Former White House chief strategist and Breitbart editor Steve Bannon has been invited to speak at the University of California-Berkeley’s “Free Speech Week” at the end of September.

Bannon was invited by the event organizer, the Berkeley Patriot, a conservative student group.

This year, the campus has become engulfed in protests over planned speeches by conservative commentators and has struggling to ensure security. This week, the school said it spent $600,000 on security measures, deploying scores of extra police to protect a speech by Ben Shapiro, a conservative writer.

Next week could see even bigger security measures.

Speakers denounce restrictions

Conservative commentators Milo Yiannopoulos, Ann Coulter and Steve Bannon are expected to speak during four days of events marking “Free Speech Week.”

Universities have struggled over how to ensure security at such contentious events, in some cases canceling them after worries that police were not equipped to handle angry crowds. The issue is especially potent at Berkeley, a school is famous for its role in free-speech protests in the 1960s that turned student protests into national debates.

Some conservatives see the focus on security as a way to restrict speech.

“The greatest threat to your future, the greatest risk to the American republic, is from the unprecedented assault on free speech committed by the media, Silicon Valley, politicians, Hollywood producers and the Academy,” Yiannopoulos announced on his YouTube page.

Berkeley’s policy is not to deny any student group their choice of speaker. However the university’s student newspaper Daily Californian reported Tuesday that the school had yet to receive confirmation on when and where Bannon will speak.

The school also has not received the necessary contract filing from the Berkeley Patriot, specifying the event and security needed, according to university spokesperson Dan Mogulof.

He said the police “can’t do their job without the information that they rely on.” The Berkeley Patriot said all but one document of the paperwork has been filed.

As of Friday evening, the university had not indicated if the event had made the required deadline.

Security worries

Berkeley requires the on-campus organization to submit a contract eight weeks before the event. Mogulof said the university gave the Berkeley Patriot an extension, but the contract needed to be submitted by late Friday afternoon.

“They’ve missed every single deadline and time is running out,” Mogulof said.

In February, the Berkeley campus erupted in protests the night Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak at an event hosted by the school’s College Republicans. While Yiannopoulos’ campus speeches drew protests at other universities, the February incident at UC-Berkeley turned violent.

Groups such as antifa (short for anti-fascist) and other left-wing protesters looted Berkeley’s streets in the hilly city outside of San Francisco.

“What happened around the Yiannopoulos event was unprecedented,” Mogulof said.

The incident got so much coverage, President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter.

“If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” the president tweeted.

“Our police department did a comprehensive review and has adapted accordingly,” Mogulof said, “We want these students to have a safe and successful event.”

He said campus police will stop people wearing masks and arrest anybody who refuses to take them off.

Tolerating offensive speech

Conservatives are not the only ones who have been silenced by Berkeley in recent years. In 2014, liberal talk-show host Bill Maher was uninvited from giving the commencement speech at university’s December graduation. The Berkeley administration did not honor that vote and Maher delivered the speech at the December graduation.

“The UC Berkeley administration cannot and will not accept this decision, which appears to have been based solely on Mr. Maher’s opinions and beliefs, which he conveyed through constitutionally protected speech,” the school said in a statement to CNN in October 2014.

“The law is extremely clear, that these speakers are protected by the First Amendment. They have every right to be here,” Mogulof said, “We have no discretion and we want no discretion when it comes to the First Amendment.”

In February, Yiannopoulos’ appearance on campus ignited violence between supporters and counter-demonstrators. Faculty members sent a letter to then-Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, asking him to cancel Yiannopoulos’ event.

“We support both freedom of speech and academic freedom on campus and realize that controversial views must be tolerated in any campus community dedicated to open debate and opposed to censorship,” the letter stated.

“Although we object strenuously to Yiannopoulos’ views— he advocates white supremacy, transphobia, and misogyny — it is rather his harmful conduct to which we call attention in asking for the cancellation of this event.”

The university canceled the event, citing safety concerns.

With news of the appearance of Bannon and others, 132 UC Berkeley faculty members have called to boycott classes and other campus activities during “Free Speech Week.”

UC Berkeley’s Chancellor Carol Christ advocates varied voices on campus and says she is tolerant to peaceful protests.

“If you choose to protest, do so peacefully. That is your right, and we will defend it with vigor. We will not tolerate violence, and we will hold anyone accountable who engages in it.”

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health reaches out to international students by detailing the international student experience at the school.

Learn more about housing, life in Boston and more here.

China issued its first national action plan to build a "strong education nation" by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a "strong country."

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote "healthy growth and all-round development of students," making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

"Popularizing" mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.

The Open Notebook, a site focusing on educating journalists who cover science, has complied a list of U.S. graduate program financial aid information for international students.

Read it here.