(NewsNation) — A federal judge has issued a temporary ban on the Trump administration’s effort to stop Harvard University from enrolling international students.
The move from the Trump administration has been the latest in its standoff with the school after it previously froze more than $2 billion in grants and contracts. Some of those demands for the school to follow include limiting on-campus protests and scrapping DEI initiatives.
Shreya Reddy, an international student currently enrolled at Harvard, told NewsNation that learning of the ban and that she may not be able to graduate from the school has been “deeply disturbing.”
“I spoke to my father in the morning, and I told him I may not be allowed back on campus, and I may not be able to get the Harvard alum status that we’ve all been dreaming of collectively as a family,” Reddy said. “We’re still hoping for the best, but it’s been a big blow.”
Reddy said other students she’s spoken to say they are equally devastated by the news and are hoping for a resolution. She added she likely would not transfer to another school if the ban is upheld because Harvard means a lot to her and her family, and attending was about more than a degree for her.
“It’s been a dream since I was probably 10 years old, and that is probably the first time I heard about Harvard University,” Reddy said. “I’m a first-generation immigrant, and for me to be able to come to the U.S. and have the privilege of even applying to and attending a school like Harvard has been a dream come true all along.”
The White House accused Harvard of creating an “unsafe and un-American” campus. The university maintains that the order was a punishment for not giving in to the Trump administration’s demands.
Reddy said while she did not see instances of a hostile campus during her time at Harvard, she said she agrees with what the Trump administration is trying to do in its policy of making campuses a safer place for students but feels a blanket policy affecting all international students isn’t fair.
“We’re peaceful students who want to come here and learn,” Reddy said. “Now, not being able to graduate is taking the one big dream we had, and it just feels like we’re getting caught in the crosshairs.”
