Foreign Students Center Offers Varied Social and Cultural Activities for 'Visitors'

For the past ten years, every foreign student entering the University has received a warm letter of welcome and a personal invitation to tea from the Foreign Students Center. Although the impressive letterhead--International Student Association of Greater Boston--sounds a bit formal, most of the students manage to make their way over to the Center during their first month or two at college.

When the student arrives at 5 Phillips Place, he finds himself virtually in the backyard of Radcliffe, standing in front of a white-pillared yellow Victorian house. He is cordially welcomed and soon discovers, usually to his surprise, that there are nearly 200 other students chatting and singing in the rooms of this attractive private home.

Represent 87 Countries

For the past nine years, this home has been the center of social activities for the 1800 foreign students who attend college in the Boston area. Those students hall from 87 different countries, predominately England, France, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Greece and China.

Guiding light behind this worthy project are Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Mead, who have conducted the center since it was founded in 1941 by several Boston groups. The Meads lived in Peking, China, for many years while Mr. Mead served on the faculty of Yenching University, which is affiliated with Harvard.

When the Meads returned to this country in 1939, they brought with them the idea that there was a definite need for an organization to stimulate "social and cultural contacts between foreign students and the American community." It was of this conviction that the Foreign Student Center was created.

The Center offers a varied program of activities for its members. On Sunday afternoon, about 200 students usually drop in for tea and a buffet supper. A lecture or music recital follows to complete the evening. Tuesday night is record night, while Wednesday evenings are usually devoted to talks and forums on various subjects.

According to Mrs. Mead, a great many of the students who belong to the Center go back to positions of high responsibility in their native countries. "It is in our enlightened self-interest that they take with them a well-rounded picture of America," she said.

After ten years of expansion, the Center is now seeking new quarters to replace the quaint but inadequate Victorian edifice. But, as one of the members remarked. "Let's hope that the new building will retain the friendly atmosphere always found in the Meads' home."