Given that Guilford is a Quaker college that preaches diversity, I strongly believe that we need a much larger international community. Richmond, Indiana’s, Earlham College is about the same size as Guilford and preaches the same Quaker values, yet the international community there is more than triple the size of Guilford’s.

“Guilford should have a larger international community,” said first-year Emma Priya Graham. “(When visiting Earlham) I noticed very quickly that Earlham had a huge population of international students, which I loved!”

“At Earlham, I learn everyday that there are differences between the cultures, but I also learn about some unexpected similarities,” said Laila Rabah, a Palestinian Earlham first-year. “We learn here that we’re all people, and we can come together regardless of our differences and celebrate our similarities.”

Guilford needs to invest more financially and provide more emotional support for international students, because what they can add to this community is priceless.

“For Guilford to truly be a more diverse and more multi-cultural based institution there needs to be a significant international community,” said Palestinian senior and secretary of the International Club Maisa Zeedani.

“Right now, we don’t have specific scholarships for international students. We just have merit aid, so most of the ones that come now are ones that already have resources to come here,” said Jorge Zeballos, international student advisor.

For Guilford to be able to support the current international population and attract more prospective students, we need to plan to give them more resources like a full-time international advisor, ESOL programs and counselors that can help them deal with issues like culture shock and homesickness.

“Jorge Zeballos is the only international student advisor, and in the summer and spring time that’s problematic, because that’s when we’re trying to recruit people,” said senior Bosnian student Aleksandra Babic, who is the current president of the International Club. “He needs to be given a full-time position.”

Guilford used to provide Interlink to international students, an ESOL program, which is now based at UNCG.

“Because we are trying to attract more international students we are trying to reconnect with Interlink,” said Babic. “But clearly instead of resources being added on they were being taken away from us.”

Having passionate students from all around the world can challenge one-sided progressive sentiments of some Guilford students.

“A big problem at Guilford is ethnocentricity,” said Zeedani. “Students here need to become more culturally tolerant and understand what it means to have a different identity.”

“Students here have to realize that there are many different perspectives even within a progressive mindset,” said Zeballos. “There’s the expectation that liberals need to look a certain way, but people might dress in ties and suits that have more progressive ideals than you do.”

“There’s not enough cultural sensitivity here. There are cultural differences that you have to consider when you deal with people and the way in which you perceive them,” said Babic. “You have to consider these things before you can judge their behavior as wrong or inappropriate.”

Considering the specificity and uniqueness of Guilford’s liberal mindset and Quaker values, it is inevitable that assimilating into the Guilford culture will be difficult to many.

“Even if you’re from the U.S., you can still experience culture shock when you come to Guilford,” said Babic. “Imagine how much this can be magnified when you’re from an entirely different continent and culture. We don’t provide enough support and resources for them to feel at home and create a comfortable space for them.”

Even though people at Guilford tend to be more open-minded and liberal than others, believing that one has reached the peak of open-mindedness limits cultural understanding.

An international presence is essential to engage the remarkable passion of Guilford students and channel it in the right direction. Guilford needs to provide opportunities for having direct contact with as many diverse cultures as possible, so it can live up to its responsibility to provide its students with a diverse education.

“Some students want to theorize and intellectualize issues, when they can get to the roots of them by turning to international students present in our community, who are impacted by them first-hand,” said Babic.

“Many of the international students have come from areas that have had many struggles – either political, social or economic – and therefore can come here and appreciate what they have,” said Zeballos. “They can challenge the perspectives of U.S. students in terms of what are things that are serious enough for someone to complain about.”

Earlham first-year Erika Phelps has always been a part of international communities, having lived in places like Uganda and Hong Kong. “I lived in Uganda when I was a little kid, and that really taught me that you can’t take anything for granted,” said Phelps. “A lot of people don’t know what it is like or can be like to live outside of America. They can’t perceive how different life can be for others . sometimes it’s a lot harder.