Professors by day, political columnists by night: Princeton faculty in the election spotlight

November 04, 2024 1 min read

Valentina Moreno
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: At 1:45 p.m. on July 21, history and public affairs professor Julian Zelizer sat at his desk in his home office, working on his latest books and enjoying a hot Sunday summer afternoon. At 1:46 p.m., President Joe Biden shocked the nation with his Instagram announcement that he would be withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. Before Zelizer could even finish reading Biden’s letter, he was inundated with phone calls from news outlets and radio shows seeking his expert analysis of the situation. With no time to prepare notes, he powered up his computer and addressed the nation live on CNN.

Throughout this close election season, Zelizer and other Princeton professors have been extending their political expertise beyond the classroom, regularly submitting articles for a host of publications.

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Also in Princeton Free Speech News & Commentary

‘Universities have to be bold’: Director of ACLU-NJ urges Princeton community to take action post-election

December 18, 2024 1 min read

Abby Leibowitz
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Excerpt: A month after Donald Trump’s reelection and the red wave that swept down-ballot elections in New Jersey and across the United States, public policy lecturer Lynda Dodd joined Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey, for a private presentation held at the Princeton Public Library on Dec. 15. They discussed New Jersey’s potential to build “firewalls of freedom” — safeguards based on actions that governors, attorney generals, and statewide officials can take locally to protect communities made vulnerable by potential Trump policies.

Indivisible Princeton, a local chapter of the organization Indivisible formed by Ezra Levin GS ’13 in 2017 in response to Trump’s first election, hosted the event as its ”relaunch meeting.”
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Commentary: Setting the record straight on our fight for Kamala Harris

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Michelle Miao and Nate Howard
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Excerpt: Since Nov. 5, Princeton commentators from across the political spectrum have misrepresented progressive Kamala Harris supporters.

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December 15, 2024 1 min read 1 Comment

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Entertaining and instructive as was her gambit, the Trump administration should not repeat it. That’s because systemic racism does not plague the nation’s colleges and universities, and government should not legitimize frivolous claims that it does.
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