University issues support for international students

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State University Muslim students and faculty are nervous about President Donald Trump’s executive order establishing a temporary immigration ban for seven Muslim-majority nations, said Gulay Yazar, president of the YSU Muslim Student Association.

But Yazar said at Wednesday’s campus forum on “The Impact of the Recent Immigration Ban on Our Academic Programs,” a message of support of international students emailed to students and faculty by YSU President Jim Tressel “was a big relief for many.”

About 50 YSU students, faculty and others attended the forum organized by Taci Turel, associate professor in the Merchandising: Fashion Interiors Program and the Department of Human Technology.

In his email, Tressel said the university’s International Programs Office would provide assistance to those affected. There are 315 international students enrolled at YSU, seven from countries named in President Trump’s ban. Tressel urged students who plan to travel internationally to first call the IPO at 330-941-2336.

Turel said while a federal court placed a stay on the president’s ban, it was important to discuss the potential negative impact on the university’s academic programs and personnel.

Part of YSU’s strategic plan is to increase globalization and diverse opportunities on its campus, said Martin A. Abraham, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

The university’s students become better global citizens by interacting with YSU’s 400 international students, Abraham said.

“They give you a different perspective. We think these experiences benefit our students,” he said.

One of the challenges to the university’s academic programs is the uncertainty of what may be coming, Abraham said.

For example, if international conferences do not take place in the United States because of the ban on entry to this country, that might keep international students and staff away. That would make it more difficult for YSU staff and students to participate in those valuable learning experiences, Abraham said.

Originally from Germany, Peter Norris, Ph.D., professor of organic chemistry, described immigrating to the U.S. as a “long, difficult process. People come here for the opportunities, and the U. S. has benefited from immigrants,” Norris said.

The immigration ban threatens American higher education, Turel added.

“The U.S. attracts the brightest and best international students; but by preventing them from coming here, we may lose them to other nations,” she said.

Talk of a ban also can have personal impacts.

Yazar, a naturalized citizen who is a student in the YSU School of Nursing, said her 14-year-old daughter continually asks: “Are we going to be deported? Where will we go?”