Yiwei Sun: USAC must address international student issues

Browsing through the list of student group endorsements for the undergraduate student government elections, I tried to inform my vote by looking for my international student group’s endorsement. But, I was surprised to realize that none of the international student groups endorsed any candidates.

Unfortunately, international students often don’t have a reason to be anything but apathetic about student government elections.

The fact that none of the candidates proposed platforms that directly aim to help international students may be a valid explanation for international students’ lack of interest in the election. However, international students at UCLA are not small in number, and there is no justification for candidates’ neglect of their needs: The international student community constitutes 12.6 percent of UCLA’s entire student population.

At present, the Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars has worked to help international students integrate into the UCLA community, but the efforts by the Dashew Center alone are limited without contributions at the student level.

In fact, many international students’ urgent needs are still unsolved and demand efforts from the newly elected Undergraduate Students Association Council members. Tasks to help international students reduce the repercussions of possible tuition hikes, find internships and careers, and get involved in the UCLA community should be on the agenda of elected student government members. USAC should supplement the work of the Dashew Center by organizing more student-initiated events and campaigns.

If unsolved, these issues will continue to negatively effect the international student community.

The most urgent and consequential issue pertaining to international students is the University of California regents’ proposed tuition hike. The UC Board of Regents proposed plans to increase tuition by up to 5 percent annually. However, in another proposal, international students and out-of-state students will have to pay for 17 percent more in nonresident supplemental tuition fees to compensate for the flat tuition rate of in-state students if it is passed.

The Internal Vice President’s office should initiate conversation with international students to understand their take on a proposal that would impact their lives at UCLA tremendously. The internal vice president communicates with all student groups and the UCLA administration, and should be able to complete this task with ease.

Moreover, in light of surging financial need due to the tuition hike, the next Financial Supports commissioner should also work with the Dashew Center to source more funding to international students in the form of merit scholarships.

Because of the changing immigration policies, the process of seeking employers who will hire international passport holders is a unique problem for international students that requires continual help. Abineet Das Sharma, a first-year computer science and engineering student from India, said the complicated process of applying for a work visa and sourcing employers that hire international students is his greatest concern.

The elected general representatives should work with the Dashew Center to organize career fairs and networking sessions specially designed for international students. Further, they should provide detailed information about employment eligibility, the visa-application process, employer details and other relevant information.

One perpetual issue is encouraging interaction between international and domestic students.

International students tend to make friends with the same nationality, said Fabienne Roth, a current USAC general representative and an international student. In her term, Roth advocated for international students’ needs and hosted a workshop on career information for international student, but failed to do more than this.

She added that the sharing of experiences and perspectives between communities will allow for the exchange of valuable cultural perspectives and make the international student community more visible; this will in return bring attention to international student issues.

Moreover, the Internal Vice President’s office can actively reach out to international student groups and seek suggestions, instead of the current unidirectional information flow by which the office communicates resources to student groups without receiving enough feedback.

UCLA has the sixth-largest international student population in the nation, with students hailing from more than 80 countries. The large population and great diversity of international students can be a valuable asset if the needs of international students are taken care of by USAC.

The elected USAC councilmembers should assume the responsibility of looking into issues affecting the international student community and help make this community more visible.