Russian students should not be punished for Putin’s aggression

As a college admissions officer, I continue to receive heartbreaking emails from aspiring university students in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. These 16- to 18-year-olds are trying to understand what the Ukraine crisis means for their futures – and whether they can believe in a future at all.

Ukrainian students send us devastating messages of fear for their safety and the safety of others, concern over access to food and continued hope that they might find refuge on a US campus. At the same time, I receive messages from Russian and Belarusian students who worry that, regardless of how they feel about the war, they will not be considered for admission under any circumstances because of their nationality.

I have even heard from currently enrolled Russian students on my campus who are concerned that they might be asked to leave. As a college, we would never consider such a move. But on the same day that the war began and Western politicians rallied to support Ukrainians in this battle of democracy versus dictatorship, Eric Swalwell, a Democratic congressman from California, proposed “kicking every Russian student” out of US universities.

Swalwell’s rationale was to punish Russia, and his idea gained some traction. But it also received plenty of condemnation. In proposing this tactic, he made no distinction between Russian students and the actions of their government. Moreover, he conspicuously did not suggest targeting the offspring of oligarchs or even those studying fields that might involve sensitive technologies. His sole rationale was based on nationality.

While Ukraine is obviously the primary casualty of this conflict, Vladimir Putin’s war has another kind of victim: the Russian people, the voiceless subjects of an authoritarian government shrouded in propaganda. That is one of the complications of this war: how can you target a nationality that not only was unaware of its leader’s plans, but even now is forbidden to call the conflict a “war?”

When people in positions of power speak, their words hold weight and real people are impacted. The most recent data tell us that there were 4,805 Russian students in the US in 2020-21. This population is not large, but each one of those students has goals and dreams that should be respected.

They are having a difficult enough time as it is. The Russian rouble has been on a rollercoaster ride since the turn of the year, at one point losing nearly 50 per cent of its value, before unexpectedly rallying in spite of Western sanctions. These fluctuations make the cost of a US education extremely volatile for Russian students and their parents – a source of financial stress exacerbated by Russia’s domestic inflation rates of nearly 20 per cent, further reducing parents’ purchasing power.

Expelling students from the country based solely on their nationality would put the US in the same category as countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which have histories of persecuting foreign students and scholars for political ends. I don’t believe we would want other countries to consider similar moves in the future, potentially even against American students who study abroad. This is one reason the Trump administration did not pursue the briefly considered policy idea of expelling Chinese students from the country; it was deemed too great an economic risk by the administration.

Moreover, using students as pawns makes the world less safe for everyone. After all, what better way is there to combat foreign governments’ disinformation and to spread values and ideals that are important to us as a nation than through international education? When international students come to the US, they gain not only degrees but also understanding of American people, culture and values. They return to their home countries armed with both academic knowledge and increased intercultural understanding.

This is something that can have huge influence as the next generation of global leaders develops. Falsely equating students with oligarchs will not strengthen the US’ position, nor influence Putin beyond the impact of existing sanctions. The best way to combat totalitarianism is to encourage more students from such countries to study in the US, not fewer.

Anna Wise is associate dean of admissions and director of international recruitment, Hamilton College, New York.