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Xiangnong (George) Wang

@georgewang.bsky.social
651 followers 241 following 63 posts

staff attorney @ Knight First Amendment Institute | he/him

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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Judge Young's final "annotated order" in AAUP v. Rubio, just issued. A huge First Amendment victory. Very proud of my colleagues @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social @alexabdo.bsky.social @georgewang.bsky.social & grateful to our clients @aaup.org @mesa1966.bsky.social. knightcolumbia.org/documents/k4...
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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
SCOTUS has just rejected the government's application for a stay in Margolin v. NAIJ, our challenge to restrictions on the speech of immigration judges. It should reject the government's forthcoming cert petition, too. Full @knightcolumbia.org statement below. knightcolumbia.org/content/supr...
knightcolumbia.org
Supreme Court Rejects Government’s Request to Stay Challenge to Policy Silencing Immigration Judges
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The only thing the Supreme Court's TikTok ruling has managed to accomplish is to grant Trump even more influence over the digital public sphere, as I argued early this year when he first took credit for "saving" TikTok: www.justsecurity.org/106601/tikto...
justsecurity.org
President Trump’s Attempt to “Save” TikTok is a Power-Grab that Subverts Free Speech
"The Supreme Court was wrong to uphold the ban. But President Trump’s actions to 'save TikTok' -- through the fiat of an  executive order -- are poised to do further harm to American public discourse ...
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
The sanctions that Trump has imposed on the ICC and UN rapporteurs have been deterring American human rights advocates and scholars from exercising their First Amendment rights. This letter--obtained by @mesa1966.bsky.social & @knightcolumbia.org--should help. knightcolumbia.org/content/trum...
knightcolumbia.org
Trump Administration Concedes That U.S. Researchers May Engage With Sanctioned U.N. Official
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 17/12/2025
“The Treasury Department’s concession is a significant reprieve to the many American scholars, journalists, and advocates that have been chilled from exercising their rights because they fear liability under U.S. sanctions laws,” @georgewang.bsky.social. More: knightcolumbia.org/content/trum...
knightcolumbia.org
Trump Administration Concedes That U.S. Researchers May Engage With Sanctioned U.N. Official
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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
AAUP @aaup.org · 30/09/2025
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:
courtlistener.com
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...
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 30/09/2025
⬇️ 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...
knightcolumbia.org
In Landmark Ruling, Federal Court Says Trump Administration Violated First Amendment By Deporting Foreign Citizens for Pro-Palestinian Advocacy
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Judge Young: "The First Amendment does not draw President Trump’s invidious distinction and it is not to be found in our history or jurisprudence." An extraordinary, historic victory for democratic freedom. knightcolumbia.org/content/in-l...
knightcolumbia.org
In Landmark Ruling, Federal Court Says Trump Administration Violated First Amendment By Deporting Foreign Citizens for Pro-Palestinian Advocacy
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Read the opinion here: knightcolumbia.org/documents/ah...
knightcolumbia.org
Opinion
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
A huge win in @knightcolumbia.org's challenge to the Trump admin's policy of targeting noncitizen students and faculty for deportation based on their pro-Palestinian speech. Thank you @aaup.org and @mesa1966.bsky.social for trusting in us to represent you. knightcolumbia.org/content/in-l...
knightcolumbia.org
In Landmark Ruling, Federal Court Says Trump Administration Violated First Amendment By Deporting Foreign Citizens for Pro-Palestinian Advocacy
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
The ideological deportation policy violates the First Amendment and the APA. It recalls practices long associated with the most repressive governments in the world and harkens back to eras in our own history that are now remembered with shame. Read more here: knightcolumbia.org/documents/xi...
knightcolumbia.org
Plaintiffs' Proposed Findings of Fact and Requested Rulings of Law
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
DHS and State have carried out the ideological deportation policy in spectacular fashion and to devastating effect--for the individuals already targeted and for many more. It has terrified noncitizens into silence and created a climate of fear and repression at college campuses across the country.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Under a new referral process, DHS forwarded reports to State to determine whether to revoke an individual’s visa or find them removable. State Dept officials based their decisions on individuals' political speech and conflated pro-Palestinian advocacy with antisemitism and support for terrorism.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
A DHS "Tiger Team" produced reports on hundreds of student protesters, including Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Öztürk, and Mohsen Mahdawi. The reports documented individuals' speech and protest activities and included unverified claims that those activities were antisemitic, pro-Hamas, or anti-Israel.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Here's how the govt's ideological deportation policy worked: Shortly after Trump issued EOs 14,161 and 14,188, DHS launched an operation to identify and investigate pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses, relying heavily on the website Canary Mission as a source for potential targets.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Check out @knightcolumbia.org's post-trial brief in AAUP v. Rubio, which documents the Trump admin's efforts to arrest, detain, and deport students and scholars for their pro-Palestinian advocacy and explains why this ideological deportation policy violates the First Amendment. More below.
knightcolumbia.org
Post-Trial Brief Supplies Comprehensive Account of Trump Administration’s Arrests, Detentions, and Threatened Deportation of Student Protesters
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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 06/08/2025
@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...
knightcolumbia.org
Post-Trial Brief Supplies Comprehensive Account of Trump Administration’s Arrests, Detentions, and Threatened Deportation of Student Protesters
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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 22/07/2025
In Boston, the most consequential and far-reaching trial of the second Trump Presidency has been set in motion: A.A.U.P. v. Rubio, which challenges the Administration’s systematic campaign to arrest, detain, and deport pro-Palestinian student protesters.
newyorker.com
A Federal Trial Reveals the Sprawling Plan Behind Trump’s Attacks on Pro-Palestinian Students
In Boston, a Reagan appointee is on pace to get to the bottom of the campaign against Mahmoud Khalil and others the Administration wants to deport over their activism.
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AAUP @aaup.org · 21/07/2025
This has been the first major trial of Trump’s second term. Over eight days of witness testimony, it uncovered a wealth of new detail about the ideological-deportation policy and its effects on college and university campuses across the country. #AAUPvRubio
knightcolumbia.org
Landmark Trial Ends, With Court’s Ruling to Come; Record Uncovers New Details on Ideological-Deportation Policy and Its Effects on Academic Life
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Check out some of the highlights of the two week trial here: knightcolumbia.org/content/land... Further briefing and a decision to come.
knightcolumbia.org
Landmark Trial Ends, With Court’s Ruling to Come; Record Uncovers New Details on Ideological-Deportation Policy and Its Effects on Academic Life
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
It has been an immense honor to represent @aaup.org and @mesa1966.bsky.social in this important case. And I am filled with such admiration and appreciation for everyone we had the opportunity to work with over the past few months.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
This morning we wrapped up our trial in AAUP v. Rubio--our challenge to the Trump admin's ideological deportation policy--with powerful closing statements by my @knightcolumbia.org colleague @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social and Alex Conlon of Sher Tremonte.
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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 21/07/2025
📍TODAY at 10:00am ET – We're set to deliver closing arguments in our AAUP v. Rubio case challenging Trump admin’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen faculty and students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. Register to join the livestream: forms.mad.uscourts.gov/seating-sign...
forms.mad.uscourts.gov
Request for Courtroom Seating/Audio Access
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
Prelim matters at 9am ET, closings at 10am ET. To listen in, register for the livestream here: forms.mad.uscourts.gov/seating-sign...
forms.mad.uscourts.gov
Request for Courtroom Seating/Audio Access
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
Tomorrow: Closing arguments in AAUP v. Rubio, @aaup.org, @mesa1966.bsky.social, and @knightcolumbia.org's challenge to the Trump admin's policy of deporting students for their pro-Palestinian speech and advocacy. Catch up on the trial here: knightcolumbia.org/content/aaup...
knightcolumbia.org
AAUP v. Rubio, Daily Trial Updates
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
A federal judge in Boston will hear closing arguments tomorrow in AAUP v Rubio, our challenge to the arrests and threatened deportations of foreign students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. I spoke with @democracynow.org about the case a couple of weeks ago. www.democracynow.org/2025/5/29/ja...
democracynow.org
Fear, Repression & Brain Drain: U.S. Campuses Reeling as Trump Freezes, Revokes Student Visas
The Trump administration is escalating its campaign against international students at U.S. colleges and universities, announcing that it will begin “aggressively” revoking the visas of Chinese student...
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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 18/07/2025
Official Confirms State Department Considered Statements Critical of Israel and U.S. in Revoking Foreign Students’ Visas. Below are highlights from Day 9 of @aaup.org v. Rubio trial. Closing arguments are set for Monday 7/21, 10am ET. Register for livestream below. knightcolumbia.org/content/offi...
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 17/07/2025
“For a long time — and especially the last year and a half — there have been plenty of reasons why people who have engaged in pro-Palestinian speech and advocacy may have felt chilled, particularly on college campuses,” says @georgewang.bsky.social in @theverge.com. www.theverge.com/policy/70772...
theverge.com
Right-wing orgs put pro-Palestinian students on an ICE ‘hit list’
‘There’s been absolutely no recourse.‘
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Reposted by Xiangnong (George) Wang
Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 09/07/2025
"Ideological Deportation": AAUP v. Rubio Trial Challenges Trump Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Students
democracynow.org
“Ideological Deportation”: AAUP v. Rubio Trial Challenges Trump Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Students
The first trial in a case challenging the Trump administration’s policy of detaining and deporting international students and professors who participate in pro-Palestinian activism is underway in Boston....
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Read the opinion here: knightcolumbia.org/documents/9m...
knightcolumbia.org
Opinion (reversing dismissal)
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
This observation, from a federal court of appeals, is significant. It affirms that lawsuits advancing the rights of federal employees--like those challenging the Trump administration's mass firings, agency closures, and other actions that undermine the civil service--likely belong in federal court.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
In particular, the court raised serious questions about whether the Trump administration's efforts to undermine agencies tasked with safeguarding the rights of federal workers have so compromised our system of civil service protections, that it can no longer function as Congress intended.
At the time the district court considered its jurisdiction over this matter, the functionality and independence of the MSPB and Special Counsel had not been called into question. This is no longer necessarily true. The Special Counsel and several members of the MSPB have been terminated by the President and the Government has questioned the constitutionality of the removal protections enshrined in the CSRA. Accordingly, we remand to the district court to conduct a factual inquiry whether the CSRA continues to provide a functional adjudicatory scheme. If warranted, a new examination of Congressional intent may be required in light of changing circumstances around the MSPB and Special Counsel’s removal protections.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Today, the 4th Circuit revived @knightcolumbia.org's challenge to the DOJ's sweeping prior restraint on the speech of immigration judges. The ruling has important implications for the scores of lawsuits opposing the Trump admin's unprecedented assault on the rights of federal workers.
knightcolumbia.org
Fourth Circuit Revives Challenge to Policy Silencing Immigration Judges
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 29/04/2025
A federal judge just ruled that our case seeking to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian protests can go forward. Read our statement: knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Federal court says First Amendment bars government from arresting, deporting foreign students on basis of pro-Palestine advocacy. Important ruling from Judge Young just now in case brought by @aaup.bsky.social @mesa1966.bsky.social @knightcolumbia.org. knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
A district court in Boston will hear argument on Wednesday in AAUP v. Rubio, a challenge to the arrests, detentions, and threatened deportations of students for their pro-Palestine advocacy. A hugely important First Amendment case. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Check out our complaint here: knightcolumbia.org/documents/pw...
knightcolumbia.org
Complaint
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
To listen to the argument live (Wednesday at 10am ET), you can register for remote access with the court here: forms.mad.uscourts.gov/seating-sign...
forms.mad.uscourts.gov
Request for Courtroom Seating/Audio Access
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
My @knightcolumbia.org colleague Ramya Krishnan will be in court in Boston this Wednesday arguing on behalf of @aaup.bsky.social & @mesa1966.bsky.social in their challenge to the Trump admin's ideological-deportation policy. This is the case: knightcolumbia.org/cases/aaup-v...
knightcolumbia.org
American Association of University Professors v. Rubio
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
My @knightcolumbia.org colleague @carriedecell.bsky.social will be arguing this case before the Ninth Circuit tomorrow on behalf of journalists from @elfaroenglish.bsky.social whose phones were hacked with NSO Group's spyware. 12:00 ET, link to audio below. www.newyorker.com/news/news-de...
newyorker.com
A Hacked Newsroom Brings a Spyware Maker to U.S. Court
When Roman Gressier, an American reporter working in El Salvador, found out that he and his colleagues were being surveilled, he feared persecution and worried for his sources’ safety.
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Brief from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and more than 80 universities says arrests and deportations of student protesters create a “climate of fear” at universities across the country. This is a big deal—the first time universities have weighed in. knightcolumbia.org/documents/eh...
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
AP wins. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Talked to @audiecornish.bsky.social about the ICE roundup of student protesters, the implications for free speech, and how universities should be responding. www.cnn.com/audio/podcas...
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
That's why @knightcolumbia.org, @aaup.bsky.social, & @mesa1966.bsky.social moved this week for a preliminary injunction asking a court to block the Trump admin from carrying out the large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations that are terrorizing university communities across the country.
knightcolumbia.org
Knight Institute Asks Court to Block Trump Policy of Deporting Students and Faculty for Lawful Speech
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Noncitizen students and faculty have pulled out of conferences, stopped attending protests, purged their social media, and withdrawn from other forms of public advocacy—all because they worry that speaking their minds will result in ICE agents seizing them from their homes.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Profs. Jasanoff and Weld describe in grim detail the climate of repression and fear created by the Trump admin's ideological-deportation policy, and the devastating consequences this policy has had on the university community and the values at the heart of our system of higher ed.
Every day we hear from international students and colleagues who are frightened about what might happen next. Frightened that any expression of political ideas — whether related to Palestine or not — can be used to strip them of their legal residency status. Frightened that their movements, messages, and social media trails are being surveilled. Frightened that by conducting their research abroad or simply visiting their families they will be denied the ability to return to their homes in the United States.
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Xiangnong (George) Wang @georgewang.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Powerful op-ed from Profs. Maya Jasanoff and @kirstenweld.bsky.social. They are members of AAUP-Harvard, one of the groups challenging the Trump admin's policy of targeting noncitizen students and faculty for deportation based on their pro-Palestinian advocacy. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
thecrimson.com
We’re Harvard Professors Suing the Trump Administration. Here’s Why. | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Universities are currently on the front lines of a battle for basic civil liberties. We must fight for the values — and the people — that define us. This lawsuit is a start.
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
It’s sad that it requires courage right now for a university president to file something as straightforward as this, but it does. Thanks to Tufts University President Sunil Kumar for filing this. www.tufts.edu/president/sp...
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 02/04/2025
What happens when AI-powered #surveillance coincides with an authoritarian assault on public education? The transparency needed to answer that question doesn't exist, says staff attorney Jennifer Jones in today’s @teenvogue.com. So we've sued a TX school district. www.teenvogue.com/story/school...
teenvogue.com
School-Issued Laptops Are Monitoring Students' Every Word
Nearly half of K-12 students are subject to digital surveillance systems.
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Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
I am very proud to be a declarant in AAUP v Rubio. As @aaup.bsky.social general counsel I hear the harrowing stories of our noncitizen & citizen members & the ways their 1st A rights are trampled upon by the administration’s ideological deportation policies. knightcolumbia.org/documents/n3...
knightcolumbia.org
Declaration of Veena Dubal
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