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Matthew Wilson


Charter Club, its flag, and American flag looms in front of a bright blue sky

We must not let eating clubs be ideological safe spaces

"The notion that merely being in the vicinity of someone whose views you find objectionable qualifies as a legitimate threat to your safety, health, or well-being is patently absurd — and should not be validated by any authority, Charter’s leadership included."

"The notion that merely being in the vicinity of someone whose views you find objectionable qualifies as a legitimate threat to your safety, health, or well-being is patently absurd — and should not be validated by any authority, Charter’s leadership included."


blue sky in front of a wide area with stone floors and steps and a fountain with water coming out of it.  There are also buildings at the back.

On institutional neutrality and double-standards

For universities that have publicly strayed from the bounds of nonsectarian impartiality in favor of ideological bias and moralizing partisanship in the past, feigned neutrality or a selective reluctance to speak out now is totally unacceptable and reeks of an underlying moral and ethical rot.

For universities that have publicly strayed from the bounds of nonsectarian impartiality in favor of ideological bias and moralizing partisanship in the past, feigned neutrality or a selective reluctance to speak out now is totally unacceptable and reeks of an underlying moral and ethical rot.


A view of a stone arch. The arch, surrounding trees, and sky are reflected in a puddle on the ground.

Letter to the Editor: Tired tropes add nothing new to campus free speech discourse

“This campus climate — where students’ political leanings largely determine whether they feel comfortable expressing themselves — is what is truly ‘toxic and polarizing.’”

"This campus climate — where students’ political leanings largely determine whether they feel comfortable expressing themselves — is what is truly “toxic and polarizing.”"


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Affirmative action has failed to create the diversity universities need

“Limiting what counts to the racial boxes an applicant checks off, as race-based affirmative action does, comes with serious pitfalls for pursuing the vision of diversity that universities owe their students. And the unique experiences that can accompany a student’s racial identity forms just one part of the diversity equation.”

“Limiting what counts to the racial boxes an applicant checks off, as race-based affirmative action does, comes with serious pitfalls for pursuing the vision of diversity that universities owe their students. And the unique experiences that can accompany a student’s racial identity forms just one part of the diversity equation.”


commencement-president-eisgruber-angel-kuo

On Eisgruber's commencement sermon

“His ideologically-tainted polemics debasing the real value of free speech must cease, particularly in situations in which he (implicitly or explicitly) represents the University.”

“His ideologically-tainted polemics debasing the real value of free speech must cease, particularly in situations in which he (implicitly or explicitly) represents the University.”


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We should all be ashamed of what the Senior Survey shows

“The University is failing at its most important task: to form its students in the noble tradition of truth-seeking, dispassionate scholarship, liberal inquiry, and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.”

“If, as the Senior Survey’s data suggests, Princeton is fostering an environment that facilitates the mere training of ideologues and excludes those with unpopular opinions from full participation in campus discourse, then the University is failing at its most important task: to form its students in the noble tradition of truth-seeking, dispassionate scholarship, liberal inquiry, and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.”


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Class of ’27: choose scholarship, not dogmatism

“After all, ‘social justice activism’ can only be righteous if the causes championed and policies advanced are founded in moral and empirical truths about the human good. Faithfulness to truth and obedience to the habits of mind necessary for its discovery are the only things separating ideologues from people with a genuine yearning for human progress and development.”

“After all, “social justice activism” can only be righteous if the causes championed and policies advanced are founded in moral and empirical truths about the human good. Faithfulness to truth and obedience to the habits of mind necessary for its discovery are the only things separating ideologues from people with a genuine yearning for human progress and development.”


mccosh-walk-natalia-maidique

Consistency matters in campus free speech debates

“Instead of clamoring for institution-wide censures and official condemnations, we as students are called to vigorously debate and critically engage with those whose opinions we find abhorrent or objectionable.”

“Instead of clamoring for institution-wide censures and official condemnations, we as students are called to vigorously debate and critically engage with those whose opinions we find abhorrent or objectionable.”


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In defense of The New York Times: A response to Rohit Narayanan ’24

“While it’s true that student activists had little to do with Princeton’s recent decision to fire Katz, as Narayanan alleges, it’s a farce to pretend that the decision was free of political bias.”

 “While it’s true that student activists had little to do with Princeton’s recent decision to fire Katz, as Narayanan alleges, it’s a farce to pretend that the decision was free of political bias.” 


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It’s not just about Wax and Shapiro ’99: We can’t stand idly by while academic freedom gets thrown under the bus

“We must vigorously and consistently stand up for the freedoms, including the freedoms of those whose views we loathe, that help ensure our college education is just that — an education — rather than merely a four-year vacation in an ideological safe space.”

“We must vigorously and consistently stand up for the freedoms, including the freedoms of those whose views we loathe, that help ensure our college education is just that — an education — rather than merely a four-year vacation in an ideological safe space.”


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