When I was going through grad school, it was a pretty tough haul. There were always more foreign students than US students. The large work loads for low pay was also a "feature" of the deal, and I think it is a reason more US students who want or have a family do not get advanced degrees in technical fields.

Look like Vance is calling that out. Hope it results in better conditions for US grad students.

Quote:“So I’m sure that everybody here understands the game that is being played. You bring in indentured servants from outside the country, you lay off American workers and, if you’re a corporation, you make a ton of money by undercutting the wages of American workers, replacing them with people who frankly shouldn’t be in the United States of America to begin with.” ... “So something weird is going on at these universities. They’re using these visas way too much,” Vance stated.

“They’re using them to undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers. And it simply has to stop.”

I do have one quibble with him. He says that Microsoft is a great American company. I have hated what MS has done to the computer industry since the early 90s. They are an evil company who used bribery, intimidation, and illicit influence of government officials, trade publications and CIO kickbacks to establish and maintain their monopoly.

https://www.alexjoneslive.com/2026/10/08...crackdown/

Working conditions for teaching assistants, graduate students and the like are a legitimate concern. Fortunately, students and campus communities have long since given attention to this. For years students have been organized and in an increasing number of states they engage in collective bargaining along with other university staff.

Passports have nothing to do with it. Rights are rights.

(10-09-2026 12:57 AM)Gitanole Wrote:  Working conditions for teaching assistants, graduate students and the like are a legitimate concern. Fortunately, students and campus communities have long since given attention to this. For years students have been organized and in an increasing number of states they engage in collective bargaining along with other university staff.

Passports have nothing to do with it. Rights are rights.

So you prioritize the rights of foreign students over those of American students. Imagine that.

(10-09-2026 05:18 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(10-09-2026 12:57 AM)Gitanole Wrote:  Working conditions for teaching assistants, graduate students and the like are a legitimate concern. Fortunately, students and campus communities have long since given attention to this. For years students have been organized and in an increasing number of states they engage in collective bargaining along with other university staff.

Passports have nothing to do with it. Rights are rights.

So you prioritize the rights of foreign students over those of American students. Imagine that.

Even as intellectual dishonesty around here goes, that effort is pretty sad.

Rights are rights. All humans have them.

Speaking of contrivance, though...

The weird mashup of xenophobia and ignorance about campus jobs quoted in the OP? It is part of a campaign Hail Mary being run right now by the administration. The aim is to recover a remnant of the Gen Z vote it once had but ran off.

The VP got tapped for this role not because he is popular with that age group, but because his disapproval numbers haven’t fallen as far through the floor as Donald Trump’s, 80.

Mr. Vance has been tasked with finding some kind of traction for the GOP with college-age adults. Anything.

Politico:
....
While (Vice President J. D.) Vance has repeatedly said he is focused on 2026, he’s also laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run where he’ll need support from young men—including the broader subset of Gen Z men, who are currently 14 to 29 years old—to build a winning coalition.

Convincing this cohort won’t be easy, and even administration allies are skeptical Vance can stanch the bleeding. They fear that young men may be a lost cause in 2026.
....
One person close to the White House, granted anonymity to express skepticism, said they didn’t think the vice president would be successful given the current political climate, high gasoline prices, and a war that seemingly has no end in sight.
....
Vance’s allies say the first millennial vice president is best positioned to reach Gen Z, but it will be hard because it’s a cohort that is nihilistic about politics.
....
Trump won 18- to 24-year-old men by 3 points in 2024, according to CNN exit polling, but a recent Cygnal poll shows Trump’s net favorability rating with the group at minus 17.

“[Trump] is reviled now by Gen Z, including Gen Z men, and that was absolutely not the case in ‘24,” the person close to the White House said.

Vance is also underwater but performing better than Trump. His net favorability is minus 10, which gives some a reason to hope he can make inroads with young men.
....



But not all Republicans are convinced Vance is the right messenger for the cohort.

“I don’t think there’s any kind of consensus” that Vance is the right person to talk to young men, said a former Trump campaign official. “This is a really tough environment, probably the worst since 2006 for Republicans... and so this is an all-hands-on-deck moment.”

One conservative commentator, granted anonymity to speak candidly, pointed to a poll showing Secretary of State Marco Rubio performing 9 points better than Vance with men under 30. Rubio, however, is not on the campaign trail heading into the midterms, instead focusing on foreign policy.

“Unleash Vance on Theo Von to get young men to vote Republican is masturbatory nonsense for the terminally online,” the person said. “It’s fine if someone wants to argue that Vance is the best option available, considering that Nickelback wasn’t available. But Vance’s entire approach seems to be to concede that Trump’s foreign policy is bad and unpopular, but populism is great, vote for us!”

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/08...k-01110767

__

There is no such thing as universal human rights.

(10-09-2026 05:18 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(10-09-2026 12:57 AM)Gitanole Wrote:  Working conditions for teaching assistants, graduate students and the like are a legitimate concern. Fortunately, students and campus communities have long since given attention to this. For years students have been organized and in an increasing number of states they engage in collective bargaining along with other university staff.

Passports have nothing to do with it. Rights are rights.

So you prioritize the rights of foreign students over those of American students. Imagine that.

Of course he does. They are his people.

9 Universities Accused of J1 Visa Fraud

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/gove...visa-fraud

They are taking federal grant money and spend it on staffing those grant programs with over 60% foreign people instead of Americans.

How they spend their own money is one thing, but how they spend public grant money is entirely different IMO.