Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
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September 10, 2004
SPORTS EXTRA
USC vs. CSU
Complete football preview 16 Vol. CLIII, No. 13
International students face increased security
Aftermath of Sept. 11,2001, makes it harder for students from abroad to study at universities in the United States.
By RACHEL GALLEGOS
Staff Wnter
Junior Mahira Kakajiwala was not in the United States on Sept 11,2001.
But that does not mean she doesn’t remember that day.
The biology major was in her home country of Oman when terrorists used commercial jett to attack the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Sept 11.
‘What disgusted me was quite a lot of people (in Oman) responded quite positively to it," said Kakajiwala, now an international program assistant in the
Office of International Services. “They weren't happy about the fact that so many people were killed ... but just the fact that the U.S. had been beaten."
But Kakajiwala also remembers that a couple of rallies were held in Oman right after Sept 11 against the attacks, she said.
“The older people were happier, where2i the younger generation was against it,” Kakajiwala said.
Coming to Amenca
Kakajiwala, one of the thousands of international students at USC, came to the United States in the fall of 2002 for
school. Since then, she has not faced any problems, she said.
“It wasn't difficult for me,” she said. “I was scared because I had an Omani resident visa, and so I was scared they would make a fuss... but they didn't No one really cared.”
But since Sept 11, international students have faced new challenges when trying to come to the United States to study.
Most of the international students at USC — the top school in the nation for international students the past two years — are here on student visas, known as F-l visas, said Laune Cox, associate director at the Office of International Services.
Other students, mostly researchers and scholars, have exchange visitor visas, called J-l visas.
Students have always needed visas, Cox said, but now students must submit to the Office of International Services specialized data, including their country of birth, country of citizenship, date of birth, U.S. address, home country address, major, degree program and whether they are full-time students.
The office then submits that data to the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), Cox said.
The same type of information was collected before Sept 11. but it was only given to the government when specifically requested. Cox said.
“We used to just put information in a file and it would sit around unless the government asked for it" Cox said. “Now, information is asked for and sent
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Attack spurs study of I.R.
An increasing number of students study international relations since Sept. 11,
2001 terrorist attacks.
By KRISTIN MAYER
Staff Writer
As the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 approaches, USC students are flooding the School of International Relations in preparation for careers in international affairs, officials at the school say.
“International relations is seemingly a more important discipline because of 9/11," said Douglas Becker, a visiting lecturer in the Peace and Conflict Studies program in the School of International Relations. “Students show more of an interest in what we’re doing and the kind of questions we’re posing."
Students who were juniors and seniors in high school on Sept. 11, 2001 enter college with an interest in pursuing international relations, said Steven Lamy, director of the school of international relations.
Sept 11 may have been a “defining moment" for many of them in their decision to study international relations, he said.
Student interests are changing, Lamy said. More students are applying to work with the FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
USC currently has 690 students majoring in international relations and close to 200 students pursuing minors in that field.
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INDEX
No. I USC returns to the Coliseum with Colorado State Rams on tap. 16
USC professor Justin Bua shows off his latest project 7
News Digest_____2	Sports___________16
Upcoming--------2	Classifieds______12
Opinions________4	Lifestyle_________7
WEATHER
Today: Mostly sunny High of 88, low of 68.
Tomorrow: Sunny. 85,64.
Progressive groups reflect on Sept. 11
Organizations hold involvement fair to promote awareness of their clubs.
By KARA NICHOLS and JONATHAN STROUD
Staff Writers
Fifteen separate organizations gathered at tables in front of Tommy Trojan to promote political clubs at the first-ever Progressive Alliance Involvement Fair Thursday.
Sponsored by the political science department, the fair was designed to promote political and social issues on campus, said Eddie Marquez, an assistant director at Topping Student Center.
There was an involvement fair last week, which was attended by the majority of these organizations as well, but many of the organizers felt it important to be seen as much as possible around campus.
“We wanted to have this event because the more exposure the better,” said Alison Vicks, president of Eco-SC. “When people are interested in this kind of event they’re usually interested in more than one. People can come here, they can see what they're interested in all at once.”
After Sept. 11, 2001
With just two days until the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, many organizations discussed how that tragedy in 2001 has affected USC’s political and social organizations.
“Since 9/11, there has been more of a polarization of positions," said Fahad Bishara, an officer for the Students for Justice in Palestine. “There is much more radicalization now, much more involvement."
Bishara said there is currently more political involvement, but that he is worried it is just a reaction to recent events.
“People are more politically aware now than they were, but not as much as they need to be,” he said.
Lee Sherman, president of the USC Democrats, said it has also helped start a divide because the two parties have distinct visions on how to fight terrorism.
Sherman said he is not worried that it will hurt the Democratic party.
Rachel Elias I Daily Troian
Creating awareness. Kelly McElroy, a senior majoring in anthropology and Italian, right, talks to Rachel Yukimura, a junior majoring in biology about an upcoming banned book fair at Thursday's progressive involvement fair.
“It’s an issue, but there are other issues on people’s minds,” he said.
Sushmita Meka, co-president of Amnesty International, said she thought Sept 11 made people more aware of human rights issues and has made the organization more con-
cerned about human rights violations, like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, in the Middle East.
Hoku Jeffrey, the California organizer for By Any Means Necessary, a coalition to defend affirmative action, integration and immigrant rights,
said the group's cause has been hurt by the events and aftermath of Sept. 11.
“I think that the federal immigration regulation that has been created
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