By Tong Chen, bostonese.com
Boston, Sept. 6, 2014, –Every September, Boston welcomes tens of thousands of news students. To those Chinese students who came all the way across Pacific Ocean to the States, a new start may be confusing and difficult. This year, Boston University president Robert A. Brown joined the Chinese student orientation and answered questions from those new Chinese students.
President Brown speaks at the orientation (photo by Tong Chen).
“China is innovating,” said President Brown. “We hope we could bring more Chinese students here.”
In his welcome message to all new students, President Brown wrote: “With 16 schools and colleges on our two campuses, we offer our students more than 250 programs of study in the liberal arts, science and engineering, health science, the arts, and other professional disciplines. Our students come from all over the globe and study around the world through study-abroad programs offering opportunities in more than 75 programs and 25 countries. Many of these programs are based in facilities operated by Boston University, including campuses in London, Geneva, Sydney, and Shanghai.”
Now, BU has over 7,000 international students, out of which Chinese students hold the largest percentage. According to Tianbo Yang, the vice president of BU Chinese Students and Scholars Association (BUCSSA), which is the organizer of the orientation, President Brown reached out to them before the orientation.
Chinese students draw huge attentions at BU. This April, the BU alumni magazine Bostonia profiled the BU Chinese students. The articles were published on the homepage of BU’s official website. Besides, the BU cafeteria has even invited Chinese cooks to provide the students a taste of home.
President Brown’s coming means a break through. Qi Suo, the co-president of BUCSSA, believes as the number of Chinese students increases, BUCSSA is also trying its best to serve the students and expand its influence.
“BUCSSA is not merely a home for Chinese students,” Suo said in Chinese. “We also want to help the students, and even gain more benefits for them.”
After the speech by President Brown, BUCSSA committee members answered questions, and held a BBQ banquet along the riverside of Charles River.
BUCSSA was founded in 1994, and has served the needs of thousands Chinese students in its 20-year-history. Yang said the association will focus on the career development this year.
“We hope the students could train their abilities while making friends,” said Yang in Chinese.