Seal of the University of California Police Department in the shape of a seven-pointed star with the Great Seal of California in the center

Cop City UCLA

BY ROBIN D. G. KELLEY This post is part of a blog series, organized by Annelise Orleck, that will focus on recent crackdowns on protests at US college and university campuses against Israel’s war on Gaza. You can read the first post and an introduction to the series here. On Monday morning, October 21, 2024,…

Podcast: Understanding Academic Freedom Interview

BY HANK REICHMAN James Vernon, the Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California at Berkeley and former co-chair of the Berkeley Faculty Association, is also leading Berkeley’s recently launched Global Democracy Commons project.  I was honored that James invited me to interview for the first installment of the program’s new monthly…

Assault on Academic Freedom at UC Irvine

BY EILEEN BORIS This post is part of a blog series, organized by Annelise Orleck, that will focus on recent crackdowns on protests at US college and university campuses against Israel’s war on Gaza. You can read the first post and an introduction to the series here. In yet another assault on academic freedom, civil…

A hand putting a ballot in box

2024 Endorsement from Higher Education

BY MATTHEW BOEDY With organizational help from Washington Post humor columnist Alexandria Petri’s recent piece on presidential endorsements . . . The Washington Post, among other major newspapers, is not endorsing presidential candidates this year.   And major universities are stepping back from issuing statements on matters of public concern. Since the latter institutions are choosing…

Timeline of crackdowns on protests at University of Massachusetts Amherst shows image of encampment with tents, Palestinian flag, and signs

Being Revolutionary

BY ASHA NADKARNI AND LAURA BRIGGS This post is part of a blog series, organized by Annelise Orleck, that will focus on recent crackdowns on protests at US college and university campuses against Israel’s war on Gaza. You can read the first post and an introduction to the series here. Like many campuses, the University…

Industrial smokestacks spew smoke into a hazy sky

Why Polluting Speech Should Not Be Regulated

BY JOHN K. WILSON The temptation to regulate free speech in the name of a higher good is a constant danger on the left, and the right. Too often, we ignore how centrist administrators and thinkers endorse censorship too easily, and how much power they hold. I think the greatest threats to campus free speech…