On Campus
Foreign students at UH staying put
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, some universities across the country are seeing a drop in their foreign student populations.
Some students from Middle Eastern countries are being urged by nervous parents to return home. Others are leaving because tensions are rising, and threats are being leveled against them.
At the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, however, there have been no reports of threats against students. With only six students from the Middle East among the thousands of foreign students, that's probably not a big surprise. UH also has one of the more diverse student bodies in the country.
Still, some professors have taken the initiative to establish "safe zones" on campus where students can turn if they feel they are being threatened or unfairly scrutinized.
"Nobody has talked about withdrawing," said Linda Duckworth, director of international student services.
It's a relief for the campus. Not only do several Hawai'i universities (among them, Hawai'i Pacific University and Brigham Young University) practically define themselves by their diverse populations, but those foreign students bring an estimated $125 million each year to the Hawai'i economy.
$4,800 raised at HCC
Students, faculty and staff at Honolulu Community College have raised $4,800 so far for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Donations from collection cans placed around campus have not been tallied yet.
HCC will donate the money in the name of Christine Snyder, an HCC and Manoa alumna who died as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorism.
Snyder, 32, worked as a landscape and planting project manager for the Outdoor Circle, a nonprofit environmental group, and was highly respected in Hawai'i's tight-knit circle of tree professionals.
She was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field after it was hijacked.
Families of Freedom
There are national efforts within higher-education circles to respond to the terrorist attacks.
The Minnesota-based Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of American has established the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, and Harvard University has contributed $1 million to launch the effort. Former President Bill Clinton and former Sen. Bob Dole are co-chairmen of the campaign.
All the money donated to this new scholarship fund will pay tuition, fees and living expenses for thousands of dependents of those lost in the recent terrorist attacks. None of the contributions will be used for administrative expenses.
More information on the fund can be found at on the CSFA Web site.
Individuals can donate money or apply for a scholarship online or by calling, toll-free, 800-335-1102. Or they can donate by mail by making a check payable to Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America designating the "Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund" and mail it to CSFA, 1501 Riverview Road, PO Box 297, St. Peter, MN 56082. CSFA is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all donations to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund are tax-deductible.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
