@kellyunderman.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Sociology at Drexel University
BREAKING: WE WON!!!
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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:
77% are right-wing violence. if you add domestic Islamist extremism (which, if you believe Gambetta and Herzog, are also right-wing), then we're at 95%
ninety
five
percent
is
right-wing
violence
Very excited that the special issue of the Drexel Law Review arising from this year's symposium on democratic erosion and the contemporary assault on education, knowledge, and academic freedom is now published. My introduction to the symposium issue is available here:
12.07.2024 15:51 β π 113 π 25 π¬ 6 π 2βIt found 90% of respondents think federal investment in STEM education is important for future economic prosperity, and the majority of respondents from both parties are concerned about policy changes that might make it harder for the U.S. to attract and retain top scientists.β
06.05.2025 10:59 β π 116 π 45 π¬ 1 π 0Every time Trump turns to a liberal institution to demand cooperation, it should be a reminder that he canβt accelerate the spread of fascism without our help.
And we strengthen the power we already have when we withhold our help.
I am really enjoying this excellent book from @dukepress.bsky.social
19.03.2025 22:20 β π 9 π 2 π¬ 1 π 0
They are coming for every university, if you think youβre safe because it hasnβt been yours yet I donβt know what to tell you. Join AAUP, refuse to comply, organize your colleagues
19.03.2025 14:36 β π 2234 π 935 π¬ 49 π 60Penn workers of all kinds, there is a petition here you can sign and a rally to attend with your colleagues tomorrow. See you there
19.03.2025 14:41 β π 170 π 72 π¬ 2 π 1I sincerely think that universities should suspend their productivity standards for scientists and ask them instead to hold town halls in schools, public libraries, museums, shopping malls, and anywhere else and communicate what is being lost with the collapse of the research ecosystem.
18.03.2025 17:05 β π 2852 π 820 π¬ 53 π 46
This sober study of the protests found they were overwhelmingly non-violent and vandalism free. That is just not the impression you get from the coverage, which focused on the most fringe actors and confrontations with police acleddata.com/2024/05/10/u...
11.03.2025 14:43 β π 342 π 88 π¬ 7 π 19There is a real, genuine 1st Amendment crisis in the United States right now.
The government is openly retaliating against anyone with a viewpoint it doesn't like: Pro-Palestinian protesters, law schools teaching Black History, pro-immigration public service loan forgiveness seekers.
The AAUP wholly condemns this punitive weaponization of federal grant funding. This attempt to discipline & control a university campus is a transparent hallmark of authoritarian rule & harshly violates the central mission of education to serve the public good.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/n...
"A screenshot of an NBC News article headline. The headline reads: 'Texas bill would make identifying as transgender a felony punishable by jail.' Below the headline, a subtext states: 'The bill, while unlikely to pass, highlights the increasing extremism of legislation targeting trans people, especially in Texas, in recent years.' The NBC News logo is visible at the top, along with a navigation bar that includes a 'WATCH' button and a user profile icon."
I need y'all to sit with this headline and understand what is being done to our community. They're trying to criminalize our very existence.
This is a campaign of eradication.
www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/rcna...
Trumpists don't hate antisemitism. They hate universities.
10.03.2025 20:01 β π 38 π 16 π¬ 1 π 1
We urge university leaders to respond confidently, with law and moral principle on your side, and not to sacrifice essential and legally defensible DEI initiatives that help universities fulfill their most basic mission to pursue truth and knowledge for the common good.
app.box.com/s/2me4mszr6p...
If you're attending ASA in Chicago this year, I'm organizing the regular session for the Med Soc section. I'd love to see your papers in the queue. Submit before Feb. 26! @asanews.bsky.social
21.02.2025 22:38 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
This is a challenging book at a challenging time, but for feminists like me who tend to repudiate TERFism as "not real feminism", it's an important push to grapple honestly with history and be clearsighted about the nature of our current opponents.
It is, Sophie says, "a love letter to feminism".
I was happy to speak with @melissagiragrant.com about pushing back against academic censorship in the current moment. @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/1917...
DEI initiatives are still legal.
Universities need to stand their ground.
A Friday gift to your university's General Counsel Office - courtesy of an all star lineup of civil rights lawyers and scholars. You're going to want to read this.
if I were Europe I'd be doing a crash university buildout right now. a whole bunch of top US academics can be had at pennies on the dollar www.thebulwark.com/p/the-doge-b...
19.02.2025 15:44 β π 1293 π 216 π¬ 51 π 36
Hundreds in Philly braved the freezing temps to rally for our healthcare, research, and jobs! βοΈπͺ
Workers & students from CCP, Drexel, UPenn, Rutgers, Temple, Jefferson, Arcadia, Rowan, Mooreβalongside elected leaders & union presidentsβmade it clear: We wonβt back down. #LaborForHigherEd
My only piece of advice is to stop trying to understand the perpetrators of harm.
If youβre feeling confused, look to the impact on those more directly affected. It will get your head back on straight a lot faster.
The Department of Educationβs Office for Civil Rights has threatened to annihilate 60 years of advancements in equal opportunity by eliminating all federal funding for schools that support and celebrate students from diverse backgrounds.
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How the Girlboss Lost: @reproutopia.bsky.social on the Rise and Fall of a Feminist Moment
19.02.2025 03:29 β π 58 π 12 π¬ 3 π 0Mark your calendars to see @reproutopia.bsky.social talk about ENEMY FEMINISMS, a brilliant book and call to action.
18.02.2025 23:36 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0This is why liberal and leftist critiques of diversity frameworks (βitβs not effective, itβs window dressing) may be correct but nonetheless miss the point. Thoughtful critiques get folded into the overall racist push, and end up helping the worldβs worst people.
30.01.2025 17:34 β π 33 π 6 π¬ 2 π 0If I could only share one finding from my research with people working inside the system in this political moment, it would be:
Stop asking your supervisor for permission to do the right thing. Just do it. Find a way to justify your decision later.
If you're a researcher impacted by the NIH/CDC/FDA travel and communication pause and are open to chatting about your experience, big or small, please reach out to me at jmogensen@motherjones.com or DM for Signal
23.01.2025 17:33 β π 4120 π 1233 π¬ 52 π 30These Executive Orders and freezes in the NIH and Civil Rights division are like Muskβs twitter strategy applied to government. Moving fast and breaking things to shift everything right quickly.
Destroying goverment services to own the libs, even if your own people are collateral damage.
