r/Purdue • u/PhagesRFrens • Feb 11 '26
Newsđ° Bill restricting foreign students passes house
https://www.aclu-in.org/legislation/discrimination-against-people-from-countries-deemed-foreign-adversaries-hb-1099/House bill 1099 just passed the house. It will make it illegal for students from countries deemed âforeign adversariesâ - which currently includes China, Iran, and Russia- from attending Purdue (or any college in Indiana). It also makes it illegal for them to own property which could mean Indiana universities will lose a lot of amazing professors. What's worse, the governor can add more countries to that list whenever they want.
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u/ContrarianPurdueFan Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
This bill was authored by Matt Commons, who represents part of Tippecanoe County.
If you think we need more serious lawmakers, then you absolutely have the agency to make a difference as a Purdue student.
There are two challengers taking on Commons this year: Brenna Geswein is a Democrat and engineer at Caterpillar, and Ben Davis is an IT professional and activist running as an independent. Either of them could use your help.
Meet with the College Democrats to learn more about how you can get involved.
Edit: Also, regardless of how deep red this district is -- and frankly, how unlikely it is for the seat to flip -- having serious contenders in races like this is still an effective way to influence change.
Edit 2: It seems Ed Moyer is running again, too. I didn't mean to leave him out, but I also don't know anything about him.
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u/Gophurkey Feb 11 '26
Making waves in a solid red area isn't a lost cause! First, there are tons of non voters, which means that with a great candidate anything can happen. We've seen some deep red districts turn blue in this cycle, so there's no need for fatalism - we can win!
But even if not, supporting better candidates is not an all-or-nothing endeavor. First, it shows the community that you are there and willing to stand up. That encourages others to come out of the woodwork, too. You've got to set the example. Over time, districts change and demographics shift. What is +30 to R now may go to +20, then +10, and then "suddenly" a safely conservative area becomes a toss -up. You might not even live there by then! But it's helpful regardless. But arguably more important than anything is that by supporting Dem candidates you force Rs to pull resources from other areas to counter their rise. Yes, both sides have major issues, and yes there is a stupid and unethical amount of money in politics, and yes individual actions can't counter our current corporatacracy, but little actions add up and change absolutely is possible! If it weren't, Rs wouldn't be so hell-bent on restricting voting rights.
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u/ContrarianPurdueFan Feb 11 '26
Also, from a somewhat more selfish standpoint, having serious contenders in hard-to-win races boosts turnout for other close races. Trump won the county by literally 100 votes in 2024. I don't know if most people realize how extremely purple Tippecanoe County is.
In fact, if you don't usually think your vote matters, please register to vote here. Of particular interest to students this year, there are important races for county clerk and county commissioner.
The current (Republican) clerk was responsible for removing voting centers from Purdue's campus. She's term-limited from the clerk's office, but is now seeking to run for county commissioner, an even more powerful position. Meanwhile, her hand-picked successor for clerk may be one of the best-funded local candidates.
(Also, shoutout to Karan Benner and Justin Kendall who are running for both these seats and who are genuinely awesome human beings.)
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u/DidjaSeeItKid Feb 12 '26
This isn't a "deep red district," compared to the rest of the state. Until recently, most of our electeds were Democrats.
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u/ContrarianPurdueFan Feb 12 '26
This year is as good a time as any to prove me wrong. Get involved! :)
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Feb 11 '26
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u/Pretend-Marsupial46 Feb 12 '26
That was my first election and it was a huge deal on our campus! They did a great job of getting out the youth vote. There was so much hope.Â
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Feb 12 '26
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u/Pretend-Marsupial46 Feb 12 '26
I can see that happening. Thatâs unfortunate. It was so much bigger than any one state.Â
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u/Numerous-Cup-3552 Feb 11 '26
âforeign adversariesâ arenât getting education. individual people, with individual desires, that are not inherently loyal to whatever state they come from are getting education. i truly do not understand this.
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u/Jolly-Nose8028 Feb 12 '26
The language of this reddit post is somewhat innacurate.
"Foreign adversaries like China and North Korea should not be benefiting from the hard work and resources of Hoosiers," Commons said. "This legislation would crack down on the misuse of our intellectual material, academic research and control of our valuable land."
This does not stop students from any of those countries from being admitted and attending indiana public and private universities.
The bill proposes restricting research for masterâs and PHD students, by having them sign an affidavit that they arenât acting on another countryâs behalf.
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u/InOutlines Feb 12 '26
Getting downvoted for⌠accuracy?
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u/Jolly-Nose8028 Feb 12 '26
yeah idk man. reddit karma has an inverse relationship to your intelligence đđđ
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u/Hot_Dependent9212 Feb 13 '26
đ¤ŁU should appreciate it's just down votes! https://www.instagram.com/stories/purdueconfessionwall/3831220406850615317 Could have been labeled as extremely mega simply bc u demonstrated English reading ability that's acceptable for university entry lol. https://www.instagram.com/p/DUoxqggjjRg/
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u/Hot_Dependent9212 Feb 13 '26
Luckily no one labeled her/her/they as extremely mega lol https://www.instagram.com/p/DUoxqggjjRg/ https://www.instagram.com/stories/purdueconfessionwall/3831220406850615317
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u/Cool_Assumption5313 Feb 12 '26
Page 6 of the bill: As used in this chapter, "qualifying program" refers to one (1) of the following fields of study at the undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, or postdoctoral level
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u/ftw_c0mrade Professional Asshole Feb 11 '26
Indiana is a backward ass state lmao
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u/monochromatic-bee Feb 11 '26
Try living in Oklahoma..
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u/Poultry_Sashimi IU Sucks! Feb 12 '26
OK... wait, maybe not.Â
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u/-piso_mojado- Feb 12 '26
I donât like your username.
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u/PUfelix85 BSc Chemical Engineering 2010 Feb 11 '26
Indiana is the state that voted to implement daylight savings time. What do you expect.
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u/DidjaSeeItKid Feb 12 '26
The General Assembly voted for it, not the voters. For decades, Indiana kept the same time, all the time. Then the legislature and Governor Daniels decided it was bad for business. In 2005, they passed that law, and the Department of Transportation put us on Eastern time, which caused some outrage because everyone assumed we'd be on Central Time, like Chicago. Also a bunch of counties refused to observe it for a few years and some counties were permitted to stay on Central. So now we have 2 time zones, but only a few counties are on Central and I think everyone is done being mad about any of it.
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u/PUfelix85 BSc Chemical Engineering 2010 Feb 12 '26
Yes, but the voters elected the GA.
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u/invinciblewalnut Biomedicine â21 Feb 12 '26
Honestly with all the gerrymandering the general assembly picked themselves. The Indiana house is 69% republican despite 63% voting republican. The Indiana senate is a whopping 80% republican but again, only 63% of people voted republican.
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u/Cutoffjeanshortz37 Feb 11 '26
Northern most southern state is how I describe Indiana to people now that I'm in the pacific northwest.
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u/Big_Marzipan_405 Feb 11 '26
is that why russians, chinese, and iranians want to come here lol
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u/ftw_c0mrade Professional Asshole Feb 11 '26
Aw shumone is offended âšď¸
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Feb 12 '26
Foreign students aren't coming here to steal our secrets to sell to foreign governments and indoctrinate your kids. American tech companies are doing that.
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u/DidjaSeeItKid Feb 12 '26
Vote against ALL Republicans. And make sure you have a passport in case they pass the SAVE Act.
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u/sousaphone2 Feb 13 '26
Land of the free where people from countries with you know a not so great outlook can come and be free but no our administration wants to be the biggest joke ever i genuinely hope everyone knows there are people who are against stuff like this and are fighting for you
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u/ActivePuzzled2263 Feb 12 '26
A state college should primarily educate those from that state and from that country. 80% in-state, 15% out of state, 5% foreign đ¤ˇđźââď¸
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u/mbtownm Feb 13 '26
If 80% of students are in state, then tuition will dramatically rise and/or quality will fall. Out of state tuition subsidizes in state tuition.
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u/ActivePuzzled2263 Feb 13 '26
Or they want more foreign/out of state to just make more money. Gullible to think that actually benefits anyone besides a select few in suits. Tis a business before a college. Surely you are familiar with capitalism. Theyâd completely remove in state students if they could.
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u/Big_Marzipan_405 Feb 11 '26
Why should we be giving our adversaries a top tier education (especially in STEM subjects)? Especially China, Iran, and Russia? It's in our interest as a country to maintain our advantage in these fields
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u/No_Cup_1672 Feb 11 '26
Fun fact the guy responsible for developing Chinaâs modern aerospace industry traveled to America to study at MIT for grad school and was a brilliant engineer and cofounded JPL. He said he loved America and contributed a lot to our space program until the FBI threatened him and got deported back to China.
So America lost a brilliant engineer to our adversary, who wouldâve contributed more if we didnât shoot ourselves in the foot.
So no, youâre not going to give America the upper hand when our actions will encourage smart people to study in hostile nations instead of America.
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u/NoSober__SoberZone Nursing â21 Feb 11 '26
Fun fact one of the major contributors to Chinaâs nuclear weapon programs got his PhD in Nuclear Physics at Purdue and then went home, joined the CCP, and helped them develop nuclear weapons.
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u/No_Cup_1672 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Talent flows where opportunities exist.
He couldâve been sympathetic to China from the start, or he didnât get respect in the US for being Asian, and both could be true.
But closing doors to universities will guarantee smart international students to not go to US to begin with, since usually the US is seen to be more attractive than their homelands.
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u/Hot_Dependent9212 Feb 13 '26
It's different from banning from undergraduate programs in the first place.
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u/Hot_Dependent9212 Feb 13 '26
It's different from banning from undergraduate programs in the first place.
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u/Strange-Feeling69420 Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
The problem for me is how they determine who this law applies to. If it is really broad, you arenât just removing students here for a four year degree, and also, even in that case, you should want American influence exported if you really feel like our adversaries need to be combatted this way. Exporting western influence by Americanizing their rich and educated youth is a great way to keep our own countries interests safe.
Edit: countryâs? Idk spelling and grammar arenât my bag
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u/Big_Marzipan_405 Feb 11 '26
i agree, i think there should be restrictions specifically on nationals from adversary countries coming here to study subjects that could be sensitive from a natsec standpoint (certain kinds of engineering, etc)
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u/ApollonLordOfTheFlay Feb 11 '26
You donât understand their comment. It is free propaganda for them to come here at the easiest part of their life, then return home, and when they have to encounter REAL life and suffer they think fondly of their time in America. It is free publicity, hell publicity that they are paying us for. As for national security it is only a problem because we have so many needlessly conservative rules in place to help businesses increase profit margins instead of national progress.
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u/Hot_Dependent9212 Feb 13 '26
But coming here doesn't mean full reception. U should check how many international students still stick to WeChat, Little Red Book & other non English circles like VK & maybe Line too. & look at all the bad stuff about America available online! It's still a lot of negativities even if they read & watch mainstream media but doesn't have much time to think bc of school works!
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u/Big_Marzipan_405 Feb 11 '26
>As for national security it is only a problem because we have so many needlessly conservative rules in place to help businesses increase profit margins instead of national progress.
??
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u/ApollonLordOfTheFlay Feb 11 '26
We place laws and regulations on programs that could make actual progress, the only reason they donât is because of those regulations. Why are the regulations there? NOT to protect people as they say, but to protect the financial interests of the elite who own businesses, either so other new start ups cannot compete or so that companies have to pursue certain ventures that allow people in charge to be cut into the profits at multiple levels. This is NOT an endorsement, but in one of the adversaries you gave as an example (China) this is not the case. Regulations are more open and responsive to recent research and allows them the ability to advance at such a rapid pace. To put it another way, these adversaries you are concerned about arenât at an advantage because what they learn here, they are at an advantage because what they learn here they are able to put into practice. Which in our society that doesnât trust top tier science and wants to regress to caveman technology people canât put into practice what they studied.
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u/ZombiePope Feb 11 '26
So convincing our rivals to send us their best and brightest is actually a huge win, because we can influence them while they're here AND convince them to stay afterwards instead of going back home. This is how we keep our advantage, by collecting everyone's best and brightest.
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u/Big_Marzipan_405 Feb 11 '26
2017 National Intelligence Law - China
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u/ZombiePope Feb 11 '26
That's not going to have much of an impact on naturalized US citizens.
Look up Qian Xuesen. US educated rocket scientist who contributed massively to NASA before being deported over stupid xenophobic bullshit. Once he was forcibly sent back to China, he basically founded their ICBM program. If he hadn't been sent back, our rocket programs would likely be 5+ years further ahead, and theirs 5+ years further behind.
The Chinese aren't alien bogeymen out to destroy the west, they're pretty normal people under a rival government.
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u/CashAmbitious8889 Feb 11 '26
Because a lot of them end up staying in america. If we discourage smart people from coming to America by banning them from our higher education institutions then they will simply go to settle and work in other countries instead.
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u/Hot_Dependent9212 Feb 13 '26
only 25% of H1B applicants get visa before last election. I wonder how many of them switch to other long term visas or actual becomes undocumented
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u/Big_Marzipan_405 Feb 11 '26
I don't disagree at all, higher education is a huge strength of the united states, but I think there are also valid national security related concerns to consider for these specific countries.
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u/grudakov Grad Student, BME Feb 11 '26
Im your boogie man, a Russian working in Purdue. Do you think I'm allowed to "national security facilities"? Nope. This bill seems just to limit the number people who want to get a degree from here. You're not protecting anything
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u/ApollonLordOfTheFlay Feb 11 '26
The logic of these sort of individuals is that you are learning something here that you wouldnât be able to outside the U.S. (which may be why you came here) if this is true then we are teaching you the tools to our own demise. Of courseâŚI donât think this is the case but from where they stand this is the logic.
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u/grudakov Grad Student, BME Feb 11 '26
I see your point. Unfortunately, after my undergrad ans a masters back at home, i find that the education here is much less sophisticated. Though doing research here is nice
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u/CashAmbitious8889 Feb 13 '26
Do you think they are teaching us classified documents in the classes or something??
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u/Slavasonic Feb 11 '26
If you truly believe we need to use education to outcompete our foreign rivals then youâd be absolutely livid that republicans have been gutting education in this country for decades.
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u/Big_Marzipan_405 Feb 11 '26
why are you assuming I support gutting education? i do not, i'm a liberal lol
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u/ContrarianPurdueFan Feb 12 '26
Putting aside the McCarthyism and how much I think America is just at its best when it looks like the world, it just makes our community worse off.
I grew up in West Lafayette, with friends and neighbors from Russia and China and Iran. I like that my friends were able to exist.
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u/LlamasBeTrippin Feb 12 '26
Do you guys really not see the bigger picture here? This is the same administration that is actively pushing against STEM, and further education.
Thereâs a reason why thereâs a mass exodus of STEM PhDâs leaving key positions in the US.
Talk about giving our adversaries an advantageâŚ
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Feb 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/Iwantants Feb 11 '26
We already do that. Look at international tuition vs state.
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Feb 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/Bright_Interaction73 Feb 12 '26
Football should be funded by funds from donors, and football revenue. Every school does this. Football does not conduct the R1 research at Purdue. It provides entertainment.
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