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Isaac Barsoum
Daily Princetonian
Excerpt: The idea that conservative students are forced to self-censor has dominated right-wing discourse about universities ever since. Princeton professor Robert P. George wrote last year about the topic, arguing that “self-censorship among students, and even faculty members, has become a common feature of campus life.” Recently, outside agitator Christopher Rufo went on The New York Times’ podcast The Daily and said “I actually know quite a few members of the Princeton faculty, some of whom are conservatives … [who] don’t even feel comfortable stating their opinions in public.”
But now, liberals are being arrested for, it seems, their speech. Four weeks ago, the Trump administration detained Rumeysa Öztürk seemingly because she wrote an op-ed in the name of Palestinian freedom.
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In a few minutes, all of you will walk out of this stadium as newly minted graduates of this University. Before you do, however, long-standing tradition permits the University president to offer a few remarks about the path that lies ahead.
In having a truly diverse group of students share their perspectives, Princeton makes known that there exists a home for every viewpoint. However, as much as I believe this claim to be true, there are unfortunately those who do not. It is easy to dismiss the Princeton administration and culture as entirely polarizing and ideologically biased. In fact, it is true that many here hold the same dominant perspective . But to focus on this fact alone, to rest our entire judgement on one such observation, runs the dangerous risk of neglecting the clear and persistent efforts of this University to encourage every student—even the conservative ones—to share the beliefs that he or she so earnestly pursues.
On April 15, I had the pleasure of hosting, on behalf of the Cliosophic Society, Ambassador John Bolton at Princeton’s Nassau Inn for a discussion entitled “The Room Where It Happened: National Security Decisions Under Pressure.” Bolton’s legacy as a leading professional in American foreign policy offered more than a glimpse behind the diplomatic curtain; it invited a critical examination of the processes and personalities that have shaped recent American engagement with the world.
