How the gun violence in Boulder impacted a CU’s international student

I still remember how terrified I was in the last week of February 2023. The Colorado University of Boulder (CU) issued three shooting alerts on February 22nd, 27th, and 28th, informing students that there were suspects with guns around campus. I believe I was being one of the most terrified people among the students as it was my very first time facing a gun threat in my whole life. I came from Tokyo, Japan, one of the safest cities in the world with strict gun control regulations. As I knew nothing about how to protect myself from shooting accidents, I was genuinely terrified and always alarmed. It just did not make sense that people seemed to continue their daily life and go to school while the suspect was not arrested. What exposed me to the risks the most was my identity. I am Japanese, an international student in Colorado, a woman of color, an Asian, and a non-native speaker of English. My ethnicity, language barrier, and lack of local information and custom made me feel more alarmed about the risks. This experience taught me one strong message, international students, especially those who identify themselves as women of color need more support in terms of safety than the university would expect. They need more accessible safety information and media representation. 

What is the first thing you would do when you receive a gun violence alert? Probably you would collect more information about the time, location, suspect, what exactly happened, and weapons they have. Access to detailed safety information is significantly crucial for many international students, especially women of color, to protect themselves. The CU alert itself only states the time, location, and the suspect. However, what they need is more detailed information about how to avoid threats, the exact safety measures on campus, exactly how it impacts campus and why it is protected, and detailed updates about the suspect activities. Why do international students need extra safety information?  It is because many of them without local customs and fluency in English have higher concerns and vulnerability in the context of gun violence. In rural areas with less dense populations, they show higher concern due to the increasing gun ownership, according to the survey conducted by World Education + Reviews in 2019. Especially, the study shows that students from Southeast Asia with one of the lowest gun ownership and Muslim students feel less safe due to civilian gun ownership in the States and hate crimes against their ethnicities. Indeed, although 1 percent of the population is Muslim in the U.S., 25 percent of hate crimes targeted them due to religious and cultural bias. Among international students, specifically, the accessibility to safety information is vital for women of color. Young women are significantly likely to face violence as WHO reports that 30% of women worldwide have been exposed to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. For instance, the Center for Law and Social Policy reports that it is about 2.5 times more likely that young black women die due to gun violence compared to white young women. CU Boulder needs to acknowledge international students’ higher concerns and vulnerability in terms of gun violence and provide more detailed and educational information about safety. 

Another action to take is the media coverage of the impacts of gun violence on international students. Although CU has issued a message to all the impacted students, they need more representation of how the international community was impacted to raise awareness. Why does the whole CU community need to care? CU Boulder has more than 2900 international students from about 100 different countries to promote diversity on campus as its appealing strength. Diversity can enhance inclusion, innovation, and communication in the community when each member of the community makes an effort to know each other to embrace differences. However, that cannot be achieved by just accepting students from abroad without preparing enough to guarantee safety and representation in the community. CU should share their voices via CU Boulder Today, its newsletter, its Instagram posts, and raising awareness among professors. From a broader perspective, major media is also responsible for sharing their voices.  The increasing number of students from abroad, misinformation about gun violence shared among incoming students, and a rising number of domestic hate crimes. Actually, although more than 1 million international students are studying in the States, the U.S. is one of the least safe countries among other host countries due to a higher rate of gun ownership and hate crime. A study conducted by Gelzhiser J. A. in 2019 found that the majority of international students and their families are concerned about gun shootings in American schools. What worries them, even more, is misinformation or information which has biased messages. Mass media such as social media which is heavily used by young generations play significant roles in building viewpoints about American schools. To tackle the misinformation, mainstream media is increasingly responsible to provide real-time and accurate information to build less biased perspectives about safety in the States.

Diversity is one of the most attractive and pursued aspects in many American schools. Different cultures bring innovation and fresh perspectives to American culture. To achieve that and embrace diversity requires mutual efforts to break down barriers in order to know what individuals need and are vulnerable to. Just having a fresh perspective to think about what it is like to live in your country without knowing local customs and language will be a significant first step. Let’s recall what you experienced in the last week of February 2023. Share your voice and listen to the voice of those who came from different cultures and backgrounds.