Restricting the admission of foreign students will deprive the United States of one of the tools of “soft power”, but President Donald Trump’s team does not believe in its effectiveness in principle.
Harvard is being cowed – The Trump administration is stripping one of the most famous Ivy League colleges of its right to admit foreign students. Those already studying at Harvard will have their visas revoked. The decision comes just after the murder of two Israeli diplomats in Washington.
The White House accuses American universities of becoming a breeding ground for anti-Semitism. Many of them have already had their federal grants cut. The same Harvard has been forced to cut expenses, because it has a $700 million hole in its budget. And now the college is being deprived of its main cash cow – the ability to admit foreigners.
Foreigners make up 27% of the total number of students at Harvard. They mostly come from China, India, Brazil, the Gulf monarchies and Europe. International students pay more than Americans and often choose the most expensive programs. Therefore, universities in the U.S. always try to actively recruit foreigners based on financial interest.
Now this attraction of unprecedented generosity is being covered up. Harvard has an endowment fund of 53 billion dollars, but it is already reserved for current needs. And the number of American applicants has already fallen amid pro-Palestinian protests.
And there are constant shake-ups in Harvard’s leadership – the college’s previous president resigned over plagiarism. And Republicans are only too happy to plunge the Ivy League, which is accused of promoting an anti-American and anti-Israel agenda, into crisis. Limiting the admission of foreign students will deprive the US of one of the tools of “soft power”, but Trump’s team does not believe in its effectiveness in principle.