Higher Ed Must Defend Freedom of Speech!

(photo credit)

In the last two weeks, hundreds of international students on university campuses across the country have had their visas revoked.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sitting next to President Trump who looked on approvingly, explained this latest assault on civil and human rights, by saying that, “If you come to this country as a student, we expect you to go to class and study and get a degree.  If you come here to, like, vandalize a library, take over campus and do all kinds of crazy things, you know, we’re going to get rid of these people … when we identify lunatics like these, we take away their student visa….”

Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts, was arrested in her home and taken to an ICE detention center in Louisiana.  She is no “lunatic” nor did she “vandalize a library” — her offense, apparently, was co-authoring an op-ed in the student newspaper in support of Palestinian rights.  According to a report in the Washington Post, an internal memo at the State Department said there was no evidence of any link between Rumeysa and terrorism — a memo written before her arrest — but the administration proceeded against her anyway.

Badar Khan Suri, a graduate student and teaching assistant at Georgetown University, and a scholar in conflict resolution, was arrested and detained at an ICE facility in Louisiana even though there is no evidence of any criminal activity on his part.  Hardly a “lunatic.”

The list goes on.  Similar cases have happened all over the country, including the now-notorious case of Mahmoud Khalil who was a leader in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University last year.

(I hasten to add that no Trinity student has experienced such an incident to date — but we are wary and constantly vigilant as the current administration ramps-up its assault on immigrants and repression of free speech.)

Exercising freedom of speech does not make someone a “lunatic” worthy of detention, arrest, confinement in a detention center, deportation or worse.  Freedom of speech is a human right, not just for American citizens but for ALL people.  Freedom of speech permits people to express opinions in opposition to public officials and policies.  Allowing the speech does not mean agreement, it means respect for human rights.

The Trump Administration’s wholesale assault on freedom of speech and human rights demands a vigorous and loud response from all of higher education.  To our shame and sorrow, however, too many universities and their leaders have chosen to remain silent in the face of the most grievous assaults on our mission, our work, our students, our personnel ever in the history of this nation.  The assault on freedom of speech and assembly puts our very purpose as universities at risk, and we have an obligation to mount a vigorous defense of the right of our students and faculty to speak without fear or political reprisal.

Some people have drawn parallels between this historic moment and the McCarthy Era “Red Scare” of the early 1950’s in which academics and others were hauled before Joe McCarthy’s committee as part of investigations into their alleged Communist ties.  Perhaps there are parallels, but the present moment seems even more threatening for our fundamental freedoms as academics and defenders of Democracy.  For the Secretary of State to call people “lunatics” who are simply exercising their freedom of speech is a complete breach of his own obligation to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

Contrary to the patronizing view of Secretary Rubio that students in universities should shut up and study, in fact, a great university education should teach students how to question convention, how to challenge those in power, how to debate alternative solutions to major social issues, how to confront immoral and corrupt authoritarian abuses of power.  We must show our students how to be courageous, how to be advocates for justice and human rights, how to give voice to those who are voiceless.

We also must show our public officials and the world that is watching that universities rising in defense of fundamental freedoms are doing the most patriotic thing possible — we are upholding the very foundation of our nation created to protect the “inalienable rights” of all people here.

It is a deeply patriotic act to defend the First Amendment rights of our students and faculty.  That’s what our nation should expect of university leaders!  Defending the right to speak does NOT mean that we agree with every idea that is expressed, but it means that we respect the right of any person to express their opinions even when — especially when — we disagree.

Disagreement with the public officials and policies of any political administration is neither unpatriotic nor a danger to the security of our nation.  In fact, the only danger is the unchecked authoritarian abuse of power to repress free speech, to arrest and detain people for what they say, to label as “lunatics” people who rightfully express a different point of view.

The Administration claims that its actions are all for the purpose of eradicating antisemitism.  Good!  Antisemitism is a terrible disease, responsible for some of the most horrific human suffering in all of history.  But it is not antisemitic to say that Israel’s obliteration of Gaza is also a crime against humanity; it is not incompatible with defending the right of our Jewish brothers and sisters to live in peace and security to say that Palestinians deserve the same right.  To punish some students for advocating on behalf of the Palestinian cause completely undermines the otherwise-worthy goal of eradicating antisemitism.

Universities are, or should be, the great counterweight to government in a free society.  It’s part of our work to hold our government and public officials accountable for living up to our nation’s values.  We are not an arm of government.  We must defend our institutional independence and freedom to challenge what is clearly wrong, to advocate for justice for our students and all those we serve through our teaching and research.  Many more issues are now on the table well beyond freedom of speech, which is primary.  But where is the collective voice of higher education crying out for justice for our students of color who are deeply threatened by the governmental rollback of initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion?  Where is our clarion call on behalf of all those citizens of this nation and the world who will suffer grievous harm because of the stripping away of federal funding for research on disease and cures, on climate change and solutions for pollution, on technological advances and potential good breakthroughs in the use of AI to support modern life?  The stripping away of billions of dollars in research funding from Harvard and Penn and Columbia and Cornell and others is not just a financial problem for those schools, it is a catastrophic retreat from the sources of scientific innovation that have made modern life possible.

Where is the voice of higher education?  Time to break the silence and stand up for our mission at a time when the world needs strong, independent voices of reason.

Note:

Trinity joined 86 other colleges, universities and associations on an amicus curiae brief of the Presidents’ Immigration Alliance in the case of AAUP v. Rubio challenging the Administrations visa revocation policy.

See also my essay Higher Education and the Defense of Democracy in AAUP Academe