The Assault on Academic Freedom and the Fight Against the Far Right Featuring TOM ALTER
A Global Asian Studies Co-sponsored Event
March 9, 2026
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM CST
Location
Cardinal Room Student Center East
Address
750 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60607
Cost
Free to the Public
Calendar
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Tom Alter was a tenured professor of history at Texas State University who was fired without due process over a talk he gave in his personal capacity to a socialist conference. Alter will discuss the growing far-right attacks on higher education and democratic rights that he and many others have faced. During the talk used as grounds for his firing, Alter advocated opposing ICE raids, walking picket lines in support of striking workers, and defending transgender people. These are all popular ideas that we must mobilize around. To silence dissent, far-right forces now completely disregard constitutional rights, with many even openly questioning democracy itself. There is, however, hope. Alter’s local unions, and the Texas labor movement generally, have robustly backed the campaign for free speech, providing an example of how unions can forge a vigorous, nonpartisan opposition to the growing fascist current--and fight for a better world.
Date posted
Feb 19, 2026
Date updated
Feb 19, 2026