Integration woes in grad schools

The number of minority graduate students is up - but the social and academic support for those students isn't keeping pace.

Minorities, women and international students made up most of the two-percent growth in graduate students this past year, according to a recent report issued by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Yet these students - obviously important to the University - still face a lot of challenges regarding fluency in American culture.

Having a strong minority population "enriches learning- - it allows people to bring their personal histories," said assistant education professor Shaun Harper.

Once minority students arrive at the University, though, issues relating to adjustment and integration may arise.

"Minority groups have very specific needs," said third year graduate student Anne-Katrin Arnold, who serves as vice-chair for International Affairs for the Graduate and Professional Student Association.

One of the foremost issues which needs to be addressed, she said, is international students' conception of academic integrity.

"In some cultures, you really don't have this concept," said Arnold.

She noted that students from some cultures may phrase their thoughts using the words of experts as a matter of deference. Sometimes this results in poor citation and plagiarism that the University administration has to handle.

Zehua Li, a third year graduate student and co-chair of the International Students Advisory Board, noted other ways in which academic writing can present a problem to Chinese students specifically.

"We talk around the issue and then come to the point," whereas the American academic writing style is very linear and thesis oriented, she said.

Even minority students who are American can experience challenges.

"It can be difficult for minority students to form strong relationships with people that don't look like them," said fourth year graduate student and GAPSA vice-chair for pluralism, Christa Heyward.

Heyward added that GAPSA has had conversations with the administration about recruiting more graduate students at colleges with under-represented minorities at Penn.

Penn, for instance, only has seven Native American graduate students and no Native American faculty, Heyward added.

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