College students drop out of school all the time.

But when a trio of foreign-exchange students from Egypt goes missing from a local college for more than a month, it catches the attention of authorities.

Barbara Prindiville, president of Waukesha County Technical College, said three Egyptian students who enrolled at her college through an international study program stopped attending classes, moved out of their college housing and "appeared to have left the area" in mid-November.

Local police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are investigating.

"Over the years, WCTC has been involved in various international study programs, and we have never had a situation like this," Prindiville said in a statement provided to No Quarter. "There were no indications or reports of any issues while these students were enrolled at the college, and we can't speculate on the situation.

"We will continue to cooperate with local police and other officials involved in investigating this matter."

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, confirmed Thursday that homeland security investigators are pursuing the matter. "No further information can be provided at this time," Rusnok said.

According to a story in Waukesha Now, seven Egyptian students came to the Pewaukee campus as part of a U.S. State Department grant, which was administered by Community Colleges for International Development. WCTC is one of 35 two-year campuses accepting international students participating in the program.

The seven students, ranging in age from 23 to 30, were supposed to spend one academic year at the college studying hospitality, business management or printing/digital media studies. They arrived on Aug. 6.

Along with taking classes, all seven were to participate in unpaid internships at area businesses, service learning projects and a global leadership development program aimed at helping them learn about American culture and government. Each was assigned a mentor family and student to help them adjust to living in a new culture.

The college trumpeted news of the program earlier this year and still has a picture of the seven students posted on its website.

"WCTC looks forward to participating in this grant program because it reflects our goal of becoming an institution whose global vision helps our students, staff and programs embrace an international perspective," Prindiville said in a statement back in August.

An official with the international studies program said it has brought more than 1,000 students to U.S. campuses, experiencing few problems over the years.

"This is very unusual," said Carol Stax-Brown, spokeswoman for Community Colleges for International Development. She said she became aware of the situation in Waukesha County shortly before Thanksgiving.

Stax-Brown said some international students will skip out on a two-year college and head to Canada or elsewhere. A few have never been found. But she said most of the students in this program don't have the money to live in the U.S. on their own.

The international study program requires the Egyptian students to attend classes full time as a condition for them to remain in the country.

Prindiville said her office contacted local police shortly after realizing something was wrong.

"When they failed to appear at the college for several consecutive days and to respond to communications, we contacted the Waukesha Police Department to advise them of this situation," Prindiville said. "The police department informed the college that they notified the Department of Homeland Security regarding this matter, and Homeland Security has commended WCTC for being proactive in notifying them in a timely manner."

What's less clear is why campus officials waited to let the public know there was a problem until asked about it by the Journal Sentinel. A source said the three missing students were enrolled in the school's hospitality program.

James Rehagen, manager of special projects at WCTC, declined to identify the three students, referring questions to police. He said the students passed a thorough and rigorous screening process before being admitted to the international program.

No announcement was made about the AWOL students, he said, because it might have been counterproductive.

"Making an announcement saying that three students are missing and we don't know why certainly could be interpreted in many, many ways," Rehagen said.

Waukesha Police Department officials referred questions about the case to the Pewaukee Police Department, which said it was unfamiliar with the matter.

Sore loser

The public usually doesn't get to watch or hear a political candidate melt down after a resounding defeat.

That kind of thing happens behind closed doors.

But in the era of new media, private conversations can easily be made public.

Making the rounds is a YouTube clip in which former state Rep. Terri McCormick berates a staffer who is asking to be paid after the tea party conservative lost the primary in the 8th Congressional District to now U.S. Representative-elect Reid Ribble. McCormick got 18% of the vote.

"So don't tell us about your hardship," McCormick said. "We're doing the best we can."

The Greenville Republican gave and lent her campaign more than $60,000, according to federal records. This race marked the second time she had lost in the GOP primary for the congressional seat.

On the tape, McCormick said the campaign would be selling what it could and borrowing the rest so it could make everybody whole. She estimated that she will be $100,000 in debt by the time it's all over. She then chides the staffer for griping over not being paid a mere $600.

"So let's just be real," she shouts. "I haven't changed from the beginning to the end. I'm the one that walked through fire to make sure the message got out that I (garbled). I'm the one that took the (expletive) from everybody and kept my lips shut. So let's not go stabbing anybody in the back right now because we're going to do things honorably because I don't know any other way. And I hope you're the same."

The staffer responded sarcastically, "I hope you're the same."

"(Expletive) off," McCormick countered. The clip repeats the remark two more times for emphasis.

McCormick didn't return calls last week, but her husband, Ken Dawson, said he had no comment on the matter. All of the campaign staffers have been paid in full, he added, though some received used campaign equipment instead of cash as payment.

Dawson chalked up the matter to the work of "some stalker."

"Terri has had stalkers over the years, and I assume this is another one of those," Dawson said. "We're not going to listen to any recording."

Daniel Bice can be contacted by phone at (414) 224-2135 or by e-mail at dbice@journalsentinel.com.