"Admitted to my peers that I'd dodged a bullet - false optimism proved costly"
Revamped Version:
Trump's Headwinds for Universities: Fear and Finances Reign
Skepticism, dread, and budgetary concerns are swirling amidst the halls of academia in the United States. As the Trump administration tightens its grip on higher education, international students like Vincent Heddesheimer and Coco Fitterman find themselves treading on thin ice.
Vincent, a doctoral student at the prestigious Princeton University, casually pegs a safety warning to his lamppost, reading: 'What to do if ICE shows up?' The air of tense unease has definitely settled at his university. At a recent information session about travel, border officers reportedly examine visas more stringently: "Don't make mistakes, have all your documents, write important numbers down just in case your phone gets taken."
Coco, a fellow doctoral student from the City University of New York, had been initially dismissive of the stirring fears among her peers when she heard tales of hesitant signatories to calls for a truce in Gaza last year. "Paranoia," she recalled thinking at the time. But as friend after friend was arrested, including Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, who remains detained despite possessing a valid residence permit, Coco admits she was gravely mistaken.
The Trump Administration's Aggressive Stance on Universities
The Trump administration's actions leave little doubt as to their objectives: they're making examples, sending a clear message to universities across the country. Harvard became the poster child for this administration crackdown when Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced, in late May, that the prestigious university would no longer be able to accept international students, effectively serving as a warning.
But this threat doesn't spare everyone equally: the Trump government has frozen billions in research funds, terminated contracts, and threatened universities with the loss of tax benefits and the disclosure of confidential information. Trump's demands that universities combat "unlawful discrimination and ideological indoctrination" and take action against anti-Semitism and violence are met with funds that have no direct relation to his requirements. He cuts funds for cancer research because the university where the research is being conducted is perceived as too left-leaning.
A Republican Criticism and a Wider Approval Base
Individual measures receive criticism from even within the Republican party, but Trump's larger strategy to rein in universities finds wider approval. Many view universities as disconnected and dominated by left-wing ideologies, causing campus protests against the Gaza war to resonate more with the general population than with students themselves. It seems this resonance is what Trump's government capitalizes on to justify its attacks on educational institutions.
The protest movement had already started to lose momentum before Trump's election, with both Congress and funders pushing universities to vacate tent cities and arresting thousands of protesters. Only scattered remnants remain today.
Doubt and Despair Among the Foot Soldiers
Discontented murmurs among the student body quickly morphed into exhaustion and hopelessness in the face of Trump's tirade, says Coco. Even she admits feeling the weight of it all: "I'm utterly drained." Still, she attends a support rally for Palestine, held at a dormitory seminar room, painting banners that read: "Freedom for Palestine" and "Genocide has no two sides."
The 27-year-old quickly excuses herself, hurrying to her office at the Institute for Comparative Literature to email her bachelor students their grades for the previous semester. "I have to do that too," she says, boarding the elevator. Every student receives an A, except one who missed many classes due to family obligations.
A crowd of about 20 gathers on the steps of the university building, preparing for a hunger strike. They plan to refuse food until the university ends all financial ties with Israel. These friends of Coco's could be the very people Trump refers to when labeling them "paid agitators" and "terror sympathizers." Protests like these would likely be ignored, or at least not used as a pretext to exert political pressure on educational institutions in any other democratic nation. But in America, that's exactly what's happening.
Trump's tactics thrive on this sentiment, on the loathing for liberal students. It fuels his crusade against higher education and his punitive measures against what he sees as an aloof elite. But make no mistake, these actions disproportionately target not the elite, but the foot soldiers of the education system.
Flying Under the Radar as an International Student
Vincent, the Princeton doctoral student, has always kept a low profile as an international student, even before Trump took office. To blend in, he avoids drinking alcohol in public and prides himself on feeling safe within his university bubble. Princeton, in the state of New Jersey, is a small, affluent town, comprising a collection of stone buildings and lawns that Vincent finds manageable.
Princeton is known for its staggering $41 billion endowment and the independence it grants the university, using investment profits to cover its financial needs while maintaining distance from public control. This autonomy allows Vincent to secure an additional two years at Princeton, despite the university facing budget cuts. However, future classes may not be as fortunate.
Coco's predicament is vastly different from Vincent's. The financially struggling public education system on which she relies is directly affected by political developments. Yet, she continues her arduous journey at the City University of New York, one Tuesday in late May, to show solidarity.
Everyone assumes top grades for her students, except one who consistently missed classes owing to family responsibilities. Walking out, Coco remarks that her students struggle to manage multiple jobs in addition to their studies.
The students are not the only ones affected: the publicly funded language center where Coco works might cease operations in August — the responsible department of Education having been dismantled in March. Even if the funding has not officially expired, it's unclear who would approve an extension. For Coco, the fate of the language center represents a significant blow to students, particularly those from working-class families, whose paths to graduation could become insurmountable without its support.
Sources:- Lukas Wessling, ntv.de- [1] Puente, M. (2019). After Trump, the nightmare in Gaza; Fighting back: Palestinian students protest in New York; ntv.com; Retrieved from https://www.ntv.de/english/after-trump-the-nightmare-in-gaza/1697237.html- [2] ACUniversities. (2020). New Data Reveals Dramatic Drop in New International Student Applications in 2020; acu.edu.au; Retrieved from https://www.acu.edu.au/news/articles/new-data-reveals-dramatic-drop-in-new-international-student-applications-in-2020- [3] Brooks, N. (2020). Harvard Sues DOJ, Trump Administration to Overturn New International Student Rules; npr.org; Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2020/07/10/889643076/harvard-sues-doj-trump-administration-to-overturn-new-international-student-ru- [4] EMery, J. (2019). Trump administration denies immigration-based visas to academic experts, eroding quality of research in the USA; Journal of Public Policy & Marketing; Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0162252519300763
- The Commission has also been consulted on the draft directive addressing the Trump administration's aggressive stance on universities, particularly as it pertains to education-and-self-development and the potential impact on international students.
- Politics and general news outlets have reported on the Trump administration's actions, ranging from freezing billions in research funds to threatening universities with the loss of tax benefits, which can have far-reaching effects beyond the ivory tower, affecting the broader population's access to quality education and self-development opportunities.
