California Tourism Bust, Foreign Student Disarray, Dog Graduation & More
Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of May 24 - May 29.
Note: I use this link round-up to (mostly) focus on stories that fell through the cracks in terms of higher ed and urbanism, rather than big national news (although, sometimes I am forced to do the big stuff, like today with international students). Please send over any tips, authors, or content to cover.
Disarray for International Students
The US State Department announced that it would halt new visa interviews for international students coming to the US. With visa waits already multiple months or longer in many cases, these further delays will simply mean a lot of international students aren’t going to make it to US classrooms this fall. Likewise, there will now be added scrutiny for all Chinese students in the US.
I have already commented on the importance of international students to the US. I also made the case that these hits to higher ed are not just going to be bad for Harvard, but for the entire country, from rural to urban. I don’t quite have anything new to say on this, so you can see those recent posts if you want my long-form thoughts:
There is some good coverage on the topic at traditional outlets like The Chronicle, Inside Higher Ed, and University World News, but I would like to highlight some commentary from other writers right here on Substack. Here are a few good ones from this week that I appreciate.
at echoes what I have been saying about international students. They are not taking spots from Americans, but rather creating opportunities.
at Substack Expression compares Trump’s tactics on international students to that of China in the past. I made a very similar comparison in my recent defense of international students.Education services include intellectual property and/or services (education services are not goods with a physical form, nor are they financial instruments). And despite some reporting I’ve seen to the contrary, it is my understanding that international students in the US (and their tuition dollars) are not factored into the calculation of education service transactions. In other words, the US has a trade surplus on education services even without counting our equally outsized share of the international student market.
at agrees with all of the above. He also makes an astute note that the stated goals of the administration don’t match the actions.If the Trump administration is seeking to root out “anti-Americanism,” it can begin by surveying its own behavior in recent months. Freedom of expression is one of our country’s most cherished values. Censorship, surveillance, and punishment of government critics do not belong here.
To be clear: Harvard has real problems to solve, documented in a damning report on antisemitism and abysmal free speech rankings.
But weaponizing SEVP certification to force international students to transfer universities mid-program or those on OPT (who cannot transfer) to leave the US immediately doesn’t solve those problems.
Breaking apart world-class graduate research teams isn't reform—it's political theater dressed as policy, where international students become “acceptable collateral damage” in a proxy culture war.
I’ll have more on these issues in the future, but to close on the topic today I will say that I am seeing a new conspiracy theory that China is keeping out American students. Let me be clear: this is absurd! We have been begging American students to study in China for a good decade and their government would love more—there is just little will in going.
The one time we had a recent spike in American students going to China was when the US federal government funded a large campaign promoting it. If the Right wants to get more American students studying in China to offset the differences, then we should start funding students again. The opposite is happening right now under Trump with cuts and freezes. It’s no conspiracy.
Tourists Don’t Like the US or California
There is a huge tourism bust in locales around the US, as a large portion of potential international tourists are simply choosing not to visit the US broadly. Reports point to unwelcoming policies from the Trump administration towards international visitors for the slowdown. Places that traditionally rely on tourism, like California and Vegas, are especially taking hits this summer.
For California, where I live, it’s not just international tourists but also domestic travellers. Apparently, it can be cheaper to fly to Tokyo Disney rather than going to the American parks. Aside from costs, the state also has safety and perception concerns from the rest of the country.
Anecdotally, all my relatives or friends who live in the middle of the country always choose Florida to visit over here. I consistently see family photos from Disney World every week on Facebook. Rarely do I see Disneyland. People talk about the price out here, but also that they just don't like California. There is a big PR disconnect between the state and tourism.
At the same time the entire US is losing tourists, Asia is having a massive tourism boom. Likewise, Europe is still grappling with too many tourists, a seemingly long-term and never-ending problem at this point. Self-inflicted wounds strike this country again.
Links I’m Reading This Week
Urbanism-ish
Vulture has an interview with the SubwayTakes creator, a funny social media series that combines comedy and public transit. I’m a fan.
Swiss town boasts the tallest and (possibly) first 3D printed tower. While not my favorite design, I am intrigued by the possibility of robots building towers.
Wealthy California area residents reject payment to save the city from catastrophic sliding. I’m fine with this just as long as the public doesn’t need to bail them out in two decades.
Members of the art-related niche Subreddit called TheNightFeeling, “nostalgic emotion you feel when you drive alone at night, or see a city skyline at dusk,” say the place is overrun with AI fakes. I fear it is not the only place.
There Was a Time (1959) by Richard Savoie, the kind of image that populates TheNightFeeling Subreddit.
Education
An inn-converted-to-college at Princeton is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Despite being dated, students still love the quirky design and vibes. Let’s celebrate more weird and unorthodox housing.
Dumpy building on St. John’s University campus in Queens is being turned into housing. New York City always needs more!
A zoning fight is unfolding at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus, where the city is debating allowing the university to have an easier time building facilities. Locals are “concerned.” What else is new?
An influencer turns the University of Akron into Streamer University. I don’t really know any of the people involved, but it got millions of views, so I think it is worth a deeper investigation from me in the future.
Wichita, Kansas, has an unexpected thriving food scene with the help of Wichita State University, Friends University, and Newman University.
New proposed metro line in Los Angeles has multiple options, but may end up leaving off UCLA (asking students to take the bus). Bad choice.
Finally… Dogs Graduating!
With all the bad news in the higher ed sector this week, there have been some pretty fun graduation stories. The speakers can be interesting, reading the names controversial (whether getting butchered or now using AI), or some inspirational stories. Even my institution (Soka University) had a fun speech by actor Orlando Bloom (he was pretty good!)
But my favorite story from graduation comes from WeRateDogs, a fun little novelty dog account. They just posted a top-10 graduate dogs. Good times!