After at Least 4 Assaults, Some Foreign Students Plan to Leave U.S.; More Protection Urged By RON SOUTHWICK
At least four racially motivated assaults of Middle Eastern and Asian college students have been reported by law-enforcement officials following last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One of the victims was so shaken that he is returning to his home country, and other foreign students are leaving the United States, either out of concern for their safety or at the behest of worried families.
On Wednesday, federal officials urged university administrators to work actively to protect Muslim students and those of Middle Eastern descent. Educators should be sure to respond quickly if students are attacked or mistreated, said Roderick R. Paige, the secretary of education. He also encouraged institutions to make sure that international students report any threats or harassment.
The reports of attacks aimed at Arab students "are extremely disturbing to me and are of major concern to the Department of Education," Mr. Paige said. He also asked educators to make sure that activities honoring victims of last week's tragedies "do not inadvertently foster the targeting of Arab-American students for harassment or blame."
So far, only a small number of foreign students have reported that they are leaving the country. Officials at some institutions said the students' families want them to return home, especially as the United States apparently prepares for war in Afghanistan.
At the University of Arizona, where reports are circulating that some students are leaving, officials are trying to calm Muslim students who are worried about harassment or physical attacks.
In California, a Santa Barbara City College student from Saudi Arabia was assaulted while walking near his home Monday.
On Sunday, a Lebanese student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was beaten on campus, and university officials suspect that other students may have been involved. Also Sunday, an Indian research assistant at New Mexico State University at Las Cruces was attacked across the street from the campus.
Last Thursday, a student at Arizona State University was beaten and pelted with eggs in a campus parking lot.
No arrests have been made in any of the attacks. Administrators at the four institutions have condemned the attacks and have stated that assaults on students will not be tolerated.
Mazen Ahmad El Kassaa, a 19-year-old student from Lebanon, is leaving the University of North Carolina at Greensboro after being assaulted on campus Sunday afternoon. Campus police said two men pummeled him and yelled, "Go home, terrorist!" At the urging of his parents, Mr. Kassaa is returning to Lebanon.
It is possible that the two assailants were students, said Patricia Sullivan, the university's chancellor. Ms. Sullivan said she was "especially saddened" by the assault because Mr. Kassaa came to the university after a neighbor in Lebanon described the great experience he had had at the Greensboro campus.
"This is very shocking to me," said Ms. Sullivan. Still, she said the university understands Mr. Kassaa's choice to return to Lebanon.
Sari Asiri, a 21-year-old Santa Barbara City College student, reported being assaulted Monday near his home in Goleta, just outside of Santa Barbara. Mr. Asiri, a Saudi Arabian national, said he was attacked when he was walking toward a park. Two men reportedly struck him, slammed his head into their car's roof three or more times, and slashed his shoulder with a knife or a razor blade, authorities said. Mr. Asiri was taken to a local hospital and was released Tuesday.
The two men had been driving when they stopped and asked for Mr. Asiri for directions. He said he did not know the location they were seeking. They reportedly asked him why, and he said he was from Saudi Arabia. Seconds later, he was attacked, authorities said.
Santa Barbara City College officials said three messages were scrawled in men's bathrooms Monday threatening bodily harm to Middle Eastern students who do not drop out of classes. Peter MacDougall, the college's president, met with a group of 25 Arab students Tuesday to encourage them to report any problems. He also sent electronic mail to the college community warning that abuse or harassment will not be tolerated.
"There is no place for this in an academic community," Mr. MacDougall said.
In New Mexico, authorities are searching for three men who attacked the research assistant at Las Cruces. The researcher, who has only been identified as a male from India who is Hindu, was walking in the parking lot of an apartment complex near the campus Sunday night when the men beat him in the head and stomach, authorities said.
The researcher said he believed he was attacked because he appeared to be Arabic, said Lou Cabot, New Mexico State University's police chief.
Ahmad Saad Nasim, a junior at Arizona State University, also said he was attacked because of his ethnicity, even though he is a naturalized American citizen. Mr. Nasim is of Indian descent and was raised in Saudi Arabia. Despite the assault, he said Wednesday that he has received scores of encouraging phone calls and electronic mail messages from students and administrators.
"This campus has been very supportive," Mr. Nasim said.
However, some foreign students are choosing to return home, at least partly in response to the attack on Mr. Nasim.
Four Middle Eastern students have decided to leave the University of Arizona. Santa Barbara City College officials say two students from Kuwait are leaving.
Officials at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington said Tuesday that about 20 college students in the United States have asked for their assistance in returning home. An embassy official said the Saudi Arabian government will provide free airfare for those who wish to go home, and those who choose to do so will not lose their scholarships.