Harvard established a faculty-led ‘Council for Academic Freedom’ focused on free speech

Harvard’s newly formed Council on Academic Freedom aims to promote and protect the principles of “free inquiry, intellectual diversity, and civil discourse.” university, According to two Harvard professors on the council.

Professors Steven Pinker and Bertha Madras wrote in an op-ed for the Boston Globe that as members of the council, which was formed in March, they plan to “sponsor workshops, lectures and courses on the topic of academic freedom.”

“We also intend to inform new faculty about Harvard’s commitment to free speech and the resources available in the event of a disaster.” Harvard professors wrote. “We encourage the adoption and enforcement of policies that protect academic freedom. When an individual is intimidated or defamed by an academic opinion that may cause emotional harm, we provide personal and professional support.”

When the activists shout at the manager’s ear, we calmly but firmly tell the other that it is not an easy way, but they ask them to take reasons. “And we support parallel efforts led by undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students.”

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According to the council’s website, a small group of Harvard faculty met in November 2022 to discuss free speech at the university and decided “a faculty-led organization is needed to support free and civil exchange of ideas on campus.”

A man looks at his cell phone near the Harvard University sign in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, June 18, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

Pinker and Madras cite a study that found 877 attempts to “punish intellectuals for expressing their views” between 2014 and 2022, which could be protected under the First Amendment.

“For every scholar who is punished, many others censor themselves, knowing that they may be next, not better for the students. Most of the campus climate prevents them from saying what they believe,” he said.

of Harvard professors He added that any society that is “suppressing disagreements” is “corrupted” and can “put itself in a chain of error”.

“An academic establishment that stifles debate misses the country’s opportunities and misguides critical issues like epidemics, violence, gender, and equality. Even when the academic consensus is almost certainly right, like vaccines and climate change, skeptics find it hard to understand.” Situation, ‘Why should we believe in consensus, if it emerges from an undifferentiated clique?’

Harvard banners hang outside the Memorial Chapel on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Friday, September 4, 2009. (Photo by Michael Fein/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The pair of professors, as well as Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., in their op-ed, specifically for He appoints six new board members Board seats open for new Florida college.

They also described DeSantis’ “Stop Woke Act” as “legislating the content of education to oppose left-wing muscle to right-wing muscle.”

“The coin of the realm in the academy should be persuasion and argument, and the natural actors should be teachers. They can hold universities accountable for their commitment to academic freedom through faculty policies, handbooks, and public universities, the First Amendment,” Pinker and Madras wrote.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivers a political speech at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York on April 1, 2023. ((Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board responded to the creation of the council in an editorial published Wednesday, saying they will believe the council when they see it, even if there is reason to doubt it.

“We have reason to doubt it, and we’ll believe it when we see it. But if the Harvard faculty is redefining the school to the basic principles of university life, listen, listen,” wrote the editorial board.