Osun Mau is a sophomore at Syracuse University who hopes to major in pre-med but for now focuses on taking science classes. Mau is also a Canadian citizen.
As a freshman, Mau sat through classes offered by the International Student Team at SU, which she says included a Facebook tutorial and explanations of colloquialisms that many American students often use.
While she says she can appreciate that many students are helped by those classes, she does not believe they are for her.
“All international students should not be treated the same. Many of us grew up in a society very close to what non-international students did,” Mau said. “We all don’t need to learn what Facebook is or that some people say, ‘See you later,’ but you’ll actually never see them again.”
Mau suggests the students be divided into two categories so each group could receive the necessary help they need.
But Mau does see one advantage to being an international student: She is able to move into university housing a day early.
When Mau tells her peers she is an international student, her friends laugh and then ask why.
“After they laugh and just get over their initial shock, they always ask why I need to be an international student,” she said. “In reality, I don’t need to be.”
