The AAMC joined the American Council on Education and more than 20 other higher education organizations in an amicus brief stressing the importance of institutional autonomy in higher education.
The AAMC joined an amicus brief filed in the First Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 20 (PDF) urging the court to affirm the district court’s injunction in President and Fellows of Harvard College v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al. The lawsuit alleges, and the district court found, that the administration took punitive actions against Harvard on the basis of the university’s protected First Amendment viewpoints and activity. The actions enjoined by the district court included a revocation of Harvard’s authorization to sponsor international student visas and steps taken by agencies to implement a presidential proclamation barring the entry of international students who wish to attend Harvard.
The brief describes the benefits to the nation associated with institutional autonomy in higher education — the ability of each school to determine who may teach, what may be taught, how it shall be taught, and who may be admitted to study. This autonomy allows for a diversity of higher education approaches, driving innovation and creativity. The First Amendment protects the free exchange of ideas, especially within the higher education community. The brief cites the famous line by Justice Louis Brandeis that the remedy for viewpoints the government disfavors must be “more speech, not enforced silence.”
- Washington Highlights