Since January, university students across the United States have reckoned with the possibility of facing consequences for their free speech.

We watched it happen at Tufts University in Massachusetts, where the federal government revoked a student’s visa for advocating in support of Palestine. The government did the same in New York in the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University alum and Palestinian activist who is still in the middle of a deportation legal battle. 

These kinds of federal actions against students for their protected First Amendment speech are dangerous. That’s why The Diamondback on Wednesday signed onto an amicus brief in support of The Stanford Daily’s lawsuit that challenges U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s use of two immigration laws to revoke student visas for protected speech. 

The amicus brief, which is also known as a “friend of the court” filing, signals The Diamondback’s support for The Stanford Daily’s lawsuit. We’re among more than 50 other student publications and editors who signed. 

The Diamondback staff takes our role as an independent student newspaper seriously. We have a role in telling the stories of our community at the University of Maryland, in College Park and across Prince George’s County. This includes protecting our sources, reporters and community members in any way we can from retaliation for their speech.

And since January, we’ve seen an influx of community members concerned about speaking with the media. Other student newspapers, like The Stanford Daily, have seen students nervous to write opinion columns and report the truth. Nobody should be scared to voice their opinion or unwilling to use their free speech rights out of fear for being deported or having a visa revoked — that’s a constitutional protection in the U.S., and one we are responsible for upholding. 

That’s why we signed on to this brief, and why we’ll continue to monitor federal action and how it affects our community. As this is a friend of the court brief, The Diamondback is not involved in active litigation. But we’ll continue to pledge our support, and want to assure our readers that this is a problem we take seriously.

To read more about the brief, visit the Student Press Law Center’s site here. And to learn more about The Stanford Daily’s lawsuit, visit here.

Lizzy Alspach is The Diamondback’s 2025-26 editor in chief. She can be reached at diamondbackeditor@gmail.com.

In the case, petitioners allege that a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The law, which went into effect in July 2023, prohibits people younger than 18 years old from using hormone therapy and puberty blockers to transition.

The law says the state has a “legitimate, substantial and compelling interest” in encouraging minors to appreciate the sex they were assigned at birth.

For LGBTQ+ Equity Center program manager Adam Klager, the oral arguments highlight a lack of understanding of necessary gender-affirming care and showcase the importance of spaces for LGBTQ+ people to process events.

“The ability to access gender-affirming health care can have a really big impact on people and their ability to get through the day,” they said. “I think if we can have a space to come together as a community and see that and process that and face that together, then I think that’s more helpful than seeing it alone.”

[UMD SGA allocates more than $1,700 in additional funding for gender-affirming care items]

Michael Spivey, a senior government and politics lecturer at this university who teaches law, provided an analysis of the case for listen-along attendees.

Tennessee’s law only applies if a minor plans to use treatments to transition, Spivey said. This means cisgender youth are allowed to use treatments to develop characteristics that align with their sex assigned at birth, he explained.

“To me, that is discrimination based upon sex,” Spivey said at the event.

Leah Morgan, a freshman public policy major, said she attended Wednesday’s listen-along event to understand how the Supreme Court is taking on LGBTQ+ issues. She feels the court is making decisions that don’t align with widespread public opinion, she said.

Morgan thinks it is important to “be in solidarity” with the LGBTQ+ community and stay informed because if one marginalized group’s rights are targeted, “it could often indicate that other groups’ rights are to come,” she said.

“I think even if something isn’t impacting you personally, it’s likely impacting those around you or other folks you care about,” Morgan said. “If folks’ basic civil rights are up for grabs, then that puts a lot more energy into playing defense rather than building toward a more … productive future.”

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Spivey added that the social climate can affect the way the Supreme Court rules. Attacks on transgender rights have become a key focus in politics, including in President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Twenty-six states — including Tennessee — have passed laws that restrict gender-affirming care for transgender youth, CNN reported Tuesday.

Klager said that’s even more of a reason to create LGBTQ+ community spaces.

“If the political climate around trans issues and trans rights becomes less favorable, I think that’s just more of a reason for us to come together and have space to at least be with each other to weather through that,” they said.

The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold Tennessee’s law and is expected to release its decision on U.S. v. Skrmetti by summer 2025, CNN reported Wednesday.

The downtown area hosts murals, festivals and a nearly 100-year-old restored movie theater just 20 minutes from the University of Maryland’s campus. As a teenager, I spent endless hours walking its streets. Thousands of students at this university are from Montgomery County, which hosts Silver Spring, yet so many of the area’s gems go unvisited. 

[Diamondback Day Trip: Hyattsville’s hidden gems]

Destination: Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland

Travel time: 20 to 50 minutes

Travel options: Bus, train or car

Though it only takes about 20 minutes by car, both trains and buses go to Silver Spring. Taking the C2 bus is my recommendation — I’ve been taking the route since I can remember, and it will take you right outside downtown Silver Spring’s main hub. If you visit on a weekday, you’re likely to meet a lot of middle and high school students on their way there. 

There’s also the option of taking the Metro from College Park to Silver Spring, but that would require you to transfer train lines. I don’t entirely recommend it — the buses are quite easy to use.

Food options

There are a number of fast food and chain restaurant options downtown, but I recommend visiting some unique spots in the area. For one, Kaldi’s Social House serves breakfast, lunch and dinner meals all less than $20. The restaurant, which also has an Arlington, Virginia location, is a fan-favorite for its sandwiches, roasted potatoes and coffee. It also offers a few vegetarian and gluten-free meal options.

When I go home, my family will sometimes go out to weekend brunch at La Malinche, a Spanish and Mexican tapas restaurant, to celebrate the end of another semester. This is more of an expensive outing, with a $41 all-you-can-eat brunch for the entire table on weekends. I’m a huge fan of the empanadas as well as the mejillones— steamed mussels with lemon.

[Plan your next Baltimore outing with this travel guide]

Activities

Each day comes with new events and surprises downtown — especially in Veterans Plaza. Some high schoolers skateboard and hang out on evenings without sponsored events, but on the weekends, there’s no shortage of activities. 

More than 30 vendors sell fresh produce and goods each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Silver Spring’s Freshfarm Market. I personally enjoyed browsing the market on an early summer afternoon before heading to my next destination. 

After browsing the market, you can catch a movie at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. In middle school, my class would take field trips to watch a documentary in the nearly 100-year-old restored theater. But the AFI doesn’t just show new movies — it sometimes reruns older series such as the Star Wars saga. 

Right across the street from the AFI is The Fillmore Silver Spring, a popular concert venue that has featured artists such as TV Girl, Jacob Sartorius and Ariana Grande. Upcoming performances at the venue include The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula season five post, Trixie Mattel and Tori Kelly.

Stores

Downtown also hosts a number of unique, local businesses such as the Record Exchange. Uniquely decorated with vinyl flooring, the second-hand record store offers not only vinyls, but video game consoles, DVDs, VHS tapes and posters. I used to spend hours browsing the aisles for the next CD to play in my car and DSi games to add to my collection.

There’s also a mall across from Veterans Plaza that hosts stores such as Five Below and Michael’s. The mall, named Ellsworth Place, hosts fun food options including Kung Fu Tea and Ben and Jerry’s.

While there’s no shortage of fun activities and treats, I adore walking the streets downtown to see the murals and statues. This unique, artistic scenery is just a short bus ride away from College Park and definitely worth the trip.

University of Maryland community members commemorated Denim Day on Wednesday to raise awareness about sexual assault victims and combat victim-blaming.

Denim Day, which falls during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, has been recognized internationally on the last Wednesday of every April since 1999 to support sexual assault survivors. Campus Advocates Respond and Education to Stop Violence — an office that provides confidential advocacy, therapy services and workshops — tabled on Tawes Plaza and outside Stamp Student Union with resources about Denim Day and sexual assault awareness.

Denim Day originated in Italy after an 18-year-old girl was raped by her driving instructor. Years after the instructor was convicted, the instructor appealed to the Italian Supreme Court, which ruled the act was consensual because the girl’s jeans were too tight to be removed on their own.

A day later, female members of the Italian Parliament wore jeans to protest the ruling. The court did not reverse its 1999 decision until 2008.

[UMD students emphasize survivor strength, allyship at Occupy McKeldin]

“The history of Denim Day is about empowerment,” Maria Ahmed, a CARE outreach peer, said. “Survivors are survivors no matter what they wear.”

The table at this university’s weekly Farmers Market featured keychain-making materials, a spinning prize wheel and general information about Denim Day. Outside Stamp, community members could write supportive messages to sexual assault victims on pairs of jeans.

Messages on the jeans included “You are not alone” and “I believe you.”

For Ahmed, a senior community health major, Denim Day provides a way to dismantle traditions that discourage talking about sexual assault.

“It’s a difficult topic of course, but that doesn’t mean we don’t talk about it,” Ahmed said. “We should be able to communicate freely and openly, and only then are we able to start removing those age-old traditions and ideas.”

Community members gathered around the Tawes Plaza table to create keychains with colorful tassels, markers and denim-covered charms. Some students, such as Rachel Odumade, drew designs on the denim charms.

Odumade, a sophomore public health science major, had not heard about Denim Day before visiting the Farmers Market table Wednesday. For her, the day means spreading awareness about sexual assault — especially on college campuses, where the topic might not be talked about or recognized as seriously.

[2 UMD events hope to highlight sexual assault on campus]

“It’s more common than people think it is,” Odumade said. “[Victims] don’t know how to speak up or how to approach it because of victim-blaming or just having internal things that make their experiences feel invalidated.”

Liv Sevy, a sophomore philosophy, politics and economics major, said Denim Day’s story has always been important to her because of the justice system’s shortcomings with cases of rape and sexual assault.

“There’s certain occurrences that you hear, and it’s almost like, ‘I can’t believe that happened,’” Sevy, who is a volunteer with CARE and helped table at Stamp, said. “The story of Denim Day is one of those stories.”

While Denim Day is an annual and international celebration, CARE assistant coordinator Charlotte Sheffield said she hopes to facilitate dialogue on this topic beyond a single day.

“This is an important day to spread awareness and it is also a continuing conversation that we can engage in throughout the year,” Sheffield said.

The club, which was formed in 2000, is an interdisciplinary martial arts group that aims to teach community members several forms of martial arts.

Josh Chau, the club’s president, said he grew up practicing taekwondo — a Korean martial art form. The club hopes to provide its members with a range of martial arts practices, he added.

“Martial arts tends to be very insular,” Chau, a junior government and politics and history major, said. “I’m trying to introduce other people to other arts.”

Chau highlighted that club members come from diverse martial arts backgrounds such as kung fu, krav maga, karate, muay thai, wrestling and boxing.

While most martial arts include self-defense techniques using one’s legs and arms, the specific movements and teachings can vary depending on the form practiced. Some martial art disciplines, such as karate, focus more on using hand strikes while others, like taekwondo, emphasize kicking strikes.

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James Liao, a freshman computer science major and the club’s newly elected treasurer, said he has been practicing taekwondo for 14 years. Liao joined the club to continue practicing taekwondo, despite being far away from his studio at home, he said.

“It’s been part of my life for a very long time,” Liao said. “It’s just fun for me so I want to keep doing it.”

While Liao has experience with taekwondo, he enjoys learning different disciplines and comparing techniques with others. He still practices with other taekwondo martial artists to learn different techniques.

“Even when we try to talk about the different moves, we use completely different terminologies a lot of the time for the same thing,” Liao said. “It really shows me different backgrounds and different types of teachings.”

The club hosted self-defense seminars and delivered performances on campus before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chau said. Club leadership hopes to return to a similar “footprint” on campus, he added.

To grow local engagement, Chau said he is working to host guest martial artists from the College Park community who can provide lessons on their respective disciplines.

“There’s a lot of people in the community who know martial arts and are very experienced,” Chau said. “It would be great to have them come here and teach people or show them something new.”

[UMD to begin renovations for 5 cultural centers over winter break]

The club provides students like Miriam Klos-Hernandez with a way to reconnect with their passion for martial arts.

Klos-Hernandez, a freshman criminology and criminal justice and psychology major, practiced tang soo do, a Korean martial art practice, until she was 13. In her first year at this university, Klos-Hernandez joined the Black Belt Club to explore her passion for martial arts.

“I decided, ‘Hey, why not join it?’” Klos-Hernandez said. “I don’t have a black belt, but I was like, ‘Let’s join anyways.’”

Tang soo do incorporates principles from jiu-jitsu and weapon techniques, Klos-Hernandez said. Klos-Hernandez plans to teach some of the new techniques she learned at the club to her father, who also practices tang soo do.

Klos-Hernandez added that attending the club’s practices each week helps her relieve stress from classes and exams.

“When you have the stress of the work and everything, you can just sort of take your anger out on [the kicking target] and just de-stress,” Klos-Hernandez said. “For me, it kind of grounds me back to reality.”

Moving forward, Chau hopes the club can create a community where members can learn more about themselves and martial arts.

“We’re trying to do a conducive learning environment,” Chau said. “Somewhere where you can grow as a person, as a martial artist, expose yourself to broader horizons than just what you were doing.”

The ofrenda, an altar used to honor dead loved ones for Day of the Dead, is a staple part of the holiday’s celebration. Andrea López, an associate professor in this university’s anthropology department, created the altar in Woods Hall to bring university community members together to mourn and heal from recent trauma and losses.

“An altar can be a nice way to build community and pause in a moment of collective mourning,” López said. “Thinking about collective mourning comes, essentially, as a reflection on our commitments to honoring people that we’ve lost, either familial or in other types of communities.”

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead in English, is typically celebrated on the first two days of November and is one of the most important holidays in various Latin American countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador and Bolivia. The holiday honors and remembers loved ones who have died with food, sugar skulls and altars.

López sent an email to students, staff and faculty in the anthropology department on Oct. 30, encouraging them to leave pictures, flowers or memorabilia to honor people they have lost or other things they want to memorialize.

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López also wanted to encourage people unfamiliar with the holiday to participate. She left sticky notes with Sharpies on the altar for people who wanted to leave a name or message to make the altar “more accessible,” she said.

Joanna Wahmhoff, a senior anthropology and criminology and criminal justice major, has never celebrated Day of the Dead before and wasn’t familiar with the holiday. Wahmhoff visited the altar Wednesday afternoon after receiving López’s email.

Wahmhoff left a picture of her late childhood dog, Chumly, on the altar. The altar provided an opportunity to honor something that was important to her while fostering a community connection, she said.

“Participating in the grieving process communally is a very human thing to do and it creates connections to other people, even if you haven’t met,” Wahmhoff said. “I have a connection with these people because we’ve all experienced loss in some way or form.”

For anthropology department chair Barnet Pavão-Zuckerman, the altar has been a “huge hit” and a beautiful addition to the department’s space.

She left pictures of her mother and stepfather, who both died in 2015, and buttons made by students of one of her late colleagues at the University of Arizona.

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“It has been very healing,” Pavão-Zuckerman said. “The ofrenda can be a reminder of that beautiful thing that is life, and the beautiful thing that it is to mourn.”

Since it was built on Tuesday, Pavão-Zuckerman has noticed new faces and new additions to the altar.

“It’s sort of grown organically,” Pavão-Zuckerman said. “Every time we walk by, something’s been added and it’s really this shared story. It’s very moving.”

The altar will stay for a week — beyond the standard number of days used to celebrate Day of the Dead — to provide community members time to reflect on various memorializations, López’s email said.

Emiliano Campos, a graduate student studying anthropology, said having the altar up for longer than the standard two-day celebration makes it easier for graduate students, faculty and others who may not be on campus every day to engage with it, he said.

While this is the first year López has created an altar, many hope the department will continue the tradition in the future.

“I think we’re going to be doing this for a long time,” Pavão-Zuckerman said. “People stop and pause, and they look at the pictures and the names and I think it’s a beautiful thing.”