Academic Freedom at Princeton

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.

Mathias Risse
Harvard Crimson

Excerpt: Last Tuesday, Kellyanne E. Conway, a senior adviser in President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration, spoke at a forum at the Harvard Institute of Politics. Conway is perhaps best known for explaining away lies about Trump’s first inauguration crowd size as “alternative facts” in 2017. Back when she made those remarks I had been teaching political philosophy for 17 years and had never felt it necessary to abandon nonpartisanship in my teaching. But I took issue with Conway’s alternative facts right away, and I did so in the classroom.

In the face of a Republican party that, regardless of what it has gotten right, has subscribed to a cult of personality and returned to power on a story anathema to democracy itself, can Harvard remain nonpartisan? Yes and no.

Judah Guggenheim
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: Unfortunately, the tragic reality is that encouraging Princeton to divest from defense companies will not end global conflicts. Referendum No. 5 fails to provide evidence directly linking the named defense companies to human rights violations or to demonstrate how weakening American defense companies will promote peace or justice. For this reason, I raised opposition to Referendum No. 5 and encourage every student to join me in voting “No.”

Leela Hensler
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: On Tuesday, Nov. 19, Princeton students and faculty filled the lower level of McCosh 50 to hear Professor Luis Moreno Ocampo, who is the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Anoush Baghdassarian, who currently serves as a clerk on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, discuss the ICC’s role in securing justice for victims of genocide on a global scale. This scope includes conflicts which have been the focus of student activism, such as wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Raf Basas
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: At Princeton, we often forget the sharp difference in income distributions between Princeton and the nation as a whole. The media spins a tale of great improvement: Though Princeton had once predominantly served America’s economic elite, it has done well in shedding the specter of affluence that has haunted it for centuries. After all, a whopping 65 percent of Princeton students receive some level of financial aid.

This is a persuasive narrative, but make no mistake: Princeton’s “economic diversity” is a myth. Although the numbers have improved since the 2017 article from The New York Times, just 30.8 percent of Princeton’s Class of 2026 is from the bottom 60 percent of U.S. households.