The Washington Monthly's Monthly Journalism Award June 2003 Eric Hoover, Brock Read, Michael Arnone, Burton Bollag, Richard Monastersky, David L. Wheeler, Lila Guterman, Anne Marie Borrego & Thomas Bartlett "Closing the Gates" The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 11, 2003 Living in constant fear of arrest and possible deportation is not a common experience for most American residents. Since Operation Liberty Shield, however, it is one that is increasingly--and alarmingly--common in academia. In a special report on the impact of homeland security on higher education, a team of reporters from The Chronicle of Higher Education reveals how the government has irreparably changed the fabric of academic life. Through a wide-ranging series of interviews and investigative pieces, the authors demonstrate how Operation Liberty Shield is having a detrimental effect on education: Research projects have been stalled because the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (which succeeded the INS) is not granting the necessary visas for scholars; Middle Eastern students are continually being harassed; and librarians and academic advisers now have no choice but to act as data monitors for the federal government. As a result, the ability of American colleges and universities to participate in the international exchange of ideas and information is slipping away.