February 20, 2003 News Releases
Released 2/19/03
UTAH
STATE EMERITUS PROF’S PLAY ACCEPTED IN NEW YORK ONE-ACT
FESTIVAL
LOGAN — A play by Gene Washington, a Utah State University
department of English emeritus professor, has been selected
to debut in New York City’s Love Creek Productions 2003
One Act Festival. The play, “When Robert Redford Ran Over
My Skis,” is part of the festival that runs Feb. 24, 25
and 26, 2003.
“The play’s loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, Act
I, scene iii, only this one takes place in the present and has
two girls talking about plans to lose their virginity —
to Robert Redford!,” said Washington. “Love Creek
Productions has a competition twice a year, from which they
select six short plays for production. Mine’s about 35
minutes long.”
The plays will be produced in New York City’s Creative
Place Theatre between 46th and 47th street on 8th Ave, he said.
Washington’s play, which features six roles, has been
in rehearsal for several weeks.
Washington spent the major portion of his career teaching British
literature in Utah State’s department of English, before
retiring in 1993. Since then he’s been writing plays,
including “Yielding,” which debuted in the Utah
State theatre arts department’s Second Annual Festival
of New Plays organized by theatre arts professor Mark Damen.
It ran for three nights, January 25-27, in 2001.
For more information on Washington or the department of English
at Utah State, contact Marina Hall at (435) 797-3858.
February 19, 2003
Contact: Marina Hall (435) 797-3858
Writer: Marina Hall (435) 797-3858
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY MEETS NEW INS REGULATIONS
LOGAN — Utah State officially met regulations designed
by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to regulate the
flow of information about international students.
If the university had failed, it may have lost its ability to
admit international students.
The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)
is a computerized system designed to keep direct, close contact
with international students throughout Utah and the United States.
Technological challenges and lack of funding delayed the program
for several years. However, when Congress passed the USA Patriot
Act after Sept. 11, 2001, it required nationwide compliance
to SEVIS by Jan. 1, 2003.
Throughout this process, the Office of International Students
and Scholars at
Utah State is making sure international students, faculty and
staff, and the community are aware of SEVIS and its new requirements.
Workshops are being held throughout the semester so all who
are affected will be aware and informed.
“SEVIS is a very efficient system,” said Negar Davis,
director of International Students and Scholars at Utah State.
“We’re moving from a paperwork-based system to an
electronic data transferal system which enables the INS and
universities to receive changes in students’ immigration
status immediately.”
More than 150 entries must be provided for each student, including
their current address, changes in major, courses of study and
employment authorizations. Records are updated daily, and students
who fail to maintain good status may be deported. With approximately
1,300 international students and scholars at Utah State, it
will be a challenge to input accurate information, said Davis.
“It’s quite a time consuming project, but it has
to be done,” said Davis. “The first year will be
a challenge because we are just implementing SEVIS. Once everything
has been entered into the system and is in place, maintenance
will be easier.”
Although universities, including Utah State, receive no funding
from the federal government to implement SEVIS, they are expected
to comply with the new mandate, Davis said.
The INS will audit Utah State based on the new requirements
every two years.
According to a recent report, 582,996 international students
attended colleges and universities and contributed nearly $12
billion last year to the U.S. economy in money spent on tuition,
living expenses and related costs. If Utah State and other universities
throughout the country do not meet SEVIS requirements in the
future, Davis feels that it may have a negative impact on the
economy.
“More importantly, as a society we will miss out on the
tremendous value that cultural diversity contributes to our
campuses and to our social interactions in a global context,”
Davis said.
Date: February 19, 2003
Writer: Shalee Sucher, 797-1350, shalee@cc.usu.edu
Contact: Negar Davis, 797-8091, Davisn@cc.usu.edu
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