Dear UMass Boston community,
As you may have learned from news reports, the federal government has withdrawn the guidance issued recently that would have forced our international students to leave the country as a consequence of our decision to mount a Fall curriculum that is largely remote in modality. Attorney General Maura Healey led the challenge, which included some 17 other universities, arguing that the position of the Trump Administration was neither adequately motivated nor in the interests of the country, the Commonwealth, the university, or the students. With her leadership, and the effective advocacy of the attorneys arguing on behalf of Harvard and MIT, it became clear to the court that the government's position was damaging to all parties and a completely unnecessary departure from the policies supposedly in place because of the continuing health emergency. Accordingly, the government rescinded its guidance.
This outcome is an enormous relief to everyone in our community, especially our international students who can now rest assured that the plan we put in place for the Fall of 2020 -- taken with the best interests of all of our students, faculty, and staff in mind -- will hold. They will be able to remain with us in remote classes until we can all come back to campus "on ground."
The effort to overturn the SEVP guidance involved leaders on all five of our campuses, colleagues in the Office of the President, and the Attorney General's office. President Meehan's advocacy was essential in bringing this episode to a conclusion on the right side of history. Everyone involved dropped everything to challenge the government's plan and can take some measure of satisfaction that their efforts prevailed. But nothing compares to the stress and anxiety that our international students were put through because of this ill considered and mean-spirited reversal of common sense. I very much appreciate the efforts of those who worked on this issue, but I am even more grateful to our international students for their steadfast appreciation of UMass Boston. We all treasure the rich experience and diversity that our international students bring to the campus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an incalculable amount of stress on our community. Having to divert energy to a legal matter of this kind was frustrating. But now we can lay it to rest and turn back to the work in progress. Nonetheless, I wanted to thank you all, especially our international students, for your forbearance.
Yours,
