Page
tember 5,1!
Aggielife
Thursday
Page 5
September 5, 1996
g Weekly seminars help international
.students adjust to rigors of A&M life
:hild. His
mplicity of
f the 60’s
aw edges,
utes his f
the firs!
for ust
before
it big.”
Bennett
anager, Dik
eatre
ndary musi
d Snider per
>ntract vs#
predates perspective on our
s my paycli
ite a whole
:ch
: peop
jrmant
etched forar
ilked theirpii
Die to thepe;
they are,'
ending belr
ialogue:
v/ reporter: 'la
goes."
Host tie
r: “I thought
vould never s'
Deen sitting or
0 Macarena
are as stales:
om in
riond's wallet
-An awed 1
Music Hall .4*
serosmith’s 31;
walked by.iS
i, huh? Whatip
'hen MTV arm
/ arrives -
i up the wort:
own Manhatte
>. Side
nd Radio
icted more Ite
s beforehanil
icades and
ers, snarling!
ven perfor
ned more g
ird the sho\s
awards. Me''
oo Fighters s
n asked II
ight they’d
us “Hootie"
igged and ss
scted to lose
nd isn't this ’:
“When you talk to
international
students, you get
a different
s ;
This is the fourth story in a series about support services
available on campus. The series will run through the rest
of the week and will
highlight a different support service every day.
lives in America,
and on what's
valuable in life.
//
- Dr. Wade Birch
Director of the Student
Counseling Service
new artist ho
sn’t like aw
gh she alio
;s pressure
n’t change the
By Brent Troyan
The Battalion
tudying abroad can be the adventure of a
lifetime, but it can also bring loneliness,
culture shock and academic failure.
An organization on campus is helping
international and domestic students prepare for
and cope with the psychological problems stu
dents often face when adjusting to another cul
ture.
The International Students College Success
Group offers free weekly seminars throughout
the year, show
ing students
how to adjust to
living in a differ
ent culture and
succeed in col
lege.
Dr. Gisela
Lin, a psychologist and counselor for the
Success Group, sees a duel focus in the pro
gram.
“The main goal is to help students be suc
cessful, academically [while studying in a for
eign country],” Lin said, “but it’s also about the
differences in culture.”
The Success Group brings speakers and stu
dents together to discuss fundamental college
survival topics and learning time manage
ment, goal setting and study skills. Lin said the
first sessions target adjustments necessary to
bridge cultural gaps, deal with conflicting cul
tural values, and learn cross-cultural commu
nication skills, including non-verbal commu
nication in different societies.
These adjustment sessions are helpful to
international students and domestic students
who plan to study abroad or enter internation
al business.
“We prepare them for what’s coming,” Lin said.
The first four to six weeks abroad are
called the “Honeymoon Stage,” a state of
excitement and wonder. Then culture shock
begins to set in with feelings of loneliness,
depression and homesickness.
Toni Fudge, a Success Group co-leader, said
the program provides some emotional support,
but it focuses on social and academic support.
“It’s a psycho-educational group,” she said.
Dr. Wade Birch, director of the Student
Counseling Services, said he started the
International Students College Success group
eight years ago as an unstructured group for
new international students. Students brought
up issues they wanted to discuss.
“Dr. Lin has shifted the group to be more
topical,” he said. “We’re still doing the same
thing, but we’re doing it in a different way.”
Now, the session topics are set in advance,
and the sessions often begin with a video on
the discussion subject. Birch said the set agen
da relieves the pressure on a student to discuss
ideas, and Lin believes the videos make open
discussion easier.
“The videos give students a reference point
[for discussion],” she said.
Birch said the Success Group, unlike
International Camp or the International
Student Orientation, has the potential to be a
place for on-going discussions.
Lin said
building trust
takes time, but
the students
gain the oppor
tunity to learn
about new cul
tures and edu
cate others about the norms and customs of
their home country.
Lin has had her own experience with telling
others about her culture and adjusting to
America’s culture. She studied at Tamkang
University in Taiwan before moving to the
United States for graduate study at Amherst
College in Massachusetts.
Fudge said she believes the group is a ben
efit to domestic students. She said she
encourages their attendance at the
Wednesday evening sessions in the Learning
Resources Department on' the sixth floor of
the Sterling C. Evans Library. The group main
tains an open-door policy to all students
regardless of their cultures.
Lin said she would like to offer more discus
sion sessions in the future, ones for new
international students and ones for open dis
cussion of cultural differences.
The Success Group offers a confidential setting
for students to ask questions about American cul
ture and express concerns about discrimination.
Lin, who has been in charge of the program for
the past four years, said her experiences with the
Success Group’s students have been rewarding.
“This is something I really love to do,” Lin
said. “Seeing them make it through tough
times, that is the reward for me.”
Fudge said she looks forward to this year as
an opportunity to learn about herself.
“The group is not just about integrating stu
dents into the academic community,” she said.
“It’s about gaining an understanding about the
environment and community we’re in.”
Birch said many domestic students are
missing an opportunity to learn about them
selves and their culture.
The Road To The College Basketball Finals
Is Paved With Sweat And Misery.
So We'll Fly You There Instead
Morissett 1
auts wearing!
> understand
>entel
u!
nancy. Atmyliis
Hdn’tseeimmediasl
fference. Ihaventf 1
fcrent types ofd#'
Zeroise. I havegoi*’
i* has shown me ^
n sign me up fortf
'!M
r Specials
1979
'lasses.
Enter The GTE 3-Point Play Sweepstakes For A Chance To Score A Trip To The 1997 College Basketball Finals.
Sign up at our interactive basketball booth for the GTE Easy Savings Plan 5 "; and you’ll save up to 35% on your long distance bill for one year.
Be automatically registered for a trip for two to the college basketball finals. Get a free T-shirt. And a chance to shoot free throws for some really great prizes.
So come by our booth, and you could be on your way to the college basketball finals. Where you’ll see that hard work does pay off. Well, for others, anyway.
Coming to campus 9/2 - 9/6.
SIB
Long Distance
GTE Easy Savings Plan discounts are applied against current GTE long distance rates. GTE Easy Savings Plan is a service mark of GTE Corporation. ©1996 GTE Service Corporation.
MSC Film Society
Now Showing
AGGIELAND SOCCER
LEAGUE
With over 36
teams in 2
divisions in 8
cities. If
you have a
team, a part
of a team,
or you are just
looking for a team, please call for
more information at 696-1974.
The meeting for new players and
teams is this Thursday, Sept. 5 at
8:00 PM at ENPH Room 217.
-TVJISTBR.
Thursday, Sept 5
9:30pm The Birdcage
Friday, Sept 6
7:00pm Twister
9:30pm The Birdcage
Midnight Twister
Saturday, Sept 7
7:00pm The Birdcage
9:30pm Twister
Tickets are $3.00. All films shown
in Rudder Theatre Complex.
[ Questions? Call the Aggie Cinema
Hotline (847-8478).
| dx Persons with special needs call
845-1515 within 3 days of the film.|
Website: http://Qlms.lama.eda
9 pm-11 pm $2.50
Margaritas and
Giant Drafts
Bspecial Sc Grande Excluded
[Wednesday? 9pm-iipm
$1 $2 $4
Drafts 81X
fESFlSSFi
The Very Best in Live Music!
ELECTRIC
GYPSIES
Street
=<?“*> & =
POST OAK MALL
THURSDAY / FRIDAY
om *1.25 Chueaers
8-10 pan. 50 ^ Bar Drinks
- No Live Music -
$ 4.25 Pitchers all nite
NO COVER 21 & OVER ALL NIGHT
Ladies 18-20 LREE till 11 p.m.
Come eat peanuts, play trivia
SATURDAY
The Killer Bees
Live
COUNT ON
HELP
A great calculator plus a great student like you
adds up to great learning.
HP-1 OB
»12 If) LCD ♦ 16 nsgslm
* * Hi • in;tie',! • Stsfefc
»istL® leymm * log&ifkms * ?S6
kyte wit trmoi'f»Isfe k («i!
aid (ablate » iafa
town! I'tatee far fewer keytfraktt
»fro mode di-fcg
HM2C
HM7B1I
♦ Algebraic c« IfPH bp • 2 fine abb-
agmerk dbplc? • Menu fabfs ad asft
keyr*
t prsHtvam
te ♦ teiprecal • (emb ei
♦ faUariwt * API! • iatermns
safe of relum * Comped
ifi&ftt! * U ? satiable te
fc * Um * Stated deviate
♦ Unear (egreste * Noteral fegVsstfofs * ted
yteW-tamatarify/pme rakufsliom * 360/365 day
« Odd aof, mterr,? ♦ Drsyt bfweea psymsi
♦ Ospreriefa * toarsed <avh fkm ♦ Wesped
raean * (arrefete
HP-19811
* Aiaebrsk« IPN bgk * 4 fine air
keys»tesness gtapfa far lash fk#
end sfafelkal operate:.«Sminm and
teetial kimtet * I 4 2
* Ite and curtemy sem-ette
* Over 10 ste fenrtiem
* 6500 Me wmory * Infrared
ptmier mleefate * tefmuoas
Whatever the financial/business calculation need,
there's an HP calculator designed to meet it.
E^l
HEWLETT
PACKARD
University Bookstore
3 Off-Campus Stores For You:
Northgate • Culpepper • Village