Today is Constitution Day, marking the Sept. 17, 1787, signing of the Constitution by the 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention who had written its words. And 238 years later, we face the worst assault on the constitutional rights protecting academic freedom in all of American history. In less than nine months, Donald Trump’s administration has engaged in more unconstitutional actions attacking free expression in higher education than all of the 44 previous presidents combined.

A 2005 federal law (of dubious constitutionality, because it compels speech) requires all colleges receiving federal funds to hold an educational activity on this day, so it’s a useful moment to consider these threats to constitutional rights of academic freedom. So, with the Illinois conference of the Ame

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