Professor Catherine D’Ignazio, who directs the “Data + Feminism” lab and hosts reproductive justice hackathons at MIT, recently disclosed that one-third of her paid working hours are spent countering what she describes as the administration’s strategic campaign of fear. Her remarks appeared in an essay published on Academe Blog, outlining threats posed by “state terrorism” to U.S. universities.
D’Ignazio defines state terrorism as force wielded not only judicially but as part of a coordinated public messaging strategy aimed at influencing behavior. She points to examples like the detention of Tufts University doctoral candidate Rümeysa Öztürk, along with the deportation of undocumented individuals—often under distressing circumstances—as evidence of this pattern. She argues these actions are amplified by media and bureaucratic narratives, contributing to an atmosphere of widespread fear, self-censorship, and academic capitulation.
She warns that even centrist outlets like The New York Times play a role in reinforcing that fear. As a result, she says, the academic mission—science, innovation, teaching, and mentorship—is compromised by time spent on defensive measures.
Critics note that her claim raises questions about how taxpayer-funded salaries are being used at elite institutions. By her own admission, a significant portion of her workday is diverted from teaching and research toward political activism. For some, her essay reinforces concerns that segments of higher education have shifted away from scholarship toward partisan advocacy, blurring the line between academic freedom and ideological campaigning.
