1. Imagine if Trump threatened to deport all international students whose universities enforce social distancing in class or use online lectures to supplement face-to-face lectures. Everyone would realize that use of executive power would violate the First Amendment. Cont’d:
2. What ICE is doing similarly violates the 1st Amendment rights of universities and all their students. It threatens to yank the visas of the foreign students whose real or virtual presence in classes is central to how we teach and how our students learn unless we risk (cont’d):
3. the health and lives of the entire community. Trump is cruelly saying: “Make your campus a center for transmitting disease and death — or sacrifice the rich content of your curriculum and redesign your educational mission.” That Hobson’s choice trashes academic freedom.
