Special
report:Reconstruction After
Earthquake
(Photo: Chinadaily.com.cn)
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BEIJING, Jan. 5 -- A group of college students from
the earthquake-stricken Sichuan province, 19 in all, sat as dinner guests in the
home of Professor W. Hubert Keen, president of Farmingdale State University.
Large maps of China and Sichuan province were on the wall. Keen asked one
student to point out his home town.
In 2009 these same students may be back in China,
pointing to a map of Long Island, New York, as the place they consider their
home away from home.
The group of 19 is the largest contingent of the
State University of New York (SUNY) China 150 program - a goodwill program
initiated by the university to host students from Sichuan for one year (mainly
sophomores or juniors). The state university system has 64 campuses and 22
participate in the program, from New York City to Niagara Falls.
SUNY Vice Chancellor and Chief Consul Nicholas Rostow
explained the initiative, which went from an idea last June to reality last
August, when the program's 150 students arrived at New York's JFK Airport.
Classes began Sept 2.
The idea for the program came while the university
was going through the process of opening a representative office in Beijing. It
seemed an important thing to do in response to the earthquake, said Rostow.
Governmental assistance from China was key to
processing the 150 visas so fast and to help their home country out, the
students will continue their education and work in governmental programs when
they return. SUNY aims to raise $3.5 million to pay for the costs of the
project.
Farmingdale, the largest of SUNY's technical schools
with an enrollment of 6,800, but only 226 international students, received a
group of 19 and made efforts to enrich their experience.
"I was aware of the cultural differences the students
would encounter and the differences in the educational systems," said Beverly
Kahn, provost of the Farmingdale School.
"Okay, this is what's going to be different about the
classroom dynamics. You're going to be asked to speak. You're going to be asked
to join teams of students to work on projects. You're probably going to have
more exams more frequently, including mid-terms and papers to write," said Kahn,
during orientation.
Kahn, a political scientist, has taught the 19
students in some classes including interest group pluralism and humanities. She
also made sure they had an interdisciplinary course on the American experience
and a course on global business.
Kahn invited them to her home for Christmas and
organized barbecues and beach trips for them. A five-day educational visit to
Washington D.C. is planned for January.
The students said they were also invited to dozens of
dinners and gatherings at staff's homes and even to the homes of their American
classmates, adding to their experience.
Kahn has seen the impact firsthand.
"They're learning so much, their eyes are opening to
the broader world. We need to get students prepared to be global citizens
because they're going to invariably do business with people in other countries
all over the world.
"These Chinese students are going to be doing
business with Americans, they're perfecting their English and I hope that
likewise SUNY and Farmingdale students will prepare to go to China. China is
going to be an important player and we need to have students learn about China
and Chinese language," she said.
The map on the wall at president Keen's house
literally drew a connection to this transformative experience.
"I said, well, show me where you live with respect to
Chengdu. One student said if you draw a line across China from southeast to
northwest, Chengdu is right on the line," said Keen.
"I think that they will take back the broad
experience and education and turn that to the advantage of their hometowns. They
seem very highly motivated to go back and do this," Keen said.
"I think they want to use their talents to rebuild
the earthquake-stricken areas."
(Source: China Daily)
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