Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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annalissroy.bsky.social @annalissroy.bsky.social · 1d

I talked to Bill Nye — yes, former “science guy” — about President Trump’s proposed cuts to NASA funding and what they would mean.

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · 1d

No university should sign on to this compact

redrum scare(d) corncob (no one said it made sense) @inquiline.myatproto.social · 1d

Faculty show support for USC to reject the federal government’s "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education"... the USC @aaup.org chapter sent a petition rallying for USC to reject the compact

www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/10/06/r...

‘Reject the Compact’ petition urges USC not to sign Trump’s contract

Faculty show support for USC to reject the federal government’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.

www.uscannenbergmedia.com

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · 1d

We cannot continue to tolerate this kind of violence

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 1d

I fear if things don’t change right now, this image is going to come back to haunt us

Laura Rodriguez, on Twitter:

A federal agent points a weapon at a woman who was recording them.

Jess, a U.S. citizen and member of a neighborhood patrol team that documents and shares ICE activity across the city, was filming when the incident occurred earlier today in the Berwyn area.

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · 1d

The erasure of due process harms all of us. It doesn’t matter if you’re here legally or are a citizen if you have no opportunity to prove it. In addition, *no one* should be assaulted for a civil violation.

Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 1d

The scenes out of Chicago should outrage us all. These federal agents are out of control, committing senseless acts of violence & putting everyone at risk.

American citizens are being detained & brutalized.

This kind of immigration "enforcement" shouldn't be acceptable to anyone.

Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago

Activists, residents and elected leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest cit...

www.pbs.org

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ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 1d

Election Day is just four weeks away, on November 4. Our Know Your Rights guide to voting in California, available in English and Spanish, has key information including WHO can vote, HOW to register to vote, WHEN and WHERE you can cast your ballot, and tips on being an informed voter.

Know Your Rights: Your Voice, Your Vote – Voting in California | ACLU of Northern CA

www.aclunc.org

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · 8d

Huge win for free speech, thanks to @aaup.org for fighting the fight!

AAUP @aaup.org · 8d

BREAKING: WE WON!!!
💥 💥 💥

Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.

Full ruling here:

Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law – #261 in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-10685) – CourtListener.com

Judge William G. Young: ORDER entered. FINDINGS OF FACT AND RULINGS OF LAW, PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 52(A)(Sonnenberg, Elizabeth) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/30/2025: # 1 Main Document) (J...

www.courtlistener.com

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Ruha Benjamin @ruha9.bsky.social · 9d

So, at the very least, we all need to be joining or starting an AAUP chapter:

www.aaup.org/chapters/fin...

Find a Chapter

A list of AAUP chapters, both unionized and nonunionized. (You can also see a list of just union chapters.)

www.aaup.org

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John Hawkinson @johnhawkinson.bsky.social · 8d

OMG this William G. Young opinion that just dropped (12:30pm) in AAUP v. Rubio.
It begins with a postcard sent to Chambers and Young's reply

card: "Trump has pardons and tanks, what do you have?"

WGY: "We the People of the United States — you and me — have our magnificent Constitution"

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Science Magazine @science.org · 15d

"Talent and grit matter, but so do structure, transparency, and care." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/4nCiPYg

An illustration of a person standing at the top of stairs that end, with text: To increase diversity in STEM, a foot in the door isn’t enough. We need better support.

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · 15d

Professors should not be fired for speaking the truth. In this case, not only was the professor fired by the department head and school dean were also both demoted, followed by the resignation of the university president…all because the professor dared to teach about gender.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 15d

This is an absolutely terrific piece from @texastribune.org and reinforces my belief that the best coverage of right-wing cancelations occur at the local level, after years of the national media focusing on threats from the left.
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/19/t...

How a secret recording of a gender identity lecture upended Texas A&M

Officials have struggled to detail the exact reasons for the A&M professor’s termination, citing a technical issue with her course description. Faculty say the move was politically motivated.

www.texastribune.org

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · 18d

The plan for NSF is to demote its director to an advisory role to what a former senior figure compared to a Soviet political commissar.

Also, greatly reduce the role of rotators from academic departments to consolidate administration power.

This is a disaster for science and innovation.

Under Trump, NSF faces worst crisis in its 75-year history

Political directives have undermined agency's independence and record of supporting the best basic research

www.science.org

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James Holland Jones @juemos.bsky.social · 19d

So much for international post-docs at American universities. I guess US Science will slip even further behind.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/u...

Trump Says the U.S. Will Institute $100,000 Fee for Skilled Worker Visas

www.nytimes.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 24d

We are at the point in the honoring-Charlie-Kirk's-memory cycle when faculty are being fired for posting, without comment, Charlie Kirk's words. At the behest of politicians sworn to uphold the first amendment, and in public institutions covered by first amendment protections.

Senator Marsha Blackburn tagging a public university for a facebook post where a professor share's Kirk's comments saying gun deaths are worth it.

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Erin Kissane @kissane.myatproto.social · 28d

Working with so many friends and strangers to build a durable sense of what is happening across—so far—eight zones of American life bc of the administration’s demolition of democratic governance at @unbreaking.org.

unbreaking.org

Unbreaking

How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.

unbreaking.org

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Daniel Braaten @danielbraaten.bsky.social · 28d

another day and another professor in Texas is fired. This time it is a historian from Texas State fired for comments he made at a conference. If you are a faculty member protect yourself. Join @texasaaup.bsky.social in Texas and @aaup.org nationwide
www.president.txst.edu/communicatio...

Statement from the President

September 10, 2025

www.president.txst.edu

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · Sep 2

"Work from home is bad for everyone
Only a few people retain productivity
Intangible office connections are gone
Young people r further isolated and lonely
City centers decay"

-Vinay Prasad, the FDA Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, who barely comes into the office.

Vinay Prasad, who is making it harder to get the Covid vax, barely comes into the office.

The FDA Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research has also criticized work-from-home policies.

www.motherjones.com

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Science Magazine @science.org · Sep 2

In a new #ScienceExpertVoices article, Seth Berkley unravels the arc of vaccine progress. https://scim.ag/3VrCDBx

Quote by Seth Berkley on a black background, stating: "…one of humanity's most dramatic successes has been the application of science to understand and then decisively intervene to improve...harrowing conditions."

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · Sep 2

This should be viewed as part of the assault on science and higher education because that’s what it is.

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Aug 29

Trump admin planning to change student visas from lasting for duration of academic program to fixed 4-yr term, and then much harder to renew
Could destroy US ability to attract global talent, particularly those seeking advanced degrees in STEM. The median time to complete a PhD is 5.7 yrs per NSF.

Trump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International Students

Trump officials have proposed a new rule limiting international students to fixed periods of entry, making a U.S. education more precarious.

www.forbes.com

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Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · Aug 29

A reminder that PhD students are also teachers. It'll be much harder to run undergraduate programs too with this change.

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Aug 29

Trump admin planning to change student visas from lasting for duration of academic program to fixed 4-yr term, and then much harder to renew
Could destroy US ability to attract global talent, particularly those seeking advanced degrees in STEM. The median time to complete a PhD is 5.7 yrs per NSF.

Trump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International Students

Trump officials have proposed a new rule limiting international students to fixed periods of entry, making a U.S. education more precarious.

www.forbes.com

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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · Sep 1

🧪 And House appropriators say: no cuts to NIH budget!

House subcommittee version just came out (link below). Holds NIH flat at $48 billion.

To be clear: this is far from over. But a good sign that science still matters across both sides of aisle.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS!!

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AAUP @aaup.org · Aug 26

AAUP President Todd Wolfson denounces planned academic cuts at the University of Oregon, laying out several concerns.

@uauoregon.bsky.social

🧵

AAUP President Denounces Planned Cuts at the University of Oregon

The AAUP stands with the United Academics of the University of Oregon in protesting the administration's plan to slash multiple departments and programs and fire faculty.

www.aaup.org

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Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · Aug 28

Tae Heung “Will” Kim, a doctoral student at Texas A&M University and longtime US permanent resident, has been in ICE detention for OVER one month. The AAUP stands with the Texas AAUP state conference in demanding Mr. Kim’s release.
www.aaup.org/news/aaup-st...

AAUP Statement on Continued Detention of Tae Heung “Will” Kim

The AAUP stands with the Texas AAUP state conference in demanding the release of Tae Heung "Will" Kim from ICE detention.

www.aaup.org

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Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · Aug 28

TBT: Remember when Turkey's inflation rate hit 80% because of their President Erdogan’s "unorthodox belief that high borrowing costs lead to higher prices — the opposite to established economic theory." Let's don't be like Turkey!

Turkey's annual inflation passes 80% after interest rate cut

The Turkish Statistical Institute says the country's annual inflation passed 80% in August, further hitting consumers facing high energy, food and housing costs.

apnews.com

Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · Aug 28

There's a very good reason the Federal Reserve Board is legally independent: we need data driven monetary policy.

Monetary policy driven by political loyalty, namely this president's pressure campaign to cut interest rates despite rising inflation (due to his policies), is a recipe for disaster.

Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · Aug 27

Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, marking the first time in U.S. history that a president has tried to fire a sitting member of the Federal Reserve Board.

The move raises questions about the limits of executive power over the central bank.

Trump Fires Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook in Unprecedented Attack on Agency Independence