Dozens of MIT faculty protest the cancellation of Professor Abbot's lecture because of his views on diversity

This Boston Globe article is behind a paywall, but here's the key bit:

Hal Abelson, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science who signed the letter, said he had assumed that the university tolerated strong disagreement. “I thought that’s the way MIT operates,” Abelson said, “so I was really surprised at this.”

Abelson called the cancellation “an insult” and said the university should apologize to Abbot.

“To me it offends any sense of academia, freedom of speech,” said engineering professor Yossi Sheffi, who also signed the letter.

Yoel Fink, professor of materials science at MIT and a drafter of the letter, said that a number of faculty members declined to sign it out of concern that taking a stand might damage their careers. “I think there’s a sense of fear on campus,” Fink said. “I now have to think very carefully about expressing myself.”

When the letter itself is public, I'll update this post.