Anyone who has gone on an intercultural experience will probably say that it was the best experience of their lives and that they learned so much and are so enlightened and blah blah blah. What they forget to mention is the privilege that comes with being able to have an intercultural experience and the strain that such a requirement can cause.

Interculturals “will help you stand out to future employers…empowered by knowledge of your own cultural lenses, those of others, and the skills to build understanding,” according to the EMU website. I am not going to dispute that. I completely agree that travelling, especially while young, is “priceless.” But it is actually extremely price-filled, especially for someone in a position such as I. 

I have noticed that many of the students taking advantage of the intercultural opportunities are from the Mennonite community. This may not be a statistical trend, but in my experience, it’s highly coincidental that those individuals are the ones able to comfortably fulfill these experiences. I believe this to be because many members of the Mennonite community are acquainted with travel since much of the community has ties to various regions (commonly states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, and countries like Switzerland). Mennonite conferences are also often held in locations where dedicated families must travel to attend. However, someone such as myself, a local lower-middle-class family who does not come from money or a heavy travel background, typically opts for the evening class or the local programs. But, not even those are accessible.

When registering for classes this semester, I know of at least three of my friends who got on the almost 30-person waitlist for the evening class that would fulfill their intercultural requirement. Thankfully, each one of them can attempt registration for that in another semester, as they are not yet seniors. However, that does not distract from the fact that there is a quite restrictive limit for this class. And I didn’t even try. This greatly stresses out those less fortunate students. When speaking to one of the three “rejects,” they stated that this requirement was more of a stressor than a help, as they are a nursing student, which makes intercultural travel even harder. 

Aside from trying not to spend another semester in college out of the eight required (I also know a student who is spending an extra semester here so they can go to India in the fall), another struggle is cost. If a student takes an intercultural program during a semester of school, their financial aid can help, which can be great for someone who benefits from those services, but it may not be so great for someone who hardly gets pennies from FAFSA. After speaking with my advisor when planning for my own classes next semester, he informed me that if I were to do one in the summer, the costs would be out of pocket for me. But the summer classes work best for me as they are shorter, which means I can probably take off work long enough to sustain myself, but not long enough to be fired, thankfully. 

Coinciding with working interculturals around employment, another factor to consider is the ability to pay for things DURING the trip. If anyone knows me, they know that I am always working. I take every opportunity to make extra money, whether that’s during the weekend or missing a class to work as a Royal Ambassador (Sorry, Marti, money called and I had to answer). Juggling two jobs is hard enough as it is, but not working at all is even harder. I am solely on my own for my college experience. This includes paying my tuition, gas for commuting when housing situations go wrong (and driving to off-campus classes!), groceries for when the Caf is too disgusting to stomach, unexpected costs, bills, and other expenses (because I should be able to enjoy Chick-Fil-A once in a while, too). 

One more situation I wish for each person to consider is medical complications. I won’t divulge my medical history, but I would not feel safe in another country with the struggles I face. I have a chronic illness that I will struggle with now, then, forever. I have other phobia issues that control my lifestyle. So to look me in the face, make me feel awful for being unable to participate as I wish so badly to do anyway, and then kick me while I am down is disgraceful. 

I am in no way saying that interculturals should be completely removed as an option for students who want to take advantage of it. I am saying that it being a requirement is completely unnecessary and stressful. I recently heard in a financial aid presentation that interculturals are not meant to be a burden, but they are. And yes, I chose to attend this university, which means I inadvertently agreed to ALL the requirements, but that does not mean that I cannot criticize them. Ultimately, I chose EMU because of opportunities for growth (within university organizations) and a community that will always support me. But these financially straining requirements are not very supportive. 

I think if the university would like to offer resources to assist students in travelling and taking that leap to become more culturally diverse and have new experiences, that should be welcomed. However, making it a requirement makes the less fortunate or hesitant students feel like crap, honestly. While I cannot afford the experience in many ways, I also sympathize with the students who cannot entertain this idea for other reasons. At the very least, the university should expand the class for the evening course to make the struggling students struggle less. Support the students who want to, but don’t force the students who can’t.