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Thursday February 18, 2016 vol. cxxxx no. 14
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } U N I V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S
Congress requests U. endowment spending By Marcia Brown staff writer
Several members of Congress recently sent a letter to 56 private colleges and universities with endowments over $1 billion including the University and the Princeton Theological Seminary to solicit information regarding how the institutions spend their endowments. The letter requests information regarding categories of assets in the endowment, investments outside the endowment, spending to manage the endowment and the institution’s Form 990, a tax document. It also requests information regarding how universities spend their endowments and endowment principals, especially concerning financial aid, as well as means and sources of routine contributions. The letter is signed by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, chair of the Senate Finance Committee and Texas Congressman Kevin Brady, chair of the House Ways and Means Committees and Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam, chair of the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, among others. The letter aims to investigate the rising cost of tuition as “many colleges and universities have raised tuition far in excess of inflation,” according to Emily Schillinger, communications director for the House Ways and Means Committee. “Constituents are very concerned about the rising costs of college education which has been exceeding inflation for years,” Schillinger said. “We sent this letter to gain a better
understanding of what drives the costs of a higher education and what colleges are doing to assist families and students.” Schillinger also noted that many Republicans in the Ways and Means Committee recognize the nonprofit sector as a large part that needs to be evaluated in the process of a comprehensive tax reform. Min Pullan, Media Relations Specialist for the University, said that the University has received the letter, is preparing its response and will meet the deadline of April 1, 2016 as requested per letter. According to University Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee ’69, the University received a similar request from the chair and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee in 2008. This inquiry was sent to both public and private institutions. “We were pleased then to have an opportunity to describe how we use and manage our endowment and we welcome an opportunity to do that again in response to this letter,” Durkee said. According to Durkee, the endowment plays a critical role in supporting the University’s programs of teaching and research and a financial aid program that makes a ‘Princeton education’ affordable to students from all income levels without requiring loans. “We bring in students who generally to do not have any means, and they go into a lowpaying vocation so our endowment funds really cover their expenses,” said Shane Berg, vice president for ComSee LETTER page 3
ACADEMICS
MEMORIES OF AUTUMN
MARIACHIARA FICARELLI :: ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
A student is looking at the autumn leaves that colored the campus last autumn before snow came. LOCAL NEWS
DREAM Team, Princeton Human Services join initiatives to support immingrant families By Myrial Holbrook staff writer
The Princeton Human Services Department and the University’s DREAM Team, a student group that advocates immigration reform, joined initiatives to help families that may be impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. These new outreach initiatives include information sessions, held in conjunction with the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., at the St. Paul Roman Catholic Church and at public libraries to inform immigrants of their legal rights and responsibilities, noted John Heilner ’63, chair of the Human Services Commission’s immigration subcommittee. Maria Perales ’18, a member of the Princeton DREAM team, said that many members of the organization have recently started volunteering for these information sessions, helping to inform residents around the town of their legal rights and responsibilities. Many DREAM team members have also utilized their skills in Spanish in the past
to help translate and communicate legal instructions. “We denounce the actions of ICE in conducting these raids,” Perales said. The information session held on Feb. 7, two days after the most recent ICE raids, was attended by over 200 members of the immigrant community, Elisa Neire, executive director of the Princeton Human Services Department, said. Among other advisories, representatives from the Human Services Department informed immigrants in attendance that they have the right to remain silent and ask for legal counsel during an ICE raid. They should also ensure that their doors are locked and that the agents have a court order or a search warrant valid for a specifically named individual before permitting agents entry. Beyond awareness, Princeton Human Services also strives to provide support for affected individuals and families by connecting them with legal services, Neire explained. Bill Wakefield, a volunteer member of the Human Services
Commission, said that the Human Services Department has also been active in issuing Community ID cards authorized by the town at the Princeton Public Library to provide undocumented immigrants with valid identification, which provide an alternative to foreign passports or consular cards. Perales said that members of the DREAM team have also participated and volunteered for the Community ID card distributions. According to Perales, the DREAM team will soon partner with the Human Services Department to launch the “preserve your rights” campaign to distribute awareness fliers designed by the Department around the city. “Our entire government, especially our police department, has been working to build bridges and to build trust with the immigrant community,” Mayor of Princeton Liz Lempert said. She added that ICE’s new enforcement priority threatens to undermine progress made locally in that respect. See ICE page 2
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
U. programs abroad Hardy ’81 accused of sexual assault, allegedly abused women while at U. not to be affected by Zika virus epidemic staff writer
By Abhiram Karuppur staff writer
The University will not cancel or postpone any international travel programs due to the Zika virus epidemic, according to University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan. The Zika virus causes fever, rash, joint pain, red eye, muscle pain and headache, according to the CDC. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week, and infected individuals usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital. Although Zika is rarely fatal, it may result in fetal defects. The virus is typically transmitted through mosquito bites and sexual intercourse, according to
the CDC. Currently, the Zika virus has been spreading rapidly in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, according to Assistant Commissioner for Epidemiology at the New Jersey Department of Health Christina Tan ’92. The University Office of International Programs currently offers summer and semester programs in various Latin American countries including Brazil, Guatemala and Ecuador, including a site for the Bridge Year Program at Salvador, Brazil. In addition, EEB338: Tropical Biology, a three-week field course given at four sites in Panama, is offered this semester to juniors. Director of the Office of See ZIKA page 4
The University allegedly responded insufficiently to multiple allegations of sexual assault by fertility doctor Roger Ian Hardy ’81 while he was a student, according to the Boston Globe. Hardy did not respond to requests for comment. University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan noted that administrators who would have addressed this issue no longer work at the University. She added that sexual assault records about students are not discussed without said student’s consent to release records. The allegations surfaced when two additional accusations of sexual assault were brought up against Hardy earlier this month, according to the Globe. According to the Globe,
several former classmates of Hardy noted that he allegedly assaulted several women while at the University. Two cases were reported to University officials, while another woman reported her case to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine. The two allegations reported to University administrators at the time were allegedly ignored, according to the Globe. For the past three decades, the Globe notes, people in positions of authority, such as college administrators, hospital supervisors, clinic owners and medical colleagues, were told of sexual assaults allegedly done by Hardy. Most cases saw little response, according to the Globe. Hardy, a former medical director at the Fertility Centers of New England, was ac-
In Opinion
Today on Campus
Columnist Ryan Dukeman examines the future of the TPP after Scalia’s death, and Columnist Luke Gamble reflects on personal preconceptions about choosing what to study. PAGE 5
6 p.m.: Career Services invites graduate students to meet university affiliates working in Higher Education roles to learn about pathways of administrative careers in academia. Friend Center Convocation Room 113.
cused of sexually assaulting several of his patients during medical procedures since 1999, the Globe reported. In January 2014, while under an investigation by the Board of Registration in Medicine, Hardy resigned his medical license but maintained his innocence. Representatives of the Fertility Centers of New England did not respond to request for comment. Nicholas Di Mauro, the attorney for the Fertility Centers of New England, did not respond to requests for comment. According to the Globe, one patient of Hardy claimed that Hardy assaulted her while she was under anesthesia during a September 2013 egg retrieval procedure at a Fertility Centers of New England clinic. According to the Globe, when the patient See HARDY page 4
WEATHER
By Maya Wesby
HIGH
36˚
LOW
20˚
Sunny! chance of rain:
0 percent
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Raids prompt anxiety in community ICE
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Wilson School lecturer Heather Howard, who serves as a member of the town council, also stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship between the immigrant community and local police. “We’re all safer when everyone in the community feels like they can go to the police if they are a witness or a victim,” Howard said Heilner added that gaining the trust of the immigrant community is important in terms of crime prevention and crime investigation. The raids became an executive priority for the Department of Homeland Security in December 2015. The DHS released informa-
tion that it would be conducting searches to locate people who met certain criteria, such as outstanding deportation orders or specific immigration timeframes, according to Neire. ICE raids have been occurring periodically since the early 2000s, Neire said. A 2013 police directive passed by Princeton Police Chief Nick Sutter clarified the distinction between local and federal law enforcement, particularly in the event of ICE raids, Lempert explained. On Thursday, Feb. 4, ICE officers arrested and detained two men on Wiggins Street in Princeton, according to the Princeton Human Services Department. Neire said that this raid is just one of many in the wave of ICE activity throughout the country.
She explained that these raids have caused a lot of anxiety in the immigrant community, prompting Human Services and local community organizations to provide sources for help and support. Lempert added that it is important for residents to know that these raids are not carried out by local police officers. University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan said that she cannot comment on whether any students at the University would be jeopardized by the raids, and noted that these raids are beyond the legal scope of the Davis International Center. The Davis International Center deferred comment to Pullan. ICE representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
Thursday February 18, 2016
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Thursday February 18, 2016
Letters to reveal U. financial aid spending LETTER
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munications and External Relations for the Princeton Theological Seminary. Berg said that the Seminary is “an outlier” as it is typically unusual for a seminary to have an endowment over $1 billion. He added that the average scholarship awarded by the seminary covers 94 percent of a student’s tuition. “What we have – it goes out to students,” he said. “As I followed the debate, I do think asking schools to spend at a higher rate is really mortgaging the future,” Berg added. Jessica Sebeok, associate vice president for policy for the American Association of Universities, wrote in an email that AAU was pleased that institutions have another opportunity to describe how they use and manage their endowments. “This kind of inquiry helps legislators and staff, particularly those new to Congress, achieve a more nuanced understanding of how universities manage and spend their endowments to support their educational, scientific and charitable missions,” Sebeok said. She added that the member universities with which they’ve communicated have indicated that they look forward to explaining the ways in which they manage their endowments and use them to fulfill their primary missions. In an effort to control the rising costs of tuition, New York Congressman Tom Reed
separately proposed a legislation that would require colleges and universities with endowments greater than $1 billion to use a certain percentage of their yearly endowment earnings on financial aid. Failure to comply for three years will result in loss of the institution’s taxexempt status. Brandy Brown, the communications director for Reed, stated that the legislation’s motivation is similar to that of the letters. Brown said that Reed is “really concerned about higher education costs because he’s a dad and he put himself through law school.” She also said that as the youngest of 12 kids, “he worked the entire time, and recognizes how hard this is.” Brown called the endowment “just a piece of the puzzle to get [the cost of tuition] under control.” “We care about ensuring fairness in higher education and allowing every child to succeed without holding them back because of cost. It’s only right that we begin looking for solutions to get the cost of higher education under control and this is a step in the right direction in that process,” Reed wrote in a statement. Schillinger further noted that the more Congress learns about college endowments, the better situated it will be to make sound policy decisions. “We will continue to gain understanding of the nuanced decisions that impact endowments and realize that a one size-fits-all policy may not work for all schools,” she said.
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Thursday February 18, 2016
Hardy sued, patient cites U. to issue travel advisories for highinnappropriate injuries risk Zika regions, 1 NJ case of disease HARDY
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woke up from the procedure, the physical trauma she experienced was not typical of egg retrieval procedures, and afterwards experienced anxiety, depression, nightmares and insomnia as a result. She told Hardy and several nurses about “severe vaginal trauma and bleeding,” but Hardy allegedly dismissed this as part of the process, as it “was a normal part of the procedure, and that he had to go in deep and hard,” the Globe reported. Her lawsuit claims that the clinic knew about Har-
dy’s alleged history of sexual abuse, but hid it from their patients. A second patient claimed that Hardy inappropriately touched her during an ultrasound imaging test of her uterus in June 2012. The patient was awake during the procedure. In an interview with the Globe, she told that she plans on pressing charges against Hardy and the clinic. Previously, several other patients have described similar experiences with Hardy in the clinic but received little response, the Globe reported.
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ZIKA
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International Programs Nancy Kanach deferred comment to Pullan. Director of Study Abroad Mell Bolen and International Internship Program director Luisa Duarte-Silva did not respond to requests for comment. Pullan noted the University will issue advisories to students traveling to regions of high risk. “We are working with partners across campus to ensure that students who are planning to travel to, or who are traveling in an affected country receive all of the information available to prevent infection,” Pullan said. According to Pullan, students who are currently abroad and who have recently returned have received a message alerting them about the virus concern from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pullan also noted that University Health Services has disseminated relevant information during student
travel medicine appointments, correspondences with groups planning to travel and on the UHS website. These recommendations include wearing insect repellents and avoiding contact with insects. The University recommendations are in line with those of the CDC, Pullan added. UHS Director John Kolligian deferred comment to Pullan. Research Health Policy Scholar at the Program on Science and Global Security Laura Kahn GS ’02 said that traveling to the tropics increases the risk of exposure to Zika, and advised students to wear long sleeve shirts. “If you plan to go backpacking in the jungle, that would be a bigger risk than staying in the city,” she said. As there is currently no commercially available vaccine or cure for the virus, prevention is the most effective measure in combating the epidemic, Tan noted. Pullan noted that the University also encourages students who have returned
from an area affected by the Zika outbreak to contact UHS. Students who wish to pursue an evaluation at UHS for Zika symptoms should give prior notice before arriving at McCosh Health Center, Pullan explained. In line with CDC recommendations, the University encourages students who have recently returned from an affected area to consider abstinence from sexual activity or to use condoms effectively, she added. Tan said that the New Jersey Department of Health is launching a public awareness campaign about the threats of the Zika virus to monitor for signs of an epidemic in the United States. According to Tan, the NJDOH has also joined forces with the Department of Environmental Protection to keep track of the mosquito population in the state. “All the cases in the US are travel-associated to date,” Tan said. According to the CDC, there is currently one reported case of Zika infection in New Jersey. The case is travel related.
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Thursday February 18, 2016
A reflection STEMing from the heart Luke Gamble columnist
M
ANY HUMANITIES majors cannot withstand the temptation to validate the existence of their own major. It seems every third lecture in my English class references why studying English or comparative literature is so important. Even my classmates often bemoan the fact that computer science, engineering and economics students find no such need to incessantly validate their own field of study. Many of these humanities students accuse STEM students of “selling their soul,” deeming themselves the sole soulinheritors of truth, beauty, passion and even purpose in life. It is popular for certain departments to assume that those who deal with numbers instead of letters, and bank notes instead of notebooks, are somehow spiritually inferior, and have no aesthetic taste. Even the new Princetonbased movie “The Observer Effect” makes such jabs when the main character finds himself trudging towards a banking career he finds neither enjoyable nor fulfilling. But the opposite is also true. Many STEM majors have a passion for their areas of study, a passion that certainly rivals even the more-invested students in English or philosophy. It is not often that you’ll find an English major writing literary criticism late into the night, just for pure personal enjoyment, but Hack Princeton is essentially a 36-hour, not-for-credit coding gathering for computer aficionados. For every droopy-eyed marathon-reading of Milton, there are 20 students applying to be part of “Hyperloop.” While there are bored or uninterested – and thus often times uninteresting – students on both sides of the aisle, there are plenty of STEM students who genuinely love the material they are learning. While many humanities majors may be quick to condemn every finance-track economics major who appears to be in it only for the money, we conveniently forget about those who study English or sociology, not because they care about letters or social movements but because they think it is a sure route to an easy-A and a high GPA. Passion and personal interest aside, there is also the perennial question that arises with respect to every field of study, “What is it for?” The arts students don’t know what the banking or the money is for, “because money doesn’t make you happy,” while the finance students are equally justified in wondering exactly the point of studying the sentence structure of 500-year-old fairy tales. After all, “it’s just words on a page,” they might say. When we try to justify our jobs or studies, we are immediately treading upon shaky ground. If a certain area of study were holistically more worthy, dignified or useful, then everyone would study it. There are benefits and drawbacks to every field of study. A major doesn’t define you, and a certain job doesn’t justify your existence. Some of the most passionate and caring people I know are economics or ORFE majors. They are headed for long hours in New York-based banks next year, but they most certainly have not sold their soul. I have found some HUM students incredibly boring and dry, and some B.S.E computer science majors to be incredibly insightful and passionate about a wide range of topics. And it is particularly telling that Lewis Carroll, the author of “Alice in Wonderland,” the fantastical and heartfelt tale so beloved by years of STEM and English majors alike, was a professor of mathematics. At this point I must confess that I have a stake in this discussion. I’m an English major. What can I say – I’m a cop-out. I wanted to make sure I will have a job right after I graduate from Princeton. On a less serious note, I also happen to believe professor Jeff Nunokawa in his English class “Reading Literature: The Essay” when he said that the “words we read and write and say out loud or silently to ourselves dwell at the heart of our greatest fears and our greatest glories and everything else in between.” While my area of study may not be one which employers flock to, come June 2018, I’ve found one that, at least in some small degree, as Nietzsche said, “has uplifted... [and] dominated and delighted” my soul. I find the work enjoyable, challenging and also fulfilling. But I constantly remind myself that there is nothing particular about English that makes it so fulfilling. I am no better nor worse because I find letters more compelling – and also more decipherable – than numbers. All I know is that before I declare a major in the spring, like most others, I have to do the math. Luke Gamble is a sophomore from Eagle, Idaho. He can be reached at ljgamble@princeton.edu.
Opinion
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Scalia’s effect on the TPP
vol. cxxxx
Ryan Dukeman columnist
O
F ALL that’s been written about the ramifications of the unexpected death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia – from its effect on upcoming cases before the court to Senate races in November and even to the presidential race, to which Ted Cruz ’92 is now referring to as a “referendum on the Court” – comparatively little has been said about its effect on other legislative issues that would have otherwise dominated this year. On the domestic side, the President’s final year was supposed to be spent on criminal justice reform, which just a few months ago seemed like a real bipartisan possibility, and lobbying for congressional approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive free-trade deal that covers 40 percent of the world’s GDP that the administration signed last year. Instead, the year will now be consumed with what The New York Times is already calling a “battle royale” for the soul of the court for a generation. As Scalia was a reliably conservative vote, if President Obama is able to successfully fill his seat with a liberal, the Court’s balance would shift 5-4 in favor of Democratic appointees, reversing its decades-old conservative majority. To most Americans, the Supreme Court’s role is mostly seen as one of importance to domestic affairs. Almost all of the ‘textbook’ Supreme Court cases – Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson, Roe v. Wade, et cetera – deal with issues of domestic policy and constitutional rights in the United States. Rarely do people outside of the legal realm think of the Court as having much to do with foreign policy and, in truth, the Court is less frequently involved in foreign policy than Congress or the presidency. However, even if the Court never would have been involved in the TPP with Justice Scalia alive, in his death he just might be the one to kill the deal. Obama has called the TPP the top remaining item on his foreign policy agenda and the “most progressive trade deal in history” at a recent press conference; in his year-end press conference last year, he expressed cautious optimism that the United States would ratify it during his presidency, in no small part due to support from Senate Republicans. When the President barely won Trade Promotion Authority last summer (under which Congress agreed to vote on a trade deal up-ordown, without offering amendments or changes), he did so thanks almost entirely to a Republican
caucus that remains pro-free trade. Democratic support has evaporated due to a dislike of the North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade deals seen as having killed union manufacturing jobs in America. As a result, any strategy for winning congressional approval of the deal itself will have to rely on a similarly Republican-heavy vote-count. This seemed reasonable to expect just a few months ago, even though it would still be an election year: Republicans not only agreed with the President on trade, but they also would have leapt at the opportunity to create a wedge between the President and the Democratic party going into November. Republicans had further incentive to approve the deal with Obama in office, since Clinton and Sanders have come out against it, and the GOP presidential candidates, while in favor of free trade, have not campaigned about it and must still play to the overwhelmingly populist sentiment dominating this election cycle. Now, however, the entire year will be spent on the nomination fight, period. The battle to fill Scalia’s seat, which Obama has vowed to do despite the Mitch McConnell’s, Senate Majority Leader, promise not to even consider whoever he ends up nominating, will be so intense, brutal and prolonged that it will deplete all the oxygen in the legislative atmosphere for the rest of this year. This fight will be historic and unprecedented in modern history – Elizabeth Warren has even predicted that the ensuing obstructionism over the nomination will be a “threat to our democracy itself.” It is hard to see how there will be any remaining appetite among congressional Republicans to work with the President on anything at all for the rest of his term. Additionally, the people Obama was specifically relying on to pass TPP – the Republican caucus – are now the most inclined to work against him on his entire agenda, in order to remain united in stonewalling his predicted appointment. It therefore seems that in one final act of defiance towards a Democratic president whose agenda he voted against at every turn, Justice Scalia in death will deal a fatal blow to the President’s last major opportunity for a legacy-making achievement. Ryan Dukeman is a Wilson School Major from Westwood, Mass. He can be reached at rdukeman@ princeton.edu.
ostrich mentality rITA FANG ’17 ..................................................
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On environmental mindfulness
IKE MANY Princeton students, I want to lessen my environmental impact. Therefore, I tried to figure out which changes could lessen it the most. How does taking a shorter shower compare to biking to work? How does using a reusable bottle compare to eating vegetarian? The answers became very complicated very quickly. For starters, there is no scientific unit for “green.” A common measure is carbon dioxide emissions, but that is only a small part of the picture. Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas, or even the most potent. Further complicating matters, climate change is not the only rubric for measuring environmentalism. Air pollution, deforestation, disruption to the local ecology and tainted water are also important things to keep in mind when measuring the greenness of an action or a product. Since I had to start somewhere, I took a look at how we waste water. Most people never see the water they use. Much more water is used to grow food and create products than people expect. According to the United States Geological Survey, it takes about 460 gallons of water to make four ounces of beef, or the amount in a single hamburger. For comparison, a typical shower uses 2.1 gallons per minute. Someone would have to shower for over half an hour per day, every day, for a week to equal the water in a hamburger. While beef frequently gets trotted out as an example of bad water efficiency, other foods are not much better. A three-egg omelet is 150 gallons just for the eggs. A cup of orange juice is 45 gallons. What you eat and drink uses much more water than any reasonable
Beni Snow
columnist
amount of showering possibly could. Paper is also a terrible water-waster. Here there is a considerable range, but the USGS says three gallons per sheet is a reasonable average. All the paper towels you use to dry your hands after using the bathroom throughout the day probably took more water to produce than the water you used while showering. But comparing water use alone is not a fair metric. A shower uses hot water, and that takes energy, which often implies carbon dioxide emissions. While the exact amount varies significantly based on how the electricity is produced — obviously, solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear are better than coal or natural gas — and other factors such as heater efficiency, ultimately half a pound of carbon dioxide per minute of showering is fairly reasonable. Cars emit roughly one pound of carbon dioxide per mile, which means a five mile drive produces as much carbon dioxide as a ten minute shower. Cars are thought of as carbon dioxide factories, but a shower is not much better. That result shocked me because I thought my article would be about why taking shorter showers does not make a big difference. I thought I would be writing about how recycling paper, thinking about food choices and riding a bicycle more often have much greater effects. One could say that carbon dioxide is not all that bad, as long as we are responsible at buy carbon offsets to offset our emissions. Sadly, carbon offsets do not actually remove carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere, they are just an investment in renewable energy and other green things. While such investment are good, carbon offsets are treated as the indulgences of the environmental movement, as if purchasing one magically makes the carbon dioxide go away. The actual data show that it all depends on how you look at it. If environmentalism is looked at through the lens of saving water, then long showers are not a big deal. If you look at carbon dioxide, then showers are pretty bad. I only examined water and carbon dioxide, not other factors. Methane, for example, is a more potent greenhouse gas than dioxide. Food production uses chemicals that can cause runoff into streams and rivers. Different ways of producing electricity differ by more than how much carbon dioxide they produce. Hydropower changes the river’s ecosystem. Wind turbines can harm bird migrations. Coal involves strip mining, but natural gas fracking creates earthquakes. The largest problem I encountered while trying to crunch the numbers on greenness is nearly endless recursion. If I really wanted to look at the carbon dioxide emissions of a car, then perhaps I should also factor in the energy required to extract, process and transport the gasoline. But then I should also factor in the increased food I would have to eat to ride a bike instead of driving. The questions are endless. Whether a shower is worse than a drive may be impossible to judge, but both have an impact. Be mindful of that impact and the complexity of “green.” Beni Snow is a freshman from Newton, Mass. He can be reached at bsnow@princeton.edu.
Thursday February 18, 2016
Sports
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Hockey’s underclassmen continue to shine by Jack Mazzulo :: Senior Photographer Though men’s hockey has struggled of late, it is the team’s underclassmen who have excelled. In fact, when the Tigers faced No. 20 Clarkson and St. Lawrence, both highly regarded teams, freshmen forwards Ryan Kuffner and Max Veronneau and sophomore forward David Hallisey scored all three of the team’s goals. With those points, Kuffner and Veronneau lead the team this season with 18 and 13 points, respectively. In addition, sophomore goaltender Ben Halford played in his fourth game of the season this weekend, and impressed with 35 total goals. Looking forward, the Tigers will play their final road trip this weekend against Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before facing Brown and Yale the following week to round out the season.
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Stat of the Day
5.65 meters The Olympic-trial-qualifying height that senior pole vaulter Adam Brag eclipsed earlier this month.
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Thursday february 18, 2016
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PAGES DESIGNED BY HARRISON BLACKMAN AND LIN KING:: STREET EDITORS
Black History Month at Princeton This week, Staff Writer ANDIE AYALA takes a look at current Black History Month events in conversation with the history of African-Americans at Princeton. From the first black student admitted and then turned away based on race to the progression of inclusion on campus, ‘Street’ remembers the past and looks to the future.
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I have had very pleasant relations with your race, both in civilian life and in the army. I cannot conscientiously advise a colored student to apply for admission to Princeton simply because I do not think that he would be happy in this environment. There are no colored students in the University and a member of your race might feel very alone.” This is what was told to Bruce Wright, the first black man to be accepted to Princeton University, in 1939 in a letter from the Dean of Admissions, Radcliffe Heermance GS 1909, according to a post by the Mudd Manuscript Library Blog. After Wright had been awarded the scholarship to the University and had arrived on campus in the fall of 1939 ready to start college, he was forced to sit down outside of the admission office and wait for his father to drive back from New York and pick him up. Upon realizing that the person he had accepted to study in the University was, in fact, black, Heermance turned Wright away. On the margins of the letter detailing the University’s explanation for revoking his acceptance, Wright wrote, “Damn the pleasant relationships[;] want to go to college.” Stories such as this within the Princeton community and countless others outside of it are part of the fabric that has created the history of this university, a history which is being promoted by this year’s University-coordinated Black History Month events. “For me, the purpose of Black History Month broadly is to celebrate the experiences and triumphs of black individuals and communities throughout American history,” Myesha Jemison ’18, who is part of the Black History Month Committee, explained. “It opens up a platform to express an essential part of American history that often finds itself hidden between the lines of traditional history books.” Briana Payton ’17 added that during Black History Month it’s important to “look back where you came from and know where you’re going.” “There’s a tendency to erase the past, to deny it, to
act like it didn’t happen, or to act like it should be minimized, so we can move on. But so much of moving on and f lourishing as a community is about continuing to repair the damage that we’ve done,” Payton said. “Having said that, Black History Month is not just about damage repair. There are so many beautiful things that have emerged from the black freedom struggle and the historical arch of African-American history that shouldn’t be discounted in the name of moving on. I think that it should be remembered, their accomplishments should be honored.” One important aspect of remembering the past is recording historical events and archiving it, as demonstrated by Jarrett Drake, the digital archivist at the University who is starting a collection to document student activism on campus, inspired by the protest organized by the Black Justice League. “We realized that we were witnessing history right before [our] eyes,” he said. He explained that the vast notation of the protests was taken on digital devices such as iPhones and laptops, and said that the digital archivists wanted to capture that information as soon as they possibly could. Drake noted that, in some ways, the archives are a depiction of the history of the University, and it means something when out of the 434 archival collections in the University archives, only a few were created by and for black organizations. Including accounts of different student groups on campus is “something we need to do better in; by reaching out to people and letting them know that their experience at Princeton matters. And hopefully we can be one source where people can see a representation of themselves in the archives,” Drake said. Drake mentioned that he had also started archives on LatinX and SPEAR, and that this information was contained in archive-it.org under the Princeton University Archives, which is where the article about Bruce Wright was found. “Given everything that happened last year and this year, it is important to remember that none of our ex-
periences exist in a vacuum, but are part of a larger history,” Cameron Bell ’16 said, member of the BHMC. Bell explained that she thought that all members of campus should be a part of this event, and should make an effort to educate themselves on stories of black men and women in the Princeton community in various ways, such as watching the video collection ‘Looking Back: Ref lections of Black Alumni at Princeton.’ Additionally, Jemison noted, “a beautiful thing about the Black History Month Committee is that we see representation from various parts of the diaspora, including African and Caribbean students.” An example of this was a discussion on immigration the BHMC hosted on Wednesday February 17th, which was co-organized by a range of different black student communities on campus, including Princeton Caribbean Connection, Princeton African Students Association and Princeton Latinos y Amigos. On the topic of diversity within the black community itself, Payton commented, “We’re a conglomerate of individuals and not one homogeneous group, you’re going to have people that differ on different issues, you’re going to have people that disagree, that see things differently, and so it’s been for us a time of really learning what it means to be a community that doesn’t always agree on everything or sees things the same way, but that loves and supports each other.” Payton added that she wished more people took advantage of the amazing speakers and lectures that the student groups brought in, as she mentioned that last year Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, spoke, and the nationally renowned scholar Tim Wise visited the University. “Black and white people alike suffer a huge knowledge gap about black history,” Payton said. “I just think that calling the University’s attention to these events is really important.” The Black History Month events are coordinated by the Black History Month Planning Committee, in addition to the Fields Center and the schedule of events can be accessed on the African American Studies website.
MOMENTS IN BLACK HISTORY
JUNE 15, 1939
Dean of Admission Radcliffe Heermance writes a letter reneging admission to Bruce Wright, the first black student accepted to Princeton U. [Image Courtesy of Mudd Manuscript Library]
OCT. 14, 1942
A letter to the editor in 1942 supports the admission of African-Americans to the University. In 1945, the US Navy integrated Princeton University with the first black alumnus, John Howard, graduating in 1947. [Image Courtesy of Larry DuPraz ‘Prince’ archives.]
JULY 31, 1979
This article from 1979 discusses how black students at the time formed a tight-knit community among themselves, separate from the mainstream Princeton community. [Image Courtesy of Larry DuPraz ‘Prince’ archives.
FALL 1995
This photo shows two AfricanAmerican cheerleaders from 1995. By this time, blacks had become more integrated into the Princeton community, but recent events suggest that there is still more work to be done. [Image Courtesy of Mudd Manuscript Library]
The Daily Princetonian
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Thursday february 18, 2016
UNFAMILIAR STREET
Richter Farm Road, Germantown, Maryland CATHERINE WANG Staff Writer
“Unfamiliar Street” is a travel series in which we introduce you to streets from all around the world, far from the well-trod gravel of Prospect Avenue. or ten years after school ended, regardless of heat, rain or snow, I would make the same seven-minute walk home. There were days of racing home to find acceptance letters in my mailbox, days of walking at a snail-like pace to continue a debate with a friend who accompanied me home and days of silence only broken by the wind. But every day, without fail, I would walk down Richter Farm Road to the entrance of my idyllic suburban community. Toward the end of my senior year of high school, as the days of making this walk were winding down, the road itself became an inspiration for my art. I would paint that curved path in different seasons, tangled tree branches first bare, then blooming with flowers, then turning golden and brown. It was not until later that I recognized that I might have been reflecting on the passage of time for a reason. Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to see compiled snapshots of me walking down that road every day for 10 years. At the beginning of the walk, I would be a tiny third grader with a disproportionately large backpack and a Harry
F
Potter book in hand, but as I progressed down the path, I’d grow older as the trees grew and changed colors. The only thing that wouldn’t change was my large backpack, which would only get heavier (although it did become slightly less disproportional as I grew taller). After 10 years, every inch of the path itself is paved with classic childhood memories and their corresponding emotions. There is joy from flying down the sloped hill on my bike in the cool evening air. There is apprehension of the large black dog who barks at me every time I was within a twenty-meter radius — her owners could tell me she was actually very friendly and just excited to see me. There is hunger from smelling the tantalizing wafts of stir-fry that my neighbors were cooking up. There is exhaustion from lugging home three textbooks on the second day of school in 90-degree heat. Those seven minutes seemed in-
significant on the days where I rushed home to start my homework, but they gave me a strange sense of ownership over the street. It was weird to go outside every weekend and see minivans from all over the state causing traffic as parents sent their kids to soccer games at the SoccerPlex, which I could hear from my house. Even weirder was the one evening a year when I’d see my usually empty sidewalk overcrowded with strangers pressing shoulder to shoulder as they made the annual trip to the park for the Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Unfamiliar kids would run down the street
without paying any attention to their surroundings, gleefully kicking soccer balls while their parents shouted at them not to go too far. The area was foreign to them because they only came here once a year and the road itself would probably be a distant memory obscured by the vivid memories of barbecues and colorful fireworks displays. For these people, this road was unfamiliar, a place where children could get lost in a crowd and not be able to find their way home. For me, walking that path feels like going home because that is what it has always meant for me. I could probably walk it
blindfolded and still find my way to my front door. I do now wonder if that will always be true. The longer I am away from home, the longer it takes to adjust back to certain habits, like remembering how many steps are on the staircase when I’m walking in the dark. When I went home over Intersession, I walked that exact path again, wondering if I would feel as though things had changed. I did not feel as though they had and found myself thinking that while I might forget small details and habits, it might be impossible for me to feel like a stranger walking on a street that leads me home.
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Richter Farm Road in Germantown, Maryland, seen during the spring and winter, respectively.
Q&A AUTHOR, CREATIVE WRITING LECTURER IDRA NOVEY Interviewed by
VICTORIA SCOTT Senior Writer
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he connection between an author and translator is an unusual one; both seek to tell the same story through different languages. That relationship is explored in Idra Novey’s debut novel, “Ways to Disappear,” which takes place in both the United States and Brazil, concerning the travels of an American translator attempting to find the author she translates, who has gone missing. Novey, a lecturer in
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Creative Writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts, is also an accomplished poet, having published the award-winning collections “Exit, Civilian” and “The Next Country.” “Ways to Disappear” was published Feb. 9 and has garnered rave reviews from NPR, BBC and Buzzfeed. In this Q&A, Senior Writer Victoria Scott asked Professor Novey about her novel and her creative writing process through an email interview.
The Daily Princetonian: What or who inspired your novel? Idra Novey: Writer-translator Anne Carson’s innovative novel “Autobiography of Red” was a source of inspiration, and also the experience of translating the Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. DP: How did you begin the process of writing “Ways to Disappear”? IN: It started with the image of a woman disappearing with a cigar and a suitcase into a tree. One day I had to be several places at once and it occurred to me that climbing into a tree instead might be the best solution. DP: What’s the most important aspect of the novel writing process? IN: I would say honesty. Honesty with oneself as a writer, honesty with one’s readers and emotional honesty as one moves from scene to scene. DP: How did your background in poetry play into your novel? IN: I deleted whole pages the way I would with a poem. If a scene didn’t surprise me and move the novel forward in an
unexpected, compelling way I’d erase the whole scene and try something else entirely as poets often do with poems, and the length of the scenes, how imagedriven they are, is probably also a result of coming to fiction from poetry. DP: How did you overcome writer’s block? (If you experienced it.) IN: Whenever I got stuck, I’d eat an entire bag of popcorn and then return to the last line I’d written that I felt good about and try to write from there. I often turn to popcorn when I have to figure something out. Maybe it’s the sound of it popping in the microwave, or the salty plea-
sure of eating it, but I find the whole ritual of popcorn makes many things feel easier to overcome.have been f leeting, perhaps, but it was nonetheless a shocker for the students from the sun belt.
WRITE FOR STREET features, theater, dance, essays, music, art, fashion, humor, health.
For more information, email us at: streeteditors@gmail.com
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Thursday february 18, 2016
JOY DARTEY
PUB UNITES WITH ELITE BALLET COMPANIES AT IVY BALLET EXCHANGE
Senior Writer
T
his past weekend, the only student-run ballet companies in the Ivy League — Princeton University Ballet, Harvard Ballet Company and Columbia Ballet Collaborative — joined forces to produce performances that both showcased and celebrated the strengths of the dance groups. The Ivy Ballet Exchange was founded two years ago by the leaders of the ballet companies at Princeton, Harvard and Columbia with the intention of recognizing the works of student-run dance companies and emphasizing the fact that these diligent dancers could pursue their academic studies while remaining committed to ballet. “It was started as an idea for these really great ballet companies to come together and share what they had been working on, artistically,” Princeton University Ballet president Emily Avery ’17 said. The leaders of the dance companies began planning for this event over a year ago because the exchange required a lot of foresight and logistical planning. “Getting the logistics worked out was definitely a challenge. We had to make sure that all of our company dancers could travel to New York and arrive on time for their early morning classes,” Avery said. “We had to make sure we could get food throughout the day and organize this with the other company leaders as
well.” PUB’s former president, Marisa Remez ’16, agreed that there were challenges in planning the collaboration between the three dance groups. The leaders stayed in touch via email and video chats throughout the year it took to plan the event. The companies were able to perform a total of seven pieces. Columbia Ballet Collaborative performed two pieces, Harvard Ballet Company performed one piece and PUB performed four pieces. Three of PUB’s pieces were choreographed by company dancers Paige Shaw ’17, Marisa Remez ’16 and Julia Jansen ’19, and were originally performed in PUB’s most recent show, “Nutz.” Because PUB’s pieces were shorter, they performed more pieces than the Harvard and Columbia groups. The fourth piece that the company performed, “Spindle of Gestures,” was choreographed by Norbert de la Cruz III, a guest choreographer for PUB. Avery explained that the four pieces PUB took to the Ivy Ballet Exchange covered a range of styles as half of the pieces were en pointe, and the other half were more contemporary. “The pieces that we decided to choose were mostly just what we thought were the best representation of our best works,” Avery said. “They weren’t necessarily connected by a theme, but they were works that we were pretty proud of and wanted to show to other companies.” PUB took about 20 dancers to the daylong event at Colum-
bia, joining the Columbia and Harvard companies for a total 60 dancers performing in one of the university dance studios. Dancing in an unfamiliar space was not so challenging for PUB dancers because the company rehearses and performs on different stages with varying dimensions on campus. As a result, the company has learned to adjust to different spaces. The second Ivy Ballet Exchange encouraged mingling between the companies by allowing the dancers to participate in workshops and masterclasses led by professionals, including former New York City Ballet dancer Kaitlyn Gilliland and former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, Ashley Tuttle. This opportunity to mingle between the three companies was difficult to incorporate in the first ballet exchange, as that was comprised only of the performances by the individual companies. “This year we decided it would work better as more of a collaborative event. So this Ivy Ballet Exchange was a day of workshops and masterclasses together. We all took a ballet
class together,” Avery said. “Last time it was like Princeton did a piece, Harvard did a piece, then Columbia did a piece. But, we didn’t get to have masterclasses together. So this was a really nice way to get to actually meet the company members this year.” The implementation of workshops and masterclasses is a testament to how the Ivy Ballet Exchange is growing to better connect the dancers from the different companies. PUB sees this evolving nature to be one that works to meet the overall mission of the event. “I definitely think that the format of IBE is something that is evolving, but I think it is really a great opportunity for the three ballet companies to interact,” Remez said, in an email state-
ment. PUB hopes the IBE can happen at Princeton at some point and involve a piece that has dancers from all three companies, even though this will be difficult to coordinate. There are a lot of benefits in celebrating and getting to interact with the other companies because the dancers all have different academic and professional backgrounds, so they can learn from each other. PUB found it rewarding that their efforts at collaborating with the Columbia Ballet Collaborative and the Harvard Ballet Company were successful. The weekend’s performances were memorable because they showed and celebrated the purpose of the Ivy Ballet Exchange.
COURTESY OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY BALLET
PSC’S ‘HAMLETMACHINE’ AS THE FUTURE OF PRINCETON THEATER CAROLYN BEARD Staff Writer
“N
o pain, no thoughts.” Ensemble members echo this haunting line in Princeton Shakespeare Company’s recent production of Heiner Müller’s “Hamletmachine.” A post-modern, one-act play based roughly on Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Hamletmachine” was written in 1977 Soviet-ruled East Berlin. The script is a mere eight pages long, giving the creative team the freedom to creatively expand on Müller’s written text. And yet, while the script’s brevity enables the production to take some liberties, we see that the text itself demands to be understood, both within its original political context and as a piece of timeless and stateless theater. In many ways, the play is inseparable from the systematic oppression of its original late-20th century sociopolitical context. Strong Nazi imagery runs throughout: actors goosestep and refer to concentration and extermination
camps. Politically charged references to communism and senseless oppression pervade the text. Actors proclaim that “something is rotten in this age of hope” – a twist on the famous line spoken in Hamlet. Similarly, actors call for the fall of “the joy of oppression,” a rather overt attack on the Soviet communist state of the period. Indeed, a ballet of “dead women,” with characters who are identified as Marx, Stalin and Lenin, serves not only to ridicule the historic figures, but also connects the text’s political message with its message on gender. This ballet, set to contemporary lyrical music, repeats the phrase, “Thank God I’m pretty.” The ballet features Kathy Zhao ’17 as a particularly strong performer and serves to challenge our understanding of gender roles and expectations. Interestingly, after the scene titled “Striptease of Ophelia,” featuring the fully masked Stefanie Webb ’17, Hamlet decides to become a woman. In challenging our understanding of masculinism and the ethics of war in “Pest in Buda: Battle of Greenland,” we encounter Hamlet as neither a lover nor a son, but instead as a soldier. As Hamlet urges his fellow ensemble
COURTESY OF PRINCETON SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
members and comrades to join arms in an absurdist rebellion, it becomes increasingly obvious how fruitless his belligerent words and actions are. Indeed, at the end of “Hamletmachine”, the text asks whether everyone might have “blood on their shoes.” In complementing its discourse on gender roles and expectations, “Hamletmachine” fixates on the human body as a sexual being. Claudius beds Gertrude in the coffin of her late husband and watches as Ophelia gives Hamlet a lap dance. In addition to necrophilic and voyeuristic themes, incest appears repeatedly in “Hamletmachine”. Actors suggest that Polonius wants to bed his daughter Ophelia and the line “The mother’s lap is no one-way street,” referring to Gertrude’s bedding of two brothers, haunts the play. The obsession with the corporal is not just limited to the sexual. Indeed, themes of cannibalism occur, too, such as when we see the body of the elder and late Hamlet dismembered and eaten. Most successfully and significantly, PSC’s “Hamletmachine” tackles mental health issues, such as depression and suicide. Astutely, in his Director’s Note, T.J. Smith ‘16 reflects on how, rather oddly, Hamlet’s “‘to be or not to be’ is accepted so blithely.” “Suicidal ideation,” Smith writes, “no matter how beautifully phrased, is not beautiful.” Smith challenges the audience to reconsider how we understand even the most “beautifully phrased” suicidal ideations. Instead of romanticizing Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts, we see him distancing himself from loved ones when he asks his mute friend Horatio, “If you know me, how can you be my friend?” Most poignantly, in a scene titled, “The Europe of the Woman,” we meet four women – “Woman on the Gallows,” “Woman with the Cut Arteries,” “Woman with the Overdose” and “Woman with the Head in the Gas Oven” – each of whom commits suicide. This performance of suicidal acts – hanging, cutting, stabbing and burning – is disturbingly beautiful, moments that force the audience to reconsider how we define and understand even the most “beautifully phrased” and seemingly artistic reflections of suicidal in-
clinations. Outside of its sociopolitical discourses, “Hamletmachine” features a number of outstanding performances. Sean Toland GS acts as a professor at the University of the Dead, spewing philosophy in English, German, Latin and Greek and throwing books at the young and distracted Hamlet. Webb takes unbelievable risks as Hamlet that are unprecedented in the Princeton University theater scene, including lap-dancing, stripping and full nudity, and is able to make her risks work successfully. Bar none, Fey Popoola ‘19 gives the most consistent and riveting performance. Her characterization of the cackling, incestuous Gertrude, whose wedding veil and mourning veil are one and the same, who consummates her second marriage when her first husband has not yet been interred
in the ground, is nothing short of marvelous. Most notably, Popoola’s characterization of “Woman on the Gallows” is remarkably genuine and her cackling echoes in the theater long after the lights have dimmed. The production is not without its flaws – emotion is at times artificial, blocking off-putting and soundtrack awkward. Yet, by maintaining historical context while focusing on larger themes such as gender and mental health, PSC’s “Hamletmachine” is an excellent rendition and expansion of theatrical post-modernism. It would behoove other student theater campuses to learn from “Hamletmachine,” a production that uses theater as a testament to historical movements, as a witness to current social issues and as a medium to promote strong performers.
Live. Laugh. Love. Layout. Join the ‘Prince’ design department. Email design@dailyprincetonian.com
The Daily Princetonian
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‘Elektra’: an electric, edgy meditation on mourning HARRISON BLACKMAN Street Editor
E
ven before ‘Elektra’ begins, you are meant to confront grief in unexpected, disturbing ways. Before you can find your seat, the Greek chorus, dressed as steampunk maids resembling characters from the video game “Bioshock,” demand that you cut off a lock of your hair to dedicate to the late King Agamemnon. The alternative is to write a message on a sticky note, which I think is what most people ended up doing. Entering Matthews Acting Studio, you are presented with a scene straight out of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, with dim lights and the drone of an emergency exit message muffled behind the sorrowful, nightclub voice of Clytemnestra (Michaela Milgrom ’16) singing Procul Harum’s 1967 classic rock song “A Whiter Shade of Pale” on the balcony. The title character, Elektra (Evelyn Giovine ’16) is bound and gagged, struggling against ropes, writhing as she observes Aegisthus (Matthew Barouch ’16) kissing and getting physical with her mother, Clytemnestra. The whole effect is jarring and fascinating, the looping of classic rock mesmerizing as you experience the haunting Lynch-like dream. A senior thesis performance with edge, this anachronistic, noir/horror-inspired take on Sophocles’ ‘Elektra’ is striking, espe-
COURTESY OF LEWIS CENTER FOR THE ARTS
cially in that it gives the revenge tragedy an entirely different lens with which to frame the story. The set design and stunts find innovative ways to express the moods of the characters. Giant roles of white paper cover the stage floor, the perfect canvas for Elektra’s charcoal-and-fury-filled meltdowns. Aegisthus drunkenly sings Queen’s “We Are the Champions” while sipping and spitting from a champagne bottle. More innovations delight — like Orestes (Robert Keown ‘17) emerging with his arms soaked in ‘blood’ and the presentation of Orestes’ fake ashes — in a coffee can. In the starring role, Giovine is fittingly electric. As Elektra, she channels madness and fury while simultaneously possessing the ability to unexpectedly shift into deadpan speech. There’s a moment, after one of her long temper tantrums, when Elektra says, “You’re out of control” to Clytemnestra and the ensuing dramatic irony caused several members of the audience to chuckle. Keown plays the hero Orestes with great resolve, the weight of his family on his shoulders. Portrayed as reluctant to enact revenge, he ultimately succumbs to his sister’s demands and lust, but not without retaining his ambivalence. As the ‘Old Man,’ Changshuo Liu ‘19 provides refreshing comic relief sporting a cane and mechanic’s jumpsuit. While Aegisthus is seen only briefly, Barouch effectively plays the role up to maximum chauvinist potential. When it comes to Milgrom’s Clytemnestra, her performance successfully adds weight and moral dimension to the character. Though Clytemnestra is initially framed as the evil murderess by Elektra, Milgrom effectively delivers Clytemnestra’s passionate speech explaining that she killed Agamemnon for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia, thus undermining
Elektra’s credibility and fully developing the moral gray area that makes this play so enduring. Chrysothemis (Alex Vogelsang ‘18) channels a Southern debutante affect that suits the character, serving as a foil for the demented Elektra while showing flashes of the same raw emotion. Moreover, in this modern take, the chorus players (Dylan Blau Edelstein ’17) and Kasia Kalinowska ’19) both participate in the scenes and strangely feel as if they are sometimes Elektra’s hallucinations, and the innovation admirably updates the ancient chorus for an audience experience with plot twists that reveal things are not always what they seem. ‘Elektra’ is not for everyone. It’s definitely a little bit more than R-rated, and its edgy take on incest, passion and grief is in line with the content of the play but may clash with more conservative sensibilities. Moreover, the performances’ emotions run high and extravagant; this is a fancy way of saying there’s a lot of shouting in this play, and I wonder what the production might have been like if the actors were directed to perform with more restraint. In terms of theme, the play concerns the mourning of Agamemnon, the mourning of Orestes, the mourning of Clytemnestra’s daughter Iphigenia, but the presence that overshadows this work is that of the late Program in Theater director Tim Vasen. Originally scheduled to direct this show, Vasen’s passing led to Alexandru Mihail taking over directing duties. One of Vasen’s many passions was Greek drama, and in some ways this play feels like a novel completed and published posthumously, a fitting tribute to Vasen’s theatrical acumen and genius. During one of her monologues, Clytemnestra says, “Perfect yourself before you blame others.” The idea of assigning blame permeates the play, a motif heightened through the dramatic three-minute long stare shared between Elektra and Orestes that closes the production. The play’s final moments bring it full circle — back to the cinematic, harrowing vision introduced in its haunting prelude.
ASK THE SEXPERT This week, we discuss “casual relationships.” Dear Sexpert,
I just joined an eating club, and I’m already excited about all the new friends I’m making! I’ve also started hooking up with someone I recently met in my club. Our relationship is pretty casual, and for the most part, physical. In fact, when we’re eating dinner in a group or hanging around the club during the day, I feel like I’m barely acknowledged. We are both enjoying the physical side of our relationship, but I also feel confused about having casual sex. What should I do?
— Confused Club Member
Dear Confused,
College relationships can sometimes be hard to navigate, especially when they take place in a relatively new and unfamiliar environment. Relationships come in all forms and levels of commitment, and there is nothing wrong with having a casual relationship if it is something you and your partner desire (and, of course, if you are practicing safe sex, but more on that later). Only you can decide if a purely physical relationship is something that you want for yourself. That said, as with any type of relationship, you want to make sure that you respect yourself and your partner, even if the
relationship is solely sexual. Similarly, it is important to feel respected by your partner. Try asking yourself these questions: Does your partner make you feel comfortable and respect your boundaries when you engage in sexual activity? Do they treat you with respect outside of the physical relationship, even if you aren’t necessarily friends or emotionally involved? If the answer to either of these questions is “no”, this dynamic could be contributing to your confusion. It is important that you and your partner are maintaining a good level of communication about your expectations for the relationship — and revisiting the conversation if either one of your feelings change. If one partner is viewing the relationship differently than the other, it might lead to even more confusion or hurt feelings, so it’s important that you and your partner are on the same page regarding the type of relationship that you are each interested in. It’s also important that you respect and communicate with your partner about physical concerns. You are already enjoying the sexual aspect — imagine how much better it could be without worrying about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or if appropriate, pregnancy! As with any sexual relationship, you should
communicate openly about using condoms, dental dams, or other forms of barrier protection, as well as about getting tested for STIs. You can get FREE external (male) condoms from your RCA, and external or internal (female) condoms from the LGBT Center, a Peer Health Adviser or at the front desk of McCosh Health Center (10 per day). There is also STI testing at the University Health Services’ Sexual Health and Wellness clinic; HIV testing is free and gonorrhea and chlamydia testing is $14. If you still feel confused about engaging in casual relationships, or if you just want to speak with someone about your concerns, you can make an appointment to speak with a clinician at Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) at McCosh. While the decisions to have casual sex and with whom to do so are ultimately yours to make, you deserve to feel respected and safe.
— The Sexpert
Interested in Sexual Health? The Sexpert is always looking for members of the community to join the team of sexual health educators who, along with factchecking from University health professionals, help write these columns. Email sexpert@dailyprincetonian.com for more information and questions about sexual health.
HEADLINERS AND HEADSHAKERS headlines you didn’t read this week DAILY PRINCETONIAN STAFF
Potential NJ Transit strike to interf ere with Spring Break travel, not the firs t time NJ Transit has let us down
RISES AVERAGE SEMESTER GPA POLICY AFTER GRADE DEFLATION TO STAY REPEAL, INFLATION IS HERE
PPPL researchers receive grant to use supercomputer, don’t receive permission to make Skynet self-aware
Terrace most popular fourth year in a row; Quad is cool now, guys
Student-faculty relationships to be prohibited under new U. polic y — wait, they weren’t before?
ing COS 126 ratings improve after switch ays to online lectures because people alw check FB during lecture anyways
Thursday february 18, 2016
STREET’S
TOP TEN
1 3 5 7 9
Valentine’s Day Activities Eat all the chocolate your mom sent you.
2 4 6 8 10
Read a stupid E-card your great aunt sent you. Actually go on a date.
Don’t actually go on a date.
Celebrate the life of a martyred saint. Send pricey, superficial cards. Eat pink and red M&M’s.
Eat heart-shaped candies that no one ever eats normally. Gaze in to the cruel winter. Baby, it’s really cold outside.
CAMPUS PICKS EVENT THIS IS PRINCETON: 2016 Richardson Auditorium Friday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m.
Itching for a comprehensive performing arts event? You’re in luck! At “This is Princeton,” various performing arts groups will express both personal and community issues through a multitude of creative art forms. Performers include: Valley Academy, Princeton University Ballet, Triple 8, eXpressions, HighSteppers, Dancing to Christ’s Beat, Princeton University Gospel Ensemble, Matt Wie, Songline, Ellipses, BodyHype, BAC, diSiac and Princeton University Rock Ensemble. Tickets are free in Frist!
COMEDY FUZZY DICE PRESENTS CUPID’S SHOW Frist Theater Thursday, Feb. 17 at 11 p.m., and Friday, Feb. 18 at 11 p.m.
Valentine’s Day come and gone and you’re still looking for love? Watch Fuzzy Dice’s improv comedy show during this lovely postValentine’s Day weekend/season/overall state of being. Tickets cost $5, and you just might find love in the audience!libraries in the country.
THEATER MANUEL VS. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY READING Wilson Black Box Theater Saturday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. Hosted by Princeton Latinos y Amigos, this show concerns the topic of illegal immigration, and was written by Princeton alum Noemi de la Puente ’86 and David Davila. Inspired by the true story of an undocumented Princeton undergraduate, the concert reading will feature a new script, new music and will feature both student performers and performers from the original New York cast.
FILM 12 FILMS, 12 FILMMAKERS James M. Stewart ’32 Theater, 185 Nassau Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Taught by Princeton Arts Fellow, Pacho Velez, the spring 2016 course “World on a Wire: 12 Films, 12 Filmmakers” invites a new filmmaker every week to screen and discuss his or her newest film. On Feb. 25, Princeton alumna Josephine Decker ’03 will screen her “East of Eden”-inspired thriller, “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” about the erotic relationship between a farmhand and the family that hires him.
DANCE DOROBUCCI PRESENTS: SAKATA AFRICAN DANCE COMPETITION Richardson Auditorium Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
Watch nine African dance groups from UMD, Towson, Yale, UPenn, Rutgers, Columbia, Albany and Syracuse compete for the ultimate prize: $500! Tickets are free with PUID, and $10 otherwise, not to mention that there will be an afterparty with African food at 10 p.m. in the Fields Center — more reason to join in the fun!