When Justin Lee, a first-generation Korean-American, came to MSU as a freshman this year, he was glad to no longer be one of a few minorities at his school.
The general management student, originally from Washington, Mich., said he went to a high school that was “99 percent white.” Now attending MSU, he enjoys spending time in the same environment as people from all across the world.
“It’s very cool … There are more racial groups, (and) it’s like the whole world is my family.”
As of fall semester enrollment in 2011, out of the 36,675 undergraduate students at MSU, the overwhelming majority of students are Caucasian at 71.66 percent, and students of all other racial and ethic origin at 28.34 percent, according to data from the 2012 Data Digest, which covers 2011 enrollment.
Paulette Granberry Russell, the director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, said the numbers are what they are and that there is room to improve the representation of minorities.
“I think part of this is acknowledging the numerical representation, but I think what is just as compelling is recognizing and valuing what these individuals bring to this campus with their differences,” Russell said. “Extending beyond race and gender, beyond domestic and international (boundaries).”
Peter Briggs, director of the Office for International Students and Scholars, said this year, the number of international students has increased considerably, mostly because of the dramatic growth in the number of Chinese international undergraduates.
“Chinese undergrads are going to American, Canadian, British … universities,” Briggs said. “A majority are coming to the United States to good universities, and they’re good students.”
In the data digest, the number of undergraduate international students at MSU is listed at 3,631, which is more than half of students from all other minority racial and ethnic backgrounds in the U.S.
Briggs said MSU is so rich in international diversity, you don’t have to leave the campus to get an international experience.
“Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes is a powerful thing, (and) having a friend or roommate from another country can be as good of a teacher as our best professors,” Briggs said. “It’s a different kind of learning … but it’s a very important and life-changing type of learning.”
According to the 2011 OISS Statistical Report, as of fall 2011, there were more than 3,000 Chinese international students.
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