UM-China campus needs clarification

A Great Wall still surrounds President George Dennison’s recent trip to China.

While we know that Dennison spent the last few weeks in Asia, why he went, what he accomplished, where exactly he traveled and how much university money he spent remains a mystery.

Despite repeated attempts since last Friday to schedule a meeting with the president, the Kaimin has yet to be granted an interview.

Dennison may simply be too overwhelmed with end of the semester conferences, administration duties and student protests to set aside 15 minutes to talk about his recent trip. Then again, his unwillingness to communicate might signify a desire to hide information about the status of the University of Montana’s China campus.

For more than three years, UM administration has dedicated money, time and resources to create a for-profit branch campus in Xiamen, China to help supplement UM’s rising tuition costs.

Conflicts with logistics, tuition costs, exchange rates and particularly curriculum guidelines have been roadblocks to the project. While UM wants sole control over the course work and curriculum taught at the branch campus, disputes arose over the Chinese Ministry of Education’s request to have the final say on course material.

A Chinese branch of UM could create a wealth of learning opportunities for UM students studying Chinese language, affairs and culture, provide UM with additional funding and offer a Western learning environment for Chinese university students.

But if the Chinese government ultimately controls the campus’ curriculum and censors the campus’ Internet, then UM has no business being there and supporting an institution that limits free speech and free access to information.

The ethics of creating a branch campus in a country known for its egregious human rights abuses, censorship of free speech and press and environmental degradation bring up a host of questions. Would students at the campus be able to research Chinese political dissidents serving long jail sentences without trial or reports of villagers murdered in the countryside? Would UM’s current focus on environmental sustainability transfer to its branch campus?

Without current information, though, students, faculty and UM’s hundreds of alumni donors and supporters cannot form their opinion about the satellite campus.

This past September Dennison said the plans to create the branch campus in Xiamen were slowly moving forward, but he continued to remain optimistic about the project’s success. As of now, though, it is unclear whether UM is still actively working on the project or when they expect the campus to be up and running.

If Dennison made progress solidifying the creation of the campus during his last few weeks abroad – the UM community deserves to know where the project stands. If the plans to form a satellite campus have fallen apart, Dennison needs to explain the failure and UM’s reasons for abandoning the endeavor.

Either way, it is unjust for Dennison to leave students and faculty in the dark about UM’s international affairs.