Protect free speech on campus

Tell Universities: Protect free speech on campus

Right now, the Trump administration is pressuring colleges and universities to crack down on noncitizen students, faculty, and staff for speaking their minds. New executive orders and statements from the White House are pushing schools to monitor and report noncitizen students for their political views – putting educations and careers at risk.

But that's not how free speech works. Universities should be places where ideas are debated, not where students and faculty fear surveillance or punishment for their political beliefs.

The ACLU is calling on universities to reject the Trump administration's egregious overreach and defend the rights of their students and faculty – and we need you with us. Add your name to demand that universities reject censorship of students and faculty.

As students, alumni, faculty, and community members who believe in free speech and the right for all students to learn free from discrimination and violence, we're joining with the ACLU to call on college and university leaders to:

  • Reject any federal pressure to surveil or punish noncitizen students and faculty for their constitutionally protected speech.
  • Uphold free speech protections for all students and scholars, regardless of nationality.
  • Ensure that campus policies on political speech and protest are viewpoint-neutral.
  • Protect student privacy and resist unlawful government requests for personal information.
  • Uphold Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI protections for all.

Free speech is a fundamental right. Universities must defend it.