Following MIT's institutional violation of free speech in the fall 2021 Dorian Abbot affair, MIT President L. Rafael Reif commissioned the launch of an Ad Hoc Working Group on Free Expression to define MIT's policies on free expression and open inquiry. The group drafted a statement of principles on free expression, which was part of a comprehensive report drafted on June 24, 2022 and released publicly on September 1, 2022 covering MIT's institutional policies and the importance of free speech to all people, especially the historically downtrodden and the current heterodox.
The Statement, adopted officially by the MIT faculty in late 2022, is often compared to similar free speech principles of other universities, most notably the famous Chicago Principles from the University of Chicago. It argues that ideas and their speakers, even if said to be offensive or harmful by some, have a right to be heard, as do criticisms and peaceful protests against such ideas.
The new President of MIT, Sally Kornbluth, endorsed the Statement as an Institute-wide policy in a message to the MIT community on February 16, 2023.
On October 18, 2023, President Kornbluth provided an update to the community on the Institute's intentions to foster a culture of free expression at MIT. In this update President Kornbluth's announced that MIT's Faculty Policy Committee formed a Subcommittee on Academic Freedom and Campus Expression (SAFCE) to consider and propose practical steps to implement the recommendations of the faculty Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) on Freedom of Expression. In President Kornbluth's letter on "New steps for a new year" to the MIT community on January 3, 2024, she announced that this faculty subcommittee had been upgraded to a faculty-led administrative Committee on Academic Freedom and Campus Expression (CAFCE) reporting directly to her. In addition to recommending how to implement the original AHWG recommendations, the committee's charter was expanded to consider MIT's specific policies "guarding against harassment, bullying, intimidation and discrimination," the Institute's time, place, and manner restrictions on freedom of expression, and MIT's disciplinary processes for violation of these policies.
MFSA compared the MIT Statement to the Chicago Principles, analyzing their differences and recommending amendments to certain parts of the MIT Statement.
Overall, we believe the MIT Statement is an excellent launchpad for the defense of free speech, but there is always room to make it stronger.