Ohio University Continues to Support its International Community
< < Back toThere are more than 20,000 students enrolled at Ohio University’s Athens campus. Nearly 88 percent of that enrollment consists of students native to the state of Ohio. The remaining twelve percent includes primarily students from around the Midwest and Appalachia, but seven percent of those students come to Ohio from outside the country, some never having been to the United States before.
Once they get to Athens, many international students are here for years at a time before returning home.
“I try to go back every winter and every summer,” said Amal Afyouni, a sophomore from Dubai, U.A.E. studying political science and sociology. “This year I won’t see them for another year because I’m working in (Washington) D.C. the whole summer. So I got to go back in December and I won’t get to go back until next December. It sucks.” 
There’s not much Amal can do to counter the homesickness, aside from eating familiar cuisine at Athens’ Salaam Restaurant, which she says comes close, but not close enough. Unfortunately for Amal, Dubai is 7,194 miles from Athens, and a voyage home means sitting on an airplane for more than 16 hours.
“I try as much as I can to see my brother if I do feel homesick,” she said. “My brother goes here too, so I just go meet up with him. I’ll sit and watch a video of home, or I’ll call one of my friends. There’s not really much that I can do here that is home.”
On January 27, President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States. The order, titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” along with a subsequent related executive order were temporarily halted by court injunctions, but the precedent has internationals more skeptical about entering the states than ever before. In addition to the fear it’s caused for current international students, NBC news reports international applications are down at 39 percent of universities in the U.S.
Ohio hasn’t reported any drop in international student enrollment. Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio reports that its international applicant total has dropped to nearly half of what it was in the previous year.
The United States isn’t the only country to have its international students affected by an unsettling political climate. Universities in the United Kingdom have seen drops in their international applicants as well. Countries like Australia and Canada have become direct beneficiaries of this. One independent education consultant indicates a 25 percent increase in the amount of international students applying to Canadian universities.
“It definitely did scare me,” Amal said. “My parents aren’t American, so what happens to them? Can they fly here? It was a lot because I had friends from home texting me genuinely concerned.”
According to College Factual, there are more than 23,000 students that would be affected by the proposed travel ban. Only about 100 of those students are enrolled at Ohio, but the university has taken action to protect all international students.
The International Student Union (ISU) is an umbrella organization that includes 23 different student organizations representing countries and regions across the world. Ohio’s 1,400 international students come from 114 different countries, and the ISU’s organizations serve as a method for those students to stay connected to their homeland and for domestic students to learn about a foreign culture. The center for Global Affairs and International Studies brings together all the university’s resources for international students and faculty, including the Office of International Student and Faculty Services. Together they provided immediate and long term support during this uncertain time.
The university has elected to keep housing and dining halls open for students potentially affected by any bans. Campus administrators are doing their best to keep costs at a minimum, so that students have options to do what they think is best for them and their families. Dr. Lorna Jean Edmonds, Vice Provost of Global Affairs and International Studies at Ohio University, says there are multiple students already interested in the summer housing.
“Our International Student and Faculty Services were our first responders,” Edmonds said. “They were the group that were outreach to our international students because they’re the known group. I think they’ve done an incredible job supporting those students.”
Edmonds and Ohio faculty continue to be proactive in offering support to the international student community because without it Edmonds believes Athens as a town would not have some of its unique flair. Edmonds says that the Athens community is one of the most supportive communities she’s seen and wonders what Athens would be like without the international student population at Ohio University.
“The fabric of Athens has changed as a result of the diversity of our student life,” Edmonds said, “By bringing them here, we’re enriched by their culture, and Athens has been enriched. This really does shape the livelihood of Athens in I think really special ways.”