Furman Free Speech Round-Up (JUNE 2025)
Reflecting on this year's commencement address and celebrating the Fourth of July!
Welcome to our June 2025 newsletter! We apologize that it is coming out so late this month, but we think we have a good excuse.
To explain, I’ll have to introduce myself. My name is Evan Myers. I graduated from Furman in 2021. My wife, Helena, graduated in 2022. And late last month, she gave birth to our second child! So, as I’m sure many of you understand, our lives have been quite hectic the past few weeks!
On top of that, our team at the Furman Free Speech Alliance has also been working to prepare new types of content we will roll out at the beginning of the coming academic year, including some changes to this newsletter! We’re still finalizing plans, but suffice it to say that there is a lot to look forward to.
So, stay tuned for more as we move from the summer into the fall.
Looking Back:
This month, we wanted to look back at Furman’s commencement ceremony in May, and highlight the excellent commencement address delivered by Kristin Huguet Quayle ’99, vice president of worldwide communications for Apple.
In her speech, which you can read here, she extolled the class of 2025 to “be curious,” “ask questions,” and avoid “echo chambers.” She also encouraged the graduates to never “give up on finding a career that you really, truly want to put your whole heart into.” And finally, she urged them to “embrace the journey.”
It was an excellent speech, and we hope its message about the importance of asking questions and remaining curious will stick with not only the class of 2025, but also the Furman faculty and administrators who attended commencement.
Furman is at its best when it’s not an echo chamber, but a vibrant community of people with different perspectives. At the Furman Free Speech Alliance, we’re working hard to make sure the community not only exists on campus, but also among Paladin alumni.
And with that in mind, we would also like to congratulate the graduating class of 2025 and welcome them to our growing alumni community. We hope that you will subscribe to our Substack, and if there’s anything we can do to help — whether it’s securing a job or making friends in a new city — don’t hesitate to reach out!
One Fact You Should Know:
America’s 250th birthday can also be called: the “Semiquincentennial,” the Bisesquicentennial, the Sestercentennial, or the Quarter Millennium.
Looking Ahead:
July 4th will mark 249 years since our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and declared that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with the unalienable right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
We hope that you all enjoy the celebrations as much as we will. And as we rapidly approach America’s 250th birthday, we also hope that everyone takes some time to reflect on the wonderful liberties we enjoy in this country, especially the freedom of speech.
The Furman Free Speech Alliance and other alumni councils like us across the country exist to preserve a culture of free speech on our campuses.
If the last twenty years have taught us anything, it is that what happens on campus will spill out into America’s broader culture. If we want freedom of speech to flourish in America for another 250 years, then fixing our college campuses is the place to start!
In the Network:
Alumni can make a real difference! Earlier this month, Florida University rejected Santa Ono from becoming the new president of the university because of a campaign that highlighted his past support for DEI. Read more here.