The ACLU is calling on Bay State college and university leaders to protect free speech on their campuses ahead of the Donald Trump administration, warning that free expression is “under attack.”

The ACLU of Massachusetts on Wednesday sent a letter to 77 local colleges and universities before semesters resume during the new presidential administration.

The letter about campus free speech comes in the wake of colleges and universities changing their student speech policies following year-long student protests regarding Palestine and Israel.

“Colleges and universities play a critical role in our democracy by providing a marketplace for ideas and expression, where multiple viewpoints can be explored and debate is encouraged,” Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement.

“These democratic values are increasingly under attack by an incoming presidential administration and some members of Congress who aim to override free expression in service of their own ideological agendas,” Rossman added. “Colleges and universities are the first line of defense for their students and faculty, and we urge them to resist this new McCarthyism.”

Trump has praised violent crackdowns on campus protests, aligning with his previous attacks on academic freedom, the ACLU of Massachusetts noted.

The president-elect has threatened reprisals against students who are not U.S. citizens, the ACLU added.

“College and university leaders must act now to ensure that campus rules do not subject students and faculty members to ideologically motivated law enforcement and federal investigations, and to ensure that free expression flourishes in the Commonwealth,” Rossman and ACLU staff attorney Rachel Davidson wrote in the letter to campus leaders.

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The ACLU in the letter stressed that both public and private educational institutions need to:

Protect students’ ability to spontaneously protest in response to unanticipated events: “Rules that require students to register their demonstrations days in advance, without any exceptions for demonstrations that arise in response to newsworthy or unanticipated events, unacceptably burden student speech… Universities and colleges should make advance registration optional for demonstrations.”
Ensure that students have ample channels for expression on campus: “Policies that cordon students off to remote locations or narrowly limit the hours at which they can demonstrate dramatically limit their ability to effectively communicate their message and unreasonably inhibit free expression on campus… Schools should ensure that students can reach their audience by allowing them to demonstrate in or near high-traffic outdoor spaces around campus and during a broad range of time.”
Prohibit suspicionless identification checks of student demonstrators: “Policies that require students at demonstrations to show their IDs upon the request of a university official at any time—not just when they are suspected of breaking campus rules or the law—unquestionably chill expression… Under the current environment, educational leaders must consider the serious consequences of creating records regarding student speech that Congress or federal agencies may attempt to subpoena.”