focus my research

on how many students study abroad at the University of Rhode Island. I also want to know why

on the reason so many students in general get culture shock and what can we do as a community

on campus to make their experience even better for international students.

Secondly I want to elaborate on our disciplinary actions when it comes to Rhode Island

colleges and with dealing with their international students and the fairness of it all. I am a really

a big advocate when it comes to fairness for the community we live in and globally as well.

International students are very much important just as any other student on a campus and I hope

to find information to explain the justice of this all in my essay. So, I later did some research and

found out about my social change project and within my research that I found, I found that many

students, who study internationally, require help or feel that they need assistance. So when it

comes to academic issues and how many international students deal with them, they for example

have the hardest time adjusting to their newer found environments and they therefore result in

either failing in classes if they don’t reach out for help or for some tutoring. So many
international students may do good on their first year and on and some have a difficult time

adjusting to their newer school work and how people are disciplined here when it comes to rules

for classrooms, attendance and student conduct and etc.

Although the academic part of it is very strong in how the students will be guided and

such, the mental elements of it all come into play. For example in the article, “The Impact Of

Social Media On International Students: Cultural and Academic Adaption it surely states the

reason of, Why many international students find that it's very hard to adapt to their new

surroundings in colleges. Simply because, “Newly admitted international students always have a

certain period of discomfort due to their unfamiliarity with the culture of their new surroundings.

This discomfort is often traced to their cultural differences with the host country where they will

have to spend a certain number of of years as a student.(Talib et al., 2014) Due to the importance

of college culture on individuals traditions, it dictates their norms, beliefs and unique.

This makes a sudden integration with such diverse and possibly conflicting cultures is

always challenging (Talib et al., 2014) This is very true because, if many students find it hard to

relate to other students then won’t participate in programs or going to places where they feel

unwanted and would sometimes result in staying in their rooms or keeping only to themselves to

save themselves from the embarrassment or because of the culture differences. Which could be a

bad thing in my opinion. After doing my research and the project on social change, I realized

that my My Top 5 Talent strengths that I have , really did play apart . Which were, Strategic,

Individualization, Communication, Futuristic and Responsibility. When it comes to strategic, it

definitely describes me and stands out the most. I also describe myself in my group of friends or

to strangers that I'm a fast problem solver especially when it comes to life issues or making

decisions very fast. It good to hear about my top strength because it comes so effortlessly and
natural to me without even knowing it. Also I love giving advice and helping people so I

literally always say "Just give me 3 seconds and I can help you out with anything you need

advice on".

When it comes to individualization, I can see that definitely as my second strength. I

always try to know someone for who they are and not by judgments. For example if I meet

people I always study them to know how they would act in certain situations or what triggers

them and how to calm them down if they are sad and etc. I pay a lot of attention to people to

notice their attitude's, so I know how to react and not assume things of them . Communication

also ties with strategic because I love people and interacting with them and listening to

everybody story in life. I can communicate well with holding conversations and by relating

things to others that they would deem relevant to them or not. Futuristic is me on a regular basis,

I am always thinking about my future and the world in the future. How we will all be in the

future and how to solve future problems if they were directed towards me as well. I love

dreaming and interpreting them for the future as well.

Responsibility is a trait that I always thought was a weakness of mine but seeing it in the

Gallup results didn't surprise me. Simply because I always take responsibility for my actions and

others. Depending on how the situation ended up . I usually say I will do something and always

follow up with it. I hate when I don't stick to my promises and I always try to be loyal to anyone

or anything I put my mind too. Lastly. having strategic is my top strength is very useful for my

life and others. I always know the right things to do or say and I'm always rational and non

judgmental so having that as my top strength makes me feel good at the end of the day.
 In the end my Ideal proposal for my social change project after gathering all my research

would be, figuring out a way to have more advicaters on campus especially for international

students, so that we can as advocators narrow down and fairly help with / relate to them in

finding ways to cope with culture shock on campus, disciplinary action on campus and more

diversity programs for students who want to learn or join the Rhode island community. Not only

that but a lot of international students are new to their environments they are entering and, For

example, “International students process a lot of new information upon their arrival in a new

country. The acculturation process demands that they interpret new experiences through their

own subjective and preexisting knowledge and perceptions. Because of the subjectivity of these

interpretations, language difficulties affect students in different ways as they continue to build

their own personal meanings and make sense of the acculturation process….” (Sawir, 2005). I

feel as though it's up to us to make the change and start influencing and helping many students

on campus and help the international students feel more at home in their new environments.

In conclusion, This semester really helped me learn my value strengths, do understanding

what being a social change agent and how this can all benefit me in the fruit with my job or if I

want o be an advocate for someone. I the end all the strengths i've picked up/learned about self

will come in handy when dealing with people in my nearby future job and etc. I hope my social

change project can become a reality for me and many others and that I can definitely see myself

doing something like this for an nonprofit organization or more

Appendix 1. Interview With Abigail Borchert :

I contacted some advisors on campus to see how they feel about their international students

and also how they help them in regards of education, advising and places/programs on campus. I
reached out to the international center on our URI campus and I emailed Abigail Borchert, the

International Student Advisor and also Michael Foster who is the International education

Advisor. The first interview I received back/heard back from was from Abigail first she gave me

a real informative message on the international students and here is her feedback from what I

asked her..

1. Do you feel there is a stereotype against the people you are working with ?

I think that there are a number of stereotypes in the US about international students coming to

study here. A lot of that comes from misunderstanding about what it means to be an

international student and who international students are. For example, in a lot of teen movies --

like American Pie or Sixteen Candles (yes, I'm old!) -- the "foreign exchange student" is depicted

as someone who doesn't speak English very well and acts in a way that is extreme or absurd.

Those may be slightly outdated references, but I think some of those stereotypes have stuck.

International students have to meet a certain standard of English to study in US colleges and

universities and, while there are sometimes cultural misunderstandings, are not that different

from US students. Another example of a stereotype is that a lot of people tend to think that

international students all come from Asia or all study science and math. While there are many

international students from the Asian region, students come to the US from all over the world.

This semester, we have students and scholars at URI from 67 countries -- from Canada to Chile

to Norway to Nigeria to Iceland to Indonesia. And international students do study STEM fields,

but they also study all sorts of other things. Right now, I can think of URI international students

who study Ocean Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Pharmacy, Chemistry, English,

Environmental Science, Marine Affairs, Finance, Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design,

etc. Some international students are on URI athletic teams, others do theatre, some are involved
in student clubs. International students -- like US students -- have a wide range of backgrounds,

experiences, and interests.

2. What's the percentage of international students that require help on campus/ and with

classes?

I don't have a percentage to give you for this, but many students -- both US and international --

go through a period of adjustment when starting college or graduate school. This is quite

common. For international students, that adjustment process presents additional challenges --

they must deal with immigration regulations, many (but not all) are operating in a second (or

third or fourth) language, they have to learn a new academic system and a new institution. The

teaching style and classroom culture may be drastically different from what it is in their home

countries. They may not be aware of the resources and support available to them on campus,

because those resources are not common on campuses in their home countries. So while many

international students do thrive right away, there are also many students who find their first

semester or year challenging. Often, after this initial period of learning and adjustment, they are

able to settle in and do become successful in their new community.

3. Do you think disciplinary actions for international students are usually fair or bias against

them because they are not from the country or state they are going to school in ?

I think that one challenge around international students and university disciplinary policies is that

international students may be coming from places where cultural norms and policies are quite

different, so they may not even realize how US university policies could impact them. For

example, in some countries, the drinking age is 16 or 18. Most students coming to the US from

those countries are well aware that the legal drinking age here is 21, but they still might not
realize that if they are under 21 and have a party with alcohol in their dorm room, they could be

punished, so it could come as a total surprise to them if they are cited for that. While policies

like this are clearly laid out in the student handbook, international students may not read these

policies because these issues are not even on their radar. This type of situation can apply to a lot

of policies and norms that come up in a university setting. Also, some of the terms that US

students are familiar with -- like, for example, Title IX -- are not familiar to international

students, so talking about a Title IX violation or a Title IX coordinator doesn't mean anything to

them. International students would need more explanation for these sorts of US-specific

university terms.

4. How do you as an adviser try your best to help international students get adjusted on

campus in the academic year?

My biggest opportunity to connect with international students is during orientation at the

start of the academic year. It's can be challenging, because that's a small window of time during

a very busy period and students can sometimes be overloaded with information, but I do my best

to convey important information during that time and then back it up throughout the year. The

biggest thing we talk about during orientation is immigration regulations, as international

students come to the US on F-1 or J-1 visas and have to comply with the government regulations

around enrollment, employment, travel, etc. We want to make sure students understand these

regulations and know to come to us if they have questions so that we don't have any issues that

could negatively impact their status and ability to study in the US. So that's the biggest topic and

does require a lot of discussion. I also like to talk about resources on campus -- like the writing

center, the counseling center, health services, emergency phone numbers, etc -- so that students

know about the support that is available. We also talk about getting involved in centers --
Multicultural Center, Gender & Sexuality Center, Women's Center -- and student clubs as well

as opportunities like intramural sports and Rhody Adventures. I also really stress that students

can come to the International Center for any sorts of questions, issues, or just to talk -- I am

always happy to talk with them. And if I become aware that a student may be struggling --

academically, socially, or in some other way -- I will try to reach out to them to see how I can

help to support them. We also have events throughout the semester -- last week we had a pre-

Thanksgiving pumpkin pie event -- so that is a good opportunity to check in with students and to

help them connect with each other and with the larger URI community. I also use email and

Facebook to send students information about events and reminders about regulations and

resources. I just started the URI Office of International Students & Scholars Facebook page, so

it's still a work in progress, but in my previous role, I found that it was an effective way to share

information with students.

5. Lastly, If you could make your own advocating group , what would it be and how would it

help the international students feel more at home and safe ?

This is a great question. I think there are a lot of ways that we as a campus community

can help to support international students. While there are already some fantastic advocates for

international students in departments and offices around the university, many students, faculty,

and staff might not be aware of the international student community and some of the challenges

that international students face. I think just raising awareness is really helpful.

We are always working on connecting with other offices around campus to help clarify

policies, collaborate on projects, and to ask that international students be kept in mind when

planning new initiatives. On the student side, it can sometimes be difficult for international

students to connect with US students and to integrate into the larger university community.
While we at the International Center work to facilitate those connections through events and

programs, direct outreach from peers is always best. Many US students do connect with

international students on an individual basis -- I heard from a few international students that they

were planning on spending Thanksgiving with their US friends/roommates and their families --

which is awesome. It would be great to see a more formal student-led initiative that would work

to welcome international students and introduce them to the campus community. Being

welcomed by their fellow students would go a long way toward helping international students to

feel comfortable on campus and in the US.

Contact Card:

Abigail Borchert
Office of International Students and Scholars
International Student Advisor
University Of Rhode Island
aborchert@uri.edu
 Appendix 2: Works Cited

Brochet, Abigail (2018, November 28). Email Interview [Geneva Yancy]

Gatwiri, G., 2015, VOL. 7 NO. 05 | PG. 1/2

http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1042/2/the-influence-of-language-difficulties-

on-the-wellbeing-of-international-students-an-interpretive-phenomenological-analysis

Talib et al, (2014 n.d) The impact of social media on international students: Cultural and

academic Adaption. Retrieved from

http://docsdrive.com/pdfs/medwelljournals/jeasci/2018/546-551.pdf