By Jill Sperling

Trump bump? More international students choosing to study at TRU

Feb 8, 2017 | 5:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Thompson Rivers University’s international student population is growing, and the university believes it has something to do with what’s happening south of the border. 

“We have seen a drastic change since the spectation of the Trump presidency, and of course, we expect more changes because of the travel ban,” said Baihua Chadwick, Chief Executive Officer at TRU World.

Last month U.S. president Donald Trump implemented a travel ban on residents of 7 predominantly Muslim countries. 

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While his executive order was halted by a federal judge, Trump’s actions have made international students uneasy about the idea of studying in the U.S.

Yasir Alikhan came to TRU from Pakistan, a country which was not part of the travel ban, but is predominantly Muslim. 

“I have a lot of friends who considered going to the U.S., and many of them have changed their mind from the U.S. to Canada because they’re not sure they can go out, come back home and see their family and then come back into the country,” Alikhan said. 

Alikhan never considered going to the school in the U.S., but says the Trump presidency has validated his university decision. 

“Canada to me on the map was a lot friendlier than the U.S. usually is, and now Donald Trump – the final nail in the coffin is there,” he said. “So, I’m not interested at all personally.” 

With nearly 200 new international students at TRU this semester, it’s the largest increase in the University’s history. However, it’s not the way the university wanted to increase its numbers. 

“This is not what we would have dreamed or hoped,” Chadwick said, “and in fact we would rather that this didn’t happen.” 

TRU launched a recruitment campaign in the U.S. in response to Trump’s travel ban, and is working to simplify the process for international students to transfer schools. 

“This is the beginning of something worse,” Chadwick said. “They’re worried about it, so our job is to do whatever we can to make this campus welcoming.”