Study abroad a cultural experience, not a Îparty'

I am writing to express my disappointment in the article about students studying abroad in the Thursday edition of the Wildcat. In my opinion, the article, which discussed whether students spend more time abroad studying or partying, was largely unrepresentative of UA students who study abroad.

First, the information in the article was incorrect ÷ I spent five months studying in Hanoi, Vietnam, while Sarah Beck spent a year in Ho Chi Minh City. Beyond these inconsistencies, though, I feel the question of whether students spend their time "partying" or studying abroad is overly simplistic and generally unrepresentative of the experience one has when living in a foreign country. Going to a foreign country to study and live for a period time, students are not only there to study, but just as importantly to experience the culture. There is often a lot of time spent traveling to various regions of the country, getting a better understanding of the history of the country, learning to speak the language and bumbling through learning social mores and folkways. As time goes on, students begin getting to know the people who live there and understanding current events and issues that are politically, socially and economically important to that culture and its people. While abroad, students also see a different side of social interaction than we are used to here. Around the world, people spend more time socializing over food and drink. Dinner can last for four and five hours sometimes, and is central to cultures less dominated by television as a means of entertainment. But lumping social interaction outside of studying under the heading of "partying" misrepresents the experience and detracts from the importance of the experience abroad as a whole.

I was in Vietnam to study and to do thesis research, but I was also there to be an active participant in the culture. My experience abroad was a priceless experience that involved many different factors, not the least of which was the fact that a country like Vietnam provides an extremely challenging environment to acclimate to as a Westerner. It also provided endless insights that will help me in my professional career in international relations. Some of those insights were gained through studying, some through socializing. Unfortunately, the article makes it sound as if studying abroad is made up solely of either having your nose in a book or stumbling home drunk every morning. The fact is, it is truly about neither of those things.

As an international studies major, I have spent a large portion of time overseas, both studying and working. I know many other students who've studied abroad. Most of the students I know have returned with a more balanced perspective of the world, more open-minded and more aware of the people and ideas beyond the borders of our country. Many of them have learned to speak a new language, and now have the confidence to use it. They have also developed a degree of cultural sensitivity that is desperately needed in this country. Many of those students have gone onto prestigious careers in international relations, partly as a result of their experiences studying abroad. And, in many cases, those same students also developed a true appreciation for fine wine, amazing cuisine and culturally meaningful social interaction.

Meredith Smith
international studies senior

Preferential treatment is Îracist' institution

In response to Brett Berry's column concerning affirmative action: As his past two columns have made clear, Mr. Berry seems to want to position himself as the local liberal version of Ann Coulter by making the rest of us lefties look silly. He seems to miss the point that the Roger Williams University conservatives are trying to make: White people can be poor, too. While it may not be evident here in southern Arizona or SoCal, take a trip through the Midwest's less-populated areas and you'll see plenty of white folks living in squalor that could easily rival that of downtown Detroit. They go to the poor schools you mention, and rarely end up going to college. The only difference is, they're completely ignored. That said, the notion of giving preferential treatment to poor people of only a particular race is flat-out racist, with no need for a prefix. More to the righties' main point, some people (myself included) bust their asses and take advantage of the direct loan system to escape "the cycle." Is it your assertion that blacks are somehow less capable of doing that, and so need affirmative action? Perhaps you and Strom agree on that one.

Christopher Haney
environmental microbiology graduate student

Equality will come with affirmative action

Indeed, as columnist Brett Berry points out, affirmative action is an essential policy that needs everyone's support, including that of the right wing. Judging from the pitiable state of infrastructure in black neighborhoods as compared to other neighborhoods in America 40 years after the Civil Rights Act, it is evident that preferential treatment of African Americans or "reverse discrimination" is not an offshoot of affirmative action.

In a recent report published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, minorities in America are still "grossly underrepresented" in vital professions like healthcare in all 50 states. According to the report, institutions need a more comprehensive and holistic change in order to increase diversity and promote equality in colleges and in professional bodies.

Equality and diversity in professions can only be achieved by supporting more affirmative action initiatives in our policies and statutes. The consequent leveling of the educational and economic standards in institutions across all American cultures will signal an involuntary end to affirmative action.

Moses Nyaribo
aerospace engineering junior