ISAP president tricks international students with April Fool's Day prank

April Fool's Day might be an American tradition, but that does not keep foreigners from becoming its victims. More than 400 students who are members of the International Students at Princeton received an e-mail April 1 from someone named I.M. Keeding at the American Institute for Accent Standardization. Those who were unaware of the date did not notice that the name is pronounced, "I am kidding."

The message read: "As decreed by the Department of the United States on January 10, 2000, all foreign college students in the United States of America are required to take the AASPT (American Accent Standardized Proficiency Test)." The e-mail went on to say that international students would be required to take the exam April 20. Those who did not pass, the message said, would have to attend a two-month summer language program.

"The first reaction I got was I was really mad about it and so surprised they would do something like this to students," said Mariko De Freytas '02, who is French.

Avik Mukhopadhyay '02, president of the organization, said the idea for the e-mail sprang from the minds of some of the club's other officers. "We knew people would hyperventilate over this," he said.

Mukhopadhyay sent the e-mail in two stages "to let the panic set in," he explained. The second e-mail said the summer language program had been canceled and that those who did not pass the test would have to transfer to Rutgers.

Mukhopadhyay had put his phone number on the e-mail, so he switched off his ringer once he sent out the message. "After some time I couldn't resist the temptation. I turned on my ringer, and people did call."

Though students initially were worried, they didn't hesitate to laugh. Mukhopadhyay has compiled a list with quotations from e-mails he received in response to his joke message. It can be viewed at www.princeton.edu/~isap/prank .