Reflections on AAUP v. Rubio
by Suzanne Kaufman
Today’s ruling in AAUP v. Rubio is a milestone for academic freedom and free speech.
Brought forward by AAUP chapters at Harvard, NYU, and Columbia, along with the Middle East Studies Association, the case challenged government efforts to punish non-citizen students and scholars for their political views. The federal court agreed that the attempted deportations of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk were indeed flagrantly unconstitutional and reaffirmed that the First Amendment applies to all members of our academic community, regardless of nationality.
Judge William Young’s conclusion could not be clearer:
“For all these reasons, this Court finds … that Secretaries Noem and Rubio … acted in concert to misuse the sweeping powers of their respective offices to target non-citizen pro-Palestinians for deportation primarily on account of their First Amendment protected political speech. … Moreover, the effect of these targeted deportation proceedings continues unconstitutionally to chill freedom of speech to this day.”
At Loyola, our mission calls us toward social justice, inclusive inquiry, and humane engagement with the world. We stand with those whose voices are threatened, and we affirm that all scholars – citizens and non-citizens – deserve the protections of academic freedom. Let us use this moment not only to celebrate but to strengthen our commitment to a campus where the free expression of ideas can flourish without fear.
We invite all our colleagues to join Loyola’s AAUP chapter and help defend the principles that make our university a community of free inquiry. For membership inquiries, contact Alice Weinreb: aliceaut@gmail.com
Suzanne Kaufman is associate professor of European history at Loyola University Chicago. She teaches the second half of Loyola’s core course in western civilization as well as courses on modern France, women’s and gender history and the history of European colonialism and empire building. She has longstanding interests in social theory and historical method and teaches the required historical methods courses for undergraduate and graduate students in history.
