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By Edward L. Yingling, Cofounder of Princetonians for Free Speech
Join the Inner Circle
Inner Circle members help us fight for our mission to restore academic freedom, viewpoint diversity and free speech on campus through your contributions and insight.
Bodies Upon the Gears
Witness the birth of the free speech movement.Watch the new documentary presented by FIRE and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Wagner.
Charlie Yale
Daily Princetonian
Excerpt: The Trump administration has used its power to marginalize transgender people to the point of rejecting the fact of their existence. If the Senate passes the language of H.R.28, legal protections against discrimination for trans students across the country could be in jeopardy, and the situation for trans students — including those on our own campus — could become far more dire than it already is.
That is why Princeton must take action to bolster resources and current protections for transgender students outside of Title IX as well as release a statement clearly condemning the legislation.
Sena Chang
Daily Princetonian
Excerpt: Concerns and confusion persist among students, researchers, and education advocates, who remain apprehensive about the future of science funding and the broader impact Trump’s actions are having on academic research. The Daily Princetonian spoke with community members and education nonprofit leaders about the turbulence of the past two weeks and the challenges that may lie in the next four years.
Christopher Bao and Luke Grippo
Daily Princetonian
Excerpt: Municipal Prosecutor Christopher Koutsouris dropped the trespass charge against David Piegaro ’25 after several hours of testimony by witnesses for Piegaro’s defense in court on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Piegaro still faces an assault charge for an altercation with Assistant Vice President for Public Safety Kenneth Strother on the steps of Whig Hall on April 29 following the occupation of Clio Hall.
Jennifer Ruth
Academe Blog
Excerpt: Yesterday, the Department of Education announced investigations into Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, explaining that “widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported” at these five institutions.
Given the confusion that reigns in and over higher education today, it’s worth trying to think this through a bit.
Julian Mark
New York Times
Excerpt: A coalition of professors, diversity officers and restaurant worker advocates filed a federal lawsuit Monday in a bid to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders that target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the U.S. government, the private sector and academia, alleging that he exceeded his authority in issuing them.
Catherine Rampell
Washington Post
Excerpt: Amid all the noise, an eerie hush is spreading across America. Companies, scientific researchers and Trump critics are clamming up as the MAGA movement ushers in a new era of government censorship.
On Day 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” This might have sounded like banal lip service, reaffirming commitment to the First Amendment. In reality, it was the start of an Orwellian effort to root out wrongthink from government ranks and the private sector.
To Princetonians for Free Speech Subscribers, Members and Friends,
Whoa. January certainly was a month of explosive change for higher education! Three executive orders that could impact funding of universities prompted President Eisgruber’s January 28 letter, which rightly admits “there is much we do not know.” See the Daily Princetonians coverage of Eisgruber’s letter: Eisgruber says U. is “exploring measures” in wake of Trump orders, stops short of specific guidance.
Most importantly, take a close look at our special feature, written by PFS cofounder Ed Yingling, 2025: A Breakthrough Year for Free Speech on Campus. It is a grand synthesis of the many ways 2025 could be a year of dramatic change at US Universities, change that could critically impact free speech, academic freedom and viewpoint diversity at Princeton and elsewhere. Yingling’s article helps to make sense of the radical changes that lie in store.
To Princetonians for Free Speech Subscribers, Members and Friends,
Happy New Year! At PFS we are delighted to welcome our inaugural Executive Director; you can see below our introduction to Angela Smith. Our Special Feature includes two original articles by our PFS student writing fellows Marisa Hirschfield ‘27 and Khoa Sands ‘26. And nationally, we feature an event of particular importance to anyone interested in the state of academic freedom and free speech on America’s college campuses, held by the University of Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression. It is presented virtually as well as in person on January 31, 2025, and features Princeton professor and New York Times columnist Zeynep Tufekci. See below for details.
And PFS momentum is building! As 2024 came to a close, over 1,200 hundred new subscribers signed up with PFS. Please help to build awareness by asking your alumni and other friends to join us HERE. And for those who may have missed it, here is our 2024 Annual Report.
223 out of 251. A “red light” institution has at least one red light policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.
