Princeton Free Speech News & Commentary

Christopher L. Eisgruber
Inside Princeton, Princeton University

Excerpt: Since April 25, a group of protestors has conducted a round-the-clock sit-in at Princeton, first in McCosh Courtyard and then on Cannon Green.  I write now with an update about how the University is responding to the protestors’ concerns and those of the broader community.

Over the course of the last week, several colleagues in my administration met multiple times with members of the protesting group.  They explained that issues of general interest to the University community must be addressed, whenever possible, through appropriate processes that respect the interests of multiple parties and viewpoints, not through negotiations with a single interest group.  Our goal was accordingly to identify concerns that might be addressed through established channels consistent with existing University processes and principles.

Miriam Waldvogel and Isabella Dail
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: The 13 students who have only consumed water since Friday, May 3 have ended their hunger strike, Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest (PIAD) announced on social media around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 12. Seven other students have since begun hunger strikes in their place.

Organizers have repeatedly cited the strikes as a source of leverage amidst negotiations over demands with the University, which reportedly broke down at the end of last week.

Elisabeth Stewart
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: Following a petition by six faculty members in late April, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 has called a special meeting of the faculty for 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 20.

The proposal — drafted by Molly Greene GS ’93, Ruha Benjamin, Dan-El Padilla Peralta ’06, Lidal Dror, V. Mitch McEwen, and Curtis Deutsch — asks the faculty to consider “the granting of amnesty to students and other university affiliates involved in peaceful free speech and assembly for justice in Palestine,” including the encampment, sit-in, and hunger strike. As of the hunger strike's ninth day, thirteen of the original participants have broken their strike, replaced by seven new strikers. The meeting agenda will include only one proposal regarding student discipline and free speech.

Guest Contributors
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: We, the undersigned faculty of Princeton University, write to you about a matter of deep and urgent concern. On Friday morning, May 3, eighteen Princeton students began a hunger strike, eating nothing and drinking water only sparingly. These students’ blood pressures had dropped and their bodies had begun to consume their own tissue. One of the students was rushed to the hospital on the evening of Wednesday, May 8. As of today, on day nine with no food, thirteen students have broken their hunger strike. Seven more students have begun a hunger strike.

Our students escalated their protest tactics in this way because the University administration — which is beholden to President Eisgruber ’83 and the judgment of your Board — had been unwilling to communicate with them.

Keith E. Whittington
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: Imagine, if you will, that a relatively small, but passionate and loud — complete with drums, chants, and megaphones — group of Princeton students thought that SPIA should be renamed the Donald J. Trump School of Public and International Affairs and launch new initiatives focused on American greatness. After pressing their demands for many months to no effect, they decide that more direct action would be needed to bring attention to their cause. They march through the hallways of Robertson Hall, take an office, yell out of windows, and drop “Make America Great Again” flags through them, and announce that they will occupy the office until their demands are met.

Isabel Keane
New York Post

Excerpt: An anti-Israel protester at Princeton University sounded off about how she was “starving” during a self-imposed hunger strike and accused the prestigious university of purposefully “physically weakening” students.