With 20 percent of NYU’s student body made up of international students, the NYU Division of Student Affairs, cooperating with the Center for Student Life, the International Student Council and the Office of Global Services opened the International Student Space. Located on the seventh floor of Kimmel, the space is expected to increase community building among international students. While this initiative is a step in the right direction, there is still a long path that NYU must follow to make these 17,000 individuals feel more accommodated at the university and in the United States.

NYU has the largest number of international students among all American universities, which enhances the importance of having safe spaces. The International Student Space is especially relevant in a time which international students feel unsure about their safety in the United States, with many American colleges presenting a slight decline in international enrollment — a reflection of President Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric on immigration. Moreover, there is a worry that Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, signed in April, will cut down the number of cultural exchange visas, enhancing prospective international students’ concerns. The space initiative assures students they are still welcome and their opinions and worries are relevant to the university.

Regardless, NYU should make more efforts to smoothen the transition to living in the United States for international students. The Office of Global Services — beyond holding information sessions on visa status and immigration paperwork — should hold meetings discussing American politics and culture. These debates would make international students more aware of the events and happenings, giving them background and useful information to make them more engaged with the university and the surrounding community.

American NYU students constantly talk about what a difficult transition moving to New York City is, so one can only imagine how hard it is to move here from a different country. While a safe space for international students is an excellent symbolic gesture, there is much more that can be done to help NYU’s international students — if NYU truly wants to help international students they could host lectures and workshops that help smooth the culture shock and inform international students how current political decisions affect them. The International Student Space is a great step forward, but there is still much more that needs to be done.

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