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Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

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Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#41

Post by sigmoid10 »

ekianjo wrote: post #32
kzrdude wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it's maybe not a free country anymore if you have to think about how your actions are perceived by the president in power at every step.

I hate to state the obvious but if your livelihood depends on federal grants then by all means you need to take in account the fact that oresidents can change after a few years.

There has been no precedent for what is happening right now. This is literally Project 2025 and the "you'll never have to vote again" people trying to turn the US into a dictatorship. If people don't speak out now, we might have MAGA in power for the next 25 years just like Putin was for the last.

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#42

Post by malcolmgreaves »

ekianjo wrote: post #32
kzrdude wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it's maybe not a free country anymore if you have to think about how your actions are perceived by the president in power at every step.

I hate to state the obvious but if your livelihood depends on federal grants then by all means you need to take in account the fact that oresidents can change after a few years.

[flagged]

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#43

Post by numbers_guy »

francasso wrote: post #31

Maybe it's time to move to Europe or China

There is nowhere to run and hide. Europe is worse than the US on this front. China also demands party loyalty. In a sense this is just the human condition. The ruling faction demands loyalty. Only a very advanced human civilization could move past that and allow criticism of the ruling class. Maybe the US had achieved that for a brief movement in the past or maybe it was just an illusion.

EDIT: For people wondering why I think it's worse in Europe, it's because in Europe the ruling class and the universities are on the same side. And when I say Europe, I mean UK, France and Germany.

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#44

Post by mikevm »

pbiggar wrote: post #26

Remember that these claims of antisemitism are all false. What they actually mean is "they had a student encampment calling out Israel's genocide in Gaza and occupation of Palestine, that the US supports with weapons, troops, UN vetos, and bad faith negotiation"

There is no evidence of a genocide in Gaza, so ironically your claims are all false. Anti-semitism is the least of the problems of these Universities. They promote blatant racism and discrimination against certain groups while claiming to help others. Finally they are being punished, and there's nothing they can do in court because the evidence is literally against them.

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#46

Post by mehulashah »

This is a tragedy. Our pre-eminence as a scientific and industrial powerhouse that really began post WWII is now disintegrating because of the actions of a few. The funding being pulled from Terence Tao and his institute without due process is not the start, it's merely one casualty among many that began at the start of this administration. This is like cutting one's nose to spite one's face.

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#47

Post by noelwelsh »

m101 wrote: post #13

UCLA has an endowment of 3.8bn$. Whilst I'm sympathetic to their desire to be further government financed for the work they do, I feel like government financing should be made available to those that actually need the money. The attitude that you have access to government funds even if you have the ability to pay yourself needs to change.

Governments typically fund research because 1) it's seen as beneficial for the country, and hence falls under the remit of governments in democratic countries and 2) the uncertainty, time frame, or lack of direct commercialization of research typically means the private sector will not invest in it.

Your suggestion is saying that research should be privatised, and shows very little thought about how research works and who benefits from it.

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#48

Post by raincole »

malcolmgreaves wrote: post #40
raincole wrote: post #35

I have all my respect to Tao. But I think it's very justified for the federal to do something (not necessarily this thing) against institutions that show racist behaviors. e.g. Little Rock Nine.

And no college being defunded right now has shown any racist behaviors whatsoever. So are you in support of the current defunding?

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-29/ucla-set...

> The lawsuit, filed more than a year ago, alleged that by not immediately ordering the encampment to be taken down, UCLA provided support to pro-Palestinian activists who “enforced” what it termed a “Jew Exclusion Zone,” prohibiting Jewish students and staff from passing through the camp’s makeshift barricades.

Personally I think this is a textbook racist behavior. Replace "Jewish" with "black" and "Palestinian' with "white" and see if you agree. I personally firmly believe if white activists try to enforce a "Non Black Zone" in the campus, the college administration has a responsibility to take it down and discipline said activists.

I'm not sure if this defunding is justified though, as it seems that UCLA has settled this case and the defunding sounds retrospective.

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#49

Post by msy »

ralph84 wrote: post #20
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #3

Fuck it hurts me to say this as a former China hawk. But: How does Chinese immigration work for STEM? What does residency look like for someone making $500+ k in America? What are the Y Combinators? (No CCP Tans.)

Right, because in China universities can totally run afoul of the central government with no impact to their funding.

The point is if the problem is the same in both you need to re-examine the pros and cons. Given the other issues in America and other advantages in China it's no longer a simple equation.

Re: Terence Tao on the suspension of UCLA grants

#50

Post by plemer »

raincole wrote: post #35

I have all my respect to Tao. But I think it's very justified for the federal to do something (not necessarily this thing) against institutions that show racist behaviors. e.g. Little Rock Nine.

Where do you see anything remotely comparable to the Little Rock 9 at UCLA?

Edit: Incidentally, Trump absolutely gutted the Department of Education, including the Office of Civil Rights, appointing loyalists who explicitly don’t believe it should exist. Are these the actions of a president concerned with civil rights?

Also, indulge us in a wild guess as to what Trump would’ve done to the Little Rock 9. Consider that he signed a full-page newspaper ad calling for the death of the Central Park 5, a wrongfully convicted group of Black and Latino teenagers.

Invoking our civil rights legacy here is perverse.

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