This year, Emory’s Division of Campus Life opened a new office to provide support for the international students that attend our university. Not only does the Office of International Student Life (OISL) strive to welcome international students once they arrive on campus, but it will also host events geared toward these students throughout their Emory career.
We at the Wheel are glad to see a division of campus life dedicated to helping international students transition to Emory’s campus. We believe this office will be integral in not only helping international students thrive but also in playing a role in further collaboration and socialization between domestic and international students. Often there exists a cultural barrier that prevents domestic and international students from getting to know one other. Especially in the first year at Emory, these barriers can be hard to overcome. We hope the OISL will play an integral role in helping both groups of students participate in positive dialogue.
Although many students have strived to bridge the gap, so to speak, there is only so much students can accomplish individually. Offices like OISL have the financial resources to put on programs and host events that can facilitate connections both between students and students, and students and the university. We recognize that students may feel hesitant about “offices” as the word connotates a formalized space.
To combat this student-borne fear of formal offices, we encourage OISL and similar programs to be proactive about welcoming students into their spaces. For instance, OISL could work with certain students as ambassadors and have them reach out to fellow students to attend programs. We feel that the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services (OMPS), which provides services geared toward making Emory a more inclusive community, does a particularly good job of welcoming students into its office. Located in the DUC, OMPS’s office usually replicates a lounge feel and is promoted as such by OMPS staff. We suggest that OISL endeavor to replicate this atmosphere in its own office.
The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel‘s editorial board.
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.
