Mount Holyoke signs amicus brief
Mount Holyoke College will sign an amicus brief challenging ICE鈥檚 proposed rules barring online study for international students.
Mount Holyoke College is joining an amicus brief in support of challenging the forthcoming U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rules barring online study for international students.
鈥淢y objection to this guidance is ideological and profound,鈥 said President Sonya Stephens. 鈥淚nternational students, faculty and staff have been an integral part of the Mount Holyoke community and of the intellectual and cultural life of the College since 1839.鈥
The College joins other members of the in signing the brief. The alliance called the guidance a 鈥減roblematic and harmful policy鈥 in a July 7, 2020, statement.
On July 8, 2020, President Stephens released a statement to the Mount Holyoke community reiterating her support for international students. In the statement, she outlined immediate plans to support international students, including prioritizing international students of all class years for on-campus housing for fall 2020 and encouraging the Massachusetts attorney general鈥檚 office to take legal action opposing the guidance.
Additionally, Stephens said, the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives would be monitoring all international students鈥 visa status.
The College鈥檚 educational model for fall 2020 is designated as a hybrid curriculum, meaning that there will be sufficient in-person components for international students to meet ICE鈥檚 requirements. However, as it currently stands, the ICE guidance makes no allowance for instructional changes that might be implemented, such as during a widespread outbreak of COVID-19 on campus or in the surrounding community.