IGSA plans a return to campus

International graduate students will once again have their own
group on campus as the International Graduate Student Association
begins re-establishing at UCLA.

Even though they currently make up about 16 percent of graduate
students, international students are underrepresented in many
activities and organizations on campus, organizers say.

IGSA was originally founded over 10 years ago, but over the past
few years the leadership graduated and the organization steadily
declined.

Hoping to re-create a space specifically for international
students, the Graduate Students Association began discussing
revamping IGSA a year ago. Over the summer, they decided it was the
right time to get the group started, former GSA President Hanish
Rathod said.

IGSA’s goals are to improve international students’
lives, academically and otherwise. It plans to offer many programs
unique to these students’ needs, including English-language
training and assistance with visa paperwork.

GSA has been actively working on issues surrounding student
visas, such as long waiting periods and limited availability, and
is excited about the prospect of having students with first-hand
experience and ideas on how to improve the process and make it less
burdensome, said current GSA President Jared Fox.

“I had some difficulty in trying to get a visa,”
said Weichung Ooi, a graduate student studying physics.
“Coming from Malaysia, the U.S. requires a secondary check on
all visa applicants.”

He said he is excited about GSA’s involvement in the
student visas.

“I don’t know if they can influence the government,
but any help would be good,” he said.

Although Ooi, like most other graduate students, is not very
familiar with IGSA because the organization has been inactive for
so long, he said he is interested in seeing more of what the group
does.

IGSA is one of many student groups that is part of GSA’s
Student Interest Board. While many members have an ethnic focus
““ such as the Black GSA, Raza GSA and Armenian GSA ““
IGSA targets international graduate students from all
backgrounds.

Rathod said he hopes IGSA will “fulfill a greater mixing
of the groups on campus.”

Although there is a vast selection of organizations on campus in
which students can get involved, Fox said he noticed an immediate
need for a place where international students could gather.

“International students are a very important part of the
student body,” Fox said. “They have a unique situation
where most don’t speak English as their primary language and
they have to adjust to a new culture.

“We want to reach out and assist them in any way possible.
We want them to meet other students with the same issues and help
them acclimate to their surroundings.”

In September, all graduate students were invited to an
information session about starting up the new group, encouraging
both international students and domestic graduate students with
interest in international issues to attend.

“Many of the first-year graduate students were
interested,” Fox said.

As GSA president, Fox will play an active role in restarting the
organization. He is currently organizing the group’s first
meetings and promoting the organization.

As a board member of the Dashew International Center for
Students and Scholars and an international graduate student
himself, Rathod is also busy recruiting students and spreading the
word about the new organization.

“The funding infrastructure is there and there is interest
in the group; it just needs to be pushed forward,” said
Rathod.

Although there is high interest among first-year graduate
students, organizers are looking to find a more established student
to head the organization.

As a new student group, IGSA will have many opportunities
available to it. It will have voting rights at the Forum,
GSA’s legislative body. The group also eligible to apply for
funds from GSA’s Discretionary Funding Program and for other
grants offered to student groups for activities and programs.
Office space, a prized commodity among student groups on campus,
has also been set aside for IGSA.

Fox expects the group to “take off pretty quickly.”
He says he imagines the group will be very active within the year,
hopefully even within the quarter.

Rathod said he hopes IGSA will “create an environment
where people can get a greater understanding of different cultures
and different worlds, among both international and
non-international graduate students.”

“It is a great asset to UCLA,” Rathod said.
“It will help prevent misunderstanding among different
cultures.”

Fox says IGSA will also form a place for international graduate
students to meet others who are similar to themselves in order to
improve their quality of life.

International student enrollment has declined across the nation
since Sept. 11, 2001.

“International enrollment allows the best and the
brightest from around the world to attend schools all over the
nation,” Fox said. “If we continue to lose brilliant
minds, our own economy and quality of life will suffer.”