Lapidus stands with foreign students
‘Valued members’ of the school community
Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus on Thursday announced the university would continue to support international students in the face of federal guidelines barring them from institutions conducting classes entirely online.
Lapidus said these rules will pose great hardship to international students who wish to continue their studies.
“I want our international students to know they are valued members of the Fitchburg State community and we are working on their behalf in the hopes they can remain with us,” he said.
Last Monday, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released guidelines that state international students attending colleges and universities operating online this fall will not be allowed to remain in the country.
The federal government doesn’t plan to issue visas to students taking all of their courses online for next semester and encouraged students to return abroad. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection will bar these students from entering the U.S.
The guidelines were announced while the country faces the COIVD-19 pandemic and many institutions move toward online instruction due to health concerns.
Lapidus said the school’s Office of International Education is currently reviewing the guidelines to see how they will impact individual students.
“I am working with my counterparts at other institutions of higher education to develop a comprehensive response so that our voices are heard, and that the importance of our international students is made clear at the federal level,” he said.
He encouraged individuals to reach out to elected representatives in Washington, D.C., to make their feelings known.
Meryem Ezzahraoui, an international student from
Morocco, said the federal guidelines for universities are shameful.
“It’s really disturbing for international students,” she said, adding students shouldn’t be forced to take in-person classes or face deportation. “The coronavirus will still be here in the fall semester, as well.”
Ezzahraoui said forcing international students to return home would create even greater problems in
the future.
“We might have trouble getting back or getting a visa later,” she said. “It’s going to be really disruptive. It costs a lot to go back and forth and it’s a big inconvenience for us and our families.”
Two weeks ago, the university announced students will return to campus for the fall semester with a mixture of in-person and remote instruction while keeping all members of the campus community safe.
When the semester begins in September, most classes will be offered in a hybrid format, blending in-person instruction with remote sessions, and classroom configurations will be modified to allow for social distancing on campus, according to Lapidus’ announcement.
As of now, it is unclear how the reopening plan will include international students at risk of being barred from the country.
Residence halls will open with reduced occupancy. Most rooms will be
‘It’s really disturbing for international students.’
– Meryem Ezzahraoui, international student from Morocco
configured as singles with some others configured as doubles to serve as “family units” within suites.
The university is still determining how room assignments will be made. The university’s dining areas will be open but with new protocols and occupancy limits, along with regular sanitizing of chairs and tables, according to Lapidus.
Officials are also awaiting guidance from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference on organized sports this fall.
Fitchburg State, along with every other college in the state, was forced to send students home when the COVID-19 pandemic hit back in mid-March. The university instituted a remote learning model to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Information on the university’s ongoing COVID19 response can be found at fitchburgstate.edu/coronavirus.