Earlier this month, MIT canceled an upcoming lecture by geophysicist and University of Chicago Associate Prof. Dorian Abbot.
MIT cancelled a lecture by distinguished geophysicist because activists objected to his politics. Please read and retweet this thread. https://t.co/df9qblpZJL
— Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) October 4, 2021
Prof. Abbot’s great sin was joining a Stanford professor in believing that “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs frequently cause far more harm than good. That’s a cancel-worthy offense according to MIT.
UC Berkeley Department of Earth and Planetary Science professor and Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center (BASC) Director David Romps didn’t agree with MIT’s decision, so he asked his BASC colleagues if he could invite Prof. Abbot to give his planned MIT speech at Berkeley.
Today, Prof. Romps announced his resignation as BASC Director.
I am resigning as Director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center (BASC) @BerkeleyAtmo. To reduce the odds of being mischaracterized, I want to explain my decision here.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
Last month, the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences @eapsMIT canceled a science lecture because of the invited scientist's political views. That scientist does excellent work in areas of interest to BASC (he visited us at our invitation in 2014).
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
Therefore, I asked the BASC faculty if we might invite that scientist to speak to us in the coming months to hear the science talk he had prepared and, by extending the invitation now, reaffirm that BASC is a purely scientific organization, not a political one.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
This seems like a more than reasonable suggestion. Apparently Prof. Romps’ colleagues didn’t see it that way.
If you’ve been following academia recently, you probably already know how this thread will turn out. https://t.co/kktwNhkADe
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) October 18, 2021
Here’s the rest of the thread:
In the ensuing discussion among the BASC faculty, it became unclear to me whether we could invite that scientist ever again, let alone now.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
I was hoping we could agree that BASC does not consider an individual's political or social opinions when selecting speakers for its events, except for cases in which the opinions give a reasonable expectation that members of our community would be treated with disrespect.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
Unfortunately, it is unclear when or if we might reach agreement on this point.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
The stated mission of BASC is to serve as "the hub for UC Berkeley's research on the science of the atmosphere, its interactions with Earth systems, and the future of Earth's climate."
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
I believe that mission has its greatest chance of success when the tent is made as big as possible, including with respect to ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, family status, and political ideas.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
Excluding people because of their political and social views diminishes the pool of scientists with which members of BASC can interact and reduces the opportunities for learning and collaboration.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
More broadly, such exclusion signals that some opinions — even well-intentioned ones — are forbidden, thereby increasing self-censorship, degrading public discourse, and contributing to our nation's political balkanization.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
(Bari Weiss recently expressed a very similar point.)
I hold BASC and its faculty — my friends and colleagues — in the highest regard, and so it has been a great honor to serve as BASC's director these past five years. But it was never my intention to lead an organization that is political or even ambiguously so.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
Consequently, I am stepping down from the directorship at the end of this calendar year or when a replacement is ready, whichever is sooner.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
A replacement that will work a lot harder to limit exposure to points of view that could potentially call liberal philosophies into question, no doubt.
Romps’ resignation is not just a loss for him, but also for the BASC, UC Berkeley, and the scientific community at large.
Leftism is actively harmful to the public discourse, but leftists are free to express their opinions. Don’t right-leaning and conservative voices deserve the same?
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