The Badger Herald

NEWS

Anti-war group pushes Iraqi tuition referendum

by Pedro Oliveira Jr.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

University of Wisconsin students may have a chance to decide this spring whether to devote one tuition dollar per semester to fund a program to bring five Iraqi students to campus for an education.

Campus Antiwar Network members and several others have collected a total of 2,350 signatures from the student body and filed a proposal to add the Iraqi Student Project to the Associated Students of Madison spring 2008 ballot.

The ISP was founded in the summer of 2007 and modeled after the Bosnian Student Project, in which from 1993 to 1996, 150 Bosnian students came to U.S. colleges with tuition waived, according to CAN member and UW freshman Jenny Wustmann.

Middle East-based recruiters would work with Iraqi natives in Iraq, Syria and Jordan to identify, test and screen students. The students would be recommended based on academic records, language abilities, economic need and likelihood of success.

If the initiative were approved, each UW student would donate $1 per semester, including  summer sessions, and the money would be refundable per written request within 45 days of the first day of class.

“It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was. I wasn’t expecting people to be as supportive of this as they were,” said Wustmann, who was heavily involved in collecting signatures. “Some reactions were so enthusiastic, like ‘how can I help this? It’s such a great idea.’”

ASM requires a minimum of 5 percent of signatures from the student body to include a proposal on the spring referendum. With nearly 200 signatures more than the requested number, CAN member and UW sophomore Sam Finesurrey said the next step is for ASM to check names and ID numbers to ensure no signatures were forged.

Associate Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp said though widespread student support could increase the likelihood of passing a project like this, there are “major hurdles” that could impede approval by UW administration.

“Even with a referendum, it doesn’t mean we can just make it happen,” Helmkamp said.

The students would still have to obtain a U.S. student visa and go through regular admissions process, Helmkamp said, and granting an in-state tuition waiver could make it difficult to proceed with the project.

“It’s difficult enough to come to the U.S. as a student from another country, [and] all of those processes would have to be followed,” he added.

Finesurrey said he hopes to have the Iraqi students by next spring, since the application deadline for fall admissions has already passed.

“I think that the type of campus that Madison is, to have that sort of global influence is always a very positive thing,” Helmkamp said. “But it also raises the question … of what other areas of the world would also benefit the campus, and how to choose one over the other.”

ASM representatives did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.