Commentary: Paper Tigers? Princeton Faces Test Over Free Speech Following Disruption of Bennett Speech

April 09, 2025 1 min read

Jonathan Turley 
Jonathan Turley’s Blog

Excerpt: Three-fourths of Princeton students told one survey that they believed it was appropriate to shout down or deplatform speakers with opposing views.  That mistaken view of shout-downs as a form of free speech is obviously still prevalent on campus after a group of protesters stopped a discussion with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The question is whether Princeton will do anything about it or whether, when it comes to free speech, it will prove to be a mere paper tiger.

Princetonians for Free Speech have struggled to restore free speech on campus and they have had some success. However, this is an obvious test of that commitment. While some protesters wore masks, most did not. Any students who went inside the event to prevent Bennett from being heard should be suspended. Any faculty involved in such action should be terminated.

Click here for link to full article 


Leave a comment


Also in Princeton Free Speech News & Commentary

2025 College Rankings

October 23, 2025 1 min read

City Journal

Excerpt: 
Princeton University, like all Ivy League schools, has sunk more deeply into administrative activism over recent years. The school maintains a robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy, with more than six DEI employees per 1,000 students. The school also displays several other activist commitments that distract it from its educational mission—most notably, Princeton’s decision to intervene in the Students for Fair Admissions case at the Supreme Court in favor of affirmative action. 

Read More
Eisgruber addresses free speech and censorship during book talk at Princeton Public Library

October 23, 2025 1 min read

Elizabeth Hu 
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 addressed conflicts between free speech and censorship on college campuses during a discussion at the Princeton Public Library on Monday. He was joined in conversation by Deborah Pearlstein, Director of Princeton’s Program in Law and Public Policy.

He also addressed the difference between censorship and controversy through a reference to Judge Kyle Duncan, who was invited to speak at Stanford Law School in 2023. Duncan’s talk was interrupted by student protesters throughout and was eventually cut short. “That’s real censorship,” Eisgruber said. “It made it impossible for a speaker that some people on campus wanted to hear to be heard, and that should be recognized.”

Read More
On dining, don’t Harvard our Princeton

October 21, 2025 1 min read 2 Comments

Rodrigo Menezes
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: Recently, Princeton University announced a policy that would require members of eating clubs and co-ops living in University housing to buy a second meal plan, costing about $900 a year. I, along with all the other members of the Graduate Interclub Council (GICC), believe that this policy would be disastrous for Princeton’s undergraduate experience.

Read More