United States of America has been the top choice of destination for higher education across the world, currently hosting more than 1 million international students. The presidential election of 2016 has challenged this time-honored image by causing major debates on immigration that could lead to unpleasant implications for the future of U.S. higher education. As students from around the globe might feel greater apprehension when considering the US as their desired destination, institutions join efforts to foster the essential values of international education.
The #YouAreWelcomeHere social media hashtag aims to reassure prospective international students who have expressed concerns following President Donald Trump’s election victory. The campaign serves as a welcome message from U.S. higher education to international students, designed to affirm the institutions’ diversity, friendliness, safety and commitment to student development.
The hashtag was created in November 2016 by a study group at Temple University in Philadelphia for a video addressing the anxiety among students surrounding the country’s attitudes about diversity. Jessica Sandberg, Director of International Admissions at Temple University’s Office of International Affairs, saw a great opportunity to advance this concept into a national campaign and began to promote the idea across social and professional networks.
“It was an emotional response to an emotional time,” said Sandberg. “I felt like it was important that we come together on this instead of competing, and send a unified message to let international students know that nothing has changed, we welcome them here, that campuses are progressive, open-minded, friendly places, and that truly value the diversity they bring.”
For the past 15 years, Sandberg has been working with international students and has spent her career addressing concerns regarding safety and inclusivity of the international students. These fears were heightened surrounding the travel ban, and the closest she could compare it to is September 11, 2001.
“The disaster itself and the legislation that followed it, was one other time when we witnessed such distress, and hence the dropping numbers,” said Sandberg. “The travel ban was next. There was no single campaign that offered emotional comfort at that time and it was extremely necessary to respond to the emotions.”
The reach of a message like #YouAreWelcomeHere has only expanded with the power of social media. The connectedness that has evolved since then has made it easier for universities to get the word out. The hashtag is the one place where everyone from any part of the world can click and get insights directly from real people in real time.
Over 300 U.S. universities and colleges are participating in the effort of communicating the message in the form of statements, photos, videos, events and other creative expressions that feature students, faculty, and staff.
Students have expressed gratitude and relief. Several report that the video messages are especially reassuring to their parents who are comforted to see friendly faces behind the many higher education institutions across the country.
Pennsylvania State University has focused on integrating this message into their spirit cheer ‘We Are …’. They have interweaved the hashtag to create a cordial message and promoted their idea that ‘We Are Penn State. You are Welcome Here’.
“‘We are’ embodies everyone as one, so we are all one big family attending the same school, talking to each other and sharing our experiences,” quotes a Penn State student in the video that the university dedicated to the campaign.
The University of Illinois Springfield opens the video with its students translating the #YouAreWelcomeHere message into their native languages. The inclusive approach also appears in video messages by schools such California State University Sacramento, LeHigh University, Kent State and Ohio State University. “The hashtag campaign is a positive message to emphasize that global perspective is an important part of the learning process, and that inclusion of international students is an indispensable element of it,” Sandberg said.
Rasika Rane 