“I would say Buckley is mostly a way to make spaces and foster very difficult conversations, but they’re conversations and dialogue that I think need to happen. And even in some of the more touchy and difficult topics, it’s always been in a respectful manner, which I’ve appreciated.”

— Toby Neal ’27

“My favorite Buckley event this semester was the Firing Line debate on whether gender should be included in legal frameworks. Both speakers brought passion and lived experience to the table, and their candid discussion over dinner—extending beyond the formal debate—left a lasting impression. It was a rare moment of genuine engagement on a contentious topic.”

— Hilda Barragan-Reyes ’26

“I think that regardless of what people take away from some of our speakers or events, I find the speakers we bring in to be top-notch, giving me an interesting, new perspective to take away.”

— Will Barbee ’26

“Although I am liberal, I believe that it’s important to challenge my own viewpoints radically different from my own…”

— Yenjay Hu ’28

“The Buckley Institute always boasted a consistently strong and intellectually engaging slate of speakers. I didn’t find this in my classes, and the Institute challenged me to explore areas and ideas I didn’t find elsewhere.”

— Kevin Xiao LAW ’27

“I really enjoyed the Buckley event with Megyn Kelly. She was fiery, sharp, and honest (no doubt controversial at times), but it was refreshing, and I’m so glad we could have her at Yale. Getting to meet her behind the scenes was really special.”

— Fiona Bultonsheen MPP ’26

“I think what’s working is once you go to one event, especially the conference, it feels very organized.”

— David Dumontet ’28

“Thank you for putting on an incredible conference—loved the whole event from fascinating panel discussions to Governor DeSantis’ motivational speech.”

— Matthew Guella SOM '26

“I liked the panel on how to save the reputation of elite universities. Hearing practical solutions and diagnoses for what individuals and universities can and should do helped create a vision.”

— Tori Cook ’27