Dear readers,
Colorado State University is composed of more than 1,850 international undergraduate and graduate students across campus that represent over 110 countries.
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Some of these students have never been away from home before, never experienced Colorado weather before or never been away from their families before. Some are athletes, some are graduate students and some come for their undergraduate degrees — and all are Stalwart Rams.
CSU’s international presence is reflected through things like study abroad programs and an attempt at inclusion through the dining halls, but international students can sometimes feel very isolated.
The idea for the international student special edition came from a question: How are international students represented on campus? Many students on campus have very little exposure to the international community and very little knowledge of the experiences that brought international students to campus, and we want to shed light on their stories.
We live in a world that has become extremely isolated despite our connection through technology. Xenophobia is evident on the internet, and our generation will have to combat the growing distrust and fear of people from other cultures.
It seems like every time we open The New York Times, there is some other disheartening element of global news that will undoubtedly hit close to home for some international students: the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, natural disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes and rising political tensions that threaten to harm the rights of civilians far away from Fort Collins.
We’ve all seen the emails from CSU in support of the university community that include statements meant to provide comfort to students either from those regions of the world who are affected by a tragedy or who may have family there, and for most CSU students, that is as far as their exposure to the international community may go.
We wanted to create this special edition to highlight the global community on CSU’s campus — especially considering the increased unrest around the world — to bring attention to the globally diverse voices we have on CSU’s campus in almost every area. From politics to performing arts, international students are represented in every facet of the CSU community.
We hope this edition inspires you to make connections that challenge your worldview and explore your community at CSU to see how a global perspective can help us all grow. We wanted this edition to come to you right before winter break, remaining on stands for several weeks, to promote the timeless importance of broadening perspectives and growing through global connections.
Sincerely,
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The Collegian editorial staff
Reach the editorial staff at letters@collegian.com.
