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2002-08-19 - 11:23 p.m.

People fall through the cracks. There are some really big cracks in higher ed, and some the size of the Grand Canyon at Kryptonite University. And sometimes I get involved in trying to fish people out. I'm a sucker for the underdog, I guess. Here, the cracks are lined with students from other countries who are now permanent residents or citizens of this country. For some reason that makes nobody want to help them..... they aren't visa students (there are special services for them) or American transfer students for whom we have all the necessary resources. I'm trying to help a guy from Nigeria who has taken three statistics courses, and they are going to make him take statistics because he can't produce a course description for the courses he took.

So, I spent several hours of my work day searching the internet for information on higher education in Nigeria. I can tell you right now, there isn't much. The University of Nigeria doesn't even have a website. I looked at some other schools just trying to get a feel for the educational system. I never was successful in my search, and when the student came in to talk to me, I could only call the director of the International Office on his behalf. And beg for a little help in trying to rescue this student from the bureaucratic abyss. The young man looked at me with a serious, and somewhat suspicious expression, as though he didn't really believe I was trying to help him. But I don't blame him for that.

I can't say that I have ever thought too much about Nigeria. I know it is in Africa, that is about it. But when I was researching I ran across something that gave me some insight on the university culture of Nigeria in a way I never expected: a list of "slangs" used by college students.

In some ways, students are the same everywhere. There were slang words relating to sports, academics, teachers, sex, and what's cool. But there were also some alarming ideas covered, like several slang words for punishments ("Angle 90"--The punishment where a person is told to balance himself against the wall, creating a 90 degree angle with his body.) and various kinds of beatings ("planking"-- beating up a junior student with a wooden plank.) And then there were some ideas that were just culturally unique, such as the term for "someone who steals street chickens" or the term for "someone who wears mis-matched shoes"

The thing that struck me as most significant, however, was the overwhelming emphasis on food. I counted thirty-eight terms for food and food related activities. There were slang terms for "someone who misses a meal" and "someone who doesn't like to share his provisions" as well as "someone who is friends with you for your food." A good time was the "end of the term when students feast on the leftover provisions."

I can't help but wonder what life is like there. I can only speculate, but it seems like food and eating are a major concern for university students. And I can't help but make a comparison to American students with their plentiful food options. I doubt any of them are worrying about going off to college with enough food to last the semester, or worrying about what they will eat when they get there.

What does this young man think of us, here with so much food and so few manners?

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