The Daily Princetonian: March 29, 2024

Preliminary Fall 2024 course offerings leaked on Fizz three days early

By

For many Princeton students, “course offerings day,” the day when classes for the following semester are posted by the Registrar, can be a day of frenzied excitement. This year, some celebrated three days early when a post from the morning of Monday, March 25 on the social media app Fizz claimed to leak Princeton’s fall 2024 course offerings. Courses are set to be officially released on Thursday, March 28. “The University makes course

STUDENT LIFE

listings available through its website and through an API that allows other applications to disseminate this information,” University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian. “It appears the API allowed the data to be accessed a few days before the official release date of Thursday, March 28. The API access issue has been addressed.”

Morrill also added that “there is no sensitive or private data accessible through this API.”

Adam Kelch ’24 and Joshua Lau ’26, co-president and developer for TigerApps,

respectively, provided some perspective on how such a leak may have occurred in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ TigerApps is a student-run organization that develops and manages applications, including popular course planning apps like TigerSnatch, TigerJunction, and Princeton Courses.

According to Lau, a number of people have access to this API for student applications, whether it’s for student-run programs like TigerJunction or for COS 333: Advanced Programming Techniques,

There are 43 Daniels on campus: Behind the most popular Princeton names

By James Beacham Contributing Data Writer

In the Class of 2027, there are two Emily Zhangs. Scratch that — two Emily R. Zhangs.

“Me and the other freshman Emily Zhang have the same birthday,” Emily Ruohan Zhang ’27 told The Daily Princetonian.

“We’re the same exact age.”

All together there are four Emily Zhangs on campus, and they are not alone — several undergraduates share the same first and last name.

Our analysis of the Residential College Student Facebook revealed which names — first, last, and full — are the most common among undergraduate students. This study did not aggregate different spelling variations of the same name, meaning that, for example, ‘Claire’ and ‘Clare’ would be counted separately.

There are 2,516 unique first names among Princeton undergraduates. However, roughly one in 16 students have one of the top 10 most common first names at Princeton. Similarly, one in five undergraduates hold one of the 50 most common first names at Princeton. This means that 2 percent of first names ac-

count for over 20 percent of all students.

The ‘Prince’ found traditionally female names to have more variation than traditionally male ones. The top 10 traditionally female names account for only 4.54 percent of all names in the undergraduate student body, compared to traditionally male names at 6.09 percent. Certain surnames appear frequently among Princeton undergraduates. The top 10 last names account for 6.61 percent of undergraduates. Kim is the most common last name at Princeton with 59 undergraduates, or 1.13 percent, sharing the surname, meaning over one-ina-hundred undergraduate students share this last name.

In the United States, Smith is the most common last name, held by 0.83 percent of Americans in the 2010 U.S. Census. However, at Princeton, only twelve students, or 0.22 percent of the undergraduates, have this last name. Kim does not appear in the 2010 top surnames. Lee, the second most popular sur-

See NAMES page 6

Please send any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

‘A second family’: Muslim Student Association, campus organizations cater to community during Ramadan

By Elisabeth Stewart Assistant News Editor

On Monday, nearly 60 of the Princeton’s Muslim students broke their fast together at the first community iftar (sunset meal) since they returned to campus following spring break. The meal, held in McCosh 28 and hosted by the Office of Religious Life (ORL), the Muslim Student Association (MSA), and the Projects Board, represented the first of many efforts to foster community and increase accessibility to halal meals and community spaces during Ramadan this year.

“Now that we’re all back, [we’re] hearing from our students how excited they are to be with the campus community and

experience Ramadan together,”

Imam Khalil Abdullah, the assistant dean for Muslim life, told The Daily Princetonian. Abdullah said that the Muslim community on campus has greatly increased over the past few years to an estimated 400 members. He emphasized the collaborations between the MSA, the ORL’s Muslim Life Program (MLP), and Campus Dining to ensure accessibility to halal food for suhoor and iftar meals and to create community spaces for meals and prayer.

Increased offerings for Ramadan meals

In previous years, Muslim students expressed concerns with the lack of variety in yearround halal food options. Leena

“‘GIVE US LIBERTY OR’— THE OLD PLAN BACK”

MARCH 29, 1924

”

Memon ’25, the MSA co-president, told the Daily Princetonian that the MSA met with Campus Dining this past fall to discuss Ramadan meal offerings.

Any Muslim student, regardless of whether they’re enrolled in a meal plan for the rest of the year, can sign up for a no-additional-cost Ramadan meal plan. This plan grants students two additional meal swipes per day to pick up meals to break their fast in the evening (iftar) and the next morning (suhoor).

“Through student feedback, we diversified where students can pick up meals during this time,” Lauren Belinsky, the assistant director of marketing and communications for Campus Dining, wrote to the

‘Prince.’

Campus Dining has provided students with reusable meal bags to pick up breakfast foods for suhoor meals from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday at the C-Store in Frist Campus Center. Last year, suhoor meal kits were only available Monday through Friday during a twohour time frame.

Memon mentioned that Campus Dining has increased the available suhoor options, which now include pre-packed, microwaveable meals in addition to traditional breakfast foods. Additionally, Muslim students can pick up iftar meals from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Frist Food Gallery from Monday to Thursday and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Whitman/ Butler Dining Hall from Friday

to Sunday.

Culinary Hospitality Manager at Whitman/Butler Dining Hall Dante Ingato told the ‘Prince’ that Whitman/Butler is ensuring that they incorporate only halal meats and remove alcohol-based ingredients such as vinegar from weekend dinners. Additionally, Campus Dining co-sponsors community iftars with the MLP on Tuesday and Thursday.

“Dining has been really supportive, working with us to kind of build up the program,” Arika Hassan ’26 told the ‘Prince’ at a community iftar on Tuesday, March 19.

Hassan is a contributing Humor writer for the ‘Prince.’ Memon also noted that some eating clubs may have their own

This Week In History

As students begin to contemplate their course schedule for next semester, The Daily Princetonian examines the history of Princeton’s four course schedule. In 1924, Princeton students transitioned from taking five courses per semester to our modern-day four course workload with an additional independent work requirement. A ‘Prince’ columnist argued a century ago that the new plan imposed an unfair burden. Today, the four course plan has long been the status quo, and has become a unique marker of a Princeton education.

Annie Rupertus & Christopher Bao Head & Assistant News Editor

JEAN SHIN / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

ON CAMPUS

Abdullah: “[Ramadan] is about fellowship, community, and being with each other”

a need for academic flexibility as students celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, on Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10.

policies for Ramadan accommodations in addition to the plan provided by the University.

Beyond Dining Muslim community members emphasized that amid the month of fasting, Ramadan is above all a time of community and togetherness.

“The goal is for the Muslim community to be like a second family to all of its members, and I hope that students feel that way,” Memon told the ‘Prince.’

The prayer room at MurrayDodge Hall has served as the hub of Muslim life on campus, but given high demand, MSA has found additional prayer spaces for students during Ramadan, including the Frist Campus Center and Whitman Common Room.

Looking toward additional ways to support Muslim students during Ramadan, MSA has noted

“We’re really hoping that students are able to … get alternative accommodations for academic commitments,”

Memon said. “It’s really hard to feel fully free of your academic obligations even just for eight to 10 hours [of] being with the community.”

Abdullah noted that professors and community members have already responded positively to students’ requests. Regarding the wider campus community, he said that Muslim students are celebrating Ramadan “within the context of religious pluralism,” given the shared spaces in Murray-Dodge, and “there are opportunities there for us to share with our friends and our families.”

MSA invited Koach, the Center for Jewish Life’s Conservative minyan, to their iftar meal on Thursday. Later this month, during the Fast-a-Thon on Friday,

March 29, MSA will invite the campus community to join them in fasting. A Multicultural Potluck Iftar is planned for April 5.

“We’re praying together more,

we’re eating together more, we’re studying together more during this month,” Abdullah said.

“It’s all the discipline and the religious, spiritual stuff, but I find that at the core, [Ramadan]

is about fellowship, community, and being with each other.”

Elisabeth Stewart is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’

27 Young Alumni Trustee candidates announcement; represent multidimensional class

By Ethan Caldwell Staff News Writer

A University statement shared with The Daily Princetonian released the 27 members of the Class of 2024 who are eligible for the primary elections for the Class of 2024’s Young Alumni Trustee (YAT). This year, there has been a change in the eligibility guidelines for candidates looking to run.

Each year, one YAT is elected from the senior class. Members of the Class of 2024 will have

the chance to vote in the primary election from Monday, April 1 until Tuesday, April 9. The three leading candidates will progress to the general election, where juniors, seniors, and the two youngest alumni classes (the Classes of 2022 and 2023) will have the option to vote between May 1 and May 15.

The seniors running in this year’s election are: Shrey Addagatla, Kaleb Areda, Persis Akua Baah, Francis Barth, Kalena Blake, Ben Cai, Marlene Cardoza, Luke Chan, Aisha Chebbi, Stephen Daniels, Xander de los Reyes, Henry Erdman,

Max Diallo Jakobsen, Jordan W. Johnson, Sydney S.  Johnson, Vivek Kolli, Mariam Umar Latif, Alison Lee, Julie Levey, Noah Luch, Danielle (Dani) Samake, JJ Scott, Chioma Ugwonali, Chiara von Gerlach, Torre Wilks, Matthew Wilson, and Sajan Young.

This year’s candidates represent broad swaths of Princeton life. The ‘Prince’ reached out to all candidates running in the primary election to break down the group’s demographics, on-campus activities, and post-graduation plans. Twenty-five out of the 27 candidates are represented — von Gerlach and Baah did not respond to request for comment.

This year, a change in policy required that prospective candidates attend one of two mandatory information sessions and submit an Election Candidate Form to be eligible for the primary. This is a departure from previous years in which candidates also needed 50 signatures in order to be eligible to run.

The Young Alumni Trustee Handbook for the spring of 2024 prohibits issue-based campaigning and organized campaigning. According to the handbook, this is due to the unique way in which the Board of Trustees functions.

Issue-based campaigning refers to making statements claiming “to represent or advocate for a particular constituency, issue, or point of view.” Organized campaigning refers to engaging “in any form of organized effort to solicit votes in any medium.” It also forbids candidates from enlisting other individuals or groups to campaign on their behalf.

“Trustees who arrive on the board having already staked out positions on issues without access to full information can undermine both the workings of the board and their own effectiveness if they are perceived as beholden to a position they took while campaigning,” the handbook explains.

The YATs are a group of recent Princeton graduates who serve a four-year term on Princeton’s Board of Trustees with equal “rights, powers, and duties” to all other trustees according to the University website. It describes this role as an opportunity for recent graduates to “serve the long-term interests of the University as a member of the board, bringing to the role an important perspective informed by their recent experience as an undergraduate student.”

Twenty-seven members of the Class of 2024 will be on the ballot, which is up from 23 runners last year, and is just above the historical average of 25 candidates. The record high was 41 candidates running in 2012, according to University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill.

This year’s candidates share certain interests

and activities. Many specifically mentioned passions for increasing mental health support as a focus during their time at Princeton, and noted involvement in activities that work to build Princeton’s mental health infrastructure, such as the University Mental Health Taskforce and TigerWell. Eight health-focused activities were mentioned by candidates in total, including one PHA, three members of the Student Health Advisory Committee, and four involved in various mental health committees and task forces.

“Growing up in a community where my closest friends and family struggled so much with mental health and discrimination, achieving a world in which they may have it even slightly better has meant the world to me,” wrote Chioma Ugwonali.

Eight of the candidates specifically mentioned involvement in various affinity groups, including the Asian American Students Association, Princeton Black Student Union, Pride Alliance, and Latinx Graduation Planning Committee. Six candidates noted involvement in various religious groups, including the Center for Jewish life, Christian Union, Muslim Students’ Association, and the Religious Life Council. Six candidates reported never joining an eating club. Meanwhile, the eating clubs with the highest number of candidates are Charter Club, Cap and Gown Club, and Tower Club.

Among the candidates, 10 have held positions in the residential colleges: six candidates served as RCAs, two as PAAs, one (A)RCA, and four as members of the residential college councils. Seven students participated in teaching or tutoring activities, and nearly all were involved in an activity where they served as an advisor.

“Helping [first-years] from vastly different backgrounds adjust and learn to thrive here has been one of the most gratifying parts of my time at our school,” wrote JJ Scott.

The candidates have wide-ranging career goals following their graduation from Princeton, and come from a variety of academic disciplines. Just four of the candidates accounted for are in a BSE major. Business and consulting are the top two post-grad plans for the candidates.

Results from the general election — and the new YAT from the Class of 2024 — will be revealed on Friday, May 24 during Reunions, at the annual Alumni Council Meeting.

Ethan Caldwell is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ Assistant News editor Meghana Veldhuis and head News editor Bridget O’Neill contributed reporting.

ELISABETH STEWART / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Muslim students can pick up suhoor meals through the Ramadan meal plan, which is offered at no additional cost.

U. AFFAIRS

University: “The API access issue has been addressed”

LEAKED

Continued from page 1

a computer science class in which students can code their own apps. Access to the API can be granted by a professor or via a request to the Office of Information Technology.

When asked for comment, the student who conducted the leak and who wished to remain anonymous said in a comment to the ‘Prince,’ “let Compass guide your way.” Compass is a student-made app made for those wishing to “explore courses, read reviews, and manage your four-year course schedule” according to the website’s homepage. The site did not seem to be functional at time of publication.

The student created the data file at 5:56 a.m., and the Fizz post announcing “Fall 2024 course offerings 1.0 leaked” was made shortly afterwards at 6:02 a.m. by an anonymous user. The post was taken down about four hours later, and the file itself was deleted soon after. Another Fizz post, seemingly from a different anonymous user, quickly popped up at 12:30 p.m., preserving the information in a Dropbox folder.

The file likely contains an incomplete list of courses. None of the listed courses have a primary designation of Asian American Studies (ASA), Center for Human Values (CHV), Czech (CZE), Freshman Seminars (FRS), Global Health and Policy (GHP), History of Science (HOS), Judaic Studies (JDS), Latin American Studies (LAS), Population Studies (POP), or Ukrainian (UKR). For example, Freshman Seminars always

have the primary designation FRS, but there are no classes with this designation on the leaked list.

According to an analysis by The ‘Prince,’ the leaked list contains 962 unique course listings. This number is significantly lower than the number of courses available last fall, further suggesting the list is missing some courses. “Students are advised to wait until March 28 before searching for Fall 2024 course listings, as they may still change,” Morrill wrote.

“An API is basically a way for computer programs to get data from a separate source,” Lau explained. He added that the University stores course data in two different APIs — one more public-facing API used by the Registrar website, and another API which is used for student applications. In order for the data to be publicly available, the API must have an established endpoint.

What likely happened to allow the data to be leaked, according to Lau, was that “the endpoint for the new courses was available [in the studentfacing API] at some point this morning.”

“A lot of the student apps that monitor the API … have a recurring ping to this API to see if a new term of courses is released, and then we parse those. So maybe that’s how it was discovered,” Kelch added.

Annie Rupertus is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’

News editor for the ‘Prince.’

Bosworth contributed reporting.

THE MINI CROSSWORD

‘On a Gaza genocide’ event featuring Finkelstein GS ’87 draws hundreds

By Miriam Waldvogel Associate News Editor

A talk with author Norman Finkelstein GS ’87 titled “On the Gaza Genocide,” moderated by journalist Chris Hedges, drew approximately 300 students, faculty, and community members to McCosh 50 on Thursday, March 21.

Finkelstein received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1987, writing a dissertation on Zionist theory. His critical views of Israel have attracted controversy over the years, including in 2007, when he was denied tenure at DePaul University. Finkelstein is the son of Holocaust survivors.  Hedges was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times in the Middle East and the Balkans in the 1990s, and shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for covering Al-Qaeda.

“We gather here to reflect on the ways that we, as people who live in [the] United States, a funder of Israel’s apartheid and genocide in Palestine, can pressure our government to change course,” Hedges said in remarks to open the event.

The event was hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and co-sponsored by the Center for Collaborative History, the Department of Near Eastern Studies, and Princeton Muslim Advocates for Social Justice (MASJID). It started approximately 45 minutes late due to organizers checking registrations at the door.

Finkelstein last spoke on

but his appearance at Thursday’s event was relatively restrained. He began by discussing Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7.

“I have no problem condemning the act of the atrocities. But I did recoil condemning the perpetrators of these atrocities,” he said, drawing a comparison to Nat Turner’s 1831 rebellion and the reaction of observers such as the white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison.

“Garrison said, no question, horrors occurred,” Finkelstein said. But Garrison, “knowing what it meant to be a slave, didn’t have it in him to condemn Nat Turner. And it was the same thing with me.”

Finkelstein also briefly commented on the issue of IsraelPalestine on college campuses.

“Two Ivy League college presidents were toppled in realtime, in-your-face, coups. The president of Harvard University was ousted from office because she was insufficiently repressive, suppressive of speech and assembly on her campus,” he said. “That’s completely unprecedented. It was the grossest, most egregious, most flagrant violation of academic freedom in our country’s history.”

The rest of the talk focused on the ongoing conflict in Gaza, declared a plausible genocide by international observers. For example, Finkelstein called the prospect of a two-state solution “completely ridiculous.”

“I’m not saying that with any kind of glee. I’m just trying to be factual,” he later added. “We’re at

Finkelstein also discussed the January ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on South Africa’s charges of genocide against Israel.

“Some people want to say well, the ICJ said [it was] only a plausible case of genocide … If I were to say to you, ‘there’s a plausible case that you murdered your neighbor.’ You would take that claim pretty seriously,” he said.

The end of the talk shifted towards the Houthis, the Iranbacked rebel group in Yemen that has been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea in response to the war in Gaza.

“As an indicator of things, if a Nobel Peace Prize were to be given out, first and foremost, I would give it to the doctors in Gaza,” Finkelstein said. “Second, I would give it to the South African delegation, and third, I would give it to the Houthis.”

During the question period of the event, Dr. Zachary Dulberg GS asked Finkelstein about the Houthis’ slogan “God is great, death to the U.S., death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam.”

“I have no problem reconciling it,” said Finkelstein. “How would my parents have felt if this ragtag army … were investing all of their physical resources and energy into stopping extermination?”

An attendee, Abdul Karim, who was originally from Khan Yunis, a city in the south of Gaza, said that 45 members of his family had been killed during the war.

“We feel so helpless. We’ve tried

COURTESY OF PRINCETON SJP.

The event was held in McCosh 50.

University announces isolation for COVID-19 no longer necessary, warns of illnesses on the rise

By Isabel Yip & Hallie Graham Senior News Writer & News Contributor

On the Friday of spring break, just days before classes resumed, University Health Services (UHS) sent an email message to all undergraduate students saying that the University would no longer expect students to isolate for five days following a positive COVID-19 test. In addition, UHS warned of an anticipated increase in sickness from other illnesses following the travel associated with students returning to campus.

The change follows a recent shift in recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Previously, the University required individuals who tested positive to isolate for at least five days and wear a KN95 mask for five more.

Before Friday’s policy change,

sick students were encouraged to test for COVID-19 using free rapid tests provided by McCosh Health Center and residential colleges and to self-report positive test results. However, the University no longer expects students to report positive COVID-19 tests. The new guidance encourages students to “stay away from others until their symptoms have improved” and they have not had a fever for over 24 hours.

When students first returned to campus in the Fall of 2020 after the onset of COVID-19 — which had sent students home for the rest of the previous Spring semester — safety precautions were high. That Fall, testing and masking were mandatory. Upon testing positive, students were mandated to isolate themselves for 14 days, which was reduced to five days in January 2022. In Fall 2021, the University announced that the year would be “fully in-person” with “no option

for remote learning.” The vast majority of students were vaccinated, but quarantine protocols  and a mask requirement remained in place.

Since then, restrictions around testing, isolation, and masking have diminished. This recent policy change, sparked by the CDC’s shift, marks the least exhaustive COVID-19 protocols since the advent of the pandemic four years ago.

As the University has relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, some students have expressed confusion with the new guidance, claiming that the new policies made accommodations like Zoom options for class and acquiring meals while in isolation less accessible.

The increasingly relaxed COVID-19 policy comes as the health issue posed by COVID-19 is increasingly diminishing. According to the New York Times, there are just

four current COVID-19 hospitalizations in Mercer County.

The message also warned of increased incidences of measles, Norovirus, and Mpox. While the University stated that the student population has “99% presumptive immunity to measles,” it urged students to watch for symptoms and avoid contact with others until a measles diagnosis is ruled out. As of March 14, 2024, just 58 cases of measles were reported across 17 jurisdictions, one of which is New Jersey.

“After spring break travel, there is an increased risk one or more cases of measles will emerge on campus and we are writing to encourage increased awareness,” the email wrote.

As for norovirus, most outbreaks occur in fall, winter, and early spring, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The nationwide three-week norovirus average

has been falling in comparison to the data taken in February 2024.

Norovirus, which spreads through contaminated food, water or surfaces, causes gastroenteritis. To protect against the spread of gastrointestinal disease, students are encouraged to wash their hands before meals and avoid sharing cups. Students were asked to contact UHS if exposed, showing symptoms, or diagnosed with a communicable disease.

University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill deferred comment on anticipated illness to the original communication.

Isabel Yip is a senior News writer and News editor emeritus for the ‘Prince.’

Hallie Graham is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’

USG proposes new Projects Board approval process, updates from committee chairs

By Alena Zhang Staff News Writer

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senate convened for its sixth meeting of the spring semester on Sunday, March 24, diving into discussions ranging from a Project Board presentation to committee chair updates.

USG Projects Board is responsible for distributing funds for student events. Projects Board Co-Chairs Ava Seigel ’26 and Joanna Tafolla ’26 spearheaded a 20-minute presentation, delving into the intricacies of spring data, trends, and an updated process. They highlighted a significant increase in event requests over the years, averaging to over 20 requests per week, and a notable rise in funding requests of $750 per semester.

Seigel is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’

The presentation proposed a new pre-check process aimed at streamlining the approval process for requests totaling $750 and below. Through the current process, groups applying for funding of any amount must submit a Student Activities Funding Engine application by Monday at midnight and sign up for a Thursday meeting with the Projects Board committee. Groups requesting less than $750 must initiate this process two weeks before the event, and those requesting above $750 must apply three weeks before the event.

Under the new proposed system, groups with event requests below $750 could bypass in-person approval interviews. Following a preliminary review, the Projects Board would then convene to discuss final decisions, eliminating the need for individual interviews.

Eligible groups would also need

to adhere to application timelines and meet specific programmatic expectations, including educational value, accessibility to the undergraduate community, and alignment with certain criteria outlined by the Projects Board.

“With the increasing proportion of groups that we’re seeing with these larger requests, we are hoping to complement systems that streamline processes for everyone, making sure that we have the most time possible to speak with [organizations] that are having the higher dollar amount, oftentimes more complex events,” Seigel said.

The meeting then featured a 10-minute presentation by co-president Adriana Alvarado ’25 on behalf of the Princeton Latin American Student Association (PLASA). Alvarado highlighted PLASA’s recent expansion, both in team size and initiatives, with committees rang-

ing from a professional development team to an alumni outreach team.

“We try to be very intentional about creating events that represent the intersectional identities within the Latino community,” Alvarado said. She elaborated that continued funding from USG was underscored as essential to support PLASA’s ongoing endeavors. Alvarado also mentioned that PLASA has been working on organizing a “multicultural coalition” across affinity groups in partnership with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion.

Additionally, the meeting included insights from a short panel committee comprising of chairs from various USG committees — including Campus and Community Affairs, University Social Life, Mental Health, and Sustainability — to share updates on current initiatives.

Genevieve Shutt ’26 discussed ongoing projects such as Tigers in Town and Porchfest. Jenna Elliott ’25 highlighted the University Social Life Committee’s focus on foundational practices and maintaining awareness of student needs. Meera Kochhar ’25 outlined the Mental Health Committee’s initiatives, including first-year support and monthly mental health luncheons. Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27 emphasized the Sustainability Committee’s efforts to reduce waste and promote environmentally conscious practices on campus. USG meetings are open for all students to attend and are held on Sundays from 4 to 5 p.m. in Robertson Hall 016.

Alena Zhang is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’

Frist Health Center construction continues past working hours, disturbing some student residents

By

As construction continues across campus, overnight work has been occurring on the site of the new Frist Health Center. While the Princeton Town Ordinance limits the hours construction can occur to between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., the University is exempt. A resident of Scully Hall, Julia Zhou ’24, noticed and reported the late-night work to Public Safety (PSAFE) on two separate occasions since the start of spring break, telling The Daily Princetonian that the late-night noise and light are disruptive. In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ Zhou explained that she had been hearing and seeing construction as late as 1 a.m., including a “sustained beeping sound” and people in high-visibility clothing working with cranes in the construction site. Zhou ex-

pressed that studying in her room is difficult with the noise from the construction, and the latenight work meant that, for her, “it’s really hard to start sleeping.”

Princeton Town Ordinance requires that construction cannot occur at any time on Sundays, or later than 6 p.m. or before 7 a.m. on all other days of the week. On Saturdays, work cannot begin before 8 a.m. Outside of these times, construction can only go ahead “in case of urgent necessity in the interest of public health and safety.”

Work outside normal hours of operation also requires the “prior procurement of a permit … by the municipal engineer or building official,” in accordance with the terms of Section 21-2(i) of Princeton Town Ordinance.

According to University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill, the overnight work on the site for March 19 was deemed neces-

sary as it “impeded a driveway” and therefore posed unsafe conditions for workers during regular working hours. A shift was scheduled for 3–11 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, but “the crew ran into an issue and the planned finish by 11 p.m. ran late.”

Morrill added that it is “not required to obtain a permit for work taking place within campus,” but the University’s “practice is to involve the municipal engineer when impact issues, such as overnight or late-night noise, are anticipated.”

The Frist Health Center construction site sits at the intersection of Guyot Lane and Goheen Walk near Butler College dormitories. The Frist Health Center is set to replace McCosh Health Center as the location for on-campus healthcare services.

While students were not directly notified of the late-night work, Morrill explained that

“students have been informed through various means including mirror decals in all public restrooms on campus that they can reach out to the Facilities Service Center regarding concerns about construction.”

Additionally, Section 2.2.1 of Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities says that “dormitory residents concerned about excessive noise should feel free, at any time, to call the public safety officers for assistance.”

Zhou told the ‘Prince’ that she first contacted PSAFE on Tuesday, March 12, during spring break, then contacted them again on Monday, March 18, due to the disturbance caused by the noise. She explained that the construction workers “finally left around 2 a.m. and then they started up again at their usual time in the morning” of March 19. On March 12, the site was cleared before PSAFE arrived.

Morrill wrote that the “work was scheduled for spring break week. Due to adverse weather, the project extended into the following week.” This work has now been completed, according to Morrill.

The construction of Frist Health Center is expected to be complete in 2025. While the use for the current McCosh Health Center has not yet been announced, ideas such as a graduate student center and a campus pub have been proposed by students. Other students have expressed frustration at the ongoing campus construction, suggesting it has been “widening the existing chasm” between different areas of campus and creating dissatisfaction and frustration regarding circulating campus.

Victoria Davies is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’

Victoria Davies Assistant News Editor

‘A Jewish home away from home’: Chabad House opens this week after renovations

By Elisabeth Stewart

Assistant News Editor

On Friday nights, Chabad’s Princeton community makes the walk to 128 Nassau Street and descends to the carpeted basement room where they host Shabbat dinners. Chabad has occupied this space for the past two years while renovating their typical residence at 15 Edwards Place. Finally, after two years of renovations and expansion to the property, Chabad will host its first Shabbat dinner in the new residence — an 8,400 square foot space that Rabbi Eitan Webb hopes will be a space of joy and community on campus.

Every Friday, the two long dining tables in the current location are always crowded, as laughing students bump elbows, chat, and pass plates of food. The large number of attendees is a reflection of the growth of the Jewish community at Princeton in the past 20 years.

Rabbi Eitan Webb and his wife and co-director of Chabad, Gitty Webb, sought to expand the Chabad House at 15 Edwards Place and create a home for Jewish students on campus.

“For years and years, we asked students what they wanted, and the same thing kept on coming up again and again and again: a home,” Rabbi Eitan Webb told The Daily Princetonian while admiring the view of University Place from the now-renovated house’s second floor deck. “There are a lot of spaces at Princeton. Hundreds of spaces. But that’s our motto: a Jewish home away from home.”

In 2002, Rabbi Eitan and Gitty began Princeton’s Chabad Lubavitch in a narrow apartment near Nassau Street. Princeton Chabad is a chapter of the campus outreach branch of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which began as a Chassidic movement 250 years ago and has since evolved into a network of programs and services. It is self-described as a “dynamic force in Jewish life today.” The Princeton Chabad provides opportunities to “explore and experience Judaism in rich, vibrant, and exciting ways,” through

the study of Jewish texts, holidays celebrations, mentorship, and weekly Shabbat dinners.

With donations from Michael Scharf ’64, the Webbs purchased 15 Edwards Place in 2006 and moved in during 2007. That property formed a duplex with the adjacent building, 17 Edwards Place. A bearing wall — since removed as part of the renovations — ran down the center of the house, from attic to basement, and separated the two homes on each side.

The Webbs “squeezed as many people as possible” into the 400 square foot dining room for Shabbat dinners, according to Rabbi Webb.

“I vividly remember President Eisgruber sitting over here,” Webb said, gesturing to an area in the now-enlarged dining space. He recalled when one of his children had to climb over Eisgruber when he needed to step away from the table. “We’ve outgrown this space a long, long time ago.”

In 2015, the Webbs erected tents in the backyard of Edwards Place for his eldest son’s bar mitzvah. “That tent stayed up seven years,” Webb said, until the tent, too, began to overflow.

Ellie Naider ’25, the president of Princeton Chabad’s student board, fondly remembers the outdoor setup with long tables and fairy lights during her freshman year in 2021-22 as “so communal and welcoming and warm.”

“The students loved it,” Webb said. But severe temperatures, weather, and logistical issues occasionally made setting up for Shabbat a “chaotic mess,” he joked.

In the spring of 2020, Princeton Chabad purchased the adjacent 17 Edwards Place. Princeton Chabad worked with Princeton’s Historic Preservation Committee, Knight Architects LLC, and Elrath Construction to merge the properties, creating a modern, welcoming space for students while preserving the buildings’ historic “character.”

Documents from the Princeton Historic Preservation Committee describes the residences on Edwards Place as “row house[s],” which “abound

in industrial cities such as Trenton” but are “unusual in Princeton.”

Cathy Knight, the principal of Knight Architects, LLC, told the ‘Prince’ that she wanted the new house to be a “functional but beautiful space.” As part of renovations, Knight and Elrath Construction consolidated the two houses into one property by removing the bearing wall and reframing the entire structure. They expanded the attic and basement space, and created a single front entrance. Additionally, there is a second-floor deck and an accessible access ramp.

Renovations were in full swing by 2022, and Princeton Chabad relocated to the basement of a building on Nassau Street with help from David Mandelbaum ’57, who also contributed a gift to help expand the Center for Jewish Life’s dining room. Webb told the ‘Prince’ that 96 percent of the renovation’s funding came from Princeton Chabad alumni and parents.

Naider said that students are most excited about the resources and com-

munity spaces that will “enable the Jewish community on campus to flourish.”

Key features include a sanctuary, great hall for Shabbat dinners, coffee bar, commercial-quality kitchen, large basement game room, expanded library, several study rooms, an office for Princeton Chabad leadership, and two guest rooms for alumni and parent visitors. Additionally, the Webb family will have an apartment on the second and third floors. Webb’s personal favorite feature is the outside deck overlooking University Place.

“I hope that we’ve created a space [where people] can come and hang out with friends. A space that lends itself to learning and to joy,” he said.

Princeton Chabad has already hosted a Parsha study and a hamantaschen baking this week but will introduce the house to the broader Princeton community at the “Mega Shabbat” on Friday.

“We’re trying to get as many people as possible in the house,” Eliyahu

Following technical difficulties, NCW room draw rescheduled for Wednesday and Thursday

By Elisabeth Stewart

Students who drew rooms in New College West (NCW) on Monday will have to do it all over again.

According to an email from Housing and Real Estate Services sent to the NCW community on Monday at about 9 p.m., the My Housing portal

inaccurately displayed room availability, preventing some students from selecting rooms in Aliya Kanji Hall. To ensure that room draw is “equitable and fair,” NCW room selections were “canceled” and a new room draw will occur on Wednesday, March 27 and Thursday, March 28, wrote Angie Rooney, the Associate Director of Housing and Real Estate Services. Stu -

dents will keep their assigned draw times, which were originally scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

“We understand that redoing the NCW draw may be stressful,” Rooney wrote. “Our aim is to support a successful 2024-25 academic year for the NCW community, and we believe that these measures are the best option for achieving that goal.”

As students noticed discrepancies between the live Available Rooms List and the options presented in My Housing on Monday, they began to contact Housing and Real Estate Services for assistance.

“We determined through our findings that the system did not properly recognize the name change of Kanji Hall, and thus the rooms in Kanji Hall were not shown as available,” Rooney explained in the email.

According to NCW resident Ricky Chen ’27, the Available Rooms List displayed the available singles and rooms in Kanji, but when he logged into My

Housing on Monday at about 2:30 p.m., there were few Kanji singles available for selection.

“We figured out eventually that the system completely crashed right before [we drew], and then when it rebooted, none of the rooms in Kanji hall were able to be selected,” Chen told The Daily Princetonian. Chen had hoped to select a single or a Jack-and-Jill style double. He and his friend ended up selecting one of the few doubles that appeared on the site.

At about 8:00 p.m. that evening, NCW resident Amanda Hugas ’27 and her draw group met to review the available rooms list in preparation for the second day of the NCW room draw on Tuesday. The singles in Kanji Hall that were unavailable on the housing portal earlier in the day were listed on the Available Rooms List, she said.

“We [were] freaking out, because we’re thinking this is good luck,” Hugas told the ‘Prince,’ referring to the abundance of available singles. “We

Yablon ’27, the Chabad Events Chair, told the ‘Prince.’ “Everyone in the Chabad community, everyone on the Chabad Board, is texting and emailing as many people as they know to come and join in the opening of the new house and celebrating Shabbat for the first time in the new house.”

Per an email sent to the Princeton community this week, Shabbat dinner begins at 7:45 p.m., and Princeton Chabad welcomes both longtime members and newcomers alike — including those who are not Jewish.

“In Judaism, there’s a notion that whenever you do something good, do it big,” Webb said. “When you’re doing something good on a community level, do it big, because why shouldn’t more people benefit from it?”

Elisabeth Stewart is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’

[were] like, ‘Oh my god, how has no one taken all of these singles?’ We didn’t know what happened earlier.”

An hour later, Rooney sent the email about the technical difficulties and announced the cancellation of NCW room draw selections.

According to Hugas, Kanji Hall, along with Addy Hall, is a popular choice among NCW residents because of its proximity to the dining hall and the main section of campus.

“I’m glad that they’re doing a redraw to make it fair,” Chen said.

“We understand that redoing the NCW draw may be stressful,” Rooney wrote. “Our aim is to support a successful 2024-25 academic year for the NCW community, and we believe that these measures are the best option for achieving that goal.”

Elisabeth Stewart is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’

ELISABETH STEWART / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

The renovated Scharf Family Chabad House is 8,400 square feet and includes a Great Hall, sanctuary, library, guest rooms, and family apartment, among other features.

Assistant News Editor

U. AFFAIRS

There are 2,516 unique first names among Princeton undergraduates.

NAMES

Continued from page 1

name among undergraduates, is the 21st most popular name in the United States, with 0.23 percent of the population. Each graduating class has a distinct com-

bination of the most common first and last names. Daniel and Kim are the most common first name and last name respectively, both for the Class of 2024 and for the entire undergraduate population.

Twenty-eight unique full names are shared by two or more Princeton undergraduate students. There are three students named David Lee, three named Sophia

Chen, and four undergraduates named Emily Zhang. The recurrence of some of these names has caused some confusion around campus.

By Alex Wingate & Kate Alvarez

Assistant Data Editor & Contributing Data Writer

Each year, first-years, sophomores, and juniors can find their housing arrangements for the upcoming academic year through the room draw process. While some students received rooms in February through the medical accommodations process, most students will draw for rooms from midMarch to early April in groups ranging in size from one to eight individuals. Using a random algorithm that gives preference to higher class years, the University assigned a draw time to each group.

This year, 1,852 rooms ranging from single-person bedrooms to six-person suites are available during room draw, a decrease from the 1,890 rooms available in 2023. These rooms are divided into ten separate draws: seven residential college draws, a draw for general upperclass housing, a draw for independent students, and a draw for Spelman Hall. The upperclass draw has 63 fewer available rooms compared to 2023, the greatest drop among all the draws. In contrast, the Whitman draw increased by 31 rooms, while New College West’s draw shrunk by 27 rooms.

“All first-year rooms are withheld from Room Draw so that the incoming class can be assigned to ‘Zee group zones that are geographically centered around their RCA,” University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote in email to The Daily Princetonian.

“There are also several pre-draw assignments that occur for student staff positions, students with approved housing accommodations, and certain living-learning communities (such as the Edwards Collective and the 2D Co-op). Generally, the size of the incoming and outgoing classes and facilities projects do not play a role in what rooms are available for Room Draw.”

Consistent with last year, the largest draw is the upperclass draw, while the smallest draw is Spelman, which has only 52 quads. With 116 rooms available this year, the Rockefeller draw is the smallest of the residential college draws. While the largest draw last year was New College West, with 174 available rooms, Whitman’s 185 available rooms

make it the largest draw this year.

Nearly three quarters of the available rooms in the Whitman and Butler draws are singles, the greatest proportion among the residential colleges. Older residential colleges tend to have fewer singles, with only half of the rooms available in Rockefeller and Mathey Colleges being singles. Forbes College is unique for having very few triples and no quads, with all but eight triples in the Forbes draw being singles and doubles.

There are just four quints — five-person rooms — on campus. Two of the four available quints are in Hamilton and Little as part of Mathey College and the other two quints are in upperclass halls Cuyler and Laughlin. The largest quint, Hamilton 324, has 957 square feet of space, making it the seventh largest room on campus. Six sixperson suites are all in the upperclass draw. One of these six-person suites, Patton T12, has two floors and 1278 square feet, the largest available on campus.

The smallest available room, Pyne 230, has only 82 square feet and is also part of the upperclass draw. The ten largest available rooms have not changed from last year. However, Forbes Annex 422, which has 90 square feet and was the fifth smallest available room last year, is not on this year’s list.

Unlike last year, there are no rooms available for draw in Walker Hall this year. After the University converted Walker Hall to graduate housing, undergraduates who drew into Walker received an email over the summer notifying them they would be reassigned to other housing.

In all of the residential college draws, most groups are made up of a single person. Draw groups consist of one, two, or four students at the highest frequencies, which is consistent with the top three available room types for every draw. In the upperclass draw, almost a quarter of all students are in four-person groups, a greater proportion than all the residential college draws. The Rockefeller draw only includes one available triple but has eight three-person draw groups.

In all except the Yeh, Whitman, and upperclass draws, the number of single-person draw groups exceeds the number of available singles. Last year, the number of available singles ran out before the draw times

The two Emily R. Zhangs ’27 were placed in the same first-year writing seminar. Emily Ruohan Zhang elected to go by Em for the entire semester to avoid confusion.

James Beacham is a contributing Data writer for the ‘Prince.’

“Frist sent [another Emily Zhang] my bank statement one time,” Emily M. Zhang ’26 said. She also shared how “the first exam that I took at Princeton, our exam grades got mixed up on Gradescope and she [another Emily Zhang] did better than I did. So it was really bad for me.”

Room draw 2024 is underway; residential college singles in high demand

of over half the rising sophomore class. On March 20, Associate Director of Student Housing Angie Rooney sent an email with room draw tips to those drawing into Yeh College the following day, warning of the lack of singles.

“There may not be very many singles for sophomores at all,” Rooney wrote. “If you are in a draw group alone, your first best option is to find someone on the draw list that you could live with in a suite (double, triple or quad). You can use the drop down option to select to drop down into a group and then draw into a larger room with that group.”

After Yeh draw was completed, only six quads remained, all in the two furthest south buildings. After the Butler draw, which ended on March 20, only four quads remained.

“Initially I was thinking about either getting a single/quingle (four singles within a quad) in Bloomberg, but then I settled on trying to get a single in any Butler building,” Aidan Wang ‘27 wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “It was a bit stressful due to the uncertainty of being put on a waitlist as there were no singles left long before my

draw time.”

Wang’s draw time was at the end of page eight of ten for the Butler draw. Students can search for buildings to draw into and compare options on the Housing and Real Estate Services website. The TigerApps website TigerDraw contains data on many dorm rooms, including occupancy, square footage, and room reviews for some rooms — though the website notes that the data comes from the 2017 and 2019 draws and may be out of date. The room draw process this year began on Monday, March 18, and will conclude on Wednesday, April 10. Students who were unsuccessful in selecting a room during the draw process and wish to receive University housing next year must apply for the wait list by April 29. Housing is guaranteed for students all four years.

Alexa Wingate is an assistant Data editor for the ‘Prince.’

Kate Alvarez is a contributing Data writer for the ‘Prince.’

“C rystal C lear ”

By Kasia Kirnie Staff Constructor

The Minis

By Grace Kaneshiro

Contributor

Princetonians are divided. Here’s how we can come together.

Luqmaan Bamba

Contributing Columnist

Princeton University has 428 student organizations registered with the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students. Furthermore, the Office of Religious Life has 37 student organizations under its auspices and there are 100 graduate student organizations. The sheer number of student organizations reflects the influence that these groups wield on Princeton’s social and extracurricular life.

These organizations — especially affinity spaces, which have long been heralded as a way for minorities and people from lower socio-economic strata to feel at home — can provide an important sense of community, but they also separate us by our race, class, ethnicity, and other characteristics. So, despite ample opportunities on campus to connect across class and culture, Princeton students often cluster in groups of similar kinds of people. As a result, we often inadvertently form bubbles closed to

those who do not share our identities. Less formally and in everyday campus life, a clique-centered social life can be the norm. As students, we must work harder to reach out to those who are different from us and to form a more interconnected campus community.

There are numerous reasons as to why people gravitate towards groups of those with shared identities. Homogeneous precollege environments can inform people’s social habits and high schools are increasingly becoming segregated. Additionally, transitioning to college, especially one like Princeton, is difficult, so fraternity with those who are similar to you is necessary in an environment that can feel intimidating. I have personally found deep personal and cultural enrichment in engaging with people who I am similar to, and these experiences have been important for fostering a sense of identity.

But while the need for these organizations and finding “your people” is needed and understandable, this tendency toward relationships with people based on shared traits can cause us to lose track of our

broader campus community.

This dilemma is well documented. Princeton’s Adversity and Relationships in Context (ARC) lab found that across higher education, students interact less across social classes than would be expected given the diversity of their institutions. The cross-class interactions that did occur also tended to be of a lower quality than students’ same-class interactions. The low quality of these interactions might only further create a cycle of students not being inclined to engage in cross-identity interactions.

These findings shed light on the paradox that despite the diversity of universities like Princeton, their groups do not interact with each other well. In the status quo, diversity only means that diverse groups simply coexist in this institution. Robust engagement in a deep and meaningful way isn’t the norm — but it should be.

The lower quality of cross-class interaction runs counter to idealized notions of the University being a place where people experience transformation, encounter new ways of life, and expand their ability to

connect with a variety of people. As columnist Ava Johnson recently wrote: “For Princeton graduates to be able to leave the Orange Bubble and be effective, insightful, changemakers in a diverse global community, they need to understand, experience, and learn in a diverse campus community.”

The question is then: how does Princeton appropriately balance affirming diversity while also fostering active, deep, sincere, and meaningful integration across social barriers?

Some, like the late Harvard University professor of psychology and African American studies Dr. James Sidanius, have argued for universities to take a more active role in fighting “against the natural tendency for students to segregate themselves.”

But the University’s actions can only go so far. It will be individual action rather than bureaucratic power that will foster genuine bridge-building.

While affinity and extracurricular groups continue to play a key social role on campus, we ought to make an effort to counter the tendency towards homogeneity by encouraging more inter-group

events. Existing groups can make an effort to co-host events with one another, as is already done by Carl A. Fields Center Cross Cultural Dinners. Student groups should follow such a model and initiate events that bring people across race, class, and other identities together.

Academically or ideologically based student groups also stand to benefit from a culture of integration and collaboration. More informally, we should all take time to consciously reach out across the table to seek to bond with those different from us. Such a move would encourage cross-cultural understanding and mutual empathy, something that would fully take advantage of its existing diversity. This would improve the social well-being of everyone. The Princeton community stands to be better, healthier, and stronger if it strengthens the cohesiveness of its diverse groups on a very personal level.

Contributing columnist Luqmaan Bamba is a first-year from Ghana and New York. He can be found playing soccer.

Help us put down the phone, Princeton

Christofer Robles Community Opinion Editor

My four-year old niece is obsessed with her iPad and she is not alone. Not only are tablets far more common in households with children, but an astonishing 86.6 percent of kids under the age of three exceed the American Academy of Pediatrics’ screen time recommendations. While I fear the developmental consequences of my niece’s early-age exposure to screens, my college-age peers and I should know that we, too, are marred by our current use of technology.

In fact, technology lies at the foundation of understanding the current youth mental health crisis. And yet, there has been no indication that any action addressing the two in tandem has been made at Princeton. It is paramount that University administrators take the national lead in combating digitaldriven mental health struggles on campus with improved cultural and pedagogicalfocused action.

President Christopher Eisgruber has previously drawn a connection between technology’s growing ubiquity and an epidemic of mental illness: “The relevant question is not whether those differences

have changed the way that students learn and live, but rather how they have done so.”

This conclusion is well-supported by research that concludes college students with high mobile screen times are more likely to suffer from depression and a worse quality of life. An addiction to digital dopamine, some have suggested, may be the physiological cause behind this relationship.

But rather than — as Eisgruber implored in his 2023 State of the University letter — challenging “its own campus community and pedagogical culture” around how “technology is changing individuals and society,” Princeton has been plagued by inaction.

This is the result of a culture that has made mental health an individual’s onus, and a university that has yet to challenge its current educational approach to technology. Eisgruber has even tasked the very people suffering from this crisis to solve it, calling on faculty, students, and staff to “bring forward new initiatives so that [the] University can address these issues.” But too much time has passed without change, and it is now time for the administration to bring forward solutions.

Many columnists at The Daily Princetonian have expressed many times that serious mental health intervention is lacking on campus. While these voices are

right to call out complacency, they have missed the cause of this negligence: Princeton blames mental health struggles on the students experiencing them.

Digital addictions are pervasive, and Princeton’s insistence on leaving students to individually foster a healthy relationship with technology is a disservice to a student body whose experience is deeply connected to their screens.

If technology use is so closely related to issues of mental health, Princeton’s inaction is a direct testament to lacking mental health support as well. Blaming an individual for their mental illness or struggles is not unique to Princeton; this idea has long manifested as the, albeit controversial, psychological issue of “personal responsibility” and can be the result of competitive cultures that pride themselves on their “if you can’t stand the heat, you shouldn’t be here” mentalities.

And while it is debatable whether Princeton experiences either of those examples, what is clear is that the University is silent on how students can practically handle its intersection with technology.

When pressed on the question of academic rigor and mental health, for example, President Eisgruber cited drug and alcohol usage and poor sleep habits as risk factors. What followed, however, was not

University policy directed at curbing alcohol and drug consumption, nor improving the sleep habits of students. His answer appeared to merely cast blame.

In fact, during times of high academic stress, like the night before Dean’s Date, the University has acknowledged and arguably encouraged sacrificing sleep for school work by holding events like Residential College Late Night Breakfast, where food and coffee is served. Even sincere attempts to improve mental wellness head-on, like Community Care Day or RCA study breaks, fail to sufficiently disrupt Princeton students’ perpetual academic grind by being optional, supplementary, and sparse.

So when considering technology’s degradation of mental health, it appears here, too, will students be left to fend for themselves. But this cannot be the case.

The digital world has become inseparable from the lives of Princeton students and the rest of the world. Most students use online learning tools in their routine academic experiences and Princeton encourages its professors to digitize their pedagogies. I spend hours every week sifting through and responding to emails, scouring the internet for research, reading Canvas notifications, and writing assignments on my laptop.

Little has been done to reconcile the in-

separability of these healthy uses of technology from the more insidious ones. It is also known that effective mental health interventions from technology — like consistent access to green spaces and sunlight, as well as short-term digital detoxes — are often impractical or inaccessible: reunions tents and fencing, and major construction can block off green space and a genuine digital detox would be impossible on a Canvas and email dominated campus. Princeton students should not be expected to work out these dilemmas on their own.

Some progress has already been made at Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching & Learning, which has released some initial recommendations for managing technology as a distraction in the classroom. When I Iooked through the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning’s website, I could not find a comparable resource. Princeton has a responsibility to its students to go further: to seriohusly engage with its campus culture and pedagogy to recognize technology’s impact on mental health as a crisis, and solve it.

Christofer Robles is the community opinion editor and is a junior in the Department of Comparative Literature.

For CPS, accessible long-term care is the next step

Maria Luisa Vieira Parada Columnist

Scheduled to open in 2025, the Frist Health Center will help the University advance a culture of health and wellbeing on the Princeton campus,” brags Princeton’s announcement of its new health center. While more space devoted to mental health on campus is critical, we also need to dedicate more time to each student who comes in for treatment. Currently, for many students grappling with mental health issues, the brevity and non-continuity of counseling sessions offered — particularly the default of a 20-minute consultation, and the typical treatment at Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) being “short-term” — falls dramatically short of what is required for genuine understanding and healing. 20-minute consultations, as they currently exist, may not be enough for many students to express their problems or build a bond with their therapist. Opening up to a therapist — a stranger when you meet them — demands courage. Revealing the inner-

workings of our minds is no trivial matter, and people may need time to express their thoughts. Short encounters can leave students feeling more like case numbers than individuals with complex inner lives.

The current setup defaults students to biweekly meetings, but there is an option to meet more often.  In an email to the ‘Prince,’ University Director of Media Relations Jennifer Morrill said that CPS “typically see[s] students once every two weeks, but will see students more frequently than that depending on clinical needs.” If students cannot easily opt into once-a-week therapy, the two-week default stretches of time between appointments can disrupt the flow of therapy, which can make each session feel like starting anew rather than building on previous discussions. This fragmented approach to care undermines the essence of therapy as a journey of mutual exploration and discovery.

CPS’s current model disregards the amount of time students need to discuss their problems, requiring more than just consultations and two-week

stretches between appointments. The well-intentioned but ultimately insufficient drop-in hours must also be revisited: drop-in hours are each thirty minutes with a therapist, which can feel dismissive. Last spring, they implemented one-time hourlong appointments, which is not what students need, either: we need lasting relationships with therapists. It’s understandable that CPS wants to provide stopgap measures like these but these steps can feel like a mere procedural formality rather than a step toward well-being. The difficult truth is that the University has to figure out how to provide the care that we need: sufficient session time and consistent support over at least the course of a whole semester or more. For that matter, there is also a disconnect in CPS’s view of its role in longterm care. CPS communicates counseling at McCosh being “short-term” and expects students seeking continuous care to be refered out of the University system. This conception can undermine the student-therapist bond for the time that a student is seeing a CPS

counselor. Evidence shows that having a trusting relationship with your therapist is significantly correlated with having better therapy sessions and that trust is important to the patienttherapist bond. When you know that your counseling at CPS is intended to be “short-term,” or that you will have to switch therapists soon, it makes it harder to create a bond with your current therapist. The discontinuity undermines the patient-therapist relationship. What the University is doing on mental health right now is a step in the right direction but still does not address this need for a fuller relationship with therapists. President Eisgruber’s mention of an expanded CPS after the construction of the new health center has sparked a hopeful discourse. But why wait? Students with urgent mental health needs must be able to establish a long-term relationship with their providers. To do so, UHS must build the necessary infrastructure to allow for more regular and consistent sessions. This necessitates hiring more staff in the short term. With a larger

team of mental health professionals, CPS can provide more long-term support over the whole semester, allowing students to build deeper relationships with their providers.

Improved mental health assistance is urgent. Each student loss serves as a reminder of the need for a more compassionate and understanding system. Through hiring more staff, the frequency of therapy sessions can be expanded, which is crucial for addressing a range of needs and strengthening the bond between students and therapists. This, in turn, boosts confidence in the effectiveness of CPS. By prioritizing mental health, the University can demonstrate a profound commitment to the well-being of its student body. We must take steps now and lay the groundwork for a future where every student can thrive and feel supported by a culture that values and actively supports their mental health.

Maria Luisa Vieira Parada is a sophomore from São Paulo, Brazil, intending to major in Physics.

vol. cxlviii

editor-in-chief

Eden Teshome ’25

business manager Aidan Phillips ’25

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

president Thomas E. Weber ’89

vice president David Baumgarten ’06

secretary Chanakya A. Sethi ’07

treasurer Douglas Widmann ’90

assistant treasurer

Kavita Saini ’09

trustees Francesca Barber

Kathleen Crown

Suzanne Dance ’96

Gabriel Debenedetti ’12

Stephen Fuzesi ’00

Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05

Michael Grabell ’03

Danielle Ivory ’05

Rick Klein ’98

James T. MacGregor ’66

Julianne Escobedo Shepherd Abigail Williams ’14 Tyler Woulfe ’07

trustees ex officio

Eden Teshome ’25 Aidan Phillips ’25

148TH MANAGING BOARD

Ryan Konarska ’25

upper management

Naisha Sylvestre ’25

director of outreach

Lia Opperman ’25

Accessibility

Tess Weinreich ’25

Lucia Wetherill ’25

creative director Mary Ma ’26

strategic initiative directors

Christopher Bao ’27

Education

Charlie Roth ’25

Financial Stipend

Elaine Huang ’25

Sections listed in alphabetical order. public editor Abigail Rabieh ’25

head archives editor

Raphaela Gold ’26

Kaylee Kasper ’26

Associate Archives editor

Elizabeth Clarke ’27

head audience editor

Paige Walworth ’26

associate audience editors

Zach Lee ’26

Amparo Sanchez ’27

head copy editors

Nathan Beck ’25

Bryan Zhang ’26

associate head copy editors

Lindsay Padaguan ’26

Elizabeth Polubinski ’25

head data editors Andrew Bosworth ’26

Suthi Navaratnam-Tomayko ’26

head features editors

Sejal Goud ’25

Molly Taylor ’25

associate features editor

Raphaela Gold ’26

head graphics editors

Luiza Chevres ’26

Noreen Hosny ’25

head humor editors

Spencer Bauman ’25

Sophia Varughese ’26

associate humor editors

Sam McComb ’25

Mya Koffie ’27

head news editors

Bridget O’Neill ’26

Annie Rupertus ’25

associate news editors

Julian Hartman-Sigall ’26

Olivia Sanchez ’26

Miriam Waldvogel ’26 (Investigations)

head newsletter editor

Kia Ghods ’27

assistant business manager

associate newsletter editors Victoria Davies ’27 Sunney Gao ’27

head opinion editor Eleanor Clemans-Cope ’26

community opinion editor Christofer Robles ’25

associate opinion editors

Thomas Buckley ’26

Wynne Conger ’27

head photo editors

Louisa Gheorghita ’26

Jean Shin ’26

associate photo editor Calvin Grover ’27

head podcast editor Vitus Larrieu ’26

associate podcast editors Senna Aldoubosh ’25

Theo Wells-Spackman ’25

head print design editors Avi Chesler ’25

Malia Gaviola ’26

head prospect editor Isabella Dail ’26

associate prospect editors Russell Fan ’26

Regina Roberts ’26

head puzzles editors

Sabrina Effron ’26

Joah Macosko ’25

associate puzzles editors

Wade Bednar ’26

Lindsay McBride ’27

head sports editors Cole Keller ’26

Diego Uribe ’26

associate sports editors Tate Hutchins ’27

Hayk Yengibaryan ’26

head web design and development editors

Yacoub Kahkajian ’26

Vasila Mirshamsova ’26

148TH BUSINESS BOARD

Jessica Funk ’26

business directors

Gabriel Gullett ’25

Andrew He ’26

Tejas Iyer ’26

Jordan Manela ’26

chief technology officer

Robert Mohan ’26 Kok Wei Pua ’25

My Ky Tran ’26

project managers Jason Ding ’25 Kaustuv Mukherjee ’26

148TH TECHNOLOGY BOARD

Roma Bhattacharjee ’25

’26

software engineers Anika Agarwal ’25 Carter Costic ’26 Jessica Dong ’25 Vishva Ilavelan ’27

Li ’26

Liu ’27

Liu ’26

Liu ’27 Hang Pham ’26 Aidan Phillips ’25 Joe Rupertus ’26 Caitlin Wang ’26 Shannon Yeow ’26 (UI/UX) Brett Zeligson ’24

THIS PRINT ISSUE WAS DESIGNED BY

Ethan Cheng ’27

Avi Chesler ’25

Maki Flauta ’27 Malia Gaviola ’26 Evan Wilson ’27 AND COPIED BY Bryan Zhang ’26

The humanities were never meant for Princeton’s international students

Afew days ago, I sat down at the dining hall with a fellow international student I had met during orientation. After the half-joking, ritual complaints on the inauthenticity of the Asian food offerings, our conversation evolved into questions about our classes, summer plans, and naturally, what we saw ourselves doing after graduation. “We pretty much have three options as international humanities majors. We can ‘sell out’ — get a job in consulting or tech, our only chance at a work visa sponsorship. We can also go to grad school, and palliatively lengthen our stay with another F1,” she said sardonically. “If all fails, we marry an American.”

There are significant legal constraints for international students seeking post-graduation career opportunities and visa sponsorship. Following their graduation, all international students have 60 days to obtain a job under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) period, a strict one-year period postgraduation that allows them to work in the United States without a debilitatingly expensive and unpredictable work visa sponsorship. Students that are unable to be employed within this time frame face threats of deportation. However, international students in the humanities face an additional barrier — the lack of an option to extend their Optional Practical Training period, an option granted to graduates in STEM for 2 more years. To support its international students better, the University must vocally advocate for extending the non-STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) period.

Although my friend’s list of the possible post-graduate options for the international humanities student was exaggerated, it contained an element of truth. OPT jobs — jobs obtained within 60 days of graduation that can be taken on by students without a work visa sponsorship for up to one year — are dominated by IT and consulting companies. As a prospective history major and an international student, I don’t plan on becoming a consultant, nor am I sure whether I will be attending graduate school. I feel stupid scrolling through the STEM major offerings at Princeton with minimal intention to pursue them or looking up how green cards work for the spouses of U.S. citizens, but I realize that my actions are based on a genuine fear grounded in real circumstances — a fear that I am certain is shared by many inter-

national students at Princeton.

Past opinion pieces encouraging readers to recognize the importance of the humanities from The Daily Princetonian do not account for the practical fears that many international students experience. Recent pieces appeal to the moral quality that the humanities imbue students with or argue that the skills learned from a humanities major are intended to elevate the wider human experience through their broad applicability.

Yet the open-endedness of the humanities degree is precisely what disadvantages international students in the practical reality of the job search process. One caveat of the OPT period is that a job offer must directly correlate to one’s declared major. Naturally, this benefits STEM majors with delineated technical experience in their specified major, more so than the humanities and social sciences, disciplines whose appeal is primarily based on skills with wide applicability.

The current system pressures international students to pursue a STEM degree regardless of interest and perpetuates the harmful myth that STEM degrees are intrinsically superior to humanities degrees. But can you really blame them for believing so, when current policy threatens to uproot international students’ lives in a foreign country based on whether their degree is STEM-related or not?

Considering the moral quality of pursuing a humanities degree is important, but it is also a privileged deliberation that is understandably secondary to one’s physical security in a nation — especially when its policies clearly indicate a preference to STEM pursuits.

A ‘Prince’ columnist once suggested that combating this issue involves widening the departmental classification of the STEM major itself. According to the author, Princeton’s goals should lie in maximizing the number of majors that qualify for the STEM-OPT extension. Such a proposition merely distracts from the fundamental problem of the inequality in the STEM v.s. Humanities OPT period. What else would a solution like this do but perpetuate the narrative that a degree’s proximity to STEM is the sole indicator of its worth?

Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 once asserted the value he sees in emphasizing the significance of the humanities as a critical field that empowers service across all sectors. If the University truly believes in this principle, then they should demonstrate this with their actions — and its efforts should go beyond superficial attempts at recategorizing more degrees into STEM.

This policy problem requires a policy solution, and the University can engage in better advo -

cacy. As one of the most well-recognized institutions of higher education in the United States, Princeton’s voice in higher education issues is disproportionately powerful. Institutional stance shaping U.S. legislation is far from unheard of: take Princeton’s 2018 DACA lawsuit filed against the federal government.

“Princeton, higher education and our country benefit from the talent and aspirations that [DACA students] bring to our communities,” Eisgruber said.

The public stances of prestigious colleges and their leaders hold a significant cultural and political weight. This is why a long-term solution involves Princeton’s vocal advocacy for a 24-month OPT extension for humanities students, similar to the extension granted to STEM majors. To a limited extent, this has happened before: Eisgruber has spoken out about the OPT program offered for exchange visitors on a J1 visa — though strangely, the majority of his examples citing international contributions of  “research, innovation, and education” were exclusive to fields like “genomics, neuroscience, and astrophysics.” Although Princeton cannot directly change policy, it doesn’t mean we should underestimate the University’s influence in bringing about change. Students in the humanities need just as much — if not more — administrative advocacy as students in STEM do.

International students are an integral part of Princeton’s diverse community and consequently represent a variety of students with a range of interests and passions. I expect that plenty of them arrive on campus with a predilection for art history, philosophy, or fiction writing, just as much as I expect many to have a knack for unproven mathematical theorems or biochemistry. No student can freely explore their interests or deeply contemplate how to serve humanity while preoccupied with the prospect of deportation. The state of the OPT program not only diminishes America’s ability to retain talented students in the United States, but also damages our ability to attract these students here at all.

Princeton stands as a powerful intermediary in this unwanted scenario — its institutional commitments claim that it prepares its students to commit to public service by providing a liberal arts education. To do so, it must allow its international students in the humanities the time, voice, and opportunities to achieve just that.

Siyeon Lee is a first-year international student from Seoul, South Korea intending to major in History. She is an assistant Opinion editor at the ‘Prince.’

Siyeon Lee

Assistant Opinion Editor

the PROSPECT. ARTS & CULTURE

‘If you can’t beat them, confuse them’: Academy Award-nominee Jeffrey Wright’s words of

By Tyler Wilson | Senior Prospect Writer

Jeffrey Wright, star of the 2024 Academy Award-winning film, “American Fiction,” doesn’t think we Princeton students will take his advice. After all, as he said, we’re young. The celebrated actor is the father of two college-aged kids — he knows how stubborn young adults can be. However, it would be a mistake to not consider his words deeply. This is a man who has an impressive filmography: one that ranges from “Angels in America” to “The Hunger Games,” “James Bond” to “Westworld.” He has worked with the likes of legends such as Mike Nichols, Wes Anderson, M. Night Shyamalan, Sam Mendes, and Spike Lee; he was also cast in Lee’s remake of the Akira Kurosawa classic “High and Low” alongside Denzel Washington.

Most recently, Wright starred as writer Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in Cord Jefferson’s debut feature “American Fiction.” His performance earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Meanwhile, Jefferson won Best Adapted Screenplay. On March 19, after an evening screening of his “American Fiction” at the Garden Theatre, Jeffrey Wright sat down with Julian E. Zelizer, Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton, for a Q&A session.

wisdom

At the event, Wright was upfront with the fact that his work is eclectic — he told the audience that he loves to “inhabit other spaces,” while acknowledging “that’s probably too pretentious” but “magical.”

“If you can’t beat them, confuse them,” he

continued.

Wright admitted, “I’ve talked too much in the last months,” now that awards season has come and gone. To him, an awards campaign is like a political campaign. It’s about swaying voters, but more importantly, it is about getting as many eyes on a film as possible. “American Fiction” was made on a relatively small budget of $7 million (Wright quipped that this was equivalent to the breakfast burrito budget on his recent blockbuster “The Batman”). For a movie of such a small budget, awards can help expand its viewership scope to a broader audience.

At the end of the day, Wright said that everyone who works on a film just wants to be recognized and affirmed, like the characters in “American Fiction.” Wright’s character, Monk, is an author frustrated with a literary establishment that often disregards his work. While the literary establishment expresses disinterest in Monk’s work (mostly modern adaptations of classical pieces from antiquity), it profits from narratives rooted in exhausted Black stereotypes. Under a pen name, Monk writes the exact kind of vulgar, heavy-handed, trope-riddled novel he lampoons. He submits the manuscript to publishers as an elaborate middle finger to their predominantly white executives. They love it, and the novel becomes a major hit. Monk must consequently reckon with his hypocrisy as money, film deals, and awards are poured upon him.

Wright and Jefferson constructed Monk to be an unreliable narrator. “American Fiction” tackles divisive, contemporary topics, especially focusing on art and the Black experience. However, the film is not a moralizing tale. Wright noted that the thesis of the film is not delivered by any of the characters in a verbose, theatrical argument. Rather, it lies somewhere in between their perspectives, or as Wright described, “on the table in front of them.” The only clarity in the narrative, then, is the tender journey that Monk takes to reconnect with his family. As Wright had put it, the film is also “about a man returning to love.”

The film is thought-provoking and demands discussion. It is a comedy, and Wright hopes that by “allowing us to laugh” the film

“provides an open invitation” to discussion. Wright noted that people are often afraid to confront each other, but hopes that at Princeton we are more “sophisticated.” The opening scene of “American Fiction” is set in a college classroom as a contentious discussion ignites between Monk, a professor, and one of his students. This argument leads to Monk’s subsequent dismissal by the university. Clearly, the conversation does not go well for the film’s protagonist, but Wright believes that it is adeptly approached by Jefferson from a filmmaking perspective. It shows how quickly discourse can unravel when driven by stubbornness and hostility. Wright maintains that we should not be afraid of mature discourse, nor should we be afraid to satirize it in our art.

Critically, as Wright noted, we must also not be afraid to infuse challenging art with earnestness. This is, once again, shown through the core of “American Fiction” being Monk’s journey toward love. Wright argues that there is cynicism in our pop culture, a cheapness. During the discussion, he asked, “Where is the beauty?” He then proposed, to much applause, that “we need to get back to beauty, otherwise we are doomed.” He finds the Miles Davis cover of “Autumn Leaves,” which plays during the closing scene, to be the film’s most beautiful moment. The song comes from an era of pop culture that was unapologetically beautiful, and it perfectly contrasts the persistent tension of the film. When asked if he had any advice for young people, Wright took the audience back to his college days. As an undergraduate at Amherst College, he switched majors from political science to theater (not much of a leap, he joked). At college, Wright had the opportunity to explore, which allowed him to progress towards his authentic self. By doing so, he nurtured his creativity. Wright urged all undergraduates to make mistakes — he claimed that there is no better time than now to do so. “Give thought to nonconformity … embrace it.” He continued, “Follow your own lead.” Take heed of this advice; it comes from one of the great artists of today.

Tyler Wilson is a senior writer for The Prospect and Humor at the ‘Prince.’

CALVIN GROVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN Academy Award nominated actor Jeffrey Wright addressed University community members at a Q&A session.

Navigating dance at Princeton as a first-time dancer

By Brianna Melanie | Staff Prospect Writer

I have scattered memories of dancing as a child. My twin sister and I would imitate Candace and Vanessa in “Busted” from Phineas and Ferb as the segment from the TV show played behind us. I recall stealing the dance floor at a family function, freely moving to will.i.am’s “#thatPOWER” with my cousins cheering me on. I still remember stomping my feet to the futuristic, echoey beat. And I ingrained the choreography of “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical at a house party — well, the Just Dance version, at least.

I can’t necessarily recall the steps of those dances, but I do remember how they allowed me to express myself. While my childhood dancing experience was grew out of my love for the Just Dance game series, I never had any formal dance experience. As I grew up, my dedication to the arts was firmly planted in piano and violin, skills I’ve honed for 15 and 12 years now, respectively. With piano pedagogy and classical music occupying my brain, danc-

ing was relegated to a pastime, always in the background — a refuge to which I could retreat when I needed to relax. The music has continued to flow through my body and my spirit.

As I began to focus on college applications in my junior year of high school, my investigation of Princeton as a potential home introduced me to KoKo Pops — a K-pop dance cover company. I was initially allured not by the music genre, but by the intricate and powerful choreographies that came with the musical promotions (specifically BTS’s “Not Today”). I began to follow KoKo Pops’s Instagram account, despite being far from the Orange Bubble.

Fast forward to my second week on campus, and I received an email from KoKo Pops about auditioning for the company. Several years of piano auditions should’ve prepared me for the jitters, but I was shaken by the artistic director’s impressive skill. They had a distinct openness that was flowy yet sharp, varying with the style of the piece. The audition process was both daunting and exhilarating. However, I was most worried about finding a community

among such strong and experienced dancers.

However, my fears slipped away at pickups. Everyone was so supportive, assuring me that I would adjust well to the dance company. Meanwhile, we bonded over our shared love of K-pop with a random playlist of popular Kpop choreographies that tested our knowledge of dances.

While K-pop music fits a range of different dance styles, I was particularly drawn to the songs “Bite Me” and “Glitch,” dances which implemented partner work and Vogue Femme elements, respectively. These pieces helped me understand the foundations of these dance styles, widening my musical repertoire. On the first day of “Glitch” rehearsal, we drilled our catwalks, focused on our arm shapes, and introduced waacking, skills that required constant attention and practice. On the other hand, “Bite Me” taught me power and stage presence.

Then, there were weekly rehearsals in front of the entire company. They forced me to pay attention to the tiny details of other dances, as well as my own. Knowing the choreography wasn’t enough: level changes, symmetry,

facial expressions, and synchronization became priorities. My greatest struggle lay in formations. Since I’ve always learned K-pop choreographies in one position, I found it difficult to recalibrate my spatial awareness, which was integral to improving the image of the choreographies. However, my piece leaders and fellow dancers helped me address these details quickly and precisely, and I always felt supported in improving my style.

Over the past few months, I’ve learned about my dance preferences, strengths, and which styles I want to continue with in the future. The KoKo Pops provided me with a supportive environment as I stepped outside of my comfort zone and discovered new aspects of myself. The dance community at Princeton is here for you, waiting for you to show us your moves, regardless of your previous dance experience.

‘Drive-Away Dolls’ USG Movies review: raunchy road trip comedy sputters and stalls out

By Edward Rogers | Contributing Prospect Writer

The brand-new action comedy “Drive-Away Dolls” opened at the Princeton Garden Theatre on Friday, March 22 as part of the USG Movie Committee’s ongoing early release series. Based on my observations, the film had a notably lower attendance rate than past USG-sponsored movies, potentially because of ongoing midterms or the film’s mixed early reviews.

Directed by Ethan Coen — of the Coen brothers — in his solo debut, the film stars up-and-coming actresses Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as polar-opposite lesbian friends, Jamie and Marian. Set in the late 90s, the duo embarks on a soul-searching road trip from Philadelphia to Tallahassee, Florida. However, a mix-up at the car service leads to them taking the wrong car with mysterious contents inside. The car’s rightful owners — a pair of incompetent criminals — chase the women down to retake what was theirs.

“Drive-Away Dolls” is a film that should work conceptually on script. The Coen brothers are famously

lauded for their trademark slapstick humor and gritty violence, as reflected in their classic films such as “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men.” Furthermore, the lead actresses have proven track records in previous film projects. Not only are Qualley and Viswanathan ideal leads for “Drive-Away Dolls,” but the film also has a remarkable supporting cast: namely, Beanie Feldstein, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Matt Damon, and — surprise! — Miley Cyrus. Yet, the film just doesn’t seem to deliver.

While Qualley and Viswanathan are experienced with the comedy-drama genre in film, the characters they play are written as one-dimensional and unlikeable individuals. Jamie has a thick, corny Southern accent and a series of hokey catchphrases intended to embody a Texas native. However, the overly-dramatic Texan archetype makes almost every line fall flat. On the other hand, Viswanathan’s Marian is excessively prudish, constantly rolling her eyes at Jamie’s free-spirited antics and having little characterization besides being single. They have so little in common that one wonders how they are even friends in the

first place. As a result, the puzzling way the film attempts to develop their relationship feels unsettlingly forced.

Both actresses have proven to be talented and versatile in their own right, so one can’t help but attribute their paper-thin performances to the film’s screenplay. The supporting cast is similarly underused: Feldstein, Pascal, Domingo, and Damon are given characters that don’t give them much room at all to bring groundedness to a film that desperately needs it.

The plot also does little to compensate for the characters’ flaws. As a cross-country caper centered around an unknown MacGuffin, the film should feel intense. However, the scenes contain barely any tension. Besides Domingo, none of the main antagonists bring anything substantial to give the viewer a reason to care about them. Maybe this is why, despite having only an 84-minute runtime, the film felt remarkably long. While the final reveal of the prized MacGuffin that the criminals are after is genuinely surprising, it ultimately left no feeling of narrative

satisfaction.

If the film has one saving grace, it is its cinematography. The film glows with the neon-colored dive bar signs and motel entryways, and the scenes taking place in daylight are similarly beautiful. Yet, this visual beauty is diminished by the tacky and awkward editing, carried out by Coen’s collaborator and wife Tricia Cooke. The editing seeks to elevate the humorous tone with wacky scene transitions, but in doing so, kills the little tension the film had possessed. Ultimately, “Drive-Away Dolls” stands out as a missed opportunity: It makes a genuine attempt to provide meaningful visibility to the lesbian community and is refreshingly raunchy, attempting to breathe new life into the old road trip comedy trope. Yet, the film’s misguided parts ultimately converge into a film that first sputters before stalling out completely.

Edward Rogers is a contributor for The Prospect from Durham, N.C.

‘Continuum’ continues eXpressions’ legacy

By Natalia Diaz | Contributing Prospect

From March 21 to 23, eXpressions Dance Company presented their show “Continuum” in Frist Theater. “Continuum” tells the story of growing up while navigating heartache, new experiences, and homesickness. To quote the event’s program, “Continuum” is “a story told through movement, where every step echoes the one before, and every leap propels [the story] forward.” It was a beautifullytold story, indeed.

The dancers took to the stage for the opening piece to Taylor Swift’s “Wonderland” dressed in sky-blue slips and button-down shirts. The costume’s color not only paid homage to the protagonist of the alluded story, Lewis Caroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” but also to the color scheme of Swift’s “1989” album. The attention to detail reflected in costume choice was only one of the many impressive features of this performance. Sarah Joo GS was behind the group’s choreography, which was composed of elegant leaps and powerful pirouettes, wonderfully executed by the dancers. It perfectly embodied both the wonders and fears of falling in love, a significant event that many encounter while growing up. A different piece later on in the show, “Curiouser & Curiouser,” set to Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” also contained various references to Caroll’s work, particularly to

the peculiarities and marvels within Wonderland, exemplified by experimental tap elements. The singularity of the dance demonstrated one’s search for individuality while growing up, and the ability to make something incredible out of it once that individuality is found.

The second piece, “Foregone Creed” offered an unexpected, but highly enjoyable transition from the first. The piece delved into a more hip-hop-like style from eXpressions’ contemporary techniques, incorporating k-pop and modern elements. A later piece, “Hot Shots” also possessed similar hip-hoplike variations, although it could be more specifically categorized as a jazz-funk piece. It was accompanied by bright lighting and similar costumery, sporting eXpressions’ signature hot pink. Choreographer Kate Stewart ’25 said she got inspiration for her piece while studying abroad in London last semester, and “was really trying to see how [she] could marry some more jazzier club-style dance moves with contemporary and more technical ballet moves because I know that’s what the majority of the company is trained in.”

Further contemporary pieces entrancingly illustrated the complexities of growing up. “The Deal” by Mitski opened with a solo, which later transitioned into a duet, before introducing the remaining five dancers performing in the piece. The song speaks on how overwhelming emotions can

lead to desperation and the desire to be stripped of a soul in order to avoid sorrow. The dancers demonstrated this desperation, particularly through a sequence in which they hit the floor with their hands, creating a noise reverberating through the Frist Theater that filled the audience with suspense for the impending “deal” to be made.

Desperation is a theme also explored in a piece by Madeline Rohde ’27: “Rusted Blood.” Rather than wanting to be stripped of emotion, the dance encapsulates a necessity to feel more. The dance begins with the performers running anxiously from one side of the stage to the other, instilling a sense of urgency among the audience. In between sprints, the dancers, clothed in maroon and brown body suits that cleverly align with the piece’s title, showcase several skills before congregating as a group in a sequence. The performers’ technique is exceptional, but their facial expressions and body language are especially impressive, flawlessly conveying the need for emotional sustenance.

Rodhe is a Puzzles and Print Design staffer at the ‘Prince.’

Other pieces, such as “Another Love” also illustrate a battle between emotions, while “I’m Just a Girl” to Lizzy McAlpine’s “Over-The-Ocean Call” speaks on confusion and frustration. A particularly emotive part of the dance consisted of three dancers dragging other dancers across the floor.

Co-choreographer Sofia Rodriguez-Tucker ’27 told the ‘Prince’, “it was really interesting to push the boundaries of what I would usually choreograph.”

Suitable to the theme of growing up, the evening included a bitter-sweet video montage dedicated to the seniors of eXpressions. It is very clear that the dance company fosters a sense of community, one that is a privilege to be a part of. The videos highlighted just how much seniors Katerina Kourpas ’24, Sydney Mullin ’24, Chris Park ’24, and Campbell Schouten ’24 will be missed by the group. Their exceptional talent was a highlight of the performance and their energy filled the room. They said their goodbyes in the form of one of the concluding pieces to Phillip Phillip’s “Home,” a heartwarming compilation of their phenomenal skills. The final piece perfectly concluded the journey of growth developed throughout the evening. As soon as the first note of Noah Kahan’s “The View Between Villages” played, I wished I had taken a closer look at the program beforehand to give myself ample time to emotionally prepare for the powerful resonance of the piece. Titled “Used to be Home,” the piece captured the experience of being caught between phases of life while being flooded with memories of home.

Natalia Diaz is a member of the Class of 2027 and a contributing writer for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’

Writer

Brianna Melanie Suliguin is a staff writer for The Prospect. She is a part of the Great Class of 2027 and is from Toms River, New Jersey.

The Prospect 11 Weekly Event Roundup

By Sophie Zhang, Prospect Contributor

1 2

She Loves Me

Co-directed by Faith Wangermann ’25 and Alison Silldorff ’25; Performed by Madeleine LeBeau ’24, Casey Beidel ’24, Charlotte Kunlesh ’24, and Jay White ’24

March 29, 30 at 8 p.m. and April 5, 6 at 8 p.m.

Wallace Theater at the Lewis Arts complex

“She Loves Me” is a Broadway romantic comedy described as “a real musical for a virtual world.” The musical comments on the Princeton senior class’s virtual experiences during the pandemic and “transform[s] this goldenage Broadway musical into a modern commentary on an increasingly online world.” Tickets can be purchased through University Ticketing.

3 4

Spring Dance Festival: Resonance

March 29 at 7:30 p.m., and March 30 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Hearst Dance Theater at the Lewis Arts complex

The Spring Dance Festival, “Resonance,” showcases new works choreographed and performed by Princ- eton students. These works feature styles such as contemporary Chinese dance, ballet, hip-hop, and con- temporary dance. “Resonance” is free and open to the public. Reserve free tickets on University Ticketing.

El Ritmo que nos libre by Carrington Johnson ’24

March 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and at 7 p.m., and March 30 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

CoLab at the Lewis Arts complex

“El ritmo que nos libre: Das almas assassinadas aos espíritos vivos” (The Rhythm that Frees Us: From Murdered Souls to Living Spirits) is an immersive rhythmic experience drawing inspiration from the cultural traditions of Cuba, Brazil, Panama, and Puerto Rico. This choreopoem transforms rhythm into a “tangible force for liberation, identity, and unity for all participants.” Performances are free and open to the public. Tickets are required and can be reserved through University Ticketing.

Spring 2024 Anschutz Lecture: Food Culture, Food Justice, Food Art

April 2 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. East Pyne 010

Michael Peterson and Laurie Beth Clark, the artists forming the duo Spatula&Barcode, will discuss artists’ usage of food to “generate commensality, conviviality, and criticality.” This Anschutz lecture will explore artmaking in conjunction with food aesthetics and food politics.

Sisyphus by Jessica Lopez ’24

April 4, 5, 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Donald G. Drapkin Studio at the Lewis Arts complex

“Why do people need to die?” asks “Sisyphus,” a one-act play written and directed by Jessica Lopez ’24. The play, which reimagines the myth of Sisyphus, grapples with the inevitability of death. Performances are free and open to the public. Tickets can be reserved through University Ticketing.

8

The Commons presents ? ? ? : Exhibition by Petr Karpov

& Luke Shannon

Gallery open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Lucas Gallery, 185 Nassau St.

This exhibition of recent works by Luke Shannon ’24 and Petr Karpov ’24 prompts visitors to alternate between the roles of “spectator, player, plotter, artist, and artwork.”

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Hip-Hop Techniques and Foundations: House with Tatiana Desardouin

March 30 from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Ellie’s Studio in the Lewis Arts complex

As part of a class series curated by dance program alum Liam Lynch ’21, this class taught by Tatiana Desardouin will expose dancers of all experience levels to the house style. Classes are free and open to Princeton students, faculty, and staff; advance registration is not required. Alumni interested in participating should email Cindy Rosenfeld at cr17@princeton.edu.

10

March 29, 30 at 8 p.m.

Richardson Auditorium

9

Know How: Workshops on the Histories of Art and Craft

April 3 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Green Hall, 3-S-15

Hosted by the Department of Art and Archeology and the Lewis Center for the Arts, this workshop series explores the realms of fine art and craft and their inter- sections in art history. Furthermore, it features guest artists who “assess the stakes and the meanings of art’s craft in settings ranging from the Italian Renaissance, to eighteenth-century India, to the contemporary Andes.” The workshop on April 3 is led by Amy Yao, a Visual Arts lecturer.

Reproduction Production: Exhibition by Magnolia Wilkinson ’24

Gallery open April 1 to April 12 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Hurley Gallery at the Lewis Arts complex

Reproduction Production by Magnolia Wilkinson ’24 is a mixed- media exhibition exploring childhood memories, nostalgia, iden- tity, gender, and the act of making. This exhibition is free and open to the public.

11 SHASTRA: The Rise of Chaos by Naacho Dance Company

Princeton’s premier South Asian dance company, Naacho, presents SHASTRA: The Rise of Chaos. Tickets can be purchased on University Ticketing.

I Hear Machines Underwater: Exhibition by Lauren Olson ’24

Gallery open March 19 to March 29 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Hurley Gallery at the Lewis Arts complex

This exhibition by Princeton senior Lauren Olson ’24 is an exploration of the “literal and metaphorical implications of hearing construction underwater during a morning swim.” The gallery is free and open to the public; no tickets are required.

Hum r

‘Chosen One’ pulls cannon from Cannon Green

By

Bauman

The following content is purely satirical and en- tirely fictional.

The cannon which had been buried behind Nassau Hall in the center of Cannon Green since 1840 was pulled from its landmark location last night, according to a TigerAlert sent to the Princeton community at 2:12 a.m.

Our hero, who has been identified as Arthur Lewis-Library ’25, was described in the Tig- erAlert as a “roughly 6 foot tall, student-aged, athletic male with so much confidence and so littleOnlookersrationality.” at the scene of the cannon-pulling recall Lewis-Library “stumbling hastily toward the cannon, as if being called to it by a higher power.” Once the cannon was pulled from its concrete sheath, Lewis-Library reportedly yelled out: “The cannon has chosen me! I am the next Dean of the College!”

The TigerAlert did not clarify whether or not Lewis-Library would be the next Dean of the College, as the cannon declared. However, ac- cording to a survey conducted on the Barstool Princeton Instagram, 67 percent of respondents are in favor of the cannon’s decision, while 21 percent are against. The other 12 percent believe the University should replace the position entirely with an AI email generator.

Students’ reactions to the cannon-pulling have been mixed, with some outraged by the “desecration of Princetonian history,” as claimed in a HoagieMail sent by the Coffee Club, who just seemed to be trying to promote their new ‘Cannon Green Tea’ and ‘Iced Caffè Ameri-cannon’ drinks.

Although other students have expressed their support for Lewis-Library, most students appear worried about the bright, glowing hole left in the ground where the cannon was buried, with some students reporting “strange humming” and “loud scraping noises” coming from theThepit.Daily PrintsAnything sent a reporter to investigate, but upon return, he seemed to have no memory of anything before entering the pit. He appeared disoriented and oblivious, asking us repeatedly to point him toward the Nassau Weekly newsroom.

Spencer Bauman is a co-head Humor editor who recently room drew into the cannon pit.

TIGERALERT: Raccoon Bite

By Valerie Neske Staff Cartoonist

Spencer

Co-head Humor Editor

Tigers tripped up by Runnin’ Rebs: Historic season comes to a close for men’s basketball

By Alex Beverton-Smith & Yousif Mohamed Assistant Sports Editor & Senior Sports Writer

As the clock struck zero under the bright lights of Levien Gymnasium on March 16, men’s basketball had a chance to reflect.

Following their 90–81 upset loss in the Ivy Madness semifinal, closing their best path to the NCAA tournament, the mood in the Tigers’ locker room was understandably down. The loss meant their ticket was punched to a different tournament — the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), an opportunity for division I teams who just missed the March Madness cut to extend their seasons to the postseason. While they wouldn’t experience the same screaming highs of a March long past, they could at least have some semblance of a postseason experience within the NIT.

And yet, on Wednesday, the No. 2-seeded Tigers’ (24–5 overall, 12–2 Ivy League) season came to a solemn close in an 84–77 loss to the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Runnin’ Rebels (20–12 overall, 12–6 Mountain West) in the first round of the tournament.

Sophomore forward and Ivy League Player of the Year Caden Pierce led the way for the Tigers with 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Senior forward Zach Martini followed close behind

with 17, including five baskets from beyond the arc.

Junior guard Blake Peters started things off with a deep three-pointer immediately following the tip, but Rebels senior guard Justin Webster fired back with a triple of his own.

The Tigers had difficulty containing the Rebels’ offense throughout the first half. A 13–3 run, which included five points from forward Keylan Boone, saw UNLV take a 16–9 lead just over five minutes into the contest. Boone would continue to cause problems for the Tigers — he finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, hitting two of his five attempts from the perimeter.

Despite the early deficit, the Tigers kept things close as the game progressed. Coming out of a timeout at the 12:34 mark, a strong drive through the lane and a finish from Pierce put Princeton within four at 18–14. Following the bucket, first-year guard Jackson Hicke put back his own miss, which then gave sophomore guard Jack Scott a chance to knot the game at 18 with a layup of his own midway into the half.

The lead continued to bounce between the two teams. A pair of Martini three-pointers gave Princeton a three-point edge at 23–20, and a Pierce steal that led to a coast-to-coast slam dunk made it five at 28–23 with just under seven minutes to go in the first.

With Peters as the only junior who

has played significant minutes, Pierce — along with sophomore guard Xaivian Lee — are poised to step up as leaders for Princeton next season. As Henderson noted postgame, “[the Tigers] are going to be really different next year.”

As the first half drew to a close, Boone and Pierce traded blow after blow to keep their teams in the game. In the next three-minute stretch, the two had four and six points, respectively. The Tigers came out on top, as senior guard Matt Allocco added four points of his own to give the Tigers their largest lead of the game — 38–32 — with just over two minutes until the half.

Final Rebel layups from Webster and forward Rob Whaley Jr. cut the Tigers’ lead with less than a minute left. The Tigers waded into the second half with a 38–36 advantage.

In the second, the Rebels were sure to not let the Tigers extend their lead. Immediately following the break, the Rebels evened the score 38–38 with a layup.

They then turned up the pressure, as following a Pierce layup, the Rebels hit a three to take their first lead since halfway through the first half. Princeton struggled to hang on as the Rebels slowly began to overwhelm them and their speed of play proved too much for the Tigers.

The ever-reliable Allocco managed to hit a three from deep to cut the

Rebel lead, but the visitors responded with an 8–0 run to extend their lead into double digits at 57–46 with 12:05 left in the contest.

Throughout the second half, the momentum was not with the Tigers. Several small runs saw them claw back some points and cut the lead, but it was never enough to get them back into it. Princeton got within four following a Pierce layup, but another Rebel 9–0 run quickly sunk any Tigers’ hopes.

“We just didn’t have it — that team is kryptonite for us,” Henderson told the Daily Princetonian. “They were playing with missiles, and we were playing with sticks.”

This was characteristic of the rest of the game, as the Tigers kept on getting within a few points before being unable to sustain a gamesaving run. With 1:41 to go, Lee hit a free throw to make the score 73–68 and give the Tigers a last chance, but the Rebels sealed the affair with three free throws to dash any lingering hope of a Princeton comeback.

With five seconds to go, two more Rebel free throws ended the Tigers’ season with an 84–77 home loss — their first of the season.

Huge victories against Yale and Cornell had the Tigers looking unstoppable on their way to postseason success, but all hopes were dashed after a disappointing collapse to Brown. On the court, the Tigers’ squad seemed

to lack the motivation to win this NIT matchup, and the Orange and Black ultimately failed to seal the deal.

In his first comments to the ‘Prince,’ however, Henderson was quick to recognize two key players who the team will miss next season — Matt Allocco and Zach Martini.

“When I got into coaching, you just wish you could have guys like this in your program,” Henderson said to the ‘Prince’ about Allocco and Martini. “What a gift it is to coach those guys.”

Nevertheless, Henderson was still optimistic about the season and proud of his team.

“We were punching above our weight all season … we lost some juice there at the end, but that doesn’t take away from what this group is and does. It’s unbelievable.”

With dominant talent in the Class of 2026, another Ivy League Championship this season, and a strong recruiting class, the Tigers will have everything to play for when next season comes around.

Alex Beverton-Smith is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’

Yousif Mohamed is a senior Sports writer at the ‘Prince.’

Coulter Mackesy reaches 100 goals as No. 16 Princeton men’s lacrosse downs No. 14 Harvard

By Lily Pampolina Sports Contributor

This past Saturday, the cold Cambridge rain did not stunt No. 17 ranked Princeton men’s lacrosse (5–3 overall, 1–1 Ivy League), as the Tigers defeated the No. 14 ranked Harvard Crimson (6–2 overall, 0–2 Ivy League) by a score of 14–11. Last weekend, Princeton lost a nail biting game against Ivy League foe Cornell, 15–14. This week, they sought redemption and a better effort against the Crimson.

“We really beat ourselves last week,” first-year attacker Nate Kabiri told The Daily Princetonian, “we really focused on ourselves this week and had a great week of practice.”

Though the Ivy League rivalry runs deep, in the Tigers’ last 10 matchups against the Crimson, they have emerged victorious seven times. This time, Princeton continued the trend on Harvard’s home turf.

The scoring started early with junior midfielder Sean Cameron netting a goal to put Princeton up 1–0. Harvard responded shortly after, scoring three goals of their own in less than two minutes. Only four minutes into the game, the Tigers faced a 3–1 deficit.

About five minutes later, the momentum shifted. The Tigers matched the Crimson’s three goals with three of their own. All three were unassisted, as the first and

third came off the stick of Kabiri and the second from sophomore face-off specialist Andrew McMeekin.

In the win, McMeekin won 20 of his 29 faceoffs and had a seasonhigh 15 ground balls. He has now scored in each of the Tigers’ last three games.

Harvard netted a goal to even the score at 4–4 and the match entered the second quarter tied.

After a ten minute scoring drought, the Tigers took the lead, 5–4. The goal was scored by junior attacker Coulter Mackesy, the 100th of his career. Mackesy joins a small group of only 15 Princeton lacrosse players to ever reach this landmark, and an even smaller group of five Princeton lacrosse players to have 100 goals and 50 assists in their career.

“Reaching 100 goals is an exciting milestone and one I could not have done without my teammates and coaches,” Mackesy told the ‘Prince.’ “At the end of the day, the most important thing is winning the game no matter who puts the ball in the back of the net.”

The final two goals of the half were scored by sophomore midfielder Quinn Krammer and firstyear attacker Colin Burns. The goals were assisted by Kabiri and Mackesy, respectively.

The Tigers headed into halftime with a 7–4 lead, after the Crimson went scoreless in the second quarter. Entering the third quarter, how-

ever, Harvard came out firing. The Crimson netted three straight goals, tying the game 7–7. Two of these goals were scored by midfielder Logan Ip, who had a seasonhigh three goals against the Tigers.

The Tigers responded with two goals by Krammer and sophomore midfielder Chad Palumbo, putting Princeton up 9–7 with three minutes left in the third quarter. The Crimson persisted, though, and evened the score yet again to close the period at 9–9.

“Like most sports, lacrosse is a game of runs,” said Mackesy. “Whether giving up a lead or chasing it back, our strategy doesn’t change much. The most important thing for us is trusting in our preparation to be able to finish games down the stretch.”

From here, Princeton would take over. Three impressive goals from Cameron, senior defenseman Pace Billings, and Kabiri put the Tigers up 12–9.

Billings’s goal came from a pass from senior goalie Michael Gianforcaro, who had just made a crucial save off of a Crimson shot. Gianforcaro had six saves against Harvard.

The Crimson scored two backto-back goals to cut the Tigers’ lead to one, but Kabiri shut down any hopes of a comeback. He netted two more goals to end the game with a final score of 14–11.

“This win was super important to our team so finding a way to get there was awesome,” Kabiri said to the ‘Prince.’ “We were able to have a

lot of possessions at the end of the game due to McMeekin winning [his] faceoffs and the defense making big stops.”

The Tigers will continue their stretch of playing Ivy League opponents this upcoming weekend.

On Saturday, March 30, Princeton takes on Dartmouth (3–5 overall, 0–1 Ivy League) at home at 12 p.m.

Lily Pampolina is a Sports contributor and contributing Audience staffer for the ‘Prince.’

PHOTO COURTESY OF @TIGERLACROSSE/X.

Sophomore face-off specialist Andrew McMeekin running with possession versus Harvard.

The dance ends early: women’s basketball falls to West Virginia

By Max Hines Staff Sports Writer

Iowa City, Iowa — Ending a streak of two straight years with a March Madness win, ninth-seeded Princeton (25–5 overall, 13–1 Ivy League) fell to the eighth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers (25–7 overall, 12–6 Big 12) 63–53 in a defensive battle at CarverHawkeye Arena.

Despite the loss, senior forward Ellie Mitchell, senior guard and captain Kaitlyn Chen, and senior guard Chet Nweke leave a legacy of Ivy League dominance and postseason success. The trio will be remembered among recent greats such as Bella Alarie ’20, Abby Meyers ’22, and more as cornerstones of a golden age of Princeton women’s basketball — which may still be far from over.

Over their careers, Mitchell, Chen, and Nweke won every possible Ivy championship and earned two March Madness victories. Continuing Princeton’s tradition of excellence from the Banghart era to the Berube era, the Class of 2024’s impact will not soon be forgotten.

“You couldn’t find three people that care more, that want to be great,” head coach Carla Berube said after the game. “Just amazing people to be around, and [I’m] gonna miss them very much, but I think they left an incredible legacy — left it better than when they came.”

A keystone of the trio’s legacy is mentorship, ensuring the tradition of victory continues.

“Kaitlyn, Ellie, and Chet have put so much faith and trust in me,” sophomore standout Madison St. Rose said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be the player I am today.”

Backed by a small yet vocal Princeton contingent, Princeton led at the half. Ultimately, West Virginia’s unrelenting press and effective shooting were Princeton’s undoing. Star West Virginia guard JJ Quinerly scored a game-high 29 points, many on floaters and layups that came late enough to quash any potential Princeton comeback.

Forcing 21 turnovers, 12 of which came in the decisive third quarter, the Mountaineers caused chaos and limited Princeton’s midrange attack.

“I haven’t seen a team that mid-ranges as well as Princeton probably ever in our scouting,” West Virginia Head Coach Mark Kellogg said. The Mountaineers’ scouting and practice paid off, as Princeton scored just six points on two-pointers outside the paint.

Opening the game with gusto, St. Rose drained two early threes to give the Tigers an early lead. West Virginia then settled in offensively, going back and forth with Princeton to bring the score to 14–11 Princeton at the end of the first quarter.

To start the second quarter, the Tigers rushed out to what would be their largest lead of the game, going up nine with 6:41 left in the frame. West Virginia countered, chipping away to bring the score to 26-24 at the half on a deep buzzer-beater from Jordan Harrison.

In a battle of the backcourts, star guard duos Chen and St. Rose for Princeton and Quinerly and Harrison for West Virginia led the way offensively, collectively scoring 39 of the 50 total points in the first half.

Despite West Virginia’s notorious fullcourt press forcing nearly 24 turnovers per game, Princeton only coughed up the ball five times in the first, though the tide would soon change.

“In the first half, we took care of the ball really well,” Chen said after the game. “We really valued our every possession, and we were able to get into our stuff well.”

All season, the third quarter has been Princeton’s best, but on Saturday night, the tables turned. The vaunted West Virginia defense finally dug its teeth in, forcing nine turnovers in five minutes as the Tigers’ poise began to break.

Despite Berube imploring her players from the sideline to “settle down,” Princeton couldn’t find their footing. The Mountaineers converted defense into offense, going on a 13–0 run to turn a five point deficit into an eight point lead.

“I think they just turned it up, turned that pressure up, and we just got a little bit careless,” Berube said. “Their pressure put us into situations where it was really low shot clock, and we were struggling to get good shots.”

The Mountaineers also neutralized Mitchell, allowing her just five second half rebounds as she fell into foul trouble. Mitchell scored a mere three points during the game, and fellow forward Nweke mustered just two.

“They did a good job of packing the paint,” Berube commented. “They’re strong, they’re aggressive, and … it was hard to get those looks inside.”

While Princeton settled down to end the third quarter, the damage was done. Overall, the Tigers shot just 25 percent in the frame as West Virginia turned a two-point deficit into a 42–33 lead.

As the fourth quarter ticked by, the final outcome became more and more apparent.

While Princeton brought the Mountaineers’ lead down to six multiple times, they couldn’t inch closer than that. The turnovers — and easy buckets for Quinerly — continued to pile up as Princeton failed to find open looks early in the shot clock.

As the dance of last-minute shots and fouls finally ended, West Virginia won 63–53 with the ball fittingly in Chen’s hands as the buzzer sounded.

“This program has given me the best three years, four years of my life, and I’ve met such amazing people,” an emotional Chen said postgame. “I couldn’t be happier here than anywhere else.”

West Virginia now will prepare for the top-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (30–4 overall, 15–3 Big Ten) in NCAA all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark’s last game at CarverHawkeye Arena on Monday.

For Princeton, the loss serves as a damper on an otherwise successful season with a sixth straight Ivy title and multiple post-

season awards.

“This is one game, one loss, on an amazing season that we had,” Berube said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my entire team.”

Despite losing seniors Chen, Mitchell, and Nweke, the future still looks bright for the Tigers.

“[Our younger players] have really stepped up and stepped into their role,” Chen reflected. “They’ve done a fantastic job all year, and I’m honestly just really looking forward to see how they’ll grow and develop

next year and become the leaders that they are.”

Though the faces may change year to year, Princeton basketball’s strength still rises from its unity and tight-knit nature.

“It’s Princeton basketball, but it’s a family,” Berube concluded. “These are amazing women and role models.

Max Hines is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’

PHOTO COURTESY OF @PRINCETONWBB/X

The Tigers huddle one last time as the clock runs out against West Virginia.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

No. 19 women’s lacrosse narrowly defeats Cornell, 13–12

By Peter Wang Staff Sports Writer

Nothing is certain except death, taxes, and the women’s lacrosse team playing a home game in the pouring rain.

After a spring break spent in the Sunshine State, the No. 19 women’s lacrosse team (5–3 overall, 1–1 Ivy League) returned home to face Cornell (5–3, 2–1). Princeton, fresh off a 16–11 win against Jacksonville (2–6 overall, 0–0 Atlantic Sun Conference), came out on top in a 13–12 nail-biter for their first conference victory. The Tigers had six goal scorers, led by five goals from senior attacker Grace Tauckus.

The first quarter started off in Cornell’s favor with the Big Red winning the opening draw and scoring just 29 seconds into the game, off the stick of midfielder Dillyn Patten.

Cornell dominated draw controls in the first quarter — winning all six of them — to create offensive possession after offensive possession. This allowed them to extend their lead to 3–0 with goals from attacker Sophie Ward and midfielder Caitlin Slaminko.

However, the Tigers could not be denied on offense for long. With just under three minutes left in the first, a foul by Cornell’s Alexa Donahoe set up a free position attempt for Tauckus, who found the back of the net for her first goal and cut Cornell’s lead to two.

Starting the second quarter, the Tigers came out more aggressive on both offense and defense. First-year midfielder Colette Quinn won the draw — the first draw control for Princeton in the

game — allowing the Tigers to quickly press into the offensive third. In just 15 seconds, junior attacker McKenzie Blake weaved through a crowd of Cornell defenders and scored off a nifty bounce-shot.

“We made some adjustments up the draw that really helped us get some more offensive possessions,” said head coach Jenn Cook in a postgame interview with the Daily Princetonian.

Princeton followed up with another draw control by sophomore midfielder Abigail Roberts. After a turnover, the Tigers stayed aggressive on defense, and sophomore attacker Haven Dora knocked the ball loose from a Big Red attacker to allow senior midfielder Kari Buonanno, reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, to pick up the loose ground ball.

“We’ve always been, as a team, really, really good at the ride,” stated Cook.

The ‘ride’ is a strategy in lacrosse where an offensive player uses aggressive stick checks to force a turnover on an opposing defender.

“It gives us extra possessions and I think it is a momentum changer for us,” said Cook. “The ride, and how hard we ride, and the work that we put in there to get the ball back, is really an energy booster to the team.”

Though Cornell was able to score off a long-distance goal, from this point on, the second quarter belonged to Princeton. Just two minutes later, senior midfielder Samantha DeVito scored her first goal of the game off a pass from Buonanno in a highlight-reel play, converting a low shot while falling to the ground and

losing her goggles in the process.

First-year attacker Meg Morrisroe scored her fourth goal of the year shortly after to cut Cornell’s lead to 5–4 .

“[Our offense] really started getting going in the second quarter, and that made a huge difference for us,” said Cook.

Sophomore attacker Jami MacDonald then tied up the game with her 16th goal of the season. After a blocked shot by Morrisroe , Cornell obtained possession of the ball for a fleeting moment, but not before Dora forced a turnover on goalkeeper Ellie Horner and lobbed the ball to MacDonald, who scored while falling down to the turf.

After yet another draw control by Princeton, MacDonald found the back of the net once again, giving the Tigers their first lead of the game, 6–5, with 5:08 left in the half. This score would hold into halftime.

To begin the second half, Big Red midfielder Kylie Gelabert scored her 12th goal of the season to tie the game at six just 31 seconds in. Though Slaminko won the ensuing draw control again, a turnover by Cornell midfielder Ellie Bergin allowed Princeton to clear the ball. With the ball in her stick, MacDonald found a streaking DeVito to give the Tigers back the lead.

Bergin countered just a minute later to make it 7–7, but Tauckus answered with her second goal off another free position attempt. A free position attempt from Slaminko later evened the score again for the Big Red.

Consecutive goals by Blake and Tauckus then put Princeton ahead with a 10–8

lead, their largest of the game thus far. Tauckus’ third goal of the game came off an assist by Dora, but the counter-punching Big Red scored two goals of their own to send the game to the fourth quarter knotted at 10.

With a decisive fourth quarter coming up, Cook’s message to the team was simple — to continue their toughness.

“Keep being gritty and tough, make good choices with the ball,” stated Cook to the ‘Prince.’ The plan was to “take care of the ball in the clear, get the stops that we need, executing our defensive points and taking care of the ball offensively. Still attacking cage, still playing our style.”

Roberts won the opening draw to give Princeton possession, and Tauckus found the back of the net for the fourth time in the game, cutting between three Big Red defenders to fire a high shot past Horner. Cornell countered with a long, four minute possession that culminated with a goal from Slaminko, tying the score up once again.

With just over nine minutes left in the game, Cornell made a substitution on goalie, replacing Horner with Mackenzie Clark. Princeton won the draw control — their tenth of the game — and yet another free position attempt gave Tauckus her fifth score of the game, bringing her season total up to 20.

“Grace’s leadership is just incredible, she is always coming to play and is always lifting her teammates up,” said Cook to the ‘Prince.’

“Today, she really made such an incredible effort to finish her opportunities. She works incredibly hard and

cares so deeply about this team’s success that there’s no surprise the success that she had.”

A tough defensive possession ensued for the Tigers, culminating in a save by sophomore goalkeeper Amelia Hughes. The defensive stand allowed Princeton to push back upfield, where junior attacker Nina Montes scored to give the team a 13–11 lead with just under five minutes remaining.

Cornell’s offense stayed on the increasingly desperate attack, but the Tigers’ defense stepped up to close out the series.

“It’s really, really exciting to see the defensive unit gel, that includes Amelia, and they made the stops that we needed to make,” noted Cook. “It was huge, so I think there were a ton of players today that had big moments and important moments.”

A final goal by Cornell with 58 seconds left on the clock was not enough, and the Tigers walked away with a tough, 13–12 victory over the Big Red.

“Cornell is a great team,” said Cook. “I think anytime you’re playing an Ivy League game, it’s always going to be a dogfight and it’s always going to be competitive.”

Princeton’s victory extends their all-time record against Cornell to 44–5. Now with their first Ivy League win in hand, the Tigers look ahead to Wednesday night, when they will attempt to continue their win streak against No. 15 Penn (7–1, 2–0) at home.

Peter Wang is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’

By Laura Barnds Staff Archivist

Today, A.B. students at Princeton generally follow a strictly regimented course schedule, conventionally taking four classes per semester. When this structure was first implemented exactly 100 years ago, in 1924, it was met with a largely negative response. It was unpopular enough that the graduating Class of 1925 wore their class jackets with an image of “a tiger crushed under four massive tomes” to express their displeasure.

Before the “Four Course Plan of Study” was incorporated, most students would enroll in five courses per semester, with no independent work requirement.

Under the new regimen, students were limited to four courses per semester. However, they were also expected to complete a rigor-

ous independent reading component, completed under an advisor in the undergraduate’s department of concentration, which they would be tested upon at the end of the year. Honors would be granted based on performance on this exam.

In an article in The Daily Princetonian titled “‘Give Us Liberty Or’ - The Old Plan Back,” an anonymous writer expressed frustration over the new course of study, noting that “the general idea of freedom is allowing a man to do his work when and how he chooses.”

His “greatest quarrel” with this new plan stemmed from the new addition: “the delusory title of ‘Independent Reading,’” which to the author seemed “as independent as that of a carefully conducted preparatory school.” Instead, they suggested that it should be considered “Required Reading.”

The author expressed bitterness with the newfangled severity of study, comparing it to “a mine where formerly the miners filled five scuttles of coal and are now required only to fill four apparently, but in reality are forced to load and carry five scuttles … which must be filled with a finer quality of ore.”

In contrast, students today typically have a more positive view of the four course plan and the accompanying independent work requirements. Kateri Espinosa ’24, a student in the School of Public and International Affairs, noted to the ‘Prince’ that she “found it really valuable to work hand-in-hand with a professor in the field, and actually writing my thesis has helped me understand the landscape of academia in a personal way.” Espinosa also believes that independent work will benefit her beyond Princeton.

“Even though I don’t plan on pursuing grad school, I think that the way my thesis has required me to collaborate with people across campus and in the community and be responsible for my own deadlines and progress will be extremely valuable in the workfield,” she explained. While many other institutions only require a thesis from students pursuing honors, a senior thesis is required for all A.B. majors. Despite the negative reception when the plan was first introduced, the implementation of the Four Course Plan and synchronous programs of independent study has been essential in producing the unique academic rigor of a Princeton education.

Laura Barnds is a staff Archivist for the ‘Prince.’