Tufts University student detained. Protest follows. (WCVB Channel 5 Boston)

An international student from Tufts University has been detained. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was meeting friends for iftar, a meal that breaks a fast at sunset during Ramadan when she was arrested.  

Video obtained by The Associated Press appears to show six people, their faces covered, taking away Ozturk’s phone as she yells and is handcuffed. 

According to the Tufts Daily, "Rumeysa Ozturk, is a Turkish national and doctoral candidate in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development. Ozturk is a teaching fellow, works as a doctoral research assistant at Tufts’ Children’s Television Project and completed a master’s degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, as a Fulbright Scholar."

Ozturk co-wrote an op-ed in The Tufts Daily criticizing the university’s response to its community union Senate passing resolutions that demanded Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.

After the arrest, hundreds of Tufts students protested.  

This arrest is consistent with Trump Administration efforts to intimidate and deport Muslim foreign students. Students from Cornell, Georgetown, Columbia University have also been detained.  

Student Religious Expression in Public Schools (US Department of Education)

In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Education's Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships released a new resource designed to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Department's Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools. 

This new resource answers key questions students, educators, and parents have about religious expression and accommodations in PK-12 schools and provides an easy-to-understand topline summary of the guidance. For more information, be sure to check out the accompanying webinar hosted by the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments.

WATCH the webinar on Student Religious Expression in Public Schools hosted by the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Attendees heard about the experiences of students, educators, and district officials working to create inclusive learning environments for students of all religious, secular, and spiritual backgrounds. Strategies were shared to help school stakeholders recognize, understand, and support constitutionally protected religious expression and the positive impact doing so has on students. Throughout the webinar, the panel discussed how the U.S. Constitution provides protections for all students seeking to bring their full selves to the classroom.

For additional resources, visit NCSSLE’s Free to Learn web page for additional resources on how to prevent, address, and ameliorate the effects of bullying, violence, and hate so all students are free to learn.

How much will global economic and political forces affect international enrollment in 2025?

Elite and brand name universities serve the world's elite. But how much will global economic and political forces affect US higher education in 2025? More than one million foreign students attend higher education institutions in the US, but those numbers could change. 

There are several ongoing developments that could affect the influx of international students in 2025. This includes problems with the political economy in Asia (China, South Korea) and in Europe (the UK, Germany, and France). 

Trade wars, which incoming President Trump has threatened, could also affect enrollment. And deportations of Muslim students, including those who have protested the war in the Middle East, could create a chilling effect on student in-migration. 

Indian students are already the largest group coming into the US and they serve as a major pipeline for the tech industry and medicine, and that is unlikely to change in the near future. 

 

(KTLA Video) International students at the University of Southern California are being urged to return to the US before the Trump Administration gains power.