Student Union
- By Esha Sarai
7,000 Pairs of Shoes Stand Empty for Child Victims of Gun Violence
Standing on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol, Tom Mauser wears his son’s old shoes — the ones Daniel wore the day he was killed at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999.
Mauser looked out at the 7,000 pairs of shoes arranged in a temporary memorial Tuesday morning — one pair for each of the estimated 7,000 children who have died from gun violence since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
A second set of Daniel Mauser's shoes are among the pairs on the lawn, part of a protest against gun violence that has been ignited since 17 high school students and adults were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14.
Survivors of the Parkland shooting have been outspoken on social media and news outlets, advocating for stricter gun control.
The students have organized a #NationalStudentWalkout for March 14 with 17 minutes of silence for each victim, and a national “March for Our Lives” on March 24, two of a number of protests that demand Congress pass more regulations on gun use and purchases.
“When the Parkland students called for their march on March 24, we felt we wanted to honor the kids who won’t get to march,” Nell Greenberg told VOA. Greenberg is a campaign director for AVAAZ, a global civic movement advocating for social issues such as climate change and net neutrality, as well as gun control.
“And part of why we’re marching next week is because they can’t.”
The Valentine's Day shooting in Parkland, where at least 15 were injured, was the 18th mass shooting so far in 2018, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization in the U.S.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than 1,300 U.S. children die every year from guns.
In the days after the Parkland shooting, the state of Florida moved to raise the minimum age required to buy a gun from 18 to 21. Activists across the country are pushing lawmakers to do the same, in particular, calling out politicians who receive funding from the National Rifle Association. The gun lobby has been vehemently opposed to any regulations on purchasing guns, claiming it violates Americans' Second Amendment right.
The NRA declined to comment to VOA about the Florida shooting, but the homepage of its website states NRA Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre recently "let [gun-control politicians] and their anti-gun minions know that the NRA will not tolerate their use of a tragedy in their war against the Second Amendment."
Written in 1791, the amendment states: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
On Friday, Congress will vote on a bill supported by the Trump administration that would provide more funding for school security. But the bill has been criticized by liberals for not including any provisions relating to firearms.
In the days before the vote, protests and displays such as the 7,000 pairs of shoes call on lawmakers to vote down the bill and address what organizers call the root of the problem: Easy access to firearms.
“It’s shameful that we, in America, have this happen in our country," Mauser said. "And there’s something we should do about it.”
Please visit our Facebook page for photos and videos about the shoes on Capitol Hill, thanks!
https://www.facebook.com/voastudentu/videos/1836716076347594/
See all News Updates of the Day
- By VOA News
Indian newspaper offers tips for US-bound students
Telangana Today, a newspaper in India, offers a list of tips and resources for students planning to study in the United States.
Among them:
- Prepare for your travel to the U.S., making sure to gather all necessary documents, including your passport and visa.
- Be sure to attend orientations.
- By VOA News
Michigan State international students get their own space
Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, is setting aside a space in the International Center for international students.
Nidal Dajani, vice president of the school's International Student Association, said that the club plans to use the space to host events and hopes to collaborate with other student groups.
- By Dylan Ebs
International students find community during Pride Month
For LGBTQ+ international students, Pride Month, observed in June, is a unique time to reflect.
They hold on to multiple identities — both their LGBTQ+ identity and their cultural background — but coming to terms with them is not always easy.
For graduate student David Zhou, these identities can feel conflicting as transgender rights in China remain a controversial issue and spaces for LGBTQ people close. Zhou, 25, is transgender and pursuing an education in the STEM field at an urban university in the Midwestern United States.
VOA is using a pseudonym for Zhou’s first name and is not naming his university to protect his identity due to safety concerns back home in China. Zhou is not open about his transgender identity to his family.
During Pride Month, Zhou said he attended multiple LGBTQ+ events in his community and is surrounded by a supportive group of LGBTQ+ students who can relate to his experiences. But he’s not open about his identity to everyone on campus and said he doesn’t disclose his preferred pronouns to everyone to avoid transphobic comments.
“I feel like I have to make some judgments of the character of that person to see if they’re a good person to disclose [my identity] to,” Zhou said.
Zhou’s Pride Month celebrations included attending local markets with LGBTQ+ vendors and hanging out with his LGBTQ+ friends.
“They normalized being trans and for a long time I feel like trans identity is, should I say a vulnerability, brings me fear and worrying about discrimination, but having those events are helpful because it allowed me to see that queer people could just [live] openly,” he said.
At social events where few international students are present, Zhou said it can be tough to fit in.
“There's a lot of times like when they were talking about things I kind of, don't really understand, mostly because I kind of lack some background experience or knowledge,” he said.
Zhou said he is not aware of specific groups for LGBTQ+ international students at his university, but said international students are more prevalent in graduate programs and therefore find representation in organizations for LGBTQ+ graduate students.
In China, transgender individuals must obtain consent from an “immediate family member,” even for adults hoping to transition, which critics say limits the autonomy of transgender individuals while supporters say the policy protects doctors from violence by upset parents.
Struby Struble, a former coordinator of the University of Missouri LGBTQ+ Resource Center, told NAFSA: Association of International Educators in 2015 that LGBTQ+ international students face a “double barrier” on campus.
“With their international student friends, they feel isolated because they’re the LGBT one,” she said. “But then among the LGBT students on campus, they feel isolated because they’re the international one.”
Nick Martin, associate director of the Q Center, Binghamton University’s LGBTQ+ student support office, said when international students tour the center, there’s often a sense of hesitation as they enter a type of space that may not be present in their home country.
“I compare that to a year in after they've come into the space, they've again, maybe come to some of our events, they've got more connected,” he said.
Martin said graduate students have a unique interest in the Q Center as they may use the office for research and advocacy purposes that align with their studies.
“For older students, there may be hesitancy in a different way, but I think it's more in the vein of they want to do some of the advocacy work,” he said.
Martin said he thinks about how both his office and BU’s international student office can support students who come from countries with few — if any — protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.
“It's been a learning process of what those students really need, but I think I've kind of learned that a lot of students are just looking for the safe space that we offer,” Martin said.
- By VOA News
International students discuss US campus culture shock
International students at De Anza College in Cupertino, California, talked about culture shock in an article in La Voz News, the student newspaper.
"It felt like a major culture shock. Everything was so different, from academics to mannerism," said a student from Mexico.
Read the full story here.
These are the most expensive schools in the US
High tuition costs along with housing and food expenses can add up for students at U.S. colleges and universities.
MSNBC looked at the most expensive schools in the country, with one costing more than $500,000 for a bachelor’s degree. (June 2024)
