America prides itself on being the "land of the free and the home of the brave," the great Western melting pot. The American tradition is rich with influences from countries around the world, including Italy, Spain, Mexico, France, Germany, India and China.

Every year millions of people from around the world come to this country to live, work and enjoy the unique American culture. Among those are hundreds of thousands of students who become a part of the colleges and universities of America.

International exchanges are one of Americaıs most profitable good-will ventures. International students bring part of their culture with them, diversifying our communities, and they take back home pieces of American culture and values. The U.S. government views these exchanges as one of the best ways to communicate democratic values throughout the world.

More than half a million students come to America to study every year, adding billions of dollars to the economy. International exchanges have become one of the most profitable service-sector industries in the country ­ it is a win-win situation.

Why then, is America making it harder for international students to enter and live in the United States? The answer is simple: Americans now live in a constant state of fear, wondering what will happen next. This paranoia that America is afflicted with has had dire consequences, especially for those wishing to study in the nationıs higher education institutions.

The actual process for entering the United States as an international student is long and tedious.

As a result of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, the Immigration and Naturalization Service developed as part of its Student and Exchange Visa Program the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.

SEVIS is an electronic database that enables the INS and Department of State to track international students. SEVIS allows schools to transmit information and notifications to the INS and the Department of State over the Internet.

A pilot program was developed in 1997, but lagged due to lack of support.

However, after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, support was easy to find. According to testimony by the INS and the State Department, one terrorist involved in the attacks entered the United States on a student visa.

Legislators championed SEVIS with the belief that if such a nation-wide database had been in place prior to Sept. 11, that terrorist would have been caught. In 2001, $36.8 million was appropriated to the Department of Justice to help with the programıs implementation.

According to the INS, there has been a "complete deployment" of SEVIS, with over 3,000 schools using it.

SEVIS has the potential to find the flaw in the system that allows terrorists to enter the country on student visas. However, international students only constitute roughly 2 percent of all visas granted.

On the other hand, SEVIS could adversely affect international students and the international exchange program. It makes it hard for students from third-world countries to apply for visas, and the system could possibly become the governmentıs excuse for invading studentsı privacy­a right Americans cherish and protect fiercely.

Certain bills that have been passed by the Bush administration suggest the country is willing to sacrifice many rights in order to pacify its fears.

Section 416 of the Patriot Act of 2001 allows the government to monitor foreign students at any educational institution, including air flight, language training and vocational schools.

The Patriot Act also permits the government to tap into personal electronic and telephone communications.

The world today is a dangerous place; there is no doubt about it. America faces the threat of war and more terrorist attacks every day. The nation should not close itself off from the world; instead, the country should reach out and embrace the world even more.

Americans should not make their guests feel like unwelcome, unwanted criminals. It is a scary time for Americans, but even more so for international students.

The SEVIS system is already in place, and the Patriot Act has been passed. However, UH-Clear Lake students do have the power and the responsibility to help ensure that future programs and legislation that infringes upon studentsı rights do not get passed.

The United States is a free country, in which citizens have the right to voice their opinions and choose their government. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that Americans exercise their rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

International students are the universityıs fastest growing population group, and they make UH-Clear Lake the unique university it is. As the nation faces even more precarious times in the future, UH-Clear Lake students need to make sure that their classmates are not sacrificed for the countryıs fears.

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