Mumbai: Every year, Purdue University admissions representatives visit India in March-April to brief chosen candidates on what to expect at college, and how to prepare for it. This year, they had an uncomfortable question to reply to: are we safe on American campuses? Danek Torrey, Associate Director, International Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment at Purdue, told The Hindu during his visit to the city that though fears have increased after recent hate crimes, campuses are relatively insulated from cities and are culturally diverse environments.
What are some of the biggest worries expressed by students?
On this visit to India, we travelled to Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune and now Mumbai. Mumbai is our busiest city: most of our Indian international students are from here. We spoke to approximately 50 students who have been accepted to Purdue for undergraduate studies. Parents and students both, in every city, have had many concerns: this year, a little more so than usual. In the climate of hate crimes and racism in the U.S., many asked whether they were safe in the U.S. Our response has been unequivocal: college campuses differ substantially from cities. Insulated in a protected environment, college campuses, especially Purdue and its surrounding town of West Lafayette, have an open, diverse environment. Purdue recruits over 9,000 international students every year, of whom 5,000 are undergraduates. The campus environment has many international faces, and people of many cultures and nationalities. Chances of hate crimes and racism are low to non-existent.
I told students in Mumbai that police officers are stationed on campus, there is a text alert system for safety, we have a system of escorting students to their rooms at night if they do not want to travel across campus alone. However, despite these safety measures, I think the bigger thing to emphasise is that hate is not in the environment at Purdue; diversity is built into the culture there and whether you are in a grocery store or in the common study room, you are bound to see people from different places in the world.
How have the extra screening and hate crimes changed campus life?
Campus life has changed in the sense that, because this atmosphere of hate started so suddenly and the tightened entry measures and hate crimes precipitated quite suddenly, international students on campus started questioning whether they were welcome there. I would like to state that international students are always welcome at Purdue and, in fact, we actively seek to increase the diversity both across the world and across different American states that is represented on campus. When the travel ban was announced in the U.S., Purdue University’s President issued a release saying this is not the culture we foster at Purdue and that as a university we are against it. We have a dedicated Immigration Department at Purdue and we have immigration counsellors talking with students to explain to them whether they can leave and enter the country, for example. We also have general counselling to answer students’ concerns. Although the issue of H1B work visas is an issue, we are unclear right now on what the eventual policy will be, and how it will affect OPT (Optional Practical Training) and CPT (Curricular Practical Training) working permissions. Our official response to that has to be “I don’t know” – there is so much in policy and political changes that is right now unknown and nobody has the answers to.
Will it be more difficult for Indians to study in the U.S.?
I am not anticipating cancellation of student visas for those applying this summer. If there was tampering of visa requirements, there would be a big furore across faculty and administrations on U.S. campuses, including ours. There might be an additional one- or two-week delay in visas getting confirmed, as more documents might be required and checks might be more stringent. But other than that, I do not anticipate a change. In India, perhaps more so than other countries mentioned on the travel ban, the issue is less worrisome.
I think I can speak across the board when I say campuses still value diversity. As international admissions officers, we have to shift the attitude in the right direction so that students in India are aware that America is still welcoming to them. Many Indians I have spoken to have not mentioned the elephant in the room, but in one-on-one interactions, ask: ‘What is the situation under the current administration, do we have reason to fear?’ The answer is, absolutely not. American campuses remain, as a rule, liberal and open to those of Indian, and all international, nationalities. It is a mutually benefiting relationship we must continue to preserve in the future. Students can rest assured they will always be safe on campuses, and always be welcome.
