February, 2004- In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress enacted the USA Patriot Act. The act requires colleges and universities to track all international students, including prospective students, and visiting faculty and researchers who enter the country by logging details about them into a federal database.
Some colleges contend that the laws unfairly restrict scientific research and impose enormous paperwork burdens. Many international students have reported extensive delays in obtaining visas to study in the U.S., while some have been jailed without legal counsel because they had allowed their student visas to expire.
How has the USA Patriot Act affected students, research efforts and administrative oversight at your college? If you have encountered any difficulties, how have you dealt with them? Would you recommend any changes to the law? How do you see the Patriot Act affecting America's standing around the world and the ability of our colleges and universities to attract international students?
Norman Fainstein
Connecticut College
(860) 439-2508
nfain@conncoll.edu
The Patriot Act raises real concerns about academic freedom, privacy, burdensome paperwork and new costs.
In January, Connecticut College had to cancel two religious studies classes because the professor, a Canadian Muslim currently studying in the U.S., was refused a TN visa. Border officials questioned him about a course he previously taught called “Religion, Race and Revolution” and his research travels in the Middle East and Bosnia.
Student advisors at Connecticut College report that international students worry about being able to re-enter the U.S. if they visit home. Paperwork abounds, and many students cannot afford a new $100 fee imposed by the government.
The Patriot Act threatens the intellectual freedom that is essential for learning, and it potentially infringes on the civil rights of faculty, staff and students. International students and professors enrich American college campuses. Anything that discourages them from being here degrades the educational experience of all students.
Frances D. Fergusson
Vassar College
(845) 437-7200
fergusson@vassar.edu
The welcoming of international students to Vassar and to many other fine colleges across the country has long been a hallmark of the education we offer. The best preparation for a life of engaged citizenship, especially in a world that daily shocks us with the results of cultural conflict, demands the development of respect for national, cultural and religious differences. Studying and living side by side with people whose customs and beliefs differ from theirs is the way young people learn that, in spite of differences, there are interests and values they have in common. When the Patriot Act interferes with the legitimate travel of international students to our campuses, which it has here and elsewhere, our government interferes with our students gaining the perspective needed to contribute to a world in which any of us can hope to feel secure. Thus our country and its educational institutions are diminished.
Larry D. Shinn
Berea College
(859) 985-3520
shinn@berea.edu
At Berea College in Kentucky there is no noticeable change in the overall number of applications from international students after the implementation of the Patriot Act. There are fewer applicants from certain (NSEERS) countries, but applications from other regions (e.g., Europe) remain constant. New requirements for reporting more data have increased the College's cost significantly due to needing more hardware, more software and more personnel. The act also costs students more due to increased fees for visas and the new $100 SEVIS fee. Since Berea only serves low-income students, these added expenses are a difficult burden. On the human side, the Patriot Act makes some students feel marginalized. Most students are "OK" with increased security measures (e.g., photographing/fingerprinting all international travelers, not just certain nationalities), yet some international students express feeling like pariahs at airports.
Elisabeth Muhlenfeld
Sweet Briar College
(434) 381-626
muhlenfeld@sbc.edu
At Sweet Briar we speak often of community, but we have students studying all over the world, so our community is global. Given the Patriot Act, we must strive for an approach that accommodates the letter of the law as well as the needs of our students, faculty and researchers. At the same time, students and faculty are debating issues of freedom and the merits of openness in a way that is not at all "academic." As we negotiate our way through a changed world, we cannot afford to lose sight of our mission and commitment to openness and diversity.
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