Princeton University’s Board of Trustees acted judiciously in determining that erasing the name of former Princeton president and U.S. president Woodrow Wilson would not serve to “achieve meaningful changes in campus climate and culture.” Credit is also due to the student-led Princeton Open Campus Coalition for fostering reasoned dialogue among students. Shakespeare memorably observed, “The evil men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.” Student protesters—and some faculty—are quick to stand in judgment of the past in all its triumphs and failures, and they are peremptory in their demands to eradicate the memory of those who did not live up to the values to which their age gives priority. Few people, living or dead, including some progressive icons, would survive the withering gaze of a culture fueled by hunting for microaggressions and expecting trigger warnings. Princeton’s resolution to examine truthfully both the positive and the very real negative legacy of Woodrow Wilson will enlighten far more than scraping his name from its buildings.
How do you eradicate a heritage? Princeton’s Classics Department is working hard at it, with The New York Times celebrating its efforts. It is hardly the first attempt at “canceling” the cradle of Western Civilization. The war on classics has a medieval pedigree; it is a sad irony that elite academics have joined forces. Palimpsests reveal tangible […]
The Honorable José A. Cabranes, United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, warns of the destructive synergy of non-academic administrators and student activists on freedom of expression at America’s colleges and universities. He gave this speech upon accepting ACTA’s 2019 Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to […]
ACTA believes that freedom of expression is the lifeblood of teaching, learning, and the pursuit of truth, and we have been on the front lines in the fight to protect the open expression of ideas for over two decades. View this quick reference on where we stand on the issue.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
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