San Diego State University - Del Sudoeste Yearbook (San Diego, CA)

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Slvreign Studen tn 548-86-2810 Gregory Ubom, 22 Senior, Chemistry Uyo, Nigeria Someone at the American Embassy in Nigeria told Greg Ubom the weather was good in Southern California, in fact, similar to Nigeria's weather. Greg also has a friend who went to' school at San Diego State and liked it. So put these two reasons together and you find Greg Ubom, who has been going to State for the past three years. After he has graduated in January 1971, he plans on doing graduate work here before going back home to Uyo, located in the Southeastern State of Nigeria. He said he likes teaching, but may workin industry upon his return. Greg said the colleges and universities in Nigeria are on the British system. The education is taught very narrowly there. lt's broader here. You can back up your education with other fields- you're not restricted, he said. He said American students, especially girls, are more outspoken. Girls have more freedom than at home, he explained. The cul- tural backgrounds manifest these differences. Greg said he didn't date a lot. The society is not that receptive to Black people except where you run into people who are not preiudiced. The girls are very liberal. But the problems are with parents. American society is so complex-it's difficult-you can't predict what you are going to get out of it. Ubom, who carries T5-16 units a semester, said he doesn't have problems with professors or students. Professors really like to help. They do the best they can in chemistry, they guide students well and feel their obligations in that respect. The Chemistry Department is very, very good. Greg thinks the wide scope of required classes is great-- even though they're not scientific, they all fit in with human life. As a foreign student, Greg said the students don't all behave towards him in the same way. Accents sometimes make students feel uncomfortable, he said. Most students are very friendly, but their ideas of friendship are different, ln our country, you never leave home, your families are very close. lf people here are not close to their immediate families, how can they be close to others? Greg attends most of the get-togethers at school and is an active member of the International Students Council, He likes soccer and played in Nigeria, here he likes to play table tennis. Greg concluded: As a foreign student, I would like to say that America in general has an internal problem as a nation. Before one comes in here, one has a different impression. Before l came, l thought it a terrestrial heaven-but they have problems. They strain their outside expenses to where their inside ones are strained. There are big conflicts in the youth and their elders. Youths have more opportunities here than youths in other countries. But they don't realize this advantage here. But l think the youths who die on the fields of war should be heard-not by violence, but they should be heard. The poor in America are l0O 70 better off than in other coun- tries. The people in power should look at them though-they're human beings. Not many people here know what's going on in the outside world. They rely too much on what the news media say and don't investigate for themselves.

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,Q . 999-Ol-2794 Lilian Steinhardt, 24 Unclassified, Journalism Montevideo, Uruguay Lilian Steinhardt is going to San Diego State for reasons other than getting an Inter-American Press scholarship from James Copley. Besides being the only foreign student in California who received an aid scholarship from the Latin Americas, Miss Steinhardt is here be- cause there is no Iournalism college in Uruguay, her home country. She has the distinction of graduating from high school twice- once from a Detroit high school in 1963-64 as an exchange student and from high school in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay. Born of German parents who moved to Uruguay during World War ll, Miss Steinhardt has been a reporter for one of the four maior newspapers in Montevideo, has done volunteer work for the Red Cross, was a radio announcer in Montevideo, a secretary-assistant for the American Embassy, and also a tourist guide for foreign visitors. As a reporter, Lilian has interviewed presidents and prime min- isters, actors and musicians, fashion directors and models. Everyone comes through Montevideo-it's the stopping-off place between the main centers of Latin America, she said. There are about 35 radio stations in my city, Lilian explained. l was an announcer for a year, but was so shy I had to tape my work. Lilian said that in Uruguay it was hard to move up successfully unless you can go to other countries for study. She wants to do magazine writing and editing, but is not going back to Uruguay- at least not for a while. She plans on spending the summer here with friends. I have no trouble talking and getting used to people. l've been furnished with good friends, especially families. Friends have made me feel at home here. Lilian thinks Amrican students have less inhibitions than the stu- dents in her country. They are more modern here, she said. At home, we are more conservative. Everything faces Europe-we go by European standards. She said the main thing that surprises her is that students here don't think much about other countries. Here, everything is within, she added. She said she is learning more by talking to students and teachers and going on field trips. Classes are fun, but l learn more from talking to people. lt is good for my English and broadens my education. Lilian dates quite a bit. She said she enioys dating older students. They are very interesting to talk with. She likes the professors. They are really good in all my courses. Dr. Odendahl and his wife-I iust love them both, they've been so good to me. San Diego State is pretty calm, she went on to say. lt's located in a beautiful spot, too. At the University of Uruguay, there is more specialization. Lots of State's lower division courses are taught in high school in Uruguay, she explained. l like San Diego State better than other American colleges, but students here-l don't think they take their years of study seriously. ...f