Sonia Stolar | Contributing Writer
Graham Center’s food court looks quite empty and dull with flags taken down from the ceiling.
The countless amount of colors decorating it before used to represent the diverse student body of FIU. If international students would start disappearing one by one the same way, the dullness would spread into the classrooms as well.
It’s no secret that the destinies of international students have been uncertain since spring.
I find myself shaking over whether I am allowed to say this or that, whether I have the privilege to ask a particular question, critique, or get frustrated about an idea I happen to disagree with.
The limitation on my access to a voice feels almost physical, gluing my mouth shut. As an international student, I don’t see how keeping my mouth shut is helpful to anyone.
What makes Florida International University special are more than 4,500 international students who walk around campus, and sit in classrooms expanding the minds of those around them.
These students are not just a statistic, not a selling point for the university to attract more applicants.
Almost three terms ago, I took a multicultural communication class. If the room would be filled with locals, which is almost impossible living in such a diverse city, more than half of the conversations we had would not have occurred. There is no chance I’d have learned as much as I have and a very low possibility I’d rush to the class full of excitement.
Well rounded discussions gifted me that delight. Comparing cultural customs and highlighting differences were often a focus of conversation. By the end of the term, international students got to share aspects of their cultures in-front of the class.
I knew that I’d learn, not just from the lecture or the textbook, but the real life experiences and stories shared in the classroom by those not from the U.S.
When students don’t indulge in the silent online class like behavior, engaging in conversation, the learning process electrifies with knowledge. Every individual, no matter how old or young, has an experience worth sharing that could rock the world of whoever hears their voice.
America is shielded from the rest of the world. With the giant piece of land that it is, a misconception forms that what is here will be enough. Thousands of kilometers away, oceans, gulfs and seas apart, there are other worlds to explore.
Yet buying a ticket and getting on a plane is not a privilege accessible by all. Still, exposure to the uniqueness that strives around the globe is a part of education in itself.
International students bring that flavor to FIU’s campuses, carrying legacies of cultural contexts in their suitcases along with a chance for locals to get a taste of new perspectives.
Participating in arrangements that could encourage fear and silence in those who are meant to be heard is stopping the process of communal enlightenment.
Not every university gets to brag over large numbers of international students. The pride in having students from such backgrounds must as well spread onto assurance of their safety, comfort and the right to communicate, express and share their beliefs with others.
For now, it hasn’t been clear whether carrying a foreign passport with a visa is welcomed or is rapidly growing into a dangerous trait. That mustn’t be the case.
Voices of international students is what gives FIU a spark, without which it won’t be able to provide a top-notch education and a unique experience on the university’s campuses.
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