Cuts affect choices for international students
NEELIN VIEWS
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Winnipeg Free Press subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $4.99 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
With Advanced Placement (AP) exams just finishing, high school students in Brandon and around the world are nearing the end of their university-level courses.
The AP program first started in the United States during the Cold War as an academic program for high-achieving, typically wealthy, white students who demonstrated readiness for university-level work. The U.S. feared that high schools were not adequately preparing their students for university or post-graduate studies. Over the years, the program has expanded to numerous countries and has become more inclusive with a focus on equity and diversity.
On March 20, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the Department of Education. This has since been followed by further cuts to higher education and research. As students both local and international are preparing for the summer, beginning post-secondary plans or eagerly waiting for graduation, these developments south of the border are something to consider as impacting future plans.
The decision to dismantle the Department of Education will greatly affect low-income students, students of colour, students with disabilities and students from rural areas with less funding. Trump states on the White House website that taking out the Department of Education will drastically improve program implementation in higher education. By closing the Department of Education and returning authority to the states, he hopes to help “children and their families to escape a system that is failing them.” He says that the American education system through federal programs has failed their children, teachers, and families.
McMahon and the administration have already cut the department workforce nearly in half. NBC News states that cutting the Department of Education will hurt all students by having an increase in class sizes, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and harder to attain for middle-class families, and will take away special education services for students with disabilities. There has also been an increase in states that have expanded their school voucher programs that will likely be spiked further by Trump’s decision.
Critics of voucher programs express their concern because they take public funding and deliver it to private schools. Funding for public schools is predominantly based on enrolment numbers. As more students choose private over public, overall funding decreases for public schools. This makes it difficult as the students who remain in public schools lose resources.
Trump has also aimed to cut funding for many top universities in the U.S. like Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Columbia and many others. Trump has argued that these elite universities have become schools of antisemitism and ideological indoctrination. In particular, the Trump administration is targeting institutions where students have participated in pro-Palestine protests.
University leaders fear that by threatening to withhold funding, the government is trying to eliminate academic freedom. Many conservatives, according to the New York Times, have looked at higher education and been disturbed by affirmative action admissions programs, high tuition costs, the abundance of liberal professors and the proliferation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives on campuses. Many conservatives express concerns over their views being marginalized in lecture halls and regard top schools as “incubators of wokeness.”
The letter with a list of the Trump administration demands made at Harvard can be read on the New York Times site and includes demands to change admissions criteria to exclude international students “hostile to the American values,” and to reform any academic departments deemed to be fuelling “antisemitic harassment.” The Trump administration has frozen US$2.3 billion in federal funding for Harvard. Meanwhile, Harvard has retaliated by suing the Trump administration.
More cuts have also been made to research funding. Trump wants to end funding for TRIO, federal work-study and other grant programs that support students on campus as part of a broader plan to cut US$163 billion in non-defence programs. These funding cuts were released May 2, and the proposed budget plan eliminates nearly US$18 billion from the National Institutes of Health, US$12 billion from the Education Department and nearly US$5 billion from the National Science Foundation.
“The administration is proposing cuts to higher education and scientific research of an astonishing magnitude that would decimate U.S. innovation, productivity, and national security,” said Mark Becker, president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. Harvard has also been cut off from all new federal research grants unless the school enacts political policy changes. A letter posted May 5 by McMahon stated that Harvard is not eligible for grants from the federal government due to its “consistent violations of its own legal duties.” The Trump administration also threatened Harvard’s ability to host international students if they don’t submit to the list of demands.
American universities are home to many top programs in their fields, which attract lots of international students. However, with the actions of the Trump administration, international students in the U.S. have been left feeling scared and concerned for their future. Last year, there were around 1.1 million international students in the U.S., and a large decline could leave a huge impact on school budgets that rely on tuition from foreign students. As reported by ABC News, many international students have faced arrests for attending protests and have been threatened with deportation. A graduate student at the University of Michigan quoted in the Globe and Mail said he and his fellow international students believe they can’t speak freely anymore: The principles of free speech and academic independence that made the U.S. a magnet for top students from around the world are “no more,” said the student.
As high school students in Brandon and around the world are deciding on their future plans, choosing paths that are welcoming and align with their goals is crucial. Even amid funding cuts, one should decide on a post-secondary track that one is proud of. Education is an important part of many people’s lives, and the choice to become educated should never be constrained.
» Georgia Feng is a Grade 11 student at École secondaire Neelin High School.