Authoritarians in the Academy: A Conversation on Borderless Censorship in Higher Education

2/10/2026
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern

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MIT Free Speech Alliance Event
Partner & Ally Organization Event

MFSA and Harvard Alumni for Free Speech Present a discussion with Sarah McLaughlin, author of "Authoritarians in the Academy"

Setting: Live Virtual
UNITED STATES

Peter Bonilla, Executive Director

Harvard Alumni for Free Speech (HAFFS), in partnership with the MIT Free Speech Alliance (MFSA), invites you to a virtual conversation with Sarah McLaughlin on her new book, Authoritarians in the Academy. The book examines how foreign authoritarian governments have sought to influence American universities by shaping research agendas, campus speech norms, and institutional behavior in ways that often go unexamined.

Joining Sarah for the conversation will be John Evangelakos, President of Harvard Alumni for Free Speech, and Peter Bonilla of the MIT Free Speech Alliance. Together, they will examine how foreign influence intersects with internal governance failures, why these dynamics increasingly operate across campuses rather than within them, and what alumni and institutional leaders can do to respond.

The event will be held virtually on February 10, 2026, at 3:00 PM ET.

For more information, visit the Harvard Alumni for Free Speech Website. 

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2/10/2026

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