Princeton University group votes to rescind James Madison award from Sen. Ted Cruz

A Princeton University society has voted to rescind the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) following a student petition, according to Campus Reform.

The award is given to individuals who have "taken up the arduous but righteous cause of dedicating their life to the betterment of society."

Cruz, who attended Princeton University, was Cliosophic Park Chair during his time at the school.

What are the details?

The American Whig-Cliosophic Society voted to rescind the award with 37 members voting for the motion, 32 voting in opposition, and five members abstaining from the vote.

In March, Princeton University senior Brent Kibbey wrote an opinion piece in the school's newspaper revealing that a previously circulated petition received enough signatures for the society to hold an assembly and vote on the demand. In January, the Daily Princetonian's editorial board published a piece calling for the university to denounce the Texas senator after he objected to the certification of the Electoral College votes in early January.

The Cliosophic Society initially responded to the demands to strip Cruz of the honor in a statement, saying, "Though his recent objections to the certification of certain Electoral College votes were unquestionably disappointing, it does not implicate him in an 'insurrection,' and nothing has since changed regarding his stately record of public service."

"We strongly encourage all Whig-Clio members to refrain from embarrassing the Society by supporting this politically motivated effort to cancel Sen. Cruz and revoke his JMA," the statement conluded

The vote has been delivered to the Whig-Clio Board of Trustees for a final decision.

This is the first time in the group's history that it voted to rescind a James Madison Award.

What else?

In a statement, the current chair of the society, Matthew Wilson, told Campus Reform, "The Whig-Clio Assembly's decision to recommend revoking Senator Ted Cruz's James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service was embarrassing, and Whig-Clio members who supported the revocation did real damage to the integrity of the Society."

He continued, “Whig-Clio cannot claim to be a non-partisan organization if we hold Republican politicians to different standards than we do Democrats. ... I have made clear my unequivocal condemnation of Cruz's objections to the certification of Electoral College votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on January 6th, but his objections were not unprecedented, and the results of this Assembly amount to nothing more than a conceited attempt by left-wing students to inflate their own egos and cancel Princeton's most prominent conservative alumnus."

The outlet added that the Whig-Clio group was also recently accused of "suppressing conservative voices on campus" by its president.