Sunday 29 January 2017
Tripling Down Against USA Conference Hosting
Well, that escalated quickly!
I wrote "Really, Please Stop Booking International Conferences In The USA" and then the very next day chaos erupted as Trump's executive order on the "seven Muslim countries" appeared and went into effect.
I'm less open-borders than a lot of the people currently freaking out --- but regardless, the order is cruel and capricious, especially how it shut out people with valid visas and even green cards without warning. And I think this reinforces my point about conferences: how can you book a conference with international attendees in a country where this happens?
Administration staff are already talking about other disturbing changes:
Miller also noted on Saturday that Trump administration officials are discussing the possibility of asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit, and to share the contacts in their cell phones. If the foreign visitor declines to share such information, he or she could be denied entry. Sources told CNN that the idea is just in the preliminary discussion level.
No thanks :-(.
It has been pointed out that Trump's EO might actually force some organizations to hold more conferences in the USA because some US residents may not be able to return home if they go abroad. That makes some sense but it feels wrong.
On another note, around now the top US universities start their annual drive to recruit foreign grad students. I wonder how that's going to go. The professoriat not being exactly Trump country, they'll have to reconcile their fears with a message that foreign students are going to be OK. Careers depend on it.
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