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PFS Editorial
May 19, 2026
Princetonians for Free Speech (PFS) today announced a landmark achievement: its email subscriber list has officially surpassed 26,000 verified subscribers, approximately 80% of which are alumni, representing one of the most significant milestones in the organization's history since its founding in late 2020. This high number represents a highly engaged network of supporters committed to preserving the fundamental value of free speech at Princeton.
Why are alumni subscribing to PFS? The landscape of higher education remains in flux. At a time when the principles of open inquiry and free expression are increasingly debated on campuses across the country, PFS stands as a meaningful and growing voice for reform. Princeton's standing in FIRE's 2026 College Free Speech Rankings reflects the urgency: the university ranks 160 out of 257 schools and still earns a grade of "F", even as it moves up from prior years. Alumni have a unique ability to help shape the future of Princeton. PFS promotes objective facts and information, engages students and faculty, and has become the leader in alumni free speech advocacy.
Of the 26,000 subscribers, approximately 80% are alumni (roughly 20,000). That represents approximately 29% of all undergraduate alumni and 21% of all post-graduate alumni. The remaining 20% (approximately 6,000) include parents, spouses, faculty, staff, and general supporters, reflecting PFS's expanding reach well beyond the alumni base. These figures were validated through a comprehensive database project completed in early 2026.
The growth of PFS's email community tells a compelling story. At its inception in late 2020, the organization had 1,400 email subscribers. Between December 2024 and December 2025, the list grew from 1,444 to 16,500 — and has since surpassed 26,000 today. PFS's outreach to subscribers has become a major source of needed awareness of the diminished free speech climate at Princeton. This growing subscriber community is also PFS's most valuable strategic asset: a direct, trusted channel to thousands of Princeton alumni and supporters who can be informed, engaged, and mobilized on the issues that matter most to the future of the University.
"Twenty-six thousand subscribers is not just a number. It is a testament to how deeply this community cares about the principles that make Princeton great, as well as the issues of free speech, viewpoint diversity and academic freedom," said Todd Rulon-Miller ‘73, President and Treasurer of PFS.
If you believe in free inquiry at Princeton, now is the time to make it official: add your name alongside 26,000 alumni and supporters by joining PFS's subscriber community today.
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Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, top colleges and universities have faced an onslaught of federal attacks: slashing grant money for research, pressuring schools to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, cracking down on visas for international students, and ending graduate program sponsorship for active duty military at top schools. However, some Ivy League universities — the center of many of Trump’s ongoing attacks — have decreased messaging on the potential consequences of these federal directives.
“One thing that’s been clear is that a lot of universities have felt that publicity would bring no advantage or do them no good,” history professor David Bell GS ’91, who has been outspoken about federal actions against universities, said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian.
As a professor who is known to dissent from progressive ideologies that are dominant at universities such as Princeton, where I’ve taught for nearly 40 years, I’m frequently asked by students for advice about how to navigate a campus they worry will be hostile to them. Some are pro-Israel, or politically and socially conservative, or religiously observant.
They fear being treated unfairly by faculty members who are hostile to their beliefs. Many are afraid of being regarded as outcasts by their more liberal or progressive peers. They worry about being excluded from academic opportunities or not treated equitably in social or other extracurricular activities. To these students I say, with regret: You’re right to worry. I’ve seen these things happen.
Universities may be tempted to treat these capabilities as inevitable improvements in education. Students will be able to consume vast amounts of information, more than ever before. But like AI writing itself, such consumption would be vast but shallow. The more interesting possibility, then, is that AI will force universities to rediscover the value of intellectual work that cannot be outsourced.
