U.S. colleges see fewer students from Islamic countries

KANSAS CITY, Mo – The war on terrorism appears to be

deterring young people from Islamic countries from studying in the

United States, according to national figures released this

week.

The number of Middle East students attending colleges and

universities fell 10 percent last fall, the Institute of

International Education reported Monday.

In addition, more than one-fourth of 276 educational

institutions surveyed last month reported significant declines this

fall in new students from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United

Arab Emirates.

The findings are predictable, educators say, given the crackdown

at U.S. borders since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But they also

are a concern, the educators say, because the United States should

be building bridges with those countries instead of pushing them

away.

“I think the United States has sent out a message,

intentionally or unintentionally, to students from certain parts of

the world that they are not as welcome as they used to be, and that

is very unfortunate,” said Joe Potts, director of

international student and scholar services at the University of

Kansas.

Overall, the Institute of International Education’s annual

Open Doors survey showed that the number of international students

studying in the United States slowed to a 0.6 percent increase last

fall, compared with fall 2001. It was the smallest increase since

1995-96.

Strong increases in students from India, Korea and Kenya offset

significant decreases from the Middle East, Indonesia, Thailand and

Malaysia, said Peggy Blumenthal, the institute’s vice

president for educational services.

The decreases are blamed on the federal government’s new

visa application process, a sluggish world economy and increased

competition for students from countries such as the United Kingdom

and Australia, Blumenthal said.

Last year was the first year that potential students faced

stepped-up screening, Blumenthal said. Because several Sept. 11

hijackers entered the United States on student visas, the U.S.

government initiated more one-on-one interviews with potential

students and conducted more thorough background checks.

“A lot of students may have just decided not to apply or

tried to apply and gotten caught up in delays or felt uncomfortable

… in terms of how people would feel about having them on

campus,” Blumenthal said.

Potential international students probably continued to feel

uncertain this fall, Blumenthal said, knowing the U.S. government

was implementing a new computerized student tracking system.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System required

colleges and universities to put all data on international students

in a central computer database by Aug. 1. Federal authorities can

tap into that database at any time.

Potts said a federal procedure called Special Registration could

be keeping some students away.

The procedure requires international students from selected

countries, mostly Muslim nations, to be photographed and

fingerprinted by immigration officials. Each time they leave or

enter the United States, they must be photographed and

fingerprinted again. They also are restricted to using certain

airports.

“It is the kind of thing that creates a feeling of

resentment among students,” Potts said.

Ariful Huq, president of the University of Kansas’ student

Muslim organization, said he had no problems when he registered

last winter with an Immigration and Naturalization Service office

in Kansas City. He can accept the new security requirements, he

said, as long as authorities treat him fairly and with respect.

Huq, a 21-year-old junior from Malaysia, said Muslim students

had mixed feelings about the new requirements. Many are afraid to

go home for a visit, he said.

He would like to go home, but his parents don’t think he

should.

“My dad was like, ‘No, you are not coming back. You

can’t take a break. What if you cannot come back in the

(United States)?’”

Diane Carroll
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)

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