President Obama?s Tuesday night focused a lot of attention on American education.
He praised U.S. universities, saying, ?We?re the home to the world?s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth? (although he failed to note that the U.S. share of foreign students is dropping, and,), and called for .
He also emphasized that American schools are unique in their focus on critical thinking, saying, ?What?s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea ? : 'What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world?'"
But the part of the speech that caught my eye most was when he talked specifically about student visas:
Obama has touted educational exchanges in many of his overseas trips and messages, most recently But this was the first time I can recall him talking about keeping those same students in the U.S. after their studies (correct me if I'm wrong and you have an example).
Here's how some reacted on Twitter:
told me by email:
Our bloggers and spoke to our to discuss their impressions of the speech, including the section on student visa holders.
[I'll include a link to their full interview as soon as it's available...]
Nick called Obama's comments "a very smart address" :
Nareg keyed in on the implication that when foreign students return home after their U.S. education it is a loss to America:
It struck me as interesting that the president talked about foreign students and illegal immigrants in the same breath. He's referring to the controversial and recently failed , which would have provided a path to citizenship for minors brought into the country illegally. I wonder if by associating illegal immigration, which is an extremely contentious issue, with student visas, which is less so, he ends up helping his case for passing the DREAM Act or hurting the case for easing F-1 visa transfers.
In the end, Obama's comments on student visas may simply fly under the radar. The State of the Union is known for containing throwaway sections that serve as a sort of presidential wish list (remember ).
Still, it was fun to be mentioned, right?