International students destroy stereotypes

Russians drink vodka all the time; people of Macedonia drive on the left side of the road; all people of Africa live in mud houses; and Chinese are bad drivers. These are some false stereotypes the International Club addressed Thursday, Nov. 19 in the Sandoz Center atrium.

Students from Russia, Macedonia, Nepal, Malian, and China each gave a presentation on common stereotypes they have heard about their home culture since they arrived in the United States.

“We want to bring clarity to campus in terms of common stereotypes our international students hear regularly,” said Vice President of the International Club, Sofia Trefilova, 20, sophomore of Syktyvkar, Russia.

Trefilova started out the night by informing the audience that Russians are in fact superstitious. When a Russian says something bad and they don’t want it to happen, they believe spitting over their shoulder three times will not bring bad luck.

Deniza Gorgieva, 20, sophomore of Strumica, Macedonia, clarifies that Macedonia is not part of Greece even though it is commonly heard. Also, Macedonia was named after the ruler Alexander the Great.

Although a caste system is in place in Nepal, Melina Khadgi, 22, freshman of Kathmandu, Nepal, states when she came to the United States and met other Nepal natives the caste system didn’t matter.

“The other people I have met from Nepal are of a higher class than me, but it doesn’t matter here,” Khadgi said.

Often times when people hear Anna Demble, 21, senior of Bamako, Malian, is from Africa they associate her living conditions as having many wild animals roaming around. Although Africa does have wild animals, it’s about a six-hour drive to encounter them from Bamako the capitol of Malian.

A common stereotype for people of Asian descent is that they feast on cats and dogs. Although a few ethnic minorities and regions in China have tradition of eating dogs, it is false that Asians eat cats says Kevin Zhang, 19, freshman of Mianyang, China.

“It was important for us to address these stereotypes so students can gain more interest about other counties and their cultures around the world,” said Trefilova.