Students Think Twice about Colleges after States Ban Abortion
2022-07-17
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1Nina Huang is a California high school student who is thinking about where she wants to go for college.
2 Until recently, she was considering Oberlin College in the state of Ohio.
3Huang, who plays flute and piano, hopes to one day also study medicine or law.
4Oberlin is known for having strong academic and music programs.
5But last month, she changed her mind.
6"I don't want to go to school in a state where there is an abortion ban," she said.
7Ohio is one of the states that now has strong restrictions on abortion, a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy.
8On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that protected abortion rights throughout the United States.
9The court's decision permits individual states to go back to old rules or put new restrictions on abortion in place.
10Huang had been thinking Oberlin's good academic reputation and strong music classes might make it a good fit for her. But not anymore.
11Huang is not the only high school student re-thinking their college choices.
12Samira Murad is a high school student in New York City.
13She said she is worried about going to college in a state where she will not be free to be herself.
14She said, "I'm still finding out who I am ... I don't want to move somewhere I can't be myself because of laws put in place."
15It is still too soon for data to show whether fewer people are applying to college in Ohio and other states that now have strict laws on abortion.
16But some college counselors say they are already talking with students who are crossing their "dream school" off their lists.
17Daniel Santos runs the Florida-based college counseling service Prepory.
18"Some of our students," he said, "will not apply to colleges and universities in states which may infringe on their access to reproductive rights."
19Kristin Willmott works with students at a company called Top Tier Admissions in Massachusetts.
20She said some students are removing schools in Florida and Texas from their application lists because of abortion restrictions.
21Florida and Texas are among the states with strong anti-abortion laws.
22Although there is no data yet on how the Supreme Court decision may affect application numbers, there are past examples to consider.
23Jayson Weingarten works for Ivy Coach in New York.
24He helps students think about colleges.
25He said that, in 2016, some students told him they no longer wanted to apply to top colleges in North Carolina after the state put a controversial law in place that year.
26The law restricted which bathrooms transgender people could use.
27But many still chose to attend both Duke University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC).
28In fact, the number of students who applied to UNC in 2017 went up by 14 percent compared to the year before.
29The state of Texas put a restrictive abortion law in place nearly one year ago.
30Shahreen Abedin is a spokesperson for the University of Texas' medical school.
31Abedin said that the school has not seen a drop in applications since the law went into effect on September 1, 2021.
32Alexis Prisco is one student who is rethinking her plans.
33Prisco is a 17-year-old high school student from Maryland.
34She wanted to apply to Washington University, a top school in St. Louis, Missouri.
35Both of her parents went there.
36But now that Missouri is a state with strong abortion restrictions, she is worried.
37She said her mother warned her about applying to colleges in states that had strong anti-abortion laws set to take effect after the Supreme Court decision.
38Washington University did not answer questions sent by the Reuters news agency for this story.
39Oberlin also did not provide a comment.
40Washington University pointed reporters to a recent story on the school's website reacting to the decision.
41The university leader and the leader of the school of medicine wrote: "This is a painful moment for many in our society."
42The university leaders said they understand many people are feeling "frustrated, disappointed and even scared of what this decision may mean."
43Sabrina Thaler is a student in Maryland.
44The 16-year-old said she has been thinking about an important abortion-related question since May, when an early version of the Supreme Court's decision was leaked.
45She said she asked this question in a recent class discussion:
46"What if I go to a college in a state where abortion is banned and I get raped and then I don't have the option to have an abortion?"
47I'm Dan Friedell.
1Nina Huang is a California high school student who is thinking about where she wants to go for college. Until recently, she was considering Oberlin College in the state of Ohio. Huang, who plays flute and piano, hopes to one day also study medicine or law. Oberlin is known for having strong academic and music programs. 2But last month, she changed her mind. 3"I don't want to go to school in a state where there is an abortion ban," she said. 4Ohio is one of the states that now has strong restrictions on abortion, a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. 5On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that protected abortion rights throughout the United States. The court's decision permits individual states to go back to old rules or put new restrictions on abortion in place. 6Huang had been thinking Oberlin's good academic reputation and strong music classes might make it a good fit for her. But not anymore. 7Huang is not the only high school student re-thinking their college choices. 8Samira Murad is a high school student in New York City. She said she is worried about going to college in a state where she will not be free to be herself. She said, "I'm still finding out who I am ... I don't want to move somewhere I can't be myself because of laws put in place." 9'Dream school' no more 10It is still too soon for data to show whether fewer people are applying to college in Ohio and other states that now have strict laws on abortion. But some college counselors say they are already talking with students who are crossing their "dream school" off their lists. 11Daniel Santos runs the Florida-based college counseling service Prepory. "Some of our students," he said, "will not apply to colleges and universities in states which may infringe on their access to reproductive rights." 12Kristin Willmott works with students at a company called Top Tier Admissions in Massachusetts. She said some students are removing schools in Florida and Texas from their application lists because of abortion restrictions. Florida and Texas are among the states with strong anti-abortion laws. 13Past controversies did not reduce applications 14Although there is no data yet on how the Supreme Court decision may affect application numbers, there are past examples to consider. 15Jayson Weingarten works for Ivy Coach in New York. He helps students think about colleges. He said that, in 2016, some students told him they no longer wanted to apply to top colleges in North Carolina after the state put a controversial law in place that year. The law restricted which bathrooms transgender people could use. 16But many still chose to attend both Duke University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC). In fact, the number of students who applied to UNC in 2017 went up by 14 percent compared to the year before. 17The state of Texas put a restrictive abortion law in place nearly one year ago. Shahreen Abedin is a spokesperson for the University of Texas' medical school. Abedin said that the school has not seen a drop in applications since the law went into effect on September 1, 2021. 18New plans, new questions 19Alexis Prisco is one student who is rethinking her plans. Prisco is a 17-year-old high school student from Maryland. She wanted to apply to Washington University, a top school in St. Louis, Missouri. Both of her parents went there. But now that Missouri is a state with strong abortion restrictions, she is worried. 20She said her mother warned her about applying to colleges in states that had strong anti-abortion laws set to take effect after the Supreme Court decision. 21Washington University did not answer questions sent by the Reuters news agency for this story. Oberlin also did not provide a comment. 22Washington University pointed reporters to a recent story on the school's website reacting to the decision. The university leader and the leader of the school of medicine wrote: "This is a painful moment for many in our society." The university leaders said they understand many people are feeling "frustrated, disappointed and even scared of what this decision may mean." 23Sabrina Thaler is a student in Maryland. The 16-year-old said she has been thinking about an important abortion-related question since May, when an early version of the Supreme Court's decision was leaked. She said she asked this question in a recent class discussion: "What if I go to a college in a state where abortion is banned and I get raped and then I don't have the option to have an abortion?" 24I'm Dan Friedell. 25Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a story by Reuters. 26_______________________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28apply- v. to ask for something, such as a job or a place at a school 29abortion -n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy 30reputation -n. a common opinion people have about something 31academic - adj. relating to schools and education 32infringe - v. to limit or restrict something, such as a person's rights 33controversial - adj. something that causes great discussion or argument 34transgender -n. relating to people who feel that their true nature is as a member of the opposite sex 35society -n. people in general who are living in organized communities 36frustrated -adj. angry or upset or discouraged because of being unable to do something 37disappointed -adj. feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something was not as good as expected or because something you hoped for or expected did not happen 38option -n. a choice between two or more things or the ability to choose something 39___________________________________________________________________ 40What do you think of this story? 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