President-elect Trump casts a big shadow over city students’ US plans

Nirupa Sampath, a second year MA communication student studying in MOP Vaishnav said she was extremely disappointed with the outcome of the US election. “I was avidly following the elections and was up-to-date with the manifestos and the speeches that were delivered by both the republican and democratic candidates.” 

She adds, “What I gauged from the run-up to the elections was that Trump didn’t seem to have a specific plan or idea on what to do if he was elected. He didn’t discuss any economic blue print during the campaign, relying instead on propagating fear amongst the America populous. I find it really hard to swallow the fact that Americans decided to vote for Trump. I will, however concede that Hillary wasn’t the best choice either, but she was by far the better choice when compared to Trump.”

Nirupa goes on to elaborate that Trump is an outsider with little scope for politics. “Trump doesn’t have an aura of leadership about him. Also, it is high time US had a woman shatter the glass ceiling and become the president. After all, Hillary does have experience on how the government operates. She was the First Lady. She also held the post the Secretary of State and yet people chose Donald Trump,” she laments.

On immigration, Nirupa feels that America will have more to lose if Trump tightens the immigration policy. 

“Despite the rhetoric Trump spewed during the campaign, I doubt that he will prohibit Indians from entering the United States. As a businessman, I am sure he will realise that a significant portion of their GDP is based on the contributions made by Indians. On the other hand, I think there is room for change but I remain highly sceptical based on his track record,” she said. 

A small section of the student community feels that the United States will no longer be suitable country to pursue higher education once Trump takes over the reins. Gokul Raj a second year MSW students studying in Loyola College said, “The US election outcome was completely unexpected. My friends and I were expecting Hillary Clinton to win. The prospects of studying in US have diminished now that Trump is on the cusp of becoming President. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sends back all the Indians who are already settled in America.”

Some have already scouted out alternative countries to satiate their education needs. According to Vijay Srinivas, a second year journalism student studying in Madras Christian College, “I was under the impression that Hillary would win considering that she had experience working in the government. I think Trump will follow through on his promise to make America for Americans and will probably bring forth visa restrictions. In the current scenario, Canada is a much better alternative for students looking to study abroad. I have a feeling that in the next four years, America will no longer be a suitable place for Indian students.” Some students who had planned on going to the United States are now putting their plans on hold, until a more viable environment develops in the country. Leah Ram a first year student studying in WCC, says, “I couldn’t logon to Facebook without coming across a zillion posts on Trump. Right now, I am waiting to see what will unfold in America over the course of the next four years.”

“My entire life was predicated on going to the United States for higher studies, luckily for me I am currently in my first year of college and still have a good two years to go before college. I will still have to pursue a diploma course in India to be eligible to study in the United States. Hopefully by which time Trumps tenure as the president will come to an end. In hindsight, it is too soon for me to take a call on the impact Trump will have on the education sector. I will make my decision after seeing his performance in the coming years,” she adds.