“The defendants’ argument that the interest which the plaintiffs have in attending a state university is a mere privilege and not a constitutional right was specifically rejected in the Dixon case, and the Court thinks rightfully so. Whether the interest involved be described as a right or a privilege, the fact remains that it is an interest of almost incalculable value, especially to those students who have already enrolled in the institution and begun the pursuit of their college training.”

—Knight v. State Board of Education (1961), quoted in the ACLU’s must-read April 6 letter to the UC Berkeley administration.