Student petitions for diversity

IU-Bloomington places 13th in the nation for the number of international students on campus, but for sophomore Jordan Jacobs, a top 20 ranking is not enough.

This attitude prompted him to write the International Student Body Diversity Petition, which advocates more representation of undergraduate international students from overlooked countries such as Iraq and Rwanda.

“I recognize there are a lot of countries in the world that could use help,” Jacobs said. “I thought about how can I, as an undergraduate student, help. I realized there are incredible opportunities here at this kind of university.”

The petition calls only for more undergraduate international students. Currently, the majority of such students come from East Asia: 612 from South Korea, 238 from India and 181 from Hong Kong, according to the International Student and Scholar Statistical Reports.

IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said the University has concentrated its efforts in East Asia because of relations between it, Indiana and the United States.

“Indiana and the U.S. are going to have a lot more economic ties and cultural dealings with those countries,” MacIntyre said.

But in Jacobs’ petition, for which he and a few other students started collecting signatures Friday outside Ballantine Hall and the Herman B Wells Library, he wrote he does not want a decrease in the number of undergraduate international students from Asia. Instead, he said he wants to increase the representation from countries that currently have no international students at IU.

There are no undergraduate students from Somalia, Nicaragua or Haiti, and Jacobs said he wants to see those zeroes become ones or twos.

“There’s so much opportunity for these individuals to come here to find themselves and hopefully their future leadership potential,” Jacobs said.

But MacIntyre said there is a reason for the greater number of international students from East Asia. IU President Michael McRobbie visits China and South Korea regularly, MacIntyre said, and is expected to visit India. During McRobbie’s November 2008 trip to South Korea, he set up partnerships with research universities in the area.

“We cannot ignore the major impact those countries have,” MacIntyre said. “That’s where the need is.”

One of the petition’s objectives, which Jacobs posted on a Facebook group for the cause, requests a meeting between McRobbie and student leaders to discuss “underrepresentation.”

But MacIntyre said that while he understands Jacobs’ right to petition, he thinks Jacobs should have gone through student organizations that are set up to address needs with the administration, such as the IU Student Association.

“I think perhaps this young man should have started out at IUSA to see what could be done through existing channels,” MacIntyre said. “That’s what IUSA exists for.”

But Jacobs said the petition was his idea and is not represented by a student organization, and added that he has contacted IUSA President Luke Fields, Vice President for International Affairs Patrick O’Meara and Associate Vice President for International Services Christopher Viers. He has also met with Dean of Students Dick McKaig.

To publicize, Jacobs created a blog for people without Facebook accounts and handed out fliers.

Sophomore Brent Freburg, who is helping Jacobs with the petition, said it has been well-received so far and he thinks students notice some countries are underrepresented on campus.

“People have recognized it at IU, and hopefully that will make our job simpler,” Freburg said.

Jacobs said he has goals for the petition such as getting 8,000 to 10,000 signatures in March and doubling the number in April.

With the signatures, Jacobs plans to apply for a monetary award from the Clinton Global Initiative University, started by former President Bill Clinton in 2007, which is offering $200,000 to “support innovative and sustainable student” action, according to the organization’s Web site.

Jacobs said though he is happy with the University’s current number of undergraduate international students, he thinks representation could be better.

“Indiana University has done a very good job getting international students,” Jacobs said. “However, there’s still room to improve, There’s room to take it to the next level and perfect the international student exchange program.”