Many Asian students at Iowa State are experiencing some financial difficulties because of an economic crisis hitting their homelands.

The effected countries are Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and parts of Japan. Some effects of the crisis in these countries include high inflation and skyrocketing prices on various goods.

Irwin Utomo, international student from Indonesia, said the currency crisis has greatly impacted his life at ISU.

“The currency in Indonesia went down about five times as usual,” he said. “For example, before the crisis, the currency rate was 2,000 to 3,000 rupias to the dollar. Then, in September of 1997, at the beginning of the crisis, the currency rate was 6,000 rupias to the dollar.

“At its worst, the dollar-rupia ratio was 14,000 rupias to the dollar. Now, the ratio is 10,000 rupias to the dollar,” Utomo said.

Sang-Moo Lee, international student from Korea, painted a similar picture of inflation in Korea.

“The reason for the crisis in Korea is a large financial debt, political instability and the unstable business economy. Before, it was 900 won to the dollar, and at its worst, it was 1,700 won to the dollar. Now it is 1,300 won to the dollar,” Lee said.

Students from these countries have been affected by the crisis in different ways.

Utomo said tuition payments have become a struggle.

“My tuition is $4,700 for the semester, and my brother’s is also $4,700 for the semester,” Utomo said. “My dad usually sends us $6,000 so that we can pay for our tuition and have money to go for our living expenses.

“But since the crisis hit, my dad was only about to send $6,000 for both of us, and we both needed $9,400 for tuition — not including living expenses,” he said.

Utomo said he dropped nine of 13 credits at ISU classes in order to pay in-state tuition and picked up eight credits at Des Moines Area Community College, which is cheaper.

He said the cutback will enable his brother to graduate from ISU.

Utomo’s problems, however, are far from over, he said.

“I worked 20 hours in food service to pay for living expenses. But since I only had 4 credits, I found that I couldn’t work anymore at ISU because you have to be a full-time student to have an on-campus job,” he said.

The university has been making an effort to help students like Utomo deal with the currency crisis, such as offering affected students a deferred payment plan that would allow them to postpone paying tuition.

“What we have done is come up with a tuition agreement that allows students to defer payments so that they can pay half of their tuition by June 30, and half before the start of the fall semester,” said Joan Thompson, ISU Treasurer.

“This way students can defer payments, and they only pay 1 percent interest on the loan, which to most is just $47 per month. If they can’t pay by then, the only penalty they have is just that they can’t register for fall classes until they do.”

Thompson added that the university has sent letters to the Chamber of Commerce, alerting local area employers of the crisis and asking them to help affected students find jobs.

In addition, the university has set up an emergency funding in the form of a $100,000 emergency relief fund to help students who need the most basic assistance, such as food, clothing and housing.

But Utomo and Lee expressed frustration toward the university regarding its efforts.

Utomo said because his circumstances are unusual, they are not solved by the university’s current actions.

He also said evoking employers to hire international students is unrealistic.

“That doesn’t really work because [Immigration Naturalization Service] has to give permission for us to work off campus, and it takes three months to fill out the forms, and in the meantime, I have to find some way to eat and support my family,” Utomo said.

Lee said although he appreciates the university’s services, they are not solving his problems.

“While the university is trying to make an effort, it is not very helpful because some students cannot get money from their home countries, so this doesn’t present a total solution.

“Before the crisis, I had a car, and because of [the crisis], I had to sell my car to pay tuition and meet other expenses,” Lee said.

Utomo added that he cannot qualify for federal aid because he is sponsored for his green card.

“You have to have a sponsor who is 125 percent above the poverty line to file the application. However, once you have a sponsor, you cannot file for any kind of aid,” he said. “The green card would allow me to pay less and work anywhere I want, but while I am waiting for it, I cannot work anywhere at all, and I don’t qualify for aid.”

Utomo said he has not been provided information about the $100,000 emergency relief fund, which was announced following Spring Break.

Dennis Peterson, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, expressed sympathy for Utomo and Lee, and said the office is trying to help students in every way possible.

“Our staff is trying to get people through the crisis and get them to graduate. For those who are about to graduate, they have invested a lot of time and money, and we definitely want to help them,” he said.

ISU President Jischke said the university is doing its best to aid the students.

“We are trying to provide every help we can, but obviously we have to go by the law,” he said. “We have talked to Washington to see if they can give some special consideration in trying to get international students jobs off campus.

“We understand that the students are having a difficult time, and we are trying to do as many things as we can to help them because they are an important part of our university,” Jischke said.

Peterson said the Office of International Students and Scholars is pressing Senator Charles Grassley to speed things up in the immigration office in Nebraska and to shorten Immigration Naturalization Services application process.

Peterson said he understands some of the conflicts between the students and the university.

“A lot of it has to do with culture shock,” he said. “Some of the things we are accustomed to and equipped to do may not be what they are used to. To some, help room may mean that I walk in and all my problems are solved. And we are here to help, but we are prepared to do so through different means.

He said the help room intends to explain alternatives to students and offer advice.

“We do want to talk to anyone who is impacted no matter when they are going to graduate. We do not want to see a student give up and leave without talking to us,” Peterson said.

“[The students] have a lot of emotional strength to have gotten here in the first place, and we definitely want to see them succeed,” he said.