It’s actually not different treatment IMO - by MIT or the US government. Suspended students have to leave campus and go home. But “home” just happens to be outside the United States for international students. Non US citizens do not have the right to stay on in the US.
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Good point!
would MIT take the same position – move along, nothing to see here – if international students were catcalling or otherwise harassing young women on or even off campus? Women administrators?
I don’t think so but MIT position on this subject makes me so happy that my DD graduated already and not on MIT campus anymore. MIT Hillel is trying their best to support jewish students on campus but MIT administration is no help
I actually cannot find a primary source that indicates MIT acted this way to save international students from getting deported. Can someone point me to a reliable source? Thanks
post #513 above.
That’s paywalled. What does it say?
If they indeed acted this way, that’s inappropriate. But before we malign MIT I’d like to validate this allegation.
Thank you, that helps.
I disagree with MIT’s response.
When students come to study in the US they agree to abide by the rules of the college they attend, and meet other conditions of their visa. Same for any of us when we visit a foreign country, whether on a visa or a visa waiver - we are bound by the rules of the country we visit. It’s not MIT’s responsibility to save students from facing the consequences of their actions.
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Or otherwise committing ‘real’ crimes like theft, arson, physical assault? I think all the rules needs to be enforced the same way. If the code of conduct says you will be expelled or suspended for XXX, then that should apply to all. If there are other consequences (off the sports team, lose scholarship that covers housing) then that’s part of the punishment.
When I travel to other countries, I agree to follow their rules and laws.
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I will add though, that the letter says there were protestors and counter-protestors. Presumably there were international students in both groups, and the visa issue would apply equally to them all.
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Letter from 100+ Harvard faculty to President Gay:
“Nor can arguments that characterize Israel as an “apartheid" state or its recent actions as “ethnic cleansing” or even “genocide” be considered automatically antisemitic, regardless of whether one concurs with such arguments….
…your delineation of the limits of acceptable expression on our campus is dangerously one-sided…
Singling (the phrase "from the river to the sea) out as necessarily implying removalism or even eliminationism…is imprudent as a matter of university policy and badly misjudged as an act of moral leadership.”
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Not included in the story above was this response to the announcement:
"Northwestern University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) quickly turned to social media in response to Schill’s statement, posting a picture of an archway at Northwestern University with a Palestinian flag, and big red letters that read, “From the River to the Sea.” The post is also directed to Northwestern University and the Northwestern University president.
A group of anti-Israel individuals also allegedly posted a drawing of Schill with devil horns added to his head."
And the next time they go to discipline someone for conduct, they won’t have a leg to stand on when the student says they selectively choose which policies to enforce and when.
It especially bothers me that there are a lot of qualified applicants abroad and right here in the US - as these schools say, there are more qualified applicants than there is room for. Many of them would be grateful for the opportunity and respectful of the policies they agree to when they enroll (and in case of international students when they sign the dotted line of their visa agreement). They’ve signed a contract.
I understand the desire to broaden experience by bringing on international students but anyone who doesn’t then abide by policies, abide by the contract with no consequences, it’s a slap in the face of otherwise qualified applicants who didn’t get in. Some may even be here on scholarship which I don’t know if they come with their own stipulations as far as conduct.
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When you don’t follow their rules, many countries don’t hesitate to imprison you let alone send you packing.
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Some action at universities:
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I agree, as per my previous post. But this can go both ways. MIT states there were protestors on both sides and that many violated their guidelines and policies. MIT’s website also shows they have 13 Israeli students and 1 Gazan student.
I have no idea who was present at these protests and what their citizenship status is, but honest question to posters…
What would your reaction be to a headline like this?
“Israeli student forced to leave MIT, go back home after speaking up against Oct 7th attacks”.
I’m guessing MIT didn’t want to handle the backlash they’d receive from stories like this.
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Fair enough, but I think it should do the right thing (ie, enforce its rules) regardless of citizenship/country of the student violating terms or what the headlines/optics would be. If that means the consequences are some Israeli and some Palestinian students are sent back home due to suspension, that’s where the chips fall.
It can’t be just because they were protesting though - it has to be because of violation of policies that would otherwise result in suspension or expulsion (eg.; hitting someone). And if implemented correctly then, the headline that “Israeli students were sent back for speaking out against attacks” would be a distortion of facts. If the reason for suspension was not due to their “speaking out” but due to them physically assaulting another student in course of speaking out.
The current headlines/optics aren’t great either.
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Yes, of course. MIT’s statement says the protestors and counter protestors were violating rules on “time, place and manner”, and:
“Some students from both the protest and counterprotest may have violated other MIT policies, as well.”
Agreed. But MIT may have caught itself in a no-win situation.
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