‘When academics fear travelling or partnering with US institutions, the impacts ripple through the entire global knowledge ecosystem,’ one says
www.theguardian.com
Australian academics are not only cancelling trips to the US for key conferences. Scholarships
are being rescinded and
grant funding pulled as the fallout from the
Trump administration’s interference continues.
It follows media reports of travellers having their devices searched at the US border and being
denied entry, including a French scientist who had
messages on his phone critical of Donald Trump.
Before this
Trump administration, US visa applicants were required to declare if they had a disability. But Smart said she began to hear accounts of people being stopped and “detained or denied” on the basis of their condition.
“They are doing things like checking if your medication matches your declared disability,” she said. “If it doesn’t, they can deny you entry.
“As an openly disabled person, I would be very hesitant to be entering right now. If the conference hadn’t switched online, I wouldn’t have taken the risk.”
In a statement
uploaded to its website in late January, the Society for Social Studies of Science said it was aware that US border control was “unpredictable”.
“We … will be watching events closely in the coming months to make sure that we are supporting international attendees to the greatest possible extent,” organisers said. “Attendees are also encouraged to consult their own countries’ travel advice.”
Australia’s National Tertiary Education Union said it had received multiple reports from members that
US policy shifts have caused academics to cancel travel, while others have had planned research partnerships terminated with little explanation.
...
Before this
Trump administration, US visa applicants were required to declare if they had a disability. But Smart said she began to hear accounts of people being stopped and “detained or denied” on the basis of their condition.
“They are doing things like checking if your medication matches your declared disability,” she said. “If it doesn’t, they can deny you entry.
“As an openly disabled person, I would be very hesitant to be entering right now. If the conference hadn’t switched online, I wouldn’t have taken the risk.”