By Aditi Parashar ’22
Staff Writer
Through time zone differences and the demands of the new module system, international students have had a vastly different start to their school year than domestic students. After finishing the module system on Oct. 15, some international students reflected on the challenges they faced these past seven-and-a-half weeks.
Saachi Khandpur ’22 was recently quoted in an article for HuffPost India as saying, “I am choosing between whether I want to follow a normal schedule, not feeling sick and getting some quality time with my family or if I want to be able to participate at my optimal potential in class, and it is a hard choice.” As a junior politics and psychology double major, attending three classes that go past midnight has taken a toll on Khandpur’s health, both physically and mentally.
In addition, many countries around the world do not have consistent access to electricity and the internet. This is an added challenge to remote learning as all resources and social connections to Mount Holyoke are now available almost exclusively online. On Sept. 17, the North American Association of Indian Students’ Instagram page posted a statement from Kusha Chopra ’21. “Office hours, TA hours and extra resources for students are available only during the night,” Chopra stated. “It is not like [international] students can sleep all day as individuals have chores, internships and some even have jobs. It further exacerbates the resource inequality due to the different time zones and distance.”
The differences in time zones have an additional disparate impact on international students’ social lives. While many clubs and organizations on campus have continued to hold meetings in an effort to build and maintain community, these meetings tend to be held in Eastern Standard Time, making them inaccessible to those in different time zones. In the same HuffPost India article published Sept. 18, Khandpur elaborated, “I am part of the FAMILIA, an LGBTQ+ and people of colour organisation on campus. It was my family away from home and that’s one community I miss a lot. Now that I am home, that is something I miss talking about. One of the clubs emailed me that they are meeting today [Sept. 18], but they are meeting at 3 AM, and I don’t know if I should stay up.”
International students are also not eligible for student employment this semester. Many jobs on campus, despite functioning in an online space, are still not available for international students. The Opening the Gates FAQ page states, “If you work remotely for MHC while living in another country, MHC is subject to all of the employment laws of that country. Employment laws vary widely from country to country. Mount Holyoke is not able to comply with all of the laws and regulations required to lawfully employ students living in various international locations.”
Amman Syed ’22 said, “There has been no clarity from the [College] administration as to whether or not we will have the jobs we were selected for once we are back on campus. Since we were not eligible, they had to give these jobs to domestic students or students within the United States; however, what happens when I go back? Will I have the job that I not only qualify for but also was selected for, or not?”
The International Student Organizing Committee recently held a dialogue titled “FIT Module? Or Not?” In their discussion, the attendees suggested that the administration improve the FIT model to emphasize the need to listen to student voices with more transparency in the decision-making process.