International students are scrambling to redesign their Dartmouth Plans in the wake of recent rulings from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that will force some students to say goodbye to sophomore summer.
Beginning in 2005, Homeland Security clarified preexisting laws that ruled that no international student may take off more than one leave term in a row or more than one leave term in a year.
The implications for students at the College are disruptive -- after a leave term, international students must remain enrolled in classes for three consecutive terms before taking another leave term off.
"I'm afraid that I will be alienated next year because I won't have been on sophomore summer," Sofia Faruqi '07 said.
Faruqi, a Pakistani citizen, is now considering skipping a foreign-study program in France this spring so she can spend Spring term in the United States and find a last-minute internship in place of sophomore summer.
Prior to the fall of 2004, Homeland Security officers allowed full-time international students to take multiple consecutive leave terms or more than one vacation term in a given academic year, despite regulations that prohibited such time off. Government officials had previously accepted Dartmouth's explanations about the unique structure of the D-Plan.
Failure to comply with Homeland Security rulings results in the termination of a student's F-1 status, requiring that student to leave the country.
The rulings affect institutions with quarter systems, including Dartmouth, Stanford and Northwestern.
Dartmouth's International Office has been quick to assuage fears among the students that have been flocking to its doors at 44 North College Street.
As well as granting exemptions from sophomore summer, a term that has traditionally been a requirement for rising juniors, the office is also offering the possibilities of off terms during senior year.
"There are a lot of creative solutions that the International Office is prepared to offer, and we are eager to work with undergraduates who have any questions or concerns as they develop their D-Plans," said Stephen Silver, the director of the International Office.
One solution is for students to take back-to-back leave terms during one academic year and allow their non-immigrant visa status to be terminated until the College can issue a new I-20 immigration form, Silver said.
A new I-20 would enable students to resume their student status for the next academic term, during which they would be enrolled full-time.
Issued by Dartmouth, the I-20 form allows international students to apply for F-1 student visa status, which permits students to remain in the United States until the listed expiration date.
Initially, the Department of Homeland Security's announcement had international students reeling in shock as they rearranged their D-Plans.
Canadian Melissa Machaj '07, whose D-Plan is restricted by obligations to the varsity track and field team during the winter and spring, hopes to work for the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center so she can remain on campus for her sophomore summer.
"Most American students don't even know this is going on, so they don't understand how angry we are," Machaj said.
Karan Danthi '07, a citizen of India, had planned to stay on campus for sophomore summer and take leave-term internships during junior fall and summer. He is frustrated at missing his Sophomore summer and said he feels excluded from Dartmouth tradition.
Danthi has missed the deadlines for most top-tier finance internships, and finding any internship has been difficult. He credits the International Office with aiding him in his summer employment search and providing advice. Danthi is considering the Tuck Business Bridge Program if he cannot find a suitable internship.
Danthi is a business staffer for The Dartmouth.
According to New York's Institute of International Education, tighter immigration and security rules since Sept. 11 have resulted in a 2.4 percent drop in the nation's foreign student population.
Varsity tennis player David Waslen '07, a Canadian, is trying to find other inventive ways around the new rulings while avoiding a stay for junior summer. Waslen planned to take junior winter and summer off but is now looking at a D-Plan of 13 terms with seven academic terms in a row. He is researching the possibility of taking classes at the Amos Tuck School of Business rather than accumulating extra credits toward his undergraduate degree.
"It's going to be really draining to have to be on for that length of time, but I don't really see any alternative if I want to experience the ever-so-famous sophomore summer," Waslen said. "The whole policy is just a big nuisance and will definitely change my plans for internships and visiting my family back home."
