March 18, 2016

A new first

Just had a conversation with one of my favorite young people. He's an international student, someone who is so intellectually ambitious and excited, and the U.S. university system fits him really well. He told me that he's not sure about coming to the U.S. anymore. He has an option in both Canada and Germany and his parents feel like either of those would be much safer places, since these last months have proven that the U.S. is just not so. I asked him what he meant, specifically. He said that what happened in Chicago at the Trump rally, and just the rise of Trump, period. He continued, saying even if he doesn't win, it's a scary prospect for an international student to come and pay so much money for an education, and be surrounded by people who have so much hate and lack of reason.

What can I say, other than "Yeah. That's seems pretty reasonable on your part."?
Our world doesn't function in a vacuum people. Our system of higher education is only as strong as our country is intellectually ambitious and reasonable. Both of these qualities seem to be in pretty sharp decline these days.