Why isn't there a feature article on the front page on the latest terror attack in India?
Is it because it happened near a mosque and mostly Muslims died?

Kareem, actually I hadn't heard about it (it hasn't really been mentioned much in the American media). But it's there at the BBC. It's very upsetting, saddening news. There will be more to say once we know more about who committed the bombing and why; please hang in there for a few hours before making assumptions.

(As I've been writing this comment, Chick Pea posted it to the news tab)

My alma mater is similarly a land-grand school - and there's not only a great deal of support for international students, there are numerous programs to welcome and support them - a "cousins" program that pairs American students with the internationals, an international student board, and numerous country/culture-specifics student groups that are actively supported by professors and the university.

It's a mindset - does NC State want to grow and thrive, or not? It's a pretty myopic and narrow point of view. I wish them well. I won't apply there for graduate school, thank you very much.

I just re-read the article, and here's what strikes me: this is the organized effort my dad reminisces about, the warm welcome from fellow desi graduate students, when most international students were trailblazers (without yahoogroups for information!). But that was a generation ago - and I infer that most universities have more structured programs and resources in place to support their internationals.

The situation at NC State really upsets me. They really depend on their international students, but won't actively support them? I don't care if it's the BSU who's extending a welcoming hand, or Maitri - most students groups extend a welcoming hand to all new students.

But no support from the university itself? Shameful.

Why isn't there a feature article on the front page on the latest terror attack in India? Is it because it happened near a mosque and mostly Muslims died?

i am upset you said that. the blog is made up as much of the folks who comment here as the major contributors. i cant imagine that anyone would deliberately ignore such horror, and i am insulted because you suggested what you did. i hope you apologize.

Let's stay on topic please.

“I don’t know you, but I love you.”

Ugh! As soon as I read this phrase I knew what was going on. These folks are shameless!!!

I think that N America has to do some catching up with the UK as far as policies towards. Working on a project some time back, I was struck by the fact that the journal Foreign Affairs has articles from the 1950s discussing the need for a more intentional policies to assist in the transition and eventual assimilation of these students. Probably the biggest reason why there has been little change is because as international students, they have no say in the political process and thus the political system is not accountable to them. Is there a federal International Students' organization in the US? I know that there isn't one in Canada.

“I don’t know you, but I love you.”

Prove it, like your messiah did.

p.s. kareem, you must not be a regular reader of this blog, or you wouldn't have made that hasty assumption.

Amardeep - This situation is not unique to NCSU...its more of a rule than exception.

In almost all the US universities, its the 'senior' desi grad students who extend a helping hand to their 'juniors'. Groups like ISA are quite pro-active in such activities.
Here's the drill:

1.) Once you've decided on the univ, join the yahoogroup/orkut group/mailing list.
2.) People usually discuss all sorts of issues on these groups...ranging from visa, apartments, food, clothing, what to bring..what not to bring, books, flight tickets etc
3.) Once the reservations are done, inform ISA about your arrival time..and they'll make arrangements for your pickup and temporary accomodation (usually at some "senior's" apt). ISA usually contacts desi students all over the campus and requests them to 'host' the incoming students.
4.) Do the same thing for your 'juniors'...next year.

The Office of Intl students usually helps in the subsequent steps - campus safety, leasing issues etc.

Given the vast network of desi grad students all over the US, its quite possbile that the newcomers already know someone in the univ (usually their seniors in undergrad).

"I don't know you but I love you"

"I don't know you, but you're from savage land so you must be a heathen."

(gagging noises)

“I don’t know you, but I love you.”

I agree with brown_fob in comment #9 that this seems to be the standard way to go. (At least it was for my two classmates from India in my grad school engineering year).

I am a little surprised to hear about NC State's lack of funding. For most engineering departments, graduate students are given tuition waivers and a stipend. NC State has a reputation for being a pretty decent engineering school...

" t-hype on September 8, 2006 12:22 PM
“I don’t know you, but I love you.”
Somebody should have clocked her in her eye to see if she'd still feel that way in 5 minutes. (jk!)"

If you don't want their welcome, no one is forcing you to go and beg for the visa to States. If you want to go and beg americans for jobs,assistanships, be grateful for any help that someone gives you without you having to beg for it!

The NCSU lady that said she loved the international students sounds like she was there just to do 'God's' work and help those that have not seen the way. I am generalizing here, but, the religious orgs that promise not to proseytize to students during orientation go out of their way to try and 'convert' the international student after that. Most desi grad students have a story or two about some random guy/girl stopping them somewhere on campus and asking if they had accepted the lord Jesus Christ as their savior.. I had people coming up to my apartment almost every other week!

As much as I appreciate the 'compassion' of the religious groups to help the international students, most do have ulterior motives and definitely use these connections thru the university to further those agendas.

If you don't want their welcome, no one is forcing you to go and beg for the visa to States. If you want to go and beg americans for jobs,assistanships, be grateful for any help that someone gives you without you having to beg for it!

They aren't begging for visas. The Research labs are begging for students. In 1999 over half the physics graduate students in this country were foreign. That's not because the labs didn't want Americans. They were desperate for Americans. But there weren't enough qualified Americans applying. Because there weren't enough qualified Americans majoring in physics. because there weren't enough qualifed American students going to college ready to learn physics. Because our public schools get short-shrifted all the time. So instead of bitching at the cheap labor your country is using to move ahead necessary basic research without providing the courtesy of religiously neutral guidance, maybe you can go volunteer at a school sometime. And that's exactly where that perky tour guide would be a hell of a lot more helpful.

because “as a state institution, it’s not always politically correct to be spending N.C. State dollars on international students.”

This sounds like a BS argument. I don't really understand why land-grant institutions would be different, but other state schools like the University of California, University of Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State etc. have no problems supporting international grad students at the same level as Americans.

Plus, what is Mr. Bustle really saying - is it merely "not always politically correct" or is there a real legal barrier?

As much as I appreciate the 'compassion' of the religious groups to help the international students, most do have ulterior motives and definitely use these connections thru the university to further those agendas.

When you come to an Abrahamic world, you must expect a touch of Abrahamism, no? I do agree its probably annoying, especially when agressive.

Why are all the 'conversion' specalists only pretty girls? I have yet to be approached by a fat, ugly convertor.

expect a touch of Abrahamism, no

Just to clarify, I'm not against the prosletyzers providing services. I'm against the PUBLIC UNIVERSITY making those the default and only option. It's one thing to inform people--clearly--that a religious group is willing to helpful. It's another thing entirely not to provide other options.

Please do understand these students are cheap labor and without them the American enterprise of science would collapse, and that enterprise is what power much of the tech economy. The onus is not on them. The onus is on us.

Thomas Kurma - You are mixing up two different things.

"not spending N.C. State dollars on international students" means that NCSU doesn't spend dollars for temporary accomodation of international students, airport pickups etc. This does not mean that they don't offer tuition waivers and stipends to deserving students.

Yes, as part of their "orientation binders" a lot of these groups include Bibles or prostelytizing material. Some groups do mass mailouts to all new students. Campus Crusade for Christ had a mailout blocked by at least one University (story linked here). CCC are the folks who created the "4 Spiritual Laws" (read "Instant Christianity") tract that I'm sure some of you have seen.

On a more amusing note - as an undergrad I was approached a number of times by unsuspecting Campus Crusaders who were rather susprised to learn that there were Christians in India. However, the discussion didn't usually stop there - they would not yield until I agreed to visit THEIR Church to see what "real Christians" were like.

!!!

TexAg,

no one is forcing you to go and beg for the visa to States. If you want to go and beg americans for jobs,assistanships, be grateful for any help that someone gives you without you having to beg for it!

Looking for a job is different from begging. When one looks for a job, it's an offer of a business deal - "If you pay me, I will do something for you." They might be willing to do some things (work on various project, clean the floor) but would be insulted if something else is suggested as an exchange for pay (change of faith, sex).

Your choice of words is NOT cool! Did you never have to look for a job? Do you "beg" for a visa when you go to a foreign consulate?

Just to clarify, I'm not against the prosletyzers providing services. I'm against the PUBLIC UNIVERSITY making those the default and only option. It's one thing to inform people--clearly--that a religious group is willing to helpful. It's another thing entirely not to provide other options.

Agreed 100%

Thanks for the clarification, brown_fob. TexAg's stupid remark about jobs, assistantships helped to throw me off mark a little more.

As for initial help, it seems to me, the desi students' associations are doing a fine job already. There is a good argument for the universities doing a little extra for non-Americans in the first week or two, but I can see how this can be an embarrassment for private schools as well.

Why are all the 'conversion' specalists only pretty girls? I have yet to be approached by a fat, ugly convertor.

Ahem... has anyone been to the world HQ of the Mormon LDS church? They bring in talent from around the world.

Looking at Wikipedia's definition of land-grant universities, I'm not sure I understand how NC State's land-grant status categorically excludes foreign students:

The mission of these institutions, as set forth in the [Morrill] 1862 Act, is to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts, not to the exclusion of classical studies, so that members of the working classes might obtain a practical college education.

And more generally, here's the definition for land grant:

...a gift of land made by the government for projects such as roads, railroads, or rewards for military service, or especially academic institutions...

...Regarding academia, the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 have given nearly 100 United States colleges and universities large areas of public land, which in turn were sold by the institutions and the proceeds placed into endowment funds to provide them financial support in creating and sustaining agricultural and mechanical academic programs.

Land-grant schools aren't simply A&Ms anymore (and they're not all public institutions - Cornell falls in this category). Several HBCUs fall into the category as well.

***

Ultimately, I think it depends on the leadership of the institution in question. A year before I started undergrad, a new President at my alma mater made a concerted effort to increase endowments and funding, to make a public university into a world-class institution. Money alone won't do it - he's making sure to attract the best people - students, professors, researchers, forums, bureaus.

That's what it takes, and it's disappointing that NC State doesn't appear have that same vision. *shrug*

***

Anyone out there who is a student, professor, or alumnus of NC State? I'm curious to know opinions & perceptions of people who've actually been there.

Thomas ..... the HQ has all shapes and sizes, but only the pretty variety are 'used' for conversion.

Margin Fades-

You are correct about the fact that Cornell is a Land Grant school, but incorrect in your point that they aren't all public. In fact, all land-grant colleges are public by definition.

Cornell is divided into seven undergraduate colleges; 3 are public and four are private. The four private schools cost more, and are more traditionally "Ivy League" in terms of class size, demographics, etc. They are the Arts and Sciences College, the Engineering school, art, architecture and planning and the Hotel School (no one really understands how that happened). The four public schools are the Agricultural school, school of human ecology (formerly home economics), and the school of industrial and labor relations. All of the state money Cornell receives for research is funneled into the state colleges, while the private students pay double the tuition. So you see, the land grant act is very specific; they wanted to promote certain disciplines, not necessarily support only American students.

Anyone out there who is a student, professor, or alumnus of NC State? I'm curious to know opinions & perceptions of people who've actually been there.

There's still a misconception (which brown_fob has admirably tried to address) about NC State. Having gone to NC State for undergrad, I can testify to the fact that there were plenty of Indian and Chinese TAs and RAs. NC State's College of Engineering knows full well the importance of Indian grad students, and the professors that I knew there certainly did not discriminate between foreign (or out-of-state) and in-state students when figuring out who should get assistantships. The other point is that NC State is not a particularly rich school (especially when compared to private institutions), so there is less money to go around for assistantships in general (and PhD candidates are much more likely to receive support than Master's students). Thus, the necessity of some international students' looking for jobs is not because of some discrimination against foreigners, but because there isn't that much money in the first place.

Which isn't to deny the political issues here. The UNC system fights a never-ending war against the NC Legislature to preserve its funding, and I'm sure the politicos carp about spending money on foreign students. But do not hold the pressure exerted by the people controlling the purse strings against the administration of NC State. It has very little to do with the vision of NC State and much more to do with the shortsightedness of the politicians who dole out the money.

... and they're not all public institutions - Cornell falls in this category).

Actually, Cornell is an odd set up. There are several "contract colleges" which fulfill the land-grant nature of the institution. These colleges have lower tuitions for in-state students (unlike the endowed colleges, which are fully private). In some sense, then, the land-grant portion of Cornell is de facto public. The College of Engineering at Cornell is indubitably private (and expensive), though.

And interestingly, being a grad student at Cornell, I can offer some perspective on this, as well. Cornell is really no different from NC State in its treatment of international students. Most of the orientation and acclimatization tasks are performed by the CIA (Cornell India Association), following roughly the pattern laid out by brown_fob, not by Cornell itself. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for Master's students at Cornell (in the engineering department, at least) to be unfunded. There is only so much money to go around, even at private schools.

Gautam, you only listed three colleges in your land-grant list. The fourth is the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Gautam in comment # 10 -

Evangelical types do that to everyone, not just people they think comes from "savage" lands.

In fact, give her the benefit of the doubt. she honestly thinks she is doing something to help people. Such an attitude is more or less innoncent. Ignorant, yes. But innocent also.

Funny though saying, "I love you". She could find herself in a bind with that phrase.

Milind-

Fair point, but I left it off because it's a grad school. If I included grad schools, I'd have to list the medical, business, and law schools as well as others under private.

“I’m doing this because I love you,” she emphasized. “I don’t know you, but I love you.”

I think you guys are overreacting. Maybe she just has a FOB fetish.

Gautam: Gotcha about the grad school bit. It was confusing since you said four colleges (the second time...), but only listed three!

I'm studying Computer Science at Cornell at the moment.

Yes, most of you are going overboard with your criticism.
Desi grad students are not that gullible..they know how to respond.
A few of my friends routinely get in arguments with these CCC "preachers"...and more often than not..its a healthy discussion about the secular nature of indian psyche, 'my god' and 'your god' etc.

If you don't want their welcome, no one is forcing you to go and beg for the visa to States. If you want to go and beg americans for jobs,assistanships, be grateful for any help that someone gives you without you having to beg for it!

TexAg From my personal experience,my views are quite contorary to yours. Being a graduate student at USC, LA international students constitute 80% of the engineering school, it extremely difficult to spot american students.
About 'begging' i think you wouldn't be saying this if you had any idea what's happening on the ground,American universities come down to india with their top faculty members offering students lucrative offers to join their univ's.European Union this year gave 1,500 scholorships to indian grad students, so now it also a competition among countries as to who attracts best talent.
About visa their is no begging going around, be informed that situation is very different, for most indian students its a breeze to get one.10 years down the line you will understand what i'am trying to say "wonders of globalization" its a two way street evertbody benefits, no party is grateful to other, its pure economics and its going to be survival of the fittest. As Saheli said solution lies bringing change in high schools not in blaming others for your own misdoing.

As for spending money on foreign grad students not being politically correct: what's not PC in NC is different from other states. This is why I don't live in NC and you shouldn't either (or at least not patronize their land grant schools). For these foreign grad students, the lack of services probably makes it easier to get in and possibly win a scholarship (less competition) but really, they shouldn't patronize an organization that panders to xenophobia. If they have to put up with some insufferable religious zealots, it's really their fault. They should do their research beforehand.

As for NC in general, I think this phrase sums it up: duke is puke, wake is fake, and the team I hate is nc state! (go terps!...and a shout out to fellow cornellians on this thread)

I think that N America has to do some catching up with the UK as far as policies towards. Working on a project some time back, I was struck by the fact that the journal Foreign Affairs has articles from the 1950s discussing the need for a more intentional policies to assist in the transition and eventual assimilation of these students.

Is the implication here that the UK is ahead of the US in terms of integrating immigrants (particularly brown ones) into society? While there are prob things to learn from the UK, the US is far far ahead when it comes to assimilating brown people. Desis in America have a much higher level of identification with their adopted homeland than Londonstanis.

Why are all the 'conversion' specalists only pretty girls?

Because many guys will do anything to please a pretty girl...d'uh ;)

Gautam, Milind - I've been educated. Thanks. :-)

As for spending money on foreign grad students not being politically correct: what's not PC in NC is different from other states. This is why I don't live in NC and you shouldn't either (or at least not patronize their land grant schools). For these foreign grad students, the lack of services probably makes it easier to get in and possibly win a scholarship (less competition) but really, they shouldn't patronize an organization that panders to xenophobia. If they have to put up with some insufferable religious zealots, it's really their fault. They should do their research beforehand.

Holy crap. I'm gonna assume that this post was a result of some lingering bitterness over not having made a bowl game in the last couple of seasons, or something ;-).

And as to your parenthetical comment, while this will make NC sound even worse to you, the issues surrounding funding foreign graduate students are not limited to NC's land grant schools. UNC has similar issues with securing assistantships for their graduate students. And truthfully, I highly doubt that other state schools in other states don't have issues with this.

Regarding the pretty girl proselytizers, that was actually a standard practice at one time in ISKCON. To use the attractive young women to go out and preach to the masses, some were even encouraged to "flirt" in order to get the men in airports to give bigger donations for the books they were distributing.

Heck, it's common in recruiting of all types, not just for religions. Ever met a recruiter for Trilogy (a software company)?

I admit it works. I have fallen prey to a couple of really hot guys doing similar stuff, and yes, I gave the donation and tried to prolong the conversation as long as possible.

UNC has similar issues with securing assistantships for their [foreign] graduate students. And truthfully, I highly doubt that other state schools in other states don't have issues with this.

While there is only so much money to go around, at places like U-MD, there is a much higher level of service provided by the university for foreign students (admittedly, based on what I've heard...I went to Cornell and am American) because spending the money is not un-PC like in NC. The Carolinas have a reputation as having a hotbed of xenophobic fears about foreigners "stealing our jobs" and the "outsourcing of America" (see John Edwards). This is in part because historically, the textile industry has been huge in the Carolinas and a lot of those jobs went overseas to foreigners.

Also, this is what post #16 said:

I don't really understand why land-grant institutions would be different, but other state schools like the University of California, University of Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State etc. have no problems supporting international grad students at the same level as Americans.

P.S. Yes, I'm bitter about the current pecking order in the ACC, but the Terps shall rise again!!!

This post I know does not address the issue of spending money on international students, just wanted to put some things in perspective...
I was a graduate student at NC State not too long back. Maitri, as pointed out in the article takes care of most of the initial needs of the arriving Indian graduate students. The international office's main budget, I am assuming goes towards ensuring that the I20 and other such documents are taken care of for international students, scholars, faculty etc and so they do rely on many many volunteers to ensure that the housing, pick up from airports, checking in, social aspects of orientation and various other cultural activities organized by them go smoothly. (Around 300-500 international students come in every fall semester, some more during spring and they have a staff of 5-6 to deal with this whole crowd). A lot of the volunteers are students - some of them international, some are American and some are drawn from the community. The incoming students are given a package with quite a lot of information (including programs like cultural activities, friendship programs, grocery shops, parties, language clubs, coffee hours etc organised by the international office, social security number information etc etc - not just trips organized by religious groups). And from what my friends tell me of their graduate school experience as a new international student from India - theirs wasnt a whole lot different from mine.

I went to NC State for 6 years as an International Student for my Masters and Doctorate in ECE. I had funding throughout, so did many of my fellow international students. The basis of scholarships is based purely on GRE,TOEFL, undergraduate acads and partly on your SOP and resume. As far as I am aware of, there has been no discrimination on those grounds. The state rule comes in after 5 years (10 semesters) where the funding stops for international students. But in every possible case, the university has stepped in for students like me for cannot complete multiple degrees in 6 years and made an exception and the scholarship has been continued.

The OISSS (Office of International Student & Scholar Services) headed by Michael Bustle is just that - purely for International students. I have always seem them do an exemplary job in aiding International students. If OISSS comes across some money, it is for the international students. During the first two weeks of orientation IBS(International Bible Society) and other Christian organizations step in to organize garage sales etc. - which is very useful. Though I have head stories about some souls been preached to about christianity, neither me nor anyone I know has been accosted by them. We take what they provide and set about our studies and we donate everything back to them when we graduate.

Maitri is excellent - period. When you have an organization like Maitri you do not need to depend on any other organization to help settle you in. My husband went to UMD, and he took close to two months to get settled in there and thats when I appreciated what Maitri offers to the Indian students. That being said, it does not mean that the other organizations within the university do not help out international students. Maitri receives funding from various organizations (like UAB) in the university to celebrate Holi, Diwali etc. Sometimes, the money is sufficient to feed all the members of Maitri to a nice dinner on the occasion - free.

NCSU may not be one of the best universities around. Due to the inundation of international students which started in 2001, funding doesnt come easy. But on-campus jobs are aplenty and it's quite a haven for international students.

Umang: My point is that the issue with securing assistantships etc. isn't restricted to foreign students at UNC and NC State. The problem afflicts all students at those schools. The support issues raised in the article surround the auxiliary things that the international students office would take care of and are instead being taken care of by Maitri and similar organizations.

You are right that the Carolinas do have issues with xenophobia, but that mainly applies to the manufacturing sector. Also, this isn't unique to the Carolinas. Many, many states have similar issues (and it has nothing to do with red state vs. blue state; ask a Detroit resident how they feel about outsourcing). And to the extent that the NC economy has diversified, there isn't a significant issue with immigrants moving in to take high-tech jobs (viz. the large Desi population in the Triangle).

Any of the xenophobia that exists in NC may affect the schools because of funding issues, but I am positive that the xenophobia does not actually extend into the schools themselves.

Heck, it's common in recruiting of all types, not just for religions. Ever met a recruiter for Trilogy (a software company)?

Actually, Microsoft is REALLY good at that. Any of their exhibition events will have the prettiest girls from the nearby colleges (in the US or India) as presenters. Not just that, I've attended a couple of Microsoft parties at tech conferences. They're usually held at super-geeky places (science museums or something) but suddenly they'll have all these super-hot girls show up from nowhere, and nobody attending the conference seem to know any of them.

Agh, I'm sad I'm late for this thread, having come to grad school in the US (Rice U) 5 years ago, have been there, done that for almost everything in the article. It was very well-written and very nostalgic for me.

Actually, in recent times, in my experience, the religious groups are focusing a whole lot more on Chinese students than Indian ones. Indian students usually come from religiously stable backgrounds and very few find a spiritual need to convert. Moreover, their English speaking skills (even with the accent) make them better at socializing. Chinese students, IMHO, have a 'spiritual vacuum' owing to communism and weaker English skills and many of them accept Christianity in order to fit better with this society, often these are the only people they hang out with.

Even after being for so long in the same Univ, there'll always be some stupid Freshman who walks upto me once in a while asking me if I want to be saved/join a bible study etc. I usually push them off courteously the first two times.

After moving off graduate student housing at my Univ, I lived for about 1-1/2 years with a Chinese guy in an apartment complex. We had a bunch of Mormons (all very good-looking white guys, I must say) who specifically targetted Chinese people. they all had Chinese names and spoke a smattering of Mandarin. Every Sunday they used to come to our apartment regularly to look for my roommate, who was non-confrontational, but adamant about staying secular. After a while, everytime they knocked, he hid in my room while I told them to go away. Finally, I convinced him to put his foot down after a few months of this and tell them to buzz off.

Actually, in recent times, in my experience, the religious groups are focusing a whole lot more on Chinese students than Indian ones.

This is a good account of the agression of a particularly tenacious Abrahamic strand. Thanks for sharing.

Oh puleeeeze! stop cribbing about such small issues. In most US universities, Desis and most international students find welcoming hands and lots of aid in the form of fellowships and graduate assistantship. You cannot demand it as a right.

Vikas, I agree with you. While I usually do not like the idea of having these religious orgs around, that is a relatively minor issue.

Most Univs around the US take good care of international students and have a good support system going in general. Given that a typical Indian student may be coming to the US for the first time, it is going to be a culture shock regardless of the number of TV shows they've watched before. In particular, many Indian and Chinese students like me don't usually come from backgrounds where they'd normally be able to afford an American education or lifestyle. Usually, they don't have any family living in the country already (I still hate that, esp around TG and Xmas). So any amount of support is welcome and meaningful.

I swear by our International office here, they've gone out of their way to help me out on several occasions.

Hi all,

IMO I think volunteer support for Intl Students goes a long way. Although we have a LOT less Indian students, here in South Australia than America, the needs/wants of these students aren't different by any stretch of the imagination. technophobic geek raises a lot of good points in his comments, and I would tend to agree with most of them (apart from this Land Grant stuff, I have no idea on that). In Adelaide, due to the small concentration of desis, both the new students and the Indian community at large, have been enriched by experiences. Moreover, volunteer organisations such as the Bharatiya Club provide a "link" for the new indian students to meet with "old hands". However, one disappointing thing about Aust Unis is that the lack of scholarships offered to Intl Students (indian or otherwise). This should change soon

WRT religious issues, haven't heard of any untoward incidents here in Adelaide atleast.

Cheers,

Prasanna

I'm an alum of NC State. I did my Masters there. I was also the VP of Maitri a few years ago.
Right now I study at the Indian School of Business at Hyderabad.

It is very very easy for us to critisize the existing system at NC State. IMHO, I think that they are doing the best with what they have. Like Kamala said, I have heard about the christian organizations trying to convert the international students by offering help, etc. I do know someone who did face this problem. However, having said that, I would like to compare my experience as an International Student in the US (and at NCSU) as compared to an international student's experience here in India. Here, at ISB, we do have a couple of international students. The ISB administration is doing the best to being hospitable. But, I really don't think our own hospitality (as Indians in general) compares anywhere close to what American's provide us when we go to the US. It may probably be due to inexperience.. but all I'm trying to say is, before we point fingers, let us look at where WE stand on the same issue.

Proselytizing..would be holding a bible study on campus during the International welcome dinner...that does not happen. NCSU allows all international student groups to assist with the welcome dinner and promote and advertise what they do so students know about them. No body is forced to eat hamburgers and go to confession but if you, under free choice, were to go to a church ...like dah ..they will try to convince you to become a Christian. To not allow religious groups to participate in the welcome dinner would be intolerance ..something I understand all too well as a friend of the late Graham Staines.