Berkeley Law should be a place where any student feels the freedom to present reasoned and logical viewpoints on the Constitution and individual rights. Yet Berkeley has opted to hire Chesa Boudin, the disgraced former San Francisco District Attorney, who was recalled by voters in July 2022. Even more confusing, Berkeley has opted to put Mr. Boudin in charge of its new Criminal Law & Justice Center. This is like hiring a fox to guard a henhouse. But more broadly, MSLF has deep concerns regarding the academic freedom of students. Given Mr. Boudin’s anti-Second Amendment track record as DA, it is hard to imagine any student feeling comfortable presenting a robust defense of the right to keep and bear arms in his classrooms, or in assignments that will be graded by Mr. Boudin. Yet Berkeley owes a duty to its student to foster an environment where dialogue and independent thought are welcome. That commitment will be undermined unless it takes further steps to promote student academic freedom. To read the letter MSLF sent to Dean Erwin Chemerinsky please click the link below.
