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Angela Smith
Princetonians for Free Speech
Free speech and open inquiry are not abstract ideals – they are the lifeblood of a healthy university community. At Princetonians for Free Speech (PFS), we strive to advance those principles through practical, tangible support for students and faculty who put them into action.
As such, we are pleased to tell you about two recent events at Princeton, supported by PFS that reflect this mission in powerful ways.
Empowering Student Voices
The student group Princeton Open Campus Coalition (POCC) hosted an event on February 19 featuring RocaNews, a Gen-Z–driven 2020 media startup known for short-form, non-partisan journalism. Their motto “no bias, no fear” seems to have caught on: RocaNews has 1.8 million followers on Instagram and 300k subscribers on YouTube. Roca takes a different approach than the traditional media culture. Instead of outrage and polarization, they strive to inform without inflaming and invite conversation rather than division. They also examine the challenges in running a non-partisan newsroom in an age of censorship, and how to sustain viewpoint diversity in a climate that too often discourages dissent. Read more from one of our PFS student writing fellows who covered the event firsthand.
PFS is proud to fund and amplify student-led events like this. We know that empowering students to organize discussions, question assumptions, and create spaces for varied perspectives is how real change begins. Supporting student organizations that embrace viewpoint diversity ensures that Princeton undergraduates continue to lead by example to bring respectful, open dialogue to campus life.
Amplifying Faculty Voices
PFS is also pleased to support the Princeton Council on Academic Freedom (PCAF), a new group with 70 faculty members. Their February 19 event “Campus Speech and Academic Freedom: A Guide for Difficult Times” convened voices on how to protect academic freedom in today's climate. Read a PFS writing intern perspective from this event. PCAF’s mission aligns with our own: ensuring that Princeton remains fearless, curious, and guided by truth rather than fear of reprisal.
Your support makes free speech possible
These events highlight two pillars of a university committed to fostering a culture of free speech and viewpoint diversity: students who engage courageously and faculty who defend freedom of thought. PFS is honored to support both efforts, reinforcing Princeton’s proud tradition as a place where open discourse is not merely tolerated, but celebrated.
When you donate to PFS, you make events like these possible. Your support equips both students and faculty to model the open, honest exchange of ideas that a great university depends on.
In addition to supporting campus events, your contributions also fund our PFS Writing Fellows (student interns), two of whom personally attended and reported on these programs. Every gift helps strengthen the culture of free expression that Princeton desperately needs, and inspires the next generation to carry those values forward. We appreciate your donation consideration.
Angela Smith is the Executive Director of Princetonians for Free Speech.
RocaNews is one of those new platforms growing by the seemingly simple acts of building trust and conducting on-the-ground reporting in the places the New York Times promised to do. They believe their readers are smart enough to form their own opinions. At least that was being claimed on February 19th in McCosh Hall at an event entitled RocaNews, Non-Partisan Reporting, and the Fight against Legacy Media organized by the Princeton Open Campus Coalition (POCC). RocaNews currently has 2 million instagram followers, 651,000 YouTube subscribers, and a daily newsletter sent to over 200,000 subscribers. If that growth is not enough to convince you that they are doing something right, you can see for yourself through a myriad of ways, all focused on ease of access and user experience. Roca uses Instagram and newsletters to build a go-to news community based on factual, on-the-ground reporting.
On Friday, January 23, 2026, several students from Princeton University marched to the top of Capitol Hill, joining tens of thousands of Americans in the National March for Life. Originating just months after the legalization of abortion in Roe v. Wade (1973), the National March for Life inaugurated the first major public conversation on the sanctity of life and a constitutional protection of the unborn. Today, four years after the overturn of Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the march still serves as a platform for individuals to express their hopes and visions for the future of the Pro-Life movement.
Having experienced the tangible and transformative power of free speech evident in the march, four Princeton students have graciously agreed to share thoughts both about their participation in the march and also about the overall experience with pro-life dialogue on campus.
On February 19, the Princeton Council on Academic Freedom hosted Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the Berkeley School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, to discuss his forthcoming book Campus Speech and Academic Freedom: A Guide for Difficult Times, co-authored with Howard Gillman. Chemerinsky described universities as operating in a moment of political pressure, as debates over Israel–Palestine, race, gender identity, and other charged issues intensify scrutiny of campus speech.
Throughout the talk, Chemerinsky argued that free speech is truly tested when we defend free expression we detest.
