U.S. President Donald Trump told a reporter from the India Today newspaper last week that “you don’t want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over the world that are coming into our country — destroy our entire university and college system.
“I don’t want to do that.”
In August, the president said that he would double the number of Chinese students on U.S. campuses from roughly 300,000 to 600,000.
Students and faculty were asked if this big of an increase would be an overall positive or negative.
“I believe it is an overall positive,” said senior Nathan Little. “It is a chance to learn about different cultures and that’s what Saint Francis is all about.”
Dean of the School of STEAM Art Remillard agrees.
“It would add greater diversity and new perspectives in every department,” said Remillard.
While appreciating the opportunity from a diversity perspective, Remillard wondered if such as an increase in international students would be feasible, both for Saint Francis and other schools across the United States.
“I would love to see that, but do we have the support infrastructure?” said Remillard. “Would we be able to address the unique needs of each student?”
SFU international student Mika Wernicke believes that the challenge of more international students would be greater for smaller schools like Saint Francis.
“No issues for large schools, but small schools could be affected,” said the junior from Germany.
Associate Professor of Spanish Larissa Clachar wondered about the financial feasibility of this big of an increase in the international student population.
“I don’t understand how this would happen without a significant financial incentive,” said Clachar.
