Keep Natalie in America
- by: Kristen Wright, Natalie Abulhosn, and you.
- recipient: Pacific Northwest College of Art
This morning, I received some horrible news-- news that I'm still having trouble processing. But I know regardless of how bad it makes me feel, that's nothing compared to how Natalie must feel.
PNCA has reported Natalie to U.S. Immigration. They are withdrawing her student visa and giving her sixty (60) days to leave America.
Why?
**Please note: It is difficult to correctly determine the entire story, because there are many forces at work here; as we do not have a direct statement from PNCA on the matter, please keep in mind that these are merely our observations and opinions and that there is always another side of the argument. We are not trying to paint anyone in an unfair light, we are simply trying to make sense of this situation and see what can be done to prevent Natalie from having to leave PNCA.
Here is what we have determined so far. If you know any of this information to be misleading or incorrect, please do not hesitate to contact us with your concerns. We are attempting to rectify any snap-judgments we have made in our haste to get the word out, and your input is valuable to us.**
Recently, Natalie's parents in Dubai paid three weeks late on her outstanding balance from last term. They are feeling the effects of the economy just like the rest of us, and things are doubly complicated when dealing with a college from abroad. They are not able to afford paying the school right away for this spring term, but would be able to let Natalie attend this term if they were allowed to defer payment.
Failing that, we are presuming Natalie could have simply not attended spring semester and enrolled for summer classes, by which her parents would have had more time to secure funds for her continued education. From what I have gathered off the US Immigration website, the F-1 student (such as Natalie) is allowed to take 5 months off of school without having their visa expire or be revoked. Our question is, if this is truly the case, why was this option not extended to Natalie? What other obstacles would she have needed to overcome, if any?
PNCA apparently is not allowing Natalie to defer payment or enroll this term because it is too far past the start of the semester and because of the previous late payment. That seems fair enough. For anyone else who is an American citizen, this would just be a temporary setback. Taking a semester off is not uncommon.
For Natalie, this is much more than that.
Without her student visa, she is now considered 'out of status' with the US. **While we have determined that this is indeed not quite the same as being an illegal immigrant, it does have a similar emotional impact. It means that she is no longer in good standing with the country, and there may or may not be the potential that it will be more difficult for her to return to the US, if she is made to leave. We are working to determine the likelihood of this.**
Natalie can't stay in the US without being a student for several reasons-- she is not eligible to apply for a work visa without an American degree. She can't get an American degree if she can't attend school. As an international student, she is not eligible for US federal aid (FAFSA) and thus, any work she does on campus would not be reimbursed to the school by the federal government. Legally, however, she would be allowed as an F-1 Visa holder to work on campus. From what I have gathered, **though this has not been verified by the school,** PNCA's policies apparently do not allow Natalie, as an international student, to do work-study. If this is actually untrue and Natalie is technically eligible to work for the school, this then begs the question of why she was denied multiple times for various work-study positions.
She also isn't legally allowed to work outside of school-- unless you count babysitting and house-sitting, which she has done-- because of her lack of a work visa.
**We have determined now that PNCA does indeed apparently have scholarship money that Natalie, as an international student, might be eligible to receive. She has to date never received any such scholarship from the school, despite the fact that her parent%u2019s financial situation is looking fairly bleak. I am attempting to find out more about the available scholarships and determine why Natalie was apparently not eligible to receive any of them.**
Natalie has tried many times to find work at the school; though she has donated many hours of her time to running the Audio room and training others how to use the equipment, PNCA has kept this as a volunteer position, despite her request otherwise. Natalie%u2019s new plan was to approach Student Council this term and ask for a small amount of payment per month to provide this service to students, as Student Council has funded similar ventures in the past, such as paying a PNCA student to provide free bicycle repairs. Obviously, she won%u2019t get the chance to ask if she is no longer attending the school.
This makes me so unbelievably sad to see a student this dedicated to the school not given more guidance or assistance. Between the technicalities of the American government and PNCA%u2019s guidelines, every realistic opportunity Natalie has to support herself has been taken from her control. She is solely dependent on her parents who are struggling to make ends meet and support Natalie... but who is meeting them halfway?
We understand PNCA is an accredited institution. We know they need to charge tuition and run the school, in many senses, as a business-- how else would anything get done without organization and guidelines? I don't fault them for this in the least; their business, their hard work, and their institution is allowing us to get our degrees in something we love. Well... most of us. I feel this circumstance is unusual enough to warrant some compromise on their part. The unfortunate message I'm getting is that students' financial situation is generally of more concern than any special circumstances threatening their attendance, which I know can't be true-- PNCA bent the rules in my first year to help me attend when the cost of tuition was prohibitive. I am sure this is not something beyond us to figure out; special situations require special measures.
I urge PNCA to not disregard the fact that Natalie has been working tirelessly to get the Mirror Box performing arts group off the ground-- its inception being the first student initiative of its kind in PNCA history, one that looks to shape the curriculum in future years-- or that she's single-handedly assembling a compilation CD of PNCA students' music and sound to be distributed around Portland and globally via the Internet. She is the only person who has the drive, ability, and connections to see this Student Council-funded project through to fruition.
All this has been going on while she's been dealing with a full course-load, lack of funds, and the threat of deportation constantly looming, mind. Natalie%u2019s grades suffered greatly this last term, largely because of the intense course load she had and the stress she has been put under by this situation. She is caught between the school and her parents, neither of whom are under her control, and because of this, has been trying desperately to find ways to gain some control over her situation and stay in America. From the Mirror Box to the compilation CD, from trying to start our own business to trying to get paid for her Audio Tech position, Natalie has been consumed since last summer in trying to find something that will keep her from deportation.
And yet, when I think of what she has accomplished in this school over the last year, even with all the pressure of her situation, I am truly astounded. It seems only fair to give her the chance to shine when she's at her best.
There are some things about Natalie you really can't measure-- her friendship, support, collaboration and creativity. Drive and passion and love of her fellow artists, students, and humans.
Why should this count for nothing?
It means something to me, and it should mean something to you. Are we not a community? Do we not stand up for each other and do we not speak up when we see one of our own being left out in the cold?
Natalie left medical school in Dubai and came to America for art and music. In Beirut and Dubai, there are not the opportunities we so comfortably enjoy in the States. That calling we all feel to create and produce work-- the reason we're at this school-- has no outlet where she is from. Natalie has experienced many things most of us will probably never know-- being displaced by war, just for starters-- and despite all the hardships she has faced in her life, she is one of the most outstanding, creative, and hard-working individuals I have ever met, or likely will ever meet.
Natalie is truly an invaluable asset to this school, and to each and every one of us. She has worked unbelievably hard just to get to PNCA, and she appreciates it in a way nobody who has not been in her situation can. She is not here to skate by and get a degree at the end, she's here to make a difference. And to see that chance to reach her full potential being taken away is something I cannot bear to stand by and watch.
I've only known this girl for a year and a half, and she has changed my life more than any fad diet or miracle drug or new president ever could. I owe so much to her, and I know I'm not alone.
If you are like me and have had your life touched in some meaningful way by Natalie Abulhosn since she came to PNCA, or even if you are simply against the principle of PNCA's actions and would like to urge them to reconsider and work with us to find a solution that will work for everyone involved, I ask you to please take a stand with me.
The Undersigned urge PNCA to:
a) re-instate Natalie Abulhosn's student visa and allow her to enroll in the summer term at PNCA, or
b) re-instate Natalie Abulhosn's student visa and assist her in enrolling at another college or university so she can be sure her credits will transfer back to PNCA, and
c) reconsider how they approach international students being able to secure work and financial assistance within the school.
Thank you for your time and for your support.
I come to you with a simple plea. It is not a modest request by any means; it will change lives, make no mistake, but it is too important to hold back for fear of asking too much.
Natalie Abulhosn has had her student visa revoked and has been reported to U.S. Immigration by PNCA; as of yesterday, she has sixty (60) days to leave the country or be deported.
That is something I cannot idly stand by and let happen. I feel I must speak my mind on this matter, because Natalie is not only someone I consider a best friend, but a phenomenal human being, and an utter asset to PNCA, who holds her fate in its hands, so to speak.
The artists who make the history books are generally not the artists who play it safe. Who follow the rules instead of lead the way. Artists have been called many things over the years; mad, foolish, insane, ridiculous. But nobody can say we are not full of ingenuity, creativity, drive, passion, and determination.
In this day and age of comfort, it is easy for most of us, myself included, to forget the struggles artists of the past have faced. From Hitler and Stalin to poverty and madness, there is no shortage of plights that have besieged those who practice the creative arts. But art has never failed, no obstacle has ever triumphed for long. Art takes care of its own. We as artists share a common drive and desire to create, just as we share that need to connect and influence and learn from each other.
It is my hope that PNCA remembers and recognizes that spark that makes us artists; it's the willingness to buck the trend, to go against the crowd and maybe get a little flak for it before ultimately emerging triumphant. When we get knocked down, we get right back up. It's what keeps our passions alive, it's what ignites our creativity. It's what gives us the chance to do what we were made to do.
What Natalie Abulhosn brings to PNCA is more than tuition money. It is more than anything quantifiable or numerical, more than anything ruled by data and budgets. Natalie brings with her a fire to create, to share, to love and to triumph that I have yet to see the likes of elsewhere. She has experienced many things that most of us will never have to endure and can never understand-- growing up as a female in an Arabic society; having to flee her home because of war; leaving her family and traveling half-way around the world to go to a foreign country where she would have opportunities, because she loved music and art so much that she knew she needed to be somewhere that would allow her to create.
She uses her art and her music to communicate and share these experiences with us. We have so much to learn from her, and she is willing to share with us. She is not the lucky one to be in Portland; we are the lucky ones to have her.
Proof of her influence is not hard to find; take the Mirror Box, for example. It is the first student initiative of its kind; a performing arts club that has received funding from Student Council, that enjoys support from students and administrators alike. It has already brought so many within PNCA's walls together, and we haven't even begun constructing the rehearsal space. Its influence will bind PNCA together internally, but also form new relationships from the ground up with musicians and artists in Portland that have yet to forge meaningful exchange with PNCA.
All this is thanks to Natalie; it was her brainchild and would never have come to fruition without her drive and dedication.
Another thing that was her idea, and that will be impossible to achieve without her guidance, is the Student Council-funded compilation album of PNCA student music and sound, which will be distributed throughout PNCA, Portland, and globally thanks to Natalie's contacts and know-how. Nobody else at PNCA has the ability, dedication, or network to make this possible but Natalie, and so many students' hopes are riding on this coming to fruition.
This doesn't even take into account the amount of time Natalie has spent running the Audio Tech room and teaching others how to use the equipment; all without being paid by PNCA, since she was told that her services would be unable to be compensated.
Even beyond just her music, Natalie has had an indelible impact on the PNCA community in the short time she's been here. Her presence in classrooms leads to enlivened conversations, opened minds, thoughtful critiques and art-making that is constantly striving to improve and test the boundaries of creativity. In the last few weeks since school has begun, I can barely go a few hours, much less an entire day, without people asking me where Natalie is, and why she's not in school, and when she will be back.
To cast aside someone of such potential, heart, and creativity is not only a shame for everyone and PNCA and in Portland, but a denial of the very thing Natalie lives for. This is the first place that has accepted her, that has made her feel at home, and the first place that has allowed her to express her art and music and make a positive, substantial change in those around her. The opportunities to make art and music that we casually enjoy in America do not exist where Natalie is from; to force her to return to Dubai would be to lock away in a vault one of the greatest treasures PNCA has ever seen. We all feel that calling to create and share our creations-- the same calling that has brought us all to PNCA, for one reason or another--but Natalie's calling not only led her to school, but caused her to risk everything and travel around the world, leaving her family and medical school and everything she knew behind, just to attend this school and make art and music.
To force her to leave, to make her return to being stifled and choked by her society, is nothing short of a travesty.
I don't believe I'm exaggerating in the slightest. I have seen firsthand what Natalie can accomplish when she sets her mind to it; she asks for nothing but the ability to stay. I firmly believe, with all my heard and mind and cognitive organs, that Natalie needs to stay in Portland. She is meant to be heard; music and art are her sole passions in life, the things she breathes for, and her energy is felt by all those around her.
I feel we cannot throw away such a precious gift, nor condemn her to a life without art and music because of money and deadlines; as important as these things are, they are surely not the be-all, end-all of our existence.
Influence cannot be quantified, and neither can creativity, or talent, or determination. Natalie has all these things, and it is my sincerest hope that PNCA will chose to compromise and work with her to find a solution to this problem that will work for all involved. Money will always be there, in one form or another; Natalie and all the gifts she brings are the true objects of value. This is her home now, and she is only just getting started. It is my greatest hope that she will get a chance to continue the wonderful works she has begun.
Thank you for listening, I appreciate your valued time and thoughts.
Kristen Wright
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