Princeton Freshman Tal Fortgang Appears on Fox News

Freshman Tal Fortgang was interviewed on Fox News Thursday night about the issue of privilege. Fortgang appeared on the show “On The Record With Greta Van Susternen" to discuss an article he wrote for the April edition of The Princeton Tory, Princeton's conservative publication.

Fortgang has received significant publicity after his article, “Checking My Privilege: Character as the Basis of Privilege,” went viral two days ago. The article has been shared over one hundred thousand times on Facebook after being picked up by the website thecollegefix.com on Tuesday. Since then, the article has been republished on websites such as theblaze.com and youngcons.com. Fortgang has been interviewed on numerous radio stations before appearing Thursday night on Fox News.

In his interview on Fox News, Fortgang discussed why he takes issue with being told to “check his privilege.” Fortgang said that he takes offense to what he perceives as people who believe that just being white makes him privileged.“The idea that my white skin has gotten me everything that I have handed to me on a silver platter is laughable,” Fortgang said.  Fortgang cited his family’s difficult journey to the United States, noting that his own path to Princeton was never assured.“I am two generations removed from Hitler trying to kill my grandparents,” Fortgang said.Outside of the conservative blogosphere, his now viral article has received a cold reception from many of his peers. Only days after his article was published, freshman Mitchell Hammer wrote an op-ed in the Daily Princetonian titled “What ‘check your privilege’ really means,” criticizing Fortgang for misunderstanding what it means to be privileged.Hammer wrote:

"What Fortgang does not realize is that privilege does not necessarily require being able to trace your lineage back to Rockefeller or Vanderbilt. Privilege can be independent of your family’s past, of your actual socioeconomic status, of real hardship you or your ancestors may have endured. What privilege means is being able to confidently enter any social sphere without fear of rejection. Privilege means never questioning the bias of the feedback and grading you receive from your professors or employers. Privilege means living your life free from consideration and hyper-awareness of your race, gender or sexuality."

On Wednesday, two students from Columbia University also published an op-ed in the Columbia Spectator, Columbia’s daily newspaper, similarly criticizing Fortgang for misunderstanding the idea of white, male privilege, writing that "he clearly hasn’t checked his privilege—because he doesn’t even understand what it is."