Meeting for International Students Stresses Sensitivity
by Matt Green

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, in response to the terrorist attack, a large number of students, professors and faculty gathered in the main lobby of Peters Hall in order to participate in an open discussion and support session for the international student community.
The event was organized by the International Student Organization in coordination with Nicolette Love, Oberlin’s international student advisor. Members of Oberlin’s mediation committee directed the discussion.
“The INS came to me,” Love said. “We knew there’d be a need to get together. Some students are from parts of the world that are being talked about and they feel vulnerable. This was a safe space. Things were said here that might not be said in a classroom.” Currently, over 200 international students are enrolled in Oberlin.
College President Nancy Dye, who was present for the majority of the discussion, spoke to the crowded room, voicing many of the meeting’s central themes and concerns.
“It’s important for all of us to try to keep calm and rational and to pay attention to what is being said and not to think that any one person is speaking for [all of] the U.S.” she said.
Dye emphasized Oberlin’s cosmopolitan nature and strong values and culture. “Every person here is valued and important and will be safe and secure as part of the Oberlin community,” she said, adding that College support services would be readily available to any students who felt at all threatened due to their ethnicity or beliefs.
Dye also told students that any College administration phone would be available for national or international phone calls home, at the College’s expense.
One idea that was brought up repeatedly by both students and faculty was how this event emphasized the relative security and privilege that America usually enjoys, especially in comparison to nations that live with terrorism on a daily basis.
Several international students, while acknowledging the extent of today’s tragedy, also noted the comparative rarity of terrorist attacks in America.
“I was shocked by the reaction of the people; I had predicted this,” one international student said. “America leads a sheltered existence.”
Also discussed was the nature of U.S. foreign relations as a possible contributing factor in the attack, and the need to critically examine foreign policy in order to prevent these events from repeating themselves. “Americans have been living in glass houses and throwing stones,” one participant said.
The nature of remarks by students and faculty were varied, though opposing viewpoints never led to overt tensions. A general consensus was reached by most participants in the discussion that there was a need for negotiations before a direct, “iron fist” reaction.
Also emphasized was the importance of refraining from jumping to immediate conclusions or pointing fingers without adequate evidence. At least one student, though, voiced the belief that terrorists should be dealt with severely and that U.S. retribution was imperative.
Ben Schiff, a politics professor who teaches courses on international relations, participated in the discussion. He noted that an act of war had not been committed on U.S. soil for many years and emphasized how this terrorist attack was a new experience for America. While acknowledging the safety and acceptance of the Oberlin community, he urged international students to be cautious.
“The experience is in some ways doubly troubling for international students. America may view you as outsiders they fear,” he said. “I suggest a measure of realism in thinking about what you say. Be a little bit careful…consider this as an opportunity to experience America at a very different time.”
Shahir Ahmed, a college sophomore from Pakistan and member of the Oberlin Muslim Students Association, made some of the evening’s most poignant remarks.
“Being a Muslim puts me in a frustrating position,” he said, responding to current U.S. speculations that a Muslim militant group or nation was responsible for the attack. “I’m afraid of being a stereotype, of being categorized, of having to explain myself.”
Ahmed recognized the tragic nature of the attack and voiced his concern that the incident had the potential to further America’s misunderstandings of Islam.
“Islam has nothing to do with this. It was not a religious act,” he said.