"A Lot Of Top People Have Already Moved To China": American Academics On How The Bullshit Tsunami Is Driving Them Away

[hatrack]

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Together the researchers painted a picture of a profession that had been plunged into uncertainty as the US government slashes spending on research grants and dismantles the federal institutions that manage and hand out funding. Months into Trump’s second presidency, politics is increasingly blurring into academia as the government works to root out anything it deems as “wokeism” from the post-secondary world.

“There’s a lot of censorship now, it’s crazy,” said Carol Lee, an evolutionary biologist, pointing to the list of terms now seen as off-limits in research grant applications. “There are a lot of words that we’re not allowed to use. We’re not allowed to use the words diversity, women, LGBTQ.”

While the swift pace of change had left many nervous about what may lie ahead, many were not taking any chances. “People are moving, for sure,” said Lee. “A lot of top people have already moved to China. And China is laying out the red carpet. If people are getting an offer from Canada, people are moving to Canada.”

For Lisa, the biological anthropologist, the reality of dismantling her life in the US and moving her husband, a schoolteacher, and their two kids across the Atlantic was starting to sink in. “It’s excitement, but it’s nerve-racking,” she said. She knew she had to get out when it became clear that Trump had won a second term. Months later, she has found a potential path to do so, but is still wrapping her head around all that taking part in Aix-Marseille University’s programme would entail.

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https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/05/academics-leaving-us-scientific-asylum-france-trump