Tuesday, September 13, 201 1 I TechNews Darsh Wasan Lecture 2011: Future of international students in USA By Utsav Gandhi CAMPUS EDITOR The Darsh T Wasan Lecture was estab lished in 2008 in honor of IIT Motorola Chair and Vice President of International Affairs Darsh T Wasan’s extraordinary contributions to the university over the last fortyefive years as professor, provost, dean and chief ambase sadort Last year, IIT was fortunate enough to play host to a great personality in the world of climate change research, Susan Solomont This year’s lecture was held on Wednesday, September 7, and was delivered by another distinguished name in the field of education and research, Alice Gast, President of Lehigh University In a welleattended event, she made some important points about the future of in, ternational students in the United States, after decades of leadership in providing worldeclass education and managing to attract the creme de la creme of talent from around the world into what have today become the best institue tions of higher study in the world Most of these students have, over the years, stayed on in the country where they received their education and contributed positively to the corporate, academic and entrepreneurial leadership environment in the country How, ever, today, the world is catching up Coune tries are painstakingly trying to notch up their academic institutions so that they can make an honest effort in retaining their own talent and utilizing them for their growth Gast’s talk looked at the changing policies of the US and whether these were efficient in providing the required benefits and opportunities for those who are debating whether to stay back or go back Also, the States is now a signifi cant contributor of students going abroad; and this trend is welcome, according to her, as it enables American students to be a lot more worldesaWy and gain global competencies She spoke of international students who have made a mark for themselves after gradue ating from American colleges 1 some, like the one after whom this very lecture is named, have achieved stupendous heights of success they may not have enjoyed had they chosen to go back Some have become global citizens 1 working with multinational institutions and making a difference along with leaving their mark on the world map A select few have gone back with ideas nurtured through an American education and made huge progress in the socie eties they came from International students, she said, are a huge boon to any college 1 they are entrepreneurial, proactive and natural risk, takerst The very plane journey taken to leave the comforts of a homely environment to come a country where literally every aspect of a new lifestyle has to be contended with is a tremene dous achievement in itself American students are extremely fortunate to have lab mates and roommates from cultures they may have never been exposed to before 1 it really opens their eyes to the outside world in a big way After 9/11, the number of admitted stue dents from certain regions of world obvie ously declined heavily, and they haven’t quite caught up yet 1 many times their rejections are left unexplained Now, India and China have started to offer increased benefits for US Green Card holders who have chosen to return Ree campus@technewsiit.com gional opportunities for higher education have opened up in Qatar, Australia and Singapore 1 these are closer to home, affordable and in, creasingly at par with American higher educa tion. On the other hand, student acceptance into the States isn’t showing the spark it has UTSAV GANDHI Image courtesy Michael 6055 Photography been showing all these years Delays, denials, inconsistencies with acceptances, transparency and export control regulations all need to be looked into if the United States is to make sure they don’t lose out on any more talent who might significantly contribute to the country IF ONE SANDWICH IS ALL YOU NEED. WE DELI\IEIz WITH L GHTHING SPEED! MICHELLE C. — HEBFOH.OH JIMMYJOHHS.COM TO FIND THE LOCATION NEAREST Yllll VISIT JIMMYJIIHNSJHIM AMERICA'S FAVORITE SANDWICH DELIVERY GUYS!” 02011 JIMMY Joml's mucmsl. Lu: ILL Hams mama. Apply for A53 2012! By Utsav Gandhi CAMPUS EDITOR Habitat for Humanity is an international organization that serves to eliminate home, lessness from the world and provide decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action To accomplish these goals, they invite people of all ages, including students, to help them build houses for families in need To date, they have built over 350,000 houses all over the world, providing shelter for over 175 million people IIT has been actively participating every year in these efforts, responding to Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge, and over the last few spring breaks, teams of 3070dd students and staff have worked at sites all over the country , Warner Robins, Georgia; Foley, Alabama; and Oakland, California, to name a few This past year, our group of 27 students and 5 staff advise ers headed to Oakland, CA during the week of March 13, 20111 For four full days, our team worked with the local Habitat for Humanity afiiliate on one of their build sites, construct, ing a home for local families in need This experience gave the students the opportunity to work with families and volunteers from the local community to assist and help rebuild a small povertyestricken town The impact this trip has had stretches beyond just a week of the student’s time, but has changed the lives of others for the betterl We stayed at a Presbye terian church, often had meals donated from local restaurants, rented cars and frequently drove out to see the city of San Francisco, the Muir Woods, Berkeley and the neighborhoods of Haight/Ashbury; to name a few It was by far the best experience of my freshman year, simply because of the time we shared as a team and the difference we made to the community Which is why I am inspired to be Fundraising Chair for ASB 2012, along with other alum Lisa Kwiatowski (President), Yeamlaksira Worku (Vice President), Gary S0 (Treasurer) and Ma, ria Martinez (Publicity Chair) In the past, the Office of Spiritual Life and Service Learning was in charge of coordinating our efforts, but this year we are an independent student orgae nization, with our staff advisors BetsiePinkus Huizenga and Katie Murphy Stetz (Dean of Students) The trip was partly funded by the SAP; but mostly paid for through fundraising I clearly remember that besides a little shopping and meals at the airport, I didn’t have to shell out any cash during the trip itself Therefore, all team members are required to participate ace tively in these efforts , either spearheading them or helping out in their own small waysl It’s not much of a time commitment, except for weekly meetings, but every small fundraising effort counts towards reducing our own cost We don’t know yet where we’re going this year, though we have to ‘bid’ for possible site loca tions from a list of nearly fifty site choices, one or more from each state Applications for ASB 2012 are currently be, ing accepted! It is an online application which has to be turned in by September 18, 2011 at 11:59 PMI The link is tinyurl.com/asb2012app If you have any questions, email us at ash iit@gmail.coml Do yourself a favorl Guarantee for yourself an unforgettable spring break Apply for ASBI You’re cool enough for Apply now. We ’re hiring. http://goo.gl/111L3 , huh?