[TYPES] Could we temporarily stop having conferences in the US?

[Artem Shinkarov]

Hi

It appears that the argument regarding being "trapped in" is diverting the discussion from the intent of the original post: the toxic attitude of the US towards research and researchers, which requires action from the research community. Ban on conferences in the US could serve as a meaningful statement or gesture that we ought to consider.

The issue of being "trapped in" is indeed one of the drawbacks highlighted in the original post. However, this situation is not unique to the US; similar challenges arise in other countries as well. For instance, individuals on visas in the UK may find themselves unable to travel to Europe, the US, and beyond. As noted in previous discussions, we can address this issue by ensuring adequate online participation and exploring the possibility of satellite events. Nevertheless, the crucial question remains: is the research community prepared to express its stance on this matter, and what is the most effective way to do so?



Cheers,
Artem



On Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025 at 1:36 PM, Niki Vazou <nikivazou at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> [ The Types Forum, http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-list  ]
> 
> Hey,
> 
> I also agree that moving is getting more complicated (both for the
> geopolitical events and the environment...)
> So, maybe a good alternative would be, in parallel to the main event, to
> have satellite events. For example, when a conference happens in USA, to
> have participants gather in another country to attend/participate.
> 
> Best,
> Niki
> 
> On Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM Julia Belyakova julbinb at gmail.com wrote:
> 
> > [ The Types Forum, http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-list 
> > ]
> > 
> > I don't disagree that the US is not a welcome destination for many people
> > right now.
> > 
> > I did want to point out the existence of the trapped-in-the-US
> > international community because in my experience, a lot of people,
> > understandably, are not aware of this phenomenon.
> > 
> > In general, there are many reasons why an individual cannot travel to a
> > particular location, be it the US or another country.
> > 
> > To be constructive, I would like to amplify an alternative suggestion
> > discussed in Zulip, which is to have an explicit policy for presenting the
> > paper at a different conference that is held in a more suitable location
> > for the author. Similar to what SIGPLAN-track has been doing at SPLASH.
> > 
> > Of course, it would require more coordination across the conferences and an
> > additional logistics burden on organizers.
> > 
> > --
> > Kind regards, Julia
> > 
> > https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://julbinb.github.io/__;!!IBzWLUs!WAX7xyBsdZT3oMFK0lm5dFmak5nvWszH_Tt-tl_8MyRugaEYzh3Sm-WminTMTReV3LLNlPUOJIjBk-3FDMWtDsPMfds$
> > 
> > On Mon, Sep 22, 2025, 12:27 AM Sanjiva Prasad sanjiva at cse.iitd.ac.in
> > wrote:
> > 
> > > So ia=s my son (for INS reasons) -- could not attend ECOOP or CAV this
> > > year where he had best papers.
> > > 
> > > But computer science is not a US monopoly (not even in ACM now, though
> > > registered in the US).
> > > It costs Indians and Chinese and some others USD250 over the visa costs
> > > just to enter the US.
> > > Am not saying that getting into Europe or India is easier, but US is not
> > > a welcome destination for many right now.
> > > 
> > > On 22/09/25 04:18, Julia Belyakova wrote:
> > > 
> > > > [ The Types Forum,
> > > > http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-list  ]
> > > > 
> > > > I understand this position but just want to remind that there are many
> > > > international students and professionals in the community who are stuck
> > > > inside the US and cannot cross the border, even to go Canada.
> > > > 
> > > > I, for one, have been stuck in the US since 2020.
> > > 
> > > --
> > > Sanjiva Prasad
> > > Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
> > > Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi)
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Niki Vazou