Central Florida Future, Vol. 12 No. 16, January 11, 1980

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Future
University of
Central Florida
Vol. 12
Friday, January 11, 1980
No. 16
■MM*
Immigration Service
interviews Iranians
Linear Perspective
Brian LaPeter/Future
by Mary Wilson
managing editor
late in November, officials of the.
Immigration and Naturalization Service interviewed approximately 130 •
Iranian students attending UCF to
detect possible visa violations. Accord
ing to Dr. Hoan D. Nguven, coordinator for international students, of
the "14 to 15" UCF students whose
status was questioned, "all were finally
cleared as far as I know."
"These students had not violated the
regulations," said Nguyen, "but had
other problems with minor
technicalities. They had to appear
before the court in Tampa." From
Dec. 16—Dec. 24, the immigration
court conducted inquiries into the visa
status of Iranian Students called as a
result of statewide campus interviews.
According to the Jan. 3 issue of the
Sentinel Star, Dec. 3 was the deadline
set lor Florida's Iranian students to
report to the INS. Statewide, about
2,000 students have failed to appear
and are therefore deportable.
LAST QUARTER approximately
ISO to 160 Iranian students attended
UCF.    Nguyen said 30 held resident
Iranians face financial problems
by Mary Wilson
managing editor
While UCF's Office of International
Student Services caters . to all the
unique problems of foreign students, it
has been financial difficulties which
have been the major concern of
Iranians studying at UCF.
According to Coordinator for International Students Dr. Hoan D.
Nguyen, "financial problems are the
most outstanding" kind brought to his
office by Iranians.
"All Iranian students are sponsored.
by their families," Nguyen said. "Since November, and during the summer,
they haven't, been getting their regular
monthly checks.
"THEIR    PARENTS    cannot    send
money directly, and they don't like to
use the U. S. dollar," Nguyen said.
"Often the money is delayed by going
through banks in Europe."
Difficulty with direct payments to
Iranian students from their families in
IrarRr/esults recently from President
Carter's order freezing their country's
assets in the U. S., Nguyen said.
"Before the executive order, he said,
"Wv only had problems with the transfer of the money—consulate
regulation and our own embassy—because of the political instability."
According to Dean of Men Paul
McQuilkin,"Our problem now is with
checks drawn on Iranian banks. No
one will cash them."
McQuilkin described Iranian
students as "caught between a rock
and a hard place," with checks
ranging as high as "$1,500 to $3,000
that are not negotiable because thev
are written on Iranian banks."
ACCORDING TO the Dec. 3 issue of
the Chronicle of Higher Education,
several large banks such as Citibank of
Newark and First National Bank of
Chicago have decided not to honor
drafts from local banks in which
Iranian students maintain accounts.
When asked if he knew whether UCF
students were having difficulty transferring funds to local banks, Nguyen
replied, "I talked to an area Sunbank,
Tuition, page 12
status and therefore were not subject to
the INS inquiry.
The interviews took place in the
UCF Placement Office November 27,
28 and 29. Iranian students were
notified they needed to appear through
phone calls and word of mouth since,
there was no time for formal notice
Nguyen said.
"I suggested an off-campus location
for the interviews because of concern
over possible disorder and resentment,
from other students," said Nguyen.
The on-campus location was eventually decided upon for the convenience of the Iranian students.
State universities typically monitor
the status of foreign students to the extent of notifying the INS when such
students are dropped from their rolls.
Nguyen described the INS policy
toward checking visas as "previously
verv flexible."
NGUYEN SAID he felt that, "Nor- .
mally they (INS) should interview all
foreign  students  from   time  to  time,
though thev haven't done so before."
While certain student civil libertarian groups across the country have
protested the special inquiries bv the
INS, Nguven said his office received no
reaction from sympathetic American-
students and little from the Iranians
themselves.
"Most took it as it is," said Nguyen,
"with either no reaction or a 'we are
legal and don't care'."
Nguyen said when he expressed
reservations about isolating Iranians
for direct interviews a "chief official"
of the INS Florida Office--who.se name
he could not recall-told him "INS expected to interview all foreign students" as part of their regular procedure.
Student Body VP threatens resignation
by Deanna Gugel
editor In chief
Student Body Vice President James Blount threatened to
resign from his office if the Student Senate did not change
their attitude.
Blount announced at the senate's special session meeting
Dec. 13 that he had written his resignation the night before
but was convinced by friends and colleagues to remain, at
least temporarily, as the senate leader.
To explain his actions, Blount read his planned letter of
resignation to the senate.
"I'm not pointing my finger at anyone in particular, but I
think that we have failed as a unit," said Blount.
"There's not been one student service provided this quarter, and I'm ashamed of it....Next quarter some things will
change. We will become more responsible to the student
body."
Blount, who emphasized during his campaign he was a
legislator not a politician, said the major reason he had
planned to resign was political games being played   within
the senate. He said he would like the senators to stop complaining the executive branch has too much power and
would like them to work with the executive branch as a
"student government."
"I get tired of hearing, as I have so much lately, that there
is a separation of powers....There's no difference between the
brances," Blount said.
Personality conflicts caused many of the senate's problems
during fall quarter, he said.
"Some people call it politics; some call it a power
struggle," said Blount. "For various reasons, today I choose
to call it pettiness....It's your senate; it's our senate together.
"I   have   never   seen   a   more   talented,   yet   politically-
hindered group in my life," he said. "I'm tired. I'm tired of
being accused and tired of being talked about behind my-
back....There's too much going on for no real reason. I think
some of. you are looking for something that's not there."
Blount told the senate he had reconsidered the resignation
because he liked working with them and believed the
senators were intelligent people,  he said he hoped the senate
Blount, page 15
Man and Machine
For the blind, technology can provide the
means for competing in a sighted job
market. A UCF professor explains the
possibilities in the story on page 3
Family Friend
Willie Aames,  star  of TV's   "Eight  is
Enough" comes to Orlando with a rock
group and his first film Scavenger Hunt.
For a personal interview, see page 10.
Agony and Thrills
The pain of last quarter's loss in women's
volleyball is somewhat eased by pride in
UCF's recent national ranking in basketball and flag football. See sports pages 13
thru 15 for coverage of all three.