International students bring new opportunities

With classes set to start next week at Southeast Missouri State University, there has been an influx this week of more than 300 international students in Cape Girardeau. There are more than 100 additional students from other countries on campus this year, and the university hopes to increase the number of international students to at least 400 in three years.

One of the major reasons for the effort to attract more international students is because we are part of a global society. No longer are our dealings limited to those who look and talk like us.

Increasingly our daily contacts, thanks to electronic communication, are spreading to other countries, other cultures, other languages.

Bringing students from other countries to Cape Girardeau exposes them to our culture, and it also exposes this community to the rich and diverse lifestyles of other lands.

Southeast has always had an international program for many years, but its emphasis has waxed and waned. Now the university is emphasizing "education with a global perspective" in its mission statement.

This focus on the "global perspective" can -- and should -- touch virtually every aspect of the university's programs. Cape Girardeau has much to offer international students, and students from other countries have much to contribute to our understanding of ideas, beliefs and social behavior in other lands.

Welcome, international students. We hope your stay in Southeast Missouri will be fulfilling and rewarding.