Christopher Bao and Cynthia Torres
Daily Princetonian
Excerpt: The Trump administration has suspended several dozen research grants to Princeton, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 wrote in a campus-wide email on Tuesday. The grants were issued from several federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Defense Department.
The exact amount in question and the reasoning for the pause itself are unclear, and Eisgruber acknowledged only the latter in his statement. But the Daily Caller, a right-wing news organization, reported last night that the government would halt $210 million in federal funding to Princeton due to an ongoing investigation of antisemitism on campus, citing an anonymous Trump official.
April 9, 2025
Dear President Eisgruber:
We, the officers of Princetonians for Free Speech (PFS), are writing to express our organization’s very deep concerns about the disruption of the program featuring former Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on April 7 and actions of severe antisemitism during and after that program.
Douglas Schleicher
Daily Princetonian
Excerpt: In thinking about the complex problem of academic freedom, the Princeton community must take care to avoid false dichotomies that could be harmful and restrict free speech. One such dichotomy is the idea that we can have either controversial academic inquiry or allow those impacted by that inquiry to speak up and be heard — but not both.
In a guest contribution published on Thursday in The Daily Princetonian, Joan Scott falls into this precise trap. While defending the right to host this past Friday’s conference, entitled “The Anti-Zionist Idea: History, Theory, and Politics,” she simultaneously seeks to delegitimize and silence Rabbi Gil Steinlauf ’91 for expressing concern about its framing and impact, suggesting that his advocacy on behalf of Jewish students is somehow a threat to academic freedom rather than an exercise of it.
Jonathan Turley
Jonathan Turley’s Blog
Excerpt: Three-fourths of Princeton students told one survey that they believed it was appropriate to shout down or deplatform speakers with opposing views. That mistaken view of shout-downs as a form of free speech is obviously still prevalent on campus after a group of protesters stopped a discussion with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The question is whether Princeton will do anything about it or whether, when it comes to free speech, it will prove to be a mere paper tiger.
Princetonians for Free Speech have struggled to restore free speech on campus and they have had some success. However, this is an obvious test of that commitment. While some protesters wore masks, most did not. Any students who went inside the event to prevent Bennett from being heard should be suspended. Any faculty involved in such action should be terminated.
Ken McCarthy '81
April 04, 2025
It would be useful to know what these grants were for. Climate change? (NASA) Encouraging gender fluidity in the foxhole? (Defense Department) That no one is detailing the specific grants that were cancelled is typical journalistic malpractice.
My guess is the Trump administration wanted a twofer: 1) Cut a bunch of nonsensical pork-barrel “research grants” and 2) do it under the red herring of “fighting antisemitism on campus”. The latter earns him an attaboy from Miriam Adelson and other pro-genocide deviants who helped put him in office (See “Christian Zionists” – which includes some leaders of PFS).
That’s how you get ahead in life, friends. Make everything you do accomplishes two or more goals. Trump didn’t get into the White House by being a dummy.
It’s too bad the pro-genocide crowd has been the more effective in controlling him. He’s ruining his legacy and creating a planet full or people who have contempt for our country, something we will be paying for for generations. What’s the end game here? Every Palestinian dead? And that gets us what exactly? You’d think a brilliant CEO would be better at basic scenario planning.