Recent actions from the Trump administration aim to restrict academic research by banning certain terminology related to diversity and equity. This initiative, perceived as a tool to suppress various academic fields, has left many researchers anxious about potential repercussions on their work. The vague list of forbidden words complicates matters, as it risks affecting crucial studies across disciplines, from biomedical to social science. Academics express concern that the ambiguity in guidelines is deliberate, providing the NSF with broad discretion to censor projects they disapprove of, fundamentally altering the landscape of research funding.
The mood is pretty glum here. While my work has implications for DEI, it's not explicitly DEI in writing. For academics who do work in this space, it's a death knell.
It really seems like a huge mess. The list is long and vague enough that all kinds of research will potentially be harmed. Everything from biomedical research to engineering to research in the social sciences.
The guidelines have been drawn vaguely by design, not an accident, in order to give the government-enough leeway to block anything they want to.
This misguided attempt to eliminate certain studies means ongoing and future research will potentially face scrutiny based on vague terms deemed undesirable by the administration.
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