When black student activists at Princeton University began protesting last fall against what they saw as a poor racial climate on the campus, Joshua Freeman just didn’t get it. Mr. Freeman, a sophomore, is black and describes himself as a liberal — a background shared by many, if not most, of the recent protesters here. He’s an engineering major, and he can count on one or two hands the number of African-American and Hispanic students in the program, which enrolls about 60 students. He’s never had a black or Hispanic professor. Still, "there has not been a time when I’ve felt uncomfortable on this campus," Mr. Freeman said in an interview last week. Really? "Absolutely not," he said, smiling. "People here are cool!"