As federal and local investigators aggressively pursue leads to terrorist activity, Dartmouth is ready to protect the privacy of its international students while cooperating with law enforcement.
In the past six weeks, neither the FBI nor the INS has requested pertinent documents from the College's foreign undergraduate population held by the International Office, according to Director of the International Office Steve Silver.
Dartmouth is required by the INS to record 12 pieces of information regarding each of its international students, including the student's name, date and place of birth, country of citizenship and proof of financial responsibility. While all U.S. colleges and universities must collect this information, the government mandates that it be reported only upon request.
The most recent federal report on international students and scholars was issued in 1988.
"We're doing our best to make sure that the records remain confidential," Silver said.
Dartmouth abides by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). This legislation keeps the records of all students international and American confidential, and ensures that their personal information remains private. If they so desire, students can grant permission to disclose this information.
"In light of Sept. 11," Silver said, "it's important that people know their rights and how they are protected."
Silver communicates regularly with international offices at various universities to be better prepared to respond to students' concerns and promote their general wellbeing.
After Sept. 11, information sharing between colleges and the government is "inevitable," he said. "We could be required at any moment to turn over information to the State Department. When the students sign the [I-20 and I-AP66] forms, they agree that we can transfer information to the government."
"The information that we might be asked to share is information that students already consented to share, based on their signatures," Silver told The Dartmouth.
For those students on the F-1 visa, the I-20 school copy is taken by government officials upon their first entry to the United States. This copy is eventually given to officials at the institution the student attends.
Among the international students contacted by The Dartmouth, there was little apprehension on the issue of privacy.
Will Wang '05 of Shenzhen, China, said, "Personally, I don't feel any concerns. Maybe it's because I'm from China, not the Middle East, but I'm not worried."
Similar sentiments were felt at other colleges and universities.
Marianne Waterbury, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students at Princeton University, had not observed any concerns regarding privacy among international students.
"We have similar policies to [those of Dartmouth]," Waterbury said. "Requests from federal agencies are considered on a case-by-case basis."
Suzanne Anderson, registrar at Northwestern University, said, "All requests made [recently] have been for directory information only. There haven't been different, unusual or more complete requests for records."
Directory information, which consists of students' names, addresses and phone numbers, is considered public knowledge by Northwestern.
