{"id":180254,"date":"2025-06-26T11:51:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T09:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=180254"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:52","slug":"ive-been-working-so-hard-to-go-on-exchange-to-the-us-nothing-would-change-my-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/06\/26\/ive-been-working-so-hard-to-go-on-exchange-to-the-us-nothing-would-change-my-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019ve been working so hard to go on exchange to the US, nothing would change my mind\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite the rising political tensions, visa crackdowns and social media scrutiny, dozens of EUR students are going on exchange to the US after summer. The university did cancel an exchange programme on diversity and inclusion out of political and safety concerns.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSonja Schravesande<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

With the academic year ending, many second-year bachelor students look forward to next year for their exchange after summer. 65 out of 72 selected candidates have planned their exchange to the US, including IBACS student John and IBA student Tom.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s crackdown on international students started in May, by freezing visa processing for first timers and people looking to renew their stay. He implemented a social media vetting for any sign of hostility towards the US. This was followed by the threat of losing international enrolment privileges to universities like Harvard. If they failed to comply with Trump\u2019s demands, they wouldn\u2019t be able to recruit international students. A federal judge blocked the attempt.<\/p>\n

Erasmus University has stayed on top of the situation, keeping students up to date with all available information. It organised information sessions and sent emails with tips, such as having a return ticket ready and printed, as well as to not travel outside the US during the thirty day \u2018grace\u2019 period before or after your visa\u2019s start date. Despite this, almost all students who accepted their exchange offer in the US have decided to go.<\/p>\n\t

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On the 20 of June, the US re-opened the visa application procedures with enhanced social media screening for all applicants. All people must have public social media platforms, and even in some cases access to private messages. To guarantee the safety of the students who were interviewed, their identities remain hidden behind pseudonyms to avoid undesirable consequences. Full names are known to the editors.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

UCLA exchange cancelled <\/h2>

The EUR has however cancelled an exchange programme on diversity and inclusion with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) due to concerns about the political situation in the US under President Trump. \u201cIncreasing concerns about safety and the fact that we have selected our students based on their IDEA profile\u201d, is according to a spokesperson the reason for not proceeding with the programme, which was set to take place this year for the first time. Last October, a collaboration with the American university<\/a> was established.<\/p>\n

The plan was for four Rotterdam students and four UCLA students to spend four weeks at each other\u2019s universities this summer, attending lectures and workshops on inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility abroad. The programme aimed to target students who might find it more difficult or unlikely to choose an international exchange, such as first-generation students or traditionally underrepresented, most of whom being the first of their families to attend higher education.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson, speaking for the IDEA centre of the EUR, says: \u201cWe do not want to ask them to temporarily hide that profile (such as by disabling social media or using a burner phone), as it would clash too much with the core values of IDEA.<\/p>\n

The American students will not be coming to the Netherlands either. They were supposed to participate in a programme and collect data for research that they would further develop in the autumn.<\/p>\n\n\t

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