Real People

Right after the election I wrote a post predicting what would happen to higher education under Trump, most of which is coming true, but I had a massive failure of imagination missing the direct attacks on major universities. I won't detail all the challenges to higher ed, which change daily with every new executive order and court ruling. The Chronicle has a good tracker of these changes.

But often lost in all the news are the actual people who aren't making the news hurt by these actions, through no fault of their own: A student who had his visa cancelled while out of the country so he can't get back in. PhD students who just lost their funding when their advisor's grant was cancelled. A postdoc in a similar situation just months before he starts an academic job. A young faculty member who had to hold off submitting a Career award proposal until a TRO restored the indirect cost. A recently tenured professor at a good US university interviewing outside of the country. Potential students in other countries trying to decide if they should still go to school and build a life in the US. 

The number of people, grants and universities affected is still on the low end, nearly all students continue to study, graduate and work without any problems, and many universities have offered legal and financial support to affected students and faculty. In my humble opinion, the strong educational opportunities inside the US still greatly exceed those outside. Universities have weathered many challenges before: McCarthyism in the 50s, campus occupations and protests in the 60s, and budget challenges from the great depression, to the fiscal crisis and covid. Trump's time as president has an end date and we'll get through all of this, but it requires all of us to push back and remind the administration and the public about the important role our universities play in the health of the country.

And as much as it pains me to say this as a Cornell alum, I'm rooting for Harvard.