BY CRAIG GILBERT
Jia Li tries to hold back her tears when she talks about racist episodes at school that have forced her to take sleeping pills at night.
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Â?I worry about this all the time.Â?
Li (not her real name) came to Laurentian University from China because she wanted to study at a small university. She didnÂ?t expect to encounter the racism and ignorance she insists have become a far too regular part of her life.
She and others students talked to Northern Life recently about incidents of prejudice and intimidation at the Sudbury university on condition of
anonymity. They said they are afraid talking to the media might make the situation worse.
Li is a second-year commerce student. She says for the most part the faculty and students are helpful and pleasant, but she is losing sleep over a couple of classes and a handful of classmates.
She doesnÂ?t want to transfer to another university and lose $25,000 for a year of schooling, but she hasnÂ?t been comfortable in class for weeks.
In one class, Li said dirty looks towards foreign students put her and other international students on edge as soon as they walk through the door.
Li is afraid to bring her issues to the two professors of the classes giving her trouble, because they themselves intimidate Oriental students, treat
Caucasian students preferentially and ignore racist behaviour, she insists.
She and others are afraid to go to Laurentian International or other school officials. They think if they complain, they will be kicked out of school.
She talked to her dean and was told to focus on communicating more. But she said she feels either ignored or intimidated when she speaks up in class.
Li doesnÂ?t use the word Â?racist,Â? but she doesnÂ?t understand why she is having these problems.
She spent Grade 13 in Ottawa, learning English in high school classes and during a co-op placement as a personal banker and teller at a CIBC branch.
She said people there were more open, helpful and nice and were more interested in her culture.
Â?IÂ?m so disappointed here in Laurentian.Â?
Li said Oriental students are always among the last in certain classes to make presentations, and are either ignored or forced out of work groups.
LiÂ?s roommate has an advertising degree from China. He came to Sudbury to learn more about commerce at Laurentian, but is having trouble with group work as well.
Â?There is lots of open, good discussion in China, we got a lot done,Â? he said. Â?Here, we donÂ?t. They never listen to you or take you seriously.Â?
Li says she has witnessed other groups kick Oriental students out and replace them with white students, and has been taken advantage of, ignored and abused by two groups she has been in.
She boards with a retired teacher.
Â?I went to see the department head also,Â? the retired teacher said. Â?I was floored as to what I was hearing.Â?
She said she and Li were told on separate occasions the department is aware problems do occur and they are doing their best to get to the bottom of it.
Melissa Keeping is the director of Laurentian International. She finds it disturbing Li or other students feel they canÂ?t come to her office with their problems.
Â?We provide as full a range of services as possible for international students, but in order to provide those services, they have to come to us.
Â?We have had a number of different situations where kids got in trouble and needed our help. They shouldnÂ?t be afraid of reprisal for bringing forward
a complaint.Â?
Keeping said the first thing she would tell students with problems of actual or interpreted discrimination would be to talk to harassment officer Lise Dutrisac,
Â?I certainly donÂ?t want to promote the concept these kids need to sneak into LiseÂ?s office, but she has very strict confidentiality rules if that is what they are concerned about.Â?
Keeping wanted to make clear her office is a safe place for international students to vent.
Â?WeÂ?re here for a reason and students need to know that.Â?
Keeping said international students typically arrive on campus a week before classes start.
That jet-lagged week is full of orientations, where students are briefed on where to find the things including the harassment offices and services Laurentian International provides.
Keeping sat in on an interview Northern Life conducted with three other international students, who have not had the same experiences as Li or her roommate.
Ming Qi came to Canada from northeastern China three years ago. A second-year commerce student, he spent his first year in the country learning English.
Â?From the beginning, itÂ?s been very, very hard. Setting up classes, finding the hospital if you get sick, getting an apartment, a phone and the Internet were all challenges,Â? he said.
The Chinese student said he still has some trouble with the language, both understanding and being understood, but he has improved dramatically from his first year in Canada.
Â?I used to walk around with an electronic translator everyday of my first and second years,Â? he said with a smile. Â?I still take some extra time to understand texts, but with the help of my classmates, IÂ?m learning.
Â?I know two students who dropped out because of language difficulties, but if you work harder, it shouldnÂ?t be a problem.Â?
Italian exchange student Valentino Scavardone decided to do the fourth year of his commerce degree in Canada to enhance his employability.
He has been studying English for most of his life, and found taking full courses in the language intimidating at first.
Â?You donÂ?t want to stop the whole class just because you, one person, donÂ?t understand,Â? he said. Â?ItÂ?s up to you to catch up, but once I got used to
it, it became easier.Â?
Turkish-born Bora Ugurgel is working toward his MBA at Laurentian.
He said international students can make it easier on themselves by getting out of their shells.
Â?International students have to open their minds and make friends,Â? he said. Â?If you keep to yourself, you wonÂ?t learn anything.Â?
