Merriam-Webster defines xenophobia as "fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is foreign or strange."

Others define it as a valid reaction to this week's news that nearly 18 percent of the University of Washington's freshman class was made up of international students — a new record.

Adding fuel to the fire? More than half of those students are from China, a country that just this week boosted its holdings of U.S. Treasury notes to a total of $1.15 trillion — making it the largest foreign holder.

In other words, China kind of owns us — and the foreign students at the UW and other state universities and community colleges seem to provoke peoples' anxieties about that.

"If this was a private university, then who cares, they can do what they want," wrote a commenter on seattletimes.com. "But the mission of the UW is not to educate the next generation of Chinese.

"The people of Washington are supporting this school and it is serving non-Americans at the expense of Americans. Occupy UW now!"

Now, hang on there. Before we go all Westlake on Red Square, we need to figure out what exactly we'd be occupying for.

For some, it's a matter of pride. The UW is "our" university, established for the sons and daughters of our sons and daughters. Let more international students in, and they'll just take their American education and cultural know-how, fly home and kick our butts with it.

In truth, it's all about money. The UW is making room for foreigners who will pay $28,059 in tuition per year, while reducing the number of in-state students who pay just $10,575.

Lose this money from these students and we lose programs — and the ability to accept in-state students at the current rate.

State and federal budget cuts have made it so. In the last three years, higher-education funding has been cut 50 percent, and Gov. Chris Gregoire is recommending an additional 15 percent cut — some $630 million — in the new budget. It's bleak.

"These nonresidents are supporting resident enrollment at the university," said UW admissions director Phil Ballinger.

In that sense, the UW is like the family estate that we can't afford to keep up. So we're taking in boarders from all over the globe in order to make ends meet.

"We have to do everything we can to maintain the quality of the university," Ballinger said. "Fortunately, we have the option of doing this."

And there are no signs that it's going to change. The word is out.

Last year, 55 percent of UW applicants weren't from Washington. In China, the UW ranks 16th in the world for universities, Ballinger said. In England, it's in the top 25.

And the UW has begun some initial, exploratory recruiting in India, South Korea and in Taiwan and Hong Kong, which has a "cultural affinity" to Seattle, Ballinger said.

It's not all bad, is it? International students bring their own experiences, their own culture and perspective to Seattle. Opening our classrooms expands our horizons.

International students contributed $463 million to the state's economy in 2010, according to a new national report.

And there's no denying the flattery that comes when students from countries that seem to have the upper hand in so many other areas (math, science) want to be part of us.

We just hate the idea of local kids being told there's no room in their own backyard.

I'm not sure what the fix is, whether filling the school with in-state students is the best idea. Close our doors and we close our minds — and our cash flow.

Be angry that we can't make the system work without out-of-state money. Be angry that the state university and community-college systems aren't more streamlined. Be angry that the economy is wheezing like a pack-a-day smoker.

But don't be angry at the international students who roam our state campuses and fill the classrooms.

They've done nothing but help pay the bills.

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Tuesday and Friday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.