Nadine Strossen’s Call to Action

March 24, 2023 2 min read

Nadine Strossen’s Call to Action

By Ethan Hicks ‘26

On Tuesday, March 21, Professor Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton, and Nadine Strossen, former president of the ACLU, sat down to discuss the history and modern state of free speech in America in their joint talk “Civil Liberties: On Campus and Beyond.” An engaged audience of students, faculty, and community members filled Lewis Auditorium to join George and Strossen for their fireside style chat hosted by Princetonians for Free Speech and Princeton Open Campus Coalition. 

George offered a detailed and colorful history of Free Speech in America. He discussed why the Framers did not initially find a Bill of Rights necessary to the Constitution, because they believed the Constitution's limited enumerated powers protected citizens from encroachments upon their rights, and he suggested that the large size and extensive powers of the modern national government deviate from the Framers’ intentions. George further examined how the national government’s robust system of checks and balances protects freedom of speech, and the philosophical importance of diverse opinions in free democratic societies and institutions such as the United States and the Princeton academic community. 

Strossen built upon many of George’s philosophical and historical arguments by drawing on her experience at the ACLU. Strossen focused on how the Fourteenth Amendment expanded the protections of the First Amendment to protect citizens from violations of their First Amendment rights by state and local governments. She further examined how legal action enforcing the First Amendment was not fully embraced until the 20th century despite its origin over 150 years earlier. 

Strossen expanded the conversation about the modern state of free speech by claiming that meaningful free speech will not exist until private organizations such as social media platforms are no longer permitted to restrict speech. She claimed that at present, “you have no constitutional recourse against powerful social media platforms that are discriminating against or de-platforming certain ideas… you have no First Amendment recourse against so-called cancel culture.” Many audience members found her passionate rhetoric to be a call to action.

In the spirit of Strossen’s message, several of the questions posed by the audience asked George and Strossen about how freedom of expression can be improved in private and public institutions. The speakers suggested a variety of changes including the expansion of groups such as the Academic Freedom Alliance and stronger adherence to free speech ideals such as the Chicago Principles. 

Ethan Hicks is a freshman at Princeton from Perry, Ohio


Leave a comment


Also in Princeton Free Speech News & Commentary

U. submits declaration supporting lawsuit against NIH research funding order

February 12, 2025 1 min read

Doug Schwartz
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: The University’s provost, Jennifer Rexford ’91, submitted a declaration supporting a lawsuit against the National Institute of Health (NIH). The lawsuit, filed on Monday, seeks a temporary halt of a Feb. 7 order that slashed research funding. The plaintiffs in the suit are the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and American Council on Education (ACE), alongside 13 universities.  

Read More
‘Keep Calm and Carry On’: Eisgruber responds to Trump executive actions at CPUC meeting

February 10, 2025 1 min read

Cynthia Torres and Luke Grippo 
Daily Princetonian 

Excerpt: University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 advised the campus community to “Keep Calm and Carry On” and offered other World War II-era words of advice at the Council of the Princeton University Committee (CPUC) meeting on Monday, as the University grapples with challenges posed by the Trump administration.

Read More
Commentary: Princeton, don’t budge on Title IX

February 06, 2025 1 min read 2 Comments

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.

Read More