According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, universities across the nation are having trouble maintaining high levels of international applications. The study also found that increasingly restrictive visa policies ordered by the Department of Homeland Security deter many applicants.

However, at the University of Wisconsin, international applications have not decreased, and American students who wish to study in other countries have not been discouraged by the post-Sept. 11 political climate.

Still, Pap Sarr, director of University of Wisconsin’s International Student Services, said students here have had more problems getting student visas since Sept. 11 because of added restrictions, including background checks for students of certain majors.

However, this does not seem to have deterred international students from applying. Sarr said the number of international students applying at UW is just as large it was last year, as 129 fewer students enrolled.

Sarr said a decrease in international students would hurt the UW campus, seeing as how students would lose the diversity international students from over 100 countries provide on campus.

The Chronicle of Higher Education also reported many international students have trouble staying in the United States once they get here, especially those from China who only receive six-month visas from the United States government. Sarr said he has not seen students having problems staying stateside once they do manage to get here.

Sarr added that although many international students may view the United States as unwelcoming to foreigners during the visa application process, they generally do not feel this way once they arrive.

“Those already here feel welcome,” Sarr said.

The events of Sept. 11 also do not seem to have deterred American students from applying to study abroad in other countries.

Matt Smuksta, a peer advisor at the UW International Academic Programs Office, said he cannot compare the program now with what it was before Sept. 11.

However, he said very few students express concerns about experiencing hostile political climates or feeling unwelcome as an American when studying abroad.

Smuksta, who studied in Prague last spring, said he did not feel at all unwelcome there.

“I had a great experience,” said Smuksta.

Students also may not feel worried about these issues, according to Smuksta, because UW students studying abroad do not travel to countries considered dangerous.

“We don’t send people to places we don’t deem as safe,” Smuksta said, adding programs sending students to Israel and Cuba have been cancelled because of safety concerns.

Smuksta also said foreigners who do not agree with the American government’s actions do not necessarily discriminate against individual Americans. He said when he traveled to Tunisia, people made him feel welcome.

“I think foreigners are careful to separate American people from American policy,” Smuksta said.