Opinion

Are there terrorists at UW?

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As part of its ongoing hunt for terrorists, the FBI is interviewing 5,000 immigrants who match the profiles of the Sept. 11 hijackers. That profile, which includes 18- to 33-year-old Arab-Americans and Muslims who have entered the U.S. on visas since 2000, potentially includes several UW-Madison students.

Thus, it should have come as no surprise when UW’s Office of International Student Services announced last week at least two UW students have already been approached and interrogated by federal agents acting independently of the university.

Yet administrators, who less than 24 hours earlier said the FBI was not interrogating students, were aghast at the report. Their surprise is a mystery to us: Home to one of the largest international student populations in the country, UW students seem a prime target in the FBI’s exhaustive probe.

Following the report, UW administrators reiterated they will not cooperate with federal agencies without a court order. UW Chancellor John Wiley said he believes the criteria for selecting interviewees is akin to racial profiling — which it is — and that UW would not cooperate; the UW police would not conduct any interviews on behalf of the FBI.

While Wiley is to be applauded for taking a pro-civil-rights stand and not giving in to the FBI’s heavy-handed tactics, it is clear UW is still not doing enough to safeguard students’ civil liberties. While not cooperating with the FBI means the administration will not know what individuals are targeted, UW needs to be aggressive in assisting targeted groups.

UW should look to other universities. The University of Michigan is hosting sessions with immigration experts and providing international students with professors and interpreters to accompany students to interviews. At other campuses, the A.C.L.U. and administrations are actively advising, warning and preparing international students for potential brushes with federal agents.

The UW administration desperately needs to abandon the oblivion to reality displayed in its failure to cancel classes on Sept. 11. This time, the menace is not terrorists but an abridgment of civil liberties. This danger can and has happened here, and the administration needs to do a better job protecting students.