Daniel Braaten
@danielbraaten.bsky.social
Utility Political Scientist, Dad, sports fan, gardener, northerner exiled in Texas
send Stephen Miller to The Hague
We're gonna need a truth and reconciliation commission and Nuremberg style trials to reckon with all of this evil, and any Dem candidate for office who shies away from a full reckoning in the name of "moving forward as a nation" can get well and truly fucked
I feel much safer today knowing that we deported a Babson College student back to a country where she hasn't lived since childhood.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
November 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
send Stephen Miller to The Hague
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
That’s right and we are gonna fight for free public higher ed, and end to student debt, an end to contingent and a new compact that prioritizes academic freedom, freedom of speech, shared governance and the right to assembly & protest on campus! JOIN US!
@aaup.org
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
@aaup.org
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Professors Launch PAC to Fight Back Against Trump’s Attacks
The American Association of University Professors, a union whose members are fighting policies from the Trump administration and GOP Congress, launched a PAC this week to spend in federal elections.
news.bgov.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:07 PM
That’s right and we are gonna fight for free public higher ed, and end to student debt, an end to contingent and a new compact that prioritizes academic freedom, freedom of speech, shared governance and the right to assembly & protest on campus! JOIN US!
@aaup.org
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
@aaup.org
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
you love to see it
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
you love to see it
album of the day - Headlights from Alex G
November 25, 2025 at 11:29 AM
album of the day - Headlights from Alex G
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
Billionaires, who quite often do not see education as a common good, should not be guiding higher education policy.
“I kind of yearn,” Mr. Nassirian said, “for the gilded age when billionaires satisfied their extracurricular interests by collecting Fabergé eggs and prized ponies.”
#DefendHigherEd
“I kind of yearn,” Mr. Nassirian said, “for the gilded age when billionaires satisfied their extracurricular interests by collecting Fabergé eggs and prized ponies.”
#DefendHigherEd
Wealthy People Have Always Shaped Universities. This Time Is Different.
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Billionaires, who quite often do not see education as a common good, should not be guiding higher education policy.
“I kind of yearn,” Mr. Nassirian said, “for the gilded age when billionaires satisfied their extracurricular interests by collecting Fabergé eggs and prized ponies.”
#DefendHigherEd
“I kind of yearn,” Mr. Nassirian said, “for the gilded age when billionaires satisfied their extracurricular interests by collecting Fabergé eggs and prized ponies.”
#DefendHigherEd
album of the day - Give Up The Ghost from Brandi Carlile
November 24, 2025 at 11:27 AM
album of the day - Give Up The Ghost from Brandi Carlile
another possibility is right wing capture of the universities as in Texas and the implementation of specific right wing great books curriculum
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
November 23, 2025 at 5:02 PM
another possibility is right wing capture of the universities as in Texas and the implementation of specific right wing great books curriculum
album of the day - Bear Creek from Brandi Carlile
November 22, 2025 at 11:24 AM
album of the day - Bear Creek from Brandi Carlile
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
www.statesman.com/news/educati...
“But student critics worried that weakening faculty governance could hurt university decisions, weaken transparency and hurt faculty and student morale.”
The students are right.
“But student critics worried that weakening faculty governance could hurt university decisions, weaken transparency and hurt faculty and student morale.”
The students are right.
UT Regents will have 'ultimate' power over college hiring, curriculum
Moving forward, UT Regents will have greater authority over what degrees are offered and who fills key leadership roles at the system's Texas public institutions.
www.statesman.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:38 PM
www.statesman.com/news/educati...
“But student critics worried that weakening faculty governance could hurt university decisions, weaken transparency and hurt faculty and student morale.”
The students are right.
“But student critics worried that weakening faculty governance could hurt university decisions, weaken transparency and hurt faculty and student morale.”
The students are right.
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
“Everyone that I know who works or studies at UNC understands that we have to protect ourselves, because no one in the administration will help with that.”
– Michael Palm, UNC Chapel Hill AAUP
– Michael Palm, UNC Chapel Hill AAUP
Nearby ICE Raids Stoke Fear on North Carolina Campuses
As federal immigration enforcement agents descend on North Carolina, campus leaders are rushing to advise fearful staff and students about how to respond.
www.insidehighered.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:55 PM
“Everyone that I know who works or studies at UNC understands that we have to protect ourselves, because no one in the administration will help with that.”
– Michael Palm, UNC Chapel Hill AAUP
– Michael Palm, UNC Chapel Hill AAUP
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
Two weeks ago today a coalition of NYC unions incl @psc-cuny.org, @aaup.org chapters, @debtcollective.bsky.social, @higheredlabor.bsky.social & student groups took the fight against Trump’s loyalty oath “compact” for higher ed to its billionaire author, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan (1/3)
Marc Rowan is trying to end academic freedom as we know it.
The billionaire Trump donor is demanding higher ed institutions to sign a loyalty oath to gain access to federal funds.
Here's how faculty, students, and @aaup.org @psc-cuny.org @debtcollective.bsky.social responded.
The billionaire Trump donor is demanding higher ed institutions to sign a loyalty oath to gain access to federal funds.
Here's how faculty, students, and @aaup.org @psc-cuny.org @debtcollective.bsky.social responded.
November 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Two weeks ago today a coalition of NYC unions incl @psc-cuny.org, @aaup.org chapters, @debtcollective.bsky.social, @higheredlabor.bsky.social & student groups took the fight against Trump’s loyalty oath “compact” for higher ed to its billionaire author, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan (1/3)
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
The Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students drove the number of monthly student visas down by 20 percent. Lise Olsen reports on international students in Texas held indefinitely in ICE detention:
trib.al/iGAlVTx
trib.al/iGAlVTx
The High Cost of Targeting International Students in Texas - The American Prospect
The Trump administration’s bans and airport detentions stop international students, and their hefty tuitions, in universities.
trib.al
November 20, 2025 at 5:30 PM
The Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students drove the number of monthly student visas down by 20 percent. Lise Olsen reports on international students in Texas held indefinitely in ICE detention:
trib.al/iGAlVTx
trib.al/iGAlVTx
album of the day - Legend: The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers
November 20, 2025 at 11:26 AM
album of the day - Legend: The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in West Bank expulsions reut.rs/3Kbq5fG
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in West Bank expulsions
Israel’s expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from three West Bank refugee camps in early 2025 amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, calling for urgent international measures to hold Israeli officials accountable and stop further abuses.
reut.rs
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in West Bank expulsions reut.rs/3Kbq5fG
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
AAUP-TAMU-CS statement regarding BOR gender and race restrictions.
This fight is not over! We will continue to speak the truth, continue to defend our students, and continue to resist political efforts to distort education at Texas A&M.
This fight is not over! We will continue to speak the truth, continue to defend our students, and continue to resist political efforts to distort education at Texas A&M.
November 19, 2025 at 2:52 PM
AAUP-TAMU-CS statement regarding BOR gender and race restrictions.
This fight is not over! We will continue to speak the truth, continue to defend our students, and continue to resist political efforts to distort education at Texas A&M.
This fight is not over! We will continue to speak the truth, continue to defend our students, and continue to resist political efforts to distort education at Texas A&M.
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
Political attacks on universities are eroding academic freedom, and that threatens the global research collaborations behind major scientific breakthroughs.
There’s a positive correlation between protections for academic freedom and the quality and quantity of STEM research.
buff.ly/YGGZ4m4
🧪
There’s a positive correlation between protections for academic freedom and the quality and quantity of STEM research.
buff.ly/YGGZ4m4
🧪
Research breakthroughs often come through collaborations − attacks on academic freedom threaten this vital work
Academic freedom grew strongly after World War II, with greater university funding, protections and autonomy, yet global data now shows a decline.
buff.ly
November 19, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Political attacks on universities are eroding academic freedom, and that threatens the global research collaborations behind major scientific breakthroughs.
There’s a positive correlation between protections for academic freedom and the quality and quantity of STEM research.
buff.ly/YGGZ4m4
🧪
There’s a positive correlation between protections for academic freedom and the quality and quantity of STEM research.
buff.ly/YGGZ4m4
🧪
album of the day - Blaze Foley's Live at the Austin Outhouse
November 19, 2025 at 11:33 AM
album of the day - Blaze Foley's Live at the Austin Outhouse
again, JD Vance hates his wife and kids
VP JD Vance is now fully embracing the 1924 racist National Origins Act to justify his administration’s white nationalist immigration policy.
November 19, 2025 at 12:27 AM
again, JD Vance hates his wife and kids
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
BREAKING & BIG: Federal judge BLOCKS Texas from implementing new, gerrymandered maps for 2026 midterms. Judge Jeffrey Brown (TRUMP APPOINTEE) wrote opinion, joined by Judge David Guaderrama (Obama appointee). Judge Jerry Smith (Reagan appointee) dissents.
storage.courtlistene...
storage.courtlistene...
November 18, 2025 at 6:11 PM
BREAKING & BIG: Federal judge BLOCKS Texas from implementing new, gerrymandered maps for 2026 midterms. Judge Jeffrey Brown (TRUMP APPOINTEE) wrote opinion, joined by Judge David Guaderrama (Obama appointee). Judge Jerry Smith (Reagan appointee) dissents.
storage.courtlistene...
storage.courtlistene...
Greg Abbott is a bigot
Prediction: CAIR will sue; they will be supported by free speech groups across the political spectrum; they will win; Texans will pay their legal fees; Abbott will be remembered as a free-speech charlatan and a bigot. gov.texas.gov/news/post/go...
Governor Abbott Designates Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR As Foreign Terrorist Organizations
gov.texas.gov
November 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Greg Abbott is a bigot
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
From guest columnist + UT faculty member Steve Wechsler: “I do not see evidence of intolerance to diverse views at UT. What I see is a range of departments seeking truth from different angles, creating a university that is greater than the sum of its parts.” ❤️
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...
UT’s diversity of thought is real — and well worth defending | Opinion
Diverse areas of study bring diverse perspectives — the hallmark of a great university. Political meddling is threatening that at the University of Texas, Steve Wechsler writes.
www.statesman.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:15 PM
From guest columnist + UT faculty member Steve Wechsler: “I do not see evidence of intolerance to diverse views at UT. What I see is a range of departments seeking truth from different angles, creating a university that is greater than the sum of its parts.” ❤️
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...
album of the day - The Essential Billy Joel
November 18, 2025 at 11:26 AM
album of the day - The Essential Billy Joel
Reposted by Daniel Braaten
If you and your colleagues are interested in starting or reactivating an AAUP chapter at your campus, check out our resources at our website.
Start a Chapter
Information on how to start an AAUP chapter. Active AAUP chapters serve the profession at over 450 accredited colleges and universities by supporting principles and programs that vitally affect the qu...
aaup.org
November 17, 2025 at 6:38 PM
If you and your colleagues are interested in starting or reactivating an AAUP chapter at your campus, check out our resources at our website.
album of the day - Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ from the Juilliard String Quartet
November 17, 2025 at 11:43 AM
album of the day - Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ from the Juilliard String Quartet