Following the opening of the Zachs Hillel House as the center for Jewish life on campus, the international students’ organization ATLAS has officially opened their own International Student Center in the basement of Harkness Chapel. Just as Zachs Hillel House is truly a community center open for all members of the Connecticut College campus, the international student center will also be a space that can be utilized by all members of the College. The large space, which is painted a bright orange, has a number of chairs and sofas, posters, maps, a piano and a coffee station for students to enjoy. A large flat-screen television is also being installed.
While creating a space for international students on campus has been on the table for a number of years, the work truly began in March 2013. Around this time, Vladimir Chlouba ’16, president of ATLAS, and the rest of ATLAS’s leadership began to research if this idea was still popular amongst the student body. The group tabled outside Harris to get input and signatures from the students who supported the idea and found that they had an overwhelming amount of support from the student body. Chlouba talked to Assistant Dean of Studies and International Student Advisor Carmela Patton, and she assisted ATLAS in looking for potential locations last summer. The group “[formed] a task force,” explained Chlouba, and a group of around six or seven people would meet to do research. The group finished their initial work in October of 2013.
Chlouba told The College Voice that ATLAS was originally told they would need around $10,000 to complete the project. Chlouba felt that this number was too high of an estimate, and that ATLAS could reach their goal with less. Dean of the College Carolyn Denard contributed $1,000, and Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life Claudia Highbaugh (whose office is now down the hall from the new space) matched that donation.
At the same time, the College was looking to get rid of old furniture in a different space that was still in good condition, and that furniture was donated to ATLAS, as well. In the end, the $2,000 was spent on posters and decorations for the room, as well as the television and a new sound system.
The International Student Center will have many uses, ranging from being a safe and comfortable space for international students to an open study space next year when Shain Library goes under renovations. Amanda Sun ’17, vice president of ATLAS, said that with the installation of the new TV and sound system ATLAS is planning to hold movie nights, along with their usual programming. Chlouba added that having a set space will allow for meetings for when the international students need to meet about visas and other paperwork, to go more smoothly and without the stress of having to find a space to meet in advance. Murat Edin ’17, treasurer for ATLAS, said that he is most looking forward to seeing how the space can bring together international and domestic students. Shatrunjay Mall ’17, cultural affairs chair of ATLAS, echoed Edin’s excitement in bringing all students together.
According to the Admissions website, international students make up around 6% of the student body at Conn. For many international students, home is too far away to go back every break, and some students can only return home every couple of years. International students are one demographic that’s had a particularly high rate of transfers within Conn’s generally low retention rate. Sun explained that this space will hopefully give international students a place in which they feel comfortable and can further form a bond with each other and the College as a whole.
For Chlouba, this project was a way of giving back to Connecticut College. He explained that one of the unique aspects of admissions at Conn is that the College gives financial aid to international students. For him, he considers this to be the College “[making] an investment” in him, and helping to found the International Student Center was his way of giving back.
The International Student Center is currently open, but an official opening ceremony will take place on April 22. •
