by James C. Sherlock
Virginia Tech’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association
is the largest international student society at Virginia Tech, with more than 1,000 Chinese students and scholars and their families. It is also one of the largest Chinese student and scholars organizations in the United States. [Go to link and click “translate” in URL window.]
Good to know.
More than 350,000 students from mainland China out of about 1 million total international students are enrolled in America’s colleges and universities in 2023.
The financial incentives for the schools are huge.
All of those students pay full-sticker out-of-state tuition as well as room, board and student fees – $58,750 annually for undergraduates. So Tech realizes about $60 million for its full-time Chinese Hokies. That does not include summer students, another big program.
In associated programs, Chinese universities provide Mandarin language instructors to American faculties and accept U.S. students.
But the institutions who accept Chinese Student and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) know they monitor and control Chinese students and spread the official dogma of the Chinese state to their campuses.
The Chinese don’t even try to make it a secret.
CSSAs have closed at UVa, VCU, James Madison and George Mason without apparent effect on their Chinese student inputs.
Yet Virginia Tech, William and Mary, and ODU continue to host them.
It makes no sense. Continue reading