Academic freedom and the case of Stephen Hsu

Since reading the excellent book The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt last year, I have become more acutely aware of how increasingly bad the situation is becoming for academic freedom in the United States. We see similar tendencies in Sweden, but the situation across the Atlantic appears worse.

Further incidents after the publication of Lukianoff and Haidt underline how bad the situation is. A few days ago I learned (via Slate Star Codex) about the case of Stephen Hsu, a physics professor at Michigan State University, who was also (until yesterday) their VP in charge of research and graduate studies. Since June 10, he has been that target of an angry mob (starting with a Twitter thread from the Michigan State Graduate Employees Union) calling for his removal as VP, based on unsubstantiated and (frankly speaking) ridiculous charges of racism.

I am now reached by the highly distressing news that the president of Michigan State University has caved in to the mob and asked Hsu to resign. Hsu complied, albeit under protest. This is terrible. Academic freedom is under assault, and (to borrow Hsu's own words) "Academics and Scientists must not submit to mob rule".