International students at Harvard face uncertain academic futures

Big blow to education

Academics and members of the public have voiced concerns the Trump administration's actions are damaging the wider US higher education system.

"The president is risking a higher education catastrophe," Anthony Moretti, an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership of Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, told China Daily.

"It's one thing if universities see a drop in the number of international students, but it's quite another if the doors of entry are closed. And while it's easy to say that the president might not issue a similar order for another university or two, the reality is the universities will be on unsteady ground."

Sally Kornbluth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology president, said in a statement to the MIT community on Thursday: "I write to you in profound disbelief. The action the federal government took today to bar Harvard from having international students is devastating for American excellence, openness and ingenuity."

In a post on the news site of The New York Times, which was recommended over 5,600 times, reader Peter Smallbach wrote: "Call me naive, but it's still amazing to me that the administration is willing to pull down one of the real pillars of American strength — its colleges and universities, envied around the world — in order to force ideological conformity. How anyone can think the result of this will actually make America 'great again' is beyond me".

A post on the social network Reddit said: " (This will) reduce the international standing of one of the US' most respected universities and cause a reverse brain drain, because seriously what bright up-and-coming young mind is going to want to risk going to an American university now?"

If the administration succeeds in barring international students from Harvard, the Ivy League school will suffer a huge financial impact as about a quarter of its student body is made up by international students, who generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the school.

Moretti said a decline in international students will be especially difficult for smaller universities as they are dependent on tuition fees. International students pay more, so the bottom lines of many colleges and universities will take a beating should fewer international students choose to come to the US, he said.

Moretti added while it's easy for people to think the courts will overrule the president, who then might back down, the damage to the US, and international students' worries about being able to enter and stay in the country will linger.

Higher education is one of the few areas where the US is enjoying a "trade surplus", some observers pointed out. International students reportedly contributed $44 billion to the US economy last school year.

"The US has had two industries that have consistently run trade surpluses — tourism and education — and Trump's policies are destroying both," said a post on the NYT site. "Someone explains this to me. It's beyond my understanding."

There are voices, however, supporting the government's actions. Some view fewer international students as a "win", meaning more opportunities for US students and helping achieve the goal of "America first".

Others see Harvard's welcoming of international students to attract top academic talent as "anti-American".

"Why does Harvard have 25 percent of students from foreign countries. Why not tap more of the talent we are producing right here in our own country. Start being pro-American," one reader commented on a Wall Street Journal report.

"I guess Harvard will get to show the courage of their convictions to the full extent. They are free to import all the antisemitic, radical leftist Nobel laureates and scientists they want on their own dime, with no support from the US taxpayer. Over time, patriotic Americans will stop sending their kids too," wrote WSJ reader Mel Everheart.

"I say stop all student visas for 3 years and monitor the results. After that, create policies," wrote Steven Cohan.

"No sympathy for Harvard. Like many of our 'elite' schools — Harvard has imported and promoted the very teachings that are now ripping our educational system apart. Being in America is a gift, evidently many, especially those at Harvard have forgotten this fact," commented Joshua Mervis on WSJ.