Despite shifting concerns over how the Trump administration may affect trips both internationally and domestically, School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA)-sponsored travel will continue as normal.
During Wintersession, many students traveled to El Salvador and Cuba. In December, several policy task forces also traveled to New York City, Albany, and Washington D.C. to present their policy recommendations to partners.
Task forces bring together small groups of students to conduct analyses of public policy issues for clients, who are often public officials or experts in the not-for-profit sector. These task forces often take students beyond Princeton’s campus for fieldwork.
Alexa Marsh ’25, who was on the Cuba Wintersession trip, highlighted the social context obtained through the trips.
“I really appreciate that SPIA does create these opportunities for students,” Marsh commented. She also studied abroad last Spring in Cape Town, South Africa, through the department’s international policy task force. “It’s nice to have a balance of both the academic side — engaging with these lectures and people who study and research these things — and then also talking to local people and hearing about their real experiences.”
In September 2024, Vivian Bui ’26 joined the inaugural AI policy task force for SPIA, led by Ali Nouri, a deputy assistant to former President Joe Biden. Four months later, she and her classmates met with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) to present their policy recommendations on AI and national security during a day of student-led briefings on Capitol Hill, at the White House, and at the Department of Energy.
“Despite it being a requirement for my major, it was extremely formative and enriching to go on that trip because I got to develop an out-of-classroom experience where I am not just researching and presenting policy recommendations to a blank void, but I was able to interact with professionals in the policy word and receive feedback on a semester-long project,” Bui wrote to The Daily Princetonian.
Sol Choi ’26 was on another one of the policy task force trips to Washington, D.C. In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Choi shared that “It was an incredible experience touring the inside of the White House, World Bank, and the Hill with SPIA alum. Listening to their career advice and their paths after Princeton was so gratifying.”
The Trump administration’s rhetoric on immigration and foreign students, however, has sparked concern among SPIA students about the future viability of these trips.
“I do think, unfortunately, that the unpredictability of everything under his administration will potentially lead to difficulties with continuing the trips, or maybe just extra hurdles and obstacles and things that need to be checked off of lists to make sure everything runs okay and smoothly,” Marsh said.
She recalled that during the third day of her Wintersession trip to Cuba, Biden eased sanctions on Cuba through executive action, only for Trump to reinstate the embargo immediately after taking office.
“It’s a bit of a tense situation, and I do think that might have an impact,” Marsh said.
Audrey Chau ’25, an international student from Vietnam, agreed that the actions of the Trump administration may make international trips more difficult to plan.
“I think international groups could be really hard logistic-wise. Thinking about the new administration, and what that means for immigration … Now, very few people know for sure what’s gonna happen,” Chau said. “I don’t think it would be viable logistically.”
These concerns follow new immigration policies from the Trump administration that threaten the ease of immigration into the U.S.
However, Choi added, “SPIA has the flexibility to adjust to the multiple challenges established by the Trump administration.”
As of Feb. 13, SPIA has not canceled any trips due to the new administration. SPIA Associate Dean Paul Lipton noted that a trip to Taiwan scheduled for spring break was called off because only four enrolled students were able to participate. According to Lipton, international trips will not be substituted with national or local alternatives.
Bui told the ‘Prince’ that SPIA trips remain accessible thanks to an increase in “Policy Days,” which introduce students with policymakers and alums in D.C.
“Access to trips through the department dramatically increased upon becoming an upperclassman. In September, SPIA invited juniors to take part in an Undergraduate Policy Day in D.C. to meet with policymakers and alums,” Bui said.
Lipton told the ‘Prince’ that “SPIA majors studying abroad this semester in Cape Town, South Africa, are traveling to Botswana during their mid-semester break to conduct field research.”
“Our trips are but a small part of being a SPIA major,” Lipton said.
Sena Chang is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince’ from Tokyo, Japan. She typically covers campus and community activism, the state of higher education, and alumni news.
Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including USG, the CPUC, and institutional legacy.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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