The protests of the University’s Black Justice League in late November have received national attention, including discussions of renaming campus buildings and speculation on the possibility that the protests may impact a future Supreme Court decision.
Michael Dorf, law professor at Cornell University, noted that campus protests across the nation have sparked a conversation about race and rights.
“To my mind, the protests are effective from the perspective of a university committed to the freedom of speech, even if the protestors don’t get what they want,” he said.
He added that if people are chanting or occupying an office, that is free speech, but it is also a way of sparking free speech.
Students on college campuses across the country have engaged in similar protests to remove the names of racist benefactors from school institutions,noted Evan Draim ’16, a member of the Princeton Open Campus Coalition.
University of KentuckyPresident Eli Capilouto decided to cover a mural depicting scenes of African-American laborers working in a tobacco field, explaining that the mural inaccurately conveyed the nation’s past with respect to race and equality, andUniversity of OregonPresident Michael Schill ’80 agreed on Nov. 21 to discuss potential changes to the names of buildings on campus named after benefactors with reputations for racism.
Draim also noted that the formation of the POCC was met with positive feedback from other schools that are interested in starting their own Open Campus Coalition chapters using the model of Princeton’s group.
Several BJL members either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
A Dec. 1article in The New York Times suggested that the student protests on college campuses across the country may affect an upcoming Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in admissions for higher education.
Wilson School professor Stanley Katz said he believes that the protests on campus will have little effect on the Supreme Court decision.
“I don’t think [the members of the Supreme Court] are moved by this sort of thing,” he explained. “They have well-developed views on all of these subjects. I can’t imagine that any man or woman on the court will have changed [his or] her position as a result of this.”
Josh Freeman ’18, a member of the POCC, said that he believes that the campus protests and the issue of affirmative action are two independent issues that should not be correlated together.
“While they’re both issues on race, one is an issue of free speech in education and academic freedom versus affirmative action,” he said.
He noted that affirmative action policies affect students before they even enter college, whereas the recent protests at the University have to do with the racial climate for students already on campus.
However, Dorf said he thinks the issue of affirmative action is still connected to the demands of campus protesters and that the Supreme Court justices who are going to decide the Fisher case will nonetheless see the campus protests as relevant to what they are doing.
He noted that on some college campuses, protesters raised concerns that the schools’ faculties were not diverse enough and called for a greater commitment to hiring diverse faculty.
“Affirmative action in faculty hiring is going to be judged by similar constitutional standards, and so the Supreme Court’s understanding of what is permissible with respect to student body diversity will be related to what is acceptable for faculty diversity,” Dorf said with regard to the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action for student admissions.
Dorf also said that one could view the campus protests as proof that affirmative action is making a positive impact in colleges by promoting a more diverse student body and greater diversity of viewpoints.
“People weren’t protesting Woodrow Wilson 40 years ago. They are now,” he said.
However, he also noted that others may counter that student body diversity is not leading to greater diversity of viewpoints, but rather political correctness and self-censorship, a concern raised during the protests at Yale in November.
Dorf said that in order to frame an appropriate policy response, institutions should think about the problem of the legacies of racism from the perspective of a “reasonable outsider” — somebody who is not a member of the relevant out-group but still maintains a degree of care and interest in the issue.
Katz noted that he thought the issue of renaming certain institutions is a diversion from the real issues concerning race that students and faculty ought to be discussing. He said that he thought the controversy at Brownregarding its ties to slave history was met with an enlightened response from the university’s president Ruth Simmons.
According to Katz, Simmons acknowledged the historical complexity of the issue, formed a committee to pose inquiry into the university’s founding and published the committee’s results and research to promote knowledge and understanding of the institution’s past.
However, Katz explained that while he understands why members of college campuses are troubled by the misdeeds of influential figures from their pasts, this concern can also be naïve.
“Does one stop admiring John F. Kennedy because he was a sexual predator? You could, but he did other things. He’s famous mainly for other reasons,” Katz said.
He added that he thinks most famous figures in history cannot withstand such extreme scrutiny.
Katz said that as a historian, he does not look upon Wilson’s legacy any differently in the context of the protests.
“In general, I'm against what I would call nominalism. I think it’s possible to attach too much importance to names,” he said.
He added that he thinks it is more important for the protesters to outline and specify the current policies they find problematic and make those issues the subject of controversy.
Read More
Trump names Will Scharf ’08 as White House staff secretary
Vivien WongOn Nov. 16, President-elect Donald Trump named Will Scharf ’08, one of his personal attorneys, as White House staff secretary. During his time at Princeton, Scharf was involved with the Center for Jewish Life and Chabad, served as president of Charter Club and the Interclub Council, and made an unsuccessful bid for USG president.
On Nov. 16, President-elect Donald Trump named Will Scharf ’08, one of his personal attorneys, as White House staff secretary. During his time at Princeton, Scharf was involved with the Center for Jewish Life and Chabad, served as president of Charter Club and the Interclub Council, and made an unsuccessful bid for USG president.
N.J. wildfires spike after prolonged dry period, Princeton experts explain
Achilleas KoukasNew Jersey has seen a sharp uptick in wildfires in recent months, as well as rising temperatures and drier air. The ‘Prince’ spoke to climate scientists and students on campus to understand what is behind these changes.
New Jersey has seen a sharp uptick in wildfires in recent months, as well as rising temperatures and drier air. The ‘Prince’ spoke to climate scientists and students on campus to understand what is behind these changes.
USG presidential candidates on protest, relationship with administration
Annie RupertusCurrent USG Social Chair Enzo Kho ’26 and current USG Treasurer Uma Fox ’26 are squaring off in the USG president election this week. While Kho and Fox share broad similarities in their policy stances, nuances lie in their approaches to USG’s relationship with the administration and solutions to issues of free expression on campus.
Current USG Social Chair Enzo Kho ’26 and current USG Treasurer Uma Fox ’26 are squaring off in the USG president election this week. While Kho and Fox share broad similarities in their policy stances, nuances lie in their approaches to USG’s relationship with the administration and solutions to issues of free expression on campus.
