{"id":117090,"date":"2025-04-15T09:37:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T13:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=activity_engagement&p=117090"},"modified":"2025-11-14T08:37:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:37:59","slug":"fall-2025-law-review-symposium","status":"publish","type":"activity_engagement","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/engagements\/fall-2025-law-review-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall 2025 Law Review Symposium | The University and Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Co-Sponsored by Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Education, AAUP\u2019s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, and Critical Legal Collective.<\/p>\n

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Universities are meant to be guardians of democracy and bulwarks against authoritarianism. Yet many of our most powerful universities have enabled the Trump administration’s open effort to exert “existential terror” on our institutions and our communities. This convening will critically examine why universities have failed to protect democracy and how we might democratize our institutions and reorient toward their core mission: to pursue truth and knowledge for the common good.<\/p>\n

The full schedule PDF can be found here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Resources<\/h4>
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The scholars, practitioners and advocates participating in this year\u2019s Law Review symposium bring a robust and diverse set of experiences, ideas and perspectives. We\u2019ve invited each participant to share a piece of work-product related to the Symposium\u2019s focus on \u2018the University and Democracy.\u2019 To learn more about the participants and their work, we invite you to explore their work below.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Maryam Ahranjani<\/td>\nUNLV Boyd Law<\/td>\nLink 1,<\/a>
\nLink 2<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Susan Akram<\/td>\nBoston University School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sofya Aptekar<\/td>\nCUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sameer M. Ashar<\/td>\nUniversity of California, Irvine School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sahar Aziz<\/td>\nRutgers University Law School<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Michael Banerjee<\/td>\nUC Berkeley Law<\/td>\nLink 1,<\/a><\/p>\n

Link 2<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Dawn Belkin Martinez<\/td>\nBoston University School of Social Work<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ahmmad Brown<\/td>\nJonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University; Working IDEAL<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
William (Chip) Carter<\/td>\nUniversity of Pittsburgh<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carliss Chatman<\/td>\nSMU Dedman School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ryan Cieslikowski<\/td>\nClass Action<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Danielle Conway<\/td>\nPenn State Dickinson Law and School of International Affairs<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pamela Coukos<\/td>\nWorking IDEAL<\/td>\nLink 1<\/a>,<\/p>\n

Link 2<\/a>,<\/p>\n

Link 3<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Steven Dean<\/td>\nBoston University School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Michel DeGraff<\/td>\nMIT<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Andrew J. Douglas<\/td>\nMorehouse College<\/td>\nLink 1<\/a>,
\nLink 2<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Charlie Eaton<\/td>\nUniversity of California, Merced<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nina Farnia<\/td>\nAlbany Law School<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jonathan Feingold<\/td>\nBoston University School of Law<\/td>\n<\/a>Link<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mike Gavin<\/td>\nDelta College\/Education for All<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Caitlin Glass<\/td>\nBoston University School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jonathan D. Glater<\/td>\nUniversity of California, Berkeley<\/td>\nLink 1<\/a>,
\nLink 2<\/a>,
\nLink 3<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sandy Grande<\/td>\nUniversity of Connecticut<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maryam Jamshidi<\/td>\nUniversity of Colorado Law School<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shilpa Jindia<\/td>\nFreelance<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Isaac Kamola<\/td>\nTrinity College<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Timothy Kaufman-Osborn<\/td>\nWhitman College<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sunita Patel<\/td>\nUCLA School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spencer Piston<\/td>\nBoston University<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dylan Rodr\u00edguez<\/td>\nUniversity of California<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Darren Rosenblum<\/td>\nSt. John’s University<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aaron Saiger<\/td>\nFordham University School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Amanda Shanor<\/td>\nUniversity of Pennsylvania<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brian Soucek<\/td>\nUC Davis School of Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nomi Stolzenberg<\/td>\nUSC Gould Law School<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Allison Tait<\/td>\nRichmond Law<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Irene Ten Cate<\/td>\nBrooklyn Law School<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jason Wozniak<\/td>\nWest Chester University<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yiran Zhang<\/td>\nCornell University ILR School<\/td>\nLink<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Concurrent Sessions Information Guide<\/h4>
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As a reminder, a<\/span>ll concurrent sessions will take place after lunch from 1:15pm-2:45pm. Room assignments are forthcoming<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Session 1: Universities, the Empire, and Academic Freedom<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This panel reexamines the assumption that American universities safeguard free expression, arguing that they have historically curtailed dissent in alignment with U.S. geopolitical priorities. Recent suppression of pro-Palestine advocacy\u2014through expulsions, disciplinary sanctions, and the weaponization of antisemitism charges\u2014demonstrates institutions\u2019 active role in reinforcing the U.S.\u2013Israel alliance. This pattern is consistent with earlier moments: Cold War loyalty oaths, McCarthy-era dismissals, sanctions on anti-war and anti-apartheid activists, and more recent initiatives targeting scholars of Chinese descent. Across these episodes, First Amendment protections have proven malleable when confronted with the imperative of sustaining U.S. imperial legitimacy. The panel will analyze this continuity and explore strategies for cultivating scholarly networks that preserve academic freedom in the face of imperial constraint.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n