Branching Out by Reaching Out

Picture this: An international student is eating dinner in the cafeteria. He is not wearing a kippah, and an American student approaches him in order to make the international student aware of its absence. The American admonishes the international student, maintaining that it is inappropriate to eat without a kippah. Embarrassed considerably, the international student acquiesces, taking a kippah from his knapsack to put on his head. The American student, however, is not satisfied with the international student's compliance. Unable to fathom how one could eat without wearing a kippah, he continues criticizing the international student.

Are you struck with outrage or disbelief? Are you wondering how anyone could be so intolerant of another's personal religious practice? The above is a true story and it is quite possible that the American student's attitude emanates from the greater social atmosphere that pervades Yeshiva University. Students usually enter YU with several circles of friends - people they know from their hometown, high school acquaintances, and their friends from yeshiva in Israel. The social networks that many YU students are accustomed to are not always conducive to meeting and befriending new people. It is difficult to understand or accept differences when the majority of one's social interactions occur between people that think, dress, or act in similar ways. Unfortunately, this environment occasionally discourages understanding and acceptance of those who are different.

Take, for instance, the commonly expressed assertion that international students are prone to cheat on tests and papers. Aside from implying that international students are more compelled to cheat at YU than are Americans, a claim which is ludicrous for anyone who has spent several semesters in YC or SSSB, the statement is downright offensive. Such generalizations exemplify the most adverse consequences of YU's social atmosphere. Those who ascribe to or circulate such disparaging sweeping statements would be better off getting to know international students so they can formulate their own opinions of them, instead of relying on fallacious, hurtful stereotypes.

In a relatively insular, sheltered YU community, we can surely benefit from the presence of a prominent international contingency. International students diversify YU's otherwise homogenous culture, presenting the community with different mindsets, outlooks, experiences, religious customs, and more. We should appreciate the cultural variety these international students provide. Whether by offering to help them with academics or simply by schmoozing with them in the caf, getting to know these individuals will help us respect them - and learn from them, as well.

Perhaps, we, their fellow American students, could forge relationships with them predicated on understanding and respecting the many challenges they face in order to obtain a YU education. These students are attending school overseas. They are in an unfamiliar city as they acclimate themselves to a new culture. Even though international students might be attending YU with other friends from their native countries, they may still feel uncomfortable in their new social setting. To make matters more difficult, international students have to cope with a rigorous college curriculum not delivered in their native tongue. For these international students, the hospitality of their American counterparts could alleviate some of their uneasiness and help them adjust to the environment of Yeshiva University.

Forging relationships grounded on mutual respect not only helps our fellow students adjust to life on campus; it also limits and ultimately eliminates the lack of acceptance or understanding that may unfortunately permeate YU's social setting. Once we begin bestowing the smallest acts of kindness and cordiality upon those outside of our familiar social circles, we diminish the social atmosphere's tendency to promote exclusivity, intolerance, or, even worse, vilification of others. Only in such an environment will our instinctual outrage and disbelief of the opening anecdote be justified.