“Feels Like Punishment”: Foreign Harvard Student On Donald Trump’s Ban

Washington:
With a letter of admission in their pockets, several foreign students in Harvard University have been left in fear as US President Donald Trump revoked the university’s powers to accept foreign students under a federal government program known as the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Several foreign students who graduated from the Ivy League University today had intentions of staying in the US and pursuing a visa extension program. Their fate is now in the hands of the Trump administration.

Sultanali Nurmanuly, one of the students from Kazakhstan who graduated from Harvard University today, says the ban “feels like a punishment”.

“We certainly sense the injustice because among all the US schools, it is only Harvard, you know. Some other schools also had student activities that the Trump administration was criticizing. But it is the actions of the university administration not conforming to all that the government representatives have requested, which have led to this,” Mr Nurmanuly said.

He went on, “For me, as a person who was not engaged with the political environment of the nation and around the world.perhaps I should be more engaged. but I wasn’t, and as a person who wasn’t all that engaged in that it feels like punishment despite not having done anything. I do believe that being on a student visa here and having a chance to study here is an opportunity.”

As a Harvard graduate, Mr Nurmanuly indicated that the ban does not personally impact him as much as it might others. That said, he did have plans of extending his visa and working in America.

“I do know that other students were really struggling a lot, particularly the newly admitted ones. Harvard even sent out some notices a couple of months ago to newly admitted students that they should enroll in other universities too, just in case they have visa issues. But for me and other students graduating, I believe it impacts us as well, since most of us would remain here and work on a visa extension program called OPT, optional practical training,” he said.

“I will have a three-year extension, which allows me to work here without an H1B visa – a work visa – sponsored by employers. But if the visa of my international students were to be taken away, the OPT extension would instantly be cancelled. So we’ll see how it goes.“

Mr Nurmanuly majored in economics at Harvard.

In his opinion, Harvard being a liberal arts school has one of the toughest and most sought-after degrees.

Commenting on the challenges, Mr Nurmanuly mentioned that he experienced culture shock when he initially began studying at Harvard.

“But I feel that there was a bit more liberal space here. It was quite welcoming. The number of international students isn’t very big per se in Harvard College. I think it’s 10 to 15 per cent. It is more for the entire Harvard University, but students from Harvard College, being international students, aren’t many. There weren’t many of us, but it was alright. I enjoyed it,” he added.

When the Trump administration declared a ban on international students at Harvard, Mr Nurmanuly was traveling outside of the US.

“I just returned to the US a few days ago, so when I received the news, I was technically outside the country. If the Trump administration’s shift took effect immediately, that would mean my student visa would be withdrawn, but it was exciting because, ultimately, they froze the action, I believe, and then I just made it past the border control. It was okay, no problem,” he added.

Trump’s assault on universities
Donald Trump’s assault on best universities in the United States has become even fiercer in just a few months of the Republican chief assuming office for the second term. Trump, who is looking to banish anti-semitism on campus and force his demands, had even accused his predecessor Joe Biden of giving the universities a free pass. Harvard had initially been victimized by the crackdown last month when the White House imposed a $2.2 billion freeze on federal funding. Trump had placed some conditions to lift the ban on federal funding, but Harvard was not accommodating.

Last Wednesday, the administration wrote a letter to Harvard prohibiting the Ivy League’s capacity to accept international students during an ongoing investigation of the university. It also stated said that Harvard can still roll back the government’s prohibition and accept foreign students – if they meet Trump’s terms within 72 hours. But again, the university denied.

Soon after the letter was received, Harvard condemned the Trump government and termed the action “unlawful.“.

“We are strongly committed to preserving Harvard’s capacity to welcome international students and scholars, who come from over 140 nations and enrich the University – and this country – immeasurably. We are working rapidly to offer guidance and assistance to individuals within our community. This retaliatory move poses grave damage to the Harvard community and our nation, and damages Harvard’s teaching and research mission,” Harvard spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement.