Unrest among Dutch Harvard students: ‘Nobody wants to be sent away’

On Sunday his mother, his sister flew to the US on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Mike Winterwerp from Amsterdam will graduate next week at the Harvard Law School, he is even one of the two students who can speech on the ‘Grand Ceremony’. « I would like to celebrate that with my family, » he says by telephone. « My mother only raised us, we didn’t have it wide at home. I never thought Harvard was feasible. »

But in addition to euphoric, Winterwerp has also been uncertain since Thursday – just like all other international students at Harvard, the richest and oldest University of the United States. That day, the Trump government announced that foreign students are no longer allowed to register with the institution. They no longer get a visa. The international students who are already there, including the Belgian crown princess Elisabeth, have a chance to lose their residence status.

Winterwerp does not know what will happen in the coming days, « while I’m so close to the finish line. » Moreover, after his studies the law student wants to stay in the US for a while, but whether that is still possible is also unclear.

The Government Decree was temporarily blocked on Friday by a judge in Boston. He said that the measure would cause « immediate and irreparable damage » to Harvard. The university had argued that the ban on foreign students is a « gross violation » of the American constitution and other federal laws. « With a Pennen region, the government tried to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student population. Without its international students, Harvard is not a Harvard. »

‘A lot of chaos’

At Harvard is currently studying 24 Dutch and 92 Dutch people PhD research, reports ANP news agency. Minister Eppo Bruins (Education, NSC) calls it « a serious matter » if it turned out that they should break down their studies.

The atmosphere is tense on the campus, says a Dutch first -year students who wants to remain anonymous. « There is a lot of chaos, people are scared. » The young woman says she warns her fellow students of hasty conclusions. « We are not experts. We have to wait, personally I still have some hope. We have done nothing wrong and yet we are told that we might have to leave the country. » The student follows a program with different subjects and wants to study applied mathematics or biology in the coming academic year. « At the moment everything is uncertain, suddenly our future is torn. » She herself thinks about a « transfer » to a university in Europe, others also think about it. « It is up to America to wonder if they really want to lose this talent. »

Letter from Homeland Security

« Nobody here wants to be sent away, » says 27-year-old Duco Laane, who will do an internship until September at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He investigates how the elderly with a broken hip in the US and the Netherlands are helped differently. « America is a super country in a technical point of view, » says Laane. « Working nice and hard on weekdays and during the weekends we go to Miami, the West Coast or New York. »

With about fifty other Dutch medical students, Laane is in the group chat ‘Boston Dutchies’. « First gossip appeared there, soon someone sent a news item from CNN and the letter from Homeland Security. » In the evening Laane received an email that his program is ‘not affected’. « A friend of mine may be deported. It’s a scary time. »

Joost (22) is almost finished with his double bachelor’s degree in physics and astronomy. He lives with thirteen other students, eight of whom come from abroad. « We don’t want to worry, but we do that. » His roommates and he want to continue to work in the US. Werkvisa are linked to the same system as the Studentvisa. « And this doesn’t just affect us, » emphasizes Joost. « Even people who have been working here for years do not know if they can stay. »

Group chat

Even those who have not started Harvard is hit. For example, a thirty -year -old Amsterdam student who suddenly saw dozens of « panic » messages appear in the group chat in which she is in with 261 others. They all start the same Harvard-Master as of August. « A boy from Chile suggested to write a letter that we are not terrorists. Others went against it again. We are excluded because of our origins. That is also a loss for the US. »

The student only wants to talk anonymously. « I would request my visa this week. As the first generation student, ‘Harvard’ was never self-evident for me, I had to jump through so many hoops. »

Just like her future fellow students, she eventually wants to « contribute to a better world after her studies. » But whether she can go to the US at all is suddenly uncertain. « I have to stay calm, maybe the storm is blowing over. I even had a room. »

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