For many students, choosing a college is not just about finding the place with the right programs or classes but about finding community or a home away from home. This is especially true for multicultural students like international students. As a domestic and multicultural student, I can only relate to some of the experiences international students face, like loneliness, finding a sense of belonging, and a cultural community. However, I can’t relate to being thousands of miles away from home. That’s why events such as International Student Organization’s (ISO) International Night is such an important occasion for international students. It’s a place where they can come together and share their culture with the St. Olaf community.
As a multicultural student, International Night is one of my favorite times on the Hill next to the annual Lunar New Years celebration, and this year was no exception. From the various performances as well as being with other students sharing in their culture, International Night is a place to uplift one another, which is currently so important for multicultural students in a predominantly white space.
The night began and ended with powerful Palestinian representation. A Palestinian student performed a spoken word prose piece that she wrote sharing her frustration and experience with the ongoing Palestinian genocide, especially with the lack of action from people in power. Her performance was followed by cheers of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” During the Flag Walk, a group of Palestinian students wore their home country’s flag with their backs facing the audience. No words from the students were needed to understand the power within that moment. They were met with supportive cheers of “free, free Palestine.”
Annually, St. Olaf boasts about their high rates of international and multicultural students within their community, yet they do not create a space for said students to feel comfortable, seen, or supported. For instance, St. Olaf College administration has yet to speak out about nor divest from pro-Israel partners such as Oracle — a company that has been openly supporting Israel, just take a look at their website.
It is hypocritical to use international and multicultural students as statistics when the institution does not reflect those numbers socially. Various students and organizations have spoken out to make the College more reflective of their community, yet a minimal amount has been done.
Currently, many students are petitioning for the quality and pricing of on-campus summer housing to be better. For many out-of-state and international students who choose to stay on the Hill, summer housing is not affordable. If the College continues down this path, St. Olaf cannot continue to advertise themselves as a “home away from home” because truly, who is the Hill a home to?
