franco_vazza<p>Annoying start of the week, after discovering that during the weekend some bright people stormed into the research area, smashing windows and making a mess in a few buildings (including mine), with the result that some classrooms are unusable this morning. 😩 <br><a href="https://bologna.repubblica.it/cronaca/2025/04/06/news/vandali_sede_cnr_bologna_danni_per_migliaia_di_euro-424110061/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">bologna.repubblica.it/cronaca/</span><span class="invisible">2025/04/06/news/vandali_sede_cnr_bologna_danni_per_migliaia_di_euro-424110061/</span></a></p><p>In some places there's also a lot of blood left by the intruders.</p><p>That's what happens when you mess up with cutting edge research...</p><p>🥶 </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/academia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>academia</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>science</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/astrodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>astrodon</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/bologna" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>bologna</span></a></p>
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84 posts71 participants5 posts today
Look what wondrous horror has arrived! #academia #NigelKneale #Quatermass #horror #bookstodon
Another (hopefully the last) weekend of PhD thesis writing at the office #academia #academiclife #phdlife
Hoe kan de academische wereld omgaan met de nieuwe politieke werkelijkheid in de Verenigde Staten? Daarover bogen zich vrijdagmiddag bestuurders, docenten, onderzoekers en studenten van de Universiteit Leiden in het Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw. ‘Geef je niet bij voorbaat gewonnen, verdedig de academische vrijheid.’
Following from this:
https://mastodon.social/@franco_vazza/114279066636970936
Another version of the "tomato battery" experiment, in a somewhat cleaner home setup. 
Sadly, a few cherry tomatoes were harmed during the process - they really cannot be eaten after this process, since copper is deposited in the solution!
“If you are a university, you may have to figure out, are we in fact doing things right?,” he said during a conversation at Hamilton College in upstate New York. “Have we in fact violated our own values, our own code, violated the law in some fashion?”
“If not, and you’re just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, that’s why we got this big endowment.”
#columbiauniversity #academia #academicchatter
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/us/politics/obama-trump-college-speech.html
The New York Times · Obama Calls for Universities to Stand Up to Trump Administration Threats
Continued thread
Update. The Association of American Universities (#AAU) defense of US higher ed is a bit better. It doesn't focus narrowly on the economy.
https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/meeting-moment-facing-americas-research-universities
But it ends on a jarring note of #nationalism.
"America cannot afford to pause for one second in our race with #China and other competitor nations – nations who are doubling down on their investments in university-based research into crucial emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing."
I want US research to be #OpenAccess, and fully available to China and every other country. BTW, I want the same for Chinese research and research from every other country. Taking the nationalist argument seriously makes it an argument against OA, which also makes it an argument against current federal policy (#NelsonMemo) and against the interests of all US universities. Let's remember that science is international. Let's defend open access, not nation-limited access. And let's defend US universities because they're universities, not because they're in the US.
Continued thread
/1 Columbia’s Acquiescence to Trump Was Disgraceful
https://truthout.org/articles/columbias-acquiescence-to-trump-was-disgraceful-as-faculty-we-demand-better
Columbia’s admin won’t defend academic freedom/student rights
#TransLivesMatter
#Trump #fascism #Christofascism #transgenocide #academia #censorship
#HigherEducation #AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech #cowardize #sycophancy
Truthout · Columbia’s Acquiescence to Trump Was Disgraceful. As Faculty, We Demand Better.We cannot conduct business as usual if Columbia’s administrators won’t defend academic freedom or student rights.
Continued thread
Update. "As #Universities Yield to #Trump, Higher Ed #Unions Are Fighting"
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/labor-unionization/2025/04/04/universities-yield-trump-higher-ed-unions-fight
"Many college and university presidents have kept silent. But unions representing higher ed employees have stepped up to the plate. They’ve protested in Washington, D.C., and on their campuses, organized open letters and filed a flurry of lawsuits against the Trump administration. Union leaders say they are filling a void in an existential fight for higher ed’s future. They wish others would join their resistance, but their unified strength in numbers may protect their members from federal retaliation in ways that higher ed officials aren’t."
Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and JobsAs Universities Yield to Trump, Higher Ed Unions Fight BackFrom lawsuits to protests, labor organizations representing faculty, grad students and other workers are resisting. Discussions about what to do next continue.