INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OFFER WINDOW TO THE WORLD

Southeast Missouri State University's international students provide a window to the world and benefit the Cape Girardeau area economically too.

George Dordoni knows all about that window to the world. As an assistant director of Southeast's Campus Assistance Center, Dordoni regularly assists international students.

Dordoni's small office is crowded with decorations from around the world, including a colorful cloth print in a Tanzanian design made in Indonesia. A number of the items are gifts from students and friends.

"Many people like myself haven't had the opportunity to travel outside the United States," he said. But being around international students offers Americans a chance to experience other cultures first hand.

"It opens a window on the world that I know I feel honored to have looked through," Dordoni said.

Southeast had 267 international students enrolled in the just-completed semester out of a total student body of 8,100. More than half the foreign students are from Japan and Turkey.

Dordoni said the school has good relationships with student recruitment agencies in both nations.

Dordoni estimated international students at Southeast pump $2.9 million annually into the local economy, including $1.29 million in out-of-state tuition alone.

It is estimated that an international student here will spend $6,000 a year on living expenses.

Most Southeast students arrive with plenty of belongings from home. In contrast, international students often bring little with them, arriving in St. Louis on lengthy and costly overseas flights. They then use the Bootheel Area Rapid Transportation van service to reach Cape Girardeau.

International students end up buying furniture and whatever else they need locally. Many buy cars.

The number of international students attending U.S. schools climbed from 34,232 in 1954-55 to nearly half a million in 1993-94.

Foreign students contributed $6.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 1993 in tuition and fees, a 10 percent increase over 1992 and double the 1986 figure.

A total of 8,576 international students were enrolled in Missouri colleges and universities in 1993-94.

Those students spent an estimated $123 million, including $48.4 million in tuition and fees, and $74.8 million in living expenses.

It is estimated the economic boost created some 2,000 jobs in Missouri, Dordoni said.

The relatively low cost is one reason students like Susumu Obata of Yokohama, Japan, came to Southeast. Two of his high school classmates also attend the university.

Obata, 24, said he wanted to attend a U.S. school to improve his English.

Obata said many Japanese aren't aware of Missouri but they have heard of St. Louis.

Gokhan Ertan, 21, of Turkey ended up at Southeast through the efforts of a student recruitment company back home.

Ertan is from Istanbul, which has a population of more than 5 million. He said Cape is a tiny town to him. "Cape is just like a football field or something like that," he said.

Ertan said international students at Southeast felt ignored by campus staff in the past. But he said the situation has improved in large part because of Dordoni. "Maybe he is half foreign," Ertan joked.

Lucia Isac, 35, is a graduate student from Milan, Italy, who was born in Eritrea in Africa.

She has been studying in the U.S. since 1989. She said Southeast remains a bargain for international students. "Here it is cheap compared to other schools."

She received her undergraduate degree from a small college in California. She enrolled in Southeast in January 1995 to pursue graduate studies.

Isac and her Japanese roommate share a car. She said it is better than waiting for a taxi.

Isac said American students are reluctant to approach international students. "It takes a long time to make friends with Americans," she said.

International students generally are good students, Dordoni said.

The students must pass a test on English as a foreign language in order to enroll. Southeast operates an Intensive English program in which persons can improve their language skills before enrolling at Southeast.

Students often finish graduate school before they return home.

"Many times students don't see their families for five, six or seven years," Dordoni pointed out.

In many cases, international students help foster relationships between local businesses and those in their native countries.

"That is not just diversity. It is good for business," Dordoni said.

International students are prohibited by law from receiving federal financial aid, and are severely restricted when it comes to off-campus employment.

Southeast offers few scholarships for international students. Most of the students are paying for their education with personal or family funds, Dordoni said.

Most of the international students at Southeast come from middle-class families, he said.

Often their native currencies lose value against the dollar, and the students and their families must struggle to make ends meet financially, Dordoni said.

Many international students view Cape Girardeau as a quiet town and Southeast as a good place to study, Dordoni said. Their biggest complaint: Lack of a public transportation system.

At one time, Southeast had some 400 international students enrolled in college classes. But that number has declined in recent years.

Southeast had 350 foreign students enrolled in the fall of 1993. A year later, the number had declined to 301. This year, the number has dropped by another 34 students.

Dordoni said those figures don't take into account the students in the Intensive English Program, which typically has an enrollment of about 50 students at any one time.

Southeast isn't actively recruiting international students now, said Juan Crites, admissions director. "It is a very expensive business," she explained.

Still, she said, the university welcomes such students. She said the area and the school benefit culturally from having international students here.