55% of MIT Faculty Self-Censor (opens in new tab)

MIT Free Speech Alliance president Wayne Stargardt explains how a handful of high-profile cancellations—like the 2021 Dorian Abbott case—can trigger widespread self-censorship among faculty, even at a STEM-focused institution like MIT. Drawing on years of faculty survey data, he argues that administrative incentives, student pressure, and bias-reporting systems quietly chill open debate, threatening the research culture that makes elite universities function. GUEST BIO & MIT FREE SPEECH ALL...