THURSDAY October 13, 2016
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 146 Issue 16
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U.S. visa system makes American Dream unattainable for some international students senior in Business with graduation fast approaching, she is As an 8-year-old grow- forced to confront the reality ing up in India, Anuja Har- of her career dreams in a way lalka watched shows like her friends don’t have to. If she cannot obtain an H-1B “Friends” and dreamed of coming to America. Now, as a work visa, she will not be able to stay in the United States. International students make up nearly a quarter of the population at the University, with 10,700 registered students as of this fall. Any of them who would choose to the remain in the country after graduation are forced to go through the same process Harlalka: primarily, finding a company willing to sponsor an H-1B visa. Latin America North Over 90 percent of interAmerica national students at the Uniare on an F-1 visa, Middle East versity said Assistant Director for Career and Professional Development Un Yeong Park. This grants them the opportunity to be educated in America. If a student wishes to remain in the United States after graduation to pursue employment, they must enter into Optional Practical Training. Approximately ELLIE HAHN 2,000 University alumni are at THE DAILY ILLINI Optional Practical Training staBY GILLIAN DUNLOP
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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tus, Park said, which acts as an extension of the F-1 visa. This allows them to work for a company for three years if they are a STEM student and one year if they are not. After that period is up, companies can then sponsor candidates so that they can potentially obtain an H-1B visa. If the candidate is successful in getting one, they will be allowed to work in country for up to six additional years. The issue is, only 85,000 H-1B visas are given out every year and about 240,000 people apply for them, Park said. The visas are granted through a random lottery system. All H-1B applicants are college graduates, but they can come from any university in the world. This gives students about a one in three chance of obtaining a visa, which makes it difficult to get sponsored by a company. Many see it as a bad investment, said Park. “It sucks, because even if you’re better than someone else, you (might) lose out on getting a job here,” Harlalka said. Even with the demand so high, our government has failed
to increase the amount of H-1B visas allotted every year. “More and more people that want to stay are being forced to go back since our immigration system is so broken,” immigration attorney Arthur Serratelli said. “You can be a smart kid, graduate, fight an uphill battle to get sponsored and you still might not get an H-1B.” The reason for lack of increase in H-1B visa distribution is most likely public perception. “There’s a perception amongst the public that more H-1B visas means less jobs for U.S. workers,” said Directory of International Student and Scholar Services Martin McFarlane. “That’s not the case at all. To get an H-1B visa you have to prove, as the company doing this, that there was not an available American worker.” The fact that the demand for these visas is so much higher than the amount available shows that the country needs skilled workers. And they want to be here, McFarlane said. “We miss out on bringing knowledge and expertise to
HANNAH AUTEN THE DAILY ILLINI
Agatha Miodowski, junior in LAS, studies in Caffe Bene on Wednesday.
Online programs projected to raise UI enrollement BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
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Students celebrate International Coming Out Day
LILY KATZ THE DAILY ILLINI
Stephanie Skora speaks to students on National Coming Out Day in front of the Illini Union on Tuesday.
An increase in online degrees could help the University system increase the number of overall degrees awarded by 20 percent within the next six years. University President Timothy Killeen asked the three campuses to develop plans for 10, 15 and 20 percent growth over the next six years. But a committee of 13 faculty members decided to only make plans for a 20 percent increase because they wanted to aim high. Charles Tucker, vice provost for undergraduate education and innovation, said the campus has grown one percent per year for several decades, mostly at the undergraduate level. He attributes most of the growth to increasing numbers of each freshman class. But the campus is reaching capacity for undergraduate resident enrollment, he said. Residence halls could hold more students for the next few years, but soon Illinois Street Residence Hall will undergo remodeling and make it harder to enroll a larger class. Due to this restriction, future growth must come through master’s degrees or online programs, Tucker said. The committee’s overall goal was to maximize institutional impact for the state of Illinois in a way that is financially sustainable, he said. “We think of impact as the product of excellence and size,” he said. “So, you could have the very best student in the world, but if there is only one of her, you’re not making as much of an impact or if you are a giant university but not producing very high quality students, you are also not making a good impact.” Instead, he said the campus must grow only where it makes sense
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Illinois wins 4th consecutive diversity award; students skeptical BY OLIVIA OKOCHA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
For the fourth consecutive year, the University, along with 83 other colleges and universities, has won the 2016 Higher Education Excellence Diversity Award. The award was presented by Insight Into Diversity magazine — the oldest magazine that promotes diversity in higher educational institutions. Associate Chancellor for Diversity Assata Zerai noted in a press release that increasing diversity is a major priority for the University. “Today, we have a vibrant community of diversity and inclusion advocates in the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations, and its related branches in the cultural houses, in the LGBT resources center and the women’s resources center,” Zerai said. The University doesn’t
just have diversity departments that students can attend for resources, however. Classes are offered and students are encouraged to watch videos on diversity online. Starting in Fall 2018, a U.S. Minority Culture class will be a graduation requirement. “Undergraduate students are engaged in DiversityEdu30,” Zerai said. “(It is) an online module that is intended to provide an introduction to the diversity of opinions, social identities, experiences that students will experience at Illinois throughout their academic career and to provide common language where conversations about diversity can begin.” Although people like Zerai agree that Illinois provides a diverse environment, some might argue that it does not. Of 44,880 total enrolled students, 5.16 percent are
African-American, 14.78 percent are Asian, 8.78 percent are Hispanic, 0.08 percent are Native American/Alaska Native and 0.06 percent are Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, according to the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations. International students account for 23.84 percent of the population and 43.94 percent are white. Chibuihe Asonye, junior in LAS, said in an email, that the University is not as diverse as it pretends to be. “I think we are superficially a diverse school,” Asonye said. “We see a black kid here or there in a class and so of course we are a diverse place, but there’s only one kid.” Asonye also said the defi nition of diversity depends on the context, and that from a University perspective, it’s more a reflection of the state’s population demographic.
“I think diversity is just having the numbers. I think people often mistake diversity with inclusivity. And they are not the same thing,” she said. Other students agree with Asonye’s defi nition of diversity. Michelle Pope, junior in LAS, also said that diversity has to do with background and includes more than just race. “I’m looking at race and educational background,” Pope said. “When I look at diversity, I look at ethical background, educational background and where you live.” Pope also agrees that the University is not as diverse as it says it is. “There are a lot of people here from the Chicagoland area. There’s (also) more Asian ethnicities here than African-American people or Mexican people,” Pope said. “I would want it to be more diverse. There
are a lot of white people (as well).” Yet neither Pope nor Asonye are surprised the University won the HEED Award. Pope said that she’s witnessed faculty members talking about the University’s diversity in her classes. “I was in (General Studies) 101 and they were just bombarding us with how diverse we were,” Pope said. “I thought the class was about General Studies and fi nding your major, but it’s more about diversity.” However, Pope expects more from the University. “I know the school is primarily white people,” Pope said. “I’m not surprised but I (do) wish it was more diverse — it is a Big Ten school.” Asonye said that the University should strive to be diverse in terms of sexuality, economic
Opinions The five types of people you have to deal with when working on a group project PAGE 4A
Life and culture LadyFest joins audience’s and speakers’ stories PAGE 6A
Sports Gabe Megginson is the ultimate Illini football goon
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