 "Photo: Theo Romeo / UCD Advocate")
What’s in a name
On ZhaoHeng Wu’s first day in UC Denver’s sister university in Beijing, China, his professor told him, along with his entire class, that he needed to pick an English name. Wu was among the students selected to participate in the exchange program.
“I got this name from an American show named Prison Break,” said Wu, known to his American friends as Scofield. The main character in the popular TV show is Michael Scofield.
“Sometimes, people ask what my name is, and I say ZhaoHeng, and some of my friends remember my Chinese name, but I think it’s all good. I think the English one is easier to remember,” he said.
Wu was one of 30 students from the university in Beijing to be sent to UCD. Not only does the program enroll Chinese students at UCD, but it also sends domestic students overseas.
So far, Wu has not had the easiest time.
“I write in English, but I think in Chinese, and that’s why I have so many grammar errors,” he said and laughed. “That’s why the Writing Center is my second home.”
In China, Wu is a good student. He was hand-picked by the school to come over here. This is his first semester in the U.S.
“When I got here, I saw every person as a foreigner. The clothes people wore was different. I think my first class was music appreciation. I was very excited to go,” he said.
“But during the class, I got really nervous. I only understood about 50 percent of what the professor said. Also, we had a quiz on the first day, and I didn’t do very well on it.” The classes proved difficult, but Wu found himself comfortable with the new culture almost immediately.
“There are lots of parties. I knew that parties were very popular here. It’s not like that in China. Some of my friends from China think it’s really strange. People are drinking and there are girls. Sometimes they think the party is too, how do I say this, open,” he said.
Wu moved into Campus Village. He wasn’t forced to, but, according to Wu, there was almost no time for him to find a house ahead of time before arriving, so the dorms made the most sense.
“It’s not a requirement, but the international office suggests that we live at Campus Village,” he said. “I love it here. I have met a lot of friends. My best buddy here is my roommate, and he’s a domestic student.”
Wu was lucky. He was open to explore the new culture. But in the eyes of faculty members, this is rare, and harder than it sounds.
“There’s concern around trouble understanding what’s going on in class. But my concern is with the cultural adjustment,” said Amy Vidali, assistant professor of English and the director of the composition program. “I’d like to see more support for international students in that regard.”
According to Vidali, because of recent increases in enrollment, both at the domestic and international level, the introductory composition courses, English 1020 and 2030, are packed.
“I think the problem is new to composition. But there has been some concern about comp T.A.s giving international students F’s,” she said.
Currently, according to Vidali, composition courses have a waiting list of about 200 students.
“And we’ve had to cancel comp classes because we can’t room them,” she said.
Ostensibly, UCD is running out of room, which is nothing new. But ultimately, the international students, according to Vidali, may sometimes get left behind. More students means less time instructors have to assist international students. So international students, who are struggling because of the language barrier, don’t have many options beyond taking English 1010.
“There are no credits received for this course because Colorado state law requires universities to teach at a certain level,” she said. “Also, due to the negative connotation of it being remedial, and the fact that it doesn’t help students progress in their degree, many students avoid it…I guess I have to take that up with my legislator.”
The umbrella
Jill Krug, student advisor for the International Student Services Office, helps foreign students get acclimated.
“We deal mostly with S1 and J1, which is the student visa category. We deal mostly with status. For other visa categories, we’re mostly just support for them,” she said.
In this case, status means whether a student is legal or not. And there are many ways students can make themselves illegal.
“If you’re in status, you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing and everything is fine. If you’re out of status, you’ve done something to violate the requirements on your visa,” she said.
If a student falls behind, it’s up to the office to see whether they can fit him into another class or find an exception which will allow the student to remain under 12 hours—if the student is continuously negligent, he has to return home.
“We have students who come to us who are struggling academically and want to know how to get help. We refer them to the learning resource center or their professors,” she said. “Those who are having cultural issues, like homesick issues, we help them with that, too.”
According to Krug, the office consists of eight employees. Currently, they service about 676 students between both the downtown and Anschutz campuses. And when the office can’t meet students’ needs, the community sometimes can take up the slack. “Support isn’t always an issue because students usually find their own group,” she said.
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