More than 350 students from over 15 universities endured the cold Nov. 15 to assemble for a rally put on by the Educational Freedom Project, or EFP, urging institutions across the Greater Boston area to stand up for academic freedom and free expression under the second Trump administration.
The rally, held at the Back Bay Fens, featured speeches from prominent politicians including Rep. Ayanna Pressley, at-large City Councilor Julia Mejia and President of the Greater Boston Labor Council Darlene Lombos. More than 20 local organizations, including other Northeastern-based political and advocacy clubs, co-ed fraternities and local community groups, also tabled at the rally, encouraging students to get involved in their communities.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has launched numerous attacks on higher education institutions nationwide, including pressuring universities to conform to his political agenda, limiting funding for research and targeting international students.
“[Everyone] here, no matter where you were born, where you attend class, what you were majoring in, or where you hope to serve after you graduate, we all have a role to play in the movement,” Pressley said in her speech. “And you must play that role, because this is not about how to weather the next four years. This is about shaping the next 100.”
EFP is a cross-campus organization, founded in June, that aims to build a platform for students and community members to defend the integrity and independence of higher education.
The protest drew students from universities across the Greater Boston area, including Northeastern, Boston University, Harvard University, Boston College, Berklee College of Music, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Emerson College.
Students called the protest “meaningful,” saying it offered a concrete action at a time when many feel powerless to oppose federal policies.
“I think history shows college students are on the right side of history a lot of the time,” said Paige Pataky, a third-year history, culture, and law student at Northeastern. “I also am just really happy to see people turn out to something like this, because I think a lot of the time, we can get lazy with activism, being on social media so much. But actually doing the work and walking out to the Fens when it’s cold takes a little bit extra effort. I’m glad that people are still willing to do that.”
Speakers fueled cheers and led chants with the crowd throughout the chilly afternoon. One chant was led by Mejia, who asked the audience to yell: “Nothing about us without us is for us!” She then emphasized the power of student voices and encouraged attendees to speak out.
“It’s really important for us to recognize that historically, they say that you are the future. I don’t believe you are the future. You are the present and the here and now,” Mejia said in her speech. “You have an opportunity to set the stage for what happens, not just today, but for years to come. It is your generation that’s going to take us out of the hellhole that we’ve been living in. It is you.”
Truth was a central theme in the speeches, which speakers used to challenge what they said is tyranny and fascism from the Trump administration.
“We must tell the truth, because the truth shall set us free, and as a great philosopher once said, ‘None but ourselves can free our minds,’” Khoury College of Computer Sciences Assistant Teaching Professor Kylie Bemis said in her speech. “That is why there is nothing a tyrant fears more than truth. There is no freedom when two plus two is five. There is no freedom when your mind is not your own.”
The speakers also amplified the importance of coming together and exercising First Amendment rights. The issue of campus free speech has been hotly debated since Rümeysa Öztürk, an international Turkish student at Tufts University, was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after reportedly penning a pro-Palestine op-ed in the Tufts student newspaper.
“I think it’s important to remind our people in power that we do have rights, and we have things to say, and we’re allowed to say those things. And if it makes them mad, guess what? It’s your job. It’s your job to listen to us and to govern your people as we should be governed and not just power gravity,” said Luci Marheineke, a second-year production design and costume design major at Savannah College of Art and Design. Marheineke was visiting Pataky for the weekend and felt compelled to join the rally with her.
Many at the rally hoped EFP and other similar advocacy organizations would grow and continue to empower students to speak up about issues they care about.
“I hope that it will get bigger and bigger,” said Martina Maresca, a third-year criminology and criminal justice major at Northeastern who tabled the co-ed law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta at the rally.
“I feel like EFP is pretty new, but they’ve already made such an impact, and a lot of people already know about them — especially club leaders,” Maresca said. “I think it’s important that everybody within the Boston schools hears about them and has an outlet to project their voice … [it’s] important to bring all the schools together, because we’re all united in this fight.”
EFP plans to continue hosting rallies, protests and other events to push universities across the Boston area to listen to students and stand up against the Trump administration, according to Jack Masliah, a fifth-year political science and philosophy combined major and EFP co-founder.
At Northeastern, EFP is pushing for more transparency from university administration — including making Board of Trustees meetings public — and for the university to implement policies protecting free speech.
“I think what’s important is we’re not just here shouting into the void — we have concrete reforms that we want Northeastern to implement,” Masliah said. “That’s how you fight back against this. You protect students.”
Editor’s note: Jack Masliah previously served as deputy opinion editor of The News.
