Louison Cahen-Fourot

@mflohr.bsky.social @routhier.bsky.social @lbogner.bsky.social

Op-eds from wonderful colleagues @lauralohorn.bsky.social, Julia Suárez-Krabbe, @kerstincarlson.bsky.social, Michelle Pace and I, and endorsed by the other wonderful signatories.

(dm if you want the full articles)

#Denmark politicians wage a #culture #war on #academia —with @roskildeuni.bsky.social as their go-to target.

These attacks are assaults on #freedom, #rights and #democracy. We spoke out:

@berlingske.bsky.social : www.berlingske.dk/synspunkter/...

@politiken.dk : politiken.dk/debat/debati...

Source: own back-of-the-enveloppe calculation using the following

www.carbonbrief.org/ai-five-char...

rdcu.be/eHfSC

www.iea.org/reports/key-...

www.iea.org/news/ai-is-s...

So #datacenters already use #electricity equal to about 10% of the total *final #energy footprint* of the world’s poorest 10%.

With the #AI boom, #datacenters #electricity consumption could double within 5 years—about 10% of total #electricity demand growth.

Excellent summary and analysis of the current trainwreck going on at my university.

God tråd om udenlandske studerende og universiteterne

Vi skulle skamme os, skulle vi. Det fremmedhad, der her lægges til grund for jagten på de udenlandske studerende ved RUC, er så langt under lavmålet, at det kun kan betragtes som institutionaliseret racisme. Ingen tanker om andre faktorer, bare hænge ‘de andre’ ud. Føj.

I was really shocked at this story. What shocked me was not the new low of the Danish Socialdemocrats and yet another obnoxious example of their "one people, one culture, one faith" poison, but that @roskildeuni.bsky.social complied. 👇

The open letter asking to retract the statemeng by the Acting chair of RUC's board of directors can be signed here:

forms.gle/Z4U6Z6qDePHm...

Open letter for a Global University - from Roskilde University Staff to the Roskilde University Board of Directors and Rectorate To sign, please fill out the form below the letter. Current signatories. 17 September 2025 We strongly condemn the statement issued today by Dea Forchhammer, Acting Chair of the Board of Directors ...

My university has shockingly proclaimed that it "should be primarily for students from Zealand and Denmark, not for Bangladesh or elsewhere". Colleagues, please support us in this difficult time by signing the staff's open letter to the Board of Directors and Rectorate: forms.gle/Z4U6Z6qDePHm...

My colleague Louison wrote a brilliant thread on the situation: bsky.app/profile/loui...

Management abruptly shut down MA Business Management and Leadership this week and the chairperson of the board resigned, before the new one conceded to political pressure, announcing that Roskilde had failed to service Danes over foreigners. My colleague Louison explains in more detail.

As academic staff at @roskildeuni.bsky.social, our immediate concern is to support our students in this hostile climate and make sure they feel welcome—regardless of citizenship.

We have excellent programs deserving better than being shut down, and our students deserve better than being vilified.

Meanwhile, #Denmark keeps some of the toughest immigration laws in #Europe. Did authorities knowingly let this situation persist to secure cheap labor while maintaining a far-right stance on immigration?

19/20

And the hypocrisy? A lot of these students must work a lot of hours while studying to support themselves and their families after they paid tuition fees, resulting on higher drop-out rates. They are a cheap, docile labor supply for low-qualification jobs in a market desperate for workers.

18/20

Fungerende bestyrelsesformand: Roskilde Universitet anerkender Mette Frederiksens kritik Carsten Toft Boesen (CEO NIRAS) valgte i går aftes at forlade formandsposten for bestyrelsen i Roskilde Universitet. Bestyrelsen har konstitueret sig med næstformand Dea Forchhammer (Direktør Ungdomsø...

How is such a statement supposed to sound to the university’s international staff and students—especially now?

(Full statement in Danish: ruc.dk/nyheder/fung...)

17/20

"I agree with the Prime Minister that we lost control of the intake of foreign students and that we should have done more, earlier. Roskilde University should primarily be for young people from Zealand and Denmark, not for Bangladesh or elsewhere. There can be no two ways about that."

16/20

Today, the Acting Chair of the university’s board issued a statement that deepens this false antagonism between educating international students and educating Danish students:

15/20

And the political bonus for whoever is desperate for racist votes?

These students are racialized, brown, mostly Muslim, and politically invisible. They are the perfect easy scapegoat.

14/20

We see a familiar pattern: as general elections approach, the issue is weaponized by those who thrive on hostility toward #academia and #immigration.

Lucky coincidence: @roskildeuni.bsky.social is the go-to entry door for harassing #academia in #Denmark.

13/20

(Sure, austerity in academia decided by the #Danish government does create a financial incentive for #Danish universities to get non-EU students in. With political will, that lack of funding too could be solved nearly overnight.)

12/20

This is not about education quality. It is a political expedient. The issue became a media scandal, with Danish universities—and @roskildeuni.bsky.social in particular—accused of profiting from non-EU students’ tuition fees. The Prime Minister #MetteFrederiksen herself has joined the chorus.

11/20

It may cost some colleagues their jobs due to reduced teaching needs. And it further stigmatizes an entire academic community, and a whole group of students—who now wake up to headlines vilifying them as the reason their program is being shut down.

10/20

Closing the program does not solve the issue. It punishes staff and students for a problem they did not create. It disrespects years of dedicated teaching.

9/20

The issue was an unfit admissions system, detrimental to all students: those rightly enrolled and those who should not have been and found themselves in difficult situations.

Within the study board, we spent countless hours devising possible solutions within our limited power.

8/20

As a member of the study board overseeing BAL, I’ve seen colleagues work tirelessly to address these challenges in the fairest, most human, and non-stigmatizing way. Citizenship was never the issue.

7/20

Admissions are handled centrally at uni level, without interviews or screening by academic staff. Danish universities flagged these legal issues for years to the government. Nothing changed.

6/20

The problem lies elsewhere: admission rules set by law, beyond universities control. Students who were insufficiently prepared could still enroll—on paper, they met the legal requirements.

5/20

But thanks to their effort and the support of colleagues, some who start out struggling manage to progress and graduate with good results. Average thesis grade for the BAL Msc last year is above 7 ("good"; and theses are assessed together with an examiner external to the university).

4/20