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Editor's note: Princetonians for Free Speech (PFS) held a well-attended breakfast and panel discussion at the Nassau Inn on May 28, the Sunday of Reunions. The discussion was moderated by PFS co-founder Ed Yingling and the panelists were co-founder Stuart Taylor, Treasurer Todd Rulon-Miller, Director of Outreach and Communications Kaleigh Cunningham, and graduating seniors Abigail Anthony and Myles McKnight, who are PFS board members. Topics included the precarious state of free speech at Princeton today and PFS's efforts to prevent removal of the statue of John Witherspoon, who was arguably Princeton's most important president and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, among other distinctions, because he owned two slaves which, new historical research suggests, he probably emancipated before his death.
By Khoa Sands ‘26
The second Trump administration's attack on higher education has reinvigorated conversations around academic freedom. Concerns once relegated to the center and the right have been taken up again by the left with newfound salience. Princeton, thankfully, has managed to escape the worst of the madness, despite some major cuts to research funding. This relatively privileged situation has not stopped Princetonians from debating, discussing, and defending academic freedom at Princeton.
Jia Cheng Shen
Daily Princetonian
Excerpt: In his editorial “What is a Princeton degree really for?” written this past spring, Joel Ibabao ’27 treated a Princeton education as a private asset meant to be optimized for one’s own gain. This approach correctly recognizes that “finding oneself” at college can only take precedence over positioning oneself on the job market if financial security is a given.
But these personal considerations — finding yourself or achieving economic security — should not be the only ones. What Ibabao misses is that a Princeton education is aided immensely by the generosity of the University endowment and broader social compact between the federal government and society at large. Those few of us privileged to come out with those elite degrees, thus, are deeply indebted to the public.
By Marisa Hirschfield ‘27
On April 24th, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens spoke about free speech, journalism, and Israel to approximately one hundred attendees gathered in Guyot Hall. The event, entitled “Writing About Israel as a Columnist and as a Jew,” was co-sponsored by a variety of campus organizations, including B’Artzeinu and the Center for Jewish Life. I attended in my capacity as a Writing Fellow for Princetonians for Free Speech, a contributor to the event.
