Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · 7d

“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart…you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…you’ve got to make it stop.”
stay safe @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social

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Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · 9d

WE WON: "This case -– perhaps the most important ever to fall w/in..this district court squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in US..have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally “yes, they do.”"

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · 9d

He also compares ice to the kkk (which he did during the trial as well)

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Grace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · 9d

Remember that as a professor you can be a member of @aaup.org

Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · 9d

Enormous victory for @aaup.org in aaup v Rubio
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Judge rules Trump policy to deport students over pro-Palestinian views is unconstitutional

Judge ruled that non-citizens have the same free speech rights as US citizens under the first amendment

www.theguardian.com

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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 10d

⬇️ NEWS: “This is a historic ruling that should have immediate implications for the Trump administration’s policies. If the First Amendment means anything, it means the government can’t imprison people simply because it disagrees with their political views."
knightcolumbia.org/content/in-l...

In Landmark Ruling, Federal Court Says Trump Administration Violated First Amendment By Deporting Foreign Citizens for Pro-Palestinian Advocacy

knightcolumbia.org

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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 9d

An enormous legal victory for @aaup.org, MESA, and the Rutgers, NYU, and Harvard chapters of AAUP, in a case that Judge Young describes as "perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court."

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 10d

BREAKING: Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, delivers the most scathing legal rebuke of the Trump era, ruling that Trump and his cabinet illegally targeted pro-Palestinian students for deportation to "strike fear" into First Amendment protesters. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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AAUP @aaup.org · 10d

BREAKING: WE WON!!!
💥 💥 💥

Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.

Full ruling here:

Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law – #261 in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-10685) – CourtListener.com

Judge William G. Young: ORDER entered. FINDINGS OF FACT AND RULINGS OF LAW, PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 52(A)(Sonnenberg, Elizabeth) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/30/2025: # 1 Main Document) (J...

www.courtlistener.com

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · 9d

An incredible book by an incredible person

Modernist Studies Association (MSA) @moderniststudies.bsky.social · 10d

Congratulations to the winner of the 2025 MSA First Book Prize: Sonali Thakker for The Reeducation of Race: Jewishness and the Politics of Antiracism in Postcolonial Thought.

Congratulations Sonali and @stanfordpress.bsky.social!

The Reeducation of Race | Stanford University Press

World War II produced a fundamental shift in modern racial discourse. In the postwar period, racism was situated for the first time at the center of international political life, and race's status as ...

www.sup.org

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Joseph Howley @illdottore.bsky.social · 10d

AAUP chapters brought this suit

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 10d

BOSTON (AP) - Federal judge finds Trump administration unconstitutionally targeted noncitizens for deportation over Gaza war protests.

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · 9d

Enormous victory for @aaup.org in aaup v Rubio
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Judge rules Trump policy to deport students over pro-Palestinian views is unconstitutional

Judge ruled that non-citizens have the same free speech rights as US citizens under the first amendment

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Zach Samalin

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · Sep 10

www.chronicle.com/article/a-cl... The Chronicle of Higher Education offers some background on the academic freedom crisis at Texas A&M. Note that by the end of yesterday the professor was fired, raising due process as well as academic freedom concerns.

A Classroom Clash Over Course Content Went Viral. Texas A&M Fired the Instructor and Removed 2 Administrators.

The flap was sparked Monday by a Republican state lawmaker, who posted videos that he said show an exchange between an instructor and a student over discussion of gender identity.

www.chronicle.com

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · Aug 21

this is what windy city bribes come in

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · Aug 21

Team Adams really putting the “utz” back in “putz”

THE CITY @thecity.nyc · Aug 20

BREAKING: Eric Adams Advisor Winnie Greco Handed a CITY Reporter Cash Stuffed in a Bag of Potato Chips

www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/20/w...

Eric Adams Advisor Winnie Greco Handed a CITY Reporter Cash Stuffed in a Bag of Potato Chips

THE CITY reported the incident to law enforcement and was promptly contacted by the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office.

www.thecity.nyc

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Corinne Blalock @corinneblalock.bsky.social · Aug 20

📢 if you're someone who is pursuing PSLF or just someone who thinks it's important, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE participate in the notice & comment process to at least delay the horrific changes the DOE is trying to implement (including an ideological screen)

www.regulations.gov/commenton/ED...

Regulations.gov

www.regulations.gov

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · Aug 19

"critics call it extortion" gee thanks @nytimes.com pls let us know when you find out what's going on

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · Aug 10

I wrote a book about this

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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · Aug 5

@knightcolumbia.org has filed an almost-200-page brief describing evidence presented during trial in our AAUP v. Rubio case challenging the Trump admin’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen faculty & students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. knightcolumbia.org/content/post...

Post-Trial Brief Supplies Comprehensive Account of Trump Administration’s Arrests, Detentions, and Threatened Deportation of Student Protesters

knightcolumbia.org

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Zach Samalin @zachsamalin.bsky.social · Aug 6

congrats!

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · Aug 4

The Columbia settlement is an “astonishing transfer of autonomy and authority to . . . an administration whose disdain for the values of the academy is demonstrated anew every day.” New @knightcolumbia.org analysis of the Columbia settlement, just published. knightcolumbia.org/blog/what-th...

What the Columbia Settlement Really Means

knightcolumbia.org

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Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · Jul 30

The “deal” that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring.

Read it for yourself here:

www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...

www.brown.edu

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AAUP @aaup.org · Jul 30

💥IN DEFENSE OF CUNY LAW PROF RAMZI KASSEM💥

We REJECT Rep. Elise Stefanik's baseless attacks!

"Any discipline against Kassem for his representation of Mr. Khalil would violate AAUP standards on academic freedom & tenure & the terms of CUNY’s faculty labor contract."

Read the full letter here⬇️

AAUP Letter Supports CUNY Law Professor Ramzi Kassem

Yesterday the AAUP sent a letter of support for Ramzi Kassem, a professor of law at the City University of New York singled out by US Representative Elise Stefanik in a recent hearing of the US House ...

www.aaup.org

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Alex Abdo @alexabdo.bsky.social · Jul 29

Recent law grads — we're now hiring for legal fellows to begin in Fall 2025. Our First Amendment rights are under daily assault. I hope you'll consider applying to work with us at @knightcolumbia.org to push back.

knightcolumbia.org/page/legal-f...

| Knight First Amendment Institute

knightcolumbia.org

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Thomas Harvey @tbh1910.bsky.social · Jul 29

1/ I represent 5 anti-zionist students and faculty challenging the outrageous claim that the Palestine Solidarity Encampment was a "Jew exclusion zone". UCLA refused to defend. Today they agreed to pay millions instead. I can't overstate how dangerous this is. 🧵

www.latimes.com/california/s...

UCLA to pay $6.45 million to settle suit by Jewish students over pro-Palestinian protests

UCLA agreed to settle a lawsuit by Jewish students who alleged the university aided a 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment, which the lawsuit alleged illegally discriminated against Jewish people.

www.latimes.com

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Elizabeth Alsop @elizabethalsop.bsky.social · Jul 29

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Joseph Howley @illdottore.bsky.social · Jul 28

A colleague has to meet with the university’s Office of General Counsel who want edits to their program’s website that basically amount to deleting every instance of the word “Black”

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