In the aftermath of the May 2020 exam cancellations, I was left “chronically unemployed” and out of things to do. While excited at the prospect of a long summer, I was unsure of how I would occupy myself. Lazying around at home binge-watching TV shows and cricket matches was not an option my parents would accept, with COVID-19 and the winter cold subsiding in the city. Summer is the time to get out of the house and participate in meaningful activities that enrich yourself physically, professionally, and spiritually. For students like me who have recently graduated high school, it’s also the time to prepare yourself for university by attending orientation activities, making student visa applications, and doing house chores so as not to end up with a horrible living situation later on. Looking back at the summer I had, I’d say it was time well spent. Instead of being perturbed by global current events, I had a blast interning with beijingkids, attending events around the city, routinely gymming and playing cricket, catching up with friends, and preparing for university.

Being an Editorial Intern at True Run Media (TRM) this year was a truly amazing experience. While I had applied to originally write for theBeijinger, writing for the equally reputable beijingkids was an absolute honor. If you had told me back at the beginning of the year that I would soon be contributing to the media company that was my go-to source for all things Beijing, I wouldn’t have believed you. Heck, I couldn’t even believe myself when I finally landed the job. With a casual and friendly work environment, I was able to easily adjust and build a rapport with everyone at the office. I would like to thank Mina, Mark, Anna, and all the editors for bestowing me with a platform to write about this beloved city that I’ve called home all my life and to express myself and my cultural heritage. Memories of us at the editorial cracking jokes, evaluating food options when we were hours away from lunch, making piñatas for the Hot and Spicy Festival, and sharing our cultural backgrounds will always stay with me wherever I go. In addition, I would also like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my articles on the blog, magazine, and the WeChat subscription account. Your praise as well as your criticisms have kept me going in this internship, and have continuously encouraged me to write better articles.

Pranav worked diligently on all of his articles for TRM!

I concur with my good friend Jack when he signed off; this summer has just come and gone like a flash of light. It seems like it was only yesterday that I entered the TRM editorial room for the first time and wrote my first blog article, an Events Roundup. I vividly remember how nervous I was in making sure it had no spelling or grammatical mistakes, fit the style guide, and was submitted in time for copy-editing. Seven weeks and 29 blog articles later, I now have a thorough, renewed understanding of the writing and editorial process. I have become familiar with using a style guide, and I’ve learned how to write good headlines and captions. Thanks to this experience, I am considering a job in the editorial later in the future. Maybe even back here at TRM!

For now, though, I officially embark on the next chapter of my life: university. Tonight, I begin attending online courses at my university since due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, I cannot travel to my university and be on-campus. I say “tonight” because the country where my university is in is located on the other side of the world. I will be going nocturnal and take most of my classes deep into the night here. While this change in routine may take some time for me to adjust, I already have had a taste of what to expect. Concurrently with my beijingkids internship, I have been attending orientation activities at my university online through Zoom. These activities have been taking place at midnight, 1am, 3am, and other such odd timings. However, it is through these weirdly-timed online sessions that I have started to build a network of friends, academic advisors, professors, and other contacts with whom I can remain regularly in contact. While it seems that I will be spending most day times sleeping in after staying up all night attending Zoom classes, I hope to still be able to catch up with friends, play cricket with the Beijing Ducks, and attend city-wide events like the upcoming Burger Fest and the 2020 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

With so much uncertainty in the world right now, I believe that those who can embrace challenges, quickly adapt to situations, and grab meaningful opportunities are the ones who will stand out. At the same time, being open-minded to meeting new people and participating in activities outside of your comfort zone will allow one to make friends and explore new ways of going about things. While trials and tribulations may await, always keep in mind that it’s not the results that matter, but rather the efforts and processes. These are some character traits that I have picked up from my time in school, and extended further during my beijingkids internship. Even though I am far away from my fellow classmates, professors, and advisors in university, I will definitely be giving it my best in my academic coursework, and strive to make a good impression on those I will be (virtually) interacting with.

Wish me luck!

KEEP READING: Travel Diaries: Living It Up in Luoyang

Image: Unsplash and Pexels

A US federal judge announced yesterday that the Trump administration has revoked its policy that would prevent international students from taking online-only courses in educational institutions to stay in the United States. The move is a rare backflip for the administration which has built a reputation for draconian immigration policies.

The decision comes a week after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced that students that had F-1 or M-1 visas and enrolled in schools providing online-only instruction for the Fall 2020 semester would have to leave the country, or transfer to another university that was offering in-person or hybrid (mix of online and in-person) instruction. The announcement threw many international students and their academic plans into a quandary, as they contemplated deferring their studies. Many also feared being forcibly deported from the US, due to the lack of international flights preventing them from leaving voluntarily. It also prompted a wave of lawsuits against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from the country’s leading universities and a coalition of 17 states. Universities like Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where international students make up more than 20% of the student body, were the first to file such lawsuits.

According to a CNN source, the White House caved in to the strong opposition to this proposal outside the administration, and the man staff within the West Wing believed the policy to be poorly devised and implemented. The policy did not include instructions for international students if they wished to transfer to schools with in-person or hybrid instruction. China Daily reported on Harvard and MIT’s joint lawsuit, which argued that ICE and the DHS did not take into account the “reality” of the pandemic continuing. By enforcing this policy, the agencies would be putting the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff members across the country at risk.

According to the very same CNN article, the White House is now focused on having the new rule apply only to new and incoming international students, rather than those already based in the US. On this matter and any other ongoing international students’ visa policy decisions, the White House declined to comment. For now, however, the move to rescind the proposal will bring a sigh of relief to the more than 1 million international students based in the US. They will now not be forced to return to their home countries or transfer to another school, college, or university. The administration will now return to the policy that was in effect from March, which gave more flexibility by allowing international students to take online-only courses and simultaneously remain in the US.

KEEP READING: UK Surpasses US as Preferred Study Destination for Chinese Students

Images: Yushang Xu (via Unsplash)

On Monday, Jul 6, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) updated its policy regarding temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students. As per the update, international students studying in the US holding an F-1 or M-1 nonimmigrant visa will be forced to leave the country if their school continues to conduct online courses only. Under the change, around 1.2 million students might face deportation.

Universities such as Harvard and Princeton have already announced that some students will have to take online courses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with Harvard stating that all their undergraduate courses – excluding the Faculty of Arts and Science, which will allow 40% of their undergrads on campus – will be online for the entire school year. In fact, 8% of all US colleges have reported that they plan on online-only courses.

This has created quite a conundrum for many students, as traveling restrictions and periodic lockdowns in their home countries leave them without a safe haven to turn to. ICE has yet to expand on what will happen to such students, should they remain stranded. Many students have already voiced their concerns on social media, stating their fears around local COVID-19 management, the economic recession it is causing, and the health issues that immunocompromised students must face. Even the fate of Chinese students with a Chinese passport remains uncertain, as China currently only permits two round trips per week with U.S. airlines. 

According to former Beijing World Youth Academy student Yvonne W who will be attending Pratt Institute in New York this Fall, the COVID-19 pandemic has already had a huge impact on student prospects. “A lot of my friends are taking a gap year or deferring due to this. Overall, it’s just making students’ lives harder.” She may be forced to return to China if her university does not offer a hybrid model, yet tickets are hard to obtain and prices are high.

With many colleges moving to a hybrid online model, lecture halls the world over will stand empty when school resumes in the Fall

However, hope still remains for international students in the US. Students that attend schools that offer a hybrid model – that is with some classes on campus and some online, will be allowed to stay in the US. It is reported that at least 23% of colleges are planning on operating under such models including Stanford, Yale, Northwestern, Georgetown, and the University of Pennsylvania, although the specifics of how the system will operate remain unknown. However, that exception does not apply to those with an F-1 visa in English language training programs or an M-1 visa studying for a vocational degree. Schools have been given 10 days to update their plans and report to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

International students can also seek to transfer to a school that offers a hybrid model, but under such short notice and without clear instructions as to how to do so, their future remains unclear. 

It is important to note that the new policy has not been officially published in the Federal Register. Certain universities have started to take action, including the University of Washington, which will be working with the state’s congressional delegation and key federal officials to attempt to influence the final rule.

KEEP READING: UK Surpasses US as Preferred Study Destination for Chinese Students

Credit: Patricia Beatrix Villanueva (via Unsplash), Nathan Dumlao (via Unsplash)