Uni set to tackle student tensions

Alex de Vos
Deakin University will run an inaugural multicultural week next month to tackle self-imposed student segregation on Geelong campuses.
Deakin University Student Union Association president Cayla Edwards said international students were finding it difficult to integrate with Australian counterparts because of language and cultural differences.
“The reality is we do have a lot of international students and they struggle,” Ms Edwards said.
“We’re running this multicultural week to celebrate international students and try to create one community.”
According to a recent report, the rise of tension between Australian and overseas students is not limited to Geelong campuses. A Melbourne newspaper said a widening gulf between Australian and foreign students was leading to segregated classes, cultural cliques and religious ghettos, raising fears of a cultural backlash on campuses.
International education is a $12.5 billion industry, with foreign students’ fees accounting for an average 15 per cent of universities’ overall funding.
The Independent revealed earlier this year that Deakin University’s international enrolments had risen to 650, an increase of about nine per cent on 2006 applications. The majority were Chinese or Indian.
Faisal Younes, a Bangladesh student completing his honours in biotechnology at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus, said he had noticed a “big gap” between domestic and international students when he started studying in 2004.
“It was hard when I first started – there was a lot of segregation,” Mr Younes said.
“But now it’s a lot better.”
Mr Younes praised Deakin University for its work in bringing Australian and international students together.
“Deakin has a lot of advisors and multicultural clubs to try to mix the students,” he said.
“It’s definitely changed over the years and I think the local students are a lot friendlier.”
Deakin’s Multicultural Week kicks off on September 8.