FBI interviews students

Federal authorities interviewed several IU students in connection with the investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.\nLess than 10 IU students were interviewed during early December in a nationwide effort to seek information about the attacks on New York and Washington, according to Agent Doug Garrison, spokesman for the FBI\'s Indianapolis branch.\nThe interviews are part of the U.S. Attorney\'s Anti-Terrorism Task Force, which is seeking men between the ages of 18 and 33 who have entered the United States from countries where terrorist activity has been known to operate. The FBI has set up interviews with a phone call or a personal visit to the students whose names were generated by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization and State Department records. Garrison said the interviews are voluntary, although no student has refused.\nThe U.S. Justice Department said men selected were not suspects, but could be useful in the investigation.\n"We\'re looking for information pertinent to the Sept. 11 attacks, and any future acts of terrorism," Garrison said.\nEither INS or FBI officials contacted 170 higher education professionals seeking information in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the preliminary results of a survey by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. One hundred fifty-eight respondents released records, and 10 informed students of the disclosure. The agencies requested information such as names, addresses, photographs, field of study and participation in activities and sports. Respondents could not disclose student ID numbers or social security numbers.\nSelections were made based on the country from which the men came to the U.S. Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iran and Iraq are all places with terrorist operatives. \nGarrison said the interviews \"have been helpful."\nIn a statement, IU chancellor Sharon Brehm emphasized the students selected were not suspects. \n"These people were selected because of where they came from over the past few years, not because of anything they\'ve done,\" Brehm said. "IU will do everything within the law to cooperate with federal officials."\nKenneth Rogers, associate dean and director of international services at the Leo R. Dowling International Center, said the center is prepared to offer advice and legal information to students if needed. He declined to name any of the students who were interviewed, and said he was not contacted by the FBI.\nNationally, 200 of the AACRAO survey respondents reported students withdrawing from school, 75 of which were identified as Muslim individuals of Arab or South Asian descent.