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The Guardian Covers Reluctance of Professors to Remain in the South
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Anonymous
You are correct that they aren't 100% anti-Trump - they will occasionally call him out on things. But they tread very lightly. They just had an editorial about his completely unhinged speech at the UN that was focused on Trump accurately diagnosing the irrelevance of the UN. That's not what any non-Trump supporting person took out of it. A normal person saw it as the random, unconnected musings of an unhinged madman embarrassing our nation on a global stage (Waiting for the "you have TDS" response...). So yes, WSJ's edit page cannot be classified as 100% pro-Trump, unlike some other Murdoch-owned publications, but it definitely skews in his favor. |
Anonymous
This is a hilarious quote from that article: "We live in fear of using the wrong word. We self-censor. We do not have academic freedom." The irony is something. 
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Anonymous
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And for good measure also from Dallas Observer
https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/texas-escalates-free-speech-crackdown-on-campus-as-professors-leave-23259263/ |
Anonymous
If it isn't from something owned by Murdoch or Breitbart or similar the Kool Aid drinkers will not believe it and will say they need to "do their own research." Because the world is out to get them and America as it largely successfully existed for 250 years was a big failure. If MAGA people don't like the country, they keep whining about open borders - feel free to take advantage of them and leave. |
Anonymous
For those who associated the information itself with the Guardian, I'll include an article from the Louisiana Illuminator as well: ‘We’re terrified’: University faculty in the South describe culture of fear on campus in new survey • Louisiana Illuminator https://lailluminator.com/2025/09/05/south-university-survey/ |
Anonymous
I know this will come as a shock to you, but millions of Americans do find Trump to be correct on occasion. That doesn't mean they're MAGA or that they even voted for him (I didn't). But in the midst of his ramblings, there were indeed grains of truth. He also correctly called out Europe earlier this year for not doing their share re: NATO and Ukraine. He was right. And lo and behold - they rose to the occasion and started contributing more to their own defense! I'd say that's a good thing. Oh, and I'm a "normal" person, btw. Millions of normal people are able to understand nuance and don't constantly divide the world into "MAGA vs LWNJs". |
Anonymous
Thanks for the assist!! |
Anonymous
You sound truly unhinged, and your constant mentions of Kool Aid make it clear you've been drinking plenty of your own. Look, no doubt there are some professors at southern universities looking to leave due to political issues. And no doubt that in the midst of the appalling protests on many northern campuses earlier this year, there were professors desperate to leave those schools and their hostile environments as well. People are entitled to move places more aligned with their personal political views. This is nothing new. |
Anonymous
Thanks to you as well! |
Anonymous
why do I ever listen to people here. you know nothing |
Anonymous
I absolutely despise Trump and almost everything he stands for. I had issues with the status quo and there was definitely room for improvement - not a big fan of DEI, etc. But his massive over-reacting, his childish performative drama, his wanna-be mafioso attitude, his efforts to attack anyone who ever said a negative word about him, and his profiteering off the White House (please don't compare it to others as he is taking it to new lengths) is not OK. His "us vs. them" attitude towards fellow Americans is not OK. I am not willing to tolerate this in order to get a few minor victories on areas where he did do the right thing. And what is particularly frustrating is that unlike you, who seem to be at least somewhat reasonable and can admit his flaws, the majority of his supporters just dig in and refuse to admit anything. They just fall in line and get super defensive. And they seem to get their greatest joy in "sticking it to the libs" - hence all of the Trump/MAGA flags (is your allegiance to Trump or the USA), the NY Post headlines, and so on. And no, there is absolutely no equivalency going the other way. Biden was far from perfect as president but in his speeches he tried really hard to bring this country together. He could have ignored red states but spent a fortune on projects to benefit parts of the country that made fun of him 24/7. Yes, you can dig up quotes of him saying negative things, but he wasn't an angry man with a scowl on his face saying how awful people were like Trump is. Trump thrives on divisiveness. Is this what we want? We are the laughingstock of the world. This is not how you do internationally diplomacy. Perhaps you get some small short-term victories, but the long-term damage is far worse. |
Anonymous
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Okay, this has degenerated into a fight about the Guardian, but returning to the original topic: YES it is true that professors move, even tenured professors! (I am a tenured prof at a top 20 school. I have moved. Most of my colleagues have taught at 2-4 universities over the course of their careers.)
I don't think the issue is "the south," however. It is more an issue of public universities in red states versus both public and private universities in blue states. In (many, not all) red states, there have been a variety of legislative and state exec branch initiatives that have reduced the autonomy of public universities. Some of it is overtly "political" – content-based restrictions on what can be taught, professors fearing they will be fired for speaking about certain topics, and so on. But some of it is about other terms and conditions of employment, ranging from elimination of tenure in some state systems to increasing courseloads and mandatory publication minimums. All these changes make being a professor a whole lot less appealing in those states. I have several friends from public university faculties in red states who have moved or are trying to move. A few years ago I actaully considered leaving my private university for a similarly tenured position at a highly ranked public university in a red state. I am SOOOO glad I did not move. Now, you may say, "is tenure really justified anyway? and is it so wrong for profs to teach more courses or be required to publish more?" Those are different and complicated questions. Personally, while selfishly glad I have tenure, I am not sure the institution is justifiable; I think long-term contracts (ten years, say, or fifteen) would do enough to protect academic freedom while allow universities to jettison faculty who are just terrible teachers or poor scholars. As for higher courseloads and minimum publication requirements, that is more complicated. I think that if courseloads go up, publication requirements should go down, and vice versa. Not many people are great at teaching AND at scholarship, and both take a lot of time and effort. But whatever you think of the substantive issues, yes, if you make being a professor harder in some states than in others, the most talented profs in those states are going to leave. |