Speaker Disruptions at Princeton

Kian Petlin, Devon Rudolph, and Vitus Larrieu
Daily Princetonian 

Excerpt: A speaker event with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday was interrupted at various points, with approximately 20 protesters walking out of the event, an extended disruption by an individual who does not appear to have an affiliation with Princeton in the middle, a subsequent fire alarm interruption, singing by the event’s attendees at the end, and yelling between protesters and event attendees in the courtyard after. 

Abigail Anthony
National Review

Excerpt: Current Princeton undergraduate Alexandra Orbuch shared footage on social media of an event on campus that featured former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Predictably, activists tried to prevent him from speaking.

Rishi Khanna
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: In the Opinion piece written by President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 last week, Eisgruber articulated Princeton University’s restrictions on speech and emphasized Princeton’s right to “reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner of expression to ensure that it does not disrupt the ordinary activities of the University.”

As a matter of law and administrative policy, President Eisgruber is correct. But restrictions on “disruption” to “ordinary activities” inherently suppresses the underlying intent of creating disruption of many protests that express progressive political views.

Ethan Hicks, '26
Princetonians for Free Speech

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Princetonians for Free Speech and the James Madison Program welcomed Kyle Duncan, Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, along with Professor Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program, for a discussion on "What Free Speech Is — And What It Isn't."

Graham Piro
Foundation for Individual Rights in Expression

Excerpt: Earlier this month, Princeton professor Robert George’s appearance at Washington College provided yet another example of what’s known as the “heckler’s veto.” Protesters entered the event and drowned out George’s speech, eventually forcing him to leave — while security officers stood by and watched as the protesters shouted and played loud music to prevent George from speaking and those in attendance from hearing him. While the college publicly denounced the disruption, FIRE called on it to do more by educating its security officers on their responsibility to intervene and remove disruptive protesters.

In response to FIRE’s letter, Washington College President Michael J. Sosulski told us that part of the school’s post-incident analysis “will include ensuring that [its] Public Safety officers are prepared to engage in ways that will not permit events to be disrupted or abruptly canceled.”

Ryan Quinn
Inside Higher Ed

Excerpt: A conservative Princeton University professor tried to give a speech this month at Washington College centering on the need for campus free speech. Students disrupted his talk and succeeded in ending it.

It was another example of what are often called student shoutdowns or “heckler’s vetoes”—though the meaning of that phrase is contested—disrupting conservative speakers. Perhaps most prominently this year, in March, Stanford University students disrupted a talk by Judge Kyle Duncan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.