哥大校长致信拜登：推翻川普禁令，停止歧视中国学生，让最聪明的人回来！
When you take office in January, there will be an opportunity to quickly and decisively remedy many of the costly and consequential missteps in education policy we have seen in recent years. Of greatest concern, there has been a sustained assault against the vibrant exchange with the international community that over the years has contributed so greatly to making our universities and colleges the envy of the world. This open letter sets forth reforms aimed at rectifying that misguided turn in federal policy.
At the moment, college campuses are marred by empty classrooms, libraries, and sports complexes; sparsely populated dormitories; and testing facilities that have taken over student centers and dining halls. There is no denying that institutions of higher education are in the crosshairs of the COVID-19 virus. Like the rest of the nation and much of the world, we here at Columbia, and our allies throughout higher education, are doing the best we can under severely challenging circumstances.
One important aspect of university life that is missing is the presence of our international students. To be sure, many international students have remained in their home countries for the same reasons that many American students are taking classes from their childhood bedrooms — because de-densifying our campuses was and remains a public-health imperative.
However, unlike their American counterparts, thousands of international students are unable to return to the U.S. Or, if they are able to gain entry, they face onerous restrictions that threaten their ability to pursue their academic careers. This is not just a minor matter in the broad scale of the academy. These students are utterly foundational to our pursuit of excellence in American higher education. It is a grave mistake to turn them away or hinder their ranks. I urge you to take action against this serious threat as soon as possible after you are sworn in as President.
Actions by the federal government over the past four years have made it harder for foreign students to come to the United States, reduced the amount of time they may stay here, and curtailed their ability to work in this country after completing their studies.
Taken together and in combination with regressive immigration laws, these changes erode a profound and basic strength of the American system of higher education: our ability to attract the greatest academic and scientific talents from around the globe, whether in the form of promising students or gifted faculty members. Before the pandemic changed our lives, more than one million students came to the U.S. annually to study, accounting for more than $40 billion of economic activity each year. And in a different time, the U.S. State Department maintained a web page entitled, “foreign students yesterday, world leaders today,” which catalogued the numerous heads of state who were educated in the U.S. But, most of all, talented international students and faculty have been essential to fulfilling our primary mission — namely, the discovery of knowledge and the expansion of human understanding. This vibrant exchange with the international community has been under assault.
With your inauguration in January, there will be an opportunity to remedy this tragic state of affairs and to make whole again our search for truth. I ask that your administration make this agenda a priority and include these reforms among your initial actions as President:
Federal student aid for Dreamers. Reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and ensure that Dreamers are eligible for federal student aid.
Travel bans. Repeal the Trump administration’s ban restricting travel from designated countries, particularly those targeting visitors to the U.S. from predominantly Muslim nations.
Non-immigration visa applications. Work with Congress to fund the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the level needed to reduce the backlog of requested visa renewals and applications for new non-immigrant visas.
Duration of status. Retract the proposal from the Department of Homeland Security to limit the time international students can reside in the United States and allow a duration of stay sufficient for the completion of degree programs.
H-1B visas and Optional Practical Training (OPT). Restore postgraduate opportunities for international students by strengthening and expanding H-1B visas, Optional Practical Training and related programs.
End paranoia of Chinese students. Instead of enlisting universities to monitor foreign-born students and visiting scholars, particularly if they are ethnically Chinese, focus again on attracting — and welcoming — the brightest minds in the world, regardless of nationality or country of origin.
Comprehensive immigration reform. Policy remedies specific to higher education will be fully effective only in tandem with comprehensive immigration reform. It is critical that the next administration work with Congress to address the long-term challenges facing international students and faculty.
These policy changes will have an immediate impact on American universities and will benefit countless international students and scholars harmed by the previous administration’s turning away from the world. More than that, though, this agenda announces beyond the realm of higher education that the United States is once again a nation dedicated to international engagement as a source of strength and a foundation for our leadership.
Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger
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亲爱的当选总统拜登先生：
当您明年1月就职时，我们将有机会迅速果断地纠正，近年来在教育政策上所看到的许多代价高昂、后果严重的失误。
最令人关切的是，我们多年来与国际社会的活跃交流，令（美国的）大学和学院成为全世界羡慕的对象，但是现在，这种交流却遭到持续攻击。这封公开信提出了纠正联邦政策误入歧途的改革方案。
目前，大学校园内教室、图书馆、体育场馆和宿舍全部空空如也，病毒检测设施已经占据了学生中心和食堂。不可否认，高等教育机构已成为COVID-19病毒的目标。
像美国其他地区和世界其他地方一样，哥伦比亚大学及高等教育界的盟友们，正在充满严峻挑战的环境下，尽我们所能做到最好。
大学生活中显著缺少的就是国际学生的存在。可以肯定的是，许多国际学生留在他们祖国的原因和许多美国学生在卧室上网课的原因是一样的，因为我们学校、以及公共卫生部门目前的当务之急就是：去密集化。
然而，与他们的美国同学不同的是，成千上万的国际学生无法返回美国，即使他们能够被获准入境，也面临着各种限制，这将威胁到他们追求学术生涯的能力。
对于大学来说，这不是一件小事。这些学生是我们追求美国高等教育卓越的基础，把他们拒之门外或妨碍他们返回校园，都是严重的错误。
我希望您在宣誓就任总统后，尽快采取行动应对这一严重威胁。
过去四年里，联邦政府的行动加大了国际学生来美国上学的难度，缩短了他们可能留在美国的时间，并限制了他们完成学业后在美国工作的能力。再加上倒退的移民法，这些变化侵蚀了美国高等教育体系的根本：我们吸引全球最伟大的学术和科学人才的能力，无论是有前途的学生还是有才华的教师。
在疫情改变我们的生活之前，每年有100多万学生来美国学习，为美国带来400多亿美元的经济活动。
之前,美国国务院还发表过文章：“昨天是国际学生，今天是世界领导人”。该文整理了众多在美国接受过教育的国家领导人，但最重要的是，有才华的国际学生和老师，对我们的主要使命非常重要：即知识的发现和人类理解的扩张。
可是，这种与国际社会的活跃交流受到了攻击。
不过，伴随着您1月份的就职典礼，我们将有机会弥补这一悲惨的状况，并再次使我们对真理的追求变得完整。我请求您的政府将这项议程作为优先事项，并将这些改革纳入您作为总统的最初行动中：
为梦想家提供联邦学生援助：
恢复童年入境暂缓遣返(DACA)计划，确保梦想者有资格获得联邦学生资助。
废除旅行禁令：
废除特朗普政府限制指定国家的旅行禁令，特别是那些以穆斯林国家为主的赴美访客。
加速审批非移民签证申请：
与国会合作，为国务院和移民服务部门提供所需资金，减少签证延期申请和新的非移民签证申请的积压。
增加签证有效时间：
撤回国土安全部提出的限制国际学生在美国居留时间的建议，并允许他们在美国停留足够完成学位课程的时间。
扩展H-1B签证和OPT实习：
通过加强和扩大H-1B签证、OPT和相关项目，恢复国际学生在毕业后留美的机会。
结束对中国学生的偏见：
与其让大学去监督外国学生和访问学者，尤其是华裔学生，还不如再把重点放在如何吸引和欢迎世界上最聪明的人才上，而不考虑国籍和国家。
全面改革移民政策：
针对高等教育的政策补救措施，只有在全面移民改革的同时才能完全有效。下届政府必须与国会合作，解决国际学生和教师面临的长期挑战。
这些政策变化将对美国大学产生立竿见影的影响，并使无数因上届政府对世界的疏远而受到伤害的国际学生和学者受益。
更加关键的是，虽说这项提议超出了高等教育的领域，但这样做的话，美国将再次成为致力于参与国际事务的国家，并且成为捍卫美国领导地位的基础。
真诚地，
布林格
同样，在当地时间11月28日，美国教育委员会（ACE）总裁Ted Mitchell 也代表43所美国大学，致函拜登&哈里斯政府，希望通过他们的努力，让美国“再次成为最优秀的国际学生和学者的首选目的地”。
来源：https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201128102119141
Ted Mitchell 的建议与上文基本类似，同时他提出，以上改革“可以而且应该”是新美国政府一月份宣誓就职后迅速采取的步骤之一。
近年，因为特朗普政府上台，制定了一系列针对留学生的离奇政策，造成国际生对美国留学的诸多不便，最直接的体现就是《2020年美国门户开放报告》（The 2020 Open Doors Report）显示，2019-2020学年，美国国际生人数结束了近十多年的增长，首次下跌。
期待注重高等教育的拜登总统上台后，能像奥巴马&拜登政府时期一样，让美国的高等教育再次进入蓬勃发展状态，让追求世界顶级教育的学子们，可以安心的求学美国，期待~
