By Alicia A. Caldwell, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department ordered border agents ‘‘effective immediately’’ to verify that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The new procedure is the government’s first security change directly related to the Boston bombings.

The order from a senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, David J. Murphy, was circulated Thursday and came one day after the Obama administration acknowledged that a student from Kazakhstan accused of hiding evidence for one of the Boston bombing suspects was allowed to return to the U.S. in January without a valid student visa.

The student visa for Azamat Tazhayakov had been terminated when he arrived in New York on Jan. 20. But the border agent in the airport did not have access to the information in the Homeland Security Department’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, called SEVIS.

Tazhayakov was a friend and classmate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Tazhayakov left the U.S. in December and returned Jan. 20. But in early January, his student-visa status was terminated because he was academically dismissed from the university.

Tazhayakov and a second Kazakh student were arrested this week on federal charges of obstruction of justice. They were accused of helping to get rid of a backpack containing fireworks linked to Tsarnaev. A third student was also arrested and accused of lying to authorities.

A spokesman for the department, Peter Boogaard, said earlier this week that the government was working to fix the problem, which allowed Tazhayakov to be admitted into the country when he returned to the U.S.

Under existing procedures, border agents could verify a student’s status in SEVIS only when the person was referred to a second officer for additional inspection or questioning. Tazhayakov was not sent to a second officer when he arrived, because, Boogaard said, there was no information to indicate Tazhayakov was a national security threat. Under the new procedures, all border agents were expected to be able to access SEVIS by next week.

The government for years has recognized as a problem the inability of border agents at primary inspection stations to directly review student-visa information. The Homeland Security Department was working before the bombings to resolve the problem, but the new memo outlined interim procedures until the situation was corrected.

Under the new procedures, border agents will verify a student’s visa status before the person arrives in the U.S. using information provided in flight manifests. If that information is unavailable, border agents will check the visa status manually with the agency’s national targeting data center.

It is unclear what impact the new procedure will have on wait times at airports and borders. Customs officials will be required to report any effect, including increased wait times, on a daily basis.

The Obama administration announced an internal review earlier this week of how U.S. intelligence agencies shared sensitive information before the bombings and whether the government could have prevented the attack. Republicans in Congress have promised oversight hearings, which begin Thursday.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday for details from the student-visa applications of Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, the Kazakhstan students implicated in helping Tsarnaev after the bombings, including information about how Tazhayakov re-entered the United States.

Lawmakers and others have long been concerned about terrorists exploiting the student visa system to travel to the United States. A 20-year-old college student from Saudi Arabia was arrested in Texas in 2011 on federal charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Authorities accused him of plotting to blow up dams, nuclear plants or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush. He was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

The UMass Boston student government unanimously voted for the inclusion of gender-neutral bathrooms in new campus buildings, calling the decision an affirmation of the school’s “commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive campus environment.”

In a statement issued last week, the student government said it is imperative for university officials to implement “a gender-neutral restroom in as many of its buildings as reasonably feasible.” The statement calls for the University of Massachusetts Boston to include at least one gender-neutral restroom per new building on campus.

Student government officials also asked the university to allow students to use whichever bathroom they feel most comfortable in.

“Furthermore, in accordance with the City of Boston’s ordinance, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression, and the Massachusetts Department of Education’s and the University’s policies of nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity, the University permits individuals to use the restroom that is consistent with their gender identity,” the statement said.

Joey Nguyen, speaker for the UMass Boston student government, who was in strongly in favor of the initiative, said transgender students at the university have experienced harassment while using the school bathrooms.

“The whole goal is to create a community or environment where we strive for progress, we strive for equality,” he said.

Nguyen, a senior, said he understands that building gender-neutral bathrooms in all campus buildings may not be economically feasible, but he thinks asking the university to install these restrooms in the new buildings is a reasonable compromise.

“We can’t just overhaul our old bathrooms, that’s understandable,” Nguyen said.

He said it is crucial for the university to also allow students to use whichever restroom that is in line with their gender identity, and not force them to use a separate room.

“This would be one more step towards progress,” Nguyen said, adding, “because separate isn’t equal.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Boston College will partner with six other universities this fall to offer for-credit classes as part of an on-line initiative, BC officials announced today.

In addition to BC, “Semester Online” will feature courses from Brandeis University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, Washington University in St. Louis, and Emory University.

These courses, in conjunction with the on-line educator provider 2U, will cover a range of topics from accounting to film, BC said in a statement.

“It is an exciting opportunity to explore this consortial approach to online undergraduate education and share our teaching excellence with a wider audience in partnership with peer schools and the nation’s leader in online education,” said BC Provost and Dean of Faculties Cutberto Garza.

The statement said the courses will be available to “academically qualified students” who are attending the universities in the consortium and other schools in the United States. To apply for a class, students must be in good academic standing and enrolled in a four-year, regionally accredited school.

Students attending universities in the consortium will pay standard tuition rates, and students from outside colleges will pay per class, the statement said. According to Jack Dunn, a spokesman for BC, the cost will be $4,200 for one course.

Unlike Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, these classes will be capped at approximately 20 students.

Brandeis announced its involvement with the initiative in November.

“This consortium will expand opportunities for students everywhere and will help us all gain experience and understanding of the broad potential of distance learning," Brandeis Provost Steve A.N. Goldstein said in a statement. "We're looking forward to this exploration of the on-line world."

BC will offer two courses this fall: “How to Rule the World,” taught by political science professor Robert Bartlett, and “Vietnam: America’s War at Home and Abroad” instructed by associate professor of history Seth Jacobs.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Wafae Belatreche, then a 5th grader, didn’t feel safe. Belatreche was clearly Muslim -- she wore a hijab, or headscarf. When she walked on the street, she says, drivers would slow down and yell out the window. “Go home!” “Towelhead!” “Terrorist!”

But in the days following the Boston Marathon bombings, which were allegedly set off by two young men motivated by extremist Islamist beliefs, Belatreche and other Muslim students in the Boston area say they have felt much more comfortable than the climate they faced after 9-11.

“Everyone at school has been supportive of us, chancellors, professors, chaplains, the entire community,” said Belatreche, now a junior at UMass Boston.

After the attacks last week, Muslim college students say they have found solace on their campuses. University administrators are making the students a priority -- holding forums, prayer services, dinners, and offering messages of support.

Victor Kazanjian, dean of intercultural education and religious and spiritual life at Wellesley College, said that following the marathon bombings, the school has held several gatherings specifically for Muslim students.

On Saturday, a day after reports surfaced that the suspects were motivated by extreme Islamic beliefs, the college organized a dinner for Muslim students as well as local members of the Islamic community. Approximately 150 students, or 7 percent of the Wellesley College student body, identify as Muslim.

“Over the past four days there really has been an outpouring of support [for Muslim students] from student groups as well as faculty and staff,” Kazanjian said.

He also said that Jewish, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, African-American, Latina, LGBTQ, and other student groups have voiced their support for Muslim students, in person and by issuing formal statements.

Chowdhury Shamsh, a Muslim student at Tufts University, said the Muslim Student Association has held additional gatherings this past week to pray for the victims in the Marathon attacks.

“Tufts is a very welcome space and we haven’t been treated differently than any other group,” he said.

Melinda Holmes, 29, who is studying international affairs at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy, echoed a similar sentiment. Holmes recently converted to Islam, and said that when she heard the suspects were Muslim extremists, she became afraid for her safety.

“On almost all levels my expectations have been generally exceeded in terms of the positive, warm outpouring of support to make sure the Muslim community has been okay,” she said.

Kim Thurler, a spokeswoman for the university, said in a statement that in reaching out to all students, Tufts has also focused on its Muslim students.

“Our Muslim chaplain made herself available to Muslim students on the phone and in person following the Monday events and the university chaplain and her colleagues also expressed their support and availability for our Muslim students,” Thurler wrote in the statement.

Patrick Day, the vice chancellor for student affairs at UMass Boston, said that he has checked in with the school’s Muslim and Sikh students, with whom he already has a close relationship.

“Being such a diverse campus in the city of Boston, we feel confident that our students do feel supported, and we really spend a lot of time deliberately creating that community and culture of respect.”

Omar Ismail, a senior at UMass Boston, said after the news came out that the suspects allegedly bombed the marathon in the name of Islam. But he was confident that his classmates and other members of the Boston community would not discriminate against the religion as a whole.

“I think more people are aware that 99 percent of Muslims are like any other Americans, and the 0.1 percent are the extreme,” he said.

Belatreche said that during the 2:50 p.m. moment of silence on Monday, members of the UMass Boston community from all faiths and backgrounds held hands to show unity.

“No matter what religion we come from we are all Bostonians, we are all one,” she said.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2013)

Crews dismantling the work of art.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Huru, the giant recycled steel sculpture that has greeted students and faculty for well over a decade as they entered the University of Massachusetts Boston, will soon be leaving its seaside perch.

The hulking, 55-foot tall work of art is being dismantled and prepared for shipment to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as the university makes way for its new Integrated Sciences Complex.

Loaned to the school by its artist Mark di Suvero, the statue, which weighs well over 36,000 pounds, was the first piece of art loaned to the school as part of its Arts on the Point program.

“The statue has stood on that location with majesty and grace for more than a decade,” said Professor Paul Tucker, director and founder of Arts on the Point. “I hope it’s engrained itself on the students’ and faculty’s hearts.”

On Wednesday crews were busy dismantling the contraception that balances a six-ton piece of steel on ball bearings, allowing it to be gently sway in the winds that blow across Columbia Point.

“What Mark di Suvero has been able to do is take these remnants and reshape them,” said Tucker. “He’s been able to take discarded materials and turn them into fantastic art.”

It’s not certain if the sculpture, which came to the university from the Storm King Art Center in New York, will come back to the campus any time soon.

Tucker said he, however, will be lobbying for the eventual return of Huru, which means hello and goodbye in an aboriginal Australian language.

“The campus is in a fantastic moment of transition,” said Tucker. “When the piece comes back, which we hope it will, we’ll be able to celebrate this campus with the relocation of the work.”

The campus, since Huru was first brought to the site in 1997, currently has more than 10 works of art throughout it, but Tucker said the loss of the piece will leave a void.

”I think there will be a definite absence felt,” Tucker added.

Although the sculpture will be missed, its relocation will make way for the completion of the university’s Integrated Sciences Complex. Currently at the 50 percent completion mark, the new academic building is expected to be completed by fall 2014.

The college broke ground on the $185 million, 222,000-square-foot building in June 2011. The structure was topped off in February 2012.

The new building, near the entrance of the Columbia Point school, will be a six-story structure that will include dry and wet research laboratories along with support space, an infant-cognition lab, undergraduate biology teaching labs and two research centers.

(Image courtesy UMass Boston)

The statue before the construction of the ISC.

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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Thousands of local college students are huddling in their dorms and apartments today, listening to scanners, texting parents, and swapping stories, as police and FBI agents are on an all-out manhunt for the marathon bomber.

Ritchie Chen, a Phd student at MIT, said that he was in the library at the time of the campus shooting last night, feet away from where the police officer was shot and killed.

He did not hear the shots being fired. Minutes after the shootout, someone pulled the fire alarm. Chen said he didn’t think much of it. But when he was back inside, his friend learned of the shooting through social media.

“My friend said someone was shot, a police officer was shot,” Chen said. “I told him, it’s not April 1st anymore. You’ve got to be joking.”

Chen said he was sequestered in the library until 2 a.m. Students were mostly silent, and listening to the police scanners.

“Social media was the easiest way to keep updated,” he said. “Twitter or Facebook – that was how we found out an officer was shot, that he was hurt in the hand and belly. It was right there, like a couple feet from the library.”

Chen said he biked home, right past the crime scene. He didn’t stop to look.

Universities including MIT, Harvard, Brandeis, BU, BC, Boston Conservatory, Bentley, Suffolk, Northeastern, Simmons, Berklee, Wheelock, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Tufts, Emmanuel, and Emerson have canceled classes today.

Roger Brown, president of Berklee College of Music, issued a statement urging students to stay in their dorm rooms or apartment and said that college personnel are “doing everything in our power to keep our students, faculty, and staff safe.”

“I am very proud of and confident in our security team, and we have been in continued contact through the night and morning,” he said in the statement. “I know we all look forward to being able to put this behind us, but for now, the key is to allow law enforcement personnel to do their jobs.”

At Northeastern University, final exams that were scheduled for today have been pushed back.

"We are working closely with the deans and the faculty to develop alternative arrangements so students can complete all of their work in the coming days," the university said in an e-mail to students. "We will continue to provide updates as new schedules are being developed."

At Emerson College, officials are coming up with creative ways to help students finish the semester after the unexpected shortened work week. Dean of Students Ron Ludman wrote in a message to the community that "as soon as it is reasonably possible, each faculty member will communicate with the students in his or her class a flexible plan to complete successfully spring semester course work."

In the message, a few solutions were proposed, including, "Allow each student to receive a grade for the term based on evaluations done to date; Allow students to complete the semester by sending completed projects to one’s faculty at a later date certain, providing an Incomplete for this semester with a grade registered after evaluation of the paper or project; and Allow students to develop individual agreements for academic situations that do not fall into the above categories."

Mary Kate Hennelly, a sophomore at Boston College said that she has been awake with eight of her friends since 10 p.m. thursday night, following the man-hunt as its unfolding.

"We’ve been on a combination of police scanners, t.v., and twitter," she said.

Hennelly said the group is exhausted and very concerned.

"I think right now we are just all pretty tired," she said. "Tiredness punctuated with tension."

Although Hennelly said the week has felt tumulteous, she and her friends have been touched by the outpouring support from friends and family.

"That's the beautiful thing," she said.

Molly Flynn, a junior Simmons College, said she stayed awake all night listening to the police chase and shootout on the scanners.

“I’ve been awake since 9:30 a.m. yesterday,” Flynn said. “Once [the shootout] happened, it’s just adrenaline.”

Flynn, who is at her apartment in the Back Bay, said she always has considered Boston to be a very safe city. After witnessing the bombings on Monday, she has cried every day.

“I’ve been crying a little bit in the morning, and I never cry,” she said. “It’s really an uncontrollable thing.”

Sarah Campbell, a student at Boston University, said she and her dorm mates feel that although staying indoors is tiring, it's an important safety measure.

"It's not getting any worse for [the suspect] the longer he stays out there," she said. "It could get worse for us" if we were outside.

Campbell, 19, said she was at the finish line at the time of the explosions. She was hit with a large piece of debris, but was left uninjured.

"It instantly turned to total chaos," she said of Monday's bombings.

As the week went on, Campbell said she started to process what had happened. But today has set her back.

"Waking up, hearing that the two guys are the same ones that carried out the bombings, it just sent me into another whirlwind."

She said that when she learned one suspect had died, she felt very conflicted.

"My emotions were haywire, because I definitely think he deserved [to die] but there should have been some justice," Campbell said.

Chen said this week has left him shaken, he said, particularly since he saw Monday’s bombings.

“It’s extremely traumatizing because I was on the Harvard Bridge running,” he said. You see this smoke and your skin is crawling.”

Chen said he is trying to follow his normal routine, but it has been difficult.

“It feels like the world around you is going into anarchy,” he said.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

A walk to honor the victims of the marathon bombing's has been postponed after more than 17,000 people, mostly college students, said on Facebook that they planned to attend Friday's event.

"Out of respect for the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department, the walk originally scheduled for this Friday will be POSTPONED to a date in the future that is more appropriate and conducive to this type of an event," the creators wrote on the event page.

The new date has not been announced.

The organizers wrote on Tuesday that the route for the walk, "Boston Marathon: The Last 5," would be from Boston College to Boston. According to the BC Heights, the organizers of this memorial walk are Boston College students.

"For anyone who did not get to finish, for anyone who was injured, and for anyone who lost their life...we will walk," the event page said on Tuesday. "We will walk to show that we decide when our marathon ends."

Instead, members of the Boston College community are invited to attend a vigil on Friday. The service will be held on the O'Neill Plaza at 4 p.m.

"We encourage other universities in the Boston area, and across the country, to hold vigils at this time in a gesture of solidarity," the organizers wrote today, adding "At the appropriate time and in concert with the City of Boston, we plan to hold the Boston Marathon: The Last 5 event. Our motto remains: We decide when our marathon ends."

Three Tufts University students, seven Emerson College students, three Northeastern University students, two Boston College students, one Berklee College of Music student and a Boston University student were among those injured in Monday's bombings, according to the schools. One BU student was among those killed.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Adjunct and non-tenured professors from more than 20 Boston-area colleges want to form a union in the hopes of achieving better wages, benefits, and job security.

According to the Service Employees International Union, an organization that has unionized more than 15,000 adjunct professors from across the country, a group of non-tenured professors will meet with the SEIU on Saturday to discuss their efforts to unionize.

The SEIU said in a statement that part-time and non-tenure track faculty represent the majority of faculty at universities in the United States, and their numbers continue to rise. In 2011, part-time faculty held 50 percent of teaching jobs at colleges, up from 34 percent in 1987 and 22 percent in 1970. Among private, non-profit universities in the Boston-area, 66.8 percent of faculty are non-tenure track and 42 percent are part-time.

“Revenues and tuition have increased steadily over the last two decades while spending on instruction has declined – and it’s adjuncts and their students who are suffering as a result,” the statement said.

The adjunct faculty at Emerson College voted to unionize in 2001, and since then have gained benefits and better wages.According to the Emerson union’s website, adjunct faculty have negotiated seniority benefits such as access to medical and dental plans, as well as pay increases of 2 percent to 4 percent each year.

And at Suffolk University, the adjunct faculty at the College of Arts and Sciences and Sawyer Business School are unionized, according to a university spokesman.

Adjunct professor Dr. Jack Dempsey of Bentley University said in a phone interview Thursday that the part-time professors are extremely hesitant to unionize, for fear of losing their jobs. But he believes this movement could change everything.

“Adjuncts have an illusion that they are powerless to help themselves,” Dempsey said. “But when they realize that they are the core of the school...they will begin to respect themselves enough to take action.”

Dempsey, who received his doctorate from Brown University, said he taught as an adjunct at Wheaton College in Norton for three years, and has been teaching part-time at Bentley University for the past 11 years.

At Bentley he earns approximately $4,700 per class, and at Wheaton the pay was even less, Dempsey said. To supplement his income, he takes on odd jobs such as book editing and tutoring.

“If I had a real job from Bentley, I would be there on the weekend with hammer and nails, giving to the school,” Dempsey said. “But [adjuncts] simply don’t have the means to do that.”

Anne McLeer, spokeswoman for the SEIU, said that the organization represents close to 2,000 part-time faculty at The George Washington University, Montgomery College, and American University.

“We’ve made considerable gains in terms of money, job security, and giving them a voice,” she said in a phone interview.

McLeer said that the SEIU has helped the adjuncts at Montgomery College and George Washington University to negotiate better contracts. The SEIU is in talks with American University, and is also working to unite part-time faculty at community colleges across Maryland.

"To really get things where we need to them to be is to unionize across the labor market,” she said.

Dempsey also said that despite the low pay and lack of benefits, he is passionate about his work at Bentley.

“I just want to say how much I love Bentley and how much I want to build value in these schools,” he said. “But you just can’t in these conditions.”

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

Boston Police are warning area college students to be particularly mindful of the city’s ban on public drinking and intoxication and not to gather on roofs, fire escapes or porches during Marathon Weekend.

Starting Friday, race-related events will be held leading up to the Boston Marathon on Monday, which is a state holiday, Patriots’ Day.

“The Boston Police wants everyone to have a safe and happy holiday,” the department said in a statement. “The one event that signals the start of spring in Boston is the Boston Marathon.”

“Please be respectful to the neighborhood and its residents,” the statement said.

Police said that large crowds are expected for Monday’s race. The swarms of visitors along with a heavy police presence and closed streets will restrict access to parts of the city, including through parts of Allston, Brighton, Audubon Circle and the Back Bay.

Police said there will be a “zero-tolerance policy” on public drinking, open containers and intoxication. “Congregating on rooftops, fire escapes and porches is prohibited,” police said.

Authorities also warned students to secure their on- and off-campus housing when they leave: lock doors and windows; keep electronic devices hidden from outside view; when outside, be aware of surroundings, walk with a friend and in well-lit areas if possible and do not walk and talk on a cell phone or wear headphones.

“Electronic devices such as iPods, iPhones and expensive headphones are an attractive (temptation) to would-be thieves,” police said.

“It is our hope that you enjoy the holiday weekend festivities and celebrate in a safe and responsible manner,” the statement from Boston Police said. “Please keep in mind that you all play a role in our effort to ensure that the City of Boston is a shining example of good sportsmanship and pride.”

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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An anti-date rape video made by a University of Oregon film student has gathered more than 1.7-million views.

On her You Tube page, student Samantha Stendal addresses the video "To the Steubenville rapists...or any rapists out there,'' a reference to the date rape case in Steubenville, Ohio. It is called "A Needed Response.''

“I was reading so much on the victim-blaming and ‘rape culture,’ ” Stendler told Globe columnist Joanna Weiss. “I needed to see something positive on the Internet . . . And I knew that I could make something.”

The punch line: “Real men treat women with respect.”

Weiss called it "The most concise, useful addition I’ve seen in awhile to this old, sad conversation about alcohol, sex, and safety.''

"We all need to treat one another like decent human beings," Stendal told the New York Daily News. "My video was a direct response to the Steubenville rape case. But even though my video is of a guy and girl, I want it to relate to anyone. No matter what your gender, you should treat one another with respect."