International StudentS
- Reverend James Squire
- Jun 4
- 4 min read
We had a wonderful exchange program at EA between our students and Chinese students. One of the key people involved was one of my assistants, The Reverend Dr. Peyton Craighill. He grew up in China, was fluent in Mandarin, and taught in China for many years. I was fortunate to have him by my side along with his terrific wife, Mary. Both are now deceased. He loved China and the Chinese people. He started a summer program for our students to have the opportunity to go there to learn more about China and its culture.
It seemed that everyone knew Dr. Craighill. For example, when we were having lunch together at a Chinese restaurant in Haverford, a waiter took our order and said, “Dr. Craighill, how are you?” It was one of his former students from China. Students from China also studied for a period at EA. I always had those students address chapel about what they learned from being with us and to talk about faith and character.
Even then things were changing dramatically in China/ USA relations. The last Chinese student to be involved in our exchange program entered the pulpit and began by saying, “I am not here to steal your lunch!” The entire chapel attendance, faculty and student alike, broke out in extended laughter. I didn’t laugh because I was uninformed about the USA’s tense relationship with China and vice versa. Dr. Craighill informed me afterwards in detail about the reason for the laughter.
Thanks to regular dinners with Chinese scholars from Harvard and Stanford as well as Trudy Rubin, Inquirer journalist currently in Ukraine, and my former student who heads up a program at Penn regarding China, I now know the issues and the issues behind the issues. That is a gift of learning that I hold in high regard. I just received a confidential memo from my former student who heads up the Penn Global Center. He just returned from ten days with his students in China. If only the world could know the level of knowledge of his students and their openness to new perspectives. They are a positive and articulate voice in the wilderness of the politics of China.
Speaking of leaders and students, I would be remiss if I did not attach the Welcome Address at graduation to the Harvard Class of 2025 by embattled President Alan Garber. Notice the standing ovation that he got from everyone present.
Let’s look at the plusses and minuses of having international students attend American independent seconadary schools, colleges and universities.
Trump’s point of view and his attacks on schools in general and Harvard in particular focus on what is being taught and the revenue in those schools. There is irony here as he had a school, Trump University, which failed like so many of his endeavors. But Trump always follows the trail of racism and money. There are one 1.1 million international students in the USA. Twenty-seven percent of the student body of both Harvard and Penn are made up of international students. Those students are paying full freight for their education in our country. I have a friend whose business was traveling through the Far East and arranging for Asians to make their way through the process to come to our schools.
About 80% of international students are paying their own fees usually generated from family resources. Private institutions can provide more aid than public institutions.
Trump sees anyone who isn’t white as less than white people. Think about his taking in white people from South Africa when he heard a rumor that they were being treated badly by the black leaders of the government. The rumor was proven to be false. There is a class issue as well regarding international students. That friend whose job was to facilitate getting international students into schools in the USA indicated that most of her clientele were people of significant wealth. Trump sees international students as a continuation of the elite status of schools in general and Harvard in particular. Maga is against the perceived elite.
Hence, his actions against schools are seen as a positive among his voting base. In addition, it was no accident that he threatened to give the billions of dollars that he was holding from schools of higher learning to trade schools which would be another positive for him with his base. The high percentage of international students in our schools and universities means that there are fewer spots for Americans which is an argument against international students.
The Utilitarian ethic seeks to identify its primary group identify first and then act accordingly. Colleges know that international students are considered bad by Trump and Maga. Over the years schools and colleges have believed that international students add to the learning that goes hand in hand with encountering differences. They make significant contributions to science, et al. Maga rejoices in seeing all these elitist institutions finally “getting their comeuppance.”
There is a subdivision of the Utilitarian ethic which is consequentialism. Trump is described as someone who “is ready, aim, shoot.” He doesn’t see the consequences of his decisions as harmful to others, an example being his lack of action regarding Ukraine and the Palestinians. However, any consequence that directly affects him is seen more clearly. For example, he doesn’t see the consequences of his immigration policies but only sees that effort as promises made and promises kept, directing more accolades to him for his achieving a campaign promise. In essence, he uses laws to get his way and is frustrated when the law doesn’t support his terrible actions. It is the only check on his actions at this point.
Comentários