• dohpaz42@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    3 days ago

    Plus, why is his employer pretending he never existed?

    Any university that accepts federal funds is beholden to the federal government. And since universities need that money, they will do everything they can to keep Big Brother happy.

    • PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      3 days ago

      I wasn’t expecting “pretending the guy that the feds disappeared had never existed” to appear on the bingo card quite this soon.

      Some people were lecturing me just a few days ago about how we shouldn’t freak out and exaggerate and say that someone had been “disappeared” just because they were in ICE custody without any charges being filed and no one knew where they were for a few days. They might have had a point or they might not. But… maybe there are some details I’m not aware of, but on first hearing, this really does sound like they just disappeared this person in the full literal historical sense. And the university is going along with it.

      • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 days ago

        Yes and no. The money given to universities is mostly earmarked for very specific things, as designated by those who donate the money. It’s not like they have a huge tower of gold that they can swim in to their liking. They have a lot of oversight and auditing to make sure money goes where it’s suppose to. And if they want to keep their many accreditations - and they do - then they need that money to jump through whatever hoops their accreditors require.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 days ago

      Any university that accepts federal funds is beholden to the federal government.

      Historically, the government and university systems have worked symbiotically to produce useful technologies and professional experts for each others’ benefits.

      This isn’t simply cash-for-service. There has historically been a big revolving door between state agencies and academic institutions.

      The Trump Admin is both cutting financial support to universities and purging state officials with friendly school ties.

      • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 days ago

        This is not just because of the Trump administration. If a university wants federal money, it has to follow certain rules for that money. Its not as symbiotic as you would think. The government can fund research from other, non-academic, institutions.

        It makes sense that the rules aren’t arbitrary; e.g., university must accommodate the ADA. But, as we’re seeing these days, nothing stops them from imposing new rules; e.g., Executive Order 13985.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 days ago

          If a university wants federal money, it has to follow certain rules for that money.

          You’re just describing a grant. This goes well beyond the rules surrounding grant applications. Kidnapping students off of campus and shipping them to black sites in defiance of court orders is entirely outside the scope of securing university research grant funding.

          • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            2 days ago

            I work at a university that is also part of a state system with their own rules (also driven by federal regulations).

            You’re conflating the government coming on campus and exerting the power of the law with universities having to comply with said laws. And yes, universities will comply because they have no choice.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              2 days ago

              You’re conflating the government coming on campus and exerting the power of the law

              Is that what they’re doing? Quite a few judges seem to believe differently