Nearly 250 Harvard Affiliates Sign ‘Free Speech’ Petition Addressed to University Presidential Search Committee
Crimson | J. Sellers Hill and Leah J. Teichholtz
Nearly 250 Harvard affiliates have already signed the open letter to the University's Presidential Search Committee to nominate a candidate who “actively affirms the importance of free speech on campus.” See our article for details about the petition, including how to sign.
“The petition cites examples of what the authors described as a ‘hostility to speech’ at Harvard, including backlash against Human Evolutionary Biology lecturer Carole K. Hooven.” See our article, Harvard’s Carole Hooven Canceled for Biological Facts.
The Crimson cites students who drafted the letter and those who have signed, including Professor Harvey Mansfield ’53.
“Victoria T. Li ’25, a co-organizer of the petition, said she felt the letter was necessitated by a ‘lack of dialogue’ on campus. ‘It’s undeniable that we have a culture at Harvard that doesn’t encourage free exchange of ideas in classrooms,’ Li said.”
Professor Mansfield “said he signed the petition to target the ‘fundamental’ need for free speech on campus. ‘That’s something that liberals and conservatives can agree on,’ Mansfield said. ‘The woke administration that we’ve seen, of politicization and aggressive intolerance — it is something that needs to be replaced.’”
According to the Crimson, “More than 200 students, 31 alums, and 11 faculty members signed the letter, per a copy of the petition viewed by The Crimson.”
The petition is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15mOrFjuSQ3HOnUwdUWaNpYIsxgBUoDx9/view?usp=sharing
The signature form is here: https://forms.gle/FvUb15tvQZnTDLhcA
