Calls for peace ring out in US

American universities are counting their losses, human and otherwise, from this month's terrorist attacks, and urging restraint in response to suggestions that visas for international students be restricted.

There were very few reports of harassment directed against Muslim students, and growing sentiment on many campuses for a non-military response.

The three universities closest to the World Trade Center that were closed by the attack - Saint Johns, Pace and the Manhattan Community College of the City University of New York - have made arrangements to reopen.

Many campuses were the site of pacifist demonstrations. Some students at Wesleyan University organised a protest against any use of force against civilians.

Officials fear tightened visa restrictions on international students. Half a million foreign nationals study at US universities.

At least nine people connected with US universities were known to have been on the four airliners hijacked by terrorists. No one survived.