Comments to The Daily Princetonian by the President of the Princeton Open Campus Coalition | STATEMENT

The following is an opinion contribution and reflects the author’s views alone.

A reporter at The Daily Princetonian has asked me to comment on matters pertaining to a guest lecture by Abigail Shrier, co-hosted by the Princeton Open Campus Coalition and The Tory. Seeking––as I always have––to engage and not ignore, a response in my capacity as President of the POCC is due. 

I have no doubts about the integrity of the ‘Prince’ reporters I personally know, and I know they pride themselves in the attempt––which at times can flounder––at robust, fair, and accurate reporting. But given the controversial nature of Mrs. Shrier’s invitation to Princeton, as well as the fact that two ‘Prince’ affiliates have suggested in emails to my friend Adam Hoffman that the “accuracy and fairness” of their reporting would be conditional, I have opted to release my responses to the ‘Prince’s’ questions here, publicly. To do so will 1) safeguard against the possibility of my perspective being misunderstood as a result of unduly selective quotation and 2) ensure that interested readers can access my comments intact. The ‘Prince’s’ writers are welcome to quote from these remarks in their publication.

‘Prince’ editors affirmed their commitment to “rigorous and truthful” reporting in response to a joint statement released by The Tory and the POCC on Wednesday. I have faith in the good intent of the ‘Prince’s’ writers and editorial staff, and I’ll hold them to their commitment to unconditional fairness. 

I. In response to a question about the interplay between the POCC’s commitment to open dialogue and the decision not to live-stream the event, I have said the following: 

 

“There were two competing interests––and good accompanying arguments––to be weighed in deciding whether to live-stream the event. On the one hand, we felt that no live stream would prompt students to feel more comfortable raising serious and robust questions. On the other hand, we felt that having some way to share the event with those who were unable to attend would enrich campus discourse by allowing a greater number of students to engage with the challenging material Mrs. Shrier presented. Upon consideration, we did ultimately decide to record the event. My understanding is that the recording will be released on The Tory’s YouTube page in the coming days. Moreover, the full transcript of Mrs. Shrier’s speech is available publicly on her website.”

II. In response to questions about our community’s reception of the event, I have made the following two comments:

 

 “Several POCC and Tory members reported that they were verbally harassed by peers during the lead-up to the event. Some students felt threatened. The fact that students could not be open about their desire to attend the event without feeling attacked for their curiosity is an unfortunate indicator of an unhealthy climate surrounding open discourse on campus.”

 

And,

 

“I’m glad that the GSRC and the Princeton Pride Alliance hosted a teach-in. I hope that those in attendance deepened their understanding, in some way, of the issues at hand. I also hope that those students came away from the event with further questions for study and reflection, and that the event prompted a genuine curiosity to learn more about trans issues.”

Myles McKnight

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