Princeton Free Speech News & Commentary

John Witherspoon: President and Patriot

By Kevin DeYoung December 27, 2022 14 min read 1 Comment

 Princeton is currently actively considering, and taking comments on, a petition to remove the statue of John Witherspoon from the Firestone Plaza.
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PFS urges alumni and other Princetonians to submit their own comments to Princeton on removal of the statue.

EXCERPT: PFS will make the following points: 1. The process being followed by the Committee does not, and cannot, provide a true view of what Princetonians think on the issue in question because the atmosphere on campus greatly inhibits students, faculty, and others from stating their true views, especially where highly politicized issues are involved. 2. The debate over whether to remove the statue is not an isolated one, but rather has implications for other issues, most importantly, for free speech. 3. Removal of the statute would inevitably lead to petitions and demands to remove or rename other parts of Princeton’s history in a process that may never end. 4. Looked at more broadly, this continuing process of removing and renaming is an attempt to remove Princeton’s history, with all its complexity, in order to create a new university with a monolithic view that would make nonconforming views unwelcome. December 27, 2022 1 min read

PFS will make the following points: 1. The process being followed by the Committee does not, and cannot, provide a true view of what Princetonians think...
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COMMENTS OF PRINCETONIANS FOR FREE SPEECH ON THE PROPOSAL TO REMOVE THE STATUE OF JOHN WITHERSPOON

EDITORS NOTE: This is the submission sent by PFS to Princeton on the proposal to remove the statue of John Witherspoon currently being considered by the University.  December 19, 2022 11 min read

This is the submission sent by PFS to Princeton on the proposal to remove the statue of John Witherspoon currently being considered by the University. 
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PFS Co-founder Edward Yingling Participates in Second Annual Campus Free Speech Roundtable

On December 5, leaders of the Alumni Free Speech Alliance (AFSA), including AFSA president and PFS co-founder Edward Yingling, participated in an important congressional roundtable on free speech on college campuses. AFSA participants also including John Craig, AFSA Treasurer; students from W&L and UVA who are very involved with AFSA members there; and Raj Kannappan of Young America’s Foundation (YAF) and a member of AFSA’s Cornell alumni group member.  Other participants were from the Foundation on Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). December 05, 2022 1 min read

On December 5, leaders of the Alumni Free Speech Alliance (AFSA), including AFSA president and PFS co-founder Edward Yingling, participated in an important congressional roundtable on free speech on college campuses. 
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Harry Kalven, Institutional Neutrality, and the “Charisma” of the First Amendment

By Leslie Spencer November 18, 2022 11 min read

By Leslie Spencer

As concern mounts about the status of those principles that preserve and honor freedom of expression in American higher education, Princeton’s James Madison Program recently launched the Initiative on Freedom of Thought, Inquiry and Expression

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Is the POCC conservative? A response to recent criticisms

October 28, 2022 By Myles McKnight '23 Princeton sophomore Nate Howard recently added his voice to the string of criticisms of my group, the Princeton Open Campus Coalition (POCC). His criticism––entitled Campus Conservatives in the POCC Don’t Deserve a Monopoly on Free Speech––has the dual distinction of being the least charitable and the least compelling. October 28, 2022 4 min read

Howard claims that the POCC uses the free-speech cause as a mere fig leaf for our “culture war grievances.” The POCC, he says, is simply obsessed with “conservative outrage politics.” Of course, I am dismayed to hear that Howard feels our events are only for students who “ascribe” (sic) to conservative ideals. But this is a silly accusation. The POCC is not simply conservative (the picture is more complicated) and the criticisms Howard proffers are hopeless.
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