Christian organizations at colleges in the Washington area, including George Mason and the University of Maryland, are working hard to contact Chinese students to either convert or at least give them information about Christianity, according to The Washington Post, but members of the AU Christian community say Chinese students have not been singled out here.
Most Chinese students do not know anything about Christianity because the religion is highly scrutinized by the government in China, according to The Post.
The Christian organizations collect the names of students from friends while they are still in China and e-mail them. They then pick them up at the airport when the students get to the United States and bring them back to temporary housing where the students mingle and are taught the Bible, according to The Post.
Li Zeng, president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association and a second year graduate student in the School of International Service, said he has not heard of anything like that happening at AU.
"I don't think that this report is quite valid," Li said. "I don't think that this is a significant thing that is going on."
Li did mention a Christian group for AU international students called Global Friends, an inter-campus partnership between students and Christian organizations seeking to promote friendship and cultural understanding. Although they hold a free dinner every week for students, they do not pressure anyone to convert, he said. Global Friends did not return phone calls requesting comment.
"They didn't try to convert me or talk about religion that much," Li said.
Kate Zhang, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, is also a member of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. She said she has not been approached by any Christian groups on campus. Zhang has also been to many dinners hosted by Global Friends, but she said she has never felt that they were trying to convert her.
"They talk about religion and we do pray together," Zhang said. "But they're fine with the diversity of the group."
Mike Godzwa, spiritual adviser for the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, said the group does not pay special attention to any one group.
"We don't target one particular group," Godzwa said. "We're open to everybody."
George L. Ramsey Jr., outreach coordinator for ReJoyce in Jesus Campus Fellowship, said ReJoyce doesn't target a particular group of students.
"We try to reach out to any student," Ramsey said. "We don't care where they're from - we don't distinguish."
Rachel Jankowsky, a sophomore in the CAS and a member of The Gathering, a Christian group on campus, echoed Godzwa and Ramsey's sentiments.
"I haven't ever seen that at AU," Jankowsky said. "We're here for everybody. We don't have any specific groups that we try to reach."
Mark Schaefer, the United Methodist Chaplain at Kay Spiritual Life Center, said targeting Chinese students in particular is not happening in AU campus ministry.
"We would never have something that targeted," he said.
