Editing 3081: PhD Timeline

{{comic
| number    = 3081
| date      = April 25, 2025
| title     = PhD Timeline
| image     = phd_timeline_2x.png
| imagesize = 382x516px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Rümeysa Öztürk was grabbed off the street in my town one month ago.
}}
Clicking on the image on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] takes you to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyypeEEOklM Surveillance video shows Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk apprehended in Somerville, MA]'' on YouTube.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|You might want to {{w|Detention of Rümeysa Öztürk|copy text over from the Wikipedia page}}, but keep in mind this wiki's main goal is to explain the comic. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic presents a typical {{w|Doctor of Philosophy}} (Ph.D.) timeline, with a twist. Typically a Ph.D. is broken into a number of steps, from enrollment through to thesis defense. However, in this case, the timeline takes an unexpected turn when, instead of publishing the thesis, the candidate is detained by masked government agents. While this may seem like an unlikely event, it {{w|detention of Rümeysa Öztürk|happened to Rümeysa Öztürk}}, a Turkish Ph.D. student at Tufts University (see this [https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2025/04/tufts-democrats-and-tufts-republicans-release-joint-statement-condemning-detainment-of-rumeysa-ozutrk statement]) who was abruptly detained by six masked {{w|U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement}} (ICE) agents in Somerville, MA while walking to an {{w|iftar}} dinner. Subsequently, she was transported to Vermont and then to a detention facility in Louisiana before a [https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2025/04/louisiana-judge-denies-bond-to-rumeysa-ozturk-while-vermont-judge-considers-jurisdiction accessed court ordered] that she not be removed from Massachusetts

The reason given for her detention was that her {{w|F visa|F-1 student visa}} was revoked due to, according to a Department of Homeland Security [https://www.salon.com/2025/03/26/dhs-detains-grad-student-advocated-for-palestine-and-the-humanity-of-all-people/  spokeswoman], her alleged activities in support of the foreign terrorist organization {{w|Hamas}} on the campus of Tufts. Aside from her being co-author of an [https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/03/4ftk27sm6jkj article in a student newspaper] which was critical of her university's response towards protests against the ongoing {{w|Gaza genocide}}, no evidence of support for Hamas has been provided. Ordinarily, revocation of a visa is not, of itself, [https://oiss.washu.edu/visa-status-stamps/ grounds for detention]; that would merely prevent one from reentering the country if one left.

At the time of this comic's publication, the US government had recently canceled the visas of over 1,000 foreign students and scholars.  This was done with minimal or no explanation and no warning, however the U.S. government can cancel a visa if the subject's activities are harmful to U.S. foreign policy interests.

The title text specifically refers to Rümeysa Öztürkzcand that all this happened in Somerville, Massachusetts, where [[Randall Munroe]] lives.

==Transcript==
:[A chart shows the typical events in a research program. At the top there is a dotted line. There is a title above the line and the line is labeled with text in the middle breaking the line:]
:US PH.D. PROGRAM TIMELINE
:–––––––ENROLLMENT–––––––––

:[The dotted line aligns with the top of an Y-axis with 7 ticks, the top tick on level with the dotted line. There are seven labels from top towards the bottom, not written near specifik ticks, and with uneven distance. Between each of the labels there is an arrow from the one above pointing the the next. To the right of the first five labels there is a split up rectangle, that are closed at the top , but open at the bottom. Down through the middle part it is split up in two along a kind of S-shape going a bit up from left to right. There is a gab between the top and bottom part of this figure along this s-shape. Both top and bottom part has a label. All text and other parts of the comic has been in black until this. But the last two labels near the Y-axis beneath where the rectangular figure stops, which are still written in black, have been crossed out with red squiggly lines, both the two small arrows and the text. From the label above those crossed out, there goes a red arrow down and then to the right. This point to another red label next to and right of the first of the two that has been crossed out. From beneath this another red arrow point to a second red label, next to the the last of the two that was crossed out. A third red arrow goes beneath this to a final red label.]
:Meet with Advisor
:Research Proposal
:Qualifying Exams
:Purpose Dissertation
:Research and Write dissertation

:[The above is the labels near the rectangular figure to the right with the following labels:]
:Coursework
:Research

:[The final two labels that have been crossed out with red lines:]
:Submit dissertation
:Defend dissertation

:[The new labels written to the right with red:]
:<font color="red">Get grabbed off the sidewalk outside of your home by masked government agents
:Be whisked out of the state before a judge has time to intervene
:????</font>

==Trivia==
This is the second comic referring to what is happening in the US after [[Donald Trump]] became president. The first comic was [[3073: Tariffs]].

{{comic discussion}}

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