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Friday December 1, 2017 vol. CXLI no. 111 BEYOND THE BUBBLE
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COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS AND PIXABAY
Governor-elect Phil Murphy has promised to legalize marijuana upon taking office in January 2018.
High time for NJ marijuana legalization By Sarah Warman Hirschfield senior writer
Dominick “Nick” Bucci carried out over 1,000 arrests and convictions over 22 years working as an undercover detective in narcotics. Looking back, the retired New Jersey State Trooper feels that he “was doing it all wrong,” calling the war on drugs, the U.S. campaign to end illegal drug trade, an “abject failure.” “I really didn’t do anything other than lock people up,” Bucci told The Daily Princetonian, adding that he prevented these people from getting jobs, student loans, and housing. He noted that narcotics enforcement drives people who are arrested for illegal drug pos-
session back into the narcotics trade, the only way they can earn a living. “Now, I’m trying to make up for that by getting some of these laws changed,” said Bucci, who is involved with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of drug policy and criminal justice reforms to improve public safety. LEAP supports legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana in New Jersey. Recreational marijuana will likely be legalized in the state after Governor-elect Phil Murphy takes office. Murphy has indicated he will sign a legalization bill, such as the one introduced last year, which would legalize, regulate, and
tax the drug in order to reap the benefit of extra tax dollars and alleviate racial inequalities in the criminal justice system. The University follows state drug laws and has indicated that if marijuana is legalized, administrators will “make a determination … of how we would address any impact it would have on us,” as Daniel Day, assistant vice president for communications, told the ‘Prince.’ A report last year found that New Jersey has the biggest racial gap in incarceration rates of any state in the United States, putting black residents behind bars at 12 times the rate of white residents. Despite similar usage rates, blacks are almost four times more likely
ON CAMPUS
than whites to be arrested for marijuana. The green light signal from Murphy has attracted the attention of several stakeholders — retired state troopers, racial justice organizations, consulting firms, and trade associations — all looking to ensure that the rollout of the recreational marijuana program is efficient and just. “We have the benefit of the hindsight of all the different cannabis markets in the country,” explained Hugh O’Beirne, the recently selected president of the New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association, a nonprofit seeking to reform and rationalize the medical marijuana program and promote the full legalization of marijuana for
adults. “We want to see a robust, accessible market,” said O’Beirne. States that have rolled out recreational marijuana programs have seen net economic benefits and no social detriment, although there are pitfalls to avoid, according to O’Beirne. “When the switch is flipped, there are so many opportunities for massive failure,” he said. If the marijuana industry is not robust, the black market begins to fill in the gaps. NJCIA brings operational expertise to the legislative discussion, educating state legislators and decision makers so they can responsibly develop a program to roll out, according to O’Beirne. In addition, NJCIA See MARIJUANA page 5
ON CAMPUS
U. Art Museum honors World AIDS Day in annual celebration contributors
COURTESEY OF PROFESSOR JESSICA IRVING
The earthquake only took 40 seconds to travel from Delaware to central New Jersey.
Earthquake shakes campus By Allie Spensley and Benjamin Ball assistant news editor and contributor
The University found itself taking after the typical James Bond martini order — shaken, not stirred — when minor tremors were felt on campus on Thursday afternoon. The tremors were produced by an earthquake of a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 centered about ten miles from Dover, Del.
In Opinion
Initially the U.S. Geological Survey reported the magnitude to of the quake as 5.1, before later revising it to a 4.4. The earthquake struck at 4:47 p.m. Students on campus reported feeling the tremors, and some also noticed an impact off campus at 693 Alexander Rd. According to an article by the Office of Communications, University officials checked the buildings where the tremors were reported, including Nas-
Columnist Hayley Siegel analyzes the Paradise Papers controversy, and contributing columnist Sabrina Sequeira wants us to think about depictions of suffering. PAGE 4
sau Hall, Morrison Hall, New South Building, Stanhope Hall, and the Arts Tower at the Lewis Arts complex. No damage was reported. Twitter users, including History Professor Kevin Kruse, also reported feeling the earthquake in Princeton. West Windsor police chief Robert Garofalo issued an alert saying that a minor earthquake was reported in the area and that he “personally felt it.”
Caroline Harris, associate director for education at the University Art Museum, spoke Thursday evening on the AIDS crisis and the significance of the Day Without Art. The Art Museum has made a tradition of honoring AIDS victims through a ceremony hosted each year around Dec. 1, which is World AIDS Day and the Day Without Art, a national day of mourning when museums sponsor special exhibitions of work about AIDS. The annual tradition, which on Friday will celebrate its 28th anniversary, strives to raise awareness of AIDS and honors those who have died from the disease. Harris began her remarks by highlighting the history of the AIDS epidemic in the United States. She said that the first cases of AIDS in the United States occurred in Los Angeles in 1981, preceding a monumental outbreak of AIDS cases and deaths throughout the 1980s. Harris suggested that the history behind the epidemic influenced the planning of Princeton’s yearly memorials. “In our efforts to remember World AIDS Day, we’ve generally focused on that first de-
Today on Campus 8 p.m.: Princeton dance students perform repertory works and new works by distinguished choreographers. Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center.
cade,” said Harris. “That first decade of diagnosis, and the first decade of the health crisis, especially on the human rights and civil rights issues that arose in this country around the AIDS crisis. You know, as all of us remember, it was much more than a health crisis for all those years.” Harris recounted how, on past World AIDS Days, the University has sponsored a campus viewing of Derek Jarman’s autobiographical film “Blue.” The film, which was the last Jarman completed before his death from complications of AIDS, includes a single image of saturated blue while Jarman, his friends, and associates discuss his life and art. The Art Museum also exhibited LGBTQ+ artist Felix González Torres’s 1991 piece “Untitled,” a billboard featuring a picture of an empty bed in memory of González Torres’s late husband. The Museum featured multiple installations of the billboard around the greater Princeton area in 2013. Both González Torres and his husband passed away from complications of AIDS. In the past, the University has also invited distinguished artists diagnosed with AIDS to speak at the Day without Art celebration. However, Harris also highSee AIDS page 2
WEATHER
By Aishwarya Kalyanaraman, Mallory Williamson, and Linh Nguyen
HIGH
52˚
LOW
29˚
Sunny chance of rain:
10 percent