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In Praise of International Students [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-05-29

This is my first story on Daily Kos. I’ve seldom commented but I read every day and I admire many of you for the time and effort you put into keeping us all informed. I’m writing this because of all of the hostility currently being directed at international students by the current administration. These are brave and strong young people from around the world and not a single one of them deserves the malice currently directed towards them or the new barriers being put in the way of their educations.

I am a professor in a small private college on the East coast. We currently enroll about 65 international students from around the world, from countries from Cameroon to Norway. My office opens directly into the international student lounge, which is generally a hangout and study space for international students. I interact with them every day both inside and outside of class, over tea and snacks and talks about good books, and have found them to be deeply intelligent, committed, and strong young people. Many could go to college in their home countries much more cheaply (or even for free!) Others have no hope of higher education in their home countries, so they find a way to pay American tuition. Some are sent to the US for study by their governments, after which they owe years of their lives to the service of those governments. Very, very few are wealthy students looking for an ‘adventure.’ The vast majority are very serious about education.

Good people have written many good things about international students, so I’ll just make two points: first, these are some of the bravest young people you will ever meet. Most are between 17 and 19 years old when they arrive in the US, and most have no family anywhere in this country. They are literally continents away from home and they are making their way alone in a very unfamiliar culture amid systems they sometimes find difficult to understand. (College is confusing even for native-born students!) Many speak English as a second language and they are now expected to read and write in that language at the college level. By the second week, most have dug deep and found some resilience they didn’t know they had and gone on to learn as much as they can about this new experience. They embrace their studies and strive to do better every day, with most becoming some of the best students any professor can have. I don’t know that I could have done what they do when I was 18. My admiration knows no bounds.

Secondly, the vast majority of international students will complete their studies and go home to their countries of origin, where they will go on to their various careers. In doing this, they not only take all the goods of American higher education with them around the world, they also become ambassadors for this country. They know the good and the bad and they remain positive toward the US and thankful for their experiences and opportunities. This kind of good will that people who have studied in the US take back to other countries cannot be purchased for any price. It helps to spread knowledge of ‘real Americans’ and the true American experience around the world. It never hurts our country to have so many people around the world deeply connected to us and rooting for us.

I know this is long, but I’m worried about my students. I want them to grow and flourish like any other students, and I’m worried that many of them will not be able to finish their educations. We’ve gotten instructions from our administration about what to do if ICE shows up, and the fear in our students is real. Some have opted to take courses this summer in hopes of finishing their degrees a little faster, in case they are deported at someone’s whim. Others are staying in the US this summer because they are afraid to go home, not because of any unrest in their home countries but because they may not be allowed back into this country. This makes me so sad that I can’t even express it. No student deserves this, and our country doesn’t either.

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/29/2324789/-In-Praise-of-International-Students?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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