Scarlet tr mack. January zit—page r

 

Foreign students compare the Grinnell
Experience to European schools

by Greg Ahmann

Just as Grinnell studenu depart
their midrAmerican campus to
sample student lite in foreign
countries, Grinnell offers a chance
for foreign students to experience
life as it exists on these 90 acres,
Frederique Rogue (France),
Elena Rubinova (USSR) and
Markus Poltera (Switzerland) all
live on campus, take several
classes of their own choosing and
teach classes as language
assistants. Their positions have
given them a unique opportunity to
compare American colleges to
dieir European counterparts.

Frederique attended a middle
sized university in Tours, a city of
about 130,000. Like all French
universities, hers was a state
supported school. She says that the
university has no self-contained
campus like Glinnell’s; the main
academic buildings are downtown,
while the dormitories are scattered
throughout the city. In France less
than half of the students live in the
statesubsidized dormitories. Most
either live at home or take private
apartments. Frederique men-
tioned that the city busses stop
running at 9:30 at night, and that
students without cars take care to
plan their evenings accordingly.

Elena attended the University of
Leningrad, along with about 50,000
other students. She says that in
Russia there are no universities in
towns as small as Grinnell. All
Russian universities are large, and
located only in the most important
cities, such as Leningrad, Moscow
or Kiev. Lectures have between
two hundred and three hundred
students, while a normal class size
is between thirty and forty.
Russian students spend between
[our and eight hours a day in
classes, each class lasting two

'hours, including the fiveminute
break in the middle of the period.

At seventeen, students are
permitted to choose their
professions, and if they go to the
university they must follow the
prescribed course of study for that
profession, which will take six
years to complete She adds that
very few people continue on in
school after they reach this level,
and that only Party members are
eligible to receive a doctorate
degree.

Elena says that all the university
buildings are together on some sort
of campus, but that most students
live at home because dormitories
are crowded, and, at least com-
pared to American dormitories,
spartan She says that a room the
size of a small Grinnell single
would have two people in it, and

 

that a room the size of a normal
Grinnell double might have five or
six people in it, The dormitories do
not have hot water; the students
take showers in a nearby
bathhouse. Elena commuted 31/:
hours daily, because she preferred
to live at home.

Markus attended a state
university 013,000 students in the
town of Freiburg, Switzerland
(population: 40,000). He says that
the university has no campus; its
various departments, libraries,
and the student cafeteria are

Markus

a problem for some. For one thing,
the town is small, and there are
few opportunities to get away.”
Markus also feels that privacy is at
a premium in such a closed
community.

All three assistants noted that
students have more freedom
to choose their courses at Grinnell
than in schools in their native
countries. Grinnell students have a
wide spectrum of disciplines to
choose from, so it is not unusual if a
student takes history and
chemistry and art and economics,

Poltera

“Here, when you go into town,

you feel like a stranger. I went to

the drugstore and everybody
just looked at me.”

‘located in different parts of town.
There are no dormitories. so
students must find their own
apartments.

He says that students generally
take courses in their division of the
university. For example, a student
in the division of humanities
(Philosophische Fakultat) would
take courses in literature, history,
and foreign languages, but would
probably not take a course in
mathematics or biology,

None of the universities
discussed are as self-contained or
secluded as Grinnell, so the three
have had to adjust to a totally new
situation. Frederique sometimes
feels shut off from the outside
world at Grinnell. “When I was a
high school exchange student in
Illinois. i lived in town and spent
time with townspeople. Here, when
you go into town, you [eel like a
stranger. I went to the drugstore
and everybody just looked at me.”

Elena, on the other hand, 'does
not believe that isolation is a
problem with the College. “There
IS a sense of community and good
Contact between the students
here.” Elena also commented that
although she would not want to live
in a small town for the rest of her
life, she finds the isolation cone
ducive to studying

hi rkus remarked that arm
nclls usloll is “not really" a
prob m however, he added, “X
can see that the school's isolation is

system can be unfair.

a bizarre combination
European standards.

by

Each student came from a state
school, none of which charged
tuition. They discussed whether or
not the American system of

financing colleges and universities
gave students from wealtheir
families an unfair advantage over
students from poorer families.
Frederique believes that our
“11' the
parents who can afford it pay for
the education, that is one ﬁling, but
when the burden is put on the
student. it becomes unfair.”

Elena remarked, “Many
students here already have
scholarships. They don’t seem to
have much money. I’ve talked to

Elena Rubinova

some of the other foreigners about
this, and they agree that in
America, it you really want to do
something, you can do it.” She said
she didn’t feel qualified to say
whether or not the state should pay
for a larger share of education in
America.

Markus said, “I’m not clear (3’,
how scholarships work here, but i
think that studean from wealthier
families do have an unfair ad
vantage. Somebody who is fairl
intelligent and wealthy will
probably go to college, whereas
somebody who is fairly intelligent
and poor may not be able to."

Setting aside the problems of
language, money, and home-
sickness, which university system
suits their needs and goals the

gue

hast? Frederique said, ”Compared
to the University in Tours, I’d say
the American system, because I
could get a BA. in Education
(there is no such degree in France)
and then be qualified to get a job as

a teacher. On the other hand, i
don’t think it’s a good idea to take
too wide a variety of courses, as
you can do here, because then yo
will not be well versed in any one
subject. And how much of these
various courses will you remember
on yam ham new 4.

“Definitely the American
system,” says Elena, “because I
can choose whatever courses in-
terest me most. In Russia, the
students are not as motivated as
the students here because they
cannot choose what they want to
study, I was at the Technological
institute for three years and I
hated it."

Markus said, “I like the Swiss
university system better becaua‘.
the classes are more loosely
structured, so that i am free to
arrange my time as 1 want to. Here
I have to prepare lor classes every
day, but there, they give you a
reading list at the beginning of the
semester, and you can read all of
the books or none of them, as long
as you pass the test at the end of
two semesters. it you have lhc selfr
discipline to work at a regular
pacer there is less academic
pressure at a SWISS university than
there is here."

 

