What Foreign Students Mean to U.S. Schools

Before bemoaning the lack of U.S. college students studying overseas (“The Student Gap,” Aug. 28), one must consider the effects of the 438,618 foreign students (in 1993) on our own university/college system. Our tradition of opening our schools to foreign students was once laudable, but we can ill afford to continue this system for a number of reasons.

The most obvious is that foreign students are taking spaces from U.S. students. American students alone were jilted out of 4,189 spaces (in 1993) at USC. The number of foreign students in our primary and secondary schools can only be imagined. It is an established fact that many foreign students are sent to live with relatives in this country because their grades are not high enough to enter their own schools.

Then to have countries such as Japan moving slowly in assimilating American students into their academic programs makes one wonder who is taking whom for granted and who is deriving what benefit?

Additionally, half a million more American students in our educational system would also increase the number of likely candidates pursuing a business or technical education, both here and abroad.

Two years ago there was a proposal by a congressional candidate to review all our antiquated educational suppositions, of which the number of foreign students taking spaces in American colleges was one. It’s too bad no one was listening.

BOB BAKER

Anaheim