All alumni should support the efforts of the PAW board and its Chair, Marc Fisher, to make certain that PAW is fully guaranteed its editorial freedom as the University moves to take more control over the magazine. As Mr. Fisher notes: “PAW maintains and strengthens alumni engagement with Princeton through respectful and open discussion of University events and policies — an especially vital role in this time of national and campus debate about the nature of free speech.”
As co-founders of Princetonians for Free Speech, an alumni group focused on free speech and academic freedom at Princeton, we could not agree more. We have seen other universities move to limit alumni involvement in discussions of issues critical to the future of their institutions, a fact alluded to by Mr. Fisher in discussing what other universities have done to limit the role of alumni publications. In these times of attacks on free speech and academic freedom at many universities, a strong alumni involvement is needed more than ever. PAW should stay “a magazine by alumni for alumni” as its title page states.