150 UM Students Could Be Deported If School Goes Online-Only
Well, this is news that is going to impact colleges all over the country, but hearing how it's going to affect the University of Montana certainly makes it feel that much closer to home.
This week, the Trump administration announced a change to the Student Exchange Visitor Program, which basically states that international students attending college in the US would be required to leave the country or risk violating their student visa status if the school goes completely online. It states that at least part of their course must take place in person if they're going to continue to stay in the country.
This is, of course, ridiculous, especially considering the very real possibility that schools may not be able to open up for in-person classes in the fall, even if they're planning to now. Donna Anderson, senior international officer at the University of Montana, told the Missoula Current that they're "hoping the guidance will be reversed" but that "UM currently plans to return to face-to-face instruction for the fall 2020 semester."
This is already a scary enough time in US history, with over 130,000 dead as a result of a virus, the spread of which could have been better contained if not for politicians who continually did the worst possible thing in every situation (the blame goes for the people too - please, wear your damn masks). You don't need to add to a person's fear by forcing them out of the country just because classes are online.
And don't forget, it's not just UM students who would be affected by this - we're talking thousands of kids all across the country. Hopefully, UM classes will be able to reopen in the fall and this will all mean nothing, but if not, then hopefully they can figure out a workaround - classes that are partially on campus but mostly online, or another solution that helps these students out.