Re: University Students Say No To Paying For Their Own Surveillance

dvanhorn wrote:
> http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/30/1522252

Foreign Students Protest New International Student Fees
http://www.thehilltoponline.com/news/2004/03/30/NationWorld/Foreign.Students.Protest.New.International.Student.Fees-645230.shtml?page=1

Foreign Students Protest New International Student Fees
By Ria Marie Davis

Refusal to pay a new foreign student fee at the University of Massachusetts
could cause about 200 international students to lose their visas. The $65
fee which appeared on students spring semester accounts would make up for
the budget cuts recently taken by the university's international student
services office. A proportion of the fee will also pay for the new Student
and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (SEVIS) program which was enacted
by Congress to track foreign students in the US and to deter terrorists from
entering the country under the pretense of student visas.

University spokesman Patrick Callahan told CNN that the budget for the
international student office was cut $240,000 last year, and the new fee
would provide a little over $200,000. He said that a small amount would help
track foreign students, as required by the law. "SEVIS is mandated," he
said, "We don't have a choice."

CNN reported that critics find the fee to be unfair because 1,600 foreign
students are being asked to pay for a system created to monitor them; and
that it is wrong to ask only foreign students to bear the costs. George Liu,
31, a graduate student from China told CNN that, "Everyone's scared, but I'm
willing to take it as far as I can. I don't want to lose my student status,
but (the fee) is an insult, because it's so discriminatory."

Students at the university will be required to pay the fee each semester.
Danielle Spencer, a junior finance major at Howard said that "the University
of Massachusetts should allocate sufficient funds for the new SEVIS system
or find another source besides international students to bear that financial
burden. Perhaps, the school can solicit more funding from the government to
assist them in implementing the system properly without placing the cost on
international students."

A junior biology major who wished to remain anonymous agreed: "I think it's
ridiculous that they would impose the fee. It is almost the same thing as
having all foreigners pay extra taxes on plane tickets to pay for airport
security and more sophisticated equipment. The ISS office provides
information to other students - not just to international students. I hope
that Howard doesn't do that."

Andy Hai Ting, a junior engineering major said that, "I think the fee,
though justified, should not be carried by the students. If this is due to
budget cuts then the University should shoulder the burden of this cost, at
least for this semester until the students have some type of prior
notification. That's the least they could do."

A message on the University of Massachusetts website said that to remain in
good standing students must meet their financial obligations by the required
deadlines. The Graduate Employment Organization, a union formed by 1,000
international graduate students at the university has encouraged students
not to pay the fee. Chris Vials, president of the GEO said school
administrators agreed to meet with opponents of the fee. He said a better
solution would be a $5 or $10 fee for all students.

Gary Warner, a senior biology major at Howard said that, "The university
should definitely be responsible for funding its own budget costs and the
fee should not be placed on the students. If it was a fairer situation
international students should be the ones to pay the fee though, because it
would be unfair for American students to pay the cost as well."




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