In the face of harsher government-imposed regulations for travel into the United States, most international students at Eastern did not leave for their home countries, a worker in the International Studies program estimated.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the government tightened immigration regulations and implemented a tracking system for all non-immigrants who enter the United States on a student visa.

More so now than ever, international students have less incentive to go through the hassle of leaving the country during the holiday break. Eastern’s International Program doesn’t track how many students leave the United States for the holidays, but Adrienne Paoadino, the office’s systems specialist, heard many toured the United States.

All but two of Eastern’s 153 international students enrolled for fall semester left campus.

Paoadino knows some students traveled north to Champaign, where at the University of Illinois, the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship conference was held. Some 20,000 college students attended the conference, which is held once every three years.