Whig Hall. Courtesy of whigclio.princeton.edu
On Thursday, March 4, the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, colloquially known as Whig-Clio, voted to revoke the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service (JMA) from Senator Ted Cruz ’92 (R-Texas). The JMA, which Whig-Clio has historically given to distinguished politicians, is the society’s highest honor. Following the vote, the matter was handed to the Whig-Cliosophic Society Board of Trustees.
On Friday, April 9, Whig-Clio’s members received an email announcing that following “discussions with the Whig-Clio Trustee Board,” the society had decided not to revoke Cruz’s award.
An Embattled Whig-Clio
The American Whig-Cliosophic Society, or Whig-Clio as it is better known, has faced recurring accusations of anti-conservative bias in recent years.
The society faced the Amy Wax controversy in 2018. Wax, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was disinvited to speak less than 20 hours before her free speech-themed event was scheduled. Several figures associated with the University, including President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83, criticized that decision.
More recently, Tory Publisher and former Cliosophic Party Chair Adam Hoffman ’23 accused Whig-Clio of deliberately stifling conservative voices by preventing prominent figures, such as former University trustee George Will ’68 GS and D.C. Court of Appeals judge Neomi Rao, from speaking.
Whig-Clio, Princeton, and Ted Cruz
The American Whig-Cliosophic Society was founded in 1765 by students, including James Madison and Aaron Burr, and is the oldest collegiate political society in the United States. The society’s website boasts former members as varied as Ralph Nader ’55, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ’72, and President Andrew Jackson, who is an honorary member.
The society bestows the prestigious James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service (JMA) upon “an individual who has taken up the arduous but righteous cause of dedicating their life to the betterment of society.” In recent years, this award has been given to national figures, including President Bill Clinton and Texas Senator Ted Cruz ’92.
Following Cruz’s objections to the certification of election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania before the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol Building, several petitions circulated that called on the University and Whig-Clio to punish Cruz, with one asking President Eisgruber to consider revoking his Princeton degree. Cruz has publicly and harshly condemned the riots.
Another petition requested a Whig-Clio assembly meeting to revoke Cruz’s James Madison Award, which the society bestowed upon him in 2016. Whig-Clio has not revoked a JMA since the award’s creation in 1960.
Whig-Clio and Ted Cruz
A championship debater at Princeton, Senator Cruz was Cliosophic Party Chair during his time at the University.
Since graduating, Cruz has returned to the University and Whig-Clio on several occasions. In November 2020, Cruz participated in a live webinar with several hundred students on behalf of Whig-Clio. To date, this was the largest attended event hosted by Whig-Clio in the 2020-2021 academic year.
On Thursday, March 4, Whig-Clio held an assembly to discuss revoking Cruz’s JMA after a Whig-Clio member’s petition reached the signature threshold. During the 90-minute assembly, members gave passionate but respectful speeches both for and against rescinding the award.
Following the assembly, Whig-Clio’s members voted to rescind a JMA for the first time in the society’s history. 37 members voted to rescind, 32 voted not to rescind, and five abstained.
Peter Colvin ’21 argued that Cruz’s JMA should not be revoked. “[Revoking a JMA] is unconstitutional,” he said to the Tory. “Whig-Clio’s decision was ill-conceived and reactionary.” However, Colvin believes that the discussion during the assembly convinced many voters to not vote in favor of rescinding the award. “The fact that the final vote tally was so close despite more people speaking in favor of rescinding the award suggests that a lot of people went in supporting removal and then decided to keep the status quo.”
In an interview with the Tory, Clio Chair Matthew Wilson ’24 also criticized the society’s decision. “In [voting to rescind] Cruz’s JMA, Whig-Clio is holding [the senator] to a different standard than they would hold other politicians not named Ted Cruz,” he explained. “It is unfortunate to see that students are choosing to further their own egos at the expense of Whig-Clio’s reputation,” he added.
Following Whig-Clio’s vote, the matter was handed to the organization’s board of trustees, who hold the final authority on whether or not to revoke the award. “I just received word this afternoon of the discussion last evening and the vote of the student members of Whig-Clio,” noted Chairman of Whig-Clio’s Board of Trustees Clyde Rankin III in a March 5th message to the Tory.
Whig-Clio Will Not Rescind Cruz’s Award
On the morning of Friday, April 9, members of the Whig-Cliosophic Society received an email from the organization’s Vice President, Grace Xu ’22. Decisions surrounding Whig-Clio’s JMA selection have historically fallen under the purview of the society’s Vice President.
“After discussions with the Whig-Clio Trustee Board, the Whig-Cliosophic Society will not be revoking Senator Ted Cruz’s James Madison Award,” the email read.
“Under our Constitution, there is no basis for a new group of students to evaluate actions after the JMA is given and subsequently to revoke the award,” the email continued.
In comments emailed to the Tory, Whig-Clio Vice President Grace Xu explained what happened following the vote to rescind the award. “After the vote, we sent the results to the trustees, and we had a conversation with the trustees about the Assembly and their opinions on whether to rescind the JMA or not,” she noted.
“As of now, the Constitution does not have any procedure about JMA rescission,” Xu continued, leaving the door open to amending this provision and revoking the JMA from an award-winner in the future.
Whig Clio Will Sanction Cruz
Despite announcing that the award would not be rescinded, Whig-Clio’s officers remained critical of the senator. “[The decision not to revoke the award] does not mean we agree with Senator Cruz’s actions,” the email read. “It is clear that Senator Cruz’s recent actions do not represent ‘an individual who has taken up the arduous but righteous task of dedicating their life to the betterment of society,’ as the JMA calls for.”
Although Whig-Clio will not rescind Cruz’s JMA, the email explains that the society will remove all photos of the senator on the website. The website also has pictures of James Madison, Mark Twain, and Adlai Stevenson ’22. “We are reconsidering Senator Cruz’s relationship with the society,” the email continued. “We will not be inviting him onto campus for the coming year.”
Xu explained to the Tory that the decision to remove Senator Cruz’s images from the website was made by senior officers in Whig-Clio “with feedback from the trustee board.” However, Xu clarified that the society would not remove Cruz’s name from the James Madison Award’s page or Whig-Clio’s list of notable alumni. Cruz currently features heavily on both pages.
Changes Expected at Whig-Clio
The email explained that the selection process for the James Madison Award, Whig-Clio’s highest honor, will change going forward. Although the duty of selecting a JMA recipient has traditionally been left to the society’s Vice President, Whig-Clio will attempt to “open it more to general membership.”
In her comments to the Tory, Xu hinted at what this could look like. “In terms of the JMA going forward, I would love to have the wider society potentially submit candidates for the JMA and have them vote on who they would like to see receive the award,” she explained.
“We will rethink the criteria for the JMA to provide for more consistent selections so this do[es] not arise in the future,” the email stated.
Clio Party Chair Matthew Wilson ’24 noted that he was not involved with the discussions with the trustees. “I was told about the [statement] less than 24 hours before its release, and was not asked for my input,” explained Wilson.
Wilson was primarily concerned with how Whig-Clio may treat JMA selection differently going forward. “I disagree with the arbitrary and politically-motivated language of the statement, and I’m especially concerned by the statement’s promise to ‘rethink the criteria’ for awarding the JMA so that conservatives don’t receive the award in the future.”
The original petition that called the vote to rescind his award specifically cited Cruz’s alleged “role in inciting the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th,” something that occurred over four years after Cruz was awarded the JMA in 2016.
Whig-Clio’s Steps Moving Forward
Whig-Clio announced that they would audit the society’s alumni to scrutinize former members’ past behavior. “We also acknowledge the harmful practices of other former Whig-Clio members, and therefore will begin a deeper dive into the history of our organization and of our alumni,” the email stated.
In her statement to the Tory, Xu explained that the details of this project have yet to be decided. “We’re working with the Secretary branch [of Whig-Clio], whose role includes handling Whig-Clio’s history and archives, to support a project reflecting the Society’s history,” she noted, however.
Xu suggested investigating Whig-Clio’s slaveholding alumni as an example. “Many of our alumni were slave owners, and that’s not something that we’ve really looked into as a Society,” she noted, pointing the Tory to an article from the Daily Princetonian by Whig-Clio President Julia Chaffers ‘22. Whig-Clio’s website notes that the society was “founded in 1765 by students like James Madison and Aaron Burr.” Both Madison and Burr owned slaves. Xu declined to specify a standard for censorship or identify which society alumni will meet a fate similar to Senator Cruz.
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