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Language Letter: Transy must support multilingual students

Transy Rambler
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Language Letter: Transy must support multilingual students

Letter to the Editor

As a concerned student who speaks multiple languages, I attended Dr. Bruce Horner’s presentation on the afternoon of January 20. Many of the questions that students asked were interesting because some were actually concerned about the change that they can create on campus. I was especially struck by SGA President Joseph Gearon’s question about how student organizations can raise awareness of multilinguality as a norm on campus. Since that moment, I’ve been wondering the same thing.

We can start by approaching students from underserved communities—such as second-language learners, out-of-state students, students from rural backgrounds, students of color, international students, and first- generation students—by building into our student life and academic programs acknowledgement of issues directly affecting these groups. For example, at one three-day leadership training, conducted last fall for student leaders across campus, strategies for responding to microagressions, gender bias, and cultural insensitivity—including language discrimination— were not addressed. How can student leaders lead without the coaching necessary to acknowledge that these behaviors occur inside and outside our organizations and to interrupt these behaviors? What message does forgetting these important aspects of training suggest about our institutional attitude toward the issues and those students most at risk?

While students and our leaders can begin to work together to create change, the fact remains, as Dr. Horner said, that most of the push has to come from the top—from the administration. How are we increasing faculty and staff attention on multilinguality? We’re not. Why? This isn’t about budgets, but about doing the right thing to help lots of students from diverse backgrounds—and all students.

There needs to be a full-time advocate that will be able to guide the conversation between the student and the professor when the student needs time for an assignment. There has to be training for professors, so they can know how to handle situations where the international student feels comfortable enough to talk to the professor about his/her concerns. There has to be a way where the professors acknowledge that each student has a different background and a complex understanding of the English language whether or not it is their first language. Each culture teaches English differently and each person learns it differently. This makes English a language always in translation. There cannot be one right way but multiple, always-changing ways.

What’s at stake? If we do not do these things how can we expect to create a diverse campus? Creating a diverse campus benefits us all because it allows students to learn not just about their own culture but others as well. This will give everyone on campus a sense of belonging whether they are from a diverse background or not. I encourage faculty and students to consider this option.

-Stephanie Chavez

Language Letter: International student for mutual empowerment

Transy Rambler
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Language Letter: International student for mutual empowerment

Letter to the Editor

I came to the U.S. more than a year ago. Specifically, I came here for university. It was a long plane ride from China to the U.S. So you can imagine how seamless the transition was from China to here in Kentucky. As an international student at Transylvania, so far I have noticed a few challenges that international students face as a minority on campus. When I say minority, I really mean a minority. International students at Transy, compared to other international populations in other universities, are a very small, loose group. There were only a few other international students on campus, all studying abroad for different reasons. While one student just wanted to experience a different culture, another student was staying in the US on an H4 EAD visa because his father was working here for a few years. This has presented really quite some cultural and academic challenges, and I believe that these challenges would be agreed upon by the whole of the international student group on this campus. Also, I believe that it is only through conversations within the group and the external resources that these challenges can be overcome.

One of the first and foremost differences between international students and the rest of student body is that of culture. I do not mean this in a literal sense, that international students speak different languages and such. More importantly, we have come from a cultural environment where all resources are readily available to a new one, where those familiar resources are suddenly deprived. In our home country, we know how to communicate with other people, and how society works. With this knowledge, we are able to grow with little hindrance.

However, when we come to live in a different cultural environment where the community that represents us is a small minority, the absence of the familiar and the need to gain back the social network that brought us comfort at home imposes on us the strong need to fit in. The fear of the unfamiliar and of the majority of students suppressed our thoughts and gave us the impression that our values and opinions do not matter and are stigmatized. During the process, some international students opt out and simply stick to their very own friend group of other students from the same country, usually very small. However, things do not have to turn out this way, and there are solutions to this issue.

I have friends from various different countries that are currently studying in universities, big and small, across the US, and they are among the most successful students on their campuses. They are the presidents of the school’s student governments, they are active members in faculty research and they play a tremendous role in improving local communities. Compared to international students described previously, they seem to live in this new culture unfettered. There are many possible explanations for this. High among them is in the value of international experience and the support for it. In many universities, there is already a mature mechanism or system that helps incoming international students transition into the new culture.

I have a great example of this and I love telling it. During my fall break trip this year to visit a friend of mine in a university in midwest America, she brought me to her residential hall. It was a big, beautiful hall by the way and I loved it. I noticed on the door of each apartment, there is a flag of the country whose language the residents in the apartment speak. I asked, “how many languages are there?” She said, “Too many.” Later when I was having dinner with the residents in the Chinese apartment, I was shocked that they spoke such great Chinese because they told me that they had only started learning Chinese two years ago. You see, the benefits in this example are mutual: not only are the international students there able to successfully transition into the local culture, but also American students are able to benefit from the micro-cultural environment international students create.

The success of this university’s international experience is attributable to many people. First is the existence of international students and a population of American students interested in foreign cultures. Second and more importantly, there is a supportive administration. It is the school’s administrators that made the decision not only to create a physical environment (the residential hall) in which different cultures can flourish, but more importantly to put great emphasis on the value international students bring to the campus and to utilize it to benefit both student and school. In recent years, the population of international students in this university has been increasing, bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the university’s revenue.

I believe the same supportive environment and values on international students can also be accomplished by smaller schools like Transy. The first condition has been met: there are students on every campus that are curious, interested and even passionate about foreign languages and cultures. But it is not until the school’s administration decides to act on the value of international elements on campus that actual changes that benefit both school and student can take place.

On the other hand, there is a huge responsibility on international students themselves as well. During my stay in America, I have met a great many international students, including those from my own country, who decide to lock themselves in their small circles and refuse to explore outside their comfort zone. There are many exceptions, like those I mentioned before, but more often they are sadly not true of the majority of international students. Many of them either do not feel the need to engage with the outside world or think their opinions do not matter.

However, the reality is your opinions – yes, I am talking to you now – matter in profound ways! You will feel great letting your opinions be heard and valued by others. I understand this might be your first time studying abroad, and that the distance from friends and family in your home country intimidates you, but the only way that will change you is to take one step, just one small step. Maybe start to speak up in class, or maybe just say “hi,” to a classmate outside of class, and ask him/her about their day. Then after some time, you will find yourself in a position in which you feel you are empowered to do many more great things in this new cultural environment. This is when you realize that there is a world of opportunity and resources that will help you. This is when you will enjoy being abroad the same way you enjoyed being back at home. I urge you to try this way.

Empowering international students might not be easy, but it is far from impossible. It comes from the engagement, understanding and value from both the students and the administration. At Transy, a historic liberal arts college, the engagement and value are even more imperative to foster a 21st century liberal arts education in a changing world, in which the global economy is closely intertwined, cultures are seamlessly affecting each other, and the workforce for which this type of education is supposed to prepare its students is filled with talented people from different cultures. Again, I urge you, all of you, to realize the value and act on it.

-Daniel Zhang

Language Letter: First yet foreign language

Transy Rambler
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Language Letter: First yet foreign language

Letter to the Editor

English is my first and only language. Yet it feels like a foreign language every single day. Simple conversations turn frustrating when my friend, a classmate, and the professor turn away or mumble as they speak. I can barely understand anything on the TV or radio. It’s because I’m hearing impaired. I wear a cochlear implant, which is a miracle of bioengineering. Still, even miracles sometimes have their limits.
My cochlear implant is essentially a set of wires and magnets on top of my skull that bypasses the parts of my ear that doesn’t work. An external component that looks like a hearing aid acts as a microphone and sends signals through a magnet to the internal part. In other words, I have a fancy schmancy bionic ear.
My bionic ear is pretty decent at its job. It’s just the matter of getting my brain to translate what the heck all that noise is. As I say over and over again, day after day, “I hear you. I don’t *understand* you. Could you please repeat yourself?” It becomes particularly difficult when I have to have a conversation over the phone as I can’t quite hear what the person on the other end is saying and I have to keep asking them what they said. Hopefully, all of that will change soon though as my friend has recently told me about this hearing impaired phone that is supposed to help people who are hard of hearing. I’m not quite sure how it will work, but it’s definitely worth having a look at, as I’m starting to dread making a phone call now. I just don’t like it when I have to keep asking people to repeat themselves.
I studied Spanish for five years and could read and write at a passable level. But when it came to speaking, I would never be able to tell you if I was hearing Spanish or just a conversation in English that for some reason I couldn’t get my brain to understand. Yes, it’s that bad. Don’t even get me started on trying to connect what I heard with the Spanish words I knew on paper.
When I arrived at Transylvania, I knew I couldn’t continue with Spanish. I took Latin to fulfill my language requirement. One of the good reasons for keeping a dead language around for study is that it inadvertently accommodates people like me. Latin is inclusive in its own way! No discrimination based on hearing ability! Good, solid, clean fun for all liberal arts students, even deaf ones.
I’ve been very lucky here at Transy. Professors bend over backwards to help me understand everything in the classroom. Every student I’ve spent time with has been nothing but understanding. I have friends who even sometimes find my deaf jokes funny. I sometimes wish I had perfect ability to understand what I hear, but during my time here, I’ve learned that I do just fine. Mostly. A few embarrassing misunderstandings there and there, but I’ll deal. Language is slippery for everyone, right?
I still have to say, thank goodness for people who understand when I struggle with English like it is a foreign language. And thank goodness for dead languages.

 

-Julie Graf

‘The liberal arts at work:’ collaborative project between admissions office, three Transy courses

Aaron Martin
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‘The liberal arts at work:’ collaborative project between admissions office, three Transy courses

This semester three Transylvania classes-Gary Deaton’s Organizational Communication, Kerri Hauman’s Business Writing, and Adam Evans’s Consumer Behavior-are all working together with the Admissions office to increase future enrollment.

As Director of Enrollment Communications Laura Rudolph explains, “Each of the three courses are working in unison to explore the past, present, and future of admissions. Students will be digging into research, exploring consumer behavior, and examining digital media with the goal of delivering new ideas and insights that can positively impact Transy in each students’ college search process.”

Professor of Business Administration Adam Evans also emphasized the theme of past, present, and future. He described that his class is the present by going on tours and speaking with admissions staff as well as visiting students and parents.

The Organizational Communication class will be looking at data of both national admissions trends and Transy’s admissions office, making them the past. They will be analyzing this data because, as Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Communication (WRC) Gary Deaton states, “If we’re going to do an analysis on what we should do we need to know what we are doing right now.”

Lastly, the Business Writing class is the future. As WRC Professor Kerri Hauman puts it, her class will be determining “what sort of multimodal text they can create-or based on time and scope, that they can recommend the Admissions staff later create-to better appeal to prospective students and their parents.”

The project is working as a three-step process with Deaton’s class passing their information onto Evans’s class once they are finished. Then, the Consumer Behavior class will give their work to the Business Writing class. Each class is split into four groups, and all twelve groups will give a presentation to the Admissions office on Reading Day-the Monday of finals week.

This collaborative style between three classes and the Admissions office reflects Transylvania and the liberal arts.

“This collaboration provides our students with continued opportunities to work in an interdisciplinary way, something that we constantly talk about in admissions. We are not only promoting Transy but the liberal arts, and this collaboration is a wonderful example of the liberal arts at work,” said Assistant Director of Admissions Sarah Guinn.

Further, Evans sees this project as something truly beneficial to the future of teaching in general. He explained that not only is the student reaction very positive, but it also benefits students. By working with three different professors, it allows students to gain multiple levels of expertise and knowledge. Advancing teachers knowledge will advance the knowledge of their students in a productive and essential way for the future, development for educators should be looked at for all levels of the teaching profession.

“I’ve always loved being a teacher, and this is the route I want to go with teaching moving forward. I think this collaboration project is the wave of the future of teaching,” said Evans.

A project like this is also critical for students to gain real-life, hands-on experience. All three professors have worked with outside clients and organizations before and spoke on the growth and developments in students.

Hauman noted that an experience like this not only benefits students currently but in the long run as well in developing skills needed for life after college. She explained that even frustrations experienced with the project will give the students an insight in how the world works.

“I’ll admit, while working on this type of project, students often get frustrated by unclear expectations or timelines or by someone who isn’t doing their fair share of work, but those are common problems they will almost certainly have to deal with in other aspects of their lives, and ultimately, they gain valuable skills I’m not sure I could have helped them to develop otherwise,” said Hauman.

Although each professor has done projects with outside organizations before, usually the projects are not done with an organization on campus. Deaton explained that working internally changes the dynamic of the project, particularly in student motivation and interest.

“Our students would be really motivated by that,” said Deaton. “They would not only get the learning but they would actually make a difference in the campus that they love and leave a legacy potentially.”

The Admissions office is excited and hopeful for the work the classes will produce and sees it being beneficial to all.

As Rudolph described, “Having worked at several institutions, I can certainly say that it’s rare to find such genuine excitement and interest in pursuing this type of academic collaboration. We’re lucky to have the opportunity to engage in such a cool way. We hope the students learn as much during the process as we do.”

A Picturesque Decision: Transylvanian Photography

Noah Lockard
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A Picturesque Decision: Transylvanian Photography

In today’s age, there is constant recording of life through photographs, whether it be a selfie on Snapchat through a phone camera or a scenic photo on a professional camera. Early on in my college career at Transylvania, I learned that there was no longer a minor or major for photography and that there hadn’t been for some time. Now, while it may be my own fault for not researching that about the school ahead of time, it still strikes me as a strange decision on the school’s part. Although it may have to do with the funding for such programs, staffing for classes, or the number of students drawn to such a career, I believe the program should still receive more recognition.

What drew my own attention to the subject was my interest in photographic design. Naturally, I checked to see if there were classes on the subject, and lo and behold, there are. There are multiple classes that offer skills that include photography or even center around the subject, such as “Intro to Photography.” Even with the variety of classes, I was discouraged once I was told that there is no major or minor for it at Transylvania. The common answer to the problem from most students is usually something like, “You could always build something to resemble a photography major or minor.” While this is true, it just doesn’t seem satisfactory to know that you would have to build a major or minor around a commonality of life like photography.

As said at the beginning of the article, photography has become ubiquitous in the everyday lives of millions of people. This was not true when the camera was created. Believe it or not, there was a time where cameras were only used by professionals. Now almost anyone and everyone possess the means to record history, to entertain others, or to voice what they believe in. Whether it is used as a form of expression, communication, symbolism, or even memory, photography is a part of life that cannot be overlooked. Because as the digital age grows and evolves, photography will only evolve with it and become even more important to the efficiency and history of humanity. That is why, as someone who is interested in the topic, career, and its importance to humanity, I urge that it should be reconsidered as an ingrained program of Transylvania University once again. What do you think?

Top Moments From The 2017 Grammy Awards

Taylor Mahlinger
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Top Moments From The 2017 Grammy Awards

The Grammy’s happened last Sunday night, and with them came controversy, mistakes, and of course, epic music. Here are the top (and most talked about) moments of the 2017 Grammy Awards.

  1. When Adele won Album of The Year for 25 over Beyoncé’s Lemonade. There seemed to be a bit of controversy since the opinion was not shared, a few critics even suggesting that the decision to award Adele instead of Beyoncé was based off of popularity rather than talent.

 

  1. When Lady Gaga and Metallica performed an energetic duet of “Moth Into Flame”. Since metal isn’t a genre we typically see at The Grammy Awards, it was a refreshing change from all the other performances. Unfortunately, the fiery performance’s beginning didn’t exactly go as planned when James Hetfield’s microphone seemed unable to produce sound, forcing him to share with Lady Gaga. It became even crazier, from Lady Gaga crowd surfing to James Hatfield angrily throwing his guitar at a nearby technician at the end of the song.

 

  1. When Bruno Mars “broke it down” during his suave performance of “That’s What I Like”. Wearing an 80s-style leather track suit, Bruno Mars took the stage and sported his smooth moves and vocals, making even J. Lo swoon a little.

 

  1. When Ed Sheeran amazed us with his acoustic performance of “Shape of You.” Armed with his signature guitar and loop-pedal, Ed Sheeran performed one of his new songs, taking us back to the time when he was a simpler artist.

 

  1. When Adele decided to start over on “Fastlove,” her tribute to George Michael. It seems Adele has had some bad luck with Grammy performances in the past. At last year’s Grammy Awards, during her performance of “All I Ask”, Adele dealt with sound issues, claiming the piano mics fell onto the piano during the performance, causing her to sing off key.

This time when her performance began on an off key (literally), she stopped the performance and said into the mic, “I f–ked up, I can’t do it again like last year”. She continued, saying she wanted to do George Michael justice by singing the song correctly. Once she started over, her performance went smoothly, and she went on to collect five Grammys.

 

  1.  When Beyoncé graced the stage with her luxurious, golden, goddess-like performance of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles”. From her custom designed golden dress and halo/crown to her tribute to women deities, Beyoncé’s performance was nothing short of regality. While some argue that the performance was slightly over the top, others found it a beautiful tribute to women as goddesses in general. This was an unforgettable Beyoncé performance that others will surely regard as a new Grammy standard.

 

  1. When Demi Lovato, Little Big Town, Tori Kelly, and Andra Day paid tribute to the Bee Gees with an energetic performance of “Stayin’ Alive”, “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Tragedy”, and “Night Fever”. The performance was supposedly a tribute to the Bee Gees’ 40th anniversary of the Saturday Night Live soundtrack. Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees was seen in the audience, looking proud as he watched the performance. There was some controversy with this performance as well, with some critics claiming the performance was randomly stuck in the middle of The Grammy’s, and others saying they only did it to keep the older viewers tuned in.

 

  1. When A Tribe Called Quest and Busta Rhymes took the stage for the most politically-charged performance of the night. What would the night be without a bit of politics thrown in? They clearly stated their political opinions on stage through their lyrics and background imagery. Their performance seemed to be more about conveying a political message rather than the music itself. At the end of the performance, Q-Tip repeatedly shouted “Resist!”, in an attempt to rally other supporters.

 

  1. When Bruno Mars and The Time surprised us all with an impressive tribute to Prince. The band The Time kicked off the tribute with a rousing performance of “Jungle Love” and “The Bird.” Bruno Mars followed with “Let’s Go Crazy” from the movie Purple Rain. He even dressed the part, complete with eyeliner, a white ruffle shirt, and a purple sequined jacket. Although it was a short performance due to The Grammy’s time limit, it was most definitely an unforgettable tribute to Prince.

Engaging with different perspectives is a good thing. Here’s why.

Michael Maggard
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Engaging with different perspectives is a good thing. Here’s why.

Before coming to Transy, one of the most personally exciting parts of move-in was discovering who my roommate would be. I distinctly remember calling my admissions counselor and specifically requesting an international roommate. Soon after I was assigned, he and I began to communicate over email the summer before August term. We spoke to each other about our hobbies, interests, pursuits, and so on, but little did I know that my roommate would be a huge influence on my educational experience as a first-year at Transy. In writing this piece, I decided to reconnect with my former roommate in a conversation about our first year of living together.

As someone who had the experience to room with Daniel Zhang, an international student from China, the opportunity was priceless. Daniel and I, unknowingly, came to Transy to learn not just in our classes, but from each other. It was easy to initially see our differences – two students: one from rural south-eastern Kentucky and the other from urban China. From the outside, you could only expect from each of us a major culture shock in our roommate dynamic. Contrarily, Daniel and I began to connect with a deep, underlying principle: our desire to learn.

Almost immediately, the conversations between us became political, philosophical, and profound. Our discourse about the world would go on for many hours, as he and I would constantly challenge each other’s views, always maintaining a positive attitude. Only a day after arriving, Daniel was eager to learn about the political atmosphere of the U.S (fortunately for him, he came to Transy as election season was beginning to heat up). He and I would share opinions with one another, attempting to learn more about where the other grew up. I remember Daniel, in describing our roommate dynamic, stated, “I think it made us just more interested in a foreign culture and more open to different perspectives.” Daniel and I connected over our differences, and we embraced them as opportunities to learn more about the world.

This relationship didn’t develop overnight. Daniel stated that he had some trouble adjusting, noting that “[t]he cultural barrier and being in a minority just make it even harder. Just imagine a bad first-year experience of an American student and worsen it.” There were many nights where I found myself at a loss for words as I tried to explain some odd turn of phrase or figure of speech to Daniel. These late night conversations often turned political, where Daniel would explain to me the political nuisances of China, which helped drive my interest later to major in PPE.

This type of engagement and change in perspective has an important role in terms of education at Transy. The liberal arts thrives on connecting academic areas to one another in order to foster the holistic intellectual well-being of its students. For that to take root, we must engage ourselves intellectually in more than just our required course credits. By bringing their stories and their truths, international students help to create an environment that embodies the spirit of the liberal arts. Classes may teach us about other people, but face-to-face interactions lets you understand them. In this way, we are able to experience and learn of diversity, not through a filter, but through completely unveiled, uncensored interactions with those who are different from us. When we come together and discuss our differences, we become more accepting. The Transy community has a classroom bigger than any other on campus: its fellow students.

As more languages heard at Transy, conversation expands

Megan Graft
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As more languages heard at Transy, conversation expands

Imagine visiting a country for the first time in which you’re unfamiliar with the native language like if you decided to study in Dubai for example. It takes longer to decipher directions, conduct conversations, and interpret inflection. What kinds of tools, help, and resources would you hope to have in your new environment that would bridge that communication barrier and improve your experience?

This question, in relation to Transy’s own English language learning and multilingual student support systems, is one that has sparked a healthy conversation on campus recently.

“Multilingual Students and the University Challenge” was the title of Dr. Bruce Horner’s presentation on the afternoon of the inauguration of the USA’s 45th president. With around 40-50 students, faculty and staff convened in the library’s ACE, Dr. Horner, the Endowed Chair in Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Louisville, discussed the challenges universities face in creating an environment supportive of language diversity.

The term “multilingual” means the ability to speak more than one language. It encompasses a diverse range of English education backgrounds, places of origin, races, classes, genders, and abilities. In fact, as Dr. Horner argued, multilingualism isn’t necessarily a group label so much as it is a ubiquitous social reality.

“All of us, and not just those deemed multilingual, are confronting multilinguality all the time as part of a linguistic ocean in which we live and swim,” Dr. Horner said.

To address this reality and work past monolingual assumptions, Dr. Horner was clear about what colleges should avoid: systems that segregate multilingual learners and view multilingualism as a “problem to be corrected” rather than a source of educational potential.

“Multilinguality is an advantage to individuals insofar as it represents greater knowledge,” said Dr. Horner. “As people committed to education, everyone here favors knowledge growth.”

Dr. Horner argued that viewing language diversity as the norm, rather than the exception, opens the door to a new model of collaborative, social learning derived from negotiation among these language differences.

Efforts are in place at Transy to shape the academic environment in this way.

“When we are building policies, curricula, first-year seminar courses, new spaces on campus, it’s important to think always of how we’re going to address the sites of multiple language contact,” said James Wright, Transy’s English Language Learning/Multilingual Learning Specialist.

The First-Year Seminar Expository (FYSE) course, the centerpiece of academic acclimation and language support at Transy, is built around this sort of collaboration.

“The communicative skills [developed in FYSE] include negotiation across languages and cultures and dialogue… critical observation, and critical reflection,” said Wright. “The goal is to create these kinds of situations in all courses at Transy.”

Wright came to Transy in August of 2012 under the title of “ESL consultant.” However, Wright notes that the term “ESL” is a specific category under the umbrella of multilingualism, and all too frequently becomes a label with harmful associations, especially for students educated in the United States K-12 system. He has strived to build a program that supports individual language diversity, yet also supports non-native English speakers acclimating to academic and social life at Transy. Non-native English speakers who are struggling to become fluent in English may want to check out something like effortless english to help them settle in to college life, as they promise to help people speak fluently within 2 or 3 months.

“[For FYSE, the goal was] to work with them in ways that are actionable that didn’t marginalize them,” said Wright.

Even though the First-Year Seminar Expository course is designed to be supportive, feedback reveals that the course is often perceived from inside and outside as remedial: a “special FYS” for students with some sort of deficiency. A student qualifies for FYSE if their ACT English score is lower than 22, or SAT Verbal score lower than 520.

“Right now [FYSE] is very misperceived, viewed solely as an international class or a remedial class,” said junior SGA senator Katie Tucker, chair of the Student Government Association’s Academic Affairs Committee. “I think a lot of students are very hurt by the perception.”

The Academic Affairs Committee of SGA has been hearing feedback from students and working with the administration to shape the construction of the first-year program, including FYSE and its subsequent course, First-Year Seminar. They’ve worked to find a solution that integrates, not separates, multilingual learners from their peers and the rest of campus life.

“There may be need for extra support, but you don’t want to separate them from the rest of the population,” said junior senator Hunter Overstreet, who is taking the lead on the first-year experience project this year.

Solutions on the table include expanding the number of students in FYSE, creating a hybrid FYSE-FYS course, restructuring both courses so that they transition more smoothly, or replacing the FYS course entirely with FYSE. However, concerns like the need for a qualified faculty base mean nothing is final.

Wright, Tucker, and Assistant Professor of Business Administration Adam Evans – who has been actively involved in Transy’s diversity and inclusion efforts and is quadrilingual himself – all agreed that the best method to improve the university’s multilingual programs is to expand the resources already in place.

However, this year, those resources have been reduced. In Fall 2016, Wright’s full-time position was cut to part-time. Additionally, the Peer Mentorship Program, a library-funded acclimation program that provided a one-on-one relationship in which mentors share strategies for navigating academic and social life at Transy, had to be eliminated due to budget constraints.

As resources have declined, the need has grown. For example, there were fewer than ten international students on campus in 2012: now, there are almost 40. Multilingual international students, according to Dr. Horner in response to a question from Chinese international student and sophomore Daniel Zhang, can help foster awareness of multilingualism by “insisting on that fact… to introduce these differences;” but this requires institutional support.

“The onus is on the institution to make those kinds of exchanges possible for the value of all students,” said Dr. Horner. “There is a history of many universities seeing international students really as just a moneymaker. They charge them more tuition, and then they don’t offer any kind of help to them… That’s the worst possible case.”

“There’s so much learning that can go across languages and cultures here,” said Wright. “But continuing to reduce positions is not going to move that further along.”

One solution that has happened, though, is more conversation. Speakers like Dr. Horner, drawing almost 5 percent of Transy’s student body, have reinvigorated the dialogue. The Academic Affairs Committee hopes to provide more opportunities for conversation. Dr. Evans recently hosted an open forum about campus’s brand and image in the community.

“I think we need more chances like that, just to talk,” said Dr. Evans.

Another solution may lie in allowing multilingual and ELL students to decide individually what support they need.

“That’s another option… using guided self-placement so that students can choose the kinds of support that they get at institutions,” said Wright. “Embed in the advising that we do assistance for students who are trying to make really critical decisions about what they think about themselves as learners.”

Dr. Evans makes sure that students in his classes from all language backgrounds are aware of resources available to them, such as the Writing Center, and gives them the agency to choose the resources for themselves. It’s important that students in his class are aware of the expectations of rigor coming into Transy and his classes, and that no one is singled out.

“I would never want to invite a student into my class to set him or her up for failure,” said Dr. Evans. “It’s important, when I consider the assignments and grading, balancing unfair advantages between my native English speakers and my non-native English speakers.”

Dr. Horner hosted a faculty training session Saturday morning after his Friday discussion to explore ways to integrate inclusive practices in the classroom. Assigning readings in translation, assigning projects that engage with language difference, and providing opportunities to facilitate communication are just a few inclusive strategies.

Dr. Evans, who has taught in China, keeps in touch with his international students, who are primarily Chinese, via the global communication app We Chat.

“Just using a medium that they’re more familiar with, and one that I was familiar with from my experiences in China, allows me to hit one button and translate very quickly, so they’re able to communicate with me directly… they’re much more likely (to reach out to me) via We Chat than they are via email,” he said.

As student populations at colleges around the country begin to reflect the global reality of multilingualism, the question becomes how to move beyond merely recognizing differences and toward utilizing and integrating those differences to advance collective knowledge.

“How do we move beyond that difference without ignoring it?” asked Wright.

International students cherish items from home

Aaron Martin
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International students cherish items from home

Pearl Udahemuka. Rwanda.

Udahemuka wraps herself in the Rwandan flag. As she says, the flag serves as a “constant reminder that it’s where I belong and that I should do what I’m doing here and return.”

Sylvie Biruta. Rwanda.

“It’s important to have something that reminds you of home because it grounds you, and it’s a constant reminder of why you’re here in school to have the necessary resources and education,” said Biruta. The currency she holds is from Rwanda, and since she uses it everyday back home, it serves as a reminder.

Adriaan Engelbrecht. South Africa.

Engelbrecht sports a beanie for a Rugby team back home. As he explains, “Rugby is a massive part of South African, and primarily Afrikaans, culture. Afrikaans, as a culture and people, is dying out. But support for the Springboks is something we all share around the world. “

Tarah Inema. Rwanda.

Inema sits in front of the Rwandan national flag. Inema described the importance of the flag, stating, “The flag says that wherever I am, I represent my country.”

Benita Nzamuye. Rwanda.

The headwrap Nzamuye wears is a reminder of home and family for her. “The African headwrap has different names, and in my country we refer to it as igitambara. This headwrap has different cultural and spiritual meanings to African and African American women. It gives me a sense of identity and pride. I don’t wear it often because it was a special gift from my grandmother, but when I do, I think about her and feel her presence,” says Nzamuye.

Confucius Classroom bolsters Chinese program

Megan Graft
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Confucius Classroom bolsters Chinese program

At a gathering to celebrate Chinese culture, fiddles and dulcimers may not be the first instruments one would think would make appearances. Apparently, there’s much more our campus can learn through a new partnership with the University of Kentucky’s Confucius Institute (UKCI).

UKCI’s horsehead fiddle player performs in Old Morrison.

In the afternoon on Monday, Jan. 30 – just in time for the Chinese New Year – performers from UKCI displayed their skills at martial arts, watercolor painting, and traditional Chinese instruments in the lobby of Old Morrison while guests of the Academic Affairs office munched on pot stickers, egg rolls, and Sichuan beef. The celebration was held to unveil the establishment of a Confucius Classroom on Transylvania’s campus.

The Confucius Classroom is “a program sponsored by the Chinese Language Council International with the goal of promoting the learning of Chinese language and culture,” explained Associate Professor of Chinese and Director of the Asian Studies Program Dr. Qian Gao.

Dr. Huajing Maske, Director of UK’s Confucius Institute, clarified that even though the institute is named for a Chinese philosopher, its mission is not religious or philosophical. Rather, like the Goethe Institute for German Language and Culture, its mission is to raise awareness of and interest in Chinese language and culture.

A physical classroom in one of the academic buildings will be christened with the plaque, though that location is yet to be determined. It will be one of six classrooms in Kentucky and one of 800 worldwide.

A martial arts performer demonstrates for the crowd. The plaque that will mark the Confucius Classroom is displayed behind him.

With the Confucius Classroom partnership comes a $30,000 startup fund to equip the room with state-of-the-art materials, purchase hundreds of books on Chinese studies, bring speakers to campus, and hold cultural showcase events like the one in Old Morrison. Transy will also receive an annual stipend of $10,000 for Chinese language promotion.

Additionally, all students – not only Chinese language students – will have access to a wide range of scholarships for studying abroad in China, which several students attending the ceremony expressed excitement for.

Dr. Gao was instrumental in bringing the Confucius classroom to Transy. It took years of deliberation, discussion, and proposal writing to bring the program to campus.

“Seeing the interests, enthusiasm, and the ever growing curiosity of my students in their learning of the Chinese language, culture and literature, and the great benefits this program will bring to students, I decided to take on this initiative,” Dr. Gao said in an email. “I received great support from the President and the Dean.”

Dr. Maske congratulated the Transy community for their commitment to bringing the classroom to campus.

“My congratulations also go out to the students of Transy, who seek out to be pioneers, right?” said Dr. Maske at the ceremony.

The program comes at a time in which Transy is holding fruitful conversations around language diversity on campus, such as with the visit of Dr. Bruce Horner in January.

When studying languages, Dr. Gao encourages students to learn not only the words but to develop understanding of the culture and people.

“[The Chinese language] is not as difficult as you imagine it to be,” she said. “Having the language ability will greatly facilitate and deepen your learning and understanding of the country and the people. This is the way to succeed in learning about any country, any culture.”

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