U.S. Universities Continue Efforts to Make Foreign Students Comfortable

By Jane A. Morse
Washington File, senior writer

For students returning home, parental pressure the main reason

Washington -- Universities around the United States are continuing efforts to make foreign students feel comfortable on their campuses in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

There are more than 3500 institutions of higher education in the United States, many with substantial numbers of international students. According to the American Council on Education, about 40,000 of the 570,000 foreign students in the United States are from Arab countries.

Although foreign students in general comprise less than 4 percent of the 14 million college students in the United States, American institutions of higher education are eager to have them.

Marlene M. Johnson, the executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a U.S. professional organization whose members work with international students, issued a statement that said that even during the difficult aftermath of the September 11 tragedies, "the higher education community has been unequivocal in its strong commitment to and appreciation for the international students and scholars in our country."

Foreign students are seen as providing a global outlook to campus activities and contributing to the educational experience of American students.

Stories have appeared in American newspapers describing incidents of harassment against students of Middle Eastern and Islamic heritage. But the situation on most campuses is much calmer than the press would portray it, and for those students who have returned home, parental pressure was the chief motivation.

According to Johnson, "Incidents of harassment, though isolated, have raised anxieties. Some (foreign) students have wondered if they should go home. Thankfully, only a handful of the half-million international students currently in our country have chosen to do so."

An informal survey conducted by International Information Programs at the State Department showed a common pattern in university responses to the shock generated by the tragedies at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon:

• University presidents widely distributed statements urging calm and condemning any acts of intolerance against Muslims.
• Vigils were held to stress peace and respect for Muslims in the United States.
• University officials contacted Muslims students through phone calls or e-mail to check on their well being and to offer guidance in dealing with the emotional turmoil engendered by the September 11 violence.
• Universities set up Internet websites designed to keep students informed of actions taken by U.S. government agencies (such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service), which might affect them.

A tough stance against intolerance characterized most of the statements issued by university presidents. "Intolerant behavior is unacceptable on our campus," Richard Freeland, president of Northeastern University, said in a letter issued to all the university community located in Boston, Massachusetts. "When incidents occur, we will investigate them vigorously, find the perpetrators and involve the proper local and federal authorities responsible for prosecuting hate crimes. We will not waver in our commitment to the safety of all members of our community."

Peter Stearns, provost at George Mason University near Washington, D.C., set faculty guidelines that called for "respect for different views and avoidance of inflammatory language; openness to personal stories and feelings; willingness to listen to anger within limits while also making it clear that the environment must remain safe for all students."

Websites have proven especially useful in keeping students abreast of developments. According to Julia Findlay, director for George Mason's Office of International Programs and Services, university officials have taken great pains to minimize rumors and fears.

A website called "September 11 Ongoing Updates" (http://www.gmu.edu/mlnavbar/sitemap/findex.html) and a campus newsletter keep students apprised of the most recent developments that might impact them in the aftermath of the tragedies.

In an interview with the Washington File, Findlay said that immediately after the September 11 events, her office sent e-mail messages to all the international students asking them to talk to university staff.

"Many of them did," Findlay reported. "We took the time to sit down with them and asked them how they were coping and how they were feeling. Several were quite open to talking with us and sharing their experiences; and they were expressing real fear -- being unable to think about classes, wanting to watch TV all the time, and just being really nervous about how they might be perceived or treated."

The university's counseling center has had its personnel out around campus conducting "drop-in dialogues," Findlay said. "It was really a chance for students to vent, and they did," she said.

Despite their anxieties, only about 10 of the approximately 350 Arab and Muslim students enrolled at George Mason have withdrawn from their classes, Findlay said. The departing students have told university official that they plan to return in the spring. "The university was actually very supportive and proactive about reimbursements for students who were leaving," Findlay said.

George Mason officials have not received any reports of attacks or harassment of Middle Eastern Students, Findlay reported. Campus police, she said, were and are "extremely visible" and took time to talk to students to reassure them.

At the University of Michigan, which has more than 1600 Middle Eastern students on its campuses, the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching put out comprehensive guidance for instructors advising them how to encourage discussions about the September 11 tragedies. While encouraging the free discussions of feelings, it cautions: "It is important that students not be doubly hurt by this tragedy -- first by the horrific news that has shaken us all, and second, by misguided generalizations."

(See: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tragedydiscussion.html)

Kay Clifford, associate director for the university's International Center, has had no reports of departures due to post-September 11 concerns. She told the Washington File: "We had two or three (incidents of harassment), but there was a lot of support from other students, so they didn't leave."

Clifford said a campus vigil brought out some 5,000 people, but a counseling service set up for the purpose of dealing with fearful students only attracted two people.

Similar calm prevails at universities with few Muslim students. East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania has only three Middle Eastern students, and none have gone home, said Bo Keppel, director for International Programs and Student Exchange. The university's response, Keppel told the Washington File, has been to hold monthly discussions for students and community residents that deal with issues such as racism and intolerance.

Frostburg State University, located just 30 miles from where the fourth hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania, has only two Middle Eastern students, according to Thomas Carr, coordinator for the Center for International Education. "Within an hour of the attacks, we asked our students to notify (their parents) that they were personally physically safe," he told the Washington File. So far there have been no problems, he said. "We've done a great deal in terms of vigils, marches, open forum kinds of things."

At Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia there are about 15 Muslim students, and some wear hijab (head scarves traditionally worn by Muslim women to conceal their hair). According to Dawn Kepets, director of International Programs there, none have left. "They have indicated that they feel safe on campus," she said.

The college has sponsored a number of discussion sessions entitled "Making Sense of Tuesday" for both international and American-born students with the goal of sharing concerns. Some American students took advantage of these sessions to express their empathy for their Muslim colleagues, Kepets said.

Student support for their Islamic comrades has been especially visible at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Non-Muslim women at the university joined in a "Scarves for Solidarity" event by wearing hijab. Members of the campus-based Women's Peace Coalition and Muslim Student Association helped distribute some 200 scarves donated by the Mecah Islamic Superstore in Dearborn, Michigan.

Ranna Daud, head of the Muslim Student Association at Wayne State University, reported that there has been no violence against Middle Eastern students, though some have been harassed verbally. Quoted by the Associated Press, Daud said that of the students around the United States who have returned home, "For the most part, it's because their parents want them back."

Shafeeq Ghabra, spokesman for the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington, D.C., told the Associated Press: "There are some students who feel anxiety. Their parents back home in Kuwait are more anxious than they are. Some would like to be together with their children."

An article published in the December 19 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, quoted Omar Shahin, director of the local Islamic Center in Tucson, Arizona, as saying that wild rumors had scared many parents into begging their children to come home.

"One of the parents who called me asked me: Can you go outside? Can you go to the mosque? Do you have food?" he said. "I said, 'What are you talking about!'"

Even for those students who left after September 11, many -- if not most -- plan to return to their studies in the United States. The University of Evansville in Illinois had 17 students return to their homes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to family pressure, according to Rhonda Hinkle, director of International Student Services. All, however, have been registered for spring 2002 courses, she said.

Twenty-four of the 62 UAE undergraduate students newly enrolled at California State University went home because of family concerns, according to Dan Joseffini, who handles international students there. But of the 198 students who had enrolled earlier, none left, he said.

Ironically, even as Middle Eastern students fear experiencing hostility as fallout of the September 11 terrorist attacks, studies are showing that the image of Muslims held by Americans is improving.

A survey done in December of 1500 American adults showed that favorable views of Muslim-Americans have risen from 45 percent in March to 59 percent today, even though 40 percent of the public think the terrorists were motivated at least in part by religion when they carried out the September 11 attacks. The nationwide survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center, an independent opinion research group.

U.S. census statistics show that Americans of Middle Eastern descent are richer and better educated than most Americans and most have found community acceptance.