April 13, 2001

WKU International Center
To Raise Flags April 23-27

Bowling Green, Ky. - By the end of April, Western Kentucky University's International Center will look more like an international embassy.

From April 23 to April 27, the International Center will raise the flags of the United States and the 23 foreign nations with the most students at Western. The center is housed at 1536 State St.

"The flags honor the students from countries around the world who have chosen to come to Western," said Dr. Larry Caillouet, director of International Programs. "The flags will be a visual symbol to the community of the international scope of Western."

This semester Western has 425 international students from more than 50 countries.

"We are proud of every country that has even one student at Western, but these 24 countries are the ones that have the most impact on who we are and who we are becoming," he said.

"The international flags will be a public celebration of the richness and diversity of international people at Western Kentucky University," Dr. Caillouet said.

Flag-raising ceremonies begin at 11 a.m. April 23 with the American flag, which will be the largest and most prominent.

The international flags will be arranged so that the countries with the most students will be closer to the U.S. flag. Some of the flags may change each semester as enrollment figures change.

The 24 flags will be raised on the following schedule at 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m:
Monday, April 23: United States, India, Korea, South Africa, Kuwait.
Tuesday, April 24: United Kingdom, China, Taiwan, Ireland, Nigeria.
Wednesday, April 25: Latvia, Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, Bulgaria.
Thursday, April 26: Albania, Japan, Canada, Kenya, Sweden.
Friday, April 27, Swaziland, Bosnia, Thailand, Ukraine.

Flags of the 10 countries with the largest enrollments are scheduled to be raised at noon and 2 p.m.

The flag-raising ceremonies will include the national anthem of each country and other activities. The public is encouraged to attend.

"It is fitting that the importance of international people, countries and cultures on our campus and in our community be represented in a tangible way," Dr. Caillouet said. "Nothing is more symbolic of a country than its flag."

International flags also will play a prominent role in commencement exercises May 6 with a procession of flags representing each country with at least one student graduating.
Each flag will be carried by a graduate from that country. If the country has more than one student graduating, the flag will be carried by the student with the highest grade-point average.

More information about Western's Office of International Programs is available online at http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Support/AcadAffairs/International/

For more information, contact Larry Caillouet at (270) 745-7002. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.