Here’s the list of books the Naval Academy removed from its library during DEI purge
The Naval Academy got rid of ‘How to be Anti-Racist’ by Ibram X Kendi
Chatfield For President
Posted on April 11, 2025 by Royal Rosamond Press
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in January that the Pentagon would comply with all orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the Department of Defense. (Reuters/Yves Herman)
It is 8:16 A/M. on April 12,2025. I just looked to see if Shoshana Chatfield published any books. So far I haven’t found one. I would be honored if she wrote the biography of Jessie Benton-Fremont who my late niece, Drew Benton, is related to, John Fremont is a co-founder of the Republican Party. I am asking Shoshana to run for President of the Republican Party – that will be handed over to the Democrats, and the Democrats will hand over the racist pro-slavery history of the party that got – switched! Only then, will all elected Republicans – own a historic base to spread their fascist agenda that bans 400 books from the shelves of military schools, and, forbids all cadets from authoring essays ruled
DEI
Who are the judges of this CENSORSHIP? Do they hide within the Heritage Fpundation? When ‘The Royal Janitor’ is published, will it be banned from the military. How about from the Public Library? If Kamala Harris wes President, then these concersn would be CONFINED to a obscure author in Oregon who tried in vain to make Governor Kotek take up the Fremont Flag instead of spending millions championing the homeless – which is the job of all aspects of the Christian Church – includibg Christiab Nationists – who KIDNAPPED JESUS – so the can defund programs for the poor and elcerly, and, give billionaires big tax cuts.
Soneone has suggested MY ENEMIES read this blog Royal Rosamond Press – that will be banned, and readers thereof – PUNNISHED? Do not get caught reading my blog- while on military grounds? I am also related to Robert E. Lee, thus I own both side of Our American Story, that I have been telling in a historic-fiction manner. Does Trump and Hesgeth know who Willis Augustus Lee was? How about Shoshana? How about Ian Fleming or his uncle, Sea Lord, Caspar John? The world held its breath as the United States Navy slugged it out with the Divine Japanese Navy, who shipped British solders to their prison camps.
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
During World War II, tens of thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers were taken prisoner by the Japanese. Many were held in harsh conditions, including those along the Thailand-Burma “Death Railway”, where forced labor and a lack of adequate food led to high mortality rates. The Japanese treatment of these prisoners was often brutal, driven by a sense of contempt for surrendering.
Military.com | By Steve Beynon
Published April 11, 2025 at 4:55pm ET
The Army‘s premier institution for training its most senior noncommissioned officers has barred its students from writing academic essays on topics such as women, minorities and other issues related to diversity.
Students were required to select their topics and begin their research months before the presidential executive orders were issued. Some students selected topics that may have been construed to have a DEI frame of reference and were potentially incompliant,” Lt. Col. Eugene Miranda, a service spokesperson, said in a statement. “Because of the time already invested in the writing requirements, the Sergeants Major Academy combined the writing requirements and extended the deadline to allow students to complete the work in alignment with new directives.”
Jessie Ann Benton Frémont (May 31, 1824 – December 27, 1902) was an American writer and political activist. She was the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of military officer, explorer, and politician John C. Frémont. She wrote numerous stories that appeared in popular magazines of the time, as well as several historically significant books. Her writings, which helped sustain her family during times of financial hardship, primarily focused on memoirs of her experiences in the American West. A staunch supporter of her husband, who served as one of the first two senators of the new U.S. state of California and as governor of the Territory of Arizona, she was outspoken on political matters and a determined opponent of slavery, an institution excluded from the formation of California.
Pete Hegseth has several tattoos, some referring to his time in the military and other to his faith, including a large Jerusalem cross tattoo.
Hegseth said he was barred from working at Biden’s January 2021 inauguration after another soldier flagged him to his superiors for a tattoo associated with extremist groups, describing him as a possible “insider threat.” The tattoo in question was “Deus Vult,” a Latin phrase that translates to “God wills it.” It served as a battle cry for Christians during the Crusades and had been adopted by white extremist groups, including some that flew banners with the phrase on Jan. 6 earlier that month.The Lee Line Battleship
Willis Augustus Lee
Posted on June 8, 2020 by Royal Rosamond Press
The Royal Janitor
by
John Presco
Copyright 2020
Here’s the list of books the Naval Academy removed from its library during DEI purge
The Naval Academy got rid of ‘How to be Anti-Racist’ by Ibram X Kendi
Published April 8, 2025 12:46pm EDT
Trump has stopped America’s DEI ‘scandal,’ JD Vance says in exclusive interview
Vice President JD Vance sets the record straight with President Donald Trump’s approach to DEI and more during an appearance on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’
The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, has purged hundreds of books from its library — including “How to be Anti-Racist” by Ibram X. Kendi — as part of a push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related content.
The Naval Academy weeded out these books on March 31, in keeping with instructions from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, following executive orders from President Donald Trump.
The Naval Academy also threw out another book Kendi authored, “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” as well as “Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America,” by former Georgia Rep. Stacey Abrams.
Kendi, the former founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, attracted national attention in 2020 for his books following the 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police officers.
NAVAL ACADEMY TOSSES 400 BOOKS FROM LIBRARY FOLLOWING TRUMP DEI EXPULSION ORDERS
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi speaks onstage during Netflix’s “Stamped From The Beginning” world premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Sept. 9, 2023 in Toronto. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Netflix)
Kendi joined Boston University that year but announced in January that he would head to Howard University to continue his research instead. Meanwhile, Boston University is poised to shut down its research center in June once contracts expire.
The Naval Academy also purged “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by American writer and poet Maya Angelou, an autobiography detailing Angelou’s childhood and life during the Jim Crow era.
Other books booted by the Naval Academy are “Women with Mustaches and Men Without Beards: Gender and Sexual Anxieties of Iranian Modernity” by Afsanah Najmabodi; “Critical Race Theory and Education: A Marxist Response” by Mike Cole; “Men in Wonderland: The Lost Girlhood of the Victorian Gentleman” by Catherine Robson; and “Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex” by Elizabeth Reis.
Although Trump’s January executive orders banned DEI content in K–12 schools receiving federal funds, military service academies were exempt since they are not classified as K–12 institutions.
NAVAL ACADEMY CLOSING DEI OFFICES TO ALIGN WITH TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS: MEMO
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in January that the Pentagon would comply with all orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the Department of Defense. (Reuters/Yves Herman)
However, Hegseth’s office instructed the service academy to eliminate the materials ahead of a visit to the institution on April 1, The Associated Press reported. It is unclear if Hegseth issued the directive himself or if it came from a staffer.
The Navy confirmed to Fox News Digital that nearly 400 books were ditched as part of the effort.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“We can confirm the U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from their Nimitz Library collection in order to ensure compliance with all directives outlined in executive orders issued by the president,” a Navy spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Nimitz Library houses roughly 590,000 print books, 322 databases, and over 5,000 print journals and magazines to support the academic inquiries and intellectual development of Midshipmen.”
The U.S. Naval Academy trains undergraduate midshipmen to pursue careers as officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Here is the full list of books the Naval Academy pitched out during the purge:
Jessie Scouts and BLM
Posted on June 29, 2020 by Royal Rosamond Press
For ten years I have been trying to get radicals of all colors to look at Jessie Benton Fremont – because I saw BLM – coming! Indeed, I might be the founder of BLM.
Trump has long shown a fascination with Mount Rushmore. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in 2018 that he once told her straight-faced that it was his dream to have his face carved into the monument. He later joked at a campaign rally about getting enshrined alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. And while it was Noem, a Republican, who pushed for a return of fireworks on the eve of Independence Day, Trump committed to visiting South Dakota for the celebration.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro predicted Tuesday that it’s only a matter of time before the far-left and anarchist protesters who have vandalized and destroyed statues across America come for the famed Mount Rushmore.
“It is all statues, it’s not just restricted to Confederate monuments … [or] to people in history who have very checkered pasts …,” “The Ben Shapiro Show” host explained. “We are five seconds away from the ‘blow up Mount Rushmore’ movement.”
The Jessie Scouts
Posted on April 27, 2014by Royal Rosamond Press
For years I have been begging women to step forth and reform the Jessie Scouts who conducted clandestine operations against the Hapsburgs in Mexico.
Jon Presco
Jessie Scouts were irregular soldiers during the American Civil War on the side of the Union who operated in territory of the Confederate States of America in the southern United States in insurgency missions.[1][2] The unit was created by John C. Frémont and named in honour of his wife, rather than of a Colonel Jessie, who was himself a myth.[3] The initial Jessie Scout unit was formed in St. Louis, Missouri early in the war as the plan to develop independent scouts was implemented. The first man to command the scouts was Charles C. Carpenter.[4][5] The Jessie Scouts wore Confederate uniforms with a white handkerchief over their shoulders to signify their allegiance to friendly troops, and number around 58 for much of the war, commanded by Major Henry Young.[6]
http://www.jessiescouts.com/Jessie%20Scouts%20Home.html
Off Limits To OSU
Posted on June 5, 2019by Royal Rosamond Press
Oregon State University is forbidden to use this, or any history relating to the history of the Benton Family!
Millions of liberal Democrats have a Confederate in their family tree, and do not hold racist views. Jessie Benton-Fremont said she was snubbed by most of the folks in her family tree when she announced she was an Abolitionist.
I suspect Ed Ray was going to render some kind of mural honoring his native people and his historians inside Benton Hall. Jessie Benton backed Gutzon Borglum in many of his creative endeavors, including Mount Rushmoore.
John Presco
Black Lives Matter Is Dishonest
Posted on June 27, 2020 by Royal Rosamond Press
With the ruling of two Presidents of Oregon Universities, Black Lives Matter has become dishonest, even fraudulent. How about using the word – CULT?
Ed Ray promised the people of Corvallis THEY would get to vote on the new name of Benton Hall – after HE presented the ruling of his Un-Democratic Tribunal. He shit-canned the Popular Vote… and gave the New Name unto the people of Oregon and the world – HIMSELF!
“Long live Zardoz!”
There is a promise to do the same with the title ‘Civil War Game’. The Lane County Commissioners are also looking at the Divine Right of Renaming. Was this the original goal of Black Lives Matter – along with destroying works of art? There needs to be a committee to WATCH BLM, and give a honest report. Are black athletic alumni truly behind this Renaming Honor that so far only White Men have taken part in? Perhaps the Black Athletes Matter would want to hold a secret ballot – and come up with a more democratic name?
I am struggling not to employ more parody here to explain what a farce, what a foolish Conspiracy of Dunces, this movement has become. There were Blackspoitation movies in the 70s. I see a spin-off of Animal House.
BLACK ANIMAL HOUSE
A group of black athletes go Greek and found a frat house in order to fulfill the promises of the BLM movement. They are treated like Roman gods by the student body, the faculty, and their President who is like their Genie.
“Your every wish is my command!”
Then one day a frat brother puts ‘Animal House’ on the big screen. At first there are big laughs. But at the end, there is silence and total dismay. These Radical Brothers of the Grid Iron see that the President of the University is THE ENEMY – along with the frat house he coddles.
“Those white boys are racists!”
“Those white boys – are us!”
“We have been duped!”
“We have been used to divert trouble – and derail the real revolution!”
Below is another prophetic post. ‘Zardoz Goes To College’. Colleges are not democracies. They are benevolent monarchies run by a board of directors who will say anything in order to keep out – a real Revolution! I was there when the 3 Percenter gun grunts tried to push out a Lesbian celebration – literally! One dude in a red cap got punched by a woman. There was blood! Trump is not the exclusive enemy of BLM. There are other revolutions.
John Presco
Zardoz Goes To College
Posted on May 29, 2019by Royal Rosamond Press
Zardoz Goes To College – An Artist’s Tale
An idea for Comical Movie.
By
John Presco
Copyright 2019
While being hunted down by Consuela and her Band of Women Immortals on horseback, Zed crashes through the shield of the vortex and finds himself on the campus of Oregon State. No one is surprised at the sight of him. Zed is wearing black and orange. It is surmised he is a member of their tribe.
Zed looks for his gun, but, no weapons are allowed outside the vortex. He feels naked without his revolver. A student comes up to Zed.
“Hey! Wow! You look like a big strapping dude that knows something about horses. Have you ever drove a chariot? We’ve lost too many good drivers on Nero’s Turn. We got a big race coming up with the Oregon Ducks!”
I talked about Ready Made Movies before. It was sitting right there, waiting to be discovered. With the discovery that Historian, Dr. Stacey L. Smith, is prejudiced against males, I can make a great case there was a hidden agenda concerning the desire to rename Benton Hall.
Benton! The MAN who put the MAN in MANifest Destiny!
Because there exist evidence my family history was denigrated for reasons that are now clear to the Benton Historian, I hereby Copyright all material relating to this bogus name change, that smells like a hostile take-over! Where have we seen this before?
Many movie critics voted Zardoz the worst movie ever made. I think it is one of the best! I will write a critique.
Ed Ray Speaks To You – His Chosen Ones!
Posted on May 29, 2019by Royal Rosamond Press
Here is one of the strangest historic documents you will ever read. What I am looking at is a movie comedy ‘Zardoz At Animal House’. It starts out with a black couple sitting outside the EMU at the UofO. They are googling together. Benton Hall comes to their attention. They send Ed Ray a message. Ed, chokes on his…………when he realizes he has not shored up his White Power Rule over the Oregon State Vortex. The radical Blacks and Indians are at the gate. They have found Ed’s Achilles Heal. Ed needs to throw them a bone.
Up in Benton Tower are the crossed femer bones of Senator Thomas Hart Benton. He takes one, and throws it down to group of Blacks and Native Americans who are demanding the titles to land owned by OSU. They want real land, and not more bullshit. The land they want is much bigger than ‘Peoples Park’. (play opening of 2001)
Ed assembles a crack team of historians who he calls ‘My Puppies’. After creating a protective shield around the campus, they build this display. It is a device of some kind. There is a hologram of Benton ranting away about Manifest Destiny. There is a hole in Ed’s contraption with these words above it.
“If you are from the South, and you love Robert E. Lee, stick your erect penis in here!”
Ed shows this to the Chiefs and the Black and Orange Panthers.
“Works for me!”
“Us too!”
Enter, Brutalus, a notorious Class Clown in High School, anxious to strut his stuff at the OSU. He spots Ed’s Pillory. Looking to the right, and them the left, he obeys the instructions. Raising his arms in victory, Brutalus shouts;
“Look! I’m a – ZIT!”
In slow motion the student body, shouts;
“Nooooooooooooooooo!” too late.
“ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!”
I know Kathy Wilson. I will run this by her. Is that cotton growing outside Benton Hall? I have found evidence Confederate Freemasons from the South were making a big move into Oregon, with the help of Joseph Lane who might be behind the KKK of Oregon. Ed and his Puppies know about this history, and, are keen on keeping it a secret. The Masons lay the cornerstone of Benton Hall. I suspect it is hallow and in side, is ‘The Master Plan’. Is Ed a Freemason?
After saying he would leave it up to the people of Benton County to come up with a replacement name for Benton Hall, all of a sudden, Ed Ray changes his mind! Overnight he is Lord Overseer of the Shire, and comes up with the name ‘Community Hall’. Why do I suspect Ed was looking at the Hobbits? In my movie, he will be a Lord of the Rings freak who dresses like Gandalf in roll-playing. Just put a beard on Ed, and long hair. Walah!
Mother nature designed puppies to be people pleasers. Their cuteness tells the older vicious wolves they are not a threat. Puppy Hobbits!
‘The Fellowship of the Puppy Ring’
I do not know why Zardoz is called an “Irish-Aerican film”. It works for me!
John Presco
Copyright 2019
Zardoz is a 1974 Irish-American science fantasy film, and later a book, written, produced, and directed by John Boorman and starring Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling, and featuring Sara Kestelman.[4] The film, Connery’s second post-James Bond role—after The Offence—was shot by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth on a budget of US$1.57 million.[2] It depicts a future world where a stone image called “Zardoz” instructs the “Brutals” to kill each other for eternal life.
Oregon State University community members,
I am writing to share my decision regarding new names for three buildings on OSU’s Corvallis campus. These buildings are Avery Lodge, Benton Hall and Benton Annex.
Over the past two years, following scholarly research on the history of these buildings and their namesakes, hundreds of students and OSU employees, as well as community stakeholders and alumni participated in numerous meetings about these buildings and their names. Hundreds more people contributed their thoughts by e-mail, in phone calls, letters, and through a website comment form. Following my decision last fall to change the names of these buildings, the OSU community along with stakeholder committees helped to consider new names for these buildings. (A description of this process, renaming criteria, and the naming policy of the university, along with the research on these buildings and their namesakes, are available on the OSU Building and Place Name website.)
This extensive and thoughtful review was very appropriate.
The names of buildings and places play a very important role in our university. They speak to the history of OSU, the university’s values and mission, and our efforts to create an inclusive community for all. Names also recognize and honor the positive contributions of those associated with the university.
Based upon input gathered, as well as recommendations of the university Architectural Naming Committee, I have decided to provide:
Avery Lodge with a name that honors the contributions and history of Native Americans within the nearby Willamette Valley and recognizes that federal lands deeded to the state of Oregon to create this university were taken from tribes that have lived in this region for many generations;
A new name for Benton Hall that recognizes the contributions made by Benton County community residents to create the college in the 1860’s and 70’s that eventually became Oregon State; and
Benton Annex with a name that appropriately recognizes the building as home to the Women’s Center.
GOING FORWARD:
With the assistance of Siletz tribal leaders and Native American linguists and historians, I have decided that Avery Lodge will be called Champinefu Lodge. In the dialect of the Kalapuya tribe, which inhabited this region, the word Champinefu is translated to mean “At the place of the blue elderberry.” Blue elderberries are specific to the Willamette Valley and the areas around our campus are where Kalapuya tribal members historically would travel to harvest blue elderberries. Phonetically, this name is pronounced: CHOM-pin-A-foo.
Benton Hall will be renamed Community Hall to reflect the contributions of local residents in establishing this university, and helping it reach its 150th anniversary and excel as Oregon’s statewide university.
And Benton Annex will be named the Hattie Redmond Women and Gender Center. Hattie Redmond was a leader in the struggle for women’s suffrage in Oregon in the early 20th century. The right to vote was especially important to Hattie, who was a black woman living in a state that had black exclusion laws in its constitution. Her work is credited with laying the groundwork for the civil rights movement in Oregon in the mid-twentieth century.
These renamings occur as we celebrate OSU150: Oregon State’s 150th anniversary as Oregon’s statewide university. OSU150 runs through October and has offered a rare opportunity to celebrate the university’s past and present, reconcile past problems, and improve for our future. As I have said before, we must acknowledge our past, avoid hypocrisy and recognize the history of those who established this extraordinary university.
Beginning this academic year, we will develop public educational materials that will share the histories of these three buildings and their previous namesakes. These public displays will be within each of these buildings. As well, we will provide similar information within Gill Coliseum and Arnold Dining Center – two buildings whose names last fall I announced would not change. In the years ahead, OSU will document and display the history of all university buildings within each respective building, on the university website and within a mobile app.
I thank everyone who has participated in this important process. Moreover, I thank those who will continue to be engaged as we document the histories of other buildings. Through these many efforts, including OSU150 and the university’s update of its strategic plan, we will remain mindful of the university’s history, as well as its values and mission of inclusive service to our community and all Oregonians.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Ray
President
Artistic Development of Gutzon Borglum
Posted on August 23, 2013by Royal Rosamond Press
The greatest artist to come out of Nebraska – by far – is Gutzon Borglum, who created Mount Rushmore. Gutzon and his family lived in Omaha and Fremont City. When they moved to Los Angeles, my kindred, Jessie Benton-Fremont, became his patron. She sent Gutzon to famous art schools in Europe. Gutzon did a bust of Jessie, and a portrait of John Fremont.
Charles Lummis the editor of ‘The Land of Sunshine’ and ‘Out West’ was a great promoter of Gutzon and the Fremonts. There is a good chance my grandfather, Royal Rosamond, knew Lummis because he published his poems and stories in Out West..
In 1970, I went with Rena Easton to the art department at the University of Nebraska where she unveiled a life-size clay sculpture of her boyfriend. I later did two paintings of Rena Christensen. One of them inspired my sister to take up art, and she became the world famous artist, Christine Rosamond Presco. She later married Garth Benton, the cousin of the famous artist, Thomas Hart Benton, the grandson of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, the father of Jessie Benton, and father-in-law of John Fremont, the first presidential candidate of the Republican Party.
Royal was bid to write by the artists, Jack and Fanny Cory. Fanny did covers for the Saturday Evening Posts, as did Philip Boileau, the son of Susan Benton who had a salon in Paris and may have sponsored Gutzon in France.
Christine and Garth were introduced by Lawrence Chazen, a partner of Rosamond in her first Carmel Gallery, and business partner of the Getty and Pelosi family. Nancy Pelosi’s husband and Chazen are top financial advisors for the Getty family who at one time owned the largest art collections in the world. Chazen is a CEO of Nobel Oil, and was my father’s private lender in his loan business.
If Rena and I had not mended the rent in our relationship at the University of Nebraska Museum, then Christine would not have become famous and married into the creative Benton family, because, I would not have captured her beauty on canvas. I am the Benton and Rosamond family historian.
Jon Presco
Copyright 2013
Out of Rushmore’s Shadow: The Artistic Development of Gutzon Borglum
“Out of Rushmore’s Shadow: The Artistic Development of Gutzon Borglum” will be on exhibit at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center through February 20, 2000. The exhibition is a major retrospective on the work of Gutzon Borglum, best known for the carving of the presidential portraits on Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.
The Jessie Scouts
By David L. Phillips
One of the most important functions of the cavalry during the Civil War involved the collection of intelligence. Skilled volunteers were selected from many cavalry regiments and these brave men moved in the advance or on the flanks of their regiments in order to prevent any surprise attacks. Frequently, they moved independently to collect information on the presence, condition, and intentions of the enemy forces in their vicinity.
In order to do this effectively, many of these men began to wear the enemy’s uniform as they conducted their operations. While in the enemy’s clothing, the volunteer scout was placing his life in his hands. The commonly applied rules of war defined his presence within the opposition’s lines. Wearing the wrong uniform was defined as an act of espionage, punishable by death. Their secret service to their country involved hazardous activities and could lead to summary execution, if apprehended. Dangers other than summary execution awaited the volunteers, but both armies continued to locate volunteers to perform the dangerous duty.
The Jessie Scout was a Federal soldier, dressed and armed a la Rebel. He was named after Mrs. Jessie Fremont, wife of the General of that name, who first suggested that mode of obtaining information.?“ When a Rebel was captured, his furlough or pass was taken from him, and also his outer garments. A soldier was then found, who resembled him in size, age, and general appearance. The Rebel’s uniform, from hat to boots, was put upon this man, who assumed the name of the prisoner, and the Federal left the camp, a soldier of the Confederacy…. These Jessie Scouts generally preceded the advance of the army, and they frequently picked up a great many prisoners, without creating any alarm. I made the acquaintance of many of them, and found them bold, dashing, reckless, good fellows. I met Major Young, Sheridan’s chief of scouts, and found him eminently fitted for outpost duty and border warfare.”-John Opie, 1899
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.
Visas revoked for four international students at flagship Montana universities
By: Keila Szpaller – April 11, 2025 4:31 pm
Montana State University welcomes students back to campus for the first day of the Fall 2023 semester. (Provided by Montana State University)
Three international students attending Montana State University had their F-1 visa status revoked “under the authority of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” MSU said in a notice Friday to the campus community.
One international student from the University of Montana also had their F-1 visa revoked, a UM spokesperson said. However, that student has graduated and is living out of state.
The F-1 visa generally allows nonimmigrant international students to enter the country as a full-time student at an accredited institution and enroll in a program that culminates in a degree, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Stephanie McCalla, chairperson of the MSU Faculty Senate, said Friday she had not yet spoken with any students who are affected, but she and other faculty are upset at the news.
“These are members of our community, and they’re being ripped away for no apparent reason,” McCalla said.
A story earlier this month from Inside Higher Ed said the Trump administration is revoking student visas every week, and it appears federal immigration officials are also terminating their student residency status, “paving the way for arrest and deportation.”
MSU in Bozeman has an estimated 400 students from 64 countries, and the vast majority of them are on F-1 visas, said spokesperson Tracy Ellig in an email.
Ellig said the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits the university from providing additional information, such as where the students with revoked visas are from, their enrollment status or their ability to remain on campus.
In her message to the campus community, President Waded Cruzado said the three students from MSU whose visas were revoked have been notified and received information regarding their status and available resources.
“The university will follow all applicable laws while exercising the necessary duty of care to our students,” Cruzado said in the email.
She said MSU was sharing the information with the campus “given the heightened attention to the topic.”
“We value every student in our campus; this appreciation includes our international students who make Montana State University their university of choice,” Cruzado said.
UM spokesperson Dave Kuntz said the university has 145 students on F-1 visas and 29 on J-1 visas. J-1 visas are for nonimmigrants participating in an exchange program, according to the U.S. Department of State.
UM has students from roughly 50 different countries.
Kuntz said UM learned of the changed status because it checks the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System database, where those records are stored, on a daily basis.
He said federal officials have not relayed information to UM about the change in status, and the database does not offer explanations for the change in status.
The Inside Higher Ed story said some university and immigration experts are concerned “the Trump administration is playing fast and loose” with the visa system, and it’s hindering the ability of campuses to help students “who may be targeted by ICE.”
The U.S. Department of State could not be immediately reached for comment late Friday afternoon, but a State Department spokesperson had told Inside Higher Ed it is helping keep the country safe.
“The State Department revokes visas every day in order to secure America’s borders and keep our communities safe—and will continue to do so,” the spokesperson wrote to Inside Higher Ed.
A spokesperson for the Montana University System could not be immediately reached Friday by phone for wider impacts to other public campuses. The MUS has 16 public colleges and universities in Montana.
Rosamond Press 
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