MIT Free Speech Alliance

Don't miss the latest on our Substack, from MFSA President Wayne Stargardt. Link in next post!

Should be a good virtual event from our friends at @HAFFS_Harvard! 🗓️: May 28 ⏲️: 3:00 PM More info at harvardalumniforfreespeech.com/events/open-in….

There was a bit of a row over NYU selecting @JonHaidt for its keynote this year -- which makes @MIT president Sally Kornbluth look all the wiser for inviting him to deliver MIT's Compton Lecture this spring. It was a great discussion! Watch it here: youtube.com/watch?v=-6UnYF…

Meanwhile, you can read @JonHaidt speech to the NYU grads in @TheAtlantic: theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/…

Efforts to cancel commencement speakers for wrongthink are common. So common in fact that two decades ago @TheFIREorg took to calling commencement season "disinvation season." Too often administrations capitulate to these demands by pivoting to speakers or ceremonies so bland that they become banal. And by rewarding the cancelers, they incentivize more cancelation demands. Fortunately, @nyuniversity isn't backing down. We've found that when universities state unequivocal commitments like this, the demands peter out. It's when you equivocate, or try to please everyone, that cancelation voices grow louder.

Taken from Wayne's remarks, delivered to a meeting of the MIT Council on Academic Freedom, here: mitfreespeechalliance.substack.com/p/what-mfsa-sa…

Don't miss the latest on our Substack, from MFSA President Wayne Stargardt. Link in next post!

📢!

Don't miss our Substack latest, on the power of alumni (non) giving, from MFSA member & MIT alum Evan Morris: mitfreespeechalliance.substack.com/p/free-inquiry…

Food for thought at @glukianoff's Eternally Radical Idea: How IRB's became a barrier to progress, and how they might be reformed. Link in next post.

--and some guiding thoughts from @TheFIREorg here: fire.org/news/national-…

Apropos, you can also read new guidance on IRB reform from @AFA_Alliance here -- academicfreedom.org/wp-content/upl…

For years now, we've held debates on hot-button issues (DEI, systemic racism, sex & gender, etc.) at MIT. Given the polarization of these issues in higher ed, we figured finding people to defend the "orthodox" position would be simple. We were wrong. In fact, it's without fail been far easier to find people willing to challenge the orthodoxy, and pulling teeth while herding cats to find those to defend it. Finally this semester, it presented a challenge we couldn't overcome in time to put together a quality debate of the type MIT deserves. Our debates will be back, but this effort has been a reminder of how much work we have left to do. For more, read our latest entry at MIT Uncanceled: mitfreespeechalliance.substack.com/p/debating-the…

What happened at @UCLA_law undermines a university’s basic function. Students have every right to object, question, and peacefully protest invited speakers. But sustained disruption preventing others from hearing a speaker has no place at a university committed to free inquiry. We’ll be watching UCLA’s response.

Good for @HdxAcademy -- and hopefully the rest of us! heterodoxacademy.substack.com/p/yales-trust-…

Reminder: our quarterly all-hands meeting is tomorrow evening! Looking forward to our talk with Stanford professor & provost emeritus John Etchemendy, and to filling members & friends in on what we've got going on at MFSA this season. cc: @afsaalumni