Angelo Vasquez’s first trip outside his home country of Guatemala was to get together with 3,000 other high-schoolers from around the world, seeking ways to solve the world's problems.

On his 16th birthday, he flew to Washington, D.C., for the North American Invitational Model U.N. 2020 conference — known as MUN — to simulate the problem-solving of the United Nations around water, territorial, poverty and development issues, among others.

“A lot of people have been really friendly ... they come from a lot of places in the world,” Angelo said. “It’s a privilege and honor to be here at MUN.”

Vasquez, a high school sophomore, came from one of the 18 countries that participated in this year's MUN. He was assigned to represent Brunei, a small Muslim nation on the island of Borneo that sits east of Singapore.

Vasquez said he knew nothing about Brunei before MUN and had to read many books before coming to the conference. The high schooler said he feels we should all know more about “small and developing countries.”

“They have a lot of things in common with other great countries. This country is rich in oil, and it has a lot of history,” he said.

Isabelle Canadine, the only freshman participant from Colegio Interamericano in Guatamela, represented Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef — a media critic whom the Egyptian government has filed an arrest warrant against.

“I had to do really in-depth research, but I think it's worth doing," Canadine said. "It's been going really great,” noting that most of the videos she found of Youssef were in Arabic.

After sitting in on a meeting of the Islamic Development Bank, Canadine said there was only one event left: the Delegates Dance, organized for all of the young participants.

“I’m looking forward to the Delegates’ Dance; that’s going to be fun,” she said early Saturday. “Although nobody has asked me …”

After the final session Saturday, students discussed the skills acquired at the conference.

“I got to know my colleagues. In school, I was kind of scared to talk to them, but now I have the confidence,” Vasquez said, adding that he became close with students who were older.

But one stood out, from ninth grade, he added slowly, barely containing a smile. “There is a person, and she’s ... she’s really funny,” without elaborating further.

At the end of the hard work, students gathered for “Candygrams” — invitations to the dance with a piece of candy attached.

Messages, some including short poems, were read. The moderator picked up one Candygram labeled “Isabelle” and handed it to the freshman, who took the note and returned to her seat.

"Who's it from?" her teacher asked her in a quick text. Canadine only blushed and smiled.

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.