Dear FORUM Readers
I'm trying to find - and then to encourage us all to use - a better word than 'international' to describe our students. I'm offering you $64 (of my money) as a prize for the first intelligent alternative. I'm the judge.
Briefly, 'international' is a less than helpful word - and frequently one which misleads.
International means 'between nations'. All students - unless they are unfortunate political refugees or stateless persons - have nationalities. There are no 'between nations' people. A few people have dual nationality but nobody has 'international' on their passport. You can have 'interantional education' - if you mean 'education which takes place in more than one nation'. You can study 'international relations' - again, relations (political/social/economic) 'between' nations. You can have 'international offices/officers' - who work with people/students from different countries. But you can't and don't have (watch my lips) 'international' people.
What we/you mean by international is 'people of nationalities other than our own, from countries other than our own'. In Britain, nice Americans become 'internationals' whilst l, when in the USA become an 'international' to them. But it makes no sense. At it's worst it leads to students turning up at airports or embassies proclaiming that they are 'international' students ..... "Ho ho ho" says the immigration/embassy officer "and just what would that be?"
We are, like it or not, always 'nationals' - of somewhere, wherever we happen to be. Avoiding the term international would stop those nonsense questions (so frequent on our listservs) ..."I have an international student who wants to get a visa to enter Poland coming home via Argentina". I can only help you/the student if you tell me that the student is American or Latvian or French or Guatamalan. You might just as uselessly tell me that you have a 'foreign' student or 'somebody who isn't American/British/Egyptian'. One recent SECUSS-L query illustrated the point. A well-intentioned US advisor wrote ... "Should we register our students with the US Embassy when abroad?" which presumed that all students at American universities (and travelling abroad) are American. Not true.
So, let's have a word other than 'international' - and let's start using it swiftly before yet more harm and confusion is done. I know that we're desperately trying to avoid calling people foreigners (although, personally, I have no problem being so designated 'in a strange land'). And I know that NAFSA is desperate that we never spell out the F word in its title! So let's apply our minds.
I'm offering a $64 (US) prize, in cash, for the best alternative. Complete the phrase below and email it back to me direct or, to the FORUM list (but copying to me as I'm not a member) - which will be much more fun.
"People who are not nationals (of 'my' country), should be called ............. "
Responses will be taken until June 9. In case of dispute I shall seek counsel from others. The prize will be awarded - in cash - by mail in a brown envelope .... I promise.
Mike
Mike Reddin
mike.reddin@virgin.nethttp://www.publicgoods.co.uk/
