The Hungarian Student, 1957 (1. évfolyam, 2-8. szám)

1957 / 5-6. szám

12

The Hungarian Student

Aid for Hungarian Students

SOON AS the first groups of Hungarian refugees reached the United States, the question arose as to how to place the Hungarian students and how to assist them to continue their studies. The sponsoring organizations requested the World University Service to solve these problems.

The WUS and the Institute of International Education started the registration of Hungarian University students and the organization of scholarships and other support for them. The two organizations are

World University Service Dear Mr. Kitchen:

Not long ago I had the occasion to discuss with you the situation of the Hungarian students in the U.S.A. and the activities of our Association. I wish to take this opportunity to express again our gratitude and thanks to the WUS for all its help in assisting our students to continue their studies.

Having lost our country and families, we very much appreciate a helping hand, especially if this help is motivated by an understanding and friendly feeling.

As oyu requested, I would like to discuss a few questions in connection with the WUS and the Association. I will try to explain in detail the areas in which our students would like to receive more help than they are getting at the present time.

We would like to get complete information about WUS activities with Hungarian students which we would like to publish in our official paper. We would also like you to notify us about any difficulties encountered in dealing with our students. Information about their behavior and experiences would interest all of us. We would be happy to give you the same type of information. When the WUS starts a new program we should like to take part in the planning of it and offer our opinion. Although we both agreed upon the necessity for an exchange of information between our organizations, we only later discovered from newspapers that WUS had made a Hungarian language appeal for scholarship funds. Although prepared with the best intentions, this appeal partly hindered the execution of the resolutions made at our convention. This could have been avoided and our work coordinated through preliminary consultations.

We request WUS:

to permit us to publish a detailed description of the constitution, activities and general purposes of the WUS; to name a representative to coordinate the activities of both organizations;

continuing this difficult work with devotion.

Our Association has established good relations with these organizations and has been cooperating closely with them sines the Chicago Congress. The WUS and IIE back us, loyally supporting our Association in every respect. We owe gratitude to them on behalf of all our students.

Page 13 describes the structure and functions of the WUS.

The following two letters discuss some of our mutual problems.

to make public all factors which will be taken into consideration in the awarding of scholarships;

to consider our suggestions regarding distribution of scholarships; to supply us with lists of the students registered by each sponsoring organization;

to name the organizations which are not cooperating and give the reasons for their non-cooperation; to make a public statement on the use of funds received so far for the support of Hungarian students, and to publish similar statements from time to time on the use of future funds. (We are particularly interested in the amount and use of funds collected by one of our fellow-students, Alpar Bujdoso, during his lecture tour);

to tell us why the WUS did not answer some questions asked by students, and in some cases refused their registration ;

to register students who arrived after the 15th of April;

to follow up on the social problems, financial situation and education of students already placed in universities.

I want to express once more the thanks and appreciation of our students and our Association for the great work the WUS has been doing. We are glad that our relationship is to be made even warmer and friendlier through mutual cooperation, by listening to the opinion of our Association as a student-protecting organization and through making public the work done by the WUS.

Our Association promises to acquaint our students in every way possible with the work done by the WUS in their behalf, and to discuss the students’ problems with the WUS. The Association will place all available data at the disposal of the WUS and in general will help the work of the WUS in every possible way.

Respectfully yours,

President, AHS

August, 1957

Dear Mr.... :

Thank you very much for your letter of July 24th addressed to Mr. Kitchen. Your letter arrived at a time when Mr. Kitchen was away from the United States attending the World University Service General Assembly in Holland, and he will not be back until after the 26th of August.

I am sure that Mr. Kitchen will be in touch with you and your organization after he returns. In the meantime, however, I did want to acknowledge your letter. First, let me say that under separate cover I am sending you a packet of current materials about the work of World University Service in general. In the packet are enclosed such items as program of action for the past year, several copies of the World University Service News, and other materials. The most recent issue of the World University service News states in detail the progress of our Hungarian Student Program and is also enclosed.

The up-to-date figures have been added in ink, since the article was written in May. 1 hope that all of this material will be helpful to you in your plans to publish in your official paper stories about the World University Service.

Our work in placing Hungarian students for further study continues at a good pace, and I understand that someone representing your organization has been working closely with our combined WUS-IIE unit in geting information about the number of students thus far placed in the program and those yet to be placed. We are also interviewing and registering students who arrived after April 15th who will be given consideration, and we can only hope that scholarship opportunities will be made available for them.

Your offer on behalf of the Association to help the work of World University Service is of course most welcome and very much needed. There will be a long-range continuing need for funds in the Hungarian Student Program. There is also a need for Hungarian students to become acquainted with the work of World University Service which has been done, not only in their behalf, but throughout the world on behalf of students in need. It is supposed that they individually will want to support this work when they are able to do so. Please feel free to write Mr. Kitchen at any time or to come in to talk with him about any of the problems relating to the Hungarian Student Program. We of World University Service look forward to an ever warmer and friendlier relationship of cooperation with the American Hungarian Student Association.

Yours very cordially,

Frank G. Sulewski

Acting Executive Secretary