Latitudes: A new film shines a light on the experiences of international students from Africa

A conversation with the film’s director, plus undocumented students may now qualify for a federal college-prep program. ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. A portrait of a “beautiful, painful” experience studying in America Partway through [Brief Tender Light]( a documentary about four African undergraduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the students, Fidelis, turns the camera on the film’s director and producer, Arthur Musah. Why, he wants to know, is Musah working on this project? Blinking into the lens, the filmmaker stammers an answer about wanting to make a “modern African story,” a more complex look at the continent. When Musah and I spoke recently, he told me that he had been wrestling with many of the film’s themes — of belonging, identity, and expectations — since he was a 19-year-old from Ghana, also headed to MIT. Many passengers on his flight to the United States were other African students going to top American colleges. They were united by the assumption, “spoken and unspoken,” that they would go abroad, get the best education, and bring their knowledge back home, he said. But over time, Musah, who came to the United States two decades ago, “realized that there was a more interesting, a more complicated story going on than the scripts we had been given.” Africa, with its large youth population, has increasingly been on the [radar of American colleges]( looking to diversify their international recruitment. The enrollment of students from sub-Saharan Africa in the United States increased 18 percent last year, more than any other world region. The documentary, which airs next Monday, January 15, at 9:30 p.m. ET on the PBS program POV, follows the students through their four years of college, as they wrestle with ambitions, their own and others’. “Those three letters, MIT, they mean a lot to people. People expect things from you,” says Billy, who plans to help with post-genocide reconstruction in his native Rwanda. Fidelis wants to “milk” America to “amass” skills, knowledge, and leadership to bring back to Zimbabwe. Philip’s father died when he was 10, leaving him as a surrogate parent to his younger siblings, and he feels enormous pressure to make a better life for his family in Nigeria. Sante, from Tanzania and the only woman among the four, worries about losing her African-ness while studying abroad. “When you’re in a new environment, your body and your way of thinking adapts to it so much that if you don’t watch out, it can swallow you alive,” she says, “and you can forget where you actually come from.” Musah, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science before turning to filmmaking, initially planned to focus on students in their first year only. But shadowing the students from orientation to graduation proved to be more compelling, he said, allowing audiences to see how college and culture shaped and affected them. “Adjusting to a new environment is exciting but also tests your confidence and tests your belief in yourself,” Musah said. “I think that’s kind of a beautiful thing, although it’s a painful thing.” Philip, who dropped out of primary school to work before winning a scholarship, feels out of step with wealthier classmates. Sante tearfully admits that she is retaking a physics class after failing it in her first semester, doubting that she has what it takes to be an engineer. The students combat misperceptions about Africa — classmates ask them if there are lions and elephants in the streets — but also deal with their own culture shock. Fidelis in particular struggles to come to terms with more liberal American attitudes toward religion and sexual orientation, but when he returns to Zimbabwe after his second year, he no longer feels fully at home there. The film also documents the students’ grappling with what it means to be Black in America. Sante joins Black Lives Matter protests. Philip recounts an incident in which non-Black students wouldn’t let him into a campus building when he lost his college identification, even though his arms were full of schoolbooks. “It just made me wonder about how they perceived me, you know?” he said, questioning whether he can ever truly be accepted in the United States. Musah said the students were savvier than he had been in their understanding of [race and racism]( in this country, in part because of exposure through social media. But like them, he had to adjust to being seen through a “racist lens” by Americans. At the same time, Musah cannot live openly as a gay man in Africa, where many countries outlaw homosexuality. At one point in the film, Musah comes out to Fidelis, who has expressed religious objections to homosexuality. Later the student says that in the United States he has come to understand that gay people are not much different from him. “I can’t reject my friends because they are homosexual,” he tells Musah. “Friendship is more than that.” Musah said he had not set out to make himself part of the film. But after anti-LGBTQ legislation was introduced in the Ghanaian Parliament, he realized that it was important to speak out about queer Africans and that his story complemented the narrative he was telling about the students. He reworked the documentary to include his own reflections. While the film focuses on the pressures facing its subjects, it also has lighthearted moments. It captures the students’ glee at their first snowfall, and an epic snowball fight. The students poke fun at how Americans dance. Billy is elected student-body vice president. In addition to the television broadcast, Brief Tender Light will be shown at theaters in New York and Washington, D.C., and Musah hopes it will also be screened at colleges. His dream scenario is that such screenings could facilitate dialogue between groups represented in the documentary, such as international and African students, students of color, and gay and lesbian students. “The film,” he said, “is maybe an argument for creating more belonging for everyone.” ADVERTISEMENT NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Education Dept. could open college-prep programs to undocumented students The U.S. Department of Education is moving to allow undocumented students to participate in federal programs that help disadvantaged students prepare for college. In a [planning document]( released last week, the department said it would lift citizenship requirements for federal TRIO programs, to allow undocumented students to participate as long as they are enrolled in an American high school. Under current regulations, only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for the programs for underserved students, which include Upward Bound and Talent Search programs and Educational Opportunity Centers. TRIO programs were started in the 1960s, along with other anti-poverty efforts, to help low-income and first-generation students, as well as those with disabilities or limited English proficiency, go to college. Higher-education and advocacy organizations have called for lifting the citizenship requirement, saying that many students in TRIO programs’ target population are undocumented. Educators [told]( Inside Higher Ed last year that if they held presentations on applying to college at a public high school, they would have to exclude undocumented students to comply with federal law. “To say to them, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be thinking about going to college. You shouldn’t be preparing for your future’ — that’s not a message we want to give any young person or adults in this country that’s trying to make a better life for themselves,” one educator said. California has already received a waiver to allow undocumented students to use TRIO programs, which receive about $1.2 billion a year in federal funds, on a trial basis. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Surviving as a Small College - The Chronicle Store]( [The Future of Campus Safety]( Colleges can’t foresee and avoid every possible safety concern. Yet students, parents, and others are demanding that colleges do more to keep campuses safe. [Order this report]( to explore strategies colleges are employing to counter threats to their communities’ well-being. Texas A&M disputes allegations about Qatar campus The president of Texas A&M University at College Station is disputing national-security allegations regarding its campus in Qatar. Mark A. Welsh III called accusations that the flagship university had taken unreported and unregulated funds from the government of Qatar “false and irresponsible,” in particular the [assertion]( that the Persian Gulf nation exerts “covert control over nuclear and weapons-development research” at the university. In a [statement]( Welsh said that no nuclear-technology, defense, or national-security research is conducted on the Qatar campus and that the campus does not have any connection to nuclear research done in the United States. The university abides by federal and state regulations on research security, he said. The allegations were made in a report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, which called for federal investigations into the Texas A&M-Qatar relationship and into foreign funds to American colleges. Around the globe Sixteen physical-science organizations have issued [principles for international academic collaboration]( including a call to petition their governments to enact travel and visa policies that support joint scientific research and foster exchange opportunities for early-career scientists. Congress this year could scrutinize [college endowments]( including investments in China and pressures to disinvest funds from companies with ties to Israel. A [report]( from the Association of American Universities summarizes research-security measures taken by universities and the federal government. Classes resumed this week at most [Israeli universities]( although many students and faculty members are absent, to serve in the military reserves for the war between Israel and Hamas. Students on American campuses are flocking to [courses]( on the Middle East crisis. International students will have to pay a deposit when applying for a French student visa, under changes in the country’s [immigration laws](. University leaders are [warning]( that the provisions could dissuade students from studying in France. A key European Parliament commission is calling for a formal definition of [academic freedom]( to be put in place along with a monitoring system to make sure the principles are upheld. Several Chinese students say they were denied entry to the United States and their visas were [revoked](. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman [called]( the reports a “clear case of selective, discriminatory, and politically motivated law enforcement. We strongly deplore and firmly oppose this.” Despite a need for workers with technical skills, China’s efforts to expand [vocational education]( are struggling. A Princeton professor and China expert warns about the [competitive disadvantage]( the United States could face because too few Americans have Chinese-language ability, on-the-ground experience in China, and deep knowledge of the area. I’ve previously written about the [drop in students studying abroad in China]( and the [difficulties for scholars doing fieldwork]( there. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … They say that you can understand a society through its food, and a new PBS podcast applies that lesson to the under-10 set. [The Plate Show]( introduces children to different cultures, inviting kids and celebrity guest chefs to talk about their cultural traditions and the food they love. I’m not sure about the jokes (then again, the kids in my life think that saying “poop” is hilarious), but you don’t need to be in the target audience to salivate as Yewande Komolafe, a staff writer and recipe developer at The New York Times, describes making jollof rice and chuk chuk, a Nigerian coconut caramel. Thanks for reading. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting, so drop me a line at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. You can also connect with me on [X]( or [LinkedIn](. If you like this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and friends. They can [sign up here](. JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Search jobs on The Chronicle job board]( [Find Your Next Role Today]( Whether you are actively or passively searching for your next career opportunity, The Chronicle is here to support you throughout your job search. Get started now by [exploring 30,000+ openings]( or [signing up for job alerts](. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2024 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037