Researcher Saara Loukola was denied access to the United States due to a study on racism

Helsinki university doctoral researcher Saara Loukola It was due to go to the United States in September for a data collection trip. He was intended to investigate in the postgraduate education project, what ways to meet racism in US teacher education. These doctrines were to be applied to Finnish teacher education.

The opposite happened. At the beginning of May, Loukola was informed that his research topic had re -evaluated the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The decision stated that the project is not a compatible president Donald Trump with the administrative implementation regulations. In practice, this meant that the Fulbright grant granted to Loukola through the Fulbright Finland Foundation last autumn was canceled and was denied access to the United States.

For a researcher who followed the US political development, the decision came as no surprise.

« When I heard that the applications would go there again for the inspection, I foresaw bad.

The foundation tried to help Loukola find an alternative way to get a visa, but it turned out to be impossible.

« I don’t even have a way to even start the visa process and get to the ground. »

Decision With the help of Loukola, he lost grants granted through the foundations for $ 36,000 in the US, as the money was intended for research in the United States.

Loukola had planned to interview teacher students and university staff in the New York City University (Cuny) Education Unit (Cuny) Educational Unit. The Trump Administration’s decision made the project impossible.

« When I couldn’t get the material on the spot, it is not possible to conduct research in this sense, » Loukola says.

He does not intend to modify his application in the direction that would more likely pass the current administration screen.

« After all, it directly threatens the freedom of research that, of course, there is pressure on self -censorship with this. I will not censor science. »

The University of Helsinki has decided to allocate the money it booked for the Loukola US project to this doctoral thesis. The support of the university in a difficult situation has been important to Loukola.

« Finnish universities emphasize that you do not have to start avoiding certain themes or words under political pressure. »

Loukola is concerned that US activities restrict academic freedom and research throughout the world.

« It has a direct impact on what kind of research can be done and in what terms.

For some researchers, the restrictions are related to identity issues.

“For example, crossing the border to the United States can be a risk for a minority researcher,” Loukola says.

Helsinki university’s development director Ritva Dammertin There are also other individual cases where the funding has already been reassessed to the researcher. The assessment will determine whether the study is in line with the US National Government policies.

According to Dammert, it is very possible that more similar cases are coming.

« After all, this is amazed in a country where both academic and freedom of research have been recorded in the Constitution. I think it is an attack on academic freedom, » Dammert says.

However, he adds that the financier has the right to finance what he wants to finance.

Trump’s administration does not look at projects related to climate change or gender equality, for example.

Trump The entry into power was already evident in Finland in the early stages of the presidential term, when the University of Helsinki became aware of the freezing of US financial organizations.

The university had to explain the use of funding and the applications assessed in the light of the US administration’s policies.

« At that point, we got a bit like fright, that is, our funding continued normally. »

According to the Development Director, the University of Helsinki does not intend to incense the research topics of its researchers.

« If our researcher goes under the promised funding, then we have to try to find ways to continue the research and whether there is funding somewhere else. »

The political situation in the United States may also be reflected in the brain leak in Finland. Dammert says that the number of US researchers’ applications towards the University of Helsinki has increased significantly from previous years.

At the same time, the Fulbright Finland Foundation is told to STT that in March, a research visit to the US researcher on climate change in Finland was canceled when the US Department of Foreign Affairs withdrew its funding.