The Daily Princetonian: December 10, 2019

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Tuesday December 10, 2019 vol. CXLIII no. 119

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BEYOND THE BUBBLE

U . A F FA I R S

U. to present Romero ’87, Thorne GS ’65 with top alumni awards

By Caitlin Limestahl Contributor

EDMOND J. SAFRA CENTER FOR ETHICS / FLICKR

Alumnus and Frederick H. Schultz ’51 Professor of International Economic Policy, Emeritus Paul A. Volcker ’49 has died at the age of 92.

Volcker ’49 dies at 92 Staff Writer

Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul A. Volcker ’49, who led the effort to suppress inflation throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, has died at the age of 92.

The former Federal Reserve Chairman, who served in the post from 1979 to 1987 under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, passed away in his home in NY on Sunday, Dec. 8, according to his daughter, Janice Zima.

Born on Sept. 5, 1927 in Cape May, NJ, Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. was a grandson of German immigrants; he was the oldest of four children and only son of his father, Paul Sr., and his mother, Alma Louise.

Volcker graduated summa cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at the University in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree, having wrote a senior thesis titled “The

Problems of Federal Reserve Policy since World War II”.

Volcker later studied at the Littauer School of Public Administration at Harvard University (now the John F. Kennedy School of Government), receiving a master’s degree in political economy.

Volcker then attended the London School of Economics through a Rotary Club scholarship with a plan of completing a doctoral thesis, which he never wrote.

Volcker was named a senior fellow by the Wilson School in 1975 and later served as a charter trustee of the University from 1984 to 1988. He joined the faculty of the Wilson School in 1988, becoming the first Frederick H. Schultz ’51 Professor of International Economic Policy. He transferred to emeritus status in 1997.

Having served under four different presidential administrations, Volcker’s long career in government included posts in the Department of Treasury, the Fed-

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

eral Reserve Bank of New York, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and President Barack Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

The effort he is perhaps most well known for in Volcker’s two terms as Federal Reserve Chairman was his tenacious effort against the high inflation that plagued the U.S. economy throughout the 1970s.

Volcker’s Federal Reserve drove up interest rates and, in turn, the unemployment rate, forcing the economy into a recession in the early 1980s despite deep unpopularity, likely contributing to President Carter’s defeat in his reelection campaign. Since then, Volcker’s forceful crusade against inflation has attracted admirers and gained him a reputation characterized by the political independence of the Federal Reserve.

Volcker is survived by his son, James, his daughter, Janice, and his second wife, Anke Dening.

STUDENT LIFE

ON CAMPUS

Fried ’20, Brown ’20 named CPUC 2020 Marshall Scholars discusses new ad hoc committee, sustainability, electric scooters

By Marie-Rose Sheinerman Assistant News Editor

DANIEL HOLTH / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Amtrak P.R. Manager Jason Abrams commented that “the safety of our customers, employees and public is our top priority.”

Avital Fried ’20 and Andrew Brown ’20 have been awarded 2020 Marshall Scholarships. The scholarship covers the cost of two years of graduate study in the United Kingdom at the university of the recipient’s choice.

Brown and Fried will join a cohort of 46 students awarded the scholarship, which seeks to promote “strong relations between the UK and the United States by offering intellectually distinguished young Americans the op-

portunity to develop their abilities as future leaders,” according to the University’s statement.

In its history, 134 University students have been awarded the Marshall Scholarship, according to data from the scholarship’s website. The annual scholarship was first founded in 1953 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in recognition of U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, best known as the architect of the Marshall Plan, which assisted European nations in economic recovery after World War II. The See MARSHALL page 2

Police investigate train collision near Princeton Last USG meeting of 2019 Junction Station approves eight new clubs STUDENT LIFE

By Sandeep Magnat Contributor

The Amtrak Police Department is currently investigating a train collision that occurred near Princeton Junction Station in November.

The West Windsor Police Department responded to a Toyota Camry becoming stuck on the tracks at the Princeton Junction Station just after midnight on Nov. 20. The car was unable to be freed and was struck by Amtrak train 639 on its way from New

In Opinion

York to Philadelphia.

59 people were aboard the train. The train terminated its route at Princeton Junction, and the passengers were taken to Trenton via New Jersey transit.

A replacement train was sent to take passengers on the scheduled route. It arrived in Philadelphia at approximately 3:35 a.m., three hours and 25 minutes behind schedule.

The Toyota was destroyed and pushed into a police patrol car, which also sustained damage.

See TRAIN page 3

Contributing columnist Ollie Thakar outlines the benefits of choosing daily outfits at random, and guest contributor Clem Brown defends USG presidential candidate David Esterlit’s service in the Israel Defense Forces.

PAGE 4

By Bharvi Chavre Contribtor

During its last weekly meeting of 2019, held on Sunday, Dec. 8, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) approved funding to bring a speaker to campus, eight new clubs, and a resolution to the Executive Committee. They also discussed incubator feedback and an Indigenous Studies letter.

Projects Board Co-Chair Rachel Hazan ’21 introduced the Chinese Student Association’s (CSA) re-

quest for $1,500 for the event titled “A Conversation with Steven Lim” on Feb. 13, 2020, in Richardson Auditorium. Lim, of ChineseMalaysian American descent, is an executive video producer at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. CSA hopes this event will help undergraduate students learn more about different cultures and spark discussions about cultural identity and diversity.

“The contract has already been approved on the ODUS [Office of See USG page 2

Today on Campus 5:30 p.m.: Being Human Festival 2019: Prescription Vegetable?

Jammin’ Crepes

By James Anderson Contributor

On Monday, Dec. 9, in its final meeting of the semester, the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) voted to approve the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Climate, Culture, and Conduct, heard a presentation on recent sustainability initiatives, and discussed possible policies on electric scooters.

The presentation focused on measures in the Sustainability Action Plan directed towards land conservation and waste reduction.

Though several members addressed safety and accessibility concerns resulting from scooter use, along with questions of the relative environmental impact of various transportation systems on campus, no resSee CPUC page 3

WEATHER

By Allan Shen

Anthony D. Romero ’87 and Kip Thorne GS ’65 have been selected as the 2020 recipients of the University’s top alumni awards, the Woodrow Wilson Award and the James Madison Medal, respectively. Both will speak on Alumni Day on Feb. 22, 2020.

The Woodrow Wilson Award is given to an alumnus or alumna of the undergraduate college who epitomizes the University’s motto — as coined by Woodrow Wilson, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service.”

Romero has served as the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) since Sept.

2001, just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “Keep America Safe and Free,” the campaign Romero launched in response to the attacks, targeted the USA PATRIOT Act and achieved numerous victories in court.

At the ACLU, Romero has presided over dramatic expansion.

According to a 2008 interview, the ACLU’s staff had more than doubled, and the organization’s budget had more than tripled since Romero’s tenure began. This increase in membership and funding has allowed the ACLU to expand its advocacy efforts to include the rights of immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and women.

“Princeton played a transformational role in my life, and I am truly humbled and honored by the award,“ Romero said. “The young man who came from a working class family and a vocational high school was fundamentally changed by four years at Princeton.”

Romero also commented on the connotations that the award, named after former University

president and 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson, would carry.

“The controversy surrounding Woodrow Wilson’s legacy, both bad and good, also offers a unique opportunity to talk about social justice and public service in a time when these issues really matter,“ Romero said.

In an interview earlier this year with The Daily Princetonian, Romero said of the ACLU, “What we do makes a real difference, and how we do it has a real impact on the trajectory of liberty and freedom in this country.”

“I think I’m most pleased and most proud that this organization continues to grow and expand and be resonant with newer generations of Americans on different sets of issues,” Romero said. “I think that the organization’s best days are always ahead of it. And I think if I do my job right, there will be no golden age of the ACLU that we can point to. The golden age of the organization will always be in front of us.”

“My biggest accomplishment is that the golden age of the ACLU is ahead of me and not during my tenure,” he added.

Romero received his A.B. degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

His senior thesis was titled, “Colombian Migration and Political Participation in the United States.”

The James Madison Medal is awarded to an alum of the University graduate school who “has had a distinguished career, advanced the cause of graduate education or achieved a record of outstanding public service,” according to the Alumni Association website.

Thorne was a co-recipient of the See AWARDS page 3

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The Daily Princetonian

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Tuesday December 10, 2019

An incubator, modeled after those for startups, would help students advance their ideas for business or other endeavors

COURTESY OF ZARNAB VIRK

This was the last USG meeting of 2019.

USG

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the Dean of Undergraduate Students] side, Steven Lim just needs to sign the contract,” Victoria Pan ’21, a CSA student leader, said.

The funding request was passed, with only Hazan abstaining from the vote.

Eight new clubs were approved

in the most recent Student Groups Recognition Committee (SGRC) meeting and approved unanimously by USG. One of the new clubs, the Princeton Sea Shanty Club (Shantopia), “is a musical comedy performance group that will provide an unconventional artistic outlet and a welcoming, energizing, and judgment-free space through the performance of sea shanties,”

SGRC member Lutfah Subair ’21 said.

Other approved clubs included the Princeton Inter-Communal Arts Students Service Organization (PICASSO), Nepali Society of Princeton, Non-Traditional Students of Princeton (NTSP), TigerReport, Princeton Vegan Society, Fine Foods and Fermentation Club, and Kurdish Society.

A new USG initiative led by Isa-

bella Faccone ’21 inspired much discussion. An incubator, modeled after those for startups, would help students advance their ideas for business or other endeavors. Such a program would “[refer students] to the right person, but help them workshop their application or whatever they’re trying to pitch, [to give them] referrals to appropriate points of contact,” Senator Tania Bore ’20 said.

Members discussed appointing an incubator coordinator, assigning a task force for the project, and designating the vice president as a coordinator. The incubator will be further brainstormed in future meetings.

“This initiative is still in the very initial planning conversations,” USG Vice President Chitra Parikh ’21 said.

Along with David Esterlit ’21, Parikh is a candidate for the next USG presidency.

Gabriel Duguay ’22, a USG UCouncillor and Indigeneity at Princeton Task Force chair, introduced a letter to dean of admission Karen Richardson ’93 on behalf of USG to develop strategies to increase the Native American and Indigenous student population on campus.

Duguay explained that geographic profiles impact student admissions, as it is very hard for individual admission officers to reach out and work with tribal governments in their respective regions. Princeton’s peer institutions, including Stanford Uni-

versity, Dartmouth College, and Yale University all have a separate admissions officer who focuses on Native American students. He called Princeton to follow their footsteps and work towards a more diverse student body.

“The letter will be sent, but it will be far more powerful if USG sends the letter together,” Duguay said.

The letter was further discussed in an Executive Committee session, which lasted for the rest of the meeting.

The Executive Committee Accountability Resolution was introduced by Treasurer Brad Spicher ’20. This resolution establishes that Executive Committee minutes will be transmitted online to all voting members of the Senate prior to the Senate meeting.

“This was to address some concerns between Executive Committee members and non-Executive Committee members,” said Spicher.

If any personal discussion happens within the Executive Committee meetings, members can request information be withheld.

The resolution was passed unanimously.

General updates given by USG President Zarnab Virk ’20 included information about transparency initiatives and the upcoming USG elections.

There will be one more USG meeting during reading period in January 2020.

The program currently has an alumni network of about 2000 people

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Andrew Brown ’20 (left) and Avital Fried ’20 both intend on studying at Oxford with the scholarship.

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program currently has an alumni network of about 2000 people.

Fried, a concentrator in the philosophy department, hails from Newton, Mass. and is pursuing certificates in Arabic language and culture, values and public life, and Near Eastern Studies. As a Marshall Scholar, she will attend Oxford University and intends to earn a B.Phil in philosophy.

“I’m really interested in [the] philosophy of punishment and the ways philosophy can inform the ways we think about our legal systems,” Fried said.

She explained that she is particularly interested in how legal systems evolve to deal with the relatively new challenge of transnational terrorism and the ways philosophy can play a role in understanding the ethical issues that arise from that.

Her senior thesis builds on these themes, examining the ethics of prosecuting U.S. military detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Elizabeth Harman, Fried’s thesis advisor and Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy, said her advisee’s thesis will be a “tour de force.”

“Her thesis mixes abstract philosophical argument about the justification of punishment with specific analysis of this case,” she said, according to the Office of Communications.

This past summer, Fried interned at Phillips Black, assisting a legal team in defending death row inmates, and has previously interned for the Military Com-

missions Defense Organization, working with lawyers representing a Guantanamo detainee. She has also volunteered with the Petey Greene Program, tutoring incarcerated individuals at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility.

Fried sees her future as a lawyer, hoping to return to the U.S. after her time in England and eventually represent individuals facing the most serious penalties.

For now, she’s most excited to immerse herself in a new academic environment.

“I’m really excited to be a part of this new cohort … it seems like the other students are really interesting, and I’m excited to get to know them and learn from them,” said Fried. “I’m also really excited to go to England and spend time in London.”

On campus, Fried has been the head fellow at the Princeton Writing Center, a member of Behrman Undergraduate Society of Fellows, and an Orange Key tour guide, in addition to being involved with the Center for Jewish Life, Chabad, the Princeton Yavneh Community, and the Princeton Debate Panel.

Hailing from Louisville, KY, Brown is a senior in the physics department. Through the Marshall Scholarship, he will pursue an M.S. in mathematical and theoretical physics at the University of Oxford, as well as an M.S. in applied mathematics at Imperial College London.

At the time of publication, Brown had not responded to request for comment from The Daily Princetonian.

Brown first became interested

in the potential for fusion energy at a young age, according to the University’s statement, since he grew up in Central City, KY, a town once booming due to its coal mining industry and now facing decline. Brown chose to attend the University due to the fusion research community at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).

He has previously been awarded the Kusaka Memorial Prize in Physics, the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence and the Manfred Pyka Memorial Prize in Physics.

After his time in England, Brown intends to return to the U.S. and pursue a Ph.D. in plasma or applied math, focusing on the mathematical problems that arise from nuclear fusion theory.

Robert Goldston, Brown’s mentor and a professor of astrophysical sciences, discussed the cutting edge nature of Brown’s senior thesis work, an extension of a summer collaboration with him.

“If we are lucky, [the work] will have a big impact on the understanding of the edge of fusion plasmas, where they touch material surfaces. This is, so to speak, where the rubber meets the road for fusion energy,” Goldston told the Office of Communications.

During his time at the University, Brown co-taught a semester in spoken word poetry to incarcerated adults through the Prison Electives Program. He is a member of Ellipses Slam Poetry, the a cappella groups Acapellago and Koleinu, the Religious Life Council, the Behrman Undergraduate Society of Fellows, and served as a Community Action leader.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

The Daily Princetonian

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In the last year, UHS had 11 visits for The driver of the vehicle scooter-related injuries was charged with DWI CPUC

Continued from page 1

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olution was reached.

Only one question had been submitted to the Council: “When will Princeton University live up to its motto to be in the service of the nation and humanity and divest from fossil fuels?” In response, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Jim Matteo answered that the CPUC Resources Committee has a specific procedure for evaluating divestment suggestions and that the University’s primary mission is educational, not political.

“It really is intentional about not focusing on political, economic, or social issues,” Matteo said.

Gabriel Duguay ’22 countered that students view climate change as an emergency, referencing the recent creation of a USG Sustainability Task Force.

“This is becoming something that they value on par with academics, on par with University student life, and it’s something we’re seeing a lot of protest on,” Duguay said.

Provost Deborah Prentice presented a motion to replace the Faculty-Student Committee on Sexual Misconduct with the CPUC Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Climate, Culture, and Conduct, which passed unanimously. The committee, which will be in place for three years, is charged with determining how to implement the two reports on the University’s Title IX policy released in October, as well as making annual reports to the CPUC Executive Committee. Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun will head the committee.

Director of the Office of Sustainability Shana Weber presented the University’s Sustainability Action Plan, which was released on Earth Day 2019 and takes a “holistic integrative design” approach. She emphasized that the campus’s sustainability efforts must remain connected with those of both the nation at large and the Princeton municipality, which released its own Climate Action Plan earlier this year.

Weber reviewed the University’s sustainability com-

mitments, which include reducing water usage, expanding stormwater management areas, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2046. A new geo-exchange system will replace the current steam heating with hot water heating and will be implemented on all future campus construction, as well as gradually retrofitted to existing buildings.

One improvement she cited is the new greywater system for the University’s largest labs, which makes use of water from air conditioning units. Other recent sustainability efforts include the pilot opt-in utensil program, the shift to recyclable aluminum bottles in Frist, and a more efficient sprinkler for Bedford Field.

She said the Sustainability Action Plan includes searching for ways to advance stewardship of the habitats in the forestlands south of campus, on either side of Lake Carnegie. Her office will also work with alumni to make Reunions more sustainable, in addition to general efforts to reduce procurement and waste.

Weber noted that her office is also looking to increase student engagement in the development of sustainability initiatives — for example, through town hall meetings.

Assistant Professor of Sociology Janet Vertesi argued that students believe the administration treats sustainability as a “background” issue, and that the University’s carbon neutrality deadline is too distant in the future. She emphasized that the community must be equipped with the resilience to face such daunting threats.

Weber affirmed that climate change does raise mental health risks, pointing out the anomaly of “climate therapists” in the country in response to extreme anxieties over environmental issues. She said, however, that advancing the deadline would be difficult because of the significant infrastructure that must be transformed.

Assistant Vice President for Campus Services Debra Foster, Environmental Health and Safety Executive Director Robin Izzo, and Transportation and Parking

Director Kim Jackson spoke on the issue of “personal mobility devices” — namely electric scooters.

Izzo cited studies at Rutgers and Washington University in St. Louis on the prevalence of facial and cranial injuries from electric scooter use. She reported that in the last year, UHS had 48 visits for injuries resulting from bike incidents and 11 from scooter incidents.

Furthermore, Izzo added that the University is considering whether to implement “rules of the road” for scooters, parking regulations, and a prohibition on using earbuds and smartphones on scooters. A complete ban on scooters, however, is not under consideration.

Jackson spoke of her own experience nearly being hit from behind by an electric scooter, which she said poses a threat because of the electric vehicles’ silent motors.

“Our pathways are not wide enough for all these devices,” Jackson said, referencing golf carts in addition to bikes and scooters.

Jackson advocated a scooter registration program similar to the current one for bikes and said that scooters being locked to handrails is a safety concern.

“It’s really important that we also get input from the community,” she added.

A mobility consultant is currently evaluating ways to improve all modes of transportation around campus, including walking, scooters, and Tiger Transit.

The University is also considering the option of installing scooter racks with solar-powered chargers.

Several students mentioned peer pressure against wearing helmets, and one suggested a student-initiated advertising campaign for helmet use, similar to posters promoting vaccinations during the 2013 meningitis outbreak at the University.

One CPUC member suggested speed bumps, while another suggested bike lanes.

The meeting took place at 4:30 p.m. in the Frist Campus Center Multipurpose Room. The next CPUC meeting will be on Monday, Feb. 10.

Thorne: At Alumni Day I most look forward to the talk by Anthony Romero

ACLU / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, KEENAN PEPPER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Anthony Romero ’87 (left) and Kip Thorne GS ’65 were selected as the 2020 recipients of the Woodrow Wilson Award and the James Madison Medal, respectively.

AWARDS Continued from page 1

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2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work regarding gravitational waves and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detector.

“My three years as a graduate student at Princeton University had an enormous impact on me and my career, and that makes the James

Madison Medal especially meaningful to me,“ Thorne wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “It is a great honor that I shall cherish.”

“At Alumni Day I most look forward to the talk by Anthony Romero, whom I have long admired,“ Thorne added. “To share the awards ceremony with him is very special.”

In a 2017 interview with the ‘Prince’, Thorne said that his time at the University shaped his research interests “enormously.”

“The combination of the experimental insights I got — from being in Bob Dicke’s research meetings every week, week after week, for four years, and from working with John Wheeler — were the major underpinnings, more than anything else, in my career in connection with gravitational waves,” Thorne said.

He received his Doctorate of Philosophy in Physics.

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Debris from the collision was also sent hurtling into two cars parked nearby, one of which belonged to the driver’s family, who had come to help. There were no injuries, but train traffic was halted for the next three hours.

The driver of the vehicle was under the influence of alcohol and has since been charged with DWI and reckless driving. She was taken into custody and released pending appearance in court.

Upon notice of there being a vehicle trapped on the train tracks, all nearby trains were notified to stop. Train 639, however, continued into Princeton Junction at a high rate of speed.

Amtrak Public Relations Manager Jason Abrams said, “it doesn’t appear that 639 continued its route” but was rather “terminated at Princeton Junction,” which proved to be too

late. He also stated that “there was no reported damage to the [train’s] equipment,” though news outlets covering the incident had described extensive damage being done to several of the train cars, including the engine.

When asked if there was anything that Amtrak was planning on doing to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future, Abrams said that “the safety of our customers, employees and public is our top priority” and that through a partnership with Operation Lifesaver, a national railroad education group, Amtrak has continued to reach out to “community groups, school bus drivers, truck drivers and student drivers to raise awareness of the dangers around railroad tracks and trains.”

The West Windsor Township Mayor’s Office deferred comment to the West Windsor Police Department, which deferred to the Amtrak Police Department.

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Tuesday December 10, 2019

Opinion

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The rise and fall of fashion in my life Ollie Thakar

Contributing Columnist

I

n my previous column,

I reflected on the reasons why I was able to minimize the traditionally difficult components of the transition to college: separation from home, new standards of academic rigor, and dormitory life. Now, I realize that there is one aspect of my life that I made a concerted effort to change dramatically in college, an effort that failed spectacularly. This aspect was fashion.

While enjoying wearing stylish outfits for a short amount of time, my time at Princeton so far has shown me my lack of motivation to continue caring about clothing.

My choice of outfit in high school was rather simple — I would select one of several long-sleeve T-shirts, identical except for color, at random from a drawer. Then, I would add a sweater, also chosen at random from a drawer, and lastly a random pair of pants, all of which were again identical except for color.

Preferring the pliable texture of old, worn-down clothes to the stiffness and unpredictable material of new ones, I refused to wear anything besides the tattered, holey, and ever-shortening clothes already longtime residents of my closet.

In hindsight, I can safely assume that no one found my selections of clothes particularly appealing besides myself. However, two of my cousins were certainly more appalled by my lack of fashion sense than anyone else I knew. Accepting that I would not change my pat-

tern of dress until at least after high school, they struck a (relatively one-sided) bargain with me: if I was accepted into an Ivy League university, then they would take me shopping and expand my limited wardrobe.

Surely the most prestigious American colleges, they assumed, would not tolerate such a thoughtless appearance!

You may predict what happened at this point. As it turns out, I was accepted into this Ivy League university and capitulated to let my cousins take me shopping.

After purchasing a volume of clothes three times larger than my entire stock beforehand, I was finally ready for college. Now, my pants no longer varied simply in color, but also fit and material.

My shirts were of multiple different materials as well now, as were my sweaters.

Yet my new assortment of clothes immediately overwhelmed me. I had never realized how complicated the science of matching clothes could ever become! Not only did clothes match according to an arcane system of conventions far beyond my ability to understand, but the conventions would vary with time. Blue jeans, my cousins espoused, match with everything, although they did not ten years earlier, for example.

I experienced several days of assuming that I was finally dressed for high society before my expectations suddenly dissolved after a remark along the lines of: “You can’t wear a green sweater with red pants! That doesn’t go at all.” How was I to discover the apparently infinite plethora of regulations con-

cerning appropriate wear?

As a lover of simple rules rather than complex judgments, I quickly became disillusioned over the pseudorandom snippets of fashion advice (or rather, constructive fashion criticism) that I received. Not even my cousins were willing to teach me the system of which clothes worked well together — they themselves would have been unable to articulate it, for they simply intuit it.

Furthermore, I discovered that attempting to decrypt this code of fashion was not necessary.

A pleasant surprise I found not long after arriving on campus was that I discovered Princeton to be quite diverse in terms of fashion.

While some students prefer dressing elaborately, others dress simply. The alleged snobbishness of our elite university seems not to extend to clothing.

A rather entertaining reading from my freshman seminar further justified my frustration on choosing outfits. “Suppose it takes only two minutes each day to decide how to dress,” Claremont Graduate School psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi postulated in his treatise “Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention.” “That adds up to 730 minutes, or 12 hours a year.”

Imagine how else I might use that valuable time!

No wonder I decided to formally concede all attempts to understand fashion. Instead of exerting a Herculean effort to understand how clothes pair well, I now opt for a much simpler system of choosing clothes. Hanging all of my pants and shirts

in a line, I simply choose the rightmost pair of pants and the rightmost shirt. Having different numbers of pants and shirts ensures sufficient variety in my outfits. Keeping my newly-purchased stock of clothes, I maintain a certain degree of fashion.

Additionally, the system tells me exactly when I need to launder my clothes.

Perhaps I would find a more intricate system of dress less monotonous if I found enjoyment in style.

Not choosing or observing clothes carefully growing up, I never experienced the art of dressing to be anything besides tedious. Navigating a busy college life has taught me to eschew unpleasurable activities unless strictly necessary; my reverting to a simple method of selecting clothes is nothing more than a corollary of this life lesson.

In some ways, my reversion to choosing my outfits at random in college was inevitable. Beginning with no intuition about fashion, implanting such an intuition was an optimistic prospect at best. Realizing that not everyone at Princeton concerned themselves with looking proper and that such concern would waste valuable time considering ever-important essays and problem sets have now fully validated my personal decision to no longer care about fashion. In short, we may judge others by the way they dress; however, clothes may or may not represent something about the self in the eye of the wearer.

Ollie Thakar is a first-year from Baltimore, M.D. He can be reached at othakar@princeton.edu.

In defense of Esterlit Clem Brown

Guest Contributor

A

nti-Semitism has become a tired

theme of daily life for Jewish students like me at the University. As a definitionally nebulous term, the phrase “anti-Semitic” gets thrown around a lot without clear meaning.

When Norman Finkelstein called a Jewish student a Nazi, was that anti-Semitic?

I can’t be anti-Semitic if I say I hate the Jews, and I myself am Jewish, right? Is a bad lunch at the Center for Jewish Life anti-Semitic?

I cannot decry anti-Semitism and be taken seriously by students who either do not care or are tired of hearing about something that they hear hides in every corner of life here at the University. However, it would be a relief for students here to stop telling Jews what is and isn’t a valid attack on their identity.

I will not offer a definition of anti-Semitism because that would not be helpful for the current student body, fragmented and cynical as it is. Instead, I would like to address the public defamation of the character of

David Esterlit ’21.

In his recent opinion piece in The Daily Princetonian, “A Response to Esterlit: a Greater Injustice,” columnist Braden Flax vilified USG presidential candidate David Esterlit for his service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) without any basis or information of what he did in the army. It was surprising to see this op-ed from someone so opposed to callout culture.

It might surprise the author of the article to know that David did not actually engage with any disputed territories; after I met with him briefly to discuss Braden’s smear on his character, he made it clear that he was rather stationed on the Israeli-Egyptian border, defending Israelis and Thai migrant workers from ISIS. If David were stationed in Gaza, perhaps Braden would have a point, at least according to his logic in his article; I do not claim to have a short and concise answer for the bigger question of occupation and oppression that Braden presents.

Braden argues in his piece that since David served in the IDF, he is not fit for office at the University. This

broad and sweeping generalization and rejection of all that the Israeli military accomplishes and stands for is tantamount to a call for its abolition. Braden did not even talk to David before publishing his piece. Would Braden be willing to criticize every Israeli veteran’s character?

The IDF, according to Braden, is entirely and indiscriminately evil. Indisputably, rejection of a nation’s right to self-defense is a call for its destruction. The internationally recognized terrorist group Hamas provided the clearest call for Israel’s annihilation in its 1988 charter; the charter also promoted anti-Semitic tropes, such as the Elders of Zion, and urged genocide against the Jews. “There is no solution to the Palestinian Problem except by Jihad,” the charter declared.

Should a call for the destruction of Israel be tolerated on campus? I believe not, but my opinion seems not to be worth much. I’m just another Jew trying to say that I feel unsafe around a lot of students here these days.

Further, it feels silly to mention, but I would be

remiss not to respond to Braden’s bold assertions that David’s service aided in the prevention of chocolate from reaching Palestinians.

As evidenced in a video I found after a cursory Google search, the Gaza authorities decided to burn fifteen tons of chocolate bars, one of the imports allowed by Israel because the product cannot be weaponized, while Braden asserts that Israel deprived Gaza civilians of chocolate during David’s service.

After another short Google search, I discovered that the most restrictive period of the blockade in Gaza, which occurred before David’s service, may be what Braden references, but after the blockade eased in 2010, chocolate f lowed freely. I do not minimize the plight of those in Gaza, nor do I hold Braden accountable for declaring David to be complicit in chocolate thievery, but I would caution Braden that using VICE as a news source can be misleading to budding journalists.

Clem Brown is a junior from Mercer Island, WA. He can be reached at cobrown@princeton. edu.

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{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WRESTLING

Wrestling falls to No. 9 Okla. State, No. 1 Iowa

By Jo de La Bruyere Assistant Sports Editor

Head wrestling coach Chris Ayres has a vision.

It’s a vision of the recently winless Princeton wrestling team pulling off the greatest turnaround college athletics has ever seen. It’s a vision of Princeton wrestling as a top-fifteen team, a top-ten team, a top-five team.

It’s a vision of Princeton wrestling claiming its first national champion since 1951; a vision of Princeton wrestling hoisting a team trophy at this year’s NCAA tournament.

It’s a vision on which Ayres has sold his colleagues, his wrestlers, his fans, a vision that’s spawned infinitely quotable, infinitely tweetable slogans: ‘Get In,’ ‘Burn the Ships,’ ‘Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere.’

From 2006 to 2017, that vision chugged slowly towards fruition.

Last season, it picked up speed.

Ayres said his team could upset No. 8 Lehigh. It did. Ayres said his team would earn a national ranking. It did. Ayres said his team would leave the Ken Kraft Midlands Invitational with its firstever champion. It did. Ayres said his team could produce three AllAmericans. It did. Ayres said his team could record a top-fifteen national finish. It did.

Ayres has gotten used to triumphant press conferences. He has gotten used to watching his vision become reality.

So this was new: Ayres sitting in Jadwin Gymnasium’s Caldwell Lounge, shaking his head at the reporters in front of him, his vision fallen flat.

“I don’t know if I’m out of my mind,” he said. “Maybe some people think I am. But I believe in these guys. That’s why we do a trip like this weekend. We’re not here to lose.”

No. 12 wrestling had traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma to face No. 9 Oklahoma State Friday; the Tigers had returned for a Sunday Jadwin faceoff against the No. 1 University of Iowa. They’d started the weekend with a 15–18 loss and ended it with 9–30 defeat.

“Yeah,” said Ayres. “Tough weekend.”

It opened on a hopeful note —

two weeks earlier, Princeton had taken down No. 7 Lehigh 18–14.

Besting the ninth-ranked team seemed well within reach.

174-pound senior Kevin Parker, 184-pound sophomore Travis Stefanik, and No. 2 197-pound junior Patrick Brucki all earned decisions over their Oklahoman opponents.

No. 4 125-pound sophomore Patrick Glory bested No. 3 Nick Piccininni 9–4. At last year’s NCAA tournament, Piccininni had knocked Glory out of the semifinals and into the consolation bracket with a 9–5 defeat; here was Glory’s sweet redemption, with an extra point to boot.

But a heavyweight defeat, a streak of three other Princeton ones — broken only by 157-pound sophomore Quincy Monday — and a medical forfeit in the 165-pound match pushed the Cowboys to their three-point victory.

Back flew the Tigers, to their home turf and their Sunday match.

A point of clarification here: Iowa wrestling is very, very good.

The Hawkeyes have earned eight NCAA Championships, 14 Big Eight Conference Championships, three Big Ten Conference Championships. They’ve produced 66 individual national champions to Princeton’s one. All ten of their starters are ranked top-ten nationally. Seven of those ten starters are ranked in the top-three.

Last year, the Tigers suffered a 10–31 defeat at the Hawkeyes’ hands. But Chris Ayres has a vision. And this year, he thought his team could win.

The Tigers got good news straight off the bat: instead of sending their top-ranked starter Spencer Lee to face No. 4 Glory, Iowa would wrestle Anthony Cashman, an unranked redshirt freshman seeking to be more than just Lee’s backup. Glory made quick work of him, earning a 9–4 decision to put three points on the board for Princeton.

Next up was the unranked freshman Sean Pierson, facing Iowa’s No. 1 133-pound Austin DeSanto. DeSanto logged takedown after takedown after takedown.

He closed out the second period up 21–8; the match ended with an Iowa technical fall. At 141, Iowa’s No. 9 Max Murin claimed an 11–2

JACK GRAHAM / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

No. 9 sophomore Quincy Monday, on his way to upsetting Iowa’s No. 4 Kaleb Young.

major decision over unranked sophomore Marshall Keller. 9–3, Iowa.

No. 14 senior captain Mike D’Angelo faced No. 3 Pat Lugo at 149. The first period ended scoreless after a series of scrambles. A second-period Lugo escape put him up a point; D’Angelo matched him at the beginning of the third.

The clock wound down.

Overtime began and ended without a tiebreaker. Double overtime kicked in. With 23 seconds left in its first period, D’Angelo somersaulted his way to an escape. He was up 2–1; all he had to do was hold his opponent off.

He couldn’t. With nine seconds to go, Lugo scored a takedown. The match ended 3–2; Iowa led 12–3.

Next up was No. 9 Monday facing Iowa’s no. 4 Kaleb Young.

Monday set the pace with an early lunge and an early takedown; Young logged an immediate escape, then another one to close the second period 2–2. With just over a minute and a half left in the contest, Monday exploded from Young’s control to tally an escapepoint. Young couldn’t mobilize for a response.

Monday emerged victorious for his second ranked upset of the year. Looking out at a crowd

of 2,284, he flexed, pounded his chest, and ran off the mat.

Ayres greeted him with this: “You could’ve scored more.”

Monday’s not too worried.

“It felt good to feel like I’m finally achieving what I know I’m capable of,” he said.

And come the post-match press conference, Ayres had gentler words for him: “It’s domination after this. There’s no reason Quincy Monday can’t be an national champion this year.”

Iowa’s second-ranked Alex Marinelli pinned junior Conor Melbourne at 165; Iowa’s thirdranked Michael Kemerer crushed Parker 19–4 at 174. But the tide turned at 184-pounds, when Stefanik walked onto the mat. Facing No. 10 Nelson Brands, he started the match with a quick takedown and didn’t look back. By the third period, Stefanik was up 6–4, and Pat Glory couldn’t contain himself.

“He’s breaking!” He screamed from the sidelines. “Travis! He’s breaking!”

He spoke too soon: with 29 seconds to go in the match, Brands tied it up. But Stefanik didn’t need a period of overtime to fix things.

An escape with seven seconds to go secured a 7–6 victory and an-

other major upset for the Tigers.

That was the last of Princeton’s good news. Junior captain and second-ranked superstar Patrick Brucki couldn’t fend off the formidable No. 3 Jacob Warner. A literal last-second takedown handed Brucki his first loss of the season, 4–3.

“I’m not making excuses,” said Ayres. “He should have won the match, but I’m not upset with his effort.”

A pause.

“That kid [Warner] could have got hit for stalling. I mean, let’s be honest. We took how many shots — eight, nine shots? Let’s be honest. Because he’s in a black singlet, he doesn’t get hit for stalling? That’s a fact. That’s what happened.”

An expected heavyweight defeat propelled the Hawkeyes to a 30–9 victory. The Tigers had won the same number of matches as last year; they’d lost by the same margin as last year.

Sometimes, visions are just visions. Sometimes, dreams fall flat.

On chugs Ayres.

“Our goal with this group is to be top four. We want a trophy this year. I think there’s no reason we can’t do that with the guys we have right now.”

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Women’s hockey falls 5–1 to Cornell, beats Colgate 7–5

By Owen Tedford

Senior Staff Writer

This past weekend, the No. 7 women’s hockey team (10–3–0, 8–3–0 ECAC) split its final conference games in 2019 with a win and a loss. On Friday night, Princeton was defeated by No. 4 Cornell (11–1–1, 7–0–1) 5–1 but turned around the next day and defeated Colgate 7–5 after a third period rally. Sophomore forward Sarah Fillier led the comeback with six points: one goal and five assists.

After Saturday’s game, Fillier is the first Tiger to have a five-assist game since Kim Pearce ’07 had six against Cornell in 2005.

Friday’s game against Cornell saw the Big Red work two goals in the first two periods, one in each, before slamming the door shut on Princeton in the third period.

In the third, Cornell scored another three goals to take a 5–0 lead with more than ten minutes still to play. Sophomore forward Maggie Connors scored for the Tigers, with assists from senior defenders Claire Thompson and Sylvie Wallin, to end the game 5–1.

Cornell outshot Princeton 30– 24, despite the Tigers winning the faceoff battle 38–27. Junior goalie Rachel McQuigge got the start and made 25 saves on 30 shots.

On Saturday, the Tigers played a back and forth game against the Raiders, with Princeton striking first with a goal from Fillier, assisted by Thompson, 56 seconds in to the game. Colgate responded later in the period, but Wallin scored her first goal of the season to give the Tigers a 2–1 lead. The Raiders were able to score once more before the end of the first period to end the game 2–2.

In the second period, Colgate scored first, but senior forward Carly Bullock was able to tie the game assisted by Fillier. With just under 12 minutes elapsed in the second period, the Raiders scored again to take a 4–3 lead that would stand heading into the third period. In the third period, Princeton came out looking like a different team and scored three straight goals to take a 6–4 lead, with two from Connors and one from junior forward Shannon Griffin. Colgate cut the lead to one, but Thompson

Tweet of the Day

“Tough loss to the #1 team in the country but what an amazing atmosphere we had in Jadwin! 2,200+ fans saw the Tigers upset 2 top 10 ranked Hawkeyes. #BurnTheShips” Princeton Wrestling (@tigerwrestling)

OWEN TEDFORD / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Maggie Connors shoots on goal.

scored an empty-net goal to secure a Tiger victory with a final score of 7–5.

Before heading home for winter break, Princeton will play two more games against No. 5 Ohio State (10–4–4, 6–3–3 WCHA) in Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. in the City National

Arena, the practice facility of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Before resuming conference play in January at Dartmouth and Harvard, the Tigers will host Saint Anselm (10–4, 8–3 NEWHA) in its last nonconference games of the season.

With all ECAC play done until 2020, Princeton will end the year

at the top of the league standings, with 16 points — trailed by Cornell at 15, Harvard at 14, and Clarkson at 12. In the Ivy League, Princeton is in second to last, with 12 points behind leader Harvard and nine points beyond secondplace Cornell.

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Men’s volleyball was ranked 10th by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, the highest-ever ranking for the team.