Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998
Wednesday November 9, 2016 vol. cxl no. 97
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } STUDENT LIFE
U. students react to election outcome By Winston Lie contributor
Allie Spensley contributor
Katherine Wang contributor
As the returns of the 2016 presidential election revealed a very close result, many University students expressed surprise. The night began with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leading, yet it quickly turned into a very close race. Daniel Pallares ’20 noted that he was surprised on how close the results were. “I thought that Clinton would win in a landslide, with the early projections and all the things that Trump has said,” he said. Chamari White-Mink ’20, who identified as a Clinton supporter, noted that she felt “terrified [and] very anxious” upon learning how close the results were. Around 9:30 p.m., Repub-
lican presidential candidate Donald Trump starting leading in the polls and the odds shifted in his favor. Nick Sileo ’20 noted that he was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. “It was Hillary’s race to win at first. I always thought Trump really had a chance and he was underestimated. Right now, I couldn’t be happier, but we’ll see. It’s not in the bag yet,” he said. “I wasn’t surprised, because I think everyone underestimated that people who didn’t want Trump to win didn’t turn up to vote. Brexit had a major effect because it showed the electorate that people can change the course of political events,” Bhadrajee Hewage ’20 said. “I wouldn’t say I was expecting him with certainty to win, but I certainly wasn’t surprised that he is pulling ahead now.” “To see my home state Pennsylvania flip to red was when I realized that this is an abSee REACTIONS page 3
STUDENT LIFE
SUNNY HE :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
U. students gather at Whig to watch election results By Allie Spensley contributor
On Tuesday evening, hundreds of students gathered at Whig Hall to watch live coverage of the results of the 2016 presidential elections at the American Whig-Cliosophic Society’s Election Night Extravaganza. The event featured screenings on all four floors of the building, as well as a photo booth and a raffle. One room on the third floor of the Whig Hall was dedicated to Fox News coverage. 15 students crowded around a large black table,
most with laptops out to ensure constant updates on election results. A single flat-screen TV provided updates on the presidential and senatorial elections as voting counts came in. “I think it’s cool to see a lot of students spread out all over watching, in one space for everybody to get together and watch,” Sarah Malik ’20 said. “I think the election represents the silent majority that a lot of people, Princeton students especially, probably never thought about, but their voice is really being heard. Even if Trump doesn’t win,
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
the fact that he did better than everyone thought is something we really need to think about.” The largest room of the Whig-Clio event provided CNN coverage, with filled rows of chairs, a crowded balcony, patriotic plastic f lags, and life-size cardboard cutouts of each candidate. Most of the students in the room supported Clinton, responding with cheers and rounds of applause to blue-state projections, although a few vocal Trump supporters made their voices heard as well. See STUDENTS page 2
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
Former aides to Christie Caspersen convicted over scandal ’99
staff writer
Hannah Waxman staff writer
ANNA BERGHUIS :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Eight U. alumni win elections to the House By Charles Min associate news editor
All six University alumni seeking reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives won their races. Rep. Ken Buck ’81, Leonard Lance GS ’82, Derek Kilmer ’96, Jared Polis ’96, John Sarbanes ’84, and Terri Sewell ’86 won their respective races and kept their seats in the House. Sewell, Sarbanes, Polis, and Kilmer are running as incumbent Democrats, while Lance and
In Opinion
Buck are running as incumbent Republicans. Another six alumni ran for their first term in Congress. These include Raja Krishnamoorthi ’96, Mike Gallagher ’06, Tom Nelson GS ’04, D. Peter Theron ’78, Brady Walkinshaw ’06, and Paul Clements GS ’92 GS ’96. Krishnamoorthi beat Pete DiCianni for the open seat in Illinois’ 8th Congressional district. Gallagher defeated Nelson for the open seat in the 8th Congressional district in Wisconsin.
Columnist Nick Wu reflects on digital activism and the Dakota Access Pipeline protest, and columnist Marni Morse argues that sexual misconduct data must be gathered and evaluated more uniformly in light of the recent Clery Act mandated report. PAGE 6
Two of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s former aides were found guilty of all charges related to the 2013 Bridgegate scandal in a federal court on Friday. Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly had been charged with seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud. Their sentencing is set for Feb. 21. David Wildstein, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive, pleaded guilty and served as the prosecution’s key witness in the proceedings. Christie is an ex-officio trustee for the University. Baroni worked as Christie’s top official at the Port Authority, and Kelly was Christie’s deputy chief of staff. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. United States Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman commented to the New York Times that while recommending a sentence, prosecutors will likely take into account that Baroni and Kelly did not testify honestly to their crimes. The scandal known as Bridgegate began on Sept.
9, 2013, when three access lanes of the George Washington Bridge connecting Fort Lee, N.J. to New York City were shut down for five days, according to the New York Times. After the initial controversy, Christie’s aides first claimed that the closings were due to a traffic study being conducted for the Port Authority. However, later evidence, such as emails sent from their accounts, revealed that the closures were intended to target Fort Lee mayor Mark Sokolich, who did not endorse Christie’s bid for re-election. An Aug. 13 email from Kelly to David Wildstein, another Christie official, read, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” which suggested that the closings were pre-planned and calculated. Wildstein plead guilty to charges of fraud and is facing 20 to 27 months in prison, according to the New York Times. Christie has claimed repeatedly that he had no knowledge of the plan to close the lanes, and, while he served as a witness in Kelly’s defense, was condemned as a bully by his former employee. The scandal was largely See BRIDGE page 3
Today on Campus 4:30 p.m.: Natives at Princeton will host a discussion with the premier performer of Native American flute R. Carlos Nakai on music and identity. The event is open to the public and will take place in Chancellor Green Seminar 103 and 105.
sentenced 4 years in jail
By Catherine Benedict contributor
Andrew Caspersen ’99 was sentenced to four years in prison by Judge Jed Rakoff of the Federal District Court in Manhattan for defrauding friends, family, and a charitable hedge fund foundation out of $38.5 million on Friday. Casperson defrauded investors using an elaborate Ponzi scheme; he encouraged victims to invest their money with him, promising high returns, but instead used the money to fund his lavish lifestyle and gambling addiction. Caspersen was arrested on March 26, 2016, at LaGuardia Airport after returning from a family vacation in Florida with wife Christina Frank Caspersen ’02 and their two children. On July 6, Caspersen, a former partner and managing director at investment bank PJT Partners’ Park Hill Group, pleaded guilty to one charge of security fraud and one charge of wire fraud. Among others, victims of Caspersen’s Ponzi scheme included his mother and two See CASPERSEN page 4
WEATHER
By Caroline Lippman
HIGH
57˚
LOW
34˚
Showers. chance of rain:
70 percent
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The Daily Princetonian
AUTUMN SUNLIGHTS
Wednesday November 9, 2016
Berger: We wanted it to be ... remembered as a good memory of college STUDENTS Continued from page 1
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“This is the only presidential election we’ll be in college for, and we wanted it to be something people remembered as a good memory of college,” Allison Berger ’18, president of Whig-Clio, said. “I’ve been really happy with the engagement levels we’ve had. I would estimate between 500 and 1,000 peo-
ATAKAN BALTACI :: ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
ple were here tonight,” she added. “We had 1,000 donuts and they were all gone. I’ve been really pleased with this and hope its serves as an impetus for people to get even more involved with politics after the election.” Berger is a member of the Daily Princetonian Editorial Board.
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sudo pip
install
web_staffer
Wednesday November 9, 2016
Mittag: I’m scared for my Muslim, LGBT, and people of color friends REACTION Continued from page 1
............. solutely unexpected revolution. I feel like Trump’s going to tame his positions if he is in office,” Abbie Minard ’20 noted. Describing the atmosphere in the room, Minard said that “every red projection was met with silence except for one or two people. The blue projections, although they are rare, are met with very weak cheers at this point.” Some students expressed disappointment and frustration as the night continued and Trump began to pull ahead in the polls. “I’m fairly excited about the prospect of structural shakeup, and I’m interested to see what political analysts make of this,” Christian Schmidt ’20 said. “However, I’m incredibly disappointed in the American public for electing this burgeoning idiot of a man.” “As an American, I feel very dirty and the only way to feel clean again is to leave the country. This is totally not what I expected. I expected [Clinton] to win Republi-
The Daily Princetonian
can states before I expected [Trump] to win,” Brad Spicher ‘20 said. “I can’t believe the majority of Americans feel this way. I expected him to get maybe 25 or 30 percent, but not 60 percent. Apparently, Americans don’t value manners and grace. If Hillary had said a quarter of a sentence of what Trump has said, she would be tortured, but he is being elected for it,” Achie Gebre ’20 said. “I’m feeling really shocked, not necessarily because Trump is winning, but because hatred can prevail as much as it has,” Dylan Mittag ’20 said. “I’m really interested in political structure and in this election, the norms, what we expect, have been completely undone. Essentially, the Democratic firewall has been destroyed. This is troubling for both sides, because nothing can be predictable anymore.” “I’m scared for my Muslim, LGBT, and people of color friends, not that we might be immediately directly affected, but because we are now citizens in a Trump America,” Mittag added.
KATHERINE WANG :: CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
A student expresses his surprise upon Donald Trump winning Ohio.
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Email revealed that bridge closure intentionally targetted Fort Lee mayor BRIDGE
Continued from page 1
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considered responsible at least in part for ruining Christie’s chances at a bid for the Republican nomination for presidential candidate. The prosecutor for the case, Lee Cortes, claimed that the lane closings were a scheme orchestrated by public officials to further Christie’s political aims, according to NJ.com. “I’m saddened by this case and I’m saddened about the choices made by Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly and David Wildstein. Today’s verdict does not change this for me,” Christie said in a statement on Nov. 4.
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The Daily Princetonian
Wednesday November 9, 2016
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Fraud allegedly due to gambling addiction CASPERSEN Continued from page 1
brothers, the parents of his former girlfriend, Catherine MacRae ’00, who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and acquaintance James McIntyre ’99. The Moore Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of venerable hedge fund manager Louis Bacon’s firm Moore Capital Management, was defrauded out of $25 million. Caspersen lost most of the money he gathered in risky stock trading. “Caspersen allegedly put on a shameful charade – creating fake email addresses, setting up misleading domain names, and inventing fictional financiers,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a press statement. The four-year sentence is notably light, as federal prosecutors had sought to sentence Caspersen to 15 years in prison, arguing his fraud would have continued were he not arrested. The maximum prison term on each of the two counts is 20 years. Rakoff is known to be opposed to federal sentencing guidelines, which encourage long prison terms and lack of
consideration of mitigating circumstances. “No purpose will be served by letting him rot in prison for years on end,” Rakoff said during the sentencing. Caspersen’s light sentence was due to his legal team, led by Paul Shechtman, arguing that his mental health issues caused him to commit his crime. Shechtman claimed that Caspersen’s gambling addiction began during his undergraduate years at the University. In an uncommon move, Rakoff allowed Yale University School of Medicine psychiatry professor Dr. Marc Potenza to testify that Caspersen’s fraud was due to a gambling addiction. Caspersen told Rakoff that he has suffered from depression and alcoholism and that he spent 16 days in the hospital for mental health issues following his March arrest. Caspersen graduated from the University with a degree in economics and a thesis entitled “The Future of the NYSE Specialist” before enrolling at Harvard Law School.
What Frosh Thought of Fall Break... tashi treadway ’19 ..................................................
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The Daily Princetonian
Wednesday November 9, 2016
ELECTION DAY
SUNNY HE :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Red and blue lights light up the Whig Hall on Election Day.
ANNA BERGHUIS :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
On the election day, many University students lined up to vote.
FALL ON CAMPUS
ATAKAN BALTACI :: ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
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Opinion
Wednesday November 9, 2016
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{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }
Privilege and voting green Imani Thornton columnist
B
efore voting, I felt sick to my stomach. Why? Was I not supposed to exude pride as my ancestors’ wildest dreams became a reality for me? Rather, I not only casually contemplated my vote, but I wondered if I should vote at all. Nausea nearly took me hostage as I inserted my little card at the electronic voting booth. I looked across the room at my mother, her face stricken with urgency. I watched the beautiful faces of my people beam as they cast their votes and were rewarded with patriotic stickers for this socalled civic duty. Perhaps it was hot in that early voting room, but I could not stop sweating as I realized what I was about to do: cast my first presidential vote as green. As an Illinoisan, I have a privilege. This privilege cannot be defined by my assuming I will live a fine life regardless of the outcome, and therefore can “waste my vote” on a third party candidate (and as the hackneyed saying goes, there is always Canada). My privilege stems from the blueness of my state. Illinois is one of a handful of Democratic strongholds with enough electoral votes to be influential. None of the Trump projected wins led credence to the idea that all votes matter – a possible Trump win had little to do with Illinois according to these electoral maps. In addition, Illinois has been a blue state since the 1988 presidential election. Is it dangerous to assume that a state will “go blue” and will therefore not contribute to a possible Trump presidency? Perhaps. Did it influence the fact that I ultimately did not vote blue? Yes. What is perhaps most dangerous about all of this is that pressure from celebrities, former candidates, and politicians like President Barack Obama rarely acknowledges such privilege. Obama’s “Don’t boo, vote” rhetoric may have sounded particularly urgent if you live in a state like Ohio or North Carolina, where the numbers remain close for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. However, how can the Democratic Party maintain more targeted incentives for voting when there is a common understanding that states like Illinois, California, and New York will “go blue” and with no end in sight? Further, does this lack of incentive structure – other than fear mongering – involve the Democratic Party taking such votes for granted, in a similar manner as the “electoral capture” model suggests the party does for African American votes? Even with election night over, I have no answers to these questions. What I do know is that when Clinton announced her second run for President of the United States, I was admittedly not as enthused as I would have hoped. Outside of her own policies, I had already become disillusioned with the two party system. This was not in any way helped by the heightened racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic commentary coming from the right that seemed to squeeze me into an uncomfortable box. Apathy for Clinton was understood, even at times sanctioned, but when Sanders did not win the Democratic nomination – “who else are you going to vote for?” and “anyone but Trump, right?” Right. This was only my first time voting in a presidential election, although it feels like I have been embossed with politics my whole life. I wanted my first vote to be for the first black president of the United States; I wanted my vote to be revolutionary. However, I was too young to vote for Barack Obama. Regardless, voting is but one means – albeit, a prominent one – to achieve political and social change. So I did my research and identified my politics with how they aligned or conflicted with those of Hillary Clinton. I never considered Donald Trump to be an option either as a nominee or as a candidate. This left me and other black voters with a choice: “give” Hillary Clinton the black vote she may not deserve or risk Donald Trump being elected. Again, where was my incentive structure to vote for Hillary? Guilt no longer worked, and unless, in an alternate universe, Illinois took an unprecedented move and went red, the blood of a Trump election will not be on my ballot. Perhaps there is something wrong with the fact that I can vote with my true conscience – not out of fear for a Trump presidency- while my fellow skeptics of the two party system in Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida could not have so easily made this choice. There is something more at work that simply the ills of the Electoral College system. Such unbalance of power and privilege may not bode well long for either party, especially for the Democrats. The two-party system is in desperate straits, one that will become even more complicated with the projected increase of Latinx people by the year 2045. How long can this go on before it falls? Imani Thornton is a Politics major from Matteson, Ill. She can be contacted at it4@ princeton.edu.
T
Uniformity needed among sexual misconduct data
vol. cxl
Marni Morse he University must the number of cases in which columnist take greater steps to someone was found responobtain a clearer picsible, but these results are not ture of sexual misconduct on campus broken down by specific offense. While I underbecause it is critical that we sort out what is stand the need to protect respondents’ privacy, I really occurring. Currently, there are at least do not see the benefit of withholding numbers three published reports on this topic each year. for the specific crimes. But because of different definitions, different Moreover, the official Clery data does not time periods covered, and different sources of highlight cases that are reported confidentially information, comparing the data from these to SHARE, Princeton’s sexual assault advising various reports is almost impossible. office. The data is in the report — on page 52, The most recent report is the Annual Secu- after pages of definitions and before the official rity and Public Safety report. Under the 1990 crime charts of the crimes. The report does exClery Act, all universities receiving federal plain that these cases used to be reported in the funding must publish an Annual Security and official data and why they no longer are. HowPublic Safety report on or before October 1 de- ever, unless you know to look for this data in tailing the number of reported crimes to non- the 66-page report, you won’t realize it is there. confidential resources on campus during the The data on these confidentially reported past three years. This year’s Clery Act report cases is also incomplete and unclear, as the lists seven rapes, three fondling offenses, and information provided is not broken down by 18 cases of domestic violence; this is compared type of sexual offense. All the public knows is to eight rapes, four fondling offenses, and seven that 29 cases of sexual offenses were reported cases of domestic violence in 2014. confidentially in 2015, up from 28 the year beWhile the University’s most recent Clery re- fore. The number of cases of domestic violence, port says seven rapes were reported on campus dating violence, and stalking — the three Vioin 2015, the most recent discipline report shows lence Against Women Act offenses — actually only two students were found responsible for are broken down by type. Again, I recognize rape and expelled (compared to zero expulsions why confidential reporting options are crucial, in 2014). Meanwhile, 27 percent of Princeton why there might be benefits in separating these undergraduate women in the We Speak campus numbers from the reported numbers, and the climate survey reported experiencing noncon- importance of privacy. But why this this spesensual sexual contact. cific aggregation is warranted when others are As I’ve argued before, we must consider this not remains unclear to me and is not explained data alongside other statistics published by the in the documents. University because a full picture of sexual misWhile there is definitely room for improveconduct on campus is necessary to push for ment in how the data is presented, there have meaningful solutions to the problem. The We been some changes in this year’s reports that Speak survey provides self-reported data on do make the reports clearer. Both Clery and the sexual misconduct, and its numbers are much discipline report now explain why the numbers higher than what appears in the annual Clery are different. As the discipline report explicitly report, which is based only on cases reported states this year, “the University recognizes that to campus Public Safety. It suggests that one in the majority of incidents of sexual misconduct three undergraduate women have experienced are not reported to non-confidential University inappropriate sexual behavior here. New We resources. Thus, the data contained in this reSpeak data based on last year’s survey is expect- port is not intended to reflect all incidents of ed later this month, but I assume the numbers sexual misconduct.” won’t be drastically different. The respondents in the discipline report are Then there is the annual sexual misconduct also broken down by student, employee, and discipline report. It outlines the findings of alumni, which is helpful for transparency. Fursexual misconduct investigations and punish- ther, the Clery report now includes a subsection ments on campus: only two students found that plainly details which definitions are used guilty and expelled. for the statistics, serving to further clarify the Unfortunately, these reports contain dras- meaning behind the numbers. tically different numbers because they cover As someone particularly invested in the issue different time periods — academic versus cal- of sexual misconduct on college campuses, I’ve endar year — and use different definitions of taken the time to search for as much publicly sexual misconduct. In addition, many people available data as possible and go through the do not report crimes to Public Safety for vari- different reports, comparing the text and the ous reasons, often because they feel that going data year after year. Even so, it is hard to get a through the process is not worth the additional clear and full understanding about the state pain it may cause. of sexual misconduct on campus. Given the Because of this, getting a clear picture of importance of the issue, and considering that what actually occurs on campus is difficult. most students cannot carefully comb through For example, because the timeline of the Clery all of the available information, administrators report and discipline report do not overlap per- should be as transparent as possible in publicizfectly, it is unclear from the statistics above how ing the data and the details behind it. many rapes were reported but not investigated. As John Cramer, the University Director of In isolation, it is understandable why each uses Media Relations, noted, “Even one incident is the time period it does, seeing as Clery is de- too many.” Only when we understand the full fined by law but students tend to work off extent of the problem can we best fight it and academic calendars. But it still makes getting actually get the number to zero. If the Univera complete picture difficult. Actually aligning sity truly believes that even one incident is too the time periods would provide a clear picture many, it ought to focus on providing the fullest of discipline numbers compared to reported and clearest information possible about all ascases. pects of sexual misconduct on campus. The discipline report data is opaque in other ways. The data shows how many cases were Marni Morse is a politics major from Washington, DC. adjudicated under the University’s Sex Dis- She can be reached at mlmorse@princeton.edu. crimination and Sexual Misconduct policy and
I
Do-Hyeong Myeong ’17 editor-in-chief
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business manager
140TH BUSINESS BOARD
Business Manager Daniel Kim ‘17 Comptroller Denise Chan ’18
Head of Advertising Matthew McKinlay ‘18 Head of Operations Nicholas Yang ’18 Head of Subscriptions Vineeta Reddy ‘18
BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy J. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas Widmann ’90 Gregory L. Diskant ’70 Richard P. Dzina, Jr. ’85 William R. Elfers ’71 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 John G. Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Rick Klein ’98 Kathleen Kiely ’77 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73
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Checking in, checking out
t seems that I’m often writing about incidents on Facebook these days; perhaps this means that I’m spending too much time on Facebook, or it might just mean that more of our discourse has shifted out of the campus sphere and onto social media. The problem with that shift is that the way Facebook’s algorithm works, it’s incredibly easy to enter an echo chamber of partisanship in which you are only served information that confirms your own existing biases. You lose the accountability mechanism that a different ideological profile might provide if the only posts you see on your Facebook feed are from friends and personalities with whom you agree 100 percent of the time. It’s one thing to surround yourself in person with friends who might agree with you, but something else altogether to only see news stories and posts that confirm personal partisan biases. The Wall Street Journal demonstrates this bias confirmation in their recent “Blue Feed, Red Feed” article. The article shows that for any given issue, partisan Facebook users may receive entirely different stories than someone on the other side of the ideological spectrum; yet, many of those stories are factually incorrect, claiming that Hillary Clinton condescendingly wagged her finger at a crowd, or that 28 percent of the Florida GOP switched sides to vote for Clinton. The real danger in this shift in discourse is that people are using it as a substitute for real action, content to simply post to Facebook, feel good about themselves, and then wash themselves of the issue. That’s detri-
Nicholas Wu columnist
mental to real action. Let’s use this past weekend’s Facebook campaign about the Dakota Access Pipeline as an example. My politics lean to the left, so Facebook, in its quest to lock down more content creation and sharing, accordingly serves me more liberal-leaning posts. Over the past few weeks, members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe have been protesting the planned construction of an oil pipeline near their reservation’s main water supply. Over the course of a single day, it seemed as if scores of my friends had suddenly teleported to North Dakota in support of the Standing Rock Sioux. A rumor had spread that North Dakotan police were using Facebook check-ins to track and identify protesters, so activists called on sympathetic Facebook users all over the country to check in at Standing Rock, ND in order to confound the police’s efforts. All in all, NPR reported that 1.5 million people had “checked in” at Standing Rock, ND. However, this campaign was not actually effective in confusing police or assisting protesters. Mother Jones, no friend of pipeline construction, writes “There is scant evidence at the protest that the story behind the post is true.” Yet, the original post that people had been urged to copy and post declared that this was “concrete action” that people could take in order to support the Standing Rock Sioux and fight the pipeline’s construction. Blinded by partisan fury, it became difficult
for people to pause and actually consider the ramifications of their posts. Some people even unironically shared a post urging people to check in at “Randing Stock, ND,” showing that they probably had not read through the whole post before copying and sharing it. The real harm done by the Standing Rock campaign was that it’s likely that many Facebook users took advantage of posting as a substitute for any real action on the pipeline’s construction, like donating to the protesters or writing letters to elected officials in North Dakota. This exemplifies so-called “slacktivism” – protest that has minimal costs for the participant but a high “feel-good” effect. Of course, not everyone has the time or resources to actively participate in every protest, but perhaps sitting out rather than fanning the flames of a hearsay-driven campaign is better than sharing everything that comes along on Facebook. Outside of the partisan echo chamber of Facebook, how many people does clicking and sharing a post really reach? It’s time to stop checking in and time to start checking out. It may not be feasible to actively fact check everything that comes your way on Facebook, but surely there’s a way to break out of the partisan echo chamber that has shaped so much of our online discourse lately. After all, factual accuracy isn’t a partisan issue. Nicholas Wu is a Wilson School major from Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich. He can be reached at nmwu@princeton.edu.
Wednesday November 9, 2016
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finish in the sectional tournament. This year’s team has even loftier goals. “This is the best our team has even been,” said Almeida. “I am confident that we can win our section.” Both Almeida and Friedkin mentioned the sense of camaraderie that pervades the team as a highlight. “After three years, it’s ended up that my best friends are on the team … in the past year the team has gotten really close,” said Friedkin. Almeida added, “It feels like a family. We call it a brotherhood sometimes.” Many people with only a casual experience of Ultimate might be surprised to learn the athleticism, conditioning, and strategy require to effectively compete. Like any other sport, success in ultimate requires athletic ability, strong fundamentals, and efficient tactics. To those with only an exposure to chaotic pickup games, the sight of players in a competitive game aligned in strict formation, moving in purposeful fashion, and making crisp, accurate throws might come as
somewhat of a shock. Additionally, both teams have placed a particularly strong emphasis on conditioning this year. Prior to the Spring tournament season, the A-team has instituted a mandatory weightlifting program, and the B-team has embarked on long and grueling runs through a cornfield behind West Windsor before many of its practices. In many ways Ultimate Frisbee is like any other sport, but it also has a distinct culture. Though according to Friedkin, the sport has moved beyond its “hippie days,” the global ultimate community has several unique customs. Perhaps most interestingly, the sport is self-refereed, relying on a strict honor code that Princeton students would find familiar. Per the preamble to the official rules of play, “It is trusted that no player will intentionally break the rules… Highly competitive play is encouraged, but should never sacrifice the mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play.” The sport of ultimate truly embodies the old cliché that “it’s not about whether you win or lose, but how you
play the game,” as players have a moral responsibility to abide by the rules and codes of conducts. To reinforce these ideals, many tournaments will hand out awards to the players and teams that best represent the “Spirit of the Game” through their fairness and attitude. Naturally, the Frisbee community is known for its inclusivity and integrity. “People on other Frisbee teams are the nicest people I’ve ever played a sport against,” said Almeida. It is understandable, then, that many ultimate players are passionate about the sport and wish to see it grow. A relatively young sport, ultimate has burgeoned in popularity; several college national games have been televised by ESPN in recent years. Within Clockwork, however, the focus seems to be more on the performance of the team. “I don’t really care about that,” said Friedkin, referring the growth of the sport. “I just like playing Frisbee.” However, anyone interested playing Ultimate should proceed with caution. “A lot of people get addicted to it,” said Friedkin. “When you start playing Ultimate seriously, it can become really addictive.”
Sports
Wednesday November 9, 2016
page 8
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } { Feature }
U LT I M AT E F R I S B E E
Clockwork Orange hopes to squeeze out a win
By Jack Graham contributor
Many Princetonians may be familiar with the legendary first collegiate football matchup between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869. However, fewer are probably aware of an equally significant and historic matchup between the two schools: the first ever collegiate ultimate frisbee game in 1972, which Rutgers won 29-27. 44 years later, Princeton still boasts a proud men’s Frisbee program known as ‘Clockwork Orange.’ Consisting of both an A-team and a developmental B-team, Clockwork has competed at the Division-I level since 2014. A-team captain Zane Friedkin ’18 discussed the team’s recent history and goals for the upcoming season. The team has been competitive in recent years in the Metro East region, one of 10 regions in the country, and has qualified for the past four regional tournaments. This season, however, they have their sights set on winning the
sectional tournament and regional tournament and advancing to nationals. “We’ve always been a team with a lot of talent, but I think this year we’re practicing more seriously,” said Friedkin. “We’ve tried to rely on our talent, and this year we’re trying to be a team that relies on our system more.” Such a focus will be crucial for the team when forced to play teams from larger schools. These days, said Friedkin, “the best schools [at Frisbee] are the schools that are best at football, the big state schools that have the largest pool of athletes.” While Clockwork’s B-team may officially exist for developmental purposes, the team still has serious competitive ambitions. Four-time B-team captain James Almeida ’17 reflected on the evolution of the team from his freshman year, in which it only won a single game against a severely undermanned Yale team, to his junior year, in which the team posted a winning record and a third-place See ULTIMATE page 7
COURTESY OF ULTIMATE FRISBEE CLUB
The Ultimate Frisbee Club sets their sights on winning sectional and regionals and advancing to nationals.
COLUMN
Chess and the Consumability of a sport
By Miles Hinson
sports editor emeritus
A monumental sporting event is taking place in New York City this month. No, dear reader, I refer not to the start of the season for my beloved New York Knicks (though who couldn’t fall in love with the lovable Latvian string bean known as Kristaps Porzingis?). I’m actually talking about the World Chess Championships, hosted in the Big Apple, and it features two of the brightest stars of this generation, Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin. Carlsen has been hailed as “The Mozart of Chess.” The handsome, well-spoken 25-year-old has dazzled his opponents at the board since he was 13 years old. The reigning world champion takes on 26-year-old Kar-
jakin, another former child prodigy who has risen to his current status in chess by means of his sharp tactics and aggressive attacking skills at the board. Together, the two are the first participants in a world championship match to have been born and raised in the 90s, in the digital era. Chess, a game of slow, drawn-out moves, is beginning to move into the digital age. Games have long since been broadcasted (even ESPN has hosted a few), but interested parties now have the chance to watch the game from mediums such as Google Cardboard (virtual reality chess!). I’ve written about the status of chess as a sport/non-sport before, and along with that, it’s interesting to see the evolution of sports from non-marketable to heavily market-
able products. Even the NBA, for example, had its ups and downs before becoming a household staple – NBA Finals games in the late 1970s/ early 1980s were shown tape delayed at times, after the live games had already concluded. Now, of course, NBA games (and the finals especially) capture the attention of fans worldwide night in and night out. It’s a strange thing, watching a sport evolve in my lifetime from something watched by a gathering of old men in an auditorium to a global affair that can be watched from a phone, computer screen, or household VR device. While organizations such as the NBA and NFL have long been attuned to the power of live streaming from anywhere in order to captivate an audience, FIDE (Federacion Internatiole de Echecs,
the world governing chess body) seems to finally be catching on. The “purists” of chess may argue that making it so marketable cheapens the sport. But just as many grumbled at the introduction of baggy shorts to basketball where short shorts had been the norm, only to see them explode in popularity, it’s clear that these kind of jumps take time. Indeed, for chess to be viable as a 21st century sport, this appeal to the masses is necessary and arguably long overdue. Despite dipping its toes in the vast ocean of modern technology, chess has a way to go. The barriers to enjoying the sport I’ve grown to love are obviously quite high. Basketball (another one of my true loves) is an easy sport to appreciate, even from someone with little understanding
of the game – it is hard not to marvel at the athletic feats that players such as LeBron James and Steph Curry put on night in and night out with dazzling dunks and awe-inspiring accuracy in three-point shots. Watching Carlsen make a decisive sacrifice, which required calculations of dozens of variations and sub-variations, is appreciable to relatively few. Whether or not chess can earn widespread recognition as a “sport” remains to be seen. But the question remains: who exactly determines what is and what is not a sport? If something is not readily consumable by the masses, does it not meet the standard of a sport? Or is there something intrinsic in what it means to be a “sport,” something indefinable by you or me, something that chess may have?
O N TA P
On Tap: Talking Women’s Tennis with Gaby Pollner By Isabella Haegg Contributor
Freshman Gaby Pollner has already made her mark on the Women’s Tennis team, racking up decisive singles and doubles wins in the Fall. Ranked No. 1 in Florida and No. 13 in the nation before she came to Princeton, Pollner will be sure to replicate this success as the team goes into its spring season. Pollner sat down with the Daily Princetonian to talk all things tennis, from pump up songs to post match celebrations. Daily Princetonian: How did you first start getting into tennis? Gaby Pollner: I was watching my mom play at our beach club in New York when I was three, and I think I saw her hit an overhead or something and I was like, “Oh my god. I want to be able to do that.” It looked really fun, and then I started taking lessons after that. DP: Any pre match rituals? GP: I’m very methodical in my preparation, like I regrip all my rackets and make sure they’re ready. DP: What’s your favorite pump
up song? GP: That changes, but our team pump up songs right now are “The Buzz” by Hermitude and “Deep Down Low” by Valentino Khan. DP: What’s your favorite shot? GP: My inside-out forehand. DP: What’s been the best moment on the team so far? GP: For Halloween, the men and women’s tennis teams have three freshman guys and three freshman girls, so we did the Scooby Doo gang. That was really fun. DP: What’s your hidden talent? GP: Singing. DP: How has your transition been at Princeton as a freshman? GP: It’s been really good with the help of my team. They’ve been so supportive and have been helping me choose classes and with time management, but I think, like every freshman, it’s a little stressful, especially during midterms week. Coming back from fall break, I feel more comfortable and in my element knowing a lot more people. DP: What’s your favorite thing about Princeton? GP: That everyone here is excep-
Tweet of the Day “Alright, going to bed across the pond. Let’s do this America. Don’t blow it.” Kareem Maddox (@ KareemMaddox), basketball
tional at what they do. You’re never going to meet someone who’s not interesting. DP: Most stand-out moment in your tennis career? GP: Probably when I won an ITF in Bermuda when I was 15. DP: How do you celebrate a big win? GP: If it’s a tournament win, I’ll definitely go get ice cream or something, but if it’s a win in the middle of a tournament, I don’t do anything too big. DP: Three things you would bring to a desert island? GP: My teacup Maltese dog named Blanca, my parents, and my phone and charger. DP: What are you looking forward to most about the spring season? GP: I’m really looking forward to play Ivy conference matches. I’ve seen so many college matches played but to participate in one, it’s going to be really fun. Tennis is such an individual sport, and in junior [leagues] you don’t get that team kind of environment and hype. I’m so excited for the team bonding.
COURTESY OF PRINCETON ATHLETICS
Interview with freshman Gaby Pollner on women’s tennis and more.
Stat of the Day
139 meetings The Tigers and Bulldogs will clash for the 139th time this Saturday as they fight to keep their season hopes alive.
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