A Special Feature
Princeton freshman Simon Riley ‘30 has hit the ground running with this trenchant and illuminating critique of freshman orientation 2026. His report in The Daily Princetonian reveals that Princeton has a long way to go to achieve a culture of diversity of viewpoint. He describes himself as a “fan of honest disagreement” and concludes that the many mandatory freshman week events amounted to an "opportunity squandered.”
P-O-L-A-R-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N: Toward a more nuanced orientation
By Simon Riley, The Daily Princetonian, Oct. 13
“‘T-R-U-M-P.’”
“Neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf was answering a student’s question when she nearly used the word “trump” as a regular English verb, meaning “override” or “overcome” — but she couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence. She collapsed into her armchair, citing her inability to say “his name” out loud, and instead spelled it out, letter by letter. At the Princeton Pre-read assembly, in front of the entire Class of 2030. University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, sitting across from her, smiled and said nothing.
“Mandatory first-year events like the pre-read assembly — of which there are many — could be an opportunity to demonstrate respectful bipartisan disagreement, an opportunity to show the incoming class how free expression can be passionate and productive. They are an opportunity squandered.
“Wolf’s attitude was not the exception at orientation, but the rule, when it came to presenting the other side of the political divide. She refused engagement with the other side when she treated a Republican president like Voldemort. The University showed similar avoidance in mandatory orientation events. …”'
Articles of Interest
Student surveys dominated the news in higher education this month.
Topics Non Grata
In a recent survey, many HxA members say that on campus certain lines of inquiry are off limits
By Erin B. Shaw and Shiri Spitz Siddiqi, Free the Inquiry, Heterodox Academy, Oct. 23
“HxA has long argued that ideological conformity within the academy suppresses worthy lines of inquiry. Similar concerns have been raised by the much-discussed Vanderbilt/Washington University Report and the Yale Report, both of which identify ideological conformity as a threat to open inquiry. But identifying the specific topics, questions, and perspectives that have been stifled is a challenging task, requiring disciplinary expertise and an intimate understanding of how each field operates. …
“What did HxA members tell us? Broadly speaking, topics relating to race, sex, religion, and politics were all identified as unfairly neglected within respondents’ disciplines.”
When Free-Speech Disciples Favor Shouting Down Speakers
By John Blitzan, RealClearEducation, Oct. 26
“How open are students to hearing opinions they disagree with? We find that nearly 60 percent of students say it is acceptable to shout down a speaker who expresses an opinion on police shootings, vaccines, or biological sex that they disagree with. This isn't limited to one side of the political aisle; students say it is acceptable to shout down speakers for left-leaning and right-leaning positions on these issues.
Our survey shows that student attitudes toward preventing speech they disagree with are not limited to outside speakers. We find that two-thirds are in favor of reporting professors for disfavored opinions related to DEI practices, climate change, police shootings, guns, vaccines, or biological sex. This presents a conundrum for professors who aim to strengthen critical thinking by exposing students to different points of view.”
Survey: Majority of College Students Say Free Speech Threatened
Just 37% of college students said free speech feels secure, compared to 73% in 2016
By Katherine Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, Oct. 15
“A record share of college students believe their right to free speech is under threat, new data shows.
“Just 37 percent of college students said free speech is secure, compared to 73 percent in 2016, according to a survey of more than 1,000 college students that the Knight Foundation released Tuesday in partnership with Ipsos.
“‘That’s the lowest level that’s ever been observed,” said Ricardo Mor, program officer for the Knight Foundation’s information and society team. “It’s an alarming trend.’” …
Four in 10 students believe offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution
By Jennifer Kabbany, The College Fix, Oct. 19
“Four in 10 college students believe offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution, according to the results of a nationwide survey published this month by the Buckley Institute. …
“The survey also found 46 percent of college students agree it is sometimes appropriate to shout down or disrupt a speaker on campus, while 47 percent disagree. … Another 45 percent agreed physical violence can be justified to prevent a person from using hate speech or making racially charged comments, while 50 percent disagreed.”
Book of the Month
What Happened to College?
How Politics Broke Higher Education and What We Can Do to Fix It
By Neil Gross
“What Happened to College? paints a picture of an educational system in crisis and ripe for change. Grounding his analysis in sorely needed data, deftly debunking overstated claims, Gross offers vivid, fly-on-the-wall insights into what it's like to be a student today at one of our nation's top colleges. While some students will cheat their way to easy As, he found places where open debate, intellectual inquiry and friendship across political lines still thrive. What are these campus communities doing right and how can prospective students find them? Can we teach students to disagree better? At a time of growing political stridency, nothing could be more important or more necessary.” And here is a conversation with the author Neil Gross, on Heterodox Academy’s YouTube channel.
Quote of the Month
Brandon Van Dyck, lecturer in Politics at Princeton University and editor of the newly released After DEI? A Theological Exploration, and Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director, James Madison Program, Princeton University.
“On the Christian account, human relations are not only or even primarily an arena of conflict and oppression; people are friends, cooperators, and good Samaritans who contribute to structures of grace as well as to structures of sin. …
“For a few years, the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) were a source of explicit partisan division in the United States. Then, the DEI label fell out of favor in light of concerns about the fairness of programs and policies being advanced under it. Some institutions gutted DEI programs and personnel. Others rebranded DEI programs without changing their substance. But most institutions are navigating a middle course, seeking to replace DEI—and what it represents—with a fairer, less divisive, and more effective set of values.
From After DEI? A Theological Exploration
By Robert P. George and Brandon Van Dyck, Public Discourse, Oct. 20
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