Commentary: Princetonians must invest in the marketplace of ideas

September 17, 2023 1 min read

1 Comment

Aidan Gouley
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: This year’s Pre-read, “How to Stand up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future,” by Maria Ressa ’86, argues that defending democracy requires no less than a transformation in how liberal societies engage in discourse — not simply specific policy prescriptions or direct action-based activism. Ressa’s call for open discourse should be resonant on a campus where free speech is considered core. Each of us must work to build such an environment. As Ressa says, effective activism can only be preserved in environments that catalyze rigorous discussion and critical thought.

Should free exchange erode, the University community does not merely risk losing the educational value of speech, but also threatens to concede a critical pillar of free society altogether. We have to reclaim the mantle of free speech from right-leaning groups and ensure that free speech isn’t harmed by either institutional overreach or communal neglect.

Click here for link to full article

1 Response

Mark Muenchow '76
Mark Muenchow '76

October 12, 2023

Mr. Gouley would do well to read and consider the observations contained in “Commentary: The Limits of Academic Freedom” by James Huffman, National Association of Scholars before implying or asserting a predominance or monopoly of attempted limitations on free speech by the right. The left also has many actors who attempt to limit free discourse, including institutions and their representatives. Princeton could and should improve the atmosphere on campus for truly free and open discourse and its free speech ranking by adopting the Kalven report and its principles.

Leave a comment


Also in Princeton Free Speech News & Commentary

Eisgruber’s most recent stop on his book tour: the art museum

November 20, 2025 1 min read

Oliver Wu 
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 spoke about defending free speech on college campuses during a book talk at the new Princeton University Art Museum’s Grand Hall on Wednesday. The event was open to University students, faculty, and staff, but had limited spots. Eisgruber spoke for over half an hour before taking questions from the audience.

Eisgruber noted the tense climate for higher education under the second Trump administration. “American research universities are the best in the world, but today, they face unprecedented and withering attacks from our country’s own government,” he said. “Much of this attack is both unlawful and broadly unpopular.”

Read More
Ivy League Universities Still About Education? A Closer Look at Harvard and Princeton

November 19, 2025 6 min read

By Tal Fortgang ‘17

What is an Ivy League university? The simplicity of the question is deceiving. Everyone knows what Harvard is. Except increasingly, no one does – not the students who attend, and certainly not the administrators who shape the institution, thereby answering that question every day.

Read More
‘Princeton Rise Up’ showed Princeton students aren’t apathetic, just busy

November 18, 2025 1 min read

Isaac Barsoum 
Daily Princetonian 

Excerpt: On Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, Sunrise Princeton, alongside the Princeton Progressive Coalition, organized a rally of more than 100 demonstrators. We called on the University to act as a leader by defending life-or-death climate research, divesting from weapons manufacturers to end the genocide in Palestine, protecting immigrants and international students, and safeguarding academic freedom in a time when rising authoritarianism threatens progress across the world.

As a lead organizer for this rally, I learned an important lesson: Princeton students care a lot about progressive change, and are willing to publicly display their support because they’re optimistic that their actions can make a difference on a policy level. They just feel like they’re too damn busy.

Read More