Rally For International Students Planned At OU

Protesters fighting for international students plan to rally at the University of Oklahoma, Monday.

Monday, July 13th 2020, 8:24 am



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Protesters fighting for international students plan to rally at the University of Oklahoma, Monday.

This is in response to the latest guidance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which states those attending schools that switch to entirely online classes cannot remain in the United States.

International students attending OU told News 9 they were shocked by the new regulations. 

ICE made exceptions for international students in the Spring when the pandemic started, but the new guidance for Fall of 2020 says if a school goes back to entirely online classes international students only have a few options, including leaving the country or transferring schools. 

If they don't take any action, they face possibly being removed. 

The student's rallying have a list of demands for OU, including a guarantee that there will be an in-person option that satisfies the new guidance for international students. 

News 9 spoke with a United Kingdom native and graduate student, Bryony Puxley. She said she wants those making decisions to put themselves in their shoes. 

"I just want the officials to think about doing that themselves, or their children," said Puxley. "If their children went to study in England or Australia..."

"I think its important to consider all of the things we bring to the community," said Bosnia native and undergrad student Amer Begovic. "Because first of all we are students at these universities just like any other student. We have worked harder than most people can imagine."

Both said Norman is their home and they want the University to go to bat for them. 

Right now, in-person classes are set to resume in Norman, but administrators have put together a task force to support their international students.

The university also announced Friday that OU had officially joined 180 colleges and universities all over the country in supporting a legal complaint against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The student group plans to rally today at 9 a.m. at the Pennington Oval.

You can look at the groups official Facebook event for more information on their demands and the rally.

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