Help save Princeton’s

On October 27th, Princeton announced that it is effectively cancelling all future Outdoor Action, Community Action, and DDA orientation trips for incoming students. For more than 50 years, these small-group trips have welcomed students to Princeton and have been instrumental in building friendships, belonging, and a positive campus culture. We need your voice to help save them. We are asking the University to reverse the decision.

0have signed

… to 2,500, then it goes to Nassau Hall in print.

+0today
0class years
—oldest to youngest

What orientation means to us (fresh from the board)

Read all 0 stories on the board →

Why it matters

What Orientation means to us

Every story, filed by program. Yours goes on top when you sign.

Stories from all three programs, newest first.

What changed (the short version)

No orientation tripsand orientation shrinks from 12 days to 8, from fall 2027
All → someno longer for every first-year. Limited spots.
“Budget”the stated reason. No figure given.

Per the University’s Oct 27 email, The Daily Princetonian and PAW. Feedback sessions for former leaders run Oct 29 to Nov 18.

What we’re asking for

From the scrapbook

Frequently asked questions

In the news (clippings)

Coverage, opinion, the University’s own documents, the original petition and the research. Everything opens in a new tab.

Take more action (if you have half an hour)

Be polite! Everyone involved wants what’s best for Princeton.

Write to President Eisgruber and Vice President Calhoun

To: eisgruber@princeton.edu, rochelle.calhoun@princeton.edu
Cc: m.antonetti@princeton.edu

Please use your own words -- not our template or AI slop. Advocacy is most effective when it comes from a personal place. Some points you can consider when drafting:

Frosh Trip needs to be during orientation. OA Frosh Trip’s mission requires meeting students before they get into the rhythm of classes, athletics, and eating clubs. A trip two months into the semester will be a poorly attended backpacking club, not an orientation.
The leader community will wither. OA Frosh Trip depends on continual replacement of the Leader cohort, and training those leaders requires institutional knowledge and culture. Stopping Frosh Trip for even a year or two will do irreparable harm.
OA’s effectiveness is supported by evidence. Studies of OA and similar programs, while imperfect, link them to stronger social support and to more accurate beliefs about campus drinking. See the further reading.
Students seem not to have been consulted. A change this disruptive needs community feedback, and the budget rationale for cutting a volunteer-run program is hard to square with a record endowment.

Start an email Read an example letter

Send it to PAW or the Prince too

If you’re willing, share your thoughts publicly. This change needs to be communicated widely before it’s too late to fix it.

Princeton Alumni Weekly: email paw@princeton.edu. Up to 250 words for print, 500 for online.
The Daily Princetonian: email opinion@dailyprincetonian.com. Letters to the editor run 100 to 400 words.

Tell your classmates (this is the part that works)

Text or email your trip-mates, your leaders, the frosh you led, and anyone else from orientation you’re still in touch with. Having your friends hear it from you personally will help more than a social media post.