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Two-year-old Nelly's greeting over the last couple of months has effectively and repeatedly stopped me in my tracks. "Who is you?" she has asked, with a twinkle in her eye. My responses, to keep the conversation going on territory familiar to us both, have also been questions: "Am I Margie?" "No." "Am I Jenny?" "No." "Am I your grandma?" "No." "Am I Susan?" "Yes!" We finally reach the right match, and Nelly is satisfied, at least for
the moment. This lovely, red-headed young lady and I, recently acquainted, engaged
consciously and persistently in our effort to establish common ground.
We didn't really know anything about each other, but there we were, fortuitously
in the same place at the same time, and we wanted very much to build on
our good luck. In a sea of over 35,000 students on the Urbana-Champaign campus of the
University of Illinois, how do we capitalize on the good fortune of having
3,285 students from 117 other countries enrolled here alongside classmates
from all parts of the United States? The Cosmopolitan Club has provided a unique site since its founding,
in 1907, as one of the first chapters of a national undergraduate fraternity
welcoming individuals from any and all countries, religions and cultures.
Cosmo's current members include men and women, students, faculty and staff,
alumni, and community supporters from as far away as Canada and France.
Thursday evening coffee hours and Sunday dinners reach Cosmo members and
guests through all five senses; attendees don't even need to share a common
spoken language! For those wishing to focus on communicating in English, the ten-year-old
Global Partners program is now a cooperative program supported by staff
from University Housing and a retired faculty member of the Division of
English as an International Language. Interested participants from overseas
and undergraduate native speakers of English are matched for an individual
hour of conversation weekly. And now there are brand new programs initiated by the University itself! Following in the footsteps of Allen Hall's longstanding living/learning Unit One, University Housing has announced an International Experience beginning in Fall, 2000: two floors of the Pennsylvania Avenue Residence Halls are being set aside for "a diverse community of globally-minded students," predominantly juniors and seniors. According to the Study Abroad Newsletter, Global Crossroads is being developed in partnership with the Office of International Programs & Studies and the Colleges of ACES, Engineering, CBA, FAA and LAS. Furthermore, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has announced a new major and minor in international studies. "Who is YOU?" Are you someone who wakes up wondering what new faces, experiences and ideas may be on life's path? Like Cosmopolitan Club award winners, Nancy McGlathery '99 and Claudia Rodrigues and Pratik Singh '00, do you make a point of reaching out to others? My hunch is that you do! St. Augustine is believed to be the one who said, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." Here in Champaign-Urbana, it's especially easy to reach out your hand and ... travel! Help spread the good word! |