PSU’s president denounces change that could see international students deported if class moves online
Penn State President Eric Barron railed Wednesday night against “very harmful” changes surrounding the Student and Exchange Visitor’s Program (SEVP) that would see international students deported if they cannot take at least one in-person class.
Barron released an open letter to the Penn State community in which he denounced the program’s Monday modifications. Under the program, overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students could not take a full online course load and remain in the U.S.
In other words, if Penn State would move to online-only classes — something it’s not planning on but hasn’t ruled out — many of its international students would be forced to transfer to a school with in-person classes or return home. More than 7,000 international students were enrolled at University Park in 2018, according to the university.
“Our nation’s colleges and universities are doing everything they can to keep their students, faculty and staff safe and healthy this fall while continuing their educational missions,” Barron wrote. “Doing so requires the flexibility to deliver some or all of their courses remotely. At Penn State alone, this edict could have a disastrous and unfair impact on thousands of our students.
“We will do all that we can to see that this extremely negative impact is not the case and that this unfortunate directive does not derail the educational ambitions of our international students. They are a welcome, enriching and vital part of our community, belong on our campuses and have every right to finish their degrees at Penn State.”
Barron announced Wednesday that the university is joining with the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities, and other universities “in calling for the immediate rescission of these troubling rules.” It is also joining an amicus brief, a legal document that formally supports another party, in the hopes of bolstering Harvard and MIT’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
More than 5,700 people have already signed on to a Penn State-centric petition, urging the university to maintain in-person classes for international students. In the interim, Barron said the university is “exploring various means” to keep all students on campus, adding more information will be released in the coming weeks.
Barron asked concerned students to contact the Directorate of International Student and Scholar Advising at 814-865-6348 (Option 2) or submit a question online at iStart.gp.psu.edu. He also pointed students toward a backgrounder and FAQ created by Penn State Global Programs and the Penn State Law Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic.
“We cannot assail this unjust edict enough,” Barron wrote, “but if it remains, we will do everything in our power to support our international students as they work to finish their degrees on campus.”
