Stacia Datskovska is a student at New York University majoring in journalism and international relations. During her studies, it was mandatory to take a semester in an exchange program, and Stacia decided to choose Italy and then wrote about her experience in a column she had published in Initiated . Staciu probably didn’t anticipate the reaction this little column would get, but it got a huge amount of attention and Insider media received heavy criticism for posting a column like this that was supposed to invite hate and cyberbullying against the author.
Stacia found her exchange program boring, to say the least. She had to share an apartment with seven other girls who were also American exchange students. At first, she found it an exciting thought.
“I imagined fun Pauline nights with my housemates, summer love affairs with people who called me ‘bella’, gelato ice cream that ran down my fingers in the heat, and natural wines that went extremely well with a good conversation. and even better raw ham.”
However, the reality was different. The housemates spent their free time traveling to other European countries as cheap plane tickets are available. She was often alone and it annoyed her that no one in the exchange program had the same focus as her. She also thought Italians were rude. She expected to be welcomed with open arms, but instead felt that she was looked down upon and that Italians generally didn’t like exchange students very much.
She was also frustrated that life at home in New York went on without her and that she felt her time was wasted in Italy.
“However, all this should not deter students from going to Florence.” My feelings don’t reflect the experience of all college students, but I can’t be the only one who found studying abroad a nightmare.”
It can be said that the article provoked a strong reaction. Staica has been criticized for privilege blindness. Not everyone is able to participate in an exchange program, and instead of being grateful, she clearly had a culture shock when she discovered that Italy is not the way the country is depicted in American films.
Finding out that Florence isn’t New York and that Europeans aren’t Americans must have been brutal.
— Sabina Ciofu (@SabinaCiofu) March 14, 2023
an american travels to italy and discovers that it’s a real country, not her personal aesthetic playground
— alice and the six (@ivysiIlicit) March 15, 2023
That this broad has the nerve to call the *Italians* rude when she literally expects everyone around her to larp her a Chick Lit fantasy is *maddening. *
— Robyn Pennacchia (@RobynElyse) March 14, 2023
Others pointed out that here Insider clearly censored the article and edited it in an unfortunate way. The article should never have been published in this way, as it was intended to provoke hatred from Stacia, who probably had no idea how the article would be received. There, Insider was guilty of sacrificing Stacia for clicks.
posting this is professional misconduct
—Dan Kois (@dankois) March 14, 2023
This is a very dumb article but whenever I see this kind of “young person casually writing about something” out in the wild I just think of the editor exploiting this writer
— Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy) March 15, 2023
Sometimes undergraduates have to be saved from themselves. It shouldn’t have been published.
— Anna Ivey (@AnnaIvey) March 14, 2023
Her: I want to write an article about my privileged experience of traveling to Italy and hating the people, the culture, the sights and everything else. I also want the piece to root in my overzealous sense of smugness. Insider Editor: …I’m listening.
— Pre-order Salma Makes a Home! Release May 9! (@TheDannyRamadan) March 15, 2023
First of all, there is no way a decent editor will approve this article.
Second, this is possibly one of the most self-centered nonsense I’ve read in a very long time, where this person answers most of their questions themselves with alarming speed.
—Julien Hoez (@JulienHoez) March 15, 2023
1) yes, the publisher operates 2) but how many page impressions will this have now? 3) almost guaranteed a follow-up editorial
— OJ Campbell (@oliveverjames) March 15, 2023
However, one woman agreed with Stacia. Amanda Knox wrote on Twitter: “Girl what are you talking about? It’s great to study abroad.”
For those who don’t remember, Amanda Know was an exchange student in Italy when she was wrongfully convicted of the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Amanda spent almost four years in an Italian prison until she was acquitted by the Italian Supreme Court.
Amanda was executed by the media while her case was in court where she was portrayed as a monster.
“I was not innocent until proven guilty.” I was a dirty whore on drugs and there was no reason for that title, but it caught people’s imaginations,” she said in an interview with The Guardian at the time. She pointed out that the real killer was convicted but hardly anyone knows his name, Rudy Guede, after all all the media was focusing on her.
Girl, what are you talking about? Studying abroad is great!
— Amanda Knox (@amandaknox) March 15, 2023
Stacia doesn’t appear to have commented on the backlash to her post, but she has locked her Twitter and Instagram accounts, after trying to respond to some of the hurtful cyberbullying directed at her in recent days.
