Students Petitioning To Reinstatement Expelled International Graduate Student
(Urbana, IL) — The Graduate Employees Organization at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign is petitioning for the reinstatement of a fourth-year international PhD student expelled for COVID-19 testing non-compliance. The GEO says Yidong “Ivor” Chen is being dismissed unfairly because he believed that since he worked 100-percent remotely he did not need to go to campus testing sites. He was found non-compliant in the Fall 2020 semester, but was given a testing exemption in the Spring 2021 term. Chen’s visa is being revoked so he will not be able to return to the university for a year, and only after completing several other steps to regain entry. GEO leaders say the punishment is “disproprtionate” and unfair to international students, who are forced to leave the country. More than 13-thousand people have signed the petition to reinstate Chen, but his appeal of the university’s disciplinary decision was denied.
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Amy Becker/djc
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02-16-2021 01:11:34
