dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

US resumes student visas but orders enhanced social media vetting

The US State Department says it will resume scheduling appointments for international student visas, but will ask all applicants to make their social media accounts public for enhanced screening.

Officials have been instructed to expand social media vetting of applicants and search for "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States".

The Trump administration had halted the scheduling of student visa appointments in late May as it prepared to step up measures to restrict applicants deemed hostile to the US.

The guidelines will impact all applicants who apply for F visas, which are primarily used by students.

Applicants for the M visas, used for vocational students, and the J visas, used by exchange students, will also be impacted, a State Department spokesperson said.

Those who keep their social media accounts private may be deemed as trying to hide their activity, the department added.

"It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day," a senior State Department official said.

Officers have also been instructed to screen for those "who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence".

The move is part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration against America's most elite universities.

President Donald Trump has deemed these institutions too left-wing, and has accused them of failing to combat antisemitism when pro-Palestinian protests have unfolded on campuses.

Trump's crackdown has also included the freezing of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for universities, as well as moving to deport students or revoking visas for others. Many of those actions have been blocked by US courts.

Among the institutions scrutinised by the president is Harvard University, which had $2.65bn (£1.96bn) in federal grants frozen.

Trump has also tried to revoke Harvard's ability to enrol international students, though that move has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge while the matter is being heard in court.

More than 1.1 million international students from over 210 countries were enrolled in US colleges in the 2023-24 school year, according to Open Doors, an organisation that collects data on foreign students.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrxyx0qr7eo

Ranked choice voting hits NYC in mayoral primary next Tuesday

In New York City’s upcoming mayoral primary, voters will use ranked-choice voting, a system that lets them rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the one with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes are redistributed based on the next preference. This process continues in rounds until one candidate secures a majority. Supporters argue it encourages more positive campaigning and gives voters more influence, while critics say it can be confusing, especially for those unfamiliar with the system.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/ranked-choice-voting-works-guide-ahead-new-york-citys-primary-rcna212784?cid=eml_mrd_20250619