treat, as
ALIVE ON CAMPUS its activities, Mr. Kwan replied that,‘while most a activities are open t0“ the community, generally, the main aim of the group was to provide for the needs of the Chinese students. ‘ _
Mr. Kwan also made it ' ejgfii, that the International
' Studehts Association is '- ~.r recognized by his group as the parent organization.
But the problems of adjustment that they fate. so hard for the native Canadian student
to imagine, necessitated
the development of the\ Chinese Student's group. a
The problem of racial. tension, always a difficult
WETSTWEM§
One might well wonder what it is like for a Person Coming from a . ‘ different country, with a' different CultUral and» ' linguistic backgroUnd, to attend university in Suth~ a strange: environment. This is the problem faced daily' by the foreign students on- our own campus. One group which has been Organized to deal with this situation is the Chinese Students Assbciation. In a recent Interview with the SUN, David'Kwan, president of the UPEI Chinese Students Association, explained the groups basic aims as well as describing some of its planned activities. As Mr. Kwan explained, the Association has been established, with the help‘ of Mr. Bairvaudson, the~ Foreign‘Student‘s Advisor,' as a casual, sociallyr oriented gr0up. M .eran described the Association as ” a very casual one .., not regulated by any conventional rules or' regulations ”. Its members_' V are grouped together, mainly,* for the purpose of making‘ ' their adjustment to their new envuronment easier.
With such things as film shows, skates and various other activities, the Association has attempted to make its members feel more comfortable by allowing them to meet and talk with fellow Chinese stddents facingjsimiliar diffis‘t cultiesi When asked if the grdup was so StrUCtured‘ as to allow other than Chinese students, in
thing to discuss, was candidly replied to by Mr. Kwan. He observed that, from his personal experience, he found nothing Overly, objectionable concerning .the evil of prejudice.on: c mpus. He admitted that 7 there had been incidents but that these had been few and-far between. He _, . ,cohsidered the problem of .V racial tension to be a very minor one at UPEI bat.
admitted that he had little to
v.ionsu.
;-important” Vlthe International Student's
compare it with Since this had been the only university
'\ _‘Hh THE UPEI SUN, Thursday, February 14,
1980, page S --
of limited_resources. The relatively~small'membership
he had attended since leaving of his group does not allow
his native Hong Kong. Basically, however, Mr. Kwan viewed the situation at UPEI as being quite ~acceptable. Mr. Kwan did state that ” as an organization there are certain things which are. difficult to do ". The ' difficulty of arranging for activities which V brought the Chinese Students into the larger university communityis, for example, not easily surmounted. Mr. Kwan made reference to a certain uneasiness among his membership to become involVed in such activities and recognized the danger of the-Association causing
‘increased involvement
it to have a large scape for itS'activities. Generally, however, Mr. Kwan‘indicated that the specific concerns of Chinese students, such as the tremendous rise in their tuition fees, the decline in foreign student enrollment etc., combined.
,wjth the concerns of Canadian V university students generally,
are matters_which, Wlth
in the university community, the Association could become concerned. The organization has a good and necessary basis and points out a need in the university community. The culture
Chinese students to become moreshock of attending
isolated from the university instead of less. Mr. Kwan referred to the general fact that, considering the great expense to Chinese students for their education here,
they have a desire to succeed
at all costs, ” to shut themselves into their rooms and study, to get the best r from their stddies, rather ,than joining any organiZat- Mr. Kwan deplored this mentality but admitted
that ” many people tend to :do this ”.
This is the main problem which Mr. Kwan sees the Association responding to. He stated that “ participation is very but he felt that
Association would be better equipped to handle this
kind of participation.'
Mr. Kwan believed that the aim of his AssociatiOn was
to ” get involved with the other parts of the community” alSo. The main difficulty,
as he sees it, is the problem
university in a country
as greatly different as Canada is from the native lands of the Chinese students makes some sort of adjustmental structure a necessity. A university cannot be some sort of a limited, local venture, it must be an active part of the ‘world as a whole.
The ultimate hope of this earth lies in the unity of all its peoples and the university community must stand as an example of this ideal, otherwise the members of thlS community are left without some of the most A valuable experiences of educational life.
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