Document Type
Activism and Politics
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
The University of Southern Mississippi administration has failed to fully consider international students when implementing policies, deadlines and other plans during the coronavirus pandemic. As an international student herself, Williams has seen and experienced first-hand how inconsiderate Southern Miss has been towards international students during this pandemic, especially when it concerns matters that they cannot control such as travel bans and financing. The international building is branded with the quote "Above All Nations Is Humanity" but when international students needed help the most, they were hung out to dry. All of the international students she contacted for content in this essay praised her for writing about their struggles, but no one wanted to be named. It is sad that they live in fear of demanding the help that we rightfully deserve. It is sad that they are so scared that they might offend or insult someone, somewhere, who is not doing their job, that they subject ourselves to being miserable and angry but silent. Even now, at the end of the semester Williams cannot say that much has changed for international students in particular. The school has implemented certain policies which protect the general student body such as moving classes online and putting devices that measure your temperature in all the main buildings, but very little has been done to ease the burdens faced only by international students.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Maegan, "Foreign Students Struggle at USM during the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2022). Race, Gender, and Sexuality Symposium. 10.
https://aquila.usm.edu/rgss/10