Student Union
- By Sal Nicosia
International Students Celebrated Across US
The benefits of international education and exchange worldwide are being celebrated this week at colleges and universities across the United States.
The week-long events of International Student Week are a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. The events promote programs “that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences,” according to a news release.
The U.S. Department of Education, with colleges and universities nationwide, will host events like the International Fall Gala at American University in Washington, which highlights the food, music and celebrations of cultures worldwide.
The initiative includes #20Questions, a social-media campaign to engage Americans with international students by suggesting questions on a range of topics from food to culture to education. Students can showcase themselves and their individual, cultural stories.
International Education Week also helps students from around the world identify and choose U.S. universities. Global events at the State Department’s Bureau of Culture and Education offices worldwide, specifically the frontline Education: USA offices that help international students connect with colleges and universities in the United States.
The celebration features the “You Are Welcome Here” campaign used by colleges and universities to promote inclusivity of international students at U.S. institutions. The video was created by Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last winter after travel restrictions were proposed for immigrants — including students — from Muslim-majority countries.
The proposed restrictions were struck down by U.S. courts, but “nearly 40 percent of U.S. colleges are seeing declines in applications from international students,” according to a survey conducted by American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the Institute of International Education, NAFSA (Association of International Educators), the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and International ACAC.
“More than three-quarters of institutions responding to the survey — 77 percent — are concerned about yield, that is, how many applicants accept an admissions offer and enroll,” according to an Association of Collegiate Registrars statement included in the survey.
Throughout November, the State Department will also hold events at local passport offices across the nation to explain to the public what a passport can do for them and how to apply. This event couples with the government’s effort to expand global diversity in the classroom for the benefit of international students and American citizens.
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Police in Washington cleared a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday, arresting 33 people, authorities said.
Arrests were made on charges of assault on a police officer and unlawful entry, the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department said.
A congressional committee canceled a hearing on the university encampment Wednesday. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith had been scheduled to testify about the city’s handling of the protest before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
University parents and faculty members gathered Wednesday afternoon for a press conference to condemn the handling of the protests by police and school leaders.
“The university clearly does not value the students at all and has endangered the safety of our children by unleashing officers dressed in full riot gear to assault and spray our children in their eyes with pepper spray,” said Hala Amer, whose son participated in the campus protests.
Police said they dispersed demonstrators because "there has been a gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest."
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Police started to shut down the tent encampment after dozens of protesters marched to GW President Ellen Granberg's on-campus home on Tuesday night. Police were called, but no arrests were made.
Speakers at the conference called for Granberg’s resignation because, they alleged, she refused to meet and negotiate with student protesters.
“You keep inciting violence and ignoring the students,” Amer said about Granberg in an interview with VOA after the conference. “It will just lead to more violence. You need to talk to your students.”
GW officials warned students that they could be suspended for engaging in protests at the school’s University Yard, an outdoor spot on the campus.
"While the university is committed to protecting students' rights to free expression, the encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations," a GW statement said.
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Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, while shutting off the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing, drawing criticism from humanitarian groups. Israel said Wednesday that it had reopened Kerem Shalom.
The nationwide campus protests started in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza that began after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.
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