Dear Colleagues,

the attacks on higher education and on scientific and medical research being made the Republican administration in DC continue. And we continue to push back as best and as hard as we can.

There were hundreds of “Hands Off” rallies that took place across the country last weekend, from Boston to Washington DC to right here in Dartmouth. There were hundreds of thousands of people who participated in events large and small to defend our public schools and universities, to defend social security and medicare, and to defend the right to keep our union contracts.

Yesterday, April 10, faculty, staff and students from public colleges and universities across Massachusetts went to the State House in Boston to speak with legislators and their aides about the importance of higher education to Massachusetts employers and to the Massachusetts economy, and to ask for their support to ensure that a college degree remains an affordable option for the citizens of the Commonwealth.

The latest challenges higher education is facing include the following. International students having their student visa revoked. Sometimes this is happening because the Trump Administration does not like what they may have said or posted on social media, and sometimes it is happening for no obvious reason at all. Nearly a dozen students from the UMass system, including some from UMass Dartmouth, have had this happen to them, and hundreds, if not thousands, more across the county are likewise impacted. This is all being done without the student’s University being informed, making it difficult to react. In addition, the threats to cancel federal funding to institutions such as Columbia University and Harvard continue to be made. These threats have expanded to include not just research funding but also funding for student financial aid. All of this is being done as a way to silence people, to discourage individuals from exercising their first amendment right to peacefully protest and criticize the country’s leadership, and are being done to discourage university administrations from defending academic freedom on their campus.

To help you understand what is happening, AFT has a collection of resources at Defending Higher Education in 2025

Some upcoming events on the First Amendment and its protections that you may be interested in:

April 16, 6-7 pm: Know Your Rights: The First Amendment on Campus Register HERE

Since January 2025, the current administration has issued numerous anti-DEI Executive Orders and guidance that infringe on the First Amendment rights of both educators and students. This webinar will provide guidance on how the First Amendment protects educators against some of the impact of these actions. We will also discuss organizing around these critical matters.

April 17, 3-4 pm: Navigating the Attacks on America’s Classrooms and the Freedom to Learn

Register HERE

This session will examine the ongoing attacks on DEI initiatives by the new administration, and how these intersect with broader debates about free speech and academic freedom on the federal and state levels.

In Solidarity!