LAST WEEK, a University representative informed me that due to a senseless post-Virginia Tech policy change, I would have to pay $66 per year for my corpse to be sent back to Malaysia in the event of my death. This, despite the fact that my family has resided in the Vienna, Virginia, for the past four years as legal resident aliens. Due to another unpublicized "policy change," the University has suddenly decided to enforce the rule that all F-1 student visa holders will not be eligible for in-state tuition, regardless of whether students and their families reside and pay taxes to the state of Virginia.
To any reasoned observer and by any standards, these policies reflect both the University's unwillingness to treat international students as a diverse group of individuals with different circumstances, and its poor record? in helping international students financially.
International students form about ten percent of the University population. Yet, according to Parke Muth, director of international admissions at the University, "No international undergraduate student at U.Va. on a student visa receives any need-based aid from the University". Only one or two international students each year receive any kind of financial assistance via the Jefferson Scholars Program. According to Muth, the University's "steadfast" commitment to financial aid and the Access UVA program leaves out international students entirely.
The administration shares part of the blame. For instance, the International Studies Office could not even muster enough will or resources to set up a resource Web site over the summer for international students seeking financial aid. When I inquired as to why the Web site was not functioning, the half-baked response from an ISO officer was "the upkeep of the funding site has ceased," followed by a list of possible links to visit. Does it really take that much of effort to upload these links onto a Web site for the broader community?
Despite the existence of the University's reputed alumni, the Alumni Association does not offer any resources or provide any additional assistance for international students beyond its Web site. The Student Financial Services Web site clearly states that the University provides no aid for international students beyond favorable loan interest rates, while a College of Arts and Sciences link for international aid does not even function.
The University cannot continue to assume that all enrolled international students are adequately financed through their parents or governments. Some work several jobs and take Residence Staff positions because they cannot afford the full cost of tuition, while others excel academically without financial recognition.. And many potential international students from around the world do not even consider the University because it does not award their talents with financial assistance.
But it would be foolish to lay the blame solely on the University when grassroots activism for international students is virtually non-existent. As of now, according to Batkhuu Dashnyam, an international student and Student Council representative, international students remain detached from mainstream organizations of change and rarely engage in energetic activism on relevant issues. For instance, the International Student Affairs Committee, part of Council's Diversity Initiatives Committee, had only seven members last year, and international students are unaware of its existence. Others are also content to join their individual national or ethnic organizations, rather than what they see as "white" groups that have larger bargaining power. .
The result is a very divided international student community lacks the ability to unify itself despite the plethora of urgent issues relevant to its existence. When the University introduced the Hard Waiver Insurance program with stricter insurance standards,some international students found cheaper sources of health insurance, but there was hardly any effort to get the message spread to the general community. There has been no massive outcry for financial aid, only isolated complaints that do very little to alter a University that has historically been averse to changes. And international students cannot argue that they do not have a strong voice. Groups such as the Organization of Young Filipino Americans, the Indian Student Association and the Vietnamese Student Organization, to name a few, have been very active and possess the power and potential to unify the international student body.
The University's path to increasing financial aid for international students is clear. As Muth pointed out, it can increase the number of merit scholarships for international students to increase the socioeconomic diversity of the population. Second, Access UVA should adhere to its goal of keeping higher education affordable for all qualified applicants by integrating international students into its processes at all levels.?. The University has benefited tremendously from its international students, and would do well to reward them with the same merit and need-based aid that other students receive.
But as history has proven, successful University policy changes require sustained activism, be it through strikes, press coverage or constant dialogue. Dashnyam is working on a bill to raise awareness on the issue, and has suggested soliciting financial aid from the University's international Alumni, international embassies and programs like the Capital Campaign. But until the international student community at large cries foul?, these initiatives will be no more than pieces of paper without a voice. And whispers of discontent will do little to reform an administration that is traditionally deaf to change.
Prashanth Parameswaran's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at pparameswaran@cavalierdaily.com.
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