The U.S. Justice Department recently asked several colleges and universities to aid its investigation of 5,000 international students with possible connections to terrorist activities, but the department has not contacted Penn State.
Men between the ages of 18 and 33 who have entered the United States on nonimmigrant visas, including student visas, since Jan. 1, 2000, have been the target of an ongoing investigation. The academic community recently became involved in the investigation when the department asked campus officials at the University of Michigan to use their internal police force to aid in the interview process.
Penn State is not on the list of colleges contacted by the Justice Department.
"We have not received any request from the FBI like the one in Michigan that has generated so much media interest," Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said.
Some colleges — including Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin — have refused the request, fearing such action would break down the relationship between students and campus police. Administrators at these colleges said the criteria to select individuals was too broadly based.
Administrators and officials at Penn State said they would have to know the details of the requests made by the department before saying what their response would be.
"Without knowing the specifics of a request for assistance, I would not speculate as to whether we would honor the request. However, we would evaluate any request on the basis of the efficacy of the action requested as well as the appropriateness of the requested assistance," said Thomas Harmon, director of Penn State Police.
Under a Congressional mandate, all colleges and universities have been required to collect information from international students since 1983, including names, dates of birth, dates of attendance and credit hours.
"We are in regular contact with personnel from the local FBI office," Harmon said, adding that he does not anticipate any request will be made for Penn State to conduct interviews of its international students in the near future.
"Certainly if any request for assistance was made by the FBI, we would give it due consideration," Harmon said.
Jim Lynch, director of the International Students and Scholars Office, said he doesn't expect the university to be asked to participate in the investigation unless a second round of interviews takes place.
"It is my understanding that these 5,000 interviews have been completed, so I don't expect to hear from them in the future, unless there is another round," Lynch said.
Still, Lynch has prepared for the possibility.
"I did have a contingency plan that would have been implemented, subject to approval by my superiors, if the request had come, but that is now a moot point," he said.
