UA dorm program spurs cultural understanding
Posted on Thursday, November 16, 2006
University of Arkansas Chancellor John White talked about the importance of promoting diversity and understanding Wednesday at the Holcombe Hall International Living / Learning Community kick-off.
The hall became an International Living / Learning Community this semester, with about half the building participating in the program. The program is a collaboration between the International Students and Scholars organization and the University Housing division.
The kick-off, part of the university's celebration of International Education Week that began on Monday, featured speeches from students who live in Holcombe Hall, which houses 110 American students and 30 international students.
Toyin Adeyemi of Nigeria, resident director at Holcombe, said the aim is to promote cross-cultural learning between American and international students.
About 500 students went abroad last year, according to Veronikha Salazar, program coordinator for International Students and Scholars. About 65 percent went on summer programs, 30 percent for a semester and 5 percent for an entire year.
There are 941 international students from 99 countries represented at the university this year. India has the largest delegation of students on campus, followed by China, Bolivia and Japan.
Randy Alexander, executive director of University Housing, said that students expressed a lot of interest in being involved with the program this year.
"We look forward to some exciting things happening in this building and this program," he said.
Matthew Barlow, a Little Rock senior and Hall Senate president, said he was elected president at the beginning of the year "and it's been a blast ever since.
"It's fun to do events like Homecoming, where part of the experience is telling how football works, the Arkansas cheers, the fight song," he said.
Katie Lindsey, Brandon, Miss., freshman and floor representative, read the mission statement of the Holcombe program: "The Holcombe International Living / Learning Community creates an environment that fosters a broader world outlook and builds strong, lasting bonds among citizens of the world."
White asked those in attendance if they had read The World is Flat, a book by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. A few people raised their hands. White said the book is about the leveling of the playing field in terms of global competition.
"And a lot of that is because of the Internet," he said.
White told of a presentation that he gives, titled "The World is Blank. "He discussed other words that can be filled in the "blank," for example, such as "shrinking."
"And a lot of that is because of the media," White said, adding how he recalled listening in November 2001 to the president of China talk about how he immediately learned of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, despite the time difference, because of CNN reports.
White said the world is "splitting"down religious and other lines. He expressed his diversity agenda and the legacy of former UA president J. William Fulbright, who believed education promoted better understanding among cultures.
White also discussed the importance of students learning about people who do not think, act or look like them as they prepare to move out into the world.
He also said there is a need for international students to come to the university because not all students from this country are able to travel abroad.
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