George Washington, 1783
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Words of Wisdom: Great Thinkers on Why Free Speech Is Vital
Princeton Students question Eisgruber's address
Editor’s note: Two Princeton students, rising senior Matthew Wilson, a PFS fellow, and rising sophomore Danielle Shapiro, president of the Princeton Open Campus Coalition, have published in the Daily Princetonian and the Princeton Tory penetrating critiques of President Eisgruber’s May 30 commencement address . Wilson called it “divisive” and Shapiro called it “misguided, valuing freedom of speech as useful only insofar as it enables the University to produce activists in service of particular causes.” She also noted that “for all five [honorary] degree recipients, save one outstanding biologist, the ‘ways that one might live a life of leadership and service’ were almost exclusively focused on political activism, with truth-seeking sidelined in favor of intersectionality.”
Language Courses at Princeton Suppress Dissenting Views
By Ethan Hicks '26
According to Princeton’s free speech rules, “the University is committed to free and open inquiry in all matters, it guarantees all members of the University community the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn.” However, this commitment to free inquiry is not currently being fulfilled in Princeton’s introductory language courses. . . . While the purpose of these courses is to teach students to be conversationally proficient in another language, these courses have become increasingly politicized. For instance, gender and sexual identity was the focus of the first half of my Intermediate Spanish 108 course.
Princeton News and Commentary
A new survey shows that Princeton has far to go on free speech.
Results of a new survey of Princeton students sponsored by PFS has just been released. Today Real Clear Politics published an article by PFS co-founder Ed Yingling that highlights the survey’s key findings.
“Despite rosy statements by Princeton about the state of free speech at the University, our survey shows there is a large gap between such statements and reality; students are often reluctant to state their views, and many students have little or no understanding of what free speech means,” said PFS President Stuart Taylor, Jr. “We believe this survey can provide valuable insight into that gap, as well as ideas to close it.”
Click here to read the article.
Two recent PFS on-campus events are now available on YouTube!
The Conformity Gauntlet in Higher Education
A talk by Greg Lukianoff, CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
Greg is an attorney and New York Times best-selling author. He is the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, Freedom from Speech, and FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus. Most recently, he co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure with Jonathan Haidt. This event was co-hosted by Princetonians for Free Speech on April 11, 2023.
Civil Liberties – On Campus and Beyond
A conversation between Nadine Strossen and Princeton Professor Robert P George
Nadine Strossen is a New York Law School professor emerita, a FIRE Senior Fellow, the past national President of the ACLU, and a leading expert on constitutional law and civil liberties. She serves on the advisory boards of the ACLU, the Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy and the National Coalition Against Censorship. Strossen appeared in conversation with Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. This event was co-hosted by Princetonians for Free Speech on March 21, 2023 at 7:30 pm.
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