Israeli police respond to protests with water cannons during the 2023 "Judicial Overhaul" Protests during which many universities went on "academic strikes". Photo credit: Oren Ziv / Associated Press via Los Angeles Times. On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, the education minister of Israel, Yoav Kisch released a statement demanding that university and college presidents sign written pledges to restrict “political activity” on their schools’ campuses, threatening the institutions of the presidents who...

Derek Peterson delivering the commencement speech at the 2025-26 graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan. Photo credit: Derek Peterson. Coming to the end of the 2025-26 academic year, controversy around graduation ceremonies once again highlights the extent of the restrictions on faculty and student speech on US campuses amid an ongoing nationwide crisis of academic freedom. Recently, on May 2, 2026, University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso issued an apology for a speech...

Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Photo credit: Tufts Now On March 31, 2026, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation declared Tufts University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy “undesirable organizations” imposing punishments ranging from fines to prison sentences on Russian citizens that are affiliated with the university or otherwise cooperate or interact with it. According to The Tufts Daily , the reason the office of the prosecutor...