Students want facts about
case
By Laura Pelner
Campus
Editor
It's hard to be a Korean student on campus right
now.
It's hard to read information about the legal proceedings
regarding the Aug. 2 double murder and decipher what it all means.
Sometimes it's hard to interact with Chinese students
because of the uncomfortable nuances the homicide situation created.
Most of all, it's hard to deal with the doubt and
uncertainty surrounding the Woo murders, the questions left unanswered.
"Many Koreans, every Korean I talk with, finds
it very frustrating to find out the (reported road rage) motive," said
Sungjae Lee, a graduate student and president of the Purdue Korean Association.
Lee said the murders of the South Korean sisters
Yeunkyung Woo, 31, a graduate student in biology, and Hyo Kyung Woo,
29, of Chicago, are discussed a lot.
"Whenever two Koreans meet these days, it's an
issue," Lee said.
For Lee and other Korean students there's not enough
information out there about the murders. They constantly want more.
"We don’t want to hear rumors," said Lee.
Many Korean students think it's Purdue's job to
keep students notified and they're upset when that doesn't happen. "Among
Korean students, some people complain the University is not updating
the information," said Jihong Hwang, a graduate student and vice president
of the Korean association.
The first campus organization that made an active
attempt to notify international students was the Office of International
Students and Scholars. The office director, Michael Brzezinski, said
his office sent numerous e-mail messages to international students.
The messages were sent with two intentions – to offer information
and to create a support network so students could express themselves
and their concerns.
The problem Hwang and other international students
face is that even when they get information they don't understand all
of it. "We don't understand the American legal system," he said. "The
police are doing a good job … but we want them to make this case
clear."
Hwang said he wants to know what the affidavit
means, what the legal procedure is and what the police are doing. "We
need these kinds of explanations from the University and the police,"
he said.
Only after these types of questions are answered
can the Purdue Korean population begin its healing process, said Hwang.
However, for some, healing began at the University-sponsored
memorial service for the Woo sisters on Aug. 10. Hwang said he thinks
the service helped people personally and it helped the relationship
between Korean and Chinese students, as many Chinese people attended
it.
There's some discomfort among Korean and Chinese
students on campus because the suspected murderer in the Woo case, Zhan
Yin, 27, a doctoral student in biology, is Chinese.
"There's no hostility (between the groups)," said
Hwang. "But sometimes, when we happen to meet them, we feel uncomfortable.
When we're in the same room we evade the issue."
Dealing with family and friends overseas is another
problem many Korean students have to face. Lee said that soon after
the news of the murders broke in Korea he received calls from people
he hadn't heard from in a while.
Hwang said his family asks him a lot of questions.
"The Korean family is very close, it's natural for them to worry," he
said.
Even with the issues Koreans on campus are facing,
they feel no animosity toward Purdue. "Whenever parents hear about Purdue,
or they visit their sons and daughters, the first thing they hear is
that it's a good school and the second is that it's very safe," said
Lee.
He said he hopes international students continue
to realize Purdue is a good school and that applications don't decrease.
"It's about time (in the year) for them to start
applying," Lee said. "I hope they choose Purdue for the school, the
programs."
|
