As an international student at Wake Forest, I feel that I should bring out this issue and thus, I write this proposal.

Here are a few reasons why the university should offer International Students financial aid: First, not providing international students with financial aid undermines their accessibility to higher education and contradicts the need-blind admission policy of the university. Some other colleges that have need-blind admission policies offer international students need-based financial aid, such as Carleton College in Minn., Middlebury College in Vt., Davidson College in N.C., etc.

Tuition has increased dramatically over the past 10 years (It has increased 104 percent from 1991 to 2000), and it is hard for international students' parents to adapt to the tuition changes without any kind of financial assistance.

A recent column ("Trustees vote to raise tuition by 7 percent in 2003-2004," Oct. 31) may leave many international students' parents dismayed at the news of this hike in tuition.

In order to gain an international reputation, the university needs to actively recruit international students. To do that, we should help international students who can pay a substantial amount of the total cost, but just need some minor financial aid to help them to make up the difference between the cost of attendance and their own resources.

Globalization is inevitable and it is essential for every university to obtain a good international reputation!

In order to gain an international reputation and recognition, almost all higher education institutions around the world are trying to provide various scholarships and financial aid for international students in order to recruit more of them.

The Education Department of the Japanese government even set up a 10-year plan to increase the international student populations in Japanese Universities.

The homogenous student body is a cultural weakness that this university must overcome. As Jessica Murray says on her Web site, "Wake Forest has a wealth of opportunities for its students. It is a top institution of higher learning. But, I also believe that the liberal arts theory of education has its foundation in extending the classroom into our daily lives. Because of increasing globalization, we can no longer rely on staying in our comfort zones if we want to be major players in industry and business. Our neighbors are increasingly diversified.

"We will no longer be able to hide in our bubble, and the members of the homogeneous community like myself must learn to interact, understand, and embrace the differences in us all. It is a responsibility of Wake Forest University to provide a learning environment that is conducive to this changing environment. Not only to be more capable in the business world, but because understanding others ultimately gives us a better understanding of ourselves" ("I am a White American," Jessica C. Murray http://www.wc.wfu.edu/contents/Jessica-racerel.html).

Additionally, different college guides note the university's lack of diversity, and that sends a message to prospective students who are interested in different cultures that we cannot offer.

For instance, Princetonreview.com says, "Normalcy reigns supreme on this 'very homogenous' campus É everyone looks like they walked out of an episode of Dawson's Creek." One student observed that "race relations on campus are poor," and there is a "definite lack of interracial interaction among various ethnic and racial groups."

International students have a lot to offer to this university in all perspectives. For instance, by recruiting international students, Wake Forest provides its student body an active multicultural learning environment, which is a market of various ideas that inspire students to have a different outlook of things.

One of the best parts of college life is meeting people from different cultural and social backgrounds. Since everyone is so distinctively different, each person has much to give to one another. College students often find new aspects of their true selves by exposing themselves to different ideas from their peers. Hence, international students who come from different cultural backgrounds are delightful additions to the campus community.

International students enrich the student body with different cultures and inspirational thoughts. They make this institution a more diverse community, where students can learn to show consideration for each other despite the differences of ethnicity, religion, lifestyle, or perceptions of the world.

My life is itself an example of international relations. By coming to America and immersing myself in a foreign culture, I have seen how international relationships build on a personal level in my life. I have learned to respect the differences among various cultures and to share my own culture with delight.