Canada has generous immigration programs for international students—on paper. Officially, students can work in Canada for up to three years after graduation, and then, if they wish, become permanent residents with ease. The reality is different. The Canadian immigration system is a labyrinth of tiny rules that are constantly changing. Tripping over any one of […]
International students
Posted inNews + Opinion
International students not here to balance Dalhousie’s budget
Dalhousie’s international students are fighting a yearly 11.1 percent tuition increase in the upcoming 2019-2020 budget. On Tuesday, the budget will go to a vote—if it passes, new Dalhousie international students will be paying up to 44 percent more for tuition in their fourth year than students pay now. “Regardless of the high tuition we […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dalhousie’s Accent Clinic sending mixed messages
International students and anthropology professors are having a lot of trouble understanding Dalhousie University’s Accent Clinic. Formerly called the Accent Modification Clinic, the university service was founded four years ago to help students improve their English. But its controversial purpose raises several questions about race, class and the stigmatization of people from other places. Martha […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Internships don’t start here
Gaining overseas work experience while attending university may sound appealing, but some Dalhousie University international students say they’re having trouble completing this mandatory part of their school program because they can’t find a job here in Canada. Yuxi Tang is one of them. After months of fruitless job hunting, Tang is giving herself a few […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Falling through the tenancy cracks
International students in Halifax say they’re being taken advantage of by one of the city’s largest property rental companies, which seemingly as official policy uses leases in breach of the Tenancy Act for non-Canadian tenants. Jianing Xu says she was asked by Killam Properties to pay rent for her Cathedral Lane apartment in three-month increments. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Small town, global minds
Helen Timbo, 21Dalhousie University, third-year, statistics and chemistryOriginally from Sierra Leone, Timbo’s lived in Halifax for eight years and is the current president of the Dalhousie African Student Association. Her first taste of Halifax was when she arrived in the winter of 2008. “When the cold hit me, I screamed and didn’t want to go […]
Posted inLifestyle
Homesick for the holidays
I’m sitting in my room, a sheet of yellow paper resting on my lap with the list of things I need to pack before I go home to Nigeria. I can hear my roommate in her own room, conversing softly in Japanese with her friend over Skype. Unlike me, she won’t be going home for […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia still far too white
[Image-1] The issue of diversity—more like the lack of it—is a discussion that’s been going on for many years in Nova Scotia, and it keeps prompting the same questions. How do we repair race relations in this province, when they break down? How do we attract more immigrants and help them feel truly welcome here? […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Exotic cars and the international students who own them
[Image-1] When the Jaguar’s roar echoes down the painted block of Argyle Street, a mother yanks her kid away from the edge of the curb. Moe Basha laughs. Basha is used to the attention by now—he has been driving the red Jaguar F-Type since last October. Basha is a student at Saint Mary’s University. He […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why Halifax is a terrible (and perfect) place to learn English
The new school year is just beginning, but some are already graduating. In August, international students at the Canadian Language Learning Centre College’s Citadel campus graduated with a certificate in English as a second language. Aissata Diallo was one of those students accepting her diploma amid a flurry of applause and tears. “I’m going to […]