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As a communication professional, I am consistently amazed at the potency of voice—the ability of words well-spoken to alter perceptions, establish bonds, and alter the course of history. No place is this legacy more starkly represented than in the just-restored School of Heralds at the Roman Forum. This venerable institution, buried for centuries under dust and time, has now been carefully excavated and reopened, not only as an archaeological phenomenon, but as a living testament to the advanced communication machinery of the Roman Empire.

Well before microphones and social media, ancient Rome understood that the spoken word was the key to public trust and imperial unity. The heralds—Rome's professional public announcers—were more than messengers. They were the Empire's initial "media professionals," employing vocal skill and rhetorical art to educate, persuade, and incite the masses. Their function was at the heart of civic life, ranging from the communication of imperial decrees to the announcements of the spectacle of impending games. Their voices resonated off marble colonnades and crowded plazas, unifying a enormous and varied populace in shared information and experience.

What makes this rediscovery so compelling is the way that it lays bare the origins of professional communication training. These heralds didn't merely bellow from rooftops—they learned. In the Forum's school for heralds, specially chosen trainees with good voices went through demanding training in voice mastery, articulation, projection, and argumentative delivery. Picture cobblestone courtyards where voices were honed to the breeze, and dark echoing rooms where speechmasters honed methods that would influence public response. This was not theatre; it was statecraft. The very design of the training facility—curated for acoustics and performance—reflected the empire's profound investment in clarity, control, and connection.

In today's world of messaging, with communications crafted for clicks and trends that shift hourly, this ancient proving ground recalls for us the timeless values of our profession. Authority, clarity, engagement—these are not innovations, but always-familiar foundations of human communication. Roman heralds learned their craft not in likes and shares, but in breath and cadence and conviction. Their authority was not in technology, but in training.

The reopening of the Heralds’ School is not merely a celebration of Rome’s architectural genius—it is a recognition of communication as a foundational pillar of civilization. It reaffirms the role of the communicator as a bridge between leadership and public, policy and perception. The fact that the Roman Empire, with its expansive governance and complex society, prioritized a formal space for training public speakers speaks volumes. Here, within these ancient halls, we discover the birthplace of everything from journalism to political speechwriting, from crisis communication to community outreach.

Standing here today, surrounded by those stone walls, you don't merely sense history—you hear it. In the resonance of those formerly rehearsed assertions, there is a whisper of our own contemporary struggles, and a reminder: good communication doesn't merely inform. It inspires, unites, and lasts.

And maybe, in that abiding Echoes of Empire, we catch the strongest message of all.

As the Trump administration continues its crusade against US colleges and universities, the president has signed a foreign student visa ban on Harvard University.

Donald Trump has signed into a position a six month visa ban on foreign student visas for Harvard University in the middle of its feud. Additionally, the Trump administration has also targeted Columbia University and made a threat to de-accredit the fellow Ivy league school. 

These are part of the Trump administration's overall crackdown on DEI-related programs in universities and the response to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that engulfed US campuses last year.

Trump regime targets education systems in higher institutions

Harvard and Columbia having been in the limelight, the US Education Department has launched more than 104 probes into universities and colleges all over the 50 states.

According to an Education Week report, the Department of Education has launched at least 104 probes into universities, school districts and colleges through June 3.

Out of this, 70 have been targeting higher education institutions like Harvard, Columbia, Brown University and others. These 70 names also consist of the out-of-state campuses of universities.

According to the report of Education Week, 52 universities have been targeted for the DEI-initiatives, which Trump claims has been promoting race-based admissions. The others have been targeted due to involvement in the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests.

Colleges and universities all over the US have been targeted for some reasons identified by the Trump administration including antisemitism, race based programming, student disability services and disclosure of foreign contracts and gifts.

Colleges and universities have also been targeted because of their transgender policy for students, which according to the Trump administration, is in contradiction to the president's executive order which only identifies two genders.

Universities like Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, Pennsylvania and Princeton are among the list of higher education systems that the Trump administration has its eyes on.

List of universities in Trump admin's crosshairs

Columbia University

Northwestern University

Portland State University

University of California, Berkeley

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

American University

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Yale University

Scripps College

University of Washington

Arizona State University

Boise State University

Cal Poly Humboldt

California State University - San Bernardino

Carnegie Mellon University

Clemson University

Cornell University

Duke University

Emory University

George Mason University

Georgetown University

Grand Valley State University

Ithaca College

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Montana State University - Bozeman

New England College of Optometry

New York University

Ohio State University

Rice University

Rutgers University

Towson University

Tulane University

University of Alabama at Birmingham

University of Arkansas - Fayetteville

University of Chicago

University of Cincinnatti

University of Colorado - Colorado Springs

University of Delaware

University of Kansas

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

University of Nebraska at Omaha

University of New Mexico

University of North Dakota

University of North Texas - Denton

University of Notre Dame

University of Nevada - Las Vegas

University of Oklahoma, Tulsa School of Community Medicine

University of Oregon

University of Rhode Island

University of South Florida

University of Utah

University of Washington - Seattle

University of Wisconsin - Madison

University of Wyoming

Vanderbilt University

Washington State University

Washington University in St. Louis

Harvard University

San Jose State University

University of Pennsylvania

University of Maryland

Wagner College

Western Carolina University

Harvard College

The newly formed Delhi government has disbursed a grant-in-aid of Rs 417 crore to 12 government-funded Delhi University colleges. The money is to help the colleges deal with financial crises, including paying staff on time and daily expenditure.

The following colleges will be given this award: Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Bhaskaracharya College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, and Kesh and Shaheed Sukhdev.

Replying to a media conference, Education Minister Ashish Sood said, "The last government did not provide grants to DU where students of middle class are enrolled. But we have provided the fund on April 1."

As a part of education revolution, the Delhi government would establish 75 CM Shri Schools and data science classes and Rs 100 crore has been provided to the scheme in the special budget.

Best-of-breed such as AR/VR, and data science will be provided in the schools with the best technology to offer quality education to the students on par with private schools.

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Language Labs will also be set up in 100 to study foreign languages like English, French, and German. 250 government schools will also have digital libraries to provide learning content.

Apart from that, over 1,300 students studying in colleges have been awarded scholarships under a special scheme run by the Delhi government in a bid to offer financial help to economically weaker students.

The Scheme was launched by the Directorate of Higher Education with the aim of rendering assistance to deserving students so that they are able to study free of cost. Sood emphasized expenditure on students so that their development becomes a national movement.

According to CM Digital Education Scheme, 1,200 students were provided with laptops to study digitally easily. Government also initiated free coaching for entrance tests like JEE, NEET, and CUET so that equal opportunity is afforded to all.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon received a mathematics lesson on Tuesday at a Senate hearing when Senator Jack Reed explained that $1.5 times 10 is not "over a trillion dollars" but rather $15 billion.

Seated before the appropriations subcommittee dealing with education, McMahon nodded her head in agreement as Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana inaccurately stated that the U.S. spends "$1,580,000" annually on federal grant programs, called TRIO and GEAR UP, and that after 10 years that is "over a trillion dollars."

The U.S. actually spends $1.58 billion per year on the programs, which does not add up to more than a trillion after 10 years. But, McMahon did not correct Kennedy’s math error.

However, Reed, the senator from Rhode Island, did.

"I'm not a good mathematician, but I believe you said trillion dollars? I think 1.5 billion times 10 is 15 billion, a little short of a trillion dollars," Reed explained.

McMahon answered, "I believe the budget reduces by $1.2 billion to TRIO."

"Alright, $1.2 billion that would be $12 billion, not a trillion dollars," Reed answered.

"Alright," McMahon said.

The mathematics mistake was included in McMahon's testimony regarding President Donald Trump's 2026 budget plan, which features drastic reductions to the Department of Education – significantly affecting education grants like TRIO or GEAR UP.

The Independent has requested a comment from the Department of Education.

TRIO, a set of federal programs made up of several different grants, are among the Department of Education's biggest investments to help low-income or first-generation college students or those with disabilities make it through the academic pipeline. The Department of Education funded the program $1.191 billion in 2024.

GEAR UP, a federal grant, helps low-income students getting ready to enter postsecondary school. The Department of Education funded the program $388 million in 2024.

But under Trump's so-called "skinny budget," effectively all of the TRIO and GEAR UP grants would be eliminated. It's part of his attempts to close the Education Department.

At the hearing, Maine Senator Susan Collins raised the alarm over the cuts to TRIO, stating that she had "seen the lives of countless first-generation and low-income students, not only in Maine, but around the country… transformed by the TRIO program.

Education advocacy organizations like the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Institute for College Access & Success have denounced the budget proposal, stating it would hurt millions of students – especially those from low-income families.

The Independent has never had a parochial outlook. Established on a solid platform of excellent foreign reporting and analysis, The Independent now has a reach that was unheard of when it was founded as a rebel contender in the British media. For the first time since the Second World War ended, and globally, pluralism, reason, a humanitarian and progressive agenda, and internationalism – Independent principles – are being challenged. But we, The Independent, keep on expanding.

The RGIA police detained the MD of Hyderabad-based overseas education consultancy and a student on charges of their involvement in a suspected fake certificate racket being used to get students admitted into foreign universities.

Police quoted 28-year-old Pakiru Gopal Reddy, a student from Nalgonda district, as having been deported from Dallas Airport, US, and brought back to Hyderabad, where immigration authorities detected irregularities in his academic certificates. He revealed during interrogation that he had secured fake degree certificates from Dhanalaxmi Overseas Consultancy at Teachers Colony, BN Reddy Nagar.

Investigations established that Kathoj Ashok (29), MD of the consultancy and also a native of Nalgonda, had been operating the racket for five years. In 2021, he came in contact with a forger from Kerala who provided him with fake degrees, experience letters and bank statements. 

Ashok would charge students between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh for one fake degree, paying Rs 30,000 per document to his Kerala contact.

Gopal met Ashok in August 2021 and obtained fake BSc (Computer Science) certificates allegedly issued by Madurai Kamaraj University, indicating completion between 2015 and 2018. These he used to get into Webster University in the US, paid USD 28,000 (Rs 22 lakh) as tuition fee and attended for 15 months. But on a recent trip back to the US, immigration officials detected that his student status was inactive in the SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) database and deported him.

Authorities confirmed he had been given the visa on forged credentials. Further investigation yielded that Ashok had assisted close to 15 students in gaining foreign admissions with forged documents.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has started issuing warning letters to thousands of students in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, sending a shiver of fear down the spines of foreign students in the US.

The letters claim they had breached employment reporting rules, which could lead to the cancellation of their SEVIS records and potential deportation.

Indian students, the second-largest overseas student body in the US, are heavily affected by this administrative move.

Is there any legal implication in the event of OPT enforcement violation?

Almost 69,000 of the 270,000 Indian students studying in the US for the 2022–2023 academic year were enrolled in the Open Doors Program, as per the report.

Administrative miscalculations in filing employment data have placed such students at risk of forfeiting their legal status. 

The strict application of existing OPT unemployment rules is the root cause of the issue. Foreign students can be unemployed up to ninety days during their twelve-month OPT period in accordance with OPT regulations. STEM-OPT extension beneficiaries enjoy an additional 60 days.

They will have to update it on the SEVIS website within ten days when a student's employer is changed, either by a new employer, loss of employer, or change in location. "The recent ICE letters mean that if there is no employer listed on a student's SEVIS record, then their SEVIS record will be terminated.". That is, the student either did not report the OPT work in a timely manner or went beyond the permissible period of unemployment," said Snehal Batra, an immigration attorney at NPZ Law Group.

Looking back to previous policy

Historically, SEVIS records were not typically immediately terminated for such violations, Batra added, but the current administration's aggressive policies make it simpler for students to lose their status.

Before, SEVIS records were not typically immediately terminated for such offenses; but the current administration's strict policies allow students to lose their status more readily more easily.Historically, the Designated School Officials (DSOs) maintained responsibility for ensuring the validity of SEVIS reporting. Currently, "ICE has been going in and shutting down individuals who have acquired over 90 days of unemployment," according to immigration attorney Jath Shao, as quoted by the TNN.

Although US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reinstated student status following record updates, he explained that in some instances, delays by the DSO caused the failure to update SEVIS.