Last week I reported what happened when tenured University of Chicago Professor Dorian Abbot questioned his university’s Diversity/Equity/Inclusion (DEI) efforts in a series of YouTube videos and articles. The professor faced backlash immediately. Soon, a small group of leftist ideologues mounted a successful Twitter campaign against him resulting in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) canceling a distinguished science lecture Abbot had been invited to give simply because the woke mob disagreed with some of his political positions.
Related: Look What Happened When a Professor Questioned His University’s Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Efforts
And what were Abbot’s “controversial” political positions that provoked the wrath of the Twitter mob? Abbot posited that university hiring and admissions should be based on merit not racial “equity.” Yes, you read that correctly. Abbot had the audacity to go against the leftist narrative that DEI are the most relevant considerations in hiring and admissions standards, you know, because of “systemic racism.” Of all the white privileged nerve or something.
That’s when MIT caved to the woke mob by canceling the prestigious Carlson lecture altogether “in order to avoid controversy.” That’s where we left the story last week, however, I’m happy to report that another prestigious school, Princeton University, has invited Abbot to speak.
I'm pleased to announce that Dorian Abbot's lecture on extrasolar planets, meant to be the 2021 Carlson Lecture at MIT (until MIT disgraced itself by yielding to pressure to cancel it), will be given at Princeton on the date it was to be given at MIT: Oct. 21. Details to follow.
— Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) October 4, 2021
In addition, I’m happy to report that not only has Princeton stepped in when MIT was too cowardly to face the mob, but the embattled Geophysical Sciences professor’s audience has grown exponentially.
The lecture that MIT invited Dorian Abbot to give and then canceled, which Dr. Abbot is now giving at Princeton by Zoom on Oct. 21st, already has a subscription that has reached our Zoom limit. We've requested an expansion of the limit to accommodate more people. We're delighted. https://t.co/SikZexoH8E
— Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) October 5, 2021
Thankfully, Princeton’s Professor Robert P. George was able to expand the Zoom limit to accommodate all the people—”literally thousands”— who now want to hear Abbot’s thoughts on “extrasolar planets” on the very same day he was supposed to speak at MIT.
I'm delighted to report that we've expanded the Zoom quota for Dr Dorian Abbot's Princeton lecture–the one shockingly and shamefully canceled by MIT–and literally thousands of people have registered. It's October 21st (the day it had been scheduled at MIT) at 4:30 Eastern time. https://t.co/sFOPTOxDOZ
— Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) October 10, 2021
Score another one for the Good Guys, but wait, that’s not all. Professor Abbot “has been recognized as a Hero of Intellectual Freedom by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA).” ACTA President Michael Poliakoff noted that:
In addition to his distinguished contributions to geophysical science, Dr. Abbot has rendered a service to the academy by challenging its reliance on criteria other than individual merit in student admissions and in faculty hiring. Like his work in natural science, his challenges to academic procedure call out for discussion, not a cowardly cancelation of an honor due to him for his scientific contributions. How sad that MIT, a world-famous place of science, cannot withstand a Twitter storm and live up to the ethic of science.
Professor Dorian Abbot’s lecture “Climate and the Potential for Life on Other Planets” will be hosted by Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions directed by Robert P. George. The lecture is free to the public via Zoom and you may register here.
As of publication time, Princeton has had to increase the Zoom participant limit yet again. This is how you stand up and silence the woke outrage mob. Well done, professor.
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