In keeping with the generous and forgiving spirit of the upcoming holiday season, I’ve decided to give President Lois B. DeFleur an early present. For perhaps the first time ever, I’m actually going to congratulate her instead of criticize her. No, loyal reader, I’m not off my meds. Madam president has actually done something I approve of. For once.

BU’s Web site recently featured an article that listed the rising percentage of students who are embracing a more international approach to their college educations. Enrollment in language courses is apparently increasing, as is the number of foreign students at Binghamton University and the number of BU students going overseas. At a school that willingly accepts the Ethnic Fortress Method of multiculturalism, such a trend is unexpected, to say the very least. High five, Lois.

In the article, Ellen Badger, director of international student and scholar services, credits President DeFleur with increasing student awareness of international culture. Assuming Badger isn’t being brainwashed by some insidious machine located in the basement of the Couper Administration Building, I’ll be the first to give Our Fearless Leader a rousing “Huzzah!”

I’m not going to pretend that the importance DeFleur is placing on multilingualism and cultural awareness is anything more than common sense when you consider the tumultuous state of global relations, but it’s still commendable. As an Arabic student, I’m constantly reminded of how necessary it is to clearly and intelligently communicate with other people. At a time when intercultural cooperation is at a dangerous low, both here at BU and abroad, supporting programs that encourage mutual understanding is just good policy.

The practicality of a multilingual education is more apparent now than ever, as we approach our third year in Iraq (an Arabic-speaking nation), with little indication that we’re leaving any time soon. China is certainly one of the United States’ strongest competitors in the global economy; and Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US. Newsflash: English is the fourth most spoken language on Earth, taking a backseat to both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, and it’s only two spots ahead of Arabic. Not only is it beneficial to understand and speak one or more of these languages, its approaching the level of Pretty Damn Necessary.

Observe the moderate, realistic stance I take toward multicultural education. Unlike my compatriots at Binghamton Review, I don’t view intercultural awareness as a threat to some grandiose, self-important view of American culture that I attribute to a presidency I wasn’t even conscious to appreciate. Unlike my classmates at The Spark, I do not believe that that same awareness ought to be jammed down the throats of BU students at every opportunity just because I harbor ill-conceived feelings of guilt for growing up in middle-class suburbia. That kind of behavior does nothing but breed contempt for one another. All I’m asking is that we have that kind of education available, appropriately funded and well-advertised. If those objectives are met, the responsibility for international awareness is placed squarely where it belongs: on us. What does that mean?

Matt McFadden is a junior English and Arabic major.