Kean University is known to be a very diverse college, especially with the university having a campus located in Wenzhou, China. As a result, many students from China are able to come to the main campus in Union to study abroad all while learning about American culture and experiencing a completely new environment. A new student group on campus, the Chinese Student and Scholars Association of Kean University (KUCSSA) is dedicated to creating a community including American and Chinese students, that is not just limited to the Wenzhou-Kean exchange students.
The purpose of KUCSSA is to host a welcoming environment which includes American and Chinese students as they help each other expand on topics such as academics, career development, cultural communication and more. Most importantly, they want to aid in bridging relationships between students and scholars to promote friendship, acceptance and understanding. Students are able to build a community on campus that allows them to grow both culturally and professionally.
Adviser for KUCSSA, Haina Zhu said, "Our organization aims to build a platform that promotes friendship between Kean's American students and Chinese students and scholars on/off campus, meanwhile facilitating Chinese students to embrace American culture and adapt smoothly to American college life through hosting various fantastic events."
Through KUCSSA, the students hope to help Chinese students understand and embrace the American culture throughout their time at the Kean Union campus. They will do this by hosting fun and informative programming and events, as well as by having the American students guide those that are not familiar with the culture. Also, KUCSSA members will be able to help Wenzhou-Kean exchange students throughout the process of learning and engaging with the culture.
KUCSSA is one of the newer groups on campus, which was initiated by a few Wenzhou-Kean students who recognized that it would be helpful to build a team of students to help aid each other through American college life.
President Guanglinrui Zhang said, "Establishing the organization is a huge stepping stone for Wenzhou-Kean students, which assists people in adapting to the new environment far away from home and meeting some like-minded friends."
Victoria Liu, vice president, said, "We hope to serve as a vector for Chinese students and scholars of Kean to communicate better with Kean students of different cultures and backgrounds, to pay close attention to this broader learning environment beyond the classroom, and take advantage of these extracurricular possibilities, as well as to attend fantastic events initiated by us."
The members of KUCSSA emphasize that this organization is not limited to Chinese students, rather they encourage students of all races and ethnicities to join their association. Through this, it will create an even more diverse environment and allow members to become educated on various cultures and ways of life.
If one is interested in KUCSSA or wants to learn more about what they stand for, be sure to check out their Cougar Link page.
