CR's September 5, 2025 Times Standard Article

Published on Sep 3 2025

In 1952, Congress passed a law (36 U.S. Code 106) that established Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. It requires all public institutions and schools to commemorate September 17, 1787, the anniversary of the signing of the constitution, by encouraging their communities to learn more about “their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the State and locality in which they reside.” 

In past years, College of the Redwoods observed September 17th by distributing copies of the Constitution and holding programming aimed at highlighting its history and principles.  As we prepare to observe Constitution Day and Citizenship Day this year, I am encouraging all CR faculty, staff, and students to reflect more deeply on the spirit of the U.S. Constitution, its promise, and on what I see as the erosion of its foundations for political gain.  

Since returning to office in January of 2025, President Trump has issued a steady stream of messaging, executive orders, policies, and legally dubious claims to executive power that attempt to sidestep or directly oppose the limits of that power as laid out in the Constitution. How can we observe Constitution Day and Citizenship Day without mentioning that the threat to our foundational document has not been this severe since World War II. 

One of the clearest examples of this is the First Amendment, which, as a refresher, guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, and assembly. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably.  

On balance, it is important to note that the federal government’s attempts to control free speech are not unprecedented and transcend party affiliation. Yet what we see today is different in both scale and intent. The Trump administration’s aggressive assault on free speech is an attempt to force public and private higher education institutions, as well as business and governmental bodies, to adopt the president’s viewpoint or risk punishment, loss of critical funding, or even the revocation of basic rights.  

While the Constitution’s Spending Clause in Article I gives the federal government the power to influence education policy by attaching conditions to funding, the strategy of eradicating DEI, excluding transgender people from services, and restricting support for both legal and undocumented immigrants as conditions for funding creates a tension between federal objectives and the objectives of higher education and its autonomy. 

In higher education especially, the administration has frozen billions of dollars in federal research grants to institutions like Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton, tying the release of funds to compliance with ideological conditions. Columbia was pressured into paying a $200 million fine and place monitors over their Middle Eastern studies program, essentially forcing them to cede academic freedom to the federal government.

At Harvard, the Trump administration froze $2.2 to $2.6 billion in federal research grants and contracts, following the university’s refusal to comply with policy demands related to admissions policies, academic programming, and campus activism.

We believe that our autonomy is essential to fostering an informed citizenry and, more importantly, ensuring that we remain a safe space for all faculty, staff, and students to exercise their First Amendment rights. We may not agree with a person’s point of view, but we will defend their right to express their opinion without censorship.  

The College of the Redwoods Board of Trustees and I have repeatedly stated that we will protect our faculty’s academic freedom and freedom of speech without fear of retaliation or retribution. Academic Freedom is the principle that faculty and students are free to teach, research, and discuss ideas without undue interference from either inside or outside of the institution. It is rooted in the same values and principles as the First Amendment.

We believe that, when followed and interpreted responsibly, the Constitution provides the foundation that allows College of the Redwoods to function as a bastion of intellectual freedom and free speech, unrestrained from governmental influence. We are committed to doing everything we can to make sure that we remain an institution where the free expression of ideas and opinions is protected.  

As we commemorate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day this month, I will ask all faculty, staff and students at CR to reflect on their role within our constitutional republic and encourage them to use their voice, or what CR faculty member Dr. Peter Blakemore, in a  recent conversation on our new podcast Free Speech with CR, described as our “individual agency”, to ensure that our democracy lives up to its promise of power to the people, equal protection, and accountability for the powerful in our country. It is time for us to stand up for justice, freedom, and equality.