UMFK campus shares tragedy International students concerned as border crossing could close

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FORT KENT – Officials at the University of Maine at Fort Kent asked students and staff Tuesday to look to each other for support after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

“We are all one community that pulls together in times of happiness and in times of deep sadness,” Don Zillman, interim president, said during a special campus meeting Tuesday afternoon. “We need to show the Fort Kent spirit is a real one.”

About 300 students, faculty and staff packed into the campus’s Fox Auditorium looking for answers on everything from impact on the university’s international student population to counseling options.

“I fear it is very probable many of us in this community will suffer from a loss of a loved one or know someone suffering from a loss,” Zillman said. “This tragedy will bring about changes in the ways we live our lives.”

The northernmost campus of the University of Maine System, UMFK sits on the U.S.-Canadian border and has 175 Canadian citizens enrolled in the student body, many living in nearby Clair, New Brunswick.

Chief among their concerns Tuesday was the possibility of the Fort Kent-Clair border closing to traffic.

UMFK officials were in constant contact Tuesday with Fort Kent law enforcement personnel and assured the Canadian students they could return home.

There were, however, no guarantees they could return to the United States readily.

“The American border is on high alert with extreme security,” John Murphy, campus vice president, said. “If it does close, you will still be able to exit the country, but returning to the U.S. may be a problem.”

As of Tuesday, Murphy said local officials informed him that there was every intent the Fort Kent-Clair crossing will remain open to traffic.

Students who felt nervous about crossing back into Canada were told to contact the office of student services, and accommodation arrangements would be made for them in Fort Kent.

Classes at UMFK and the six other UMS campuses were being held as scheduled, but Zillman said students were free to use their own discretion.

“Anyone who feels that they need to be elsewhere may do so,” he said. “It will certainly be an understandable absence.”

At the same time, Zillman said UMFK faculty were free to use class time to discuss the day’s tragedies in lieu of regularly scheduled lessons and lectures.

He urged students to rely on each other and the campus community. “In times of agony, do not curl up with yourself, [but] give and accept support.”

Support on campus was made available from several administrative offices and through the campus ministry.

“We are not right there where all this horrible stuff happened,” Scott Voisine, director of student services, said. “But we are all touched by it.”

Zillman himself told students to call him directly at home, any time of the day or night, if they felt compelled to talk to someone.

“We understand all of us will deal with this in different ways,” Zillman said. “There is no right way to respond.”

Along with the Canadian students, UMFK has 30 students attending classes from other countries.

“I want to assure them they are safe at UMFK,” Zillman said. “They can contact faculty or [Fort Kent] law enforcement if they feel need.”

The president said he does not anticipate that need. “There is a real sense of community here that should forestall that need,” he said.

“This has been a very unusual day on campus,” Jason Parent, campus public relations director, said. “Students are gathered at the big screen television just watching in silence.”

One of those watching was Michelle Arseneau, an education major from Halifax, Nova Scotia, living on campus.

“It’s shocking, I can’t believe it,” she said, watching news video of the tragedy. “I found out about this morning and have been watching it all day.”

Equally shocked was fellow Canadian student Derek Roy of Riverview, New Brunswick.

“I’m glad classes will still go on like normal here,” he said. “This will let them know they have not shut down the whole country.”

This was Priyanka Pishavoti’s second week in the United States, and the Indian student was sharing in the horror felt throughout her adopted country.

“I always thought something like this could happen anywhere,” she said. “It has happened in my country [and] it could happen here.”

Students worried about the border crossing status can call the campus’ special “storm report” number at 834-7883 for a recorded update on the border situation.