El Opinador Compulsivo

Los aproximadamente 600.000 estudiantes extranjeros en los EEUU como potenciales embajadores de los valores y prácticas de EEUU en sus países:

A high-ranking Russian official was in New York during the Cold War to visit the United Nations. He was closely guarded at all times and his contact with Americans strictly limited, but on the ride from his hotel to the U.N. building he looked out the window of his chauffeured car and saw a sidewalk fruit stand. The sight of that roadside produce inspired him to defect, then and there. He reasoned that a country able to leave fresh fruit unguarded must be far richer, stronger and more just than he had been told. The Americans would inevitably win the war.

Newt Gingrich tells a variation of this story in response to critics who want to kick the U.N. out of New York. But the story illustrates a broader principle as well: the immense value of allowing foreigners, especially those from hostile nations, especially elites, to experience American life firsthand. Fortunately, we have a ready-made flow of such people coming into the U.S. every day--students. Unfortunately, most college admissions offices have been slow to adapt to the changing geopolitical climate and unwilling to adjust their theories of diversity and ideas about the role of the university.