In ‘Terms of Respect,’ Princeton president argues colleges are encouraging free speech

Geoff Bennett:

In his second term, President Trump has waged an all-out war on higher education by, among other things, freezing billions in federal grant funding, launching investigations into dozens of institutions over DEI practices, targeting and detaining students who hold pro-Palestinian views, and more recently developing a plan to change how universities are awarded research grants, giving a competitive advantage to schools that mirror President Trump's values.

But a new book by Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber argues that, despite criticism, colleges and universities are meeting the moment when it comes to permitting free speech on campus.

I spoke with Eisgruber recently about his book, "Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right."

Christopher Eisgruber, welcome to the "News Hour."

Christopher L. Eisgruber, President, Princeton University:

Delighted to be here. Thank you.

Geoff Bennett:

In this book, you argue that, despite much criticism, American colleges are largely doing free speech right. What observations led you to that conclusion?

Christopher L. Eisgruber:

Some of it is about observations on my own campus at Princeton University, where I find students and faculty very engaged on issues and able to talk civilly with each other. Some of it's about broader observations.

There's a lot of attention that gets paid to, I think, relatively rare incidents where things go wrong, and I understand why those attract attention. But there's a lot going right, and it's going right at a time when our country, along with our college campuses, faces a crisis where people find it hard to talk to one another.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, critics make the point that universities have betrayed free speech, that professors indoctrinate students, that conservatives are silenced.

You have urged university leaders to be what you call visibly open to conservative viewpoints. What does that look like in practice?

Christopher L. Eisgruber:

Yes, well, I would say people make those claims, but the evidence, I think, doesn't support those claims.

It is really important for universities to signal their willingness to engage around all kinds of viewpoints. One of the things we know about the United States today is that people divide into opposing political camps, and they tend to demonize the people in the other camps.

A poll out of Johns Hopkins, for example, finds that half of Republicans and half of Democrats think that people in the opposing party are downright evil. That was the term that the pollsters used. Under those circumstances, it's very important not just to allow free speech to occur, but to give clear signals about the willingness to engage with the other side, and that's important on university campuses.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, walk us through one or two campus controversies, whether recent or historical, that illustrate both the pitfalls and successes you describe in the book, places where colleges got it right, where they met the moment, and others where they might have failed.

Christopher L. Eisgruber:

Well, let me start by talking about some of the recent controversies that we have had around Israel and Palestine and the arguments about what justice requires in the Middle East.

I would say, first of all, there are lots of arguments on both sides taking place on college campuses. People are engaging with one another. Some of that happens through protests. And in terms of getting it right, I think it's very important that colleges adhere to the principles that come out of the United States Constitution.

It's really important that people be able to say their minds, to express what they believe. It's also important that colleges enforce the kind of time, place, and manner rules that allow people to go about their business and allow people who want to listen to what's being said to hear from the other side.

So I think where you see things going right is when colleges are both allowing for free speech, including in the form of protests, and enforcing time, place, and manner restrictions, so that students who want to get to class are able to do that, so that speech remains orderly on the campus.

Free speech does allow for protests. That's an important part of what free speech allows in our country. But the job of universities is to create civil discussions about these topics that go beyond what happens during protests.

Geoff Bennett:

And in this moment where the Trump administration has slashed billions of dollars in federal funding for universities, labeled universities as liberal bastions, how do you defend Princeton and higher education more broadly against what appears to be a sustained campaign to weaken it or at least force a desired outcome?

Christopher L. Eisgruber:

Well, I think what's important for people to realize is that American research universities are extraordinary engines for American prosperity, health, and security.

The quality of the research taking place and the quality of the teaching taking place on these campuses is exceptional. They're magnets for talent from throughout the world. And that's something that people should be able to appreciate and that the government should be able to appreciate and people in Congress should be able to appreciate, regardless of what their political opinions are.

So I think part of what we need to do as universities is to admit, when things have gone wrong, that they have gone wrong. We need to emphasize where we have been able to do extraordinarily well and the strengths that American universities demonstrate. And we need to be articulate about the set of principles that guide us through what are a difficult set of controversies.

Geoff Bennett:

The book title, "Terms of Respect," it struck me, what does respect mean in the context of free speech on campus? Who gets to define those terms? And how do you avoid them becoming tools for censorship?

Christopher L. Eisgruber:

Yes.

I think one of the things to understand about the terms of respect and what respect is, nobody gets to authoritatively define what respect means. Part of what we do in the United States, an important part of free speech controversies is that we contest what it means to be appropriately respectful.

So I think university leaders have a responsibility to model respect for all persons on their campus, and they have a responsibility to create for civil discourse. But an important part of what's going on in the United States right now, as we argue with one another during a very polarized time, is that people are competing to define what counts as appropriate respect.

Geoff Bennett:

In reading this book, one of the prevailing questions I had for you is, what's it like to lead a university in this moment with political attacks from Washington, intense scrutiny of campus debates, rising polarization shaping nearly every decision?

What's it like now, as compared to when you started more than a decade ago?

Christopher L. Eisgruber:

Well, two things are constant about my job.

One is, it's a wonderful job, because I get to be part of this extraordinary academic community with students and faculty members who inspire me every day. The second thing that's constant about my job is that it's always been a hard job because there are lots of different constituencies that have very strong views about what it is that the university should be doing, and they disagree with one another, as they should.

So that makes these jobs demanding. It has gotten harder. I think, when you have a multi-constituency job, and you have got a lot of disagreement and polarization in the country, that makes things harder. Obviously, educational institutions have been in the crosshairs and centers of controversy in our country right now.

That makes things harder. But it's also really important that we be able to get this right, because these institutions are important to what America is and important to our future.

Geoff Bennett:

Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber.

The book is "Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right."

A real pleasure to speak with you. Thank you.

Christopher L. Eisgruber:

Thank you. I appreciate it.