The Daily Princetonian: November 4, 2022

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Friday November 4, 2022 vol. CXLVI no. 21

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Opinion Course selection adapts to larger student body, The Graduate but some departments School and Title remain overenrolled IX Office failed ACADEMICS

to keep me safe Vanessa

Anonymous Student

ABBY DE RIEL / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

By Madeleine LeBeau Staff News Writer

This semester, the University welcomed 1,500 new first-year students — its largest class ever — in the first year of a four-year planned undergraduate expansion.

Despite welcoming the largest first-year class in the University’s history, the percentage of occupied course seats remained consistent with past years. The University expanded the number of available student seats while offering roughly the same number of undergraduate classes as other recent semesters.

Specifically, this semester, the University offered 31,450 student seats in 984 classes, excluding writing seminar classes (WRI), and filled 72 percent of the offered seats. This overall percentage is in line with the prior year — 73 percent of seats occupied in Spring 2022 and 71 percent in Fall 2021.

For the 15 unlimited capacity classes offered this semester, The Daily Princetonian calculated the number of offered seats by

selecting the greatest number of registrations for that course since Fall 2021.

Approximately one-quarter of all non-WRI undergraduate courses — 239 out of 984 — are filled to capacity this semester.

While the enrollment increase did not substantially affect the overall percentage of occupied class seats, it did impact enrollment in freshman seminars (FRS). Compared with the Fall 2021 semester, the University expanded the number of FRS classes by only a single course for Fall 2022. Freshman seminars were enrolled at 89.1 percent capacity, the highest percentage of FRS seats filled on record since Fall 2019.

Of the 46 freshman seminars offered, 21 of them, or 45.7 percent, were completely filled — the highest percentage on record of any year recorded on Princeton’s course offerings website.

The ‘Prince’ also examined the percentage of seats filled by department or program.

Although many programs overseen by the Lewis Center for the Arts (LCA) — including Cre-

ative Writing and Dance — do not currently offer concentrations, the LCA offers some of the University’s most popular classes. In LCA programs, students claimed more than 92.3 percent of the 1,014 seats offered this semester.

Creative Writing introductory courses continued to be extremely popular. This is the first semester that the creative writing program did not require an application prior to enrollment in the creative writing poetry or fiction classes.

Professor Yiyun Li, Director of the Program in Creative Writing, wrote in an email to the ‘Prince’ that the program is “aware of the level of interest in creative writing courses” and noted that the program will “continue to explore all possibilities” as they work to accommodate as many students as possible.

Among other certificate programs, Medieval Studies, Latino Studies, and American Studies each exceeded 97 percent capacity, albeit offering a relatively small number of classes.

See COURSES page 2

IN TOWN

Gas line upgrade to bring more construction to Nassau Street, Palmer Square

By Charlie Roth

Staff News Writer

Construction on gas lines throughout Princeton town will begin in January, including on Nassau Street and in Palmer Square.

Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) presented these updates at the Oct. 24 meeting of the Princeton Town Council. Twelve miles of pipeline will be upgraded across 70 streets, causing construction to occur sporadically throughout the year.

This proposal comes amid many construction projects close to and on campus, including renovations to Witherspoon Street between Nassau Street and Green Street, which is scheduled to be completed in November, and the new Graduate Hotel, which is set to be completed in 2024.

Representatives from PSE&G said these replacements need to take place now because funding received from the New Jersey Board of

Utilities will expire at the end of 2023.

Princeton was chosen for this state-wide project because of its aging infrastructure, with some gas lines dating back to 1940, which were noted by the PSE&G as “critical.” According to slides presented in the meeting, the replacements will reduce leaks and methane emissions, in addition to decreasing consumer costs and increasing safety.

A specific timeline of See GAS LINE page 3

HEADLINE FROM HISTORY

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GOP, DEMOCRATS BOTH PREDICT STATEWIDE VICTORY NOVEMBER 4, 1958

Content warning: The following article contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault, domestic violence, and suicidal thinking.

If you or a friend have experienced sexual misconduct and are in need of assistance, Princeton has a number of resources that may be of use. You can also reach SHARE, Princeton’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources and Education service at 609-258-3310.

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, University Counseling services are available at 609-258-3141, and the Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 988 or +1 (800) 273TALK (8255). A Crisis Text Line is also available in the United States; text HOME to 741741.

For two months after I was assaulted, I was detached from emotion in the aftermath, unwilling to admit to myself that what happened to me could have ended my life. Only after

processing it could I put a name to it: it was strangulation, and in the context of a sexual relationship, it was domestic violence.

His hands were around my neck. I couldn’t breathe.

I tried forcefully inhaling, but no air came through my windpipe. The pressure on my neck increased. I closed my eyes and counted to …

Five? Eight? I don’t remember the exact number. I wondered if I was going to pass out. I became aware of a pain in my right thigh. It was his knee, pressing into my leg so hard that I felt like my femur would splinter into a thousand pieces. He was sober. We both were. I don’t remember the rest of that night.

I am a graduate student at Princeton. So is my perpetrator. Sexual assault and domestic violence are not treated with enough seriousness anywhere on campus, but they’re especially an afterthought when it comes to graduate life.

See TITLE IX page 10

ON CAMPUS

Plans announced for new computer science facility, apartment complex adjacent to Visual Arts building

By Charlie Roth Staff News Writer

During its Oct. 13 meeting, the Princeton Planning Board heard concept plans for the new computer science complex south of Frist Campus Center and approved plans for a new apartment building at 195 Nassau St. — which will include a mix of marketrate and affordable housing units.

These projects come during one of the most extensive periods of construction in Princeton’s history.

The proposal for the new complex includes renovations to Guyot Hall, Moffett Laboratory, and Schultz Laboratory, for a total of approximately 98,000 square feet of renovation and approximately 130,000 square feet of new construction.

The construction will create a rectangular structure connecting the existing

Guyot Hall and Moffett Lab. It will be named Eric and Wendy Schmidt Hall, for the Princeton alumnus and former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt ’76 and American businesswoman and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt. The couple has made significant contributions to the University before, endowing the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund (EWSF) in 2009 and a new professorship of Indigenous studies at Princeton in 2020.

According to the University’s proposal: “The new Eric and Wendy Schmidt Hall will serve as a unified home to the Computer Science Department, Center for Statistics and Machine Learning (CSML), the Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP), and the Princeton Institute for Computational Science See APARTMENT page 2

This Week on Campus “Osage Murders Reign of Terror” Discussion with EmmyAward-Winning Producers — Saturday, Nov. 5, 12 p.m., Carl A. Fields Center Multipurpose Room

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Election Day Watch Party — Tuesday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m., Whig Hall’s Senate Chamber

The Daily Princetonian

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Friday November 4, 2022

Whetstone: The only barrier to enrolling more students [in VIS] is having the faculty to teach them COURSES

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Within concentrations, psychology, art, sociology, anthropology, religion, politics, and chemistry saw the highest percentage of seats filled this semester. Notably, the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) is absent from this list.

In Spring 2022, SPIA filled 88 percent of its offered seats. This fall, SPIA offered 271 additional seats in its course offerings, 42 percent more than in Spring 2022, though enrollment only increased by 21 percent.

The bulk of the additional seats were offered in SPI 340: The Psychology of Decision Making and Judgment, which expanded the number of seats available from 85 in Fall 2021 to 180 in Fall 2022.

In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ SPIA Senior Associate Dean for Academic Administration Paul Lipton credited Professor Eldar Shafir for being able to expand the number of seats in this popular course.

“Professor Shafir was very gracious and went above and beyond to identify additional preceptors,” said Lipton. SPIA was therefore “able to increase the class size way beyond what [the course] would normally accommodate.”

In contrast to SPIA, the other three most popular concentra-

tions — computer science (COS), economics (ECO), and operations research and financial engineering (ORFE) — at the University offered fewer seats than in Spring 2022, despite the record-breaking size of the Class of 2026.

Between initial course registration and the beginning of Add/drop on Sept. 6, 229 course seats were eliminated, sending students searching for replacements. SPI 387: Education Policy in the United States, had 76 students registered before the class was canceled.

Lipton told the ‘Prince’ that the cancellation was forced by a lack of preceptors.

“We didn’t have any [preceptors],” explained Lipton, so with 76 students registered, “there was no way to format the class that would serve a class well without precepts.”

Overall, in Fall 2022, 27 classes were canceled and 11 classes were added since the initial course registration period.

Notwithstanding overall seat availability, students continue to express frustration about the classes that got away.

Sajia Shahrin Neha ’25 tried to get into both CWR 201: Creative Writing (Poetry) and VIS 201: Drawing I and was unable to secure a seat in either of the classes overseen by the LCA. Although not pursuing a certificate in either program, Neha told the ‘Prince’ that she was very interested in the courses and “emailed

the professors beforehand” to express interest in each class.

When she could not secure a seat, she “had to choose another random distribution requirement class that [she’s] far less interested in, which is kind of dispiriting and sad.” Neha intends to attempt enrollment in CWR 201 and VIS 201 again in the upcoming semester.

For more information about what classes students may have been looking to add when the add/drop process began, the ‘Prince’ requested anonymized data for this semester’s add/drop period from TigerSnatch.

TigerSnatch is a student-run application created by Shannon Heh ’23, Nicholas Padmanabhan ’23, and Byron Zhang ’23 during the Spring 2021 semester. TigerSnatch alerts a student if a seat becomes available in one or more classes to which they are “subscribed.”

In an email to the ‘Prince,’ Heh and Padmanabhan stated that, in total, 1,874 unique users — 33.8 percent of the undergraduate student body — subscribed to TigerSnatch notifications for the Fall 2022 semester. In total, the users registered for a total of 9,054 subscriptions, and had an average of 4.8 subscriptions per user.

Of the top TigerSnatch’d small classes, over half fell within programs in the Lewis Center for the Arts.

TigerSnatch data also indicated which departments/programs

had the most classes with students waiting to enroll. Visual arts (VIS), history (HIS), and English (ENG) were the most popular departments for students using TigerSnatch.

As with Spring 2022, VIS remained the program with the highest number of TigerSnatch’d classes, with 20 of its 23 classes having subscriptions during the add/drop period.

Director of the Visual Arts Program Jeff Whetstone explained in an email to the ‘Prince’ that his department had the same problems as in previous semesters: staffing and funding. “[T]he only barrier to enrolling more students [in VIS] is having the faculty to teach them,” he wrote. While the program has increased space in some classes by a seat or two, it “can’t possibly address demand without more faculty to teach classes.”

When asked whether the University may be considering adding faculty to the VIS program, Whetstone wrote that “from every indication [he has] received thus far, the University is not planning on increasing funds allocated to the VIS program for class instruction in the near future.” As a result, the VIS program is “unable to plan for an increased number of class offerings for Spring 2023.”

In 11 courses across several departments, professors greatly expanded their expected class size, or added more than five seats, af-

ter the initial registration period last spring.

Even with the addition of seats in these classes, class sizes remain small in many cases. 64.6 percent of all undergraduate courses (excluding WRI), have 15 or fewer students enrolled; another 18.8 percent of the undergraduate classes have between 16 and 30 students enrolled; classes with more than 30 students comprise 16.6 percent of the undergraduate courses offered.

The University intends to preserve typical class sizes for various types of classes. In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss said the “undergraduate expansion has been coupled with additional hires in the Princeton Writing Program and other departments to preserve [the University’s] typical seminar, class, and precept sizes.” Seven additional writing seminars were added this semester as compared to Spring 2022.

Course registration in TigerHub will open for the Spring 2023 semester from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2.

Madeleine LeBeau is a Staff Writer for the ‘Prince.’ Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@ dailyprincetonian.com.

Editor’s Note: The online version of this piece contains data visualizations and graphs.

McCoy: It’s important from the faculty point of view that they have a sense that they’re in one home APARTMENT Continued from page 1

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and Engineering (PICSciE).”

University Architect Ron McCoy emphasized the importance of the complex’s location on campus and how it will serve the computer science community.

“It’s a fantastic location because it’s right across

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from the Frist Campus Center, and [Computer Science] is the most popular department on campus for our undergraduate students, so it gives them a key location in the heart of campus,” McCoy said during the meeting.

Guyot Hall is currently the home of the program in Environmental Studies and the Department of Geo-

sciences, which will move to its new home in the Environmental Studies and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (ES + SEAS) complex when it is completed in 2025.

According to McCoy, the building’s design was, in part, informed by its future function.

“It’s important from the faculty point of view that

they have a sense that they’re in one home,” he said.

To that end, there will be a glass “bridge” connecting the existing Guyot Hall and the new structure. McCoy said the team would take measures not to compromise the original exterior of Guyot, constructed in 1909, which he described as “crusty and ornate, but we love it.”

Furthermore, there will be an additional entrance built on the south side of the building along Goheen Walk. The buildings that line Goheen walk now, which are currently central laboratory wings (not a part of Guyot, Moffett, or Schultz), will be removed to make room for a courtyard and a new building on the west side of the new complex.

Christopher DeGrezia, a land use lawyer representing the project, emphasized this is a concept plan and not the final proposal. A timeline was not included in the proposal.

“It gives us an opportunity to talk about it and hear some feedback, which we find very helpful,” he said during the meeting.

Later during the meeting, the planning board approved plans for a new apartment building that will be situated in what is currently the rear parking lot of 195 Nassau Street, next door to the Visual Arts building at 185 Nassau Street. The building will be five stories tall and hold 45 units that will be a mix of market-rate units and affordable housing.

“The Affordable Housing Overlay Zones were created to offer a realistic opportunity for the construction of affordable housing and to comply with the Municipality’s constitutional obligation to provide housing for low-and moderate-income households,“ wrote Mia Sacks, Chair of Council’s Affordable Housing, Planning and Redevelopment Committee in a statement sent to The Daily Princetonian.

According to TapInto Princeton in August, the developer of the apartment building is Micah Feiring of Princevest, a Princetonbased real estate investment

firm.

Jefferey Whetstone, director of the visual arts department, told the ‘Prince’ he didn’t think the new apartments or its construction would cause serious interruption for his faculty or students.

“I’m sure [the construction noise] will affect us some, but there’s plenty of noise in our building with students making stuff, so I can’t see it being a real hindrance to our activities here,” he said.

“I think there’s an obvious need for some affordable housing in Princeton,” he continued. “I would hope that the new development would enhance or play into the activity that we have going in our building.”

Sacks spoke further about how the new building will help to address such concerns.

“Our goal in crafting the AHO-1 and AHO-2 zones was to incentivize redevelopment consisting of multifamily residential with an affordable housing setaside, along with groundlevel retail, services, commercial and office space.”

“All of these uses reinforce the existing development pattern of the corridor defined by Nassau Street, thereby preserving the streetscape. The ordinances also provide incentives for car-free living in the center of town with obvious benefits to our commercial center and to the environment,” Sacks wrote. “We spent many months consulting with planners, architects, attorneys and several historians, in order to get these ordinances right — and the 195 Nassau project exemplifies all that we hoped to accomplish.”

Charlie Roth is a staff News writer and assistant Data editor for the ‘Prince,’ focusing on local town coverage. Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

News contributor Mark Rosario contributed reporting.

The Daily Princetonian

Friday November 4, 2022

Councilmember Sacks: In the whole town, there’s a feeling of massive disruption GAS LINE

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the areas that will be under construction in town is not available yet, according to an email sent to The Daily Princetonian by Lauren Ugorji, a senior communications consultant for PSE&G. However, the work will be done at night to mitigate traffic concerns, and the amount of time over which it will be completed will vary depending on “weather and customer availability,” according to Ugorji. After the initial pipe work, the roads will be temporarily repaired for 45 to 90 days before the final paving is done.

Municipal engineer Deanna Stockton detailed the timeline for the construction in an interview with the ‘Prince.’

“It’s not a consistent construction process where there’s construction activity every day,” she said.

“We’ve been told that the gas main replacement takes place over about three months,” Stockton explained.

“The services take three months as well, and then there’s a period of time when all of the excavations have a chance to settle. Then they come back later on and do the final pavement restoration. It’s all spread across the year of 2023.”

There was some pushback from the council given the many concurrent construction projects, but the renovation

was approved nonetheless.

“In the whole town, there’s a feeling of massive disruption,” Councilmember Mia Sacks said during the meeting. “So when I saw that this was coming down the pike, I felt that this would be the breaking point.”

After the PSE&G presentation, the council took another step toward completing Witherspoon Street construction between Nassau and Witherspoon, unanimously codifying the parking and loading zone plans for Witherspoon Street p o s t- c o n s t r u c t i o n , which are set to go into effect on Nov. 23.

The plans include free street parking for 30 minutes, with Councilmember David Cohen clarifying during the meeting that “whatever the cost [of offering free parking] is, it’s less than the cost that we charged for parking. We would have lost money if we had charged for the parking, just by the nature of the system.”

Finally, the Council approved plans for a new dog park at Quarry Park, near the University’s E-Quad.

The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 14.

Charlie Roth is a staff News writer and assistant Data editor for the ‘Prince,’ focusing on local town coverage. Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

THE MINI CROSSWORD

By Bryan Zhang Contributing Constructor

MINI #1

1 5 6 7

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U. AFFAIRS

University tightens security protocols, responding to campus safety concerns

By Katherine Dailey Head News Editor

Content Warning: The following article includes mention of student death.

University Counseling services are available at 609-2583141, and the Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 988 or +1 (800) 273-TALK (8255). A Crisis Text Line is also available in the United States; text HOME to 741741.

Students can contact residential college staff and the Office of Religious Life for other support and resources.

In the wake of the death of Misrach Ewunetie ’24, who was missing for nearly a week before her body was found on campus on Oct. 20, University administrators announced new campus safety measures in an email to all students, faculty, and staff on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

Administrators said in the email that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office will publicly release the “cause and manner” of Ewunetie’s death “on final determination by the Medical Examiner’s Office,” writing that this process “may take several weeks.”

They stressed, however, that in line with past statements by the Prosecutor’s Office, “Law enforcement authorities continue to affirm there is no evidence or suspicion of foul play.” The University has previously stated that the Department of Public Safety “does not believe there is any related threat to campus or the surrounding area.”

In the email, administrators wrote, “While we know that our campus is safe, it’s important that you also feel safe.” To ensure those feelings of safety, they outlined a series of increased security measures, including changes to building access, specifically within residential colleges, where access will be “limited to students and a short list of authorized faculty and staff,” according to the email.

This authorized faculty and staff, “may vary slightly by college, but it generally includes DPS, college staff, ODUS Deans who serve on call, and some Facilities and HRES staff

who need access to do their work,” according to University spokesperson Ayana Okoya.

“The Council of College Heads also plans for now to lock common areas in all residential colleges 24/7. These areas will only be accessible to those in the University community during public hours (from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.),” the email stated.

The Tuesday email added that “plans are underway to enhance campus lighting and to expand a security camera program, to further respond to concerns recently raised by students and staff.”

The announcement came from Dean of the College Jill Dolan, Dean of the Graduate School Rodney Priestley, Dean of the Faculty Gene Jarrett, Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun, and Vice President for Human Resources Romy Riddick.

The Ewunetie family has previously raised suspicions surrounding the circumstances of Ewunetie’s death, and is raising money for expenses, including an independent autopsy, through a GoFundMe that has raised more than $145,000 since Oct. 24.

Casey DeBlasio, spokesperson for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, wrote to the ‘Prince’ on Oct. 20 that “no foul play is suspected” in Ewunetie’s death. DeBlasio reemphasized this message in an email to the ‘Prince’ on Oct. 24, writing that there is “no evidence of any criminal activity associated with Ms. Ewunetie’s death,” a finding that led the Prosecutor’s Office to end its involvement in the investigation.

Citing student concerns about a lack of public information from the University and law enforcement throughout this process, administrators wrote in Tuesday’s email, “During an investigation, communication is often limited by protocol, to protect evidence-gathering and to avoid misleading the public.”

The announced changes to public safety protocol comes amid past calls by students for increased se-

curity. On Sept. 19, at the first Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) meeting, Uma Fox ’26 had raised a concern about pedestrian safety and lighting around campus.

Associate Vice President of Capital Projects Dozie Ibeh addressed this concern in the meeting at that time, stating that a group of representatives takes part in campus safety walks every semester in order to identify areas for improvement. Several pathways, particularly in the center of campus, are slated to undergo improvements to offer wider walkways and additional lighting.

According to Okoya, this group of representatives includes individuals from Housing and Real Estate, Facilities, Public Safety, Environmental Health and Safety, Residential Colleges, The Graduate School, The Office of Disability Services, and student committees. The walks take place in the early evening hours, Okoya clarified, “to evaluate and ensure areas around dormitories are safe for students, especially at night.”

She added that these campus safety walks have not taken place yet for the Fall 2022 semester, with a Graduate Housing Safety Walk scheduled for Nov. 7 and an Undergraduate Housing Safety Walk scheduled for Nov. 15.

Tuesday’s email also announced changes to University Counseling services. The University is planning to immediately hire “the equivalent of two full-time counselors,” stating that this is “typical when we experience increased demand.”

“We will also be launching the CPS Cares Line, which will provide 24/7 access to a counselor by phone,” the email added, additionally referencing resources for faculty and staff through Carebridge.

Katherine Dailey is a head news editor who often covers breaking news, politics, and University affairs. Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

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Extravagantly kitschy aesthetic Word with mass Words of empathy Horror Picture Show with a whole lot of 1-Across 8 They throw shade JON ORT / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

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1 Hot drink served with marshmallows 2 Shakespearean lament 3 Grades, as a paper 4 Birds of ___ 5 Looked or saw (in Madrid) See page 7 for more

The entrance to the Department of Public Safety.

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The Daily Princetonian

Friday November 4, 2022

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

As the 2022 midterms approach, here’s who is running and how to vote in Princeton

By Lia Opperman

Assistant News Editor

The 2022 midterms election is fast approaching, with voting coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Residents and students registered to vote in Princeton are eligible to vote for the next representative of New Jersey’s 12th Congressional district, Princeton Town Council, the Board of County Commissioners and the school board. Eligible voters have the choice to vote early, by mail, or on the day of the election.

In the race for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, incumbent Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) is running against Darius Mayfield of the Republican party and C. Lynn Genrich of the Libertarian party.

“I’ve always made it my priority to fight for working families everywhere and to decrease costs and improve access to health care and high-quality opportunities for everyone,” Watson Coleman wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian.

“If re-elected, I am going to keep working to reduce our deficits while strengthening our manufacturing and creating good-paying jobs for people throughout the district,” she said.

In the wake of the Dobbs v.

Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court ruling last June, which upheld a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks, Watson Coleman emphasized the importance of reproductive freedom.

“I am also going to continue to lead the charge to make sure every woman has control over their own bodies and the right to make their own health care decisions,” she wrote.

In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Mayfield explained his hopes for the future of

“VOTING IN THE UNITED STATES” BY TOM ARTHUR / CC SA 2.0

Princeton and also, if elected, the issues he would advocate for in Washington, D.C. “Here, in Princeton, I want to maintain and increase your exceptional educational system while maintaining the strong parental rights and involvement families deserve,” he wrote.

“As Congressman … I will help tackle inflation, return us to energy independence, secure our border, strengthen our legal immigration systems and, bring peace through a strong principled international policy,” Mayfield added.

Watson Coleman and Mayfield both emphasized the importance of speaking with and listening to constituents from New Jersey’s 12th Congressional district.

“I’ve been taking these last

weeks and months to speak directly with constituents and discuss the things that will continue to improve the lives of people throughout the district because there is nothing more important than listening to the people I represent,” Watson Coleman shared.

“I pledge to maintain my example of togetherness and listen to the concerns of all my constituents,” Mayfield stated. “A vote for Darius is a vote for America and common sense.”

Genrich did not respond to a request for comment.

In Princeton, incumbent Democrat councilmembers Mia Sacks and Michelle Lambros are running unopposed for Princeton Town Council.

In a joint statement to the ‘Prince,’ Sacks and Lambros stressed the importance of

making sure that everyone is welcome in the town.

“With deep family roots going back several generations in Princeton -- we understand the town’s history and share a deep commitment to its future,“ they wrote. “Princeton is a town full of lawn signs announcing that ‘All Are Welcome.’

Putting those words into practice means redoubling our commitment to eliminate exclusionary zoning and housing patterns.”

In their statements to the ‘Prince,’ Sacks and Pirone Lambros explained the work that they’ve done, and their hopes for the future of Princeton.

“Planning for our town’s future will continue to be my primary focus. I serve as the Council’s Representative on the Princeton Planning Board and its Master Plan Steering Committee,” Sacks wrote.

“We have convened a public process for comprehensive review of the town’s Master Plan. An updated Plan, ref lecting our residents’ core values, will provide a much-needed guide for municipal decision makers as we navigate the impact of growth in Princeton and in the communities surrounding us,“ she concluded.

Sacks also mentioned the work that the council has done with the University. “I am currently part of the team renegotiating the town’s voluntary contribution agreement with Princeton University. We hope the result will be an agreement which strengthens our shared interest in enhancing the town’s fiscal health, diverse population, and thriving central business District,” Sacks wrote.

Pirone Lambros wrote about her two main goals for the town: economic development and accessing affordability.

“When I ran in 2019, I promised to help drive economic development, and my other main focus was to address affordability, which is causing the evaporation of socio-economic diversity in our Town,” Pirone Lambros wrote. “I believe these two goals are synergistic; economic growth makes sense financially as our commercial tax base is critical to help offset our residential tax burden.”

Lambros also explained her efforts on the Council Finance Committee and its future projects.

“We are looking at ways that our municipal properties could better serve the town, how we can capture federal infrastructure funding for a wide array of capi-

tal improvement projects,” she wrote. “To better serve the diverse needs of our residents, we are exploring options for a community center and we are investing more in our parks and recreational amenities.”

In addition to the town councilmember seats, several other local elected positions are up for election.

For the Board of County Commissioners, incumbent Democrat Nina D. Melker and Democratic candidate Cathleen Lewis are running against Republican candidates Andrew Kotula Jr. and Michael Chianese. Princeton School Board incumbents Deborah Bronfeld, Susan Kanter and Dafna Kendal are running against Margarita “Rita” Rafalovsky and Lishian “Lisa” Wu in the school board election. The five candidates are vying for three total seats on the board.

Those eligible to vote in New Jersey can participate in in-person early voting through Nov. 6. Polls are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The early voting place for Princeton is located at the Princeton Shopping Center, near Rita’s Italian Ice, at 300 N. Harrison St. Polls for the general election on Nov. 8 are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. In-person voters residing on the Princeton University campus — Districts 7 & 8 — will be held at the Princeton Hook and Ladder Firehouse located at 27 N. Harrison Street.

The deadline for in-person mail-in ballot applications is Nov. 󶀷 at 3 p.m. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked or delivered to a ballot drop box on or before Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. Princeton has two secure ballot drop box locations located near the Dinky Station and Wawa, around the circular drop-off, at 152 Alexander St. or at the front of the Princeton Municipal Building at 400 Witherspoon St. Outside of Princeton, during this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. As of Oct. 22, more than 5.5 million people have cast votes in person or by mail.

Lia Opperman is an assistant news editor for the ‘Prince’ who often covers University affairs, political coverage, and student life. Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

Friday November 4, 2022

The Daily Princetonian

T his Week in Photos

Fall break adventures

page 5

By Candace Do, Zoe Berman, Angel Kuo, Keeren Setokusumo, Jun Choi, Giselle Schrier, and Jean Shin Staff Photographers

page 6

Hum r What your residential college says about you

By Aidan Davis | Humor Contributor What your residential college says about you: Butler: You are a current student at Princeton University Rockefeller: You are a current student at Princeton University Hufflepuff: You are loyal to a fault, and will stick by your friends no matter what!

Mathey: You are a current student at Princeton University Whitman: You are a current student at Princeton University Yeh: You are a current student at Princeton University

JON ORT / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

The entrance to the Wu-Wilcox dining hall, shared by First College and Butler College, on a sunny afternoon.

New College West: You are a current student at Princeton University First: You probably breathed in asbestos Wilson: You attended Princeton at some point between 1966 to 2020 Bezos College: You will be admitted to Princeton in the year 2025 Forbes: You are a current student across the street from Princeton University The School of Public and International Affairs: Maintenance is asking you to please stop sleeping in Robertson 016

Campus cockroaches seek unionization in light of First College destruction

By Walker Penfield Humor Contributor

A group of campus critters is seeking to form the first-ever cockroach labor union at the University to preserve their living conditions. In a letter to President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, organizers of “PawPests United” informed administrators in Nassau Hall that they have filed for a union election.

This comes on the heels of the destruction of First College, former home to generations of Princeton cockroaches.

Union organizers hope to secure new and improved living arrangements in Butler College for displaced cockroaches as soon as possible; however, fears loom around possible retaliation from University officials.

Only five minutes after the delivery of PawPests United’s letter, President Eisgruber responded: “The collective hope of the working proletariat shall be crushed beneath my very boot. I vow to not rest until every cockroach on this campus is stomped out

of the misery that is their existence.” Some have suggested that this statement qualifies as unlawful union busting.

Roachelle, who asked to be identified by only her first name out of fear of retaliation, is a long-time insect resident of Dodge-Osborn Hall and organizer with PawPests United.

She says that while the prospect of being personally obliterated by President Eisgruber is troubling, she remains committed to the group’s cause.

“What we’re seeing

right now is the culmination of decades of fighting for hospitable conditions in the oldest, most decrepit dorms on this campus.

We demand that the University stop building new, bug-proof residence halls,” Roachelle said.

Princeton cockroaches are set to vote on whether to unionize later this month.

Students annoyed by construction noise and detours are reportedly backing the campaign.

Princeton introduces new admissions category beyond early admission: blood oath

By Samuel Kligman Humor Contributor

Dean of Admissions Karen Richardson ’93 announced on Friday, Oct. 28, that prospective Princeton students can now apply through the “blood oath” option in the Common App. The option will now allow applicants to demonstrate their interest to Princeton by FedEx overnighting no less than 15 fluid ounces of their own blood.

“It’s quite simple,” Richardson said. “You make a small incision on your pinky finger, recite the Oath of a Thousand Forbidden Serpents, and pledge your soul to Princeton for eternity.”

This category stems from the worry that non-binding singlechoice early action was not sufficient to know that applicants truly want to attend Princeton. “The University cannot revert to early

decision, because that would put us in the same pathetic league as Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania,” she said.

Reactions to the news from prospective students and their parents have been largely positive.

“Some guy on Reddit said the ‘blood oath’ doubles your chances of getting into Princeton,” said applicant

Manuel Grigman.

“From two to four percent!”

When asked what the Office of Admissions plans to do with the blood samples, Richardson said, “Don’t worry about it.”

Princeton’s singlechoice early action application was due Nov. 1 and blood oath applications are due on the coldest winter’s morn when Jupiter is in retrograde.

The Daily Princetonian

Friday November 4, 2022

False Starts

page 7

By Jaeda Woodruff Staff Constructor

ACROSS

1 Sink in place?

5 Consider 9 Crouched behind a couch, maybe 12 Way off base?

13 Bust in a Dali painting 14 Book format 16 Give or take 17 Rooster alternative?

19 Vertex connectors 21 Real rule lover 22 Wear 25 Nothing’s opposite 26 Retiree agency: Abbr.

27 31 32 33 37 40 42 43 45 47 48 52 55 56 57 60 63 66 67 68 69 70

Bet heard on the “Annie” Yappy greeting Half a dozen Envied, e.g.

Dethrone 20 percent of the meal, maybe Indigenous people of New Zealand Grinders All ___ respect Draw Good place to swear Lab coat?

Extinct kiwi cousin Organ that’s often drawn incorrectly Over head?

Ridley of “Star Wars” Nostalgic place for a trip? ___ d’lvoire Some are gray Not odd Install a cable?

Landscaper’s purchase

71 Monopoly acquistion 72 Prozac or Zoloft, e.g.: Abbr.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 18

DOWN

Ctrl+S Was in the red Scatterbrained Roker of “Today” Rosalind Franklin’s double-helix Flotsam or Jetsam?

Periods Like some enemies Heroes Cubes in the kitchen Praise Gumbo fruit Grinders

MINI #2

20 23 24 27 28 29 30 34 35 36 38 39 41 44

Grammy winner Phillipa Phishing lures, maybe?

Polish L. Frank ___, creator of Oz Around there Nitrous ___ Messenger for 5-down Symbol systems Environmental activist Brockovich Ran out of juice Not well done?

They go under some coats What you might do to a “pull” door Account

The Minis MINI #3

46 49 50 51 52 53 54 58 59 61 62 64 65

Frankfort-to-Raleigh dir.

Aced (it) Down Follows in one’s footsteps?

Disaster aid org.

Manual readers Enemy of Paris?

One of the four playable characters in Super Mario Bros. 2 Spelunking locale Mix up “Monsters, Inc.” outcast Michelle Obama ___ Robinson Coda

By Bryan Zhang Contributing Constructor

Scan to check your answers and try more of our puzzles ACROSS

1 “Get the &%#@ off my lawn!”, less crudely 5 Witherspoon street coffee shop, with 6-across

ACROSS

1 Witch’s nocturnal companions 5 ECO101 subject, for short 6 Broadcasted

6 See 5-across

7 Calculus calculations

7 Ann ___, University of Michigan city

8 “It’s the ___ Wonderful Time of the Year”

8 College students leave parents with an empty one

DOWN

DOWN

1 Capital on the Nile 2 Plot units

1 Melty marshmallow treat

3 Trick or ___

2 Marathoners load up on these

4 Rolls out the green carpet?

3 Distribute 4 Short summary to lengthy content online: Abbr.

5 Tchaikovsky’s “___ Lake”

5 Polite palindromic title

online!

Friday November 4, 2022

Opinion

page 8

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

The history of a campus center and the importance of renovations at Princeton John Raulston Graham

Contributing Columnist

I

n the spring of 2000, students in POL 316 and ENG 335 walked into old Palmer Hall — which had recently been outfitted with new finishes and equipment — talking over the din of construction from the unfinished Frist Food Gallery below. Not everyone felt enthusiastic about these changes. A September 2000 Daily Princetonian article highlighted the frustration of students with the “constant construction” that had been going on for four years. Another article from the ‘Prince’ quoted the project manager, who said, “I think people understand that we have to pursue the construction with vigor so we can get done when we’re supposed to.”

This sentiment also applies to Princeton’s current renovation projects. Indeed, it is by looking at Princeton’s past projects that we can better understand — and redeem — the University’s current efforts.

The area between Pyne Drive and Washington Road is largely blocked by Princeton’s current major renovation projects. The ongoing renovation of Dillon Gym aims to provide more accessible and clearer entry patterns and new workout space.

On the other side of campus, the University is renovating Eno Hall into a new home for University Health Services (UHS).

The new home will more than double the amount of space available in McCosh Health Center. Both projects address urgent student needs as the campus population grows: fitness and health.

While these projects cause major inconveniences for students, they are the best of Princeton’s many recent construction endeavors. Renovation projects are more practical than new construction, as they are less expensive and less carbon intensive. But they are not just

practical: they serve an important symbolic function on a 266-year-old campus — renovation projects link present students to their campus’s past.

Although Frist is a more recently-constructed campus staple, the idea of a campus center floated around for almost 80 years before its construction.

President Hibben proposed a campus center beginning in the 1930s: “There is no meeting place which will establish a center of our Princeton life.”

Hibben’s proposal was a new building on Prospect Avenue.

Another proposal included a new building on the site of Reunion Hall.

Both ambitious proposals failed. However, during WWII Murray-Dodge was repurposed, housing the United Service Organization while the military took over campus. After the war, East Pyne was renovated into

a social facility, and in the seventies, when the drinking age was 18 in New Jersey, Chancellor Green became a pub. Eventually, during the tenure of President Harold Shapiro GS ’64, the focus on a new campus center reemerged, giving rise to Frist. All of these iterations were renovations requiring major reconfigurations of buildings which, yes, caused inconveniences, but ultimately yielded results that greatly benefited the campus.

Drawing on the history of the campus center, students must remember the importance of current renovation projects.

Practically, renovating buildings are very efficient uses of resources. New construction buildings take 80 years to recover the energy used in their construction. Production of new materials, demolition of old buildings, and the process of construction are all carbon

intensive processes. Princeton’s School of Architecture has been at the forefront of teaching the concept of embodied carbon, or the carbon that is required during the construction of the building. This embodied carbon is required before the building is occupied for a single day. Even after the buildings are completed, they will be more sustainable long-term with features like more efficient fixtures and appliances.

More importantly, renovation projects are physical manifestations of the relationship between contemporary students and past generations of Princetonians. A visitor to Frist can pick up a package where experiments were conducted with a cyclotron, walk through what used to be the old Palmer labs, and drink a coffee in a common space that has served the last 20 years of Princetonians.

CANDACE DO / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Construction begins on a multi-year project to expand and renovate the southern portion of Dillon Gym.

These projects are the most inconvenient on campus, occurring in heavily trafficked areas, but renovations by definition require working with existing structures. This approach is preferable to building new buildings in the far reaches of campus. Building farther away would result in the campus becoming less connected, with students having to walk long distances for services like healthcare. It is also preferable to tearing down existing buildings, which breaks continuity with the past and wastes material.

Hopefully, the two ongoing renovation projects will yield interesting results, just as past projects gave us the Frist we know today. Dillon Gym is the place where Bill Bradley ’65 led Princeton to its best season ever, but it will soon have a large attachment where an enlarged student body can take spin classes. Eno Hall was the “first laboratory in this country, if not in the world, dedicated solely to the teaching and investigation of scientific psychology.” Soon, it will be incorporated into a new health center for the next generation of students. The glass atrium and the accessible entry portal to Dillon in the new “Health Services Building” will remind future students of their continuity with Princeton’s past.

Although these projects constrain important campus circulation pathways, they will soon perform the role that every campus renovation does — reminding us of our place in Princeton’s history and paving a new path forward.

John Raulston Graham is a junior majoring in architecture from Portland, Tenn. He is the Orange Key Guide Service historian and a member of the Princetoniana committee.

He can be reached at jrgraham@ princeton.edu. Graham is a former features writer for the ‘Prince.’

How we grieve and remember matters Ben Xinzi Zhang

Guest Contributor

Content Warning: The following article includes mention of student death.

University Counseling services are available at 609-2583141, and the Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 988 or +1 (800) 273-TALK (8255). A Crisis Text Line is also available in the United States; text HOME to 741741. Students can contact residential college staff and the Office of Religious Life for other support and resources.

I

n April 2015, one of my fellow students died on William & Mary campus.

For weeks after the tragedy, waves of shock and anguish reverberated while the topic of mental health dominated campus conversations.

Earlier that spring, Humans of William and Mary, a student group I was involved with, had launched a creative storytelling project that culminated in an installation in the middle of campus — a shed with a transparent roof and plywood walls painted white on the inside, intended to welcome graffiti. After the tragedy, those walls started to fill up with messages of care and reflection until every last corner was covered with sketches, confessions, and musical notes. A message in red, signed “D.K.” reads: I feel like a lot of people here — more than average — know

what it’s like to be in a deep hole, trapped in the dark, feeling escape is impossible. But then you make it out. And you realize that nobody should have to feel like that, much less feel like that alone. And that’s why I think so many people here — more than average — really care and really want to help. Because human kindness won’t fix your GPA or heal your sick mind, but it’s the closest, sweetest thing.

Initially mired in frustration and disorientation, my own grief found its bearings in messages like that and transformed into a motivation to listen, care, and heal together with my peers.

Many students came to spend minutes, even hours, in and around the installation to express themselves and be heard, or simply to feel at home. The shed, by sheer fortuity, became a spontaneous sanctuary of love. It was not another outlet of catharsis intended to restore businessas-usual, but rather a gathering place where sentiments coalesced to germinate an entirely different way of seeing strangers and holding on to each other, where belonging overcame loneliness.

This year, several Princetonians left us under heartbreaking circumstances.

Spaces for listening, sharing, and remembrance were created by family and friends of the deceased. Our campus also has mechanisms of care and resilience, many of which

strengthened or reformed since the start of the pandemic. Listening circles at the Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) have become a resource that Princetonians can count on during times of collective distress. Vigils and other religious services have also helped our community remember or build solidarity in times of need. For me personally, the physical space of Carl A. Fields Center and the events hosted under its roof have brought me both solace in difficult times and invaluable perspectives on issues of belonging.

But right now, we also need a place, centrally located on campus and online, that invites every Princetonian to pause, reflect, and practice listening to each other. It should not be closed off in sanitized isolation, but rather actively engaging. Many of us are grappling with difficult questions about the state of care and community on this campus. In this place of remembrance, we will remind each other that every community member has an obligation to care and that there are conduits through which effective care can be channeled.

Moving forward, an educational framework of care and wellbeing requires centering student experience not only around academics, athletics, extracurriculars, and social activities but also around relational growth and community development. The Uni-

versity is taking some steps to foster a more resilient sense of belonging among students, including the transition to a full four-year residential college system. The residential colleges will have the opportunity to better serve as a locus of collective growth and mutual support for all students. The University can also create a new integrated office of wellness to rethink how it can guide students, faculty, and staff members through practices of mutual support and self-care with the purpose of building their sense of belonging at Princeton and beyond.

Finally, I suggest that the University create a memorial for souls prematurely lost and offer grieving families a way and a place to commemorate their loved ones on our campus for generations to come.

Not only do names engraved into campus structures delineate the continuation of a scholastic tradition, but they serve to educate students and visitors by personifying historical conditions and events through which important values were enshrined. A plaque in front of the historic President’s House, known today as the Maclean House, was erected in 2019 to commemorate the 16 enslaved people who lived and worked there for more than half a century.

The bell of remembrance and 14 metal stars between Nassau Hall and East Pyne Hall record the pain that will forever

pulsate from that senseless September day in 2001. They stand as a beacon of peace by reminding us of the visceral violence of war.

As our community mourns the premature passing of one life after another, some on this very campus, I believe the University should allow moments of collective grief to crystallize into permanent symbols of remembrance.

Under diligent stewardship, this campus will begin to reflect the values of equity and inclusion that today’s Princeton education strives to instill. While surrounded by the glory of the well-endowed and well-accomplished, students should also feel embraced by the palpable humanity of those that are just like them.

More than intellectual or athletic distinction, this humanity comprises a fundamental reverence for the inherent meaning of every life. With symbols of remembrance dedicated to those who will never have the opportunity to become aspirational versions of themselves, as Nobel Laureates or generous entrepreneurs, we send students the resounding message that they matter now — every human life matters, right here and right now.

Ben Xinzi Zhang GS ’22 is a lecturer in genomics and the manager of the Integrated Science Curriculum. He can be reached at xinziz@princeton.edu.

Opinion

Friday November 4, 2022

page 9

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } vol. cxlvi

editor-in-chief Marie-Rose Sheinerman ’23 business manager Benjamin Cai ’24

BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president David Baumgarten ’06 secretary Chanakya A. Sethi ’07 treasurer Douglas Widmann ’90 assistant treasurer Kavita Saini ’09

Kathleen Crown Suzanne Dance ’96 Gabriel Debenedetti ’12 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 Michael Grabell ’03 John G. Horan ’74 Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Julianne Escobedo Shepherd Abigail Williams ’14 Tyler Woulfe ’07 trustees ex officio Marie-Rose Sheinerman ’23 Benjamin Cai ’24

trustees Francesca Barber Craig Bloom ’88

146TH MANAGING BOARD managing editors Omar Farah ’23 Caitlin Limestahl ’23

Tanvi Nibhanupudi ’23 Zachariah Wirtschafter Sippy ’23

Strategic initiative directors Accessibility Education Isabel Rodrigues ’23 Evelyn Doskoch ’23 José Pablo Fernández García ’23 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Melat Bekele ’24 Auhjanae McGee ’23

Financial Stipend Program Rooya Rahin ’23 Engagement Analytics Sai Rachumalla ’24

Sections listed in alphabetical order. head opinion editor head audience editor Genrietta Churbanova ’24 Rowen Gesue ’24 community editor head copy editors Rohit A. Narayanan ’24 Alexandra Hong ’23 associate opinion editor Nathalie Verlinde ’24 Lucia Wetherill ’25 associate copy editors head photo editor Catie Parker ’23 Candace Do ’24 Cecilia Zubler ’23 associate photo editors head web design editors Angel Kuo ’24 Anika Maskara ’23 Isabel Richardson ’24 Brian Tieu ’23 head podcast editor associate web design Hope Perry ’24 editor associate podcast editors Ananya Grover ’24 Jack Anderson ’23 head graphics editors Senna Aldoubosh ’25 Ashley Chung ’23 Eden Teshome ’25 Noreen Hosny ’25

head print design editor Juliana Wojtenko ’23 associate print design editor Dimitar Chakarov ’24 head data editor Sam Kagan ’24 head features editors Sydney Eck ’24 Alex Gjaja ’23 head news editors Katherine Dailey ’24 Drew Somerville ’24 associate news editors Kalena Blake ’24 Anika Buch ’24 Sandeep Mangat ’24 newsletter editors Kareena Bhakta ’24 Amy Ciceu ’24

head prospect editors José Pablo Fernández García ’23 Kerrie Liang ’25 associate prospect editors Molly Cutler ’23 Cathleen Weng ’24 head puzzles editors Gabriel Robare ’24 Owen Travis ’24 associate puzzles editors Juliet Corless ’24 Joah Macosko ’25 Cole Vandenberg ’24 head humor editors Claire Silberman ’23 Liana Slomka ’23 associate humor editor Spencer Bauman ’25 head sports editors Wilson Conn ’25 Julia Nguyen ’24 associate sports editor Ben Burns ’23 Elizabeth Evanko ’23

146TH BUSINESS BOARD assistant business manager Shirley Ren ’24 business directors David Akpokiere ’24 Samantha Lee ’24 Ananya Parashar ’24 Gloria Wang ’24 project managers Anika Agarwal ’25 John Cardwell ’25

Jack Curtin ’25 Diya Dalia ’24 Jonathan Lee ’24 Juliana Li ’24 Justin Ong ’23 Xabier Sardina ’24 business associate Jasmine Zhang ’24

146TH TECHNOLOGY BOARD chief technology officer Joanna Tang ’24 lead software engineer Roma Bhattacharjee ’25

software engineers Eugenie Choi ’24 Giao Vu Dinh ’24 Daniel Hu ’25 Dwaipayan Saha ’24 Kohei Sanno ’25 Pranav Avva ’24

THIS PRINT ISSUE WAS DESIGNED BY Abani Ahmed ’25 Dimitar Chakarov ’24 Avi Chesler ’25 Mary Kate Coonan’26 Malia Gaviola ’26

Annabel Green’26 Keith Matanachai ’26 Brooke McCarthy ’25 Zach Williamson ’26 Juliana Wojtenko ’23

AND COPIED BY Jason Luo ’25

Let’s rethink Princeton’s residential college placement Prince Takano

Contributing Columnist

W

hat makes Princeton students proud of their residential college? For many students, the answer is nothing.

Residential colleges are supposed to be an integral part of the social experience at Princeton, the “center of undergraduate life” in Princeton’s own words. In reality, this is hardly the case because, unlike eating clubs and extracurricular groups on campus, affinity for and connection to residential colleges is never very strong. Why? Because it is difficult to find community among a randomly selected group of people.

The random nature of residential college placement is one of its greatest flaws. I have yet to meet a person who feels they belong to their residential college as much as they belong to other campus groups. This is quite concerning given that residential college placement has a significant impact on students’ campus life for at least the first two years of their time at the University.

Nearly every social group acquires its members through a naturally selective mechanism, a process by which people are filtered based on some form of common identity, usually shared interests. Eating clubs, dance groups that focus on specific styles of choreography, and student publications that focus on politics or food are a few examples of groups whose members have shared identity through their interests.

These selective processes create a strong sense of community because the members are not randomly placed in different social groups: they either choose to join or are selected based on their interests and skills. Individuals with certain in-

terests and personalities are more inclined to join a group with similar qualities, which fosters a sense of community. For example, certain eating clubs are known for various traits, or “vibes” if you will, which encourages those of a similar characteristic to join that group, creating a strong sense of pride and community.

If eating club placement was randomized, it is likely that there would no longer be a strong sense of belonging. Most social groups, whether it’s an a capella ensemble, culture/ language club, or a debate society, obtain their members through shared interests, skills, and whether a particular person would be a good fit for the community. These selective admission processes foster a sense of pride, belonging, and connection. Residential colleges are void of these sentiments because of their random placement system.

The solution to this problem is to place students in residential colleges using an intentional approach focused on similar characteristics.

Students should be drawn into residential colleges based on combinations of their qualities and traits. Matriculated students could be sorted into their respective residential colleges via a system that would be informed by the information given to the University through their college applications. Alternatively, a short quiz that identifies characteristics could be given to admitted students and then used in the residential college placement process.

Some raise the concern that if residential college placement was based on qualities that students hold, some may hold biases and unfair assumptions about others according to their assigned residential college. This is a valid concern given that certain eating clubs often carry certain conno-

tations, which result in people holding assumptions about others in those clubs. But a non-randomized approach to the residential college system would not necessarily result in the same sort of biases. For one, the sheer size of each residential college class would necessitate a wide diversity of students in each college.

And with a variety of perspectives and interests, the risk of group biases and prejudices would be minimized.

Some may also argue that this would foster a homogenous social environment within residential colleges and prevent people of different personalities from interacting with one other. This is hardly a concern given that underclassmen have access to all five dining halls and common rooms, and often choose a location to dine or socialize with people they meet from class, extracurriculars, or other social settings. There is no need to be concerned about a negative effect on cross-socializing between residential colleges. There are countless other opportunities for students to interact among each other.

Many students don’t have an answer to the question of why they’re proud of their residential college.

This is unsurprising given that it is difficult to be proud of a group you didn’t opt to be in. We’re proud to be Princeton students because we were selected and we chose to attend this prestigious institution. If Princeton wishes to integrate residential colleges as a vital part of the social experience at Princeton, they should seek solutions that improve group identity and social connection in the residential colleges.

Prince Takano is a sophomore from Los Angeles, California majoring in Politics. He can be reached via email at takano@princeton.edu.

Take it from me: No student government experience is necessary to run for USG Mayu Takeuchi

Guest Contributor

M

y first memory of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is of being rejected from the Sustainability Committee.

I’d applied in the spring of my freshman year; I wanted to bring my perspective from working with Divest Princeton and other student organizations, and I was eager to learn more about how the University works so I could drive meaningful change. Getting the rejection email, I initially felt my efforts had been invalidated, but I later realized that the rejection gave me the time and freedom to explore new opportunities. I joined student communities passionate about technology, ethics, and other societal issues, all of which have given me chances to engage with different perspectives. Fast forward five semesters, I’ve served a year as USG Sustainability Chair, and I’m about to finish my term as USG President.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that every student is qualified to run for a position on USG by virtue of their lived experience of being an undergraduate at Princeton. Everything else you’ll learn on-the-job, with time and experience.

Our lived experiences are what distinguish USG from the University administration. We’re the ones walking to classes in the dark after sundown, we’re the ones waiting in long lines during short lunch breaks, and we’re the ones studying and working towards exams and deadlines right after break.

These lived experiences are what qualify all students to advocate for policy change on

campus. As students, we have experiences relevant to safety, dining, and academics, not to mention a plethora of other key issue areas, including mental health resources, financial aid, and accessibility. Over the years, USG advocacy has made laundry free-of-cost and, more recently, brought academic minors to Princeton so that our hard work can be recognized in transcripts, applications, and more. USG is strengthened when the people who serve are both critical of the status quo — of USG and the University more broadly — and committed to the belief that we have the power to change it for the better.

What a student government representative really needs is empathy. Each of us experiences Princeton differently, splitting our precious time between unique priorities, whether they may be on fields, in stadiums, on stages, in labs, or even someplace beyond the Orange Bubble.

The members of USG can never fully capture each and every perspective. Thus an important part of serving on USG is listening to others and working to understand and amplify other students’ concerns and ideas — all to improve the undergraduate experience at Princeton both in the short-term and in the longterm.

USG needs students who want to make positive and inclusive change for Princeton. You do not need any prior experience to run or join — applications for committees and other positions will open early spring. I was never in student government throughout high school; I started my term as Sustainability Chair with absolutely zero student government experience, and there’s nothing that could have made me feel

ready to take on the role of being the president of Princeton’s undergraduate student body. Even as I near the end of my term, I feel I’m still learning new things about leadership and teamwork every day.

Nevertheless, running in an election is daunting, I know.

That’s why I want to provide resources to anyone interested in running in this Winter Election and beyond: I’ve developed a campaign toolkit and set up office hours to meet with any prospective candidates. In addition, we have a weeks-long transition period where the outgoing team shares guidance and insights, so the incoming team can get up to speed and hit the ground running at the start of their terms.

Ultimately, Princeton is a special place. It’s still far from perfect; there are plenty of frustrations, inequities, and systemic issues to be addressed. Through USG, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about how Princeton works as an institution and to work with students, administrators, and other partners across the campus community to drive meaningful change. I’ll take these skills and experiences with me as I continue to serve, both beyond my term and beyond the gates. In the meantime, I look forward to welcoming in the next team of passionate changemakers, to continue pushing our Princeton University community to achieve its fullest potential.

Mayu Takeuchi is the President of the Undergraduate Student Government. She is a senior from Port Jefferson, N.Y. and Watkinsville, Ga. studying in the School of Public and International Affairs. She can be reached at mayut@princeton.edu.

Friday November 4, 2022

Opinion

page 10

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

‘The Title IX process ripped my mental, emotional, and physical well-being to shreds’ TITLE IX

Continued from page 1

.............

I went through Princeton’s process for reporting domestic violence. It failed to keep me safe.

The campus community has to become more traumainformed when dealing with sexual misconduct, especially for graduate students. I would not wish the process I had to go through on anyone else. ** When I initially reported my assault to the Title IX coordinator, I described my assault as “choking so that I could not breathe and pinning so that I could not move.” I did not understand the gravity of my own situation even when I was reporting it. I was surprised when the Title IX office took swift action to ensure my safety, including adding additional provisions to a standard No Contact Order which banned my perpetrator from large parts of campus. (No Contact Orders are University-enforced mandates preventing parties from making contact with one another or being in the same location at the same time.)

During the short time that I knew my perpetrator, I suffered a series of repeated assaults, increasing in severity over time. My case was severe enough that the Title IX office initially told me that an alternate resolution, where the two parties come to a mutual agreement, was off the table and urged me to pursue a full investigation. They were taking the situation seriously.

Perhaps, I hoped, the University might keep me safe.

I didn’t realize all the impacts of the decision to pursue a full investigation. The University’s Sexual Misconduct website says that anyone with information about my allegations could be called in as a witness. I initially assumed that this meant anyone with knowledge about the incident could be called, or people who could provide context about strangulation, violence, or rape. In the end, almost everyone that I asked for emotional help in dealing with my trauma ended up testifying as a witness. With seemingly everyone I knew being called to give testimony, I felt increasingly alone. ** In the days following my initial report, I was an emotional mess. All I could think about was my Title IX case.

It felt like I spent every waking moment reliving my assaults over and over. I spent most of my time curled up in a ball in my room, having flashback after flashback of being strangled. There was no way to make it stop.

The people who I thought were my friends offered me no support. One person that I used to be friends with accused me of trying to trash my perpetrator’s reputation. Another tried to dismiss the assaults as “just a problem with consent.” Someone else immediately victim-blamed me, suggesting that since I decided to engage intimately with a male, the consequences were my fault. Many accused me of lying. These same people were called in as witnesses, even though none of them had any knowledge of my allegations of violence. These people were spreading false rumors about me — false rumors that eventually became hearsay that I

would have to deal with in my case.

My former friends viewed the mere act of reporting my assault as retaliation. Retaliation had never even crossed my mind. I was simply terrified for my own personal safety, especially because my perpetrator had shown no remorse. Quite the opposite, he had sent the Title IX grievance form, which contained my personal information, to a group of fellow students, denying the allegations outright. This, according to the Title IX Office, did not constitute retaliation, since the form is not confidential.

My perpetrator was also able to substantially cut away at the provisions in the nocontact order that banned him from spaces on campus that I used. I was deluged with a series of no-contact orders, some updated in the course of mere hours. (According to the University No Contact Orders FAQ , “If circumstances change, the University administrator issuing the mutual No Contact Order may revisit the Order. If adjustments are deemed necessary, both parties to the Order will be consulted.”)

Being on campus felt like a living nightmare: I was sharing a dining hall with people who were still interacting with someone who had strangled me.

I felt that I couldn’t talk to anyone, lest they be called in

by Title IX as a witness. Less than a month after filing my complaint, I left campus, driven away by the hostility and backlash that I received for reporting my trauma. I lived with friends off-campus for much of the proceedings. ** Meanwhile, the Title IX proceedings continued. For months, I was forced to suffer through multiple interviews where my brain was picked for every detail that I could remember about those traumatic events.

My interviews became interrogations.

I was asked, repeatedly, about where my perpetrator’s limbs were positioned during strangulation. I told the investigators, repeatedly, that my perpetrator’s hands were around my neck. I told them how his knee had forcefully pinned my thigh to the bed.

Still, I was questioned about what he was doing with the rest of his body. I answered that I couldn’t remember where the rest of his limbs were because I was trying to focus on getting oxygen into my lungs. This didn’t seem to satisfy my interviewers. I was being forced to describe what was going on around me in the room at the time that I was being strangled. And when I couldn’t remember, I felt shamed.

In the days leading up to my initial interview, I experienced a series of panic attacks complicated by asthma attacks. I was sick during my interview and was barely able to speak.

After the interview, I lost my voice for three days. A month later, I received an email about a second interview with investigators, which caused a similar effect: my body shut down again, and I experienced panic attacks, migraines, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. The memories of the physical trauma during my assault, and the anxiety that some of my peers were out to get me, manifested physically. I was paying for the possibility that my perpetrator would get dismissed from

ANGEL KUO / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

campus with both my mental and physical health. The investigators interrogated me to the point that I considered ending my own life. ** I did not feel like I could continue with the investigation. I needed another option, so I asked to be allowed to pursue an alternate resolution, where a University official mediates a settlement between the two parties. Because of the severity of my case, the University had initially barred me from pursuing alternate resolution.

Only after petitioning a senior administrator was I allowed to start the process.

My request was simple: I asked that my perpetrator agree to never be housed in the same location as me, and to never be in the gym at the same time as me. He declined both requests. If we had come to the terms he agreed to, the person who had strangled me, who had brought me within an inch of losing consciousness, would be allowed to be in the same building as me, at the same time. I was beyond terrified. The alternate resolution didn’t seem like it would lead to any acceptable resolution, so I felt that I had no other option but to continue with the original investigation, even though it was deeply psychologically and physically draining. I abandoned the alternate resolution and continued pursuing the disciplinary process. ** Five months after I filed my complaint (long past the 90 days the Title IX office says it aims to resolve cases in), my hearing date was finally set.

Soon I learned that the past five months of depression, anxiety, and PTSD were not over. At my hearing, I would be interrogated anew. Over those four days, I would be forced to relive the incident in terrifying detail: the very thing that had caused the depression, anxiety, and PTSD which led me to seek emergency support because I thought of ending my life on multiple occasions.

I recall being told by my University-contracted lawyer that because I did not have photo or video evidence, or a corroborating witness, that it would be hard to prove my case at the hearing and my chances of ensuring my safety were no better than a coin toss. I was effectively told that because I could not produce porn by filming an act of sexual misconduct, or invite in

a voyeur during my strangulation, my perpetrator might not be found responsible.

My perpetrator is not worth decimating my mental and physical health. Even if my perpetrator were found responsible, there is no guarantee that he would be dismissed from campus. Even if he were dismissed from campus, he is still a harm to society. There was no outcome that would result in adequate justice. ** Once again, I tried the alternate resolution process. My only goal was that my perpetrator agree to stay away from me. After many days of backand-forth and word-mincing, I was finally able to push the alternate resolution through.

Throughout the process, I was forced to interact with my perpetrator. The fact that I did not have to communicate with him directly and our interactions were mediated through a third party did not negate that I was still interacting with him, something I had never wanted to do again. When I asked that he simply agree to never strangle me again, he declined. He took no accountability or responsibility for his actions. He is still free to roam around campus wherever he wants. ** The bystanders who chose to support my perpetrator freely roam campus too. They are all graduate students responsible for teaching undergraduate classes at Princeton.

These people are supposed to ensure the safety of Princeton students by being mandatory reporters of sexual assault and harassment, yet they failed to do so in my case.

I have one friend who is an undergraduate, and when I came to him with what was happening, he showed a lot more understanding than any of the graduate students. This friend of mine had no unique training in Title IX process — he simply had the benefit of being part of the undergraduate community where, in my experience, sexual misconduct is talked about more frequently.

The University has a duty to educate all students, but especially graduate students, about the signs of Title IX violations. As a domestic graduate student, the only sexual misconduct training that I received was through an online module. International graduate students in my year were required to attend an in-person orientation event on Title

IX violations, but it may not be enough.

Graduate student orientation must include in-person sexual misconduct training for both domestic and international graduate students, and it should be designed to make students understand the severity of these acts. The orientation should strive to make all students more trauma informed. Conversations about sexual misconduct need to continue in the graduate student community after orientation. All students need to be educated about harmful attitudes such as the bystander effect, rape culture, and victim blaming.

The University needs to fix its processes for dealing with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Though there are many clauses in the University Sexual Misconduct Policy that are written to “protect” students who report in good faith, my experience taught me that these clauses don’t work.

I sought help from the Title IX office. Instead of helping me, the Title IX process ripped my mental, emotional, and physical well-being to shreds.

As a student who reported in good faith, I was not protected.

And I’m not alone. According to the SHARE website, during the 2016–2017 school year, 16 percent of Princeton students experienced some form of sexual misconduct, which is probably an underestimate given sexual misconduct is often underreported. The University might like to pretend the process is now more humane and fair. I know that’s not the case. Princeton needs to do so much better.

Vanessa is a pseudonym used by a current Princeton graduate student. The ‘Prince’ made the decision to publish this op-ed anonymously due to privacy and safety concerns.

Editor’s Note: In the process of publishing this piece, the ‘Prince’ took several steps to corroborate the author’s account of her interactions with the University, including reviewing the author’s written communications with Title IX administrators. The ‘Prince’ did not independently verify Vanessa’s allegations of domestic violence, her conversations with peers, or her attorney.

If you would like to share your story about an experience with the Title IX Office at Princeton through the ‘Prince,’ please reach out to eic@dailyprincetonian. com. We remind readers that the ‘Prince’ is a fully independent newsroom that receives no funding from and is not subject to any oversight by the University.

Features

Friday November 4, 2022

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‘Food that welcomes everybody in’: The power of Nomad Pizza

By Sejal Goud

Staff Features Writer

Nearly 16 years ago, a lucky find on eBay brought Nomad Pizza to life. Today, the pizzeria-on-wheels continues to operate out of the same eBaybought truck and is a Princeton University staple.

Nomad Pizza was co-founded by Tom Grim, who also co-founded Thomas Sweet ice cream shop. After a lifechanging trip to Napoli, Italy in 1999, Grim stepped away from his dessert business toward his love for pizza.

To fuel his newfound pizzamaking hobby, Grim invested in a wood-fired oven for his home with the intention of perfecting his skills. The oven transformed Grim’s home into a community gathering place where friends and family would enjoy regular pizza parties.

Among these friends was Stalin Bedon, another cofounder of Nomad. The business partners met during Grim’s Thomas Sweet Days. In addition to working as a landscaper, Bedon was also busy getting his feet wet in the food industry as an employee of Grim.

“This was pretty much two years of our lives [2004–2006] doing this at his house, just having pizza parties,” said Bedon in an interview with The Daily Princetonian.

With salads, beer, and most importantly, hot pizza, the parties were a hit — turning out crowds of 50 guests.

“Then as time went on, Stalin and I said ‘We could probably make a business out of this.’ So Stalin found a beautiful REO Speedwagon truck on eBay and bought it, and we outfitted it as a pizza truck,” Grim explained.

“Back then, eBay was the place to find antique vehicles, and we bought it [at] Niagaraon-the-Lake for $5,000,” Bedon added, speaking about the purchase of the first truck in December 2006. “And then it took a whole village to convert this into what you see now.”

Six months later in May 2007, the truck was fully operational and ready for business.

Sporting an oven, a generator, a sound system, and a hot water sink, what was once a regular truck was now officially a restaurant on wheels.

“It was a job, but it was fun,” Grim noted, sharing that refurbishing the truck was a labor of love involving friends

ZOHA ENVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Nomad Pizza at an event at the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Understanding.

and tradespeople from across the community.

In reference to the pizzeria’s name, Grim explained, “We started our business out of a pizza truck, so we didn’t have a home, per se. So we were nomadic — doing parties here and there … We wandered all over the place doing pizza events.”

Word of the unique venture traveled quickly, with Nomad receiving coverage in the local media.

“I have to say when we started in 2007 there were maybe five wood-fired pizzerias in the country. It was unknown.

I mean, now it’s, like, ubiquitous, but in the beginning, no one had experienced it before.

And so it was a revelation to everyone,” Grim said.

As Nomad continued to garner attention in the community, Grim and Bedon opened a cozy 30-seat restaurant in Hopewell, N.J. and added a second truck to their lineup.

Nomad has also expanded its presence to include a second permanent New Jersey location at the Princeton Shopping Center.

Additionally, Nomad has made its way to a corner restaurant on 7th Street in Philadelphia, Pa. Later this year,

Malia Gaviola / The Daily Princetonian

Nomad will be on the move once again, this time following Grim and a long-time Nomad manager as they retire to Portland, Maine and hope to establish a brick-and-mortar in their new hometown.

While Nomad has seen widespread success regardless of University support, Princeton University has been their single biggest customer since early on in the pizzeria’s history, often booking the truck for a slate of campus events four times per week and over 50 times per year.

“The University has just been really great to us. They’ve accepted us and students love us,” said Bedon. “Their Reunions are completely booked for like a whole week straight.

We’re all working about 80 hours that week.”

Among Nomad’s many loyal patrons at the University is Gabriel Crouch, Director of Choral Activities and Professor of the Practice in Music.

He also serves as Director of the Princeton University Glee Club (PUGC) and the Princeton University Chamber Choir.

“When I was looking for somewhere to live, I looked around Princeton quite a lot and realized it was out of my league price-wise. And then as soon as I started looking in Hopewell [I] realized I was going to be able to live there happily, but also that I would be within easy reach of this amazing pizza restaurant called Nomad,” said Crouch.

“At the time, their only restaurant was out there in Hopewell. And it’s a beautiful, bucolic, very laid-back joint where it always smells divine and they have lovely outdoor seating. And the pizza’s absolutely gorgeous,” the Crouch continued.

Crouch also expressed an appreciation for Grim and Bedon’s commitment to their craft. For Grim, “recreat[ing] that Italian experience” starts with the ingredients.

“I saw all these farmers drive up in their cars and little trucks and drop off produce to the pizzerias in Italy. I was thinking, ‘I’ve never seen that in the United States.’ A big Sysco truck pulls up [with] canned vegetables and all these things from a truck, and there are no fresh things put on pizza,” he said.

Because of this, the Nomad

duo is known for their trips to Italy, during which they shut down the restaurant to take their staff to the source of Grim’s inspiration.

“We’ve taken our entire [full-time] crew to Italy to have pizza and to go to the buffalo mozzarella farm, and the parmesan farm and the meat or tomato suppliers. And we would meet every night at

welcomes everybody in because, you know, you don’t need a huge amount of money to eat it. You don’t need an exclusive invite. We can all just sit around on the grass and munch away on these big pizzas. [We can] all take a piece each, take care of each other, [and] have a great time,” added Crouch.

Sloan Huebner ’23, who

“Reunions are completely booked for like a whole week straight,” said Stalin Bedon, co-founder of Nomad Pizza. “We’re all working about 80 hours that week.” a different pizzeria in Rome and Naples. We’ve done this three times. We do it about every three years … so that everyone who works for us can understand what we’re trying to achieve with pizza,” Grim explained. “I know it’s cliché, but we use the absolute best stuff we can use to make the best pizza. That’s our goal.”

In September 2012, Crouch, desiring the signature taste of Nomad pizza, selected the truck to cater his wedding, which was accompanied by performances from PUGC. “We had a lot of guests, obviously, who came over from England for this ceremony, and they were absolutely floored by the quality of this pizza,” Crouch said. “I’m sure it was one of their strongest memories of the weekend, this amazing food — they were just great.”

Nomad Pizza has also become a tradition in the larger PUGC culture. Each year, Crouch hosts a PUGC social at his home featuring the Nomad Pizza truck in his driveway. “It’s a great social lubricant,” he explained. “And it’s a conversation piece in itself, isn’t it?”

“It feels like it’s a food that

works closely with Crouch in her role as PUGC president, shared a similar perspective on the role of Nomad in the club’s community.

“Yelling free pizza is always a good way of getting people to come. But bringing Nomad always means that almost everybody sticks around and wants to talk to each other.

It’s a great way to bring people together.”

It is this relationshipbuilding quality that inspires PUGC, among a wide array of campus organizations, to book and rebook the pizzeria for their gatherings. According to Bedon, Nomad has been hired by nearly every academic department and is a frequent presence at various residential college and welcome events.

For Grim, the relationship with the University is mutual.

“It’s always very festive when we’re on campus. Just youthful, a lot of fun. We just love doing events on campus,” he said.

Sejal Goud is a staff featureswriter for The Daily Princetonian.

Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

Friday November 4, 2022

Features

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‘Horticulture is where science meets art’: Charlie Somma reflects on a decade of grounds work at Princeton

By Daniel Yu

Features Contributor

It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes several thousand staff and faculty members to educate and care for Princeton undergraduate students.

Charlie Somma is one such employee. Somma has been a member of the grounds staff since 2011; he now serves as a landscaping Crew Leader, helping beautify and maintain Princeton’s campus grounds. *** The conversation below was edited for length and clarity.

Charlie Somma: Grounds isn’t exactly what most people from the outside would view as a very glorious position. But I feel very at home here, because I’m a plant nerd. It’s truly a labor of love; it’s not a job for me.

I’ve worked in this industry my whole life.

The Daily Princetonian: How did you get involved in this line of work?

CS: I grew up in a pretty rural area. I always noticed that there were so many different trees in the woods, and I wanted to know them all.

When I finally got to about senior year in high school, freshman year in college — I really wanted to do something that wasn’t work. So I went to Delaware Valley College, which is now a university (I hope that’s not dating me) and took environmental design.

It was eye opening. Once you get out into the field, you see it firsthand. It opened my eyes; I understood there

Courtesy of Charlie Somma

was more than one way to do things. And I’ve been trying to be a sponge ever since.

DP: Where did you grow up?

CS: I grew up in Upper Bucks County, which is in Pennsylvania, just across the river. It was agrarian — a lot of farms, but still a lot of native plants.

DP: You have been working with plants for a long time. What keeps it interesting for you?

CS: When I first got into horticulture, it was more ornamental. But when I went to school, [I studied] the environmental aspect of it.

When I would drive around, [I would think] “wow, look at all those oak trees, you know, look at all those natives.” Conversely, when there was an infected area, like with a lot of environmental impact, [I would think] “Look at all those invasive plants.”

It’s very exciting. Other people who are more aware of these [environmental impacts] are really trying to help rebuild, establish, and maintain the ecosystem. I’m excited to be a part of that for the next generation. I’m sure you’ll come back for Reunions and be like, “When I was a freshman, that tree was like only 10 feet tall.”

These big trees are about 250 years old. Who stood under them? What did they see? It’s amazing that they’re still here, and we have the privilege of everything that they have to offer.

DP: How did you end up on a college campus?

CS: I began in high-end residential horticulture, because that’s where the money was.

We were based in Bucks County. I cut my teeth there.

That’s where I really learned that people have different opinions on plant material.

[But] my life required me to get a job that had set hours.I have a family — sons. I was a designer before I was a maintenance gardener. That was a lot of meeting clients, meeting with contractors, or setting up crews. We’d go find a payphone, call the boss, and

When I got hired, I was just blown away. This is a great place to work. Working for a place like this is much bigger than just what you do. Our mission is to give you a place to hang out, learn, grow, love.

DP: Do you have a particular favorite place on campus?

CS: I was going to ask you that question! But you got me with it.

I’d have to say Cannon

“These big trees are about 250 years old. Who stood under them? What did they see? It’s amazing that they’re still here, and we have the privilege of everything that they have to offer.” tell him what materials we needed for the next day. Of course, in winter, the work somewhat dried up, so you’d get laid off.

I had a neighbor who was an electrician here. He saw me working, and he was like, “Man, you really like to garden.” I’m like, “Well, that’s what I do.”

He [asked,] “Did you ever think about working at the University?” And a light went on.

Green. It’s so much more than just a quad. There are trees that have been there since well beyond my tenure. There’s Nassau Hall, Morrison Hall, and then there’s Chancellor Green and East Pyne. Then you look behind you and there’s the two Greek temple buildings – Clio and Whig. You feel like you’re somewhere special.

The way the light moves through campus is really fascinating. When the trees lose their leaves, it gives a whole new aspect to certain courtyards. The angles of the sun on the stone and the buildings give it different hues and fields. It’s constantly changing.` DP: Are you an artist?

The way you talk about your work is very much like an art.

CS: Horticulture is where science meets art. You know, nature is gonna do its thing — we try to interpret it in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing. And now, it has a useful function, the living landscape.

I’m not an artist. I like to draw, but I just love plants. I love gardening. I love dirt. I love every part of it. I mean, I even like the tools that they give us.

I’ve heard this quote that it’s the slowest of the performing arts. Gardening definitely requires a lot of patience; sometimes you’ll do things and the plants are [six inches] big. You wonder, “What’s this going to be?”

Then you’ll have to wait a whole year.

DP: What does the typical day look like for you on campus?

CS: I get in early, because I’m pumped. I am! I know, you’re like, “This guy is nuts.” But this time of year is great.

I’m a crew leader. I have about four people under me, sometimes five. We’ll have a meeting in the morning.

We try to stay away from the dormitories in the morning, because you guys are asleep.

We work on academic

buildings or areas where we’re not going to create a lot of noise. It’s very dark still, so we’re usually blowing off weeds; some people look for trash. Weeding doesn’t make any sound — it’s an easy task, gets the blood pumping.

We have a break. We come back, and then we’re able to use more mechanized tools.

We’ve never had this much construction; just getting around [campus] is difficult.

After break, we’ll meet up in groups of two and we’ll tackle bigger things. Then we have lunch.

We start at 6 a.m. Usually I eat my lunch by 10 and then by 12, it’s either paperwork or relaxing. We’re done by 2:30, which is wonderful. I can go home and work on my own garden or do whatever life requires of me.

DP: What does life outside of Princeton look like?

CS: A lot of driving and pleading with children to take care of their studies.

I’m a dad.

I wish I gardened more, but at this chapter in my life, I just try and give [my children] the best experience that I can. This job affords that for me because I don’t have to work a ton of overtime. I’m there when they get off the bus.

On the weekends, I call my yard my ‘fortress of solitude.’ I like to go out there and weed, toil — putter, if you will — and just look at plants. I live over towards Washington Crossing State Park. So if I get bored in my house, I just walk to the woods. I’m very lucky.

DP: Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Princeton?

CS: My favorite part was when we were able to finally claw back from COVID. [During the height of the pandemic] we really didn’t have a big presence on campus and nature did its thing.

You could have filmed “The Walking Dead” here. There were weeds everywhere.

When we finally caught up, it was the next spring. I remember thinking, “Wow, we’re finally where we need to be.” It was a relief.

To some people, this is just a grounds job. But I feel like it’s my responsibility to make sure that this place looks good. It’s my calling.

[When I was applying] people would say, “If you work in Princeton, you’re very fortunate. If you don’t get the job, just keep applying.”

I ended up getting it on my first try, and it’s been a fairy tale ever since.

DP: What do you want the student body to know — either about you or the work that you’re doing?

CS: I’d like them just to know how much we really do care about the campus.

A lot of the people that I work with directly are very passionate people who really care about their jobs and what they do. That’s all — we’re really happy to be here.

We’re proud to be here.

Daniel Yu is a Features contributor for The Daily Princetonian. Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

the PROSPECT. Friday November 4, 2022

The Daily Princetonian

page 13

ARTS & CULTURE

From hidden to happy: On not fitting in, being myself, and Season 1, Episode 5 of ‘Modern Family’

By Avery Danae Williams

Contributing Prospect Writer

It’s not unusual for someone to hide years’ worth of emotional baggage in the hopes that it magically disappears.

After all, why confront it when they can distract themselves with the busyness of everyday life? However, sweeping various traumas under the rug can lead to tension with oneself.

I struggled with being different from my peers for most of my life, but it was particularly challenging in the fourth grade. I mean, it’s not everyday you meet an elementary school student like me who loves reading, writing, researching the cosmetics industry, watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and listening to R&B, ’80s, and ’90s music. Friendship with me was like a three-day free trial. Once my classmates discovered my eclecticism, they would leave me for someone “more normal.” These repeated patterns made me question if I would ever be good enough.

My classroom’s bathroom policy allowed for students to use the restroom up to three times a day, but my only escape from feelings of ostracization was leaving six times a day. Even if I didn’t genuinely need to use the bathroom, I would stay in there until the thoughts disappeared. I felt safe knowing that the onlooking stalls never judged me for being myself. My restroom trips eventually became so excessive that my spring parent-teacher conference was centered around them. I vividly remember crying, not from fearing that I’d get in trouble at home, but from lacking the necessary language to reveal how alone I felt in class. What if they don’t believe me because I’m only 10? What if they tell me I’m being a drama queen? What if they say I’m too young to have self esteem issues? So, I hid myself.

I knew that relying on the bathroom as a safe space was maladaptive in the long run, so I decided after that conversation to find a new one: the library (how fitting for me now as a prospective English major, right?). It was here that I invented Dee Designer: a student by day and a makeup artist for Maybelline by night. Her “lair” was downstairs in the library, where she would assign me weekly research projects about the cosmetics industry. Then, she would give me feedback while simultaneously fangirling with me over my favorite comics: “Garfield,” “Calvin & Hobbes,” and “Big Nate.” This was my excuse for going to the library every day except for Tuesday — the day I was assigned to go. Eventually, my classmates caught on. They made fun of me more than they did before, so I began to limit my library time.

Less library time, alas, meant fewer getaways from thinking everything was wrong with me. So I hid myself some more.

So when my friend started showing me “Modern Family” to destress during the first few weeks of Princeton classes, not only did it make me laugh to the point of falling off the couch, but it also hit close to home.

The series centers around three types of families and their experiences living in Los Angeles, Calif. Jay Pritchett symbolizes the link connecting everyone. He has two adult children, Claire and Mitchell, with families of their own.

During season 1, episode 5, Claire’s youngest (and only) son, Luke, lands into a fight with Jay’s stepson Manny at school, offended that Manny called Luke his nephew. Both sets of parents arrive in the principal’s office to resolve the conflict,

but it is only after Jay slaps them on the necks to tell them to love each other because they’re family, that they are able to make up. The incident resurfaces during the family football game, when Luke reveals his mother called Jay’s second wife Gloria a gold digger — or, as he mistakenly calls it, a “coal digger” — during a heated argument, revealing Claire’s xenophobia. After all, Gloria entering the family does raise the question of why the younger, highly attractive woman would marry an older man like Jay. However, the xenophobia stems from Jay, who forces Gloria to assimilate to his customs for his own self-gratification. Claire and her husband, Phil, subsequently have no choice but to agree with their dad’s/father-in-law’s views, as they fear being seen as disrespectful if they disagree.

Humiliated, Gloria — like 10-year-old me — hides in her bedroom to determine what parts of her identity to conceal from her new family. After this, Claire acknowledges her prejudices by apologizing to Gloria. This is a great first step, but I believe the most obvious solution in 2022 would be to have asked about Gloria’s experiences as a Colombian woman. Given her background as an immigrant and manual laborer in her family’s village, people in her country assumed she would not succeed. Against all odds, though, she was creating a better life for her son.

On the flip side, Claire should not expect her stepmother to teach the Dunphys everything. The Dunphys could educate themselves about the injustices the Hispanic community faces. They could correct themselves at home if one of the family members (yes, even stubborn-headed Jay) uses offensive language when referring to Gloria, Manny, or other Hispanic individuals they meet. But nothing would immerse everybody in Colombian culture more than actually participating in Gloria’s traditions, which would not only improve their family dynamic but also create a consistent habit of celebrating Gloria for who she really is.

During quarantine, I began thinking more deeply about why I’m so emotional, as over the years (not just in fourth

grade) my tendency to panic, back talk, and cry has gotten me into trouble. Little did I know that, in analyzing my own mental processes, I’d be forced to confront these same feelings of sadness, anger, and isolation I’ve repressed for years.

At the same time, it has been so rewarding.

The old me, my feelings invalidated for so long, would have used my work ethic to mask my insecurities, lest I became the “angry, Black woman”: a stereotype characterizing African American women as more hostile and aggressive than white women. I am now letting myself fully process and manage my emotions, something I never learned was a valuable life skill until my senior year of high school. And in my social justice, racial justice, and mental health advocacy, it remains a priority for me to foster safe spaces — like the ones I tried but failed to maintain in fourth grade — where friends, relatives, and educators can open up about feeling out of place, especially as members of historically excluded groups.

I am no longer afraid of showing up authentically to school either. Compared to fourth grade, I can genuinely say I am a lot happier with myself. I didn’t need to invent a fictional character to feel accepted; I just needed to share my passions and practice self-love to attract friends who celebrate every part of me, not just the parts they deem “more normal.” And you know what? My writing is stronger because of it. My relationships with my family and friends are stronger because of it. My connection with my new role model, Gloria Delgado Pritchett, is stronger because of it.

But most importantly, the new, authentic me is stronger because of it.

Avery Danae Williams is a Contributing Writer for The Prospect and a prospective English concentrator, with certificates in Creative Writing (Poetry), African American Studies, and Gender & Sexuality Studies. She can be reached at aw4174@princeton.edu or on Instagram @averydanaewrites.

CC BY-ND 2.0 / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Scene from Modern Family.

Kayla Hamilton and x tackle disability justice through movement-driven performance

By Allison Jiang

Contributing Prospect Writer

Movement became a vehicle for disability justice and spotlighting marginalized voices in performances from Kayla Hamilton and x. On Tuesday, Oct. 25, the Lewis Center for the Arts hosted a two-part movement series, “Intro to Radical Access,” featuring the two award-winning artists with disabilities at the Hearst Dance Theater. Hamilton and x’s choreography and presentations explored themes of accessibility, gender identity, mental health, and race — as well as the intersectionality between these traits.

During the event, accessibility was a focal point beyond just the subject matter of the movement pieces. Hearst Dance Theater was built as an accessible venue, with wheelchair accessible and companion seating locations.

The performance also provided open captioning, audio descriptions, and ASL interpreters throughout.

“Intro to Radical Access” was curated by Princeton Arts Fellow Christopher “Unpezverde” Núñez, a choreographer, educator, accessibility consultant, and disability advocate based in New York City. He is visually impaired and facilitates the dance and theater course THR 367: “Introduction to Radical Access: Disability Justice in the Arts” at Princeton.

While introducing the artists’ performances, Núñez stressed the salience of Hamilton and x’s work, stationed at the center of the intimate theater setup. He said, “This is the first time that we get to experience in a more pragmatic, practical way, what access accessibility and access artistry means.”

x, a TRANSdisciplinary artist-curator-community organizer, opened the program with a conceptual and antitechnical approach to movement-driven performance.

They took to the stage with heavyweight commentary on mental health resources and identity through a multimedia presentation. x entered with wide lunges into the space, accompanied by a cold, robotic voice recounting the log of a mental hospital. As they reached the edge of the stage, a screen dropped down to display a casual, vlog-style video of x talking to the camera about their journey with gender, and how they have grown to accept and perceive themselves and their identity.

Accompanied by set changes, costume changes, video, and music, x painted a narrative throughout their performance based on their hospitalization in 2018. They described their piece as a work in progress that started in 2018, without a specific end date.

“When I am working on it, it’s always because ‘Oh, I need to emotionally process this right now,‘” said x. “I often just use my performance work specifically to process my emotions and my experiences. Then, the chips will just fall where they may.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s performance explored the connection between Blackness and disability. Hamilton is an artist, producer, and educator based in New York.

As a dancer with partial blindness, she interrogated how concepts of cultural specificity, the process of normalization, and white supremacy interacted with disability.

Hamilton’s piece was joyful yet solemn, and included playful audience interaction as well as dramatic

moments of revelation and reflection through movement. The performance began with Hamilton winding through the rows of the audience, and having brief moments of connection with each person as she said, “I see you.” Every repetition of the phrase took on a different tone.

She followed by picking up a brimmed hat, seeming to offer it to the audience. She gestured to the balls that had been handed out to the audience before the show, patterned like globes picturing a world map, and invited the audience to throw the balls into her hat. Hamilton proceeded to explain how this demonstration mimicked an anecdote in which a slave master watched a working slave make a game by catching pebbles in the stream, but eventually grew angry at the slave’s happiness.

Hamilton explained the relevance of her work to today, saying, “I make the work that I make because it is urgent for the liberation of everybody. As we go through these intense moments of visible racial uprisings, of COVID, of inflation, we all need to be collectivizing to ensure all of our freedoms and our liberty.”

Throughout the raw performances of x and Hamilton, there was a clear conversation with the audience.

Their work demanded a dialogue surrounding issues of racism, disability access, and the normalization and interaction of such identities.

Allison Jiang is a contributing writer for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at allisonjiang@princeton.edu, or on Instagram @_allisonjiang_.

The Daily Princetonian

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Friday November 4, 2022

The Prospect 11 Weekly Event Roundup

This coming week features multiple student-directed plays, concerts, workshops, and more. Take a break from midterms and check out these events.

1. “Campelot: It’s In-tents” Princeton Triangle Club McCarter Theatre Nov. 4 & Nov. 5 at 8 p.m., Nov. 6 at 2 p.m.

“Campelot” opens the Princeton Triangle Club’s 132nd year of comedic student-written musical whimsy. Performing three shows, the cast will tell the story of Camp Backwash and something terribly dark and posh that is lurking around its campers.

3. “Des territoires (… Et tout sera pardonné?)”

The Department of French and Italian Whitman College Class of 1970 Theater Nov. 4–5, 8 p.m.

Princeton’s French and Italian troupe presents a play by Baptiste Amann, a French playwright and director, written in 2019. This performance marks L’Avant-Scène’s first play of the 2022–23 season. “Des territoires (… Et tout sera pardonné?)” follows two characters separately — one on life support after a riot, one caught in a dispute whilst acting in a film about the Algerian war — who tackle a common question.

2. ‘HERE YE, HEAR YE!!!’: An Exhibition by Mark Thomas Gibson Lewis Center for the Arts Hurley Gallery Nov. 4–23, Open 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Created by 2021–22 Hodder Fellow Mark Thomas Gibson, this exhibition engages with contemporary American politics and life through a satirical lens.

Exploring topics such as the early Biden presidency, Gibson’s artwork depicts how grotesque the world can seem with current political events. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

4. Fall 2022 Drawing Classes Show​ Students of Fall Semester Drawing Courses, Lewis Center for the Arts Lucas Gallery (2nd Floor), 185 Nassau St. Nov. 4, Nov. 7–11, Open 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

For this week only, the Program in Visual Arts will be exhibiting student artwork from the three fall drawing courses, taught by Alexis Brown and Troy Michie. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

5. C.K. Williams Reading by Jonah Mixon Webster 6. Living with Long COVID as a Musician: A Conversation/Concert with Joshua Roman, Cello Hosted by Clemency Burton-Hill, Princeton University Concerts Richardson Auditorium Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.

Cellist Joshua Roman returns to campus, after his Princeton University Concert debut last fall, in a performance and conversation, hosted by broadcaster and writer Clemency Burton-Hill. Roman has suffered from long-haul COVID-19 syndrome since Jan. 2021 and will speak to how these symptoms impacted him amidst rigorous touring and performing.

8. Fintan O’Toole on “Known and Strange Things: The Political Necessity of Art” University Center of Human Values Friend Center, Lecture Hall 101 Nov. 9, 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Award-winning columnist, drama critic, and book reviewer Finnan O’ Toole will lecture about the relationship between democracy and art, and art as a necessity for democratic citizenship. This is the first lecture of the Tanner Lectures on Human Values lecture series. Registration is required for this event.

10. Feeding the Arts: Roger Q. Mason ‘08

Hosted by Cassandra James ’23, Lewis Center for the Arts Donald G. Drapkin Studio Nov. 7, 5 p.m.

Poet Jonah Mixon Webster will read from his award-winning work, along with readings from several creative writing seniors at the C.K. Williams Reading Series. This event showcases the works of senior thesis students in the Program of Creative Writing.

7. Jazz Small Groups I and A Performance Jazz at Princeton’s Small Groups Richardson Auditorium Nov. 5, 8 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

To open the Princeton Jazz 2022–23 season, two small groups will be performing an array of classical jazz, be-bop, hard bop, and contemporary works.

Led by Miles Okazaki and Ted Chubb, the ensembles will offer a variety of improvisational styles and even some original arrangements from existing group members.

9. Coaching Lab Theater Co-curricular Class

Led by Yuval Boim, Lewis Center for the Arts Donald G. Drapkin Studio Nov. 7, 4:45 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

Open to students of all experience levels, the Coaching Lab welcomes artists working on monologues, songs, scenes, and more to receive coaching in a masterclass environment. The coachings will be led by Yuval Boim, an actor who has appeared on shows such as “Law and Order: SVU,” a film debut at Sundance Film Festival, and an off-Broadway production. Each class is drop-in — no registration required.

Lewis Center for the Arts and The Center for Career Development Seminar Room W331, Wallace Dance Building Nov. 7, 4:45 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

11. Hip-Hop Techniques and Foundations

Grab a meal and pull up a chair to a career conversation featuring Princeton alum Roger Q. Mason, an off-Broadway playwright and an internationally-recognized, award-winning filmmaker. As part of the Center for Career Development’s Feeding the Arts series, this event serves as an opportunity for students to gain insight into careers in theater and film. Registration is required for this event.

Hosted by Liam Lynch ’21, Lewis Center for the Arts Ellie’s Studio, Lewis Arts complex Nov. 5, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Allison Jiang | Contributing Prospect Writer

This week is the final opportunity to participate in this co-curricular dance class series exploring the foundations of hip-hop dance forms. Open to all experience levels, students can learn about the basics of hip-hop form and the various elements of groove, musicality, texture, footwork, and personal expression involved in the dance style.

Friday November 4, 2022

The Daily Princetonian

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Middle of the night, middle of the road: A review of Taylor Swift’s “Midnights”

By Kerrie Liang | Head Prospect Editor On the chilly night of Oct. 20, the world gathered around their devices. It didn’t matter whether you were a devoted Spotify user, an Apple Music enthusiast, or a Tidal stan (do those even exist?) — we all watched the minutes trickle into seconds, waiting for Taylor Swift to sweep us away from our mundane lives into a whirlwind of romance and heartbreak. But, just like Cinderella, when the clock struck twelve, the night took a turn for the worse.

Admittedly, Swift’s last two albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore,” are tough acts to follow — the vivid imagery and softer instrumentals came at an isolating time when intimate comfort was very much needed. With her lyrical prowess pushed to the foreground, this was also the time when the wider audience began to truly appreciate Taylor Swift as more than a generic country-turned-pop artist.

Thus, when the singer-songwriter announced some gutwrenching themes that inspired her latest album “Midnights” — self-loathing, wondering what could have been, falling apart — I was ready to break up with my non-existent boyfriend, open a bottle of red wine, and lament.

Perhaps it’s true that a great portion of my disappointment comes from the skyscraper expectations I had constructed. However, that is not to say that the album did not warrant the criticisms it received, the biggest being its mediocrity. To put it bluntly, some of the songs felt like a millennial’s desperate attempt to appeal to a younger generation, and — let’s be honest — that’s because they probably were.

In “Karma,” for example, Taylor Swift sprinkles Gen-Z slang throughout the chorus while simultaneously referencing her “cat mom” aesthetic. The unnerving combination of the two mix like water and oil, and ultimately seems like an uncanny attempt to seem relatable. I can’t quite figure out if this is iconic or corny, but either way I’m left feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, although “Vigilante Shit” tries to paint a fierce, feminine character, the track’s opening line, “Draw the cat eye / sharp enough to kill a man,” reminds me of an era I wish to forget. When listening to the album, I have a hard time believing that this is the same woman who ripped my heart out with “tolerate it” and “mirrorball.”

However, this is not to say that the album was terrible; in fact, Taylor Swift’s return to pop gifted us with more dynamic instrumentals compared to the simple guitar background in “Folklore” and “Evermore.” While the songs on “Midnights” did not explore any particularly experimental chord progressions, the production included little details that added some enjoyable “ear candy.” For instance, in the chorus of “Mastermind,” the swallowing bass creates a more menacing mood, which complemented the lower, rhythmically puncturing melody — the idea of a Machiavellian schemer really came to life here. Moreover, the distorted voices in the background of “Lavender Haze” created a clouded, slightly hallucinogenic atmosphere. Listening to the introduction, I immediately pictured muted city lights captured on slow shutter speed — if the idea of being “drunk on love” was a sound, it would be this.

To me, the real gems were hidden in the “3am Edition”

of the album, which included seven bonus tracks. The highlight of the album came in the penultimate track, “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” Just when we thought Taylor Swift was done burying her former lover John Mayer into the ground, she delivers the last fatal blow in a heartwrenching bridge and final verse. In the outro, when the melody features the higher end of her vocal range, she sounds hauntingly similar to her 19-year-old self. As a listener, I found my heart served on a silver platter alongside John Mayer’s head. The emotional weight behind this song almost made it worth listening to the 18 songs that precede it — almost.

Besides its mediocrity, what I find most upsetting about “Midnights” has nothing to do with the album itself, but rather in the way that some Taylor Swift fans have responded to criticism of “Midnights.” Rather than engaging with the content of the feedback, some people have turned to gatekeeping and ad hominem attacks of varying severity in a desperate attempt to maintain some supposed sanctity of Swift’s reputation. Some fans, for example, argued that if you didn’t like the music, then your opinion is invalid because the music was only made for “true fans.” This is absurd — music can interpreted or enjoyed by anyone.

When an artist puts their work out into the world, they are giving up control over the narrative. As witnesses of art, we then mold their narrative to try and fit our own. Sometimes, it doesn’t quite work out, so we reject it — and that’s okay; not every puzzle piece fits every puzzle.

It’s one thing to understand that not everyone connects with a certain work of art, but it’s another to claim that there is some dichotomy of who is and isn’t “allowed” to interpret it. In doing the latter, we are constructing the artist to be some puppeteer who dictates what the “correct” interpretation is. Moreover, by limiting certain members of the audience and removing discourse, art becomes a bore. There is great value in subjectivity: through different perspectives, we come to learn a little more about both the art and ourselves. By forcing art into an echo chamber, this insight is lost.

“Midnights” is a mixed bag. While some songs made me feel like the protagonist in a tumultuous love story, others made me feel like I was talking to my “cheugy” aunt.

Although this criticism can be a hard pill to swallow for some, it’s important to embrace the way that art is subject to unfiltered judgment, whether we like it or not. Taylor Swift’s art has value precisely because everyone internalizes it uniquely, and as an enjoyer of her work, you should be excited — not appalled — that it has the ability to affect people in different ways. After all, you can be a fan without being a partisan loyalist.

Kerrie Liang is a head editor for The Prospect and an assistant editor for Podcasts at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at kerrie.liang@ princeton.edu, or on Instagram at @kerrie.liang

KERRIE LIANG / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

I see you and learn how to be

By Ina Aram | Contributing prospect Writer

There is a boy working on something tonight.

I can see him from the window of my room. He is concentrating. This is one of the best things to witness: people concentrating. On the floor above the boy is another boy, working on something too, and I wonder who is working harder, and if this is even possible to measure, and if maybe one of the boys sometimes feels conscious of their heart inside of them beating, beating, beating. I want to know what everyone everywhere is doing.

If I could, I would ask all the time, “How did you spend your time today?” There are few things more intimate than knowing someone’s schedule. Maybe seeing them naked. Maybe hearing them sing. I want to know what classes a person had. And how they got themselves from class to class. And whether it was all effortless and automatic, or if it was a great, great effort. There are things you can’t know about people. We receive sketches of strangers, and that is all. Everybody walks a certain way. I like to do impressions in front of my friends of people we know.

They laugh and I wonder how I would imitate myself. I try it in front of a mirror. The two girls move just the same.

Sometimes I think I don’t know how to be human.

Where do I put my body every hour? When do I take a breath? How many grapes can I eat before my whole body buzzes like acid? I want to know how people do it, how they do this thing that is living. So I watch.

Couples in cafes. Friends in my room. Strangers through windows. I see proof of people who do it too — who wake and live. We don’t talk about existing enough. But in the frames of windows, human life is idolized like art. I see you being, and I learn.

I feel okay.

From my bedroom in Tokyo, I see my neighbors in the apartment across the street. There are a few characters I have come to know across the years. I gave them names. “The Protector” sits at his dining table for a while after putting his son to bed. “The Woman of Steel” is up at 6:30 a.m., making a lunchbox in her steel kitchen. “Hula Lady” began to dance one night.

I wanted to dance too, to music I like, with bare feet, and with the city lights streaming into my room, because sometimes sitting at a desk doing things that need to be done feels unbearable. I wonder who she cooks for. I wonder what it’s like to leave a light on — to stay awake so someone afraid can find you and run to you in the light.

I do not watch with malice. I watch because I am anxious. Because most of the time I don’t know if I am doing it right. I am afraid I am not doing what I should be doing at every moment all the time. Because time has overwhelmed me since I was probably 11 years old. This was when I first comprehended it as something finite and fleeting. Now I’m 19 and want to swallow all of time. All the time in my life.

I’ll let it sit like a black hole in my stomach, because what else do I do with it? How do I care for it? How do I exist in time? How will it wash over me — how

will I go from all the things I do right now to what I so want to do in the future? I lick up the days and crunch on the hours — minutes and seconds season time on my tongue.

Sometimes before dinner I just stand in my dorm room. My shoes are wet from the rain. I could take them off, but my pants are wet too, and then it won’t end. I’m waiting for my friends to come back so we can go to dinner together. That will be our time.

When I rush to class it is easy — that is the only thing I need to be doing. I unravel when the decision of what to do is mine.

There was a little banner in the Limelite store in town: “Made a Decision Today,” it said, like it was an accomplishment. My friends and I laughed. We thought about getting it. I’m not indecisive. I just wonder if my decisions of what to do with my time are the best. Should I work or should I sleep? To go walk or to weep? I decide to wear a red sweater, and I decide to drink my coffee and read outside by the chapel. If not at Princeton, maybe I would be somewhere in California, and there would be no need for sweaters, and maybe I would not be someone who reads. But I do read, and winter is coming, and I like this red sweater. This is the person that I am at this time because of all the decisions I’ve made. We decided not to buy the banner.

I love coincidences. Unexpected people in ordinary places. Numbers in just the right order. “Jinx!” moments. Things that seem like they happen because they have to. Signs that you were meant to be there to see it. That all of it was right.

There are those boys over there beyond my window, in the other building, in their windows. Maybe they know how to say “focaccia.” Maybe they know how atoms fit into cells. Or how to start Korean emails. Or what to do if, for a brief moment past midnight in the bathroom of a party, they do not recognize the person looking back at them in the mirror. Or why necklaces rotate around the neck throughout the day so they always have to be fixed, fixed, fixed.

Maybe they know how to be human more than I do. But none of that matters. We are all here now. I want to wave, but that would break something, and I don’t know what.

Ina Aram is a contributing writer from Tokyo, Japan, writing for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at ia8483@princeton.edu or on Instagram @inafinity

INA ARAM / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Self essays at The Prospect give our writers and guest contributors the opportunity to share their views and lived experiences. If you would like to submit a Self essay, contact us at prospect@dailyprincetonian.com.

Friday November 4, 2022

Sports

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{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } FOOTBALL

Princeton football produces five turnovers to destroy Cornell in Homecoming game

By Nishka Bahl Sports Contributor

Riding the high the prior week’s sound defeat of the Harvard Crimson (5–2 overall, 3–1 Ivy League), Princeton (7–0, 4–0) continued their undefeated season and beat Cornell (4–3, 1–3) in a dominant 35–9 victory on Powers Field on Saturday, Oct. 29.

“It takes 11 guys to win any game on defense,” senior linebacker Matthew Jester said after the game. “Everyone is making plays, and everyone shares the burden of making plays. I can always count on the other guys, and I hope that they can always count on me.”

The Cornell Big Red won their first Ivy League matchup of the season last week against Brown and were looking to snatch a road win in New Jersey in an effort to secure their first .500 season since 2011. Princeton head coach Bob Surace ’90 knew the strength of Cornell’s team, offensively and defensively, going into the game.

“They are good. Every game they have played, but one, has come down to the last minute,” Surace told The Daily Princetonian. “They are one of the more physical defenses. They give a lot of looks that can be confusing, and they got us a few times. They control the clock, they limit possessions, and their quarterback is tremendously athletic.”

Key to their victory, the Tigers’ defense managed to force four interceptions out of Cornell quarterback Jameson Wang.

Prior to this game, Wang had thrown only one interception.

“I think we are selfless, and I think we play our role very well,” Jester said, referring to the Tigers’ defense. “I think guys play for each other, guys play with heart and passion and out of love for the guy next to them. I really just love the team chemistry that we have.”

Right from the start, Princeton defense came out with a bang. The Tigers held Cornell to only four yards on Cornell’s first drive and forced a threeand-out. The Tigers’ offense then took over with a drive down the field, culminating in a 47-yard field goal attempt by sophomore kicker Jeffrey Sexton. However, Cornell tight end Chukwuemeka Adebi blocked the field goal, leaving the scoreboard blank after each team’s first possession.

Cornell responded with a tenplay drive all the way down to the Princeton four yard-line.

Princeton’s defense laid on the pressure, leading to senior defensive back Michael Ruttlen in-

tercepting Wang in the back of the end zone to keep the Big Red scoreless.

Though Princeton’s next drive ended in a punt, the possession saw senior wide receiver Andrei Iosivas make an eight-yard reception, becoming the 17th player in Tigers program history to earn 100 career receptions.

“I honestly did not know about it until after,” said Iosivas. “I just kind of go — I just play. It is a nice mark to hit, but I am always looking for the W.” Iosivas has been receiving a great deal of national attention based on this season’s performance. He currently leads the Ivy League in receiving yards and touchdown catches, and was recently added to the 2022 Stats Perform FCS Walter Payton Award watch list.

“It is really great — I mean it is just like a culmination of all the work that I have put in,” Iosivas continued. “And, obviously, the coaches help me to be in that position and all the players around me, but I kind of just focus on the game. When I go into the game, I just know what I can do, and everything else will just sort of fall into place.”

With less than 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Cornell pushed towards the end zone, but, once again, Wang was intercepted, this time by senior CJ Wall at the Princeton 30 yardline.

With the Tigers now in possession of the football, junior quarterback Blake Stenstrom connected with Iosivas for a 26yard sideline pass to close out the first quarter, leaving the score at 0–0. Throughout the season, the chemistry between Stenstrom and Iosivas has only continued to improve.

“He’s a great guy — he puts the ball in places where only I can get it,” Iosivas said about his quarterback. “He trusts us and that is the biggest thing between a receiver and quarterback. He trusts me, I trust him, and so we just got to go out there and make plays.”

To kick off the second quarter, the Tigers’ offense put the first points on the board. After a seven-play drive for 53 yards, Stenstrom connected with Iosivas for a 15-yard touchdown pass.

The Cornell defense blocked sophomore kicker Sam Massick’s conversion attempt, making the score 6–0 as Cornell regained possession.

Cornell responded with another three-and-out due to strong Princeton defense and a Cornell holding penalty. Princeton quickly scored again, as

Stenstrom completed his second touchdown pass of the day to Iosivas. The 36-yard completion, combined with a failed twopoint conversion, made the score 12–0.

After the ensuing 11-play, 52yard drive during which the Big Red offense showed some life, kicker Jackson Kennedy missed a 40-yard field goal attempt and Cornell remained scoreless with two minutes left in the half.

However, Cornell got another chance to score before time ran out due to a quick Tigers threeand-out. The Big Red offense drove down the field, allowing Kennedy to kick a 42-yard field goal to put Cornell on the board. The score was 12–3 as both school’s bands took the field for halftime.

Princeton got possession to start the half and was able to extend their lead with Stenstrom running three yards for a touchdown. This time, Massick made the extra point, making the score 19–3.

The Cornell offense responded with a strong, 15-play, 81-yard drive culminating in an eightyard touchdown pass from Wang to wide receiver Nicholas Laboy.

The Big Red made an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt that was intercepted and returned to the Cornell end zone by Jester, making the score 21–9 at the end of the third quarter.

“Turnovers are always the goal,” said Jester when asked about his interception. “Five of them, that was a really awesome feeling. Half of those turnovers do not happen if the other 10 guys on the team are not doing their job. It is always a team effort.”

Jester not only intercepted Wang, but he also hurdled the quarterback to get access to the sideline and break free to the end zone for two points.

“Heat of the moment, I guess that is what I decided to do,” Jester said.

On Cornell’s next drive, Wang threw his third interception of the day. This time, it was senior defensive back Dawson De Iuliis who forced the turnover and gave Princeton possession at the Cornell 36-yard line. Princeton turned this possession into points with a one-yard rush touchdown by freshman running back Ryan Butler to make the score 28–9.

With this being his 10th touchdown of the season, Butler earned the record for freshman rushing touchdowns. Last week, Butler was named to the 2022 Stats Perform FCS Jerry Rice Award watch list and has earned the Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor four times in the first six weeks of the season.

During Cornell’s next drive, Princeton’s defense once again demonstrated their strength.

Princeton junior linebacker Liam Johnson intercepted Wang at the Princeton 25 and ran for a pick-six, making the score 35–9.

Cornell once again attempted to drive down the field, even going for a run on fourth down at their own 32-yard line, but the Princeton defense stopped them, and the Tigers got the ball back in Big Red territory. Princeton’s possession was short-lived, and Cornell drove the ball down to the Princeton six-yard line, with the clock running out before they could reduce the deficit.

Despite the victory against Cornell, Surace noted room for improvement, especially looking towards the final three games of the season. Still, Surace celebrated the high energy that his players bring to each game.

“I did not think we were as precise as we could be,” Surace reflected after the game. “I think there are things that we are going to have to look at coachingwise, we can put the players in better positions. But, when you play with that effort, win or lose, you are proud of your guys and you can feel good about yourself.”

Princeton will face Dartmouth in Princeton Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 5. The Big Green, coming off a home defeat against Harvard, sit at 2–5 overall and will look to gain their second conference win.

“Every game we just look to go 1–0,” said Iosivas about the Dartmouth matchup. “We have definitely had some great battles with [Dartmouth]. We come into every team thinking the same way: find out ways to beat them, come out with some passion and heart, and come out with the W hopefully.”

“They have a tremendous coach and a tremendous team,” Surace added. “We are going to have to have a great week this week and buckle down. We start tomorrow.”

Nishka Bahl is a contributor to the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’ Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian. com.

COURTESY OF @PRINCETONFTBL/TWITTER.

Junior linebacker Liam Johnson streaks down the field for a touchdown late in the win over Cornell.

MEN’S HOCKEY

Men’s hockey loses 4–2 to No. 13 Harvard in season opener

By Cole Keller Sports Contributor

Men’s ice hockey (0–1–0 overall, 0–1–0 Eastern Collegiate Athletic) lost a tight game in their season opener against No. 13 Harvard (2–0–0, 2–0–0) by a score of 4–2 in Cambridge, Mass.

To start the action in the first period, the Crimson came out flying. Harvard had 27 shot attempts in the first, with 12 shots on goal in comparison to Princeton’s six shots on goal. The game remained close due to a strong play from Princeton senior goalie Aidan Porter. He successively saved 11 of 12 goal attempts in the opening frame. Harvard, however, still managed to open the scoring when a broken stick aided Zakary Karpa’s redirection past Porter.

The second period saw the Tigers push back with first-year forward Brendan Gorman putting Princeton on the board at the 6:33 mark. Unassisted, Gorman picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and rifled a shot past Harvard junior goaltender Derek Mullahy for his first collegiate goal.

For Brendan Gorman, one of the most memorable moments of the night was the chance to play on the ice with his older brother and teammate, senior forward Liam Gorman, for the first time.

“It was really special,” Brendan Gorman wrote to The Daily Princetonian.

“We played on the same team in high school, but we never had the opportunity to play together. We always played with one another on our backyard rink, so

to now play in a real game means a lot to both of us.”

The third period began tied at one, and the Tigers went to an early power play when Harvard forward Austin Wong tripped sophomore forward Jack Cronin 1:36 into the frame. On the ensuing power play, Cronin received an excellent cross-ice pass and wristed the puck past the goalie for a 2–1 Tigers lead.

“Obviously power plays are very important for our team to be successful. Having a successful power play can swing the momentum of the game in our favor,” Cronin said.

The tide turned against the Tigers following the power play goal. The Crimson were able to answer right back on their own man advantage on a first collegiate goal from first-

year forward Joe Miller.

Three minutes later, after a Princeton defensive zone turnover, Harvard sophomore forward Matthew Coronato scored on a onetimer to give the Crimson a 3–2 lead.

“We need to limit the full possession turnovers in our defensive zone,” Head Coach Ron Fogarty said.

“We have improved in this area from last season and there is still some room for further improvement.”

Princeton pushed to the very end and had a power play opportunity late in the game that could have tied the score again. However, Harvard and Mullahy had other ideas, as the Crimson’s defense stopped Princeton’s search for a tying goal. In the final two minutes, Coronato delivered again on a breakaway

to bring the score to a 4–2 final.

The Tigers will look ahead to next weekend, where they will play at Baker Rink for the first time this season with matchups against Cornell (0–0–0) and Colgate (0–0–0). The puck drops against Cornell on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m., and against Colgate on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.

“I’m very excited about the direction our team is headed,” Cronin said.

“I think we have added a very talented class of [firstyears] so there’s a lot of excitement in the locker room right now.”

Cole Keller is a contributor to the Data and Sports sections at the ‘Prince.’ Please direct any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.