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COC International Office ‘Fights Fear With Facts’ On Travel Ban

President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority nations has created uncertainty and fear on College of the Canyons campus, according to an official who coordinates International Services and Programs.


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The executive action has directly affected one student from Iran, one of the countries in the order, and has concerned many of the almost 200 international students at COC, the official said.

“This travel ban has caused uncertainty from many countries around the world,” said Dr. Jia-Yi Cheng-Levine, director of the International Services and Programs (ISP) at COC.“There was even a parent from Japan that had concerns.”

The order bars citizens of the countries from entering the US for a period of 90 days. The widely reported list of countries restricted by the State Department in the order include: Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq.

It also suspends the U.S. refugee system for a period of 120 days. The “extreme vetting” system will help “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the U.S.,” according to Trump’s order.

The ISP office is making an effort to make sure that international students feel welcome on campus, Cheng-Levine said. This month, they have an event planned that’s called “You Are Welcome Here.”

The event will be held along with universities across the U.S., which are banding together to send a clear message of acceptance towards international students in response to the order.

The campaign began at Temple University in Philadelphia, along with the hashtag #YouAreWelcomeHere, originally used by Study Group — a program aimed to help international students in different parts of the world.

Especially due to widespread concern, ISP officials at the college need to “fight fear with facts,” according to Dr. Cheng-Levine, and focus on spreading accurate, helpful information to the students.

The travel ban only applies to people with immigrant status. All international students entering COC have to obtain a F-1 Visa, which is a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, according to the state department.

In order to maintain the Visa, students must be enrolled full time at COC. The students must take a majority of classes in person to better integrate them into US society.

“We have to make sure the ISP students stay enrolled full time,” said Dr. Cheng-Levine. “The ISP office has many resources, including counselors, to keep them on track.”

Mental health resources are available for international students at COC. There has not been an uptick in visits to mental health professionals since the travel ban, according to ISP officials.

“Many countries around the world have a stigma about mental health,” said Dr. Cheng-Levine. “The ISP office has keep a balance of reaching out to students and respecting cultures.”

Many universities and colleges in the U.S. are “chasing the money” from international students. ISP students spend about four times the tuition as an in-state student. A majority of the money spent by the students stay in Santa Clarita.

“Every international student adds about $20,000 to the local economy each year,” said Dr. Cheng-Levine. “About $7,000 for tuition and fees and $13,000 for living expenses.”

ISP officials work to draw students from around the world, Cheng-Levine said. There are about 200 students from over 50 countries currently studying at COC.

People coming from other countries benefits both the international student and COC students. Diversity prepares students for future career success. Successful performance in today’s diverse workforce requires sensitivity to human differences and the ability to relate to people from different cultural backgrounds.

“I hope this travel ban has not tarnished our image on the international stage,” said Dr. Cheng-Levine. “The ISP office is working hard to make sure all international students feel welcome.”

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COC International Office ‘Fights Fear With Facts’ On Travel Ban

5 comments

  1. A parent from Japan had concerns? Makes no sense. Maybe your ‘fight fear with facts’ campaign should be explaining to people WHY immigration from the T7 countries was temporarily halted?

    • As a member of the faculty, I agree completely that our Japanese student had nothing to fear. That is the whole point of fighting fear with facts.

      As for your second question, I cannot explain WHY there is a travel ban from the seven countries listed in the Executive Order because it makes no sense. Let’s review the facts. The seven countries in question were initially identified by the Obama administration but NOT for a travel ban. After it was discovered that two Iraqis who had been admitted into the United States were sending money back to Iraq to help arm our enemies, the Obama administration, working in conjunction with other agencies, developed additional screening of people from Europe who traveled to those countries before coming to the United States. The Iraqis who were admitted into the country were not planning any terrorists attacks in the United States and they certainly were not responsible for the Bowling Green Massacre.

      Second, since we’re talking about fighting fear with facts, there have not been any terrorists attacks in the United States instigated by people from the seven countries identified in the travel ban. We have been attacked by individuals from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UAE. None of those countries were included in the travel ban. So while I am on board with fighting fear with facts, there are no facts that explain why Donald Trump was attempting to ban travel from those countries.

      College of the Canyons is an inclusive campus. We have students from all over the world, of different faiths, religious beliefs, political views, etc. We treasure our inclusiveness and will continue to do so. And the faculty will continue to fight fear with facts, stereotypes with facts, hate with facts, intolerance with facts, etc.

  2. I agree. There is a reason there is a Temporary ban on travel with those countries. That should be made clear to the students. Proper vetting does need to be established and if you are here for the right reasons, we welcome you with open arms. We love our diversity. Our President is establishing safety measures, which are required in other countries all over the world.

    Thank you for making this clear to our students and families without anger. I am appalled the way professors and colleges have handled this around the country.

    • Margo. As an professor, I cannot, in good conscience, tell my students there is a reason for the travel ban when I know that is untrue. And you don’t have to rely on my word. Judge Robart, who initially stayed the Executive Order, could find no rational basis for the ban.

      “Rational basis” is a legal term. If the government wants to treat a particular sub-group differently than everyone else, it must demonstrate a “rational basis” for doing so. For example, when it comes to driving privileges, we do not permit children under 14 years of age to drive. That is acceptable because there is a “rational basis” for treating them differently than children who are 15 years or older. If someone wanted to pass a law prevented left-handed people from driving, that would not pass constitutional muster because there is no “rational basis” for treating them differently than right-handed people.

      At one point during the hearing on the travel ban, Judge Robart asked Michelle Bennett, the lawyer from the Department of Justice, how many foreign nationals of the seven countries targeted by the travel ban had been arrested on domestic terrorism charges since 9/11. Ms. Bennett told the court she didn’t know. The truth is that Mr. Bennett did know, she just didn’t want to say. Judge Robart — who was appointed by President G.W. Bush and approved by the Senate, 99-0 — informed her that the answer was none. And he continued, “You’re here arguing on behalf of someone who says we have to protect the US from these individuals coming from these countries, and there’s no support for that.” The judge said that he was trying to determine if the Executive Order based rationally based. “And rationally based to me,” he continued, “implies that to some extent I have to find it grounded in facts as opposed to fiction.”

      This is what I will teach my students because these are the facts. Not my facts. Not alternative facts. These are the facts as expressed by a highly respected judge.

  3. I am yet another educator who feels the need to defend the clarifications offered by the director of the ISP. The chaos of confusion she references of international students is a product of a poorly executed Executive Action that has less to do, as pointed out above, with confronting terrorists surging onto our shores, and more to do with Executive Obsession to keep a campaign promise that was even more repugnant from this sloppy and irrational stab at law-making from a novice to government who has no discernible understanding of the constitution and the difference between democratic governance and totalitarianism. I well applaud the intervention of the courts who hopefully can find the resolve to draw a line in the sand of use when the country has the bad fortune to be ruled by an irrational executive who is looking to find if he can rule by whim, not by factual reality, as is true of the ruler, ‘he who shall not be named’, whom he so admires .

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About Devon Miller

Devon Miller was born and raised in Santa Clarita. He joined KHTS Radio as a digital marketing intern in September of 2017, and later moved to news as a staff writer in December. Miller attended College of the Canyons and served as the Associated Student Government President. Miller is now News Director for KHTS, covering breaking news and politics across the Santa Clarita Valley.