The Daily Princetonian: December 13, 2019

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Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Friday December 13, 2019 vol. CXLIII no. 122

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U . A F FA I R S

U. admits 791 students to Class of 2024

By Allan Shen staff writer

The University has selected 791 students for admittance to the Class of 2024 through Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA). The Office of Admission mailed letter notifications to student applicants on Dec. 12. Applicants could view their admissions decisions through online access starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The admitted students include residents from 48 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Accepted international students hail from 33 countries and represent 11 percent of the admitted students. Forty-eight percent of the domestic admitted students identified themselves as students of color, representing a two percent decrease from last year’s proportion of domestic students of color. Thirteen percent of the

accepted students would become first-generation college students. The accepted students, together with students who deferred admission to previous classes and the students who will be admitted through Regular Decision in March, will make up the Class of 2024. The SCEA process is nonbinding, meaning students accepted to the University through the early admission process can apply to other colleges and universities and have until May 1 to make a final decision on which institution at which to matriculate. The deadline for applying to the University through the Regular Decision process is Jan. 1. Students deferred through the early round of admissions will receive a final decision from the University on the same day as those who applied to the University through Regular Decision. For the third consecutive See ADMISSIONS page 3

U . A F FA I R S

F E AT U R E

50 years of women: Susan Belman ‘73, Cassandra James ‘23

Zachary Shevin / The Daily Princetonian ‘2023 marks the 50th anniversary of women graduating from the University.

By Rooya Rahin contributor

In 1969, a group of female undergraduates arrived on Princeton’s campus. In 1973, they became the first women to graduate from the University. This is the first installation in a series commemorating 50 years of women at Princeton; each article will chronicle the experience of one woman from the Class of

1973 and one from the Class of 2023. When Susan Belman ’73 transferred to the University as a junior in 1971, she knew her first weeks at Princeton would be unusual. She might not have guessed the extent. Initially enrolled at the University of Rochester, Belman was one of the only female transfer students in Princeton’s first-ever

class of women — and she spent her first 10 days on campus in a hospital bed. “We dumped my stuff off at Brown Hall, and we went to the infirmary, where I was diagnosed with double pneumonia,” Belman recalls. That may sound like a surefire way to ruin a transition to college. For Belman, it wasn’t. See WOMEN page 2

ON CAMPUS

USG releases climate progress report by Sustainability Task Force By Marie-Rose Sheinerman associate news editor

U. professors Conley, Tilghman recognized as AAAS fellows By Rachel Sturley contributor

Dalton Conley and Shirley Tilghman have been named 2019 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for their scholarship in the fields of sociology and molecular biology, respectively. AAAS is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote scientific cooperation, integrity, education, and policy. Founded in 1848, it is now the world’s largest general scientific society with over 120,000 members. The association is also responsible for publishing the well-established journal Science. AAAS Fellows, elected annually, are chosen based on their achievements in a variety of aspects of science. Sections include, but are not limited to, Chemistry, Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources, Anthropology, Education, History and Philosophy of Science, Linguistic and Language Sciences, and Biological Sciences. The position is honorific, inducting scholars into the community

but not requiring active participation. The fellowship is a lifetime honor. Last year, University professors Rebecca Burdine and Elke Weber were appointed to the position. 37 members of Princeton’s faculty currently hold AAAS fellowships. Conley, the Henry Putnam University Professor of Sociology, is recognized by AAAS in the Section on Social, Economic, and Political Sciences. At the University, he is also a faculty affiliate at the Office of Population Research and the Center for Health and Wellbeing. He currently teaches a year-long class on how to conduct quantitative research studies to answer sociological questions, as well as a biosociology class. His research focuses on the intersection between genetics and social science. “What are the relative contributions of nature and nurture to who we become, and how do the biologically hardwired aspects of ourselves play out in the world and depend on the world?” Conley See AAAS page 2

2019 and hosted by the Princeton Student Climate Initiative (PSCI), with the student body. In April 2019, PSCI passed a USG referendum with 95 percent voter approval, which called the University to undertake “swifter climate action.” The report was compiled by Wayner and Amy Torres ’22 in collaboration with PSCI, USG, the Office of Sustainability, and the University’s Engineering and Campus Energy department. Facilities Engineering reports that 2019 emissions were 12.8% higher than the 1990 baseline (largely due to severe cold snaps in recent winters), even with campus growth of 43 percent. Of these reported emissions, 67.9 percent comes from the energy plant’s burning of natural gas and heatSee CLIMATE page 3

ON CAMPUS

Student activists mobilize as Somalia faces severe flooding By Omar Farah contributor

According to the latest figures from the United Nations, f loods in Somalia’s Hiraan region have now displaced 370,000 people, 200,000 of whom are children. With the overf low of the Shabelle river early this October, numerous communities found themselves submerged and trapped in their homes. For many, the events in Somalia represent the increasingly severe and immediate impacts of climate change. These dire circumstances have prompted philan-

thropic responses around the globe, many of them arising online through platforms like GoFundMe and Facebook. One such appeal has come from Sirad Hassan ’20, who has spent the last month helping the victims of the f loods. Unimpressed with the international media coverage and increasingly concerned about the situation in her parents’ country of origin, Hassan decided to mobilize. First, through a GoFundMe Page, she compiled a meticulous fundraising appeal including a video with first hand accounts of the impacts. However, for Hassan,

In Opinion

Today on Campus

Senior columnist Sebastian Quiroz discusses the democracy of eating clubs, contributing columnist Juan José López Haddad espouses the many benefits of USG, and contributing columnist Kate Lee condemns the animal cruelty involved in making Canada Goose jackets. PAGE 4

3:00 p.m.: Bioengineering colloquium - Conflicts and synergies between individuality and collective behavior Engineering Quad A Wing

this was not enough. She felt she needed to do more. “Since this was during the Thanksgiving season, we decided to call it Gratitude Grams,” she said. “I texted some friends, including Nathan Alam ’21, Nourhan Ibrahim ’20, Imane Mabrouk ’21, and others, and soon enough I had over eight groups from campus (The Muslim Students Association, Black Pre-Med Society, Arab Society, Conservation Society, Student Climate Initative, NSBE, SAIP, and more) who were supporting and helping publicize the issue through the distribuSee SOMALIA page 2

WEATHER

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

The award is a lifetime honor for all recipients.

On Wednesday, the Undergraduate Student Government’s Sustainability Task Force released a “Climate Progress Report,” summarizing the University’s carbon emissions trends since 1990, measures the task force and affiliated groups have implemented this year, and recommendations of personal sustainability for undergraduates. The report comes on the heels of a proposed USG referendum that would establish a standing sustainability committee. Claire Wayner ’22, a co-author of the report and a Sustainability Task Force member, said she views getting the referendum on the ballot as the Sustainability Task Force’s

single greatest accomplishment. “I’m pretty hopeful and confident that we will permanently modify the USG constitution to include a standing sustainability committee,” she said. “This shows that sustainability is as important to the student body as academics and student life … [and] ensures that a sustainability chair will be included in conversations about planning events and other initiatives.” Wayner, a columnist for The Daily Princetonian, published a column earlier this week advocating for a student “utilities” bill to discourage wasteful energy consumption. The aim of the USG report is to share information discussed at the Princeton Student Climate Forum, held on campus in October

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