Mideast students in U.S. face decision: go or stay?

Hundreds of foreign college students, including two at YSU from Kuwait, have gone home since the terrorist attacks.
By RON COLE
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- When suicide terrorists struck the United States last month, Abdou Ayoub was torn.
His heart told him to go home to Lebanon, to the security of his parents, brother and sister.
His head told him to stay in Youngstown, where he's a junior majoring in electrical engineering on a full scholarship at Youngstown State University.
"I had to weigh the options," said Ayoub, 19, who grew up in war-torn Beirut before moving to Ohio two years ago on a student visa.
"I could go home to be with my family, but I know if I leave, I might never get back in."
So, even though the fallout of the U.S. terror attacks have left him uncertain and longing for his family, Ayoub is staying put.
"I don't want to get stuck out of the country," he said.
Others go: Others like Ayoub, however, are leaving.
Dozens of Middle Eastern students attending Ohio colleges, including two Youngstown State University students from Kuwait, have left the United States in light of the terrorist attacks.
Twenty-five international students at Ohio State University, four from the University of Akron and one from Kent State University have gone home. In Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh reports six students have left.
Hundreds of Middle Eastern students nationwide have fled the country since the Sept. 11 attacks, including 48 at the University of Arizona, 41 at the University of Colorado at Denver and 45 at the University of Missouri, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week.
Although many are leaving for fear of reprisals against Arabs, others are going home at the request of their families, said Dr. Sylvia Jimenez Hyre, director of YSU's International Studies and Programs.
"Their families are concerned," Hyre said about the two YSU Kuwaiti students who left last weekend but plan to return in January for the spring semester. "They'd rather have them back home until they can see how things develop."
"They wanted to be with families and have that support," Dr. David Ayers, director of the University of Akron's international programs, said about the three Saudi Arabian students and one Afghan student who went home.
Hyre said the Kuwaiti government paid to fly the two YSU students home. She said the Saudi government has made the same offer.
Small portion: The departures represent a small fraction of foreign students in the country. YSU, for example, enrolls 250 international students. Ohio State has more than 4,000, Akron enrolls 715 and Kent State, 770.
"These students come from families who, by and large, have sacrificed a fair amount in order to send a student to the United States for an education," said Dr. Charles Nieman, associate director of international programs at Kent State.
"For a family to turn around and say, 'Come home,' particularly in light of how difficult it is to get a visa in our consulates around the world, I think would be an extreme move."
That's a big reason why Ayoub is staying put in Youngstown.
His background: Ayoub, whose family owns a print shop in Lebanon, said he grew up in Beirut ducking sniper fire and running from shelter to shelter with his family.
He has relatives in Cleveland and moved to the United States in 1999 to attend Cuyahoga Community College on a student visa that allows him to pursue a bachelor's degree. In spring 2000, he transferred to YSU. When Ayoub completes his degree, he must return to Lebanon, unless he pursues a master's degree or gets a working visa.
A brown-eyed teen-ager with his hair pulled into a ponytail, Ayoub fears that even a quick trip home now may result in difficulty returning.
"I don't want to risk it," he said.
Fueled by reports that at least one of the hijackers in the attacks was in the United States on a student visa, U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., has proposed a six-month moratorium on new student visas.
Local college officials said a moratorium would be devastating. Hyre estimated that as many as 100 foreign students planning to attend YSU in the spring and next fall would be denied entry into the country.
At the University of Akron, about 200 foreign students could be affected, and as many as 300 at Kent State.
Of the 31.4 million visas issued annually for foreigners to enter the United States, less than 2 percent are student visas, Hyre said.
"It seems to be a bit of an over-reaction," Ayers said about the proposed moratorium.
Many visas: Nieman said the United States grants millions of visas for diplomatic, business, tourist, religious and family reasons.
"We're saying that out of all of the possibilities to come to the United States, we really don't trust our students," he said. "I understand the desire to do something, and I support that, but I don't support targeting the student population."
Hyre said foreign students will just go elsewhere to study.
"We have a lot of competition with England, New Zealand, Australia," she said. "The students will go where they're welcome."
cole@vindy.com