International program holds its last tailgate

Troy’s International Student Program held its final international student tailgate of the semester Saturday afternoon before the Homecoming football game. 

Each international tailgate has been partnered with a different international student organization, Saturday’s being with the Indian and Nepali student organizations. This means all of the food and activities were provided by those two organizations, allowing the students to get a taste of their specific cultures as well as American culture. 

“I think when we first got through, we were just us with international students, and then you have a bond with each other,” said Noa Munoz Firmam, an international student from Belgium, who is here for one semester. “If you want to bond with the people here, that's what you come here for.  

“This event helps us to get to know each other better, get to know the American experience, because we don't know how everything goes. Back home, it's very different with another culture and other traditions, so I think that it's really important to get to know this stuff.” 

While American football and tailgating are extremely common customs to American people, the concepts can be strange to those new to the country. The goal of these tailgates is to expose the international students to this culture, so they don’t feel left out or excluded. 

“Football is like, an American thing, so most of them back in their country don't know anything about football,” said International Program Student Advisor Sarah Bai. “The tailgate is very important culture before football.  

“In the beginning, we just want all international students to know more about American culture because they come here not just for school and not just to get good grades, but we also want them to know more about local culture.” 

The tailgates aren't just targeted at international students either. They allow domestic students the opportunity to explore and learn more about the international students themselves through the blending of cultures. 

“It’s important that we can bring students together, not only the international students, but also the domestic students as well,” said Troy University’s HR Employee Relations Coordinator Sherri Henley. “We want to make sure that we can integrate them together, so that they have companionship with other students here on campus.” 

Often when being exposed to a new culture, people can look to stereotypes to try to gain a better understanding, but sometimes these stereotypes convey false information. Breaking these stereotypes was a massive goal of the program. 

“Sometimes I feel like the misunderstanding between people just because they don't know each other,” Bai said. “They just cannot have a stereotype, all of these, but I feel like if we get to know each other, all of these dislike stuff will not be that much anymore.  

“I also just feel like it's important for everybody to know outside of your bubble, to know more about other cultures.” 

For Munoz Firmam, this goal of breaking stereotypes was achieved. 

“I'm open-minded now,” Munoz Firmam said. “I don't do stereotypes anymore because I had them a lot, and I know they aren't true anymore, and I just want to promote that back in Belgium as well.”