Correction appended
Razan Al-Nesef used to not mind walking home alone at night, but the result of the presidential elections has her doubting her safety. Now, she makes sure to return home as soon as the sun sets.
“It was very difficult for me walking to some of my classes yesterday, and today because there is a person who is now a president who hates me solely on the fact that I am a woman (and) that I am Muslim,” Al-Nesef, a junior from Kuwait City, Kuwait, studying linguistics, said.
After the election came to an end Nov. 8, some American and international students were surprised to see Donald Trump elected as the 45th president of the United States. Some international students are worried about how the election will affect immigration policies and their experience in the U.S. because of Trump's potential policies on extreme vetting and "aggressive deportation efforts."
“Just knowing such rhetoric gets you to the white house is scary,” Talal Alharbi, a graduate student studying linguistics, said.
International Student Union hosted a social night Thursday at which attendees discussed their reactions to the election and how it might affect international students.
Krista McCallum Beatty, director of International Student and Faculty Services, said she has had "tough conversations" with international students who are parents about whether or not they want to be in the U.S. with their children while Trump is president.
Hams Kashoob, a freshman studying biological engineering from Muscat, Oman, said it is difficult for Muslims who wear hijabs because they are immediately identified. She said she feels uncomfortable sitting next to a Trump supporter in class, and wonders if some Trump supporters will act on their rhetoric.
“Now that Trump, being the president, will it be the same or will people act upon their hate?” Kashoob said. “Will we be able to wear our hijabs as comfortable as we were before?”
Alena Klimas, the vice president of ISU, said although she is not a target, she is scared for her friends who are international students.
“Just being an American, it’s so scary,” Klimas, a senior studying political science and global studies war and peace, said. “It’s not just international people scared. … All your fears are the same fears.”
Some students have accepted the consequences of the election. Semih Bedir, a graduate student from Istanbul, Turkey, studying film, said the election isn’t to be blamed for all the social disparities experienced by some of the international students. He said international students should learn to counter any discrimination with proper reasoning.
“The most important thing in this kind of situation is not being so emotional. Being rational about the situation. I agree that in one day in one election things didn’t change in terms of sociology,” Bedir said. “If you have racist people… before the election, you’ll have racist people after the elections.”
International students can help American students learn about other cultures and experiences, Klimas said.
delfin bautista, the director of OU’s LGBT Center who uses the lowercase of their name, said domestic students are often invited to international events, but it is important that the invitation is mutual, as international students are not always invited to American events.
OU College Republicans president David Parkhill said international students’ worries are not entirely justified. He said he understands international students who are worried they might not be able to come back to the U.S., but he doesn’t think that will happen. He thinks it is important the U.S. secures immigration policies so people who deserve to come to the U.S. are able to.
“We want to show the community that we’re not the racist, sexist bigots that some of the communities around the country are experiencing, and that (racist, sexist bigots) are the minority,” Parkhill, a junior studying business management said.
Graduate Student Senate is organizing study groups for international students and domestic students to study and work on projects together, Fatma Jabbari, the international graduate student affairs commissioner for GSS and a graduate student from Tunisia studying African studies and political science, said.
“You guys can all make differences and make impacts on people,” Klimas said.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated who Krista McCallum Beatty said she had spoken to following the election. She spoke to international students who are parents. The article has been updated to show the most accurate information.
