Rachel Rinaldo

The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact

Opinion | I Watched It Happen in Hungary. Now It’s Happening Here.

Hungary is the goal of Project 2025. Given the country's weak performance (low GDP per capita, high inflation, brain drain), it's interesting that economic elites are on board. My guess is they think they can get a good deal by appeasing the leader. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o...

Because they have destroyed so much and are about to massively raise the debt, it will be incredibly costly to rebuild. Would require raising taxes and that will be a nonstarter for many voters. So even if dems win again, their hands will be tied.

Was recently in London and Oxford. I was amazed by the quality of prepared foods at the ubiquitous Marks and Spencer small supermarkets. Cost was much lower than I expected. I would love to know what makes this more possible in the U.K.

Call for Papers—Rituals in Rupture: Everyday Religion and the Politics of Instability in Southeast Asia - Association for Asian Studies Southeast Asia Council (SEAC)—Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (JSEAS) Initiative Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference 2026 (AAS2026 @ Vancouver) Submission deadline: July 22, 2025 The So...

#AAS2026 Southeast Asia Council call for papers: www.asianstudies.org/call-for-pap...

How slashing university research grants impacts Colorado’s economy and national innovation – a CU Boulder administrator explains Federal funding cuts in the billions have impacted dozens of universities in the US.

Some folks are trying, but these days it’s not clear how you reach a broad audience (in our case, Massimo also testified to Congress). theconversation.com/how-slashing...

#caturday she fits neatly on the placemat

A useful guide to the real goals of the folks influencing the Trump administration. The key tell here is that DEI hasn’t existed for 60 years, but civil rights has. And that’s what they oppose.

And what people should know is that this position only goes to scholars who are politically conservative. So it’s ideological selection from the get-go.

Really useful thread here. All of this is also true for social science and humanities research as well.

Opinion | How to Wreck the Nation’s Health, by the Numbers The administration's cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services are going to do irreparable harm to the nation’s health.

How to wreck the nation’s health (and it’s entire scientific infrastructure). www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Awesome….Rage Against the Machine, the next generation.

Congratulations! Hope you can take time to celebrate!

Fulbright Board Quits, Accusing Trump Administration of Political Interference The board of the prestigious program told the State Department it had no right to cancel scholarships for nearly 200 American professors and researchers.

The entire bipartisan board has resigned.

And no surprise, the “flexible” parents mentioned here are moms.

Is It OK for Your Kids to ‘Rot’ All Summer?

Having spent a ridiculous amount of money on camps, I am sympathetic. But letting kids hang out all summer seems to presume that a parent doesn’t need to work much or can take an extended break from work. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/s...

A scatterplot titled “Agencies Facing DOGE Layoffs vs. GOP Budget Increases” shows how liberal-leaning federal agencies are more likely to face layoffs, while conservative-leaning ones receive budget increases. The x-axis indicates perceived ideological leaning (from liberal on the left to conservative on the right), and the y-axis (log scale) shows agency size by number of staff. Each dot represents a federal agency and is colored by status: • Red = DOGE layoffs • Green = Budget increases • Gray = No layoffs Key findings visible in the plot: • 9 out of 10 agencies with documented layoffs are liberal-leaning. • Large liberal agencies like HHS, EPA, NIH, USAID, and the Department of Education face layoffs. • Conservative agencies like the Department of Defense (DOD), ICE, and CBP receive budget increases. The note cites data from over 1,500 federal executives and analysis of agencies with 500+ staff. Author: Adam Bonica.

9 out of 10 agencies targeted by DOGE for layoffs are liberal-leaning. Every single proposed GOP budget increase goes to conservative agencies.

They're not cutting fat—they're performing ideological surgery with a chainsaw.

Well, I really want to try the peanut butter cup ones!

And engaging with business leaders who have benefited from being able to hire employees with foreign language skills and international expertise is crucial as well.

Urge Congress to Restore and Sustain Federal Investment in International Education NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange.

If you are motivated to do something about this, you can call your senators (especially in red or purple states) or write op-eds to inform the public about the impact of such cuts. www.nafsa.org/defendIE

This is a matter of loss of expertise and knowledge, the ability to train students to understand and engage with the rest of the world. It is a devastating cut that will have consequences for decades to come.

ED's Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Budget Request Find information about the Department of Education's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request.

The FY 2026 budget proposal from the Department of Education zeroes out funding for foreign language and international programs in higher education (Title VI). www.ed.gov/about/ed-ove...

This. I feel like most academic institutions are not coming to terms with this. Even if democrats win the midterms, does anyone think federal research infrastructure, public health, or international development will be refunded? After these tax cuts and tariffs bankrupt the country, it is unlikely.

Many cities also have streets in numerical or alphabetical order, so once you learned that, you could navigate even without a map.

And also Three Imaginary Boys. Love that whole first album.

Fire in Cairo or Charlotte Sometimes

🗣️📣Let the administration know how you feel about them restricting COVID-19 vaccine access under the false pretense that the vaccine may not be safe. Comment period ends in 3 days.

www.regulations.gov/document/FDA...

Urgent! If you are concerned about international education, please look at this action alert and ask your elected officials to support Title VI and Fulbright-Hays!

#Fulbright alumni. The 2026 budget proposal has a 93% cut to State Dept Intl exchange programs including Fulbright. Call your representatives to oppose this! www.votervoice.net/EXCHANGE/Cam...