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Free speech, not free pulpits

Whig Hall

Whig Hall, the seat of political organizations on campus.

Jon Ort / The Daily Princetonian

Next weekend, Whig-Clio will host Amy Wax, a disgraced law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, to discuss campus free speech alongside two University professors. Wax, whose racist, pseudo-scientific views have rightly garnered her infamy, does not deserve a pedestal at Princeton. The Editorial Board urges the students and administrators who lead Whig-Clio to immediately disinvite her.

Time and again, Wax has espoused pernicious white supremacy. Her racist views, which she has expressed at lectures and in op-eds, hold that white culture is superior to other traditions, that immigrants worsen the United States, and that “racism” is nothing more than a pejorative label. Several months ago, she expressed her support for “cultural-distance nationalism,” which means, in her words, “taking the position that our country will be better off with more whites and fewer nonwhites.”

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While the Board affirms Wax’s right to free speech and academic freedom, such a right does not grant Wax the privilege to use the financial and logistical resources of Whig-Clio, which is partially funded and managed by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students.

Every student, alum, and administrator who plays a role in Whig-Clio is obligated to use the organization’s funds and power to shape campus conversation judiciously, in the interest and for the benefit of all students. As such, an invitation to Amy Wax constitutes malpractice.

The decision to invite Wax is as myopic as it is dangerous — and we will not stand for it. We urge the leaders of Whig-Clio to reconsider their invitation. If this appeal should fall upon deaf ears, we encourage readers who share our conviction — that Wax’s racism deserves no podium on our campus — to exercise their right to free speech accordingly.

Board Chairs

Chris Murphy ’20

Cy Watsky ’21

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Board Members

Samuel Aftel ’20

Arman Badrei ’22

Ariel Chen ’20

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Rachel Kennedy ’21

Ethan Li ’22

Madeleine Marr ’21

Jonathan Ort ’21