Globalization is cool

I'm all about globalization. I'm globalization's biggest fan. I say open the borders. Let's offshore and outsource. Let information flow freely. Globalization will be what fights poverty and terrorism and ultimately bring equality among the nations. Don't believe it? Read The World is Flat, and you'll be a believer.

One of the things I hate about Americans is that 99.8% of us only know one language - English. And sometimes even that is questionable. So I love globalization and I hate that we only know one language. So why do my feathers get ruffled when students come to a graduate program in this country and can't speak English?

If I was going to school in France (here I go on the French, again), you could bet your bottom dollar that not only would there be sunshine tomorrow, but I would learn French hard and fast before I set foot upon the tiled floors of their MBA school. And I would bet another dollar that those French bastards wouldn't admit me unless I could prove that I learned French hard and fast.

So why does Duke - and most other American b-schools, for that matter - proceed to admit students who can't speak English? Not only do they suffer, but so do we. And because we can't communicate, we regulate ourselves to our own ethnic enclaves and don't learn from each other. It's painful to hold a conversation with someone when they speak at 1/472 the speed that I do. I'm patient, I really am. But it's not only painful, it's frustrating because you can never get your idea truly across.

So b-schools of America, listen up. Do us all a favor and let's follow in the footsteps of our peers. Don't admit international students unless you can make damn sure that they are proficient in English. Then open the gates. Let globalization in. After all, you can't truly globalize unless you can communicate.