Study: Trump supporters on college campuses more likely to show prejudice toward international students

A new study from the University of Buffalo found that supporters of President Trump on college campuses are more likely to show prejudice toward international students.

The research, conducted by a psychologist at the university and released on Wednesday, found that international students face more prejudice from Trump supporters than domestic students.

{mosads} “Some of President Trump’s policies, such as promoting ‘America First,’ the travel ban and his talk of building a wall are in line with unwelcoming attitudes toward immigrants  — but this is the first evidence I’ve seen linking support for Trump with attitudes toward international students,” Wendy Quinton, clinical associate professor of psychology, said in a statement. 

Quinton found that “liking Trump goes beyond stereotypes in predicting prejudice” against students born outside of the U.S.

Other factors for predicted prejudice against international students included standardized test scores and socialization, according to the research.

Domestic students with lower SAT scores were more likely to show higher signs of prejudice, the study found.

Interacting with international students regularly and building friendships proved to lower prejudice, Quinton found.

“For those with lower SAT scores, for those low in positive stereotypes, for those high in Trump support, the more they socialized with international students the lower their prejudice,” Quinton said.

She surveyed 389 college students who all self-identified as being born and raised in the U.S. 

Her research follows the first nationwide decrease in international enrollment at American universities in several years, the study notes.

The number of new students from abroad dropped three percent for the 2016-17 school year and seven percent for the 2017-18 school year, according to the 2017 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.

The drop can affect the US economy, with estimates suggesting that international students contributed nearly $33 billion between 2015 and 2016.

They also supported over 400,000 jobs, according to NAFSA: Association for International Educators.