Commentary: We need academic freedom for the pursuit of truth

Bridget O'Neill and Miriam Waldvogel
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 appeared on C-SPAN on Wednesday for a 30-minute segment as part of his role as the newly-elected chair for the board of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group representing 70 top research universities.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Eisgruber discussed the state of higher education, sharing his views on the boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) movement, the price of college, and the function of financial aid.

Lily Halbert-Alexander
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: In early September, I got the opening email from Princeton Pro-Life, which was signed “for love and life,” and “for the sake of our missing classmates.” I read it twice, wondering why an email introducing and advertising student opposition to abortion on campus would speak so vaguely about their own mission and why they wouldn’t even allude to their topic — abortion.

At Princeton, there are many conversations about abortion. But both those that start in the anti-abortion space and those that occur in the academic sphere — even among people who aren’t against abortion — too often happen in philosophical frames that avoid the real consequences that abortion bans have on people across the country.

Olivia Sanchez and Achilleas Koukas
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: Following the establishment of a pro-Palestine “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus at the end of April, a group of faculty formed the Princeton Council on Academic Freedom (PCAF) to “foster and defend academic freedom and intellectual pluralism” at Princeton. After a recent flurry of activity from the council following its official launch this fall, The Daily Princetonian spoke to some of its members to learn more about the organization’s formation and goals.