US embassy cable - 02AMMAN6812

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006812 
 
SIPDIS 
 
ECA/A/S/A; NEA/PPD; NEA/ARN, IIP/G/NEA, R 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: JO, KPAO, SCUL, OEXC, OIIP 
SUBJECT: U.S. UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS DELIVER MESSAGE TO 
RECEPTIVE BUT HESITANT AUDIENCE 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  THE ECA FUNDED U.S. UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS 
TOUR VISITED JORDAN OCTOBER 20-22 TO DELIVER THE MESSAGE TO 
JORDANIAN STUDENTS THAT THEY CONTINUE TO BE WELCOME IN U.S. 
UNIVERSITIES.  THE PROGRAM INCLUDED DIALOGUE AND INFORMATION 
SESSIONS FOR HIGH-LEVEL EDUCATION CONTACTS, UNIVERSITY AND 
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND ADMINISTRATORS, AND THE GENERAL 
PUBLIC, INCLUDING A BREAKFAST DISCUSSION WITH SENIOR 
UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS HOSTED BY AMBASSADOR GNEHM.  ALL 
AUDIENCES, INCLUDING PROSPECTIVE JORDANIAN STUDENTS AND 
THEIR FAMILIES, WERE GENERALLY RECEPTIVE AND EAGER TO HEAR 
THE MESSAGE, BUT DID NOT HIDE THEIR CONTINUED HESITANCY 
ABOUT THE PERCEIVED SITUATION, REGARDING TOLERANCE, COMFORT- 
LEVEL, AND NEW VISA, ENTRY, AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, 
IN THE U.S. FOR ARAB AND MUSLIM STUDENTS.  THE 
ADMINISTRATORS' PROGRAM ATTRACTED SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE MEDIA 
COVERAGE, WITH MOST REPORTS FOCUSING ON THE ADMINISTRATORS' 
MESSAGE OF WELCOME AND ON PACIFYING VISA RELATED 
MISCONCEPTIONS.  POST ARRANGED CONSULAR REPRESENTATION AT 
ALL PUBLIC FUNCTIONS AND FOUND THEIR PARTICIPATION TO BE 
ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO ADDRESS NEVER-ENDING VISA-RELATED 
QUESTIONS.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.   PAS AND AMIDEAST TEAMED UP TO COORDINATE THE U.S. 
UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS TOUR OCTOBER 20-22 IN JORDAN.  THE 
THREE U.S. UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS SELECTED FOR JORDAN, 
CHARLES GREENLEAF, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, RANDALL 
RICHARDSON, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, AND MARY GRAY, AMERICAN 
UNIVERSITY, WERE EFFECTIVE IN DELIVERING A CLEAR AND 
CONSISTENT MESSAGE OF WELCOME TO JORDANIAN STUDENTS, AND 
AUDIENCES SEEMED TO RECEIVE THE REPRESENTATIVES AS 
AUTHORITATIVE, GENUINE, AND SYMPATHETIC.  PROGRAM EVENTS 
INCLUDED A BREAKFAST PANEL DISCUSSION HOSTED BY THE 
AMBASSADOR WITH UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS, ADMINISTRATORS AND 
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM SPONSORS, A PRESS ROUNDTABLE WITH 
REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL MAJOR LOCAL PRINT AND RADIO MEDIA, 
A PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION THAT DREW A CROWD OF AROUND 300 
PEOPLE, AND MEETINGS AND INFORMATION SESSIONS AT A LOCAL 
UNIVERSITY AND A HIGH SCHOOL. 
 
3.  TWO MAIN CONCERNS BECAME CLEAR FROM ALL SESSIONS, WITH 
ONE OR THE OTHER WEIGHING MORE HEAVILY DEPENDING ON THE 
SPECIFIC AUDIENCE.  THE FIRST ISSUE CONCERNED THE TREATMENT 
OF ARAB AND MUSLIM STUDENTS IN THE U.S., BOTH SOCIALLY 
WITHIN UNIVERSITY AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES, AND 
ADMINISTRATIVELY BY GOVERNMENT OR UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS.  THE 
SECOND ISSUE CENTERED ON NEW VISA, ENTRY AND REGISTRATION 
PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS.  WHILE ALL GROUPS EXPRESSED AT 
LEAST SOME AMOUNT OF APPREHENSION REGARDING BOTH ISSUES, 
GENERALLY ATTENDEES WITH LITTLE PREVIOUS EXPOSURE TO THE 
U.S. EXPRESSED MORE ANXIETY OVER TREATMENT CONCERNS, WHILE 
THOSE WITH EXTENSIVE PERSONAL OR FAMILY EXPERIENCE IN THE 
U.S. CITED NEW PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS AS THEIR LARGEST 
WORRY.  AT AN INFORMATION SESSION HELD FOR THE GENERAL 
PUBLIC, THE ADMINISTRATORS AND PANEL MEMBERS RESPONDED TO 
MANY QUESTIONS ALONG THE LINE OF "WILL I BE REJECTED 
ADMISSION OR EVALUATED DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE I AM ARAB?" 
COMPARATIVELY, AT A PANEL DISCUSSION HELD FOR APPROXIMATELY 
50 STUDENTS AND PARENTS AT THE PRESTIGIOUS AMMAN 
BACCALAUREATE SCHOOL, A HIGH SCHOOL THAT REGULARLY SENDS ITS 
STUDENTS TO U.S. UNIVERSITIES SUCH AS HARVARD AND BROWN, THE 
MAJORITY OF QUESTIONS WERE POSED BY PARENTS AND DIRECTED AT 
THE EMBASSY'S CONSULAR OFFICER.  THIS AUDIENCE, WHILE 
MAINTAINING A VERY FAVORABLE VIEW OF U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION 
AND A PREFERENCE FOR SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO THE U.S. TO 
STUDY, MADE IT CLEAR THAT THEY WOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER 
OTHER OPTIONS IF THEY FELT THAT THEIR CHILDREN WOULD FACE 
DIFFICULT LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGES RELATED TO 
THEIR ENTRY AND RESIDENCE IN THE U.S. 
 
4.  THE ADMINISTRATORS' TOUR RECEIVED EXTENSIVE LOCAL MEDIA 
COVERAGE, WITH THE MAJORITY OF HEADLINES REFLECTING THE 
MESSAGES OF WELCOME AND/OR THE CONTINUED ISSUANCE OF STUDENT 
VISAS.  AL-RA'I ARABIC DAILY CARRIED TWO INSIDE-PAGE 
REPORTS, ONE WITH THE HEADLINE: "U.S. AMBASSADOR: WE WELCOME 
JORDANIAN AND ARAB STUDENTS IN OUR UNIVERSITIES," AND THE 
SECOND HEADLINE: "AMERICAN ACADEMICS: NUMBER OF JORDANIAN 
STUDENTS IN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES DID NOT GO DOWN AFTER 
SEPTEMBER 11."  IN ADDITION, AL-DUSTOUR ARABIC DAILY FILED 
AN ARTICLE WITH POSITIVE REMARKS BY THE ADMINISTRATORS 
REGARDING THE SITUATION OF ARAB STUDENTS IN AMERICAN 
UNIVERSITIES, AND THE JORDAN TIMES ENGLISH DAILY CARRIED A 
REPORT FOCUSING ON ATTEMPTS TO "ALLAY CONCERNS OVER THE 
TREATMENT OF ARAB STUDENTS IN THE U.S. AND DISPEL ANY VISA 
DELAY RUMORS."  WHILE NO REPORTS WERE ENTIRELY NEGATIVE, AN 
ARTICLE FILED BY THE LOCAL AP REPORTER INCLUDED THE 
HEADLINE: "U.S. UNIVERSITY ENVOYS REASSURE ARAB STUDENTS 
THEY ARE WELCOME, BUT JORDANIANS REMAIN SUSPICIOUS."  THIS 
SAME REPORT QUOTED FROM INTERVIEWS WITH JORDANIAN STUDENTS 
ATTENDING THE PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION, INCLUDING ONE 18- 
YEAR OLD WOMAN WHO STATED, "DESPITE THE ASSURANCES WE'RE 
HEARING, I'M STILL AFRAID BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBLE HARASSMENT 
I MAY FACE AS AN ARAB.  MY PARENTS ARE OPPOSED TO SENDING ME 
TO THE UNITED STATES AND PREFER THAT I GO TO ENGLAND." 
 
5.  COMMENT:  THE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS' EXPLICIT 
WELCOME TO ARAB AND MUSLIM STUDENTS IS, FINALLY, ONE MESSAGE 
THAT JORDANIANS WANT TO HEAR.  THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE PROGRAM 
SESSIONS REFLECTED A SENSE THAT JORDANIANS TRULY WANT TO 
BELIEVE THAT THEY OR THEIR CHILDREN ARE WELCOME AND SAFE IN 
U.S. UNIVERSITIES, DESPITE THEIR REMAINING HESITATION.  THE 
TWO TYPES OF AUDIENCES ENCOUNTERED DURING THIS TOUR POINTS 
TO TWO NEEDED STRATEGIES:  FIRST, SINCE IT IS A MESSAGE THAT 
THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ALREADY DESIRE TO BE TRUE, IT IS 
HELPFUL TO REPEATEDLY STATE IN A VARIETY OF WAYS THE SIMPLE 
MESSAGE THAT ARAB AND MUSLIMS ARE WELCOME AND DESIRED AT 
U.S. UNIVERSITIES.  IN ADDITION, FOR OUR MORE EXPOSED 
AUDIENCE, IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE INCREASED ACCESS 
TO CLEAR, DEFINITIVE INFORMATION ON VISA, ENTRY, AND 
REGISTRATION PROCEDURES. 
 
GNEHM