4 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, September 30, 2013
NEWS
Profs Join Divestment Effort Student:Visa Limits Go voices carry weight” and have “different voices to contribute” for campus issues. “For students, your voice is of the ones who are After extensive campaigns last semester, inheriting the planet,” Shalloway said. “As faculty, KyotoNow! has gotten support from faculty, Fox we can dig into some of the quantitative, concrete said. issues that are involved with a little bit more experProf. David Shalloway, molecular biology and tise.” genetics, approached Kyoto NOW! in the spring to In addition to gaining faculty support, Fox said discuss the possibility of collaborating with a Faculty the campaign helped the organization develop a Senate committee to support divestment. “pretty good relationship” with the Board of Trustees “By the time we met, myself and a few faculty and Skorton. members had already started putting together our “We’re still in contact with the Board of Trustees, resolution,” Shalloway said. Shalloway said he and still looking for more information as it comes reached out to Kyoto NOW! to see if the students out, because [divestment] is a pretty current movecould offer his committee any support because they ment as far as campus divestment across the nation were successful convincing the S.A. to pass a resolu- is going,” Fox said. tion advocating divestment. Future discussions are not Shalloway said he felt that off the table, according to Fox. the fact that the students had “For students, your voice is of “No doors have been closed, taken action meant the faculty and that’s how that’s been comthe ones who are inheriting also had to make a push. municated to us,” Fox said. the planet. As faculty, we can “They’re very interested in “It was shameful that the faculty did not step up to supmaintaining healthy conversadig into some of the port the students,” Shalloway quantiative, concrete issues.” tion.” said. While Kyoto NOW!’s prior According to Shalloway, the leadership focused on passing Prof. David Shalloway committee worked on the resothe S.A. resolution, the organilution over the summer and zation will move forward this put the resolution to the Faculty Senate Organizing semester with their goals and continue asking the Committee at the beginning of the term, which University to divest while bringing publicity to requested that his committee meet with the divestment across campus, according to Keurajian. Univeristy’s Finance Policy Committee. “We’re at a different point in the campaign,” Although Shalloway said divestment is “worth Keurajian said. “We’re operating under the same the cost,” the committee needed to make a quanti- framework. It’s the same campaign, it’s the same tative argument in order to convince faculty that the goals, it’s the same operating principles.” University should divest, he said. According to Keurajian, Kyoto NOW! also “The Finance Committee asked for some very intends to continue to collaborate with Ithaca specific information about how we would imple- College and other Cornell student activist groups. ment the resolution if it were passed, and we’re “We have had a longstanding partnership with working on that right now,” Shalloway said. a lot of the other activist groups on campus,” After meeting with the committee and A.J. Keurajian said, citing the Cornell Organization Edwards, the University’s Chief Investment Officer, for Labor Action as one of their partners. “We’re the committee now has a resolution and appendix to continuing the collaboration with all the other bring to the floor at an upcoming meeting of the groups.” Senate. Members of Kyoto NOW! will be attending The committee consists of faculty from “all over Power Shift 2013, a “nationwide convergence of campus” — Shalloway, Prof. Stephen Ellner, ecolo- youth environmental justice activists” featuring gy and evolutionary biology, Prof. Brian Chabot, “famous keynote speakers,” as a way to expand and ecology and evolutionary biology, Prof. Robert improve their climate justice efforts, according to Oswald, molecular medicine, Prof. Linda Fox. Nicholson, molecular biology and genetics, Prof. “[We’re] training to get steeped in that kind of Anthony Ingraffea, civil and environemental engi- campaign-work, grassroots organizing, networking neering, Prof. Charles Greene, earth and atmospher- opportunity for people around the country,” Fox ic sciences and Prof. Robert Strichartz, mathematics said. — who believe the University should divest, according to Shalloway. Rachel Weber can be reached at Shalloway said he felt “both [student and faculty] rweber@cornellsun.com. DIVESTMENT
Continued from page 1
Against Cornell Motto VISAS
Continued from page 16
International students at Cornell said they are worried about their ability to not only find a job but also secure a work visa so they can stay in the U.S. after graduation. “I was informed by an employer that because of the high demand of H-1B visas, the government is making the application process for the firms more difficult,” said Gizem Sakalli ’15, a student from Turkey who will be graduating a year early. Sakalli said that, even if an employer is interested in offering a potential employee a visa, she thinks that “the government has placed a lot of hurdles for them to go over.” The limited number of H-1B visas might restrict potential work fields for international students, said Ratnika Prasad ’14, a student from India. “Visas are so restricted, especially in particular organizations where many students want to work — like international development, startup ventures and non-profits,” she said. “This pushes people into big firms providing consulting and banking services, as these firms offer work visas to international students.” Still, Cornell officials said they believe that most international students at Cornell are wellequipped to secure the visas they need to work in the U.S. Despite the high demand for H-1B visas this year, most international students at Cornell were able to obtain the permit, according to Brendan O’Brien, director of the International Students and Scholars Office. “Given that the H-1B quota can be quickly reached, we advise international graduates to have
their company apply for the H1B visa on their behalf by April 1,” he said. “I think that most graduates from Cornell who are working in their field were able to get one of the 65,000 H-1B visas that were issued.” O’Brien said that most employers recruiting from Cornell recognize the potential that international students have to offer and extend sponsorship for the visas. “Cornell students have so much to offer. They have a Cornell education, strong technical skills, great language skills, and they have shown that they can adjust to a new culture,” he said. “Most employers recognize the great contribution international students can make to their company and are happy to offer them sponsorship.” However, some employers are “less interested in sponsoring international students because of company policy or uncertainty about immigration regulations,” O’Brien said. Such limitations work against Cornell’s motto of “any person, any study,” according to Sakalli. “Coming out of school like Cornell with a motto of ‘any person, any study,’ I would like to see the U.S. be a place where more individuals are accepted and work application process is easier to navigate through for everyone,” she said. The scramble for H-1B visas also works against President David Skorton’s viewpoint on immigration, Prasad said. Skorton has called for the U.S. to offer green cards “to talented advanced graduates … who want to stay in the U.S., while encouraging others to return home with the best education we can offer,” The Sun reported in November. “President Skorton has been writing a lot on immigration issues and how he wants to encourage international students to go back to their resident countries with the best education,” Prasad said. “The best way to do that is that to open more employment opportunities for the international students and provide them with the valuable experience that they can take back home.” But for most international students, there is another option to gain work experience in the U.S. “Most international students here [at Cornell] are on an F-1 student visa. They can apply for 12 months of practical training, which is an extension of the student visa and allows them to work in the U.S in their field of study,” O’Brien said. “Those in the science and technology fields can apply for an additional 17-month extension. O’Brien said international students will add value to the workforce if they decide to work in the U.S. “I think that international students make a great contribution to Cornell,” he said. “They can also make a great contribution to the U.S. workforce if they decide to pursue employment opportunities here in the United States.” Manu Rathore can be reached at mrathore@cornellsun.com.