Dear SLU Community from an International Student
I hope everyone is doing well in this time of uncertainty.
My name is Mauricio Montes and I am an international student at St. Lawrence University. ICE recently posted a press release stating that international students at hybrid institutions must remain enrolled, take most of their courses in-person and stay in the US in order to maintain their legal visa status.
As you may know, if one fails to do so, they have to reapply for a student visa for the upcoming semesters, which is perpetually impossible as US embassies are suspending visa interviews in all countries until further notice (this has been in place since March).
Many of your students also come from countries where borders are closed, or flights to and from the US have been significantly reduced. Your students would have nowhere to go, nowhere to be deported to and will be subject to the policies that cover deported immigrants, which in recent months have proven to have questionable enforcement.
Furthermore, there is a multitude of challenges that we, as international students, now have to face in order to continue our education at St. Lawrence, such enrollment plans, travel plans and expenses (limited flights have caused prices to rise), and now, legal repercussions.
To top it all of, we only have a month to make all of these plans. I hope you understand the significant amount of stress that the huge international student community has to face in this uncertain time.
I would like to request that action is taken by SLU’s administration to accommodate this new rule. One suggestion is that more in-person classes are rolled out to accommodate all international students who are returning for fall. Of course, if these could have flexible attendance requirements and/or strictly enforce safe distance measures, that would be ideal. Anything to put “in-person classes” on our visa can keep us a student at SLU.
I would also hope to see a campus-wide letter or notice that reassures that action, and what action, is being taken to keep our international community safe in the United States during our time at SLU. Lastly, at your capacity, I implore you to advocate for this policy to be reconsidered, or measures to be taken to keep F1 visas viable at this time of crisis.
International students play a big part of the SLU community. I personally applied to be a student here because of the huge percentage of international enrollment SLU prides itself in. I hope that the administration reflects its passion to include us in this academic community in its response to this news release by ICE.
Sign this petition to create an in-person class to allow international students to be at SLU this fall: https://www.change.org/p/st-lawrence-university-create-1-guaranteed-in-person-class-for-international-students-at-st-lawrence-university?recruiter=552701873&recruited_by_id=2414a5b0-2c44-11e6-b098-ff82fccc33cc&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=share_petition
Sincerely,
Mauricio Montes.