CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: A day after her emotional speech at Harvard University鈥檚 commencement, Yurong 鈥淟uanna鈥� Jiang kept running into classmates who praised her message that people should see everyone鈥檚 common humanity rather than demonize others for their differences.
鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently 鈥� whether they鈥檙e across the ocean or sitting right next to us 鈥� are not just wrong. We mistakenly see them as evil. But it doesn鈥檛 have to be this way,鈥� she said in her address, which drew wide applause.
鈥淭he message itself, if I have to put it into one sentence, will be humanity rises and falls as one,鈥� Jiang told The Associated Press on Friday. 鈥淲e are living in a very difficult time. There鈥檚 a lot of divisions in terms of ideas, ethnicities, identities. This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another.鈥�
The 25-year-old Jiang鈥檚 speech never directly mentioned the Trump administration nor its multi-pronged attack on the nation鈥檚 oldest and richest university. But she said the turmoil beyond their campus and its impact on her classmates was on her mind as she delivered her speech.
鈥淪tudents can be very emotionally charged because they care deeply about a lot of issues,鈥� said Jiang, who comes from China and graduated with a masters degree in public administration in international development. 鈥淲hen you are emotionally charged and activated, it鈥檚 very easy to demonize another person.鈥�
She said the relentless attacks from the Trump administration on the school鈥檚 funding and threats to detain and deport people studying in the US on student visas have left her unsettled, adding huge uncertainty to her future plans.
鈥淚n terms of the plan going forward, I would say everything is up in the air at this point,鈥� Jiang said, who had hoped to remain in the United States for a few years but now is open to working in international development overseas. 鈥淎t this point, it鈥檚 difficult to say what will happen.鈥�
This week, the Trump administration asked federal agencies to cancel about $100 million in contracts with the university. The government already canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard鈥檚 enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Then it widened the pressure campaign, suspending visa applications worldwide and threatening to deny US visas to thousands of Chinese students nationwide.
These actions resonate with Jiang and her classmates 鈥� about 30 percent of Harvard鈥檚 students are international, and China has among the highest numbers.
鈥淭he anxiety is real,鈥� said Jiang, who knows two international students from China who are weighing whether to travel for work in Kenya and Rwanda.
鈥淏ecause of the uncertainty of their visas, they are facing a very tricky situation,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey can either go abroad, go to Kenya and Rwanda to do their internship and work on poverty alleviation and public health but risking not being able to make it back to campus safely. Or they can stay on campus and do their internships remote.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty heartbreaking,鈥� she continued鈥淭hey wanted to help humanity and, to see them entangled in politics they didn鈥檛 choose, is hard.鈥�
Jiang, who went to high school in the United Kingdom and earned her undergraduate degree at Duke University, said there should be more, not fewer, academic exchanges between China and the United States.
鈥淗umanity is facing a lot of crisis,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are conflicts. There is climate. There are a lot things that not only one country can tackle. China and the US are the two most powerful economies or countries in the world. They have to work with each other to be able to combat the problems or the issues that affect every single human being.鈥�
Jiang also defended the importance of international students at Harvard, recalling how 60 percent of the students stood up at the Kennedy School of Government commencement when the dean, Jeremy Weinstein, asked how many came from outside the United States. Then he asked if they had learned something from their international classmates, and most everyone stood.
鈥淎 lot of us clapped and cheered. A lot of us were in tears,鈥� she said, as Weinstein told them to 鈥渓ook around, this is your school.鈥�
Without international students, it would be a challenge for Harvard to achieve its mission, Jiang said. Campus culture depends on its globally diverse student body, studying and hanging out together.
鈥淗arvard wants its students to go and change the world and you can鈥檛 change the world without understanding the world,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 understand the world without truly having a personal connection with people from all sorts of countries.鈥�