Thanks to all you signatories and supporters of this petition demonstrating support for the work President Beilock and her team are doing to rebuild a strong free speech culture at Dartmouth. The success of those efforts was demonstrated in the 2026 FIRE College Free Speech Rankings released this morning.

FIRE 2026 College Free Speech Rankings

Dartmouth’s ranking jumped dramatically from #224 to #35 in the past year. While policy changes and survey results showing Dartmouth students are highly tolerant of controversial speakers fueled this improvement, the student body still reports a high level of discomfort expressing their views. The steps Beilock and team have made to address policies and the institutional environment have clearly worked, while their efforts to build free speech skills among students and faculty need more time to have a big impact.

The message from the rankings and report on Dartmouth is clear: great progress is being made under this administration, but the work is still in its early stages and needs continued support.

Distressingly, there are very vocal members of the Dartmouth community who are opposed to Beilock’s work. Counter efforts to demonstrate support remain important to ensure her leadership and this positive free speech trajectory continue.

Please stay involved in this cause. Some concrete actions to consider include:

1.        Drive more signatures for this petition. We currently have 616 signatures, while a petition critical of Beilock has over 2000 signatures. Unfortunately, the press has compared these totals to suggest that more of the Dartmouth community oppose vs. support her actions. We would like to continue driving signatures to this still-open petition to neutralize that mis-perception.

2.        Create awareness on social media. Many critics of Beilock and her team are active on social media, particularly on LinkedIn and Facebook. These sometimes-vicious attacks too often remain unanswered. Consider joining and spending time in the groups where the online debate is happening, particularly the LinkedIn Group for Dartmouth College Alumni.

3.        Become involved with the Dartmouth Free Speech Alliance. The DFSA is a group of alumni, students, and faculty formed to advocate for improvement in the free speech culture at Dartmouth. Consider subscribing to DFSA updates and becoming involved at dartmouthfreespeech.com connecting with our LinkedIn or Facebook groups.

Thanks for continued support of this great progress at Dartmouth.