University President Henry Bienen and other top officials at schools nationwide recently expressed outrage about a U.S. governmental proposal that would prohibit certain international students from enrolling in courses that could assist them in weapons production.
Bienen said although the legislation has good intentions, it will do little to prevent terrorism in the United States. He spoke out against the proposal Monday at a conference in Washington with other presidents in the Association of American Universities.
“(The legislation) will see a huge outcry in the universities because they’ll think it’s a terrible idea and they’ll also think it’s an unpoliceable idea,” Bienen said. “I think most terrorists have no capacity to take these courses or, if they’re really serious and they’re good physicists, they can take them somewhere else.”
President Bush in November formed a committee to identify potential courses that could contain material that should be blocked from foreign students. The panel, which does not include college officials, is part of Bush’s “Combating Terrorism Through Immigration Policies” initiative to improve homeland security.
Bienen said the proposal was inefficient, impractical and unpoliceable.
For example, if the legislation passed, Bienen said a foreign-born student trying to transfer into a class mid-quarter might need the federal government’s approval to do so.
“By the time we’d hear from (the government), everyone would be a professor emeritus,” he said.
Another government initiative calls for careful scrutiny of students trying to enter the country with visas, which Bienen said he and most AAU presidents support.
“That’s the government’s job – it’s not our job,” Bienen said.
AAU leaders wrote to U.S. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge in early April requesting that the government make it more difficult for people to get into the United States rather than restrict the courses they could take once they arrive.
Ravi Shankar, director of the International Office, said though he did not think the legislation would help in preventing terrorism, it would be difficult to speculate on the effects of the legislation unless it is implemented.
“One thing is for sure: We have to double our efforts in making sure international students know they are welcome and that they have a safe and comfortable environment at Northwestern,” he said.
One post-doctoral fellow in the chemical engineering department has had a delay in obtaining a visa to study in the United States, said Prof. William Miller, chairman of the chemical engineering department.
Miller said the effects of the law would depend on how the government defines what classes could assist in weapon production, which could range from nuclear engineering to “anything that makes you technically more competent.”
“With a strict interpretation, I think we’d be OK,” Miller said. “But if it’s a very loose interpretation, even if it includes synthesizing chemicals for drugs – yes, that could be a problem.”
Applications may decrease from international students if they feel the United States is hostile toward them, Miller said.
“If people get the idea that they’re going to be very much restricted in what they’re going to do here, (applications could decrease),” he said. “If we were no longer able to have international students, it would definitely decrease the overall quality.”
Bienen said the law also could deprive the United States of qualified researchers and workers.
“The country has a deficit of trained engineers, physicists and computer scientists and makes it up by the brain drain,” Bienen said. “Some of those folks stay here forever. … The country is overwhelmingly benefited.”
