To the Members of the Harvard Open Inquiry and Constructive Dialogue Working Group:
As Harvard Alumni for Free Speech seeks to promote free speech, academic freedom and viewpoint diversity within the Harvard community, we are deeply interested in the work of the Open Inquiry and Constructive Dialogue Working Group. The charge to the Working Group states a great university must build and protect an environment in which members of the community ask hard questions, challenge accepted truths and make mistakes. Based on what we have seen transpiring over the past several years, Harvard must honestly face the question of whether it is doing so.
As you are most likely aware, Harvard has consistently ranked very poorly in the College Free Speech Rankings of Universities by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). The results of their student survey responses show many students do not view Harvard as a place to ask hard questions and challenge accepted truths. Only slightly more than a quarter reported they were comfortable disagreeing with their professors on controversial political topics. Only a third think it is very or extremely clear that the administration protects free speech on campus. Thirty percent find using violence to stop speech is acceptable in some situations.