The State of our Universities.
This week, Nick, Nathan and I spent time at the University of Auckland’s O-Week meeting the next generation of leaders — and PILLAR’s presence was loud and clear.
Over the course of the week, PILLAR:
✅ Engaged face-to-face with more than 600 students
✅ Signed up over 300 young people to get involved through events, club membership, and volunteering
✅ Helped dozens of students enrol to vote ahead of November, encouraging them to take up their civic responsibility
✅ Grew our TikTok & Instagram audience by over 500 followers, pushing our total engaged community past 10,000 supporters.
Beyond the numbers, what stood out most was the deeper reality facing our universities…
Too often, we hear troubling stories from within university spaces - stories of environments that no longer encourage genuine freedom of thought, intellectual curiosity, or academic debate. Increasingly, many students encounter a culture where diversity is celebrated in looks and appearance but resisted in thought.
While this may not describe every corner of university life, it is a trend that cannot be ignored.
However, as we often say, these spaces cannot and should not be abandoned, rather, they need redemption.
Universities are meant to be places where truth is pursued, ideas are tested, and future leaders are formed. A free and flourishing society depends on academic institutions that produce informed citizens capable of critical thinking, debate, and visionary, servant leadership.
That is why PILLAR is on campus - this week confirmed for us that the effort matters.
The hundreds of young people we connected with impressed us...truly! They are curious, sceptical and energetic, passionate and enthusiastic – rarely are they apathetic! They desire change and are ready to fight. Though at times ill-informed they are willing to listen and debate.
But, if lecturers and leadership in the university are not willing to take up the mantle to create spaces for rigorous debate and pursue knowledge and truth over ideology, then someone else must.
That is the role PILLAR is stepping up to play 🔥
If ideas are not challenged in class we should not be surprised when graduates leave university with little regard for liberty or the principles that sustain a free society. When technocratic thinking replaces principle, or when loyalty to ideology overrides human nature, and when ‘noble’ ends are used to justify any means?
Students deserve better than that. Our country deserves better than that - I’m sure you agree.
This year, our goal is to reach every major university campus in the country, bringing a voice for intellectual inquiry, freedom of thought, and open debate to thousands more students.
If you believe this work matters — if you want to see more young people engaging with the ideas that helped our nation flourish, and challenging the ideas that have led to decline in some areas — would you, Friend, consider supporting PILLAR with a donation?
Your support helps us continue showing up on campus, having these conversations, and equipping the next generation to think critically and lead with vision and courage.
If you’d like to hear more about what happened this week, I’d encourage you to listen to our latest podcast episode, where Nick and Nathan share some of the fascinating conversations they had with law and history students during O-Week.
Thank you for standing with us, Friend.
