Latitudes: On One Campus, a Push to Protect International Students’ Speech

Should colleges do more to protect international students from repressive governments? Plus, academics rally to support Iranian student protesters. ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. Chinese speech on American campuses A student-government resolution at George Washington University would call on administrators to do more to protect Chinese students from political censorship and monitoring on campus. The student legislation is a response to concerns that the Chinese government’s efforts to tamp down public criticism of its political and human-rights record could chill speech on American campuses. The measure urges the university to adopt a “public strategy” to protect students, especially those from mainland China, “whose rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association are directly threatened and who face overseas monitoring, intimidation, and coercion.” It also says George Washington should divest its endowment holdings in companies with ties to the Chinese government’s human-rights violations against its Uyghur Muslim minority. The divestment strategy is a familiar one, dating to a campaign in the 1980s to persuade colleges to sever their connections to South Africa in protest of its policy of apartheid. More recently, campus activists have pushed for divestment from and boycotting of Israel because of its treatment of the Palestinians. Now it may be a tool against China. In July a U.S. congressman introduced a [bill]( that would require American colleges to divest from Chinese firms under U.S.-government sanctions. Last year Catholic University agreed to [audit its endowment]( for entities with ties to China’s actions against the Uyghurs, and students at several other colleges, including Georgetown University and the Universities of Maryland and of California at Irvine, have passed pro-divestment resolutions. The George Washington resolution, which failed to win approval from a student-government committee late last month, stands out for the other half of its content: It also urges administrators to adopt policies based on a [12-point code of conduct]( developed by Human Rights Watch to counter possible Chinese-government interference on American campuses. The advocacy group recommends that colleges actively track incidents of Chinese-government harassment, surveillance, and threats on campus, and put in place mechanisms for responding, such as an ombudsman to whom pressures or threats from the Chinese government could be reported. Concerns about the Chinese government’s [reach onto campuses abroad]( have mounted in recent years, as more students from China have studied overseas. A Chinese student at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities was arrested after he returned home in 2019 for [posts]( critical of China’s president, Xi Jinping, that he had made on American social-media platforms while in the United States. Chinese students at McMaster University, in Canada, tried to persuade college administrators to disinvite a Uyghur activist from speaking on campus, and then filmed her talk. At George Washington a free-speech firestorm erupted in February when an anonymous group of Chinese students put up posters [satirizing the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing]( as a way of criticizing the Chinese government’s human-rights abuses. The university’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association complained about the posters, saying that those who had hung them should be punished and forced to publicly apologize. (Such student groups are often seen as having close ties to the government.) George Washington’s president, Mark S. Wrighton, initially appeared to agree with the group, and promised he would find out who was responsible. But he soon backtracked, calling the posters “political statements” and saying that the university would neither investigate nor take any action agains the students who had displayed them. In recent days, messages critical of the Chinese government have appeared on American campuses, including [Carnegie Mellon]( and [New York]( Universities, during a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s Congress. A Chinese man appeared to record students at George Washington who were putting up pro-democracy posters, said Rory O’Connor, a Catholic University student and co-founder of the [Athenai Institute]( a student-led group that has called for American colleges to cut ties with China. Ian Ching, a member of George Washington’s student Senate who introduced the resolution, said students involved in the postering had helped draft the measure, yet they feared repercussions personally or for their families if they spoke out publicly. He said he expected to reintroduce a version of the legislation, which is co-sponsored by campus chapters of the College Democrats and College Republicans. Could similar efforts be mounted at other institutions? “They’re in the capital of the U.S., and yet they are afraid of having their home government policing them and spying on them and their fellow students,” said Ching, an international-affairs major from Vancouver, British Columbia. “They just want to be able to fully have an American education.” ADVERTISEMENT Academics urge solidarity with Iranian protesters A group of academics is calling on college leaders in the United States and Canada to speak out publicly in support of protesters in Iran. In an [open letter]( the professors, many of Iranian descent, urge presidents and chancellors to denounce attacks on student protesters in Iran and to support their right to assemble and speak freely. “While it may not be customary for academic leaders to take a position on international issues — whether they are campaigns or protests on the ground — we feel strongly that our role as academic leaders, educators, and advocates for students must extend beyond the borders of our own campuses and our own countries,” they write. Students, particularly female students, have been at the forefront of [anti-government protests]( that have erupted across Iran in recent weeks, following the death while in police custody of a young woman arrested for allegedly not properly covering her hair according to religious law. Earlier this month, security forces attacked protesters with tear gas and arrested dozens at [Sharif University]( a prominent institution in Tehran. To date, some 200 professors and researchers have signed the letter, according to Persis M. Karim, chair of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University, and one of the organizers. “It’s important to make gestures of solidarity,” Karim said. “I think it’s our job as educators, as administrators, and as universities to recognize those young people who can save the world.” But the letter goes beyond symbolic support, asking colleges to offer emergency admissions to Iranian students who may be forced to flee their home country and to take in displaced Iranian scholars. Karim said it was important that college leaders prepare to support threatened students and academics, rather than scramble to respond in [moments of crisis]( as happened recently with [Afghanistan](. Colleges should make sure current students are aware of and connected to counseling and other services. About 10,000 Iranians study in the United States, but there are also many American students of Iranian heritage — some the children or grandchildren of [former international students]( who stayed on after the Iranian Revolution — who maintain close ties to Iran. Karim, who has been involved in teach-ins about the current protests, said she has been getting on-the-ground updates from a cousin in Iran. “I’m alternately hopeful,” she said, “and alternately grim.” SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. New report warns of gaps in U.S. approach to international science A new report drafted by representatives of scientific agencies across the federal government said the United States remains an international leader in science and technology but needs to do more to attract and retain talented researchers and students in key fields from around the globe. The [biennial report]( to Congress on international science and technology cooperation argues that the country risks losing its edge because it has few “ambitious, large-scale” international research collaborations, and lacks a coordinated approach to scientific diplomacy. The United States is also probably underperforming when it comes to diversity in international science and technology. While the United States is successful in international science, it is also “losing ground in significant ways,” the report warns. Among its recommendations, the cross-governmental group says the United States could do more to aid students from low- and middle-income countries in studying science at colleges here; to fund scientific exchanges and other development programs at historically Black institutions so they could better engage with international research partners; and to study why foreign graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics leave America after earning their degrees. Around the globe A California man has been sentenced to four years in prison and fined $400,000 for a [scam]( to help wealthy Chinese nationals unlawfully gain admission to the United States by falsely making them eligible for student visas. The White House tied the ability to attract talented students and scientists to national security in a [new security strategy]( and pledged to work with Congress to “do more” to reform the country’s visa policy. President Biden has signed [legislation]( that requires the U.S. Department of Labor to [study barriers]( for college-educated refugees and immigrants to get good jobs, and to make recommendations for best practices. A British think tank said in a [report]( that China-funded Confucius Institutes go beyond their mission of language and cultural outreach, and are “integrated” into the Chinese Communist Party’s “propaganda system.” The British government announced it would accept applications for a [prestigious global scholarship]( only from Afghan citizens living outside their homeland because of current security risks. Public-university lecturers in Nigeria have suspended an [eight-month strike]( over pay. The Brazilian government plans to cut universities’ [research funds](. International students in Canada will be permitted to [work more hours]( off-campus as part of a pilot program. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … It’s only October, but we’ve already seen an electoral scandal — in the voting for [Fat Bear Week]( the whimsical contest by Katmai National Park, in Alaska, to choose the bear that’s best packed on the pounds in preparation for hibernation. Fortunately, the attempt at electronic ballot stuffing was detected, and Bear #747 was deemed the winner in a fair and aboveboard election. No, you haven’t mistakenly stumbled into some sort of ursine-appreciation newsletter. Every year I’m alerted to the event by one of my favorite people in international education, Patti McGill Peterson, a former head of internationalization and global engagement at the American Council on Education and president emerita of Wells College and St. Lawrence University. True to form, this year Patti paired her Far Bear picks with a substantive analysis of recent polling that suggests U.S.-China relations may not be the [hot-button issue]( with the public that politicians perceive it to be. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting — about wildlife, international-education policy, or anything in between — so drop me a line, at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. You can also connect with me on [Twitter]( or [LinkedIn](. 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