[Peace-discuss] (Chron High Ed) Bush Administration May Bar Some International Students From 'Sensitive' Academic Fields

[Rosemary Braun]

Source: Chronicle of Higher Education, Mon 15 Apr 2002
        http://chronicle.com/free/2002/04/2002041501n.htm

  BUSH ADMINISTRATION MAY BAR SOME INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FROM 'SENSITIVE'
  ACADEMIC FIELDS

  By STEPHEN BURD

  President Bush is considering barring some international students
  from studying in certain academic fields, including areas that have
  a "direct application to the development and use of weapons of mass
  destruction," according to administration documents.

  Since November, a committee made up of officials from the White House's
  Office of Science and Technology Policy and representatives from several
  cabinet-level departments has held meetings to discuss whether there are
  "sensitive courses of study" from which foreigners should be restricted.

  Those talks, from which college officials have been excluded, have
  alarmed educators, who are worried that they are going to be required
  to restrict foreign students on their campuses from taking courses in
  fields like nuclear technology, chemical engineering,  biotechnology,
  advanced computer technology, and robotics.

  "People on campus are as concerned as all Americans are about the
  prospect of another terrorist attack," says Sarah A.  Flanagan, vice
  president for government relations at the National Association of
  Independent Colleges and Universities.  "But in protecting ourselves,
  we should not be giving up the very freedoms that we are fighting
  to protect."

  College officials are pressing the administration to include them
  in the discussions. "We understand that they are talking about
  national-security issues and that some of these discussions have to
  take place in secret," says George Leventhal, a policy analyst with
  the Association of American Universities, which represents more than
  60 research universities in the United States and Canada. "But if the
  government is going to issue a new policy that affects universities,
  clearly universities want to be consulted first."

  Administration officials on the panel say that they are keeping the
  concerns of colleges in mind.

  "We're working very hard to balance the needs of enhancing homeland
  security with our recognition of the valuable contributions that
  international students make to our academic communities," says Jim
  Griffin, the assistant director for social and behavioral sciences at
  the White House science-policy office.

  President Bush created the panel on October 29, when he issued a
  presidential directive on homeland security, the subject of which was
  "Combating Terrorism Through Immigration Policies."  The directive
  states, "The government shall implement measures to end the abuse
  of student visas and prohibit certain international students from
  receiving education and training in sensitive areas, including areas
  of study with direct application to the development and use of weapons
  of mass destruction."

  In his directive, the president does not identify any specific
  areas of study that would be problematic, but instead calls for the
  creation of "an interagency working group" to do so.  The panel is
  made up of leaders from the science-policy office, the U.S. Office
  of Homeland Security, and the Justice and State Departments, as well
  as other law-enforcement, intelligence, and counter-intelligence
  officials. Also participating in the discussions are representatives
  from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation,
  and the Departments of Education and Energy.

  In addition to identifying sensitive courses, the panel is also
  directed to recommend ways that the federal government can better
  screen applicants for student visas and more closely monitor foreign
  students who enter the country.

  College officials and lobbyists say that the government should focus
  its efforts on trying to make it harder for terrorists to get into the
  United States, rather than trying to limit the educational options
  of foreign students who have been permitted to attend colleges in
  the country.

  "Universities want to work with the administration to support the
  efforts to keep dangerous people out of the country in the first place,"
  says Mr. Leventhal. "Persons who pose a real security threat to the
  United States should not be granted a student visa."

  College officials say that the administration needs to keep in mind the
  contributions that many foreign students in this country have made to
  their fields. Ms. Flanagan wonders whether it is really in the country's
  interest to shut foreign students out of certain courses. "Suppose we
  had not let [Secretary General] Kofi Annan [of the United Nations]
  or the king of Jordan study in this country," she says. "How would
  they feel about us now?"

  Some university officials also note that in certain scientific fields,
  universities heavily depend on foreign students and would not be able
  to fill their classrooms without them. "A major issue for our nation
  is that our native-born students are not sufficiently interested or
  are not being inspired to pursue science and engineering degrees,"
  M.R.C. Greenwood, chancellor of the  University of California at
  Santa Cruz, said at a meeting of the American Association for the
  Advancement of Science on Thursday. "If we block access to foreign
  students, who is going to do the research of the future, and who will
  be our faculty of the future?"

  Mr. Griffin says that the panel's members understand that the United
  States "has benefited greatly" from the presence of international
  students and that the government will continue to foster and support
  foreign students.

  The panel is planning to release a policy document soon, Mr.
  Griffin says, outlining its recommendations. Among them, he says,
  is one that will call on the administration to consult "the academic
  and scientific communities" before putting in place any new policies.

  The college groups worry, however, that they will be consulted too
  late to have any influence on the policy. The Association of American
  Universities and the American Council on Education are expected to
  send a letter this week to the Bush administration asking for greater
  involvement in the discussions.

  Copyright 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education

-- 
rosemary braun  :: theoretical biophysics, univ. illinois ::  braun at uiuc.edu 
vocation www.ks.uiuc.edu/~braun :: avocation www.ks.uiuc.edu/~braun/personal