The following is a guest contribution and reflects the author’s views alone. For information on how to submit a piece to the Opinion section, click here.
It is said Princeton is “in” New Jersey but not “of” New Jersey. This statement is not without merit, and Princeton must do more to nurture students who fulfill its motto of service and who do so right here in New Jersey.
Princeton can foster — and has — opportunities for students to work with local communities to make the state more just, welcoming, and fair. We know because we are the 2024–2025 cohort of SPIA in NJ’s Garden State Fellowship, which provides fellows with the opportunity to work in a social impact organization on state policy the year after graduation.
The fellowship launched us into public policy careers: Lauren at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, Madison at the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, and Olivia at Fair Share Housing Center. The fellowship has been life changing, giving all of us a unique chance to impact policy in criminal legal reform, immigration, and housing, right out of undergrad.
As recent graduates, we also know there is a lack of paths for Princeton students to enter careers in state or local level advocacy and that such change is undervalued at our alma mater. Seen as less impactful, less important, and less elite, state and local issues take the backseat to international and national matters at Princeton. Programming — like SINSI, Princeton in Washington, the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, the Novogratz Bridge Year Program, the James Madison Program, and many more — reflects this. While these programs are all valuable, the lack of interest in state and local change is a product of the programs Princeton chooses to invest in, which cultivate and deepen students’ interests and experiences.
State and local work entails proximity to community, and it can be high impact and fast-paced in the way that federal policy is. Important policy areas that shape people’s daily lives are decided and implemented on a local level, including land use, education, and policing.
Take the Seabrooks-Washington bill, passed last year in New Jersey, which supports community response teams that assist people in mental health crises. Similarly, the Fair Chance in Housing Act, passed in 2021, was the first comprehensive and statewide housing discrimination bill of its kind to prohibit landlords from asking about an applicant’s criminal record on initial housing applications.The state can be an incubator for innovative and transformative policies like these, creating momentum for wider change.
Moreover, policy is more effective when built in collaboration with impacted communities, and because constituencies are necessarily smaller, it can be easier for communities to have impactful voices in state and local policy making.
Facing the reality of increased federal attacks, it is the responsibility of everyone, but especially those with power, to defend civil rights and liberties where they can. As Princeton alumnae, we are incredibly proud of Princeton for standing its ground against threats to the freedom of speech that underpins liberal arts education.
Because the United States is a federalist nation, state and local policy and advocacy are also powerful venues to defend civil rights and liberties. State attorney generals have filed lawsuits over cuts in federal funding due to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and committed to civil rights enforcement in the face of significant cuts to federal enforcement.
As the federal government becomes distorted and weaponized, undercutting individual federal employees, we have far more power to effect change at the local level. And as federal public interest careers are slashed, there are dwindling opportunities for new practitioners to enter these fields. It is more important than ever to nurture Princeton students to enter those venues to leverage their education in the service of their most immediate communities.
It is important to cultivate in students interest in local and state level change, because it is the most direct way to give back to the New Jersey community that sustains the University. The University could not exist without the people of New Jersey, but the current climate around elite institutions shows that they have not been doing enough to justify themselves to the communities that exist alongside them. The attacks on elite universities are horrid and strike at the very core of our constitutional rights. Student visas are being arbitrarily revoked, curriculum and admission practices are being forced to adhere to the ideology of the federal government, and federal funding has been weaponized and frozen, including at Princeton.
It is heartening that the majority of Americans disapprove of how President Trump is handling issues related to colleges and universities, but 42% of American adults polled by AP-NORC expressed approval for President Trump’s actions against universities. We worry that if the public sees elite universities as powerful places that serve only the powerful, elite institutions are not perceived as deserving of the immense resources they hold.
It is important to show the public that elite institutions do not only create more bankers, consultants, and technology CEOs. We must create pathways for students interested in public interest work to do so on a state and local level. There are many students interested in such work; the problem lies in a lack of known pathways into it. The path to becoming a consultant is much clearer for Princeton students than the path to becoming a local advocate for voting rights.
All three of us have had our career paths transformed by the fellowship, which has strengthened our dedication to and clarified our vision for public interest work. Olivia has been working on the implementation of New Jersey’s affordable housing laws, Madison has been advocating for legislation on immigration, and Lauren has been researching and designing criminal legal reform. We have connected with community members, advocates, and lawmakers, deepening our understanding of how progress is made while representing Princeton to New Jersey.
Nonprofits, public schools, and elite universities are now facing existential threats, and partnership and investment in local policy and advocacy is more important than ever. As Princeton stands up to fight for freedom of speech and inquiry, we encourage the University to begin sowing more seeds of bright, engaged minds into the Garden State.
Lauren Aung ’24, Madison Linton ’24, and Olivia Ragan ’24 are members of the 2024–2025 Garden State Fellowship Cohort. They can be reached at laung@alumni.princeton.edu, mlinton@alumni.princeton.edu, and oragan@alumni.princeton.edu respectively.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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