It has been nearly a month since President Donald Trump was sworn into office. And in that short time, he has managed to threaten many of the core principles which define American higher education: between Title IX re-vamps, the unraveling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and remarks regarding the dissolution of the Department of Education, colleges and students across the nation are facing the consequences of increasingly drastic executive orders from the White House.
But only a small percentage of Bi-College students are being confronted with the most threatening changes of all: those having to do with President Trump’s immigration policy.
Around 13% of Bryn Mawr’s student body are non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents; Haverford’s student body has similar statistics, where 13.7% identify as international.
Trump has made promises to lead the largest deportation campaign in the nation’s history, and already has attempted to restrict the visa-vetting process. Just last week, he signed an order that’s stated purpose was to combat antisemitism on campuses, but which also threatened to remove “aliens” for partaking in Pro-Palestinian protests and activities.
“Now that Trump is in office, I’m afraid of things… that some people will not be ashamed or afraid to do things out in the open”
On Friday, Jan. 31, Wendy Cadge, the president of Bryn Mawr College, along with other administrative officials, sent a campus-wide email regarding the executive orders enacted by Trump. The email re-affirmed previous guidelines the school followed regarding international students. Specifically, that campus safety would not be involved with enforcing federal-level legislation, and that the school would not release information regarding any students immigration status. These assurances, though, are subject to change if the Trump maintains his campaign promises to spearhead new laws and legislation.
Haverford College recently released a welcome note to incoming international students part of the class of ’28, which had no mention of Trump’s policies, or how the college was working to support students in the face of such action.
The Bi-Co News reached out to Haverford’s international student department for comment and was subsequently told that they would not be speaking on the matter as of yet.
As international students return to campus for the spring semester, a sense of worry (and, as some mentioned, a lack of support from the colleges) lay over them.
“I’m so sure that Trump’s administration would influence it [the visa vetting process], would influence their [the United State’s] desire to seclude America from international students.”
Students, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Bi-Co News that despite reassuring emails like the one President Cadge sent, there was still a sense of solitude in the face of such extreme action by the White House.
In response to Cadge’s email, one student said that they “understand that this is an email that was sent out to acknowledge that Bryn Mawr is not on the side of the Trump administration… but also, they [the administration] aren’t doing any extra help. They are just saying that they are sticking to the things that [they have] done before.”
“This email really doesn’t make any difference. It’s almost funny.”
The process of getting a visa and having the ability to study at the Bi-Colleges differs between nations. Some students spoke of having to cross multiple borders and undergo various interviews and vetting processes before being able to officially enroll.
“I scarified a lot for that [the ability to come to the USA]… just like mental resources, emotional resources, relationships with family…”
However, one student mentioned that despite their fears about Trump, they felt that America’s democracy was still stronger than their home country’s, and that domestic Bi-Co students lacked a necessary perspective on politics worldwide.
“I was stressed, but the reaction of people around me made me even more stressed. I don’t know, he is so unpredictable and it scares me, but at the same time people here just don’t appreciate what they have,” one student said.
As Trump continues to roll more and more executive orders everyday, it seems unclear what the right steps are for administrations at either colleges. Perhaps, though, words of reassurance need tangible action to fully aid international students life in Trump’s America.
Editors Note: Due to unprecedented circumstances, the Bi-College News editorial board has chosen to forgo previous standards in place surrounding anonymous quotes for the purposes of this article. In order to protect students across the Bi-Co, no identifying information (including name, gender, country of origin, or college) is being provided alongside quotations given by international students. For specific inquiries into our newsrooms ethical guidelines and standards, please reach out to us at news.bico@gmail.com.
