Indian student at Harvard faces an uncertain future: 'Much is at stake, I'm worried'
Harvard's international students, including many from India, are in limbo after Trump revoked the university's ability to enroll them.
International students at Harvard are facing an uncertain future after Donald Trump revoked the university’s ability to enroll students from abroad. The move means Harvard can no longer enroll international students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status.
The ban announcement was followed by Harvard suing the Trump administration in Boston federal court, calling the move unconstitutional retaliation for resisting the White House’s political demands.
Despite a federal judge on Friday granted a temporary reprieve to Harvard, students are stuck in a limbo.
International students at Harvard worried
One such international student at Harvard opened up about his worries on social media. Akshay Narayanan, from India, is currently pursuing a master’s in public health from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
In posts shared on the social media platform X, Akshay admitted that he was worried about his future as an international student at the Ivy League school.
“Much is at stake - I don’t know how the Harvard x Federal govt negotiation will unfold. I’m worried for all the obvious reasons,” he wrote. “But I’m also sure that my friends, the incredible people they are will find ways to continue doing work that matters. No doubt. It gives me ease.”
Before this post, the Indian student at Harvard took recourse in humour. “Hey, if I don’t get to graduate, at least the Harvard drop-out brand is pretty strong,” he joked.
If Akshay does not get to graduate from Harvard, he is right about one thing at least - the Harvard dropout brand is indeed a pretty strong one. Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are just two billionaires who did not complete their degree.
Harvard currently has nearly 7,000 international students, representing about 27% of its total enrollment.
According to Reuters, since taking office in January, Trump has assailed the so-called Ivy League universities, accusing them of fostering anti-American, Marxist and "radical left" ideologies.
