Give financial aid to international students
Due to their legal status in the United States, most of the international students are not allowed to receive any financial aid from the government. Thus, they can only receive financial benefits from the college they are attending. However, incoming international students cannot receive any of these financial benefits from BYU until they fulfill twelve class credits. Due to this restriction, incoming international students with poor backgrounds have a difficulty paying for all the fees. BYU should offer scholarships to incoming international students since these students fulfill the same requirements as other students and many other colleges and institutions provide financial support to them.
Treating international students differently than other students is discrimination. International students are required to pay a deposit of $4,000 before they attend BYU. This makes it even harder for international students who are financially unstable. Since most of the time international students are treated like other students, they should be able to receive financial benefits from BYU.
Many other colleges and institutions provide financial support for incoming international students. I am an international student who applied for colleges other than BYU. I could not receive a scholarship from BYU due to the policies that restrain incoming international students to apply for scholarships. However, I received a $20,000 scholarship from Miami University when I was accepted to that college.
Incoming international students should be able to apply for scholarships since they can have the same financial difficulties as other students and they should be treated the same as other students. If BYU provides scholarships to incoming international students, many students with difficult financial background can receive fine education and develop their talents to contribute to the world.
— Dohun Kim
Incheon, South Korea
Support theater programs
Theater, especially in high school, needs to be supported with donations from the community. Theater improves a student’s academic life, encourages unity and allows a person to become more open minded and accepting.
The true beauty of theater is its ability to find a way into the hearts of everyone who is involved, whether they be an actor in the show or an audience member. What truly happens in theater is nothing short of amazing. Through the actors’ courage, determination and sincerity, the audience is able to understand not only the struggles and challenges that some people face, but also the happiness and joy that can come.
Acting is an amazing thing. Even though people may claim it doesn’t educate people in “real-life” skills, it actually teaches some of the most important skills. How to stay happy, how to appreciate education, an ability to be able to connect with people and looking past stereotypes are just a few of the many life skills that theater teaches.
Please show your support for theater. Whether that means going to see a show, donating funds to the theater program, or even acting in a play — show your support. Actors put their very heart and soul into theater. Is that not worth something?
— Logan Russell
Morgan, Utah
Change Testing Center lines during finals
Last semester at BYU, the Testing Center line during finals was estimated to be two to three hours long. As students at BYU, we are extremely busy with a heavy workload. We do not have time to nor should be forced to wait in lines as long as this. Students have a limited amount of time, especially during finals week and it should not be spent waiting in lines this long.
Throughout the years, there have been many attempted solutions to solve this problem, but none of them have made significant effects. They have implemented late fees to give students incentives to take their tests earlier; however, most students don’t mind paying this fee to have an extra day of studying. There are other ways of remedying this problem that could be more efficient. During finals week, they should open more buildings throughout campus to tests, such as the Smith Fieldhouse and Indoor Practice Facility. Tests should also be administered during some classes instead of at the Testing Center to limit the amount of students. Teachers can also offer some form of extra credit to take tests on the earlier days. This is a big problem on BYU campus, but with a few small changes this problem can be alleviated.
— Rachel Carroll
San Diego, California
