Harvard's policy, insofar as it has been made explicit, has mainly concerned the academic affairs of the foreign student. Except for the rather special case of the School of Public Health, which has a 40 per cent foreign enrollment, the University has refused to take the "problem" approach to take the foreign student. It has assumed, on the contrary, that the foreign will integrate into the community better if he is not made an object of special consideration.

Thus Harvard treats the foreign student, from the time he applies for admission until he finally gets his degree, almost like an American. There are no set quotas for admitting foreign students, and the boy from Bengal competes directly with the graduate of Ohio University for admission. Nor are there special courses geared to the needs of foreigners. Instead, the foreigner competes on equal terms with the American for grades and for his degree.

Occasionally, the spirit of "laissez-faire" has disastrous results for the individual. A few foreigners get into academic difficulty just because they are "foreign" and in need of special attention, perhaps with regard to certain language or background problems. But such students are the exception rather than the rule, for they are generally squeezed out in the highly competitive admissions process.

In following the non-"problem" approach, the Foreign Student Of-five, headed by J. Carroll Miles, serves only one main function: it helps foreign students cope with red tape, notably visas and tax regulations, which American students do not face. All foreign students must register with the Office, but it prefers not to obtrude itself further upon the foreign student's life. A tea is held in the Fall, at which Miles tries to meet all foreigners and let them know he is available for help, but any further contact is up to the individual student.

Independence

Miles notes that the functions of Foreign Student Office are consistent with two of the guiding principles of Harvard: independence for all, and assistance for those who seek it. "As with the undergraduate," he says, "the foreign student's problems are decentralized. He seeks an appointment with the head of his department in case of academic problems, with the health center for health difficulties, etc. The more Harvard treats the foreign student as a special case, the more it steals from him a feeling of belonging to the University along with everyone else."

Policy Sound

Over the years Harvard's policy has proven basically sound. Inevitably, some foreign students have felt lost in a gigantic modern university, but no more so than the farm boy from East Overshoe. No study has been made comparing the grades of foreign and American students, but if there is any disparity, it is not enough to be readily apparent. A brief study was made of the Freshman class of 1950, which showed that of the foreign students who entered that year, 35 went on to get degrees, while the great majority of the rest left the University for nonacademic reasons.

"Laissez-faire" has chiefly been attacked with regard to the foreign student's social needs. As noted above, this problem chiefly concerns the graduate student. The needs vary from student to student and from school to school, but there are certain common characteristics.

Older Women?

Most foreign students are in their twenties, an age when men are especially eager for the company of women. Yet there is no appreciable number of older women available. Radcliffe has a small group of advanced students, but otherwise the graduate student does not have a supply of females conveniently organized in colleges.

All graduate students face this problem, but for the foreigner there are even greater difficulties. Because of his accent, he is not likely to get a date by telephone. Nor is he apt to have any previous contacts, since relatively few foreign girls study in America. Moreover, because of different customs, he finds communicating with American girls and winning their trust the hardest task he has to face.

The situation is complicated by the fact that sexual mores vary from culture to culture. As a result, unfortunate misunderstandings inevitably occur. A smile may mean anything from "I would like to be friendly" to "I would like to be very friendly," depending on who is doing the interpreting. Not a few Radcliffe girls have found themselves in embarassing positions because of this ambiguity.

A related emotional problem concerns the lack of male companionship felt by many foreign students. In certain other cultures, the men tend to have a few intense friends, rather than many superficial ones. In this country, however, they find it hard to develop such a relationship with Americans, and hence are often forced to seek out other foreigners.

1984?