The University has approximately 100 international students this year including 11 exchange students. The students represent, according to the University website, 15 different countries. These countries include Canada, Palestine, Japan and Iran.
According to Domenica Cipollone, director of the Office of International Exchange, the majority of these students come from Canada and Japan.
The 2000 U.S. Census states that Maine is 96.9 percent white. According to the “Transforming USM Plan,” the students “from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds” account for four percent of the student body. The plan calls for an increase in this percentage to seven.
Cipollone sees these students, including the international students, bringing something vital to the rest of the student body. “Even if a student has never left Maine they can experience of the world outside Maine.” He believes that when involved with group discussions and classes, international students bring new ideas and help to create a broader understanding of topics.
Being an international student comes with challenges that go beyond the basic homework. There is a lack of some basic cultural knowledge. Cipollone brought up the example of an international student in an U.S. Government class. A person who hasn’t grown up with this government might not have some of the basic information that a professor would assume all U.S. high school graduates would have. “It’s up to the student to communicate this to the professor” said Cipollone.
For local students interested in learning about other cultures, or sharing some of their own, Cipollone recommends inviting an international student home for Thanksgiving. “A lot of students view Thanksgiving as a chance to go travel,” she said. “But for those that don’t, it can be a good chance to experience Americana.”
Joseph R. Thompson can be contacted at [email protected]