Amir Maleki (right) and his older brother Mohammad Maleki (left) in Arcata.

UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.: The Lumberjack sends along the following response to the response below: 

The Lumberjack is dedicated to unbiased and well-sourced reporting. As a student lead publication, we understand it is incumbent upon ourselves to practice and uphold the highest of ethical standards. In response to Wednesday’s story about Amir Maleki and the comments made by Megan Mefford, we would like to share the exact line from our story “Mefford advised Maleki to find legal help” and second, an email from Megan Mefford from which the excerpt was drawn, “When Amir came to see me, one of the best pieces of advice I could give him was to seek legal counsel.”

The Lumberjack appreciates community involvement and feedback, please write to thejack@humboldt.edu with any and all questions or concerns,

Andrew George Butler
Editor-In-Chief
The Lumberjack

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CORRECTION UPDATE, 4:10 p.m.:

HSU International coordinator Megan Mefford has contacted the Outpost regarding her comments in the Lumberjack and wanted to make it clear that she did not advise Maleki to sue College of the Redwoods.

“Unfortunately, The Lumberjack has taken a biased stance on his brother’s story and they misreported my view,” Mefford told the Outpost. “He came to me for some general advice and started asking questions about what he can do. I said seeking legal counsel was one of his options, but I in no way advised him to file a lawsuit. That’s absolutely not true. The student’s action is on his own and at no advisement from me.”

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UPDATE, 2:30 p.m.:

College of the Redwoods’ Executive Director of College Advancement Marty Coelho sends us this statement.

“College of the Redwoods greatly values diversity and takes very seriously any allegation of discrimination.  We protect the right of privacy of all of our students and follow the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  We unfortunately are unable to comment further.”

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An Iranian international student will consider suing College of the Redwoods after the school refused to allow him enough credits to meet Homeland Security requirements.

Amir Maleki, the younger brother of Mohammad Maleki — who missed nearly the first month of his spring semester at Humboldt State University after getting caught up in President Trump’s travel ban — will consider suing CR because he says several deans refused to allow him to register for all of his classes because he arrived to school a week late.

According to HSU’s student-run newspaper The Lumberjack, who first reported the story on Wednesday, Amir Maleki arrived to Humboldt a week late because he wanted to wait for his brother to renew his visa so they could travel together. Things didn’t work out as planned and his older brother ended up missing far more classes due to travel ban delays. But Amir Maleki was able to make it to the U.S. just before Trump signed the executive order.

Mohammad Maleki eventually made it to the U.S. weeks after his brother, and was still able to register as a full-time student at HSU. However, Amir Maleki reportedly did not receive the same treatment from CR.

“I got back to Arcata and was going around speaking to the professors, sending out emails and calling up a few of the professors,” Maleki told the Lumberjack. “I was supposed to get four classes, which means 13 or 14 credit hours, and two of the deans refused to sign the papers.”

 

While some of his classes were wide open, other classes left Maleki dealing with the harsh reality that many American college students face — sometimes there are too many students and not enough seats.

Desperate to avoid being sent back to Iran, where he would likely have to serve his country’s military for two years if he is unable to maintain his travel visa, Maleki sought advice from his brother’s counselor at HSU — Megan Mefford.

According to the Lumberjack article, Mefford advised Maleki that taking legal action might be his only hope was one of several options he had.

“Unfortunately, Amir did not seek my counsel until CR had already taken severe action on his academic and immigration status,” Mefford told the Lumberjack. “Had he come to me earlier I may have been able to make some phone calls to mentor the CR staff advising him.”

Maleki was reportedly told by several lawyers that he may be able to file a case based on racial profiling. The Outpost attempted to seek out any court documents on the matter, but as of now, no lawsuit has been filed.

Mohammed Maleki, who responded to a text message on the matter this morning, told the Outpost that things may be worked out between his brother and CR without getting lawyers involved.

“We tried to compromise with the school, they just talked to us and we are waiting for a final answer,” Maleki said. “We don’t want to make any trouble, but if the problem won’t be solved, we will consider the case.”

The Outpost reached out to CR’s administration yesterday but has not heard back.

Mohammad Maleki at HSU. Photo by John Ross Ferrara.