OU International Students Claiming Victory After Trump Administration Rescinds Foreign Students Rule

As the Trump administration rescinded a guideline regarding international students, many OU students' feelings from Monday are now different.

"We felt hopeless, we felt useless, we felt breathless, we felt vulnerable," said Tatenda N.C Dzvimbo, an international student at OU.

But this is now a win.

"This is a major win, and this is exactly what we were advocating for," said Amer Begovic, the President of OU's Student International Advisory Committee.

As this is just one fight they have won, there are plenty of others to keep fighting.

"Immediately in all of the group chats were screaming we won, and everyone was very happy," said Begovic. "But at the same time, we went into action mode."

The next step the community wants to take is to help other international students facing obstacles like the embassy's not being opened and borders being closed.

The University of Oklahoma created a task force to navigate the uncertainties and plan to continue to meet.

“Our task force's work extends beyond the initial directive issued last week, as we work hard to ensure a coherent and supportive response to the multi-faceted vulnerabilities faced by our international students during the pandemic,” said OU’s President, Joseph Harroz.

The international student advisory board will continue to work side by side with the task force to keep improving the international students' experience at OU.