Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. South Carolina students must prove legal residence
By Kyle Moores
The Daily Gamecock, U. South Carolina
January 22, 2009

Proof of U.S. citizenship or a valid green card or visa will be needed if students at the University of South Carolina want to stay there.

"Anyone who cannot provide proof of citizenship will be prevented from registering for classes for the fall, and ultimately may be ejected from the university," said Barbara Rogers Blaney, of the registrar's office. Blaney will be the Citizenship Verification Official for USC's Columbia campus.

More than 10,000 Columbia campus and regional students are being contacted by mail to complete a verification form and present proof of citizenship, she said.

Beginning this semester, all USC students must provide evidence of U.S. citizenship or lawful presence in the United States. The university has adopted the new policy, which went into effect Jan. 1, in order to comply with section 59-101-430 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.

"This policy "requires that lawful presence in the United States be verified before enrollment at any public institution of higher education in the State of South Carolina," according to a news release. International student officials will verify the immigration status of non-citizen students.

Student reactions to the new law have been somewhat mixed, although many students said they should have to establish legal residence in the country. But some students said they feel the penalties may be too severe.

"Non-citizens should be allowed to attend school, not receive financial aid, but still attend," Nikki Harte, a first-year undecided student, said. "If a student has earned admission to the university, they shouldn't be kicked out completely."

Other students said the action being taken by the state legislature and the university is completely justified.

Brent Chaplin, a second-year accounting student, said students "better be citizens or at least legally in this country to attend school. People should try to apply for visas, or show some kind of effort to legally be in the U.S. if they want to go to school here."

It is still unclear just how much this new policy will affect enrollment at USC or the other schools in the state.

"This is the university's response to a program passed by the state legislature," Blaney said. "My job between now and March is to collect the citizenship documents of all unverified students and put them on file for the government auditors to examine."

Blaney said the university has successfully eliminated a large number of students through other means of verification. The university is also attempting other means of establishing citizenship to avoid having to contact students directly.

"We were able to establish citizenship for more than 16,000 students who completed FAFSA forms that are documented by the federal government," Blaney said.

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