March 22, 2016

Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Tuesday March 22, 2016 vol. cxl no. 31

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Graduate body diversity sees little increase

By Amber Park contributor

In a recent demographic report published online, the percentage of black doctoral students in the University graduate student body for the 2015-2016 academic school year was 3 percent — the same number that was reported in 2010 and only one percent higher than the value reported in 1980.

“The University recognizes it’s not where it wants to be in this area,” Graduate School Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion Dale Trevino noted via email.

“When we talk about the challenges of the pipeline, we are typically referring to the fact that there are not a large number of underrepresented minorities earning Ph.D.s nationally,” he explained.

Even with the establishment of the Trustee Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity in January 2012 by former President Shirley Tilghman, as well as multiple comprehensive reviews of diversity across multiple campus

populations that were publicly made available in April 2013, diversity among graduate students — especially black and Hispanic Ph.D. students and post-doctoral students — has been “disturbingly slow,” according to a 2013 Trustee Ad Hoc Committee report.

Despite an abundance of affinity groups like the Latino Graduate Student Association and the Black Graduate Caucus, the Princeton graduate school program for the most part remains largely racially homogenous. As the report notes, across all the University’s doctoral programs, white students make up 51 percent of the student body, while Asians make up 28 percent.

In contrast, Hispanic students make up eight percent and black students make up three percent of the student body. Additionally, the majority of Asians that make up 28 percent of the doctoral program may be found in STEM-related departments or other science- and mathrelated programs, which See DIVERSITY page 3

STUDENT LIFE

PSII releases petition for coal divestment

By Marcia Brown staff writer

The Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative released a petition to the University on Sunday proposing that the University divest from coal and, eventually, all fossil fuels.

The group’s proposal from last year was rejected by University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, the University Resources Committee and Princeton University Investment Company, which manages the University’s endowment.

According to University Media Relations Specialist

Min Pullan, the University handles petitions on divestment through the Council of Princeton University Community Resources Committee.

Pullan declined to further comment on the petition, noting that it would be inappropriate to provide comments in advance of that process.

Last year’s petition received roughly 1,700 signatures from members of the campus community, according to PSII leader Leigh Anne Schriever ’16. 73 percent of the signatories were undergraduates, nine percent were graduate students, 11 percent were alumni and two percent were faculty. Staff, See DIVESTMENT page 3

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM

Olympian August Wolf ‘83, a former Olympian, is running to represent Connecticut in the U. S. Senate.

Wolf ’83, an Olympian running for U.S. Senate

By Abhiram Karrupur staff writer

According to August Wolf ’83, in today’s political environment, his campaign for Connecticut Senator has the chance to unseat one of the most powerful men in Washington.

Wolf, who goes by “Augie,” has been residing in Connecticut for the last four years and is running for senator as a member of the Republican Party. His campaign will attempt to unseat current Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, a democrat.

Blumenthal is best known for calling upon the Justice Department to investigate employers who required employees to submit their Facebook passwords during the hiring process. He also authored a bill to eliminate pensions for members of Congress convicted of felonies, and has sided with

mainstream Democrats in supporting the Iran nuclear deal and the Affordable Care Act. Wolf noted that he was motivated to run for the U.S. Senate after witnessing the “destruction” that has occurred in Connecticut. He explained that many businesses have left Connecticut due to high taxes and regulation and pointed to General Electric’s decision to move its headquarters from Fairfield, Conn., to Boston.

“That is a huge blow to the state of Connecticut,” Wolf said. “If the board of GE thinks it’s a good idea, I’m sure the boards of other publicly traded companies are asking, ‘What are we doing here?’”

Wolf said that he disapproves of the low-interest rate policies undertaken by the Federal Reserve. He is also opposed to the Iran nuclear deal, which Blumenthal sup-

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Robert George endorses Cruz ’92 for Republican presidential nomination

By Kevin Agostinelli contributor

simply pay lip service to it.”

George specifically pointed out Cruz’s belief in restoring a national commitment to the Separation of Powers doctrine and to the Dual Sovereignty doctrine of the national and state governments — two principles that, in George’s view, have fallen into neglect in recent times.

“In Ted, I believe we would have a president that understands and appreciates the limits of the power of his own office,” George said.

In response to criticism that Cruz does not seem to be an agreeable candidate, George pointed out the many personal instances he witnessed of Cruz being open to discussion during the advising process.

“There would often be times when we would just be working on his independent projects, when to see how far an argument could be defended, he or I would adopt the position of the devil’s advocate and argue very strenu-

A bird flies through clear blue skies over the University.

University’s McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Robert George has publicly endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz ’92 for the Republican presidential nomination.

George is also the chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

George noted that Cruz’s strong record of defending the Constitution was a major reason for his support of the Texan senator.

George advised Cruz for one of his junior papers and for Cruz’s senior thesis.

“I believe that restoring a sound understanding of the Constitution and a national commitment to live by the Constitution as it is — not as we wish it would be — is the highest priority,” George said. “And Senator Cruz has always been a Constitutionalist… he is willing to live by the Constitution and not

In Opinion

Today on Campus

Senior columnist Will Rivitz calls for a two-state solution in the Latke–Hamantasch Debate, and columnist Bennett McIntosh admits he feels less pride for his academic achievements than he let on to employers.page 4

7 p.m.: The Hindu Lecture Series will hold a lecture “Hinduism, Race, and the ‘Science’ of Philology” with Vishwa Adluri of Hunter College. 216 Aaron Burr Hall.

BLUE SKIES

SUNNY HE :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ported, noting that with the extra money Iran obtained, the county has now begun to launch missiles and threaten Israel. On tax policy, he disagrees with Senator Blumenthal’s approach to raise taxes to pay for other people’s social programs. He noted that if elected, he would work to balance the federal budget and freeze federal governmental hiring.

To help the people of Connecticut, Wolf wants to lower the federal corporate tax rate, which he says would bring money being held offshore by companies back into the United States. He also noted that he would focus on improving education in the inner cities and that he wants to give every student a fair shot. To do this, he will advocate for more state and local control of schools; he noted that since the federal Department of Education was estabSee WOLF page 2

ously for a position that did not happen to be one that we held,” George said. “His willingness and ability to do that very well impressed me, even then when he was 19 years old.”

In a public announcement published on Cruz’s official presidential campaign website in response to George’s endorsement, Cruz expressed his gratitude for George’s support and his admiration for his former professor. “[Professor George] represents the vibrancy of thought in Christianity, and I’ve been grateful to fight alongside him for years in defending our God-given rights,” Cruz stated. “We are delighted to have his leadership as we continue to make this election a referendum on our constitutional liberties.”

Cruz did not respond to requests for comment.

Cruz’s campaign office did not respond for comment.

George’s open support for See GEORGE page 2

WEATHER

STUDENT LIFE

HIGH

57˚

LOW

45˚

Mostly sunny. chance of rain:

0 percent

The Daily Princetonian

page 2

ERROR:variabledeletedERROR:variabledeleted

Wolf: I am very much a proponent of limited government WOLF

Continued from page 1

.............

lished, education has worsened in the U.S. “The great majority of people who I have talked to have loved my outsider message,” Wolf said. “I am very much a proponent of limited government and economic freedom.”

Wolf grew up in Minnesota and attended St. Paul Academy. He noted that in high school he enjoyed studying history and German and that he decided to apply to the University because of its unique academic environment.

“I was interested in Princeton because it’s a relatively international place,” Wolf said. “When I visited after getting accepted, I fell in love with it immediately.”

Wolf explained that when he arrived at the University, he found all the students to be very intelligent, noting that they came from diverse backgrounds. As a freshman, he spent most of his time playing on the track team and studying. Later on, he helped found the Nassau Weekly publication by selling advertisements. Wolf then started an informal Diplomacy club, modeled after the game, and joined the now defunct Dial Lodge eating club.

“It was the animal house of the era,” Wolf said. “We had a lot of fun there.”

He also pioneered the first so-called “bouncers” at the eating clubs in his senior year. He noted that club officers were the ones who used to stand outside during parties and check IDs. To relieve the officers, Wolf set up a company, called Prospect Security, through which clubs would hire large student athletes to stand outside and serve as guards during parties.

Wolf spent most of his time at the University on the the track team as a shot put thrower and discus thrower. He credits current track Coach Fred Samara for helping to markedly improve his game. As a member of the team, Wolf won the In-

door National Title at the 1984 USA-Mobil Indoor Track and Field Championship and was the 1984 U.S. National Champion. He also placed fifth at the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton, Alberta.

Samara did not respond to a request for comment.

As a senior, Wolf contemplated competing in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He attended the national Olympic trials and placed second among the shot put throwers in the United States. Wolf explained that the environment at the trials and at the Olympics was very stressful.

“It is very pressure-packed, and people spent years of their life preparing for this moment.”

August Wolf ‘83, Olympian

“It is very pressure-packed, and people spent years of their life preparing for this moment,” he said. “It’s an amazing event to watch.”

At the Olympic games, Wolf placed fourth in the shot-put, which he described as the worst place in which to finish. However, he noted that he enjoyed the overall experience; his favorite part was marching with the U.S. team during the opening ceremony in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“There were 100,000 people on their feet, screaming, and you couldn’t hear yourself talk,” Wolf said. “On our right were Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and there was quite a feeling of achievement and belonging.”

In 1985, Wolf was sanctioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations after refusing a drug test during a meet in Norway.

He explained that he had just taken antihistamines to lessen his allergies and told the officials that he couldn’t do the drug test at that time.

The officials agreed. Three months later, the IAAF suspended him for life, but after he and the U.S. Track and Field Federation appealed the decision, the ban was reduced to 18 months.

“I would have passed that test if it were not for the antihistamine,” Wolf said.

Wolf graduated from the University with a degree from the Wilson School. He wrote his senior thesis on the effect of oil on emerging market economies. He explained how the economic rent received by the oil producing countries distorts their societies and noted that the unintended consequences of resource wealth outweigh the intended benefit.

He pointed to Nigeria as an example, where oil resulted in many economic issues for the country.

After competing in the Olympics, Wolf joined Kidder Peabody, an investment bank on Wall Street. He facilitated financial transactions and then joined the Chicago Board of Trade. He explained that he didn’t enjoy the environment at the Board of Trade since it involved many people screaming at each other; he subsequently left the Board.

Wolf then moved to California and attempted to qualify for the 1988 Olympic team. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury and had to suspend his athletic pursuit.

He took up a job at Symantec doing distribution sales, for which he spoke with distributors, trained them to sell products and attended trade shows.

Wolf returned to New York City and worked as a bond salesman for 20 years before deciding to try something else. At a football game in 2014 he ran into Alexandra Lebenthal ’86 and her husband Jay Diamond ’86, who had been on the track team with him. Lebenthal asked Wolf to look into her company, Lebenthal Wealth Advisors, and a few months later,

Are you interested in:

he joined. He is currently employed as a wealth advisor for Lebenthal Wealth Advisors, and serves on the board of Holborn, another financial services company.

“He didn’t see me as a competitor, but as a mentee, and someone who he could help in my career.”

Abbey Fox,

Wolf’s Sales Assistant

Abbey Fox, who was Wolf’s sales assistant when he was a bond salesman, explained that Wolf’s background in finance will help him in the Senate in terms of negotiating and working with people who have different views.

She noted that Wolf was the best teacher she ever had, especially since the trading f loor environment is very cutthroat.

“He didn’t see me as a competitor, but as a mentee, and someone who he could help in my career,” Fox said. “He took the time and patience to help me, and people don’t do that very often in that business.”

Wolf is also the founder of the U.S. Athletic Trust, a foundation that funds potential Olympic athletes.

He noted that the idea for this foundation came from his own experience, because he funded his own Olympic training with a scholarship to train and study in West Germany.

“When I was in Germany, I saw a whole different system on how they support their athletes,” Wolf said. “It made ours look pretty shabby.”

In 2000, Wolf heard about the success of high jumper Tora Harris ’02 at the NCAA tournament and asked him if he was going to be preparing for the Olympics. Wolf noted that Harris did intend to train for the Olympics, but he did not have any funding.

“Here was a kid who was

George speaks to Cruz’s dedication to religious freedom GEORGE

Continued from page 1

.............

Driving around campus in a golf cart, delivering the paper the campus wakes up to, AND getting PAID to do all of this?

much better than I was, and he was getting no support when he graduated,” Wolf said. “This spurred me to start U.S. Athletic Trust.”

The U.S. Athletic Trust currently funds 50 athletes, one of whom is Nathan Crumpton ’08, who recently won eighth place in the world championships for skeleton racing.

Crumpton noted that Wolf has been instrumental in helping him pursue his athletic endeavors. Crumpton heard about Wolf’s foundation through another alumnus and applied for funding to train for skeleton racing.

At first, Wolf said he couldn’t fund him, since Crumpton didn’t have a record at the time. Yet after one year, Crumpton returned with promising results, and Wolf agreed to sponsor and hire him. Crumpton now serves as the operations manager for the U.S. Athletic Trust.

“Overwhelmingly, Augie is a great guy,” Crumpton said.

“He may appear intimidating at first, but he is just a warmhearted individual who will do anything he can to help out deserving people.”

Alfonso Scannapieco, a pole-vaulter at University of Albany, said that when he told Wolf that he did not have the money to pay for the coaching needed to compete at the college level, Wolf and another student asked Scannapieco to train and lift with them, and eventually coached him.

“It was kind of cool, because I had never had anyone coach me,” Scannapieco said.

“He said I had a lot of athletic ability and I could be a Division 1 athlete.”

Scannapieco noted that Wolf worked with him constantly so he could compete at the collegiate level and be the first in his family to go to college, which Scannapieco eventually did. He said that without Wolf’s guidance he would have become a construction worker.

Wolf was named a Trustee for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation in 2014 and additionally serves on the Board of the Friends of Princeton Track.

Cruz comes after a public statement spearheaded by George in coalition with more than 30 conservative Catholic leaders which condemned the presidential nomination of GOP candidate Donald Trump.

In that letter, published by the National Review, George and his cosignatories declared that there is nothing in Trump’s campaign or his previous record that gives grounds for confidence that he genuinely shares commitments to the right to life, to religious freedom and the rights of conscience, to rebuilding the marriage culture or to subsidiarity and the principle of limited constitutional government.

Cruz’s campaign, however, is not without its controversy in regards to promoting religious freedom.

The latest news, as noted in an article on theintercept.com, is that a number of Cruz’s advisers, including Frank Gaffney, are members of the Center for Security Policy, a think tank that the Southern Poverty Law Center has referred to as an “extremist group” because of its alleged “anti-Muslim bigotry.”

George noted Cruz’s consistent dedication to promoting religious freedom, both domestically and internationally, and added that he believes Cruz is a presidential candidate who would protect core beliefs of the Catholic faith even though Cruz himself is not Catholic.

To George, these core Catholic principles include “the protection of the sanctity of human life in all stages and conditions, standing up for marriage in the family as the conjugal union of husband and wife, religious freedom and the rights of conscience.”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Email bm@dailyprincetonian.com

The Daily Princetonian is published daily except Saturday and Sunday from September through May and three times a week during January and May by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., 48 University Place, Princeton, N.J. 08540. Mailing address: P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542. Subscription rates: Mailed in the United States $175.00 per year, $90.00 per semester. Office hours: Sunday through Friday, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telephones: Business: 609-375-8553; News and Editorial: 609-258-3632. For tips, email news@dailyprincetonian.com. Reproduction of any material in this newspaper without expressed permission of The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2014, The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Princetonian, P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542.

ERROR:variabledeletedERROR:variabledeleted

The Daily Princetonian

page 3

Percentage of black Ph.D. students Revised petition is more direct, targeted only one percent higher than 1980 DIVESTMENT Continued from page 1

.............

community, student family, postdoctoral students and others comprised one percent each.

“I think there’s a substantial difference in the proposal we’re making this year,” PSII leader Jonathan Balkind GS, a third year graduate student studying computer science, said. “We were asking for a lot more [last year].”

PSII leader Charles Copeland ’19 noted that this year’s petition directly calls for divestment from fossil fuels while last year’s aimed for broader, more general institutional change.

“I think that the university has a moral obligation to protect the planet and also to serve all nations.” jonathan balkind GS, PSII leader

This year, the Sustainable Investment Proposal cites climate change as its main target, specifically focusing on fossil fuels’ link to climate change. The petition asks that the University “immediately remove all its holding in all coal extraction companies” and “commit to a gradual reduction and eventual end to its investments in all other fossil fuels.”

Copeland explained that, after many discussions, the group came to a consensus to rally around fossil fuels, particularly coal because of its hazardous environmental consequences. He added that coal is largely falling out of use in developed countries.

Last year’s petition and proposal called for the University to adopt the UN Principles of Responsible Investment, sign onto the Carbon Disclosure Project to encourage transparency of emissions, calculate

and publish the endowment’s carbon footprint annually, establish a student committee to monitor environmentally damaging practices and require all of the endowment’s asset managers to implement the committee’s plan.

Copeland said he thinks there is a lot of room for more student engagement this year.

Copeland said that one of the most compelling arguments against fossil fuels is that some will have to remain untouched so that the planet’s temperature does not increase by another two degrees Celsius, the limit scientists have set to avoid drastic climate change.

“I think that the university has a moral obligation to protect the planet and also to serve all nations,” Balkind said.

Noting that the University’s rate of return for the endowment has performed above the market for a number of years, Balkind noted he thinks that the University can perform above the market regardless of whether it invests in fossil fuels.

Schriever noted that she is hopeful about this year’s project but recognizes that divestment from South African apartheid took 10 years to be accomplished at the University. Protests were first held in 1969 in opposition to the University’s investment in South African companies, and it wasn’t until a 1978 sit-in that the University revisited its policy, although it never fully divested, according to a Mudd Manuscript Library Blog.

Schriever added that last year, at the meeting at which the University rejected PSII’s proposal, there was a protest of around 40 students.

“For me, that was a ‘no, we’re not going away,’ and it had a lot of people who were not even on PSII,” Schriever said. “That meant a lot to me. They showed up and they still did care about this and showed that the community was behind this.”

Schriever explained that PSII plans to work with alumni and to attend Reunions, renew interest on campus and to persist in a dialogue with the administration.

DIVERSITY Continued from page 1

.............

complicates the overall effects of diversity across all graduate school programs.

Unlike the undergraduate program, in which the Undergraduate Admission Office makes the acceptance decisions, the University Graduate School and academic departments hand pick students themselves, according to the 2013 report.

This “eclecticism” has made it very difficult to set or execute Universitywide goals about diversity, the report explained. Thus, Princeton’s lack of progress in diversifying its graduate students has been largely unaddressed, the report noted.

Trevino explained that departments are careful in reviewing all applications, paying particular attention to various factors that will yield a diverse and robust cohort. He noted that academic departments have been asked to commit to the development of a strategic plan to increase diversity within the department.

Trevino said that the Graduate School recently hired Vanessa GonzalezPerez as an assistant dean for diversity initiatives in the natural sciences. In addition, a search for a program coordinator to support the assistant dean is currently underway and a search for an analogous assistant Dean position focused on the social sciences will be underway soon, he said.

Yet, in looking at the online report of Princeton’s demographics, there is not a tangible distinction between international and American students in terms of diversity, said Cristian

Alonso GS. Alonso, who is from Argentina and studies economics, noted that there is a large overrepresentation of graduate students from Latin America in his department and that this group is predominantly male.

Jeremy Borjon GS, president of the Latin Graduate Student Association, noted how sometimes diversity can become very one-sided, as in some cases international students are more likely to make up the percentage of their racial/ethnic group in comparison to American minorities.

“When we talk about the challenges of the pipeline, we are typically referring to the fact that there are not a large number of underrepresented minorities earning Ph.D.s nationally.”

Dale Travino,

Graduate school Associate Dean for Diversity and inclusion

Many international students come from a higher socioeconomic background and therefore have the ability to support and acclimate themselves in the graduate program, Borjon explained.

The disheartening reality of socio-economic imbalance impacts student experiences once they set foot on campus, Borjon said. Borjon highlighted how during his active involvement with the LGSA, he has seen several cases in which minority students have had to face external factors like trying

to support a single parent in addition to trying to balance a rigorous academic course load and racial discrimination from faculty and other students.

According to both Travino and Borjon, for the last five years the University has been trying to make change and to increase inclusivity and diversity in the graduate program, even though the statistics may not ref lect this.

Borjon agreed that the hiring of Trevino in April 2015 was a great step forward, as well as the most transparent action that has shown immediate results.

Trevino noted that the question of diversity in Princeton’s graduate student body ref lects trends across universities nationwide with a pervasive lack of academic privilege, specifically for minorities.

President of the Graduate Student Government Mircea Davidescu noted via email that the GSG’s mission is to give a voice to graduate students on campus and that diversity is a key element of this mission.

He explained that the GSG maintains active channels of communication with cultural and diversity student groups on campus and that the GSG has representatives from these groups as part of its Assembly.

Davidescu noted that, regarding tangible issues, a lack of space is something acutely felt by graduate students, especially when graduate students hail from underrepresented groups.

Creating a sense of belonging within the graduate student community for such students, and for graduate students in general, is central to the GSG’s mission, he explained.

ERROR:variabledeleted ERROR:variabledeleted

Opinion

page 4

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Embracing our glutenous rivals Will Rivitz

senior columnist

T

his afternoon, in an event sponsored by the American WhigCliosophic Society, a debate of considerable importance will occur. Two two-person teams will throw down over what seems to be a pressing concern: to determine whether the latke or the hamantasch is the superior Jewish culinary staple. Baked versus fried; spring versus winter; side versus dessert; this is a debate that goes beyond just comparing potato pancakes and fruit-filled cookies. Much is at stake, and watching the duel play out will be nerve-wracking and phenomenally exciting.

However, I come to you this day with a plea for reconciliation. Some would argue that this fiery debate will need to be resolved in favor of one side or the other; I would like to counter that this binary conclusion need not transpire.

On all days — but especially this day, a day on which this crucial issue is at the front of our minds — we must breach the divide between latkes and hamantaschen and, regardless of our personal preference, allow a place for both treats at the table.

Latkes and hamantaschen are many things, but importantly, both are symbols of victory over an oppressive anti-Semitic force. We prepare latkes, those delicious fried potato concoctions, in celebration of Hanukkah, a holiday commemorating the Greek Jews’ successful revolt against a local governor who had banned Judaism and defiled the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Similarly, we cook the fruity, crumbly hamantaschen in celebration of Purim, which in turn commemorates the survival of the Persian Jews in the face of a genocide planned by Prime Minister Haman (“hamantaschen” translates literally to “Haman’s ears”).

In this sense, by appreciating both latkes and hamantaschen without separating them by quality, we are observing the Jewish people’s survival in the face of tyrannical government after tyrannical government. When we claim that one food is better than the other, we run the risk of devaluing the history of the supposedly lesser item. It is counterproductive to assert that one item — and therefore that one history — is superior; we must acknowledge that both carbohydrate repositories hold an essential place in our own tradition and that comparing their historical significance is a fruitless endeavor.

Moreover, it is imperative that we allow the variety that both foods offer to improve the quality of our supper experience. Latkes and hamantaschen serve distinct purposes at the dinner table, and both functions are essential to a good meal. Latkes are a near-perfect side dish to a hearty main course of brisket or an excellent meal on their own, their greasiness and saltiness accentuated perfectly by a scoop of applesauce or sour cream. Hamantaschen, on the other hand, are a succulent dessert and an outstanding palate-cleanser after a savory entrée as well as a bite-sized treat which can be consumed in small quantities or in bulk.

When preparing a meal, one need not choose between the two — in fact, even though it would go against tradition, it would be possible to construct a meal with both heavily involved.

Even if one were only able to eat one of these two creations at a meal, there’s still no reason to hyperbolically rail against one. As a parallel, every year at my family’s Rosh Hashanah dinner we are given a choice of appetizers: sweet, gelatinous gefilte fish or soft, salty liver. Some of us (myself included) firmly stand by the gefilte fish; others support the liver.

However, we all recognize that having both available at the table is the best option — not only does that allow each diner to choose his or her favorite, but it also provides for a diversity of appetites, which reflects and encourages a greater diversity of lived experiences and personalities. Everyone is unique, and everyone may have his or her own personal preferences, but all of these preferences are valid and important to support.

I anticipate a rousing debate, and I’m sure each side will argue eloquently and passionately for the cause in which it believes. However, the needless schism between latke and hamantasch is unhelpful: there is no reason why we cannot make room for both on our table. Though this debate can help us appreciate both sides in ways we had not yet considered, at the end of the day, regardless of which caloric treat we prefer, we can still feast together. Let us put our differences aside and embrace our glutenous rivals; what matters is not which food is better but that year after year the foods are still prepared.

Will Rivitz is a sophomore from Brookline, Mass.

He can be reached at wrivitz@princeton.edu.

What I’m not proud of Bennet McIntosh

senior columnist

“

Weren’t we done with this four years ago?” I thought, glaring at the job application. The poor application didn’t deserve my anger — I’m sure the pages bore me no ill will. But this application — to a firm we’ll call Biological Sciences Corp. — had a question which resurrected longsuppressed memories of 500-word personal statements. What achievement, BS Corp., asked, was I proudest of?

Unsurprisingly the answer to this question has changed somewhat in the last 20 years. Once, I’m sure, my proudest achievement was realizing that the round-shaped peg doesn’t fit in the starshaped hole in the Fisher-Price toy that taught me spatial awareness and fine motor control. Later, that was surpassed by my pride in correcting a preschool teacher about subtleties of human anatomy — “The baby isn’t growing in her tummy, it’s in her uterus!”

My intellectual achievements did eventually grow less trivial —17-yearold Bennett would have listed his AP scores and debate victories until those achievements gave him that ultimate academic gold star, which was Princeton admission.

But that wasn’t all that got me into Princeton. Even at the tender age of 17, I recognized that an essay celebrating my GPA and AP scores would be either the most tedious or the most laughable part of some admission counselor’s day. So I cast about for other things to take pride in and I found not only that I could talk up my non-intellectual achievements — service work in Detroit, science fiction — but also that merely by presenting them as important parts of myself, they became important to me.

This raises many uncomfortable questions about how impressionable teens are, how people modify their selfconceptions to fit others’ expectations, how little distinction there is between self-discovery and changing oneself and how college admissions is, like that Fisher-Price toy, about pounding round-shaped students into star-shaped holes. Instead of agonizing over all this, I padded my application with a sonnet that vaguely gestured at these concerns and also compared admissions officers unfavorably to Egyptian underworld guardians.

At Princeton, too, I took a sometimes perverse pride in my intellectual achievements — when a psychologist reassured one of my ISC classmates that symptoms of severe clinical depression were “normal” for someone with our course-load, we wore it as a badge of honor.

But I also started paying more attention to what I was proud of outside of academics. Was this a carryover from the forced introspection of college applications? Could I no longer define myself as a genius once I entered a school full of polymaths and valedictorians?

Or is it simply that wisdom comes with

age? I doubt it had anything to do with Princeton’s branding as “in the Nation’s Service.” While it’s nice to think the institution can ensure its members are conscientious and altruistic by dictate, I think we pay lip service to that statement and then somehow manage to be introspective despite our disregard (perhaps through communities, not institutions).

Whatever the cause, I became proud not just of academic all-nighters, but also of having led an OA trip through the woods with a high ratio of personal growth to bodily harm. My heart was warmed when people told me that my op-eds — written to speak my truth — spoke their truth as well. I grew as a person and as a citizen.

And often, I did it in spite of my academics and my research.

It’s no secret that the workload at Princeton is too heavy. Princeton-specific factors — our calendar, our sometimes genuinely positive and sometimes masochistic drive to improve — combine with societal pressure for prestige and security to drive our overscheduled lives to ever-greater extremes. It was wonderful to hear President Emerita Shirley Tilghman acknowledge this during her Last Lecture with the senior class last week, challenging us to remember the last time we’d read for fun or taken a walk down the towpath to relax. But it is far easier to recognize that we spend too much effort on busywork than to actually ensure all students can suck the marrow out of their years here.

It’s important more than ever that we do. The age of the gig economy is upon us, the age of artificial intelligence not far behind, and the ability to be nonacademically human will be just as, if not more, important than the venerated STEM or the venerable Liberal Arts.

But for now, BS Corp. doesn’t care whether I live life to the fullest — they don’t want a personal statement. I told them my proudest achievement was my senior thesis: a still-incomplete document, but a project that shows me and my future employers that I can commit a year of my life to a frustrating, interesting, challenging, expansive, incremental effort. But as excited as I was four years ago to cap my career here with a thesis, that isn’t truly my proudest achievement.

BS Corp. ended up rejecting me — I may as well have given them this column as a personal statement or told them my proudest achievement was knowing what a uterus is. But perhaps it’s for the best — after failing to force my round-peg-self into a star-shaped hole, I’ve decided to pursue a career in writing, not science.

Maybe that’s their answer. Maybe that’s something I can be proud of.

Bennett McIntosh is a chemistry major from Littleton, Colo. He can be reached at bam2@princeton.edu.

Coco, MD

Terry O’Shea ’16

..................................................

vol. cxl

Do-Hyeong Myeong ’17 editor-in-chief

Daniel Kim ’17

business manager

140TH MANAGING BOARD managing editor Caroline Congdon ’17 news editors Jessica Li ’18 Shriya Sekhsaria ’18 Christina Vosbikian ’18 Annie Yang ’18 opinion editor Jason Choe ’17 sports editor David Liu ’18 street editor Harrison Blackman ’17 photography editor Rachel Spady ’18 video editor Elaine Romano ’19 web editor Clement Lee ’17 chief copy editors Grace Rehaut ’18 Maya Wesby ’18 design editor Crystal Wang ’18 associate opinion editors Newby Parton ’18 Sarah Sakha ’18 associate sports editors Nolan Liu ’19 David Xin ’19 associate street editor Danielle Taylor ’18 associate photography editors Ahmed Akhtar ’17 Atakan Baltaci ’19 Mariachiara Ficarelli ’19 associate chief copy editors Megan Laubach ’18 Omkar Shende ’18 associate design editor Jessica Zhou ’19 editorial board chair Cydney Kim ’17 cartoons editor Rita Fang ’17

NIGHT STAFF 3.21.16 staff copy editors Arthur Mateos ’19 Daphne Mandell ’19 Amanda Glatt ’19

Tuesday March 22, 2016

Softball stands tall against powerhouses SOFTBALL Continued from page 5

.............

looked it as they built a 5-0 lead in the first three innings. However, the Tigers would not be silenced. Bose struck back with a two-run single at the bottom of the third to cut Fresno State’s lead to three, and the two teams traded runs in the fourth before the Bulldogs opened up on scoring again by notching two runs in the fifth to make the score 8-3.

Princeton came right back in the sixth, with a base hit from senior outfielder Kate Miller driving two Princeton runners home to cut the lead to 8-5. Then, Waslawski smashed a two-run homer, bringing the Tigers back to within one with the final inning to play. Hopes ran high, but Fresno State reasserted itself and held Princeton to only a single in the final stretch to hold on to a slim 8-7 win.

Against San Diego State (16-10, 0-0), the Tigers built a 2-1 lead over three innings after scores from Reynolds and freshman Kaylee Grant.

However, the Aztecs re-

The Daily Princetonian

sponded with an explosive fourth inning, piling in five runs and an error to transform the slim Princeton lead into a disheartening 6-2 deficit. San Diego State would not give up its advantage for the remainder of the game, smacking in an additional three runs to hand Princeton a 9-3 defeat.

In their final contest Sunday against Colorado State (14-12, 0-0), Princeton got off to a strong early start after sophomore shortstop Danielle Dockx hit an RBI single in the second. However, the Rams responded by driving in a two-run homer in the bottom of the same inning, and Colorado State pitcher Holly Reinke threw eight strikeouts to hold the Tigers down in the 3-1 loss.

Despite the disappointing overall result, Princeton can take heart in the strong play of its underclassmen, with Waslawski and Viscusi showing poise and potential throughout the weekend when faced with difficult situations and formidable foes. The Tigers continue their season against Colgate this Saturday.

Baseball captures clutch wins before Ivy games BASEBALL Continued from page 6

.............

veteran captain hit his 13th career home run to begin the inning. The Tigers then strategically loaded all of the bases until freshman Max Machiorlette earned a walk to tie the game. Unfortunately, the Orange and Black’s luck ran dry in the extra inning when the Hoyas scored a single run to capture the game.

Due to inclement weather, Princeton and Georgetown scheduled a doubleheader on Friday for the second and third games. The first of the two games began with an ominous reminder of the previous day. By the ninth inning, the Tigers had yet to score while the Hoyas had already accumulated three runs. Then, in the final out of the inning, junior outfielder Paul Tupper hit a home run with two runners on base to tie the game. The Tigers then blew the Hoyas away with four more runs in the 10th inning, winning 7-3.

The Orange and Black’s success continued later on Friday when the Tigers accumulated a 7-0 lead halfway through

the seventh inning. Senior pitcher and captain Cameron Mingo held the Hoyas down for six innings with just three hits in the process. The Hoyas scored four of their own runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Tigers held Georgetown scoreless in the final innings of the game, and added one more run of their own in the eighth inning to capture an 8-4 victory.

After rotating through eight different pitchers in the first three games against Georgetown, Princeton head coach Scott Bradley chose junior pitcher Chad Powers to control the mound on Sunday. Powers proved successful as the California native earned his second career shutout. Meanwhile, the Tigers scored off a two-run home run by Joseph Flynn in the second inning and two runs in the fourth to close off Georgetown by a score of 4-0.

Just one more weekend stands between Princeton and the start of the Ivy League portion of the season.

This upcoming Saturday, the Tigers will travel south again to compete in three games against the Naval Academy.

Did you know...

that the ‘Prince’ has a Facebook page?

Like our page!

Procrastinate productively!

page 5

Sports

Tuesday March 22, 2016

page 6

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } BASEBALL

Baseball caps successful spring break with three wins over Georgetown

By David Liu Sports Editor

After starting the season with a 2-6 record, the Princeton baseball team (5-7 overall) was in need of victories heading into a four-game stretch against Georgetown (10-10) last week. Despite a 10th-inning loss to the Hoyas on Thursday, the Tigers ultimately proved their dominance and agility with three victories on Friday and Sunday.

Prior to Georgetown, Princeton traveled down south for a five-game trip through Richmond and Norfolk, Va. at the beginning of spring break. In the process, the Tigers took on the likes of Penn State, New York City College of Technology, University of Richmond and Old Dominion University. The southern road

trip produced mixed results as Princeton defeated Penn State and Richmond but fell to the other teams.

To cap off a long spring break, the Tigers took on Georgetown for four games on the swing back north. The Hoyas are a rare foe for Princeton, as the Orange and Black last faced Georgetown in 2013, when team captains Danny Hoy and Billy Arendt were just freshman. Though the Tigers finished with a relatively successful 14-28 season record that year, Georgetown swept Princeton in the season series.

During much of the first game on Thursday, it looked like history would repeat itself. By the ninth inning, the Tigers were still down 3-1. Yet, senior infielder Danny Hoy had a different plans. The See BASEBALL page 5

HEATHER GRACE :: PRINCETONIAN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Despite a 10th-inning loss to the Hoyas in game one, the Tigers rebounded to shut out Georgetown on Sunday.

SOFTBALL

Softball falls at difficult San Diego Invitational

By Nolan Liu Associate Sports Editor

TIFFANY RICHARDSON :: PRINCETONIAN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshmen Alex Viscusi and Kaitlyn Waslawski showed promise over break.

Despite a strong team showing and several promising performances from underclassmen, the Princeton softball team (3-17 overall, 0-0 Ivy League) failed to garner a win at the San Diego State Invitational this past weekend, falling just short in its five games against a strong field.

The Tigers opened their weekend with a contest against the St. Mary’s Gaels (7-14, 0-0). Although St. Mary’s managed a run in the first inning, Princeton held their opponent to that one score until the Gaels piled on two scores in the fourth

inning and eventually added another pair of runs to walk off with a 5-1 victory. Princeton’s lone run was scored by freshman third baseman Alex Viscusi.

The next day, the Tigers would improve upon their initial showing and take their second opponent to the end of regulation and beyond. Against the Seattle Redhawks (8-13, 0-0), Princeton came out fighting and responded to Seattle’s first run in the third inning with by a score of their own from junior outfielder Marissa Reynolds. Although the Redhawks responded with two more runs of their own to take a 3-1 lead, freshman outfielder Kaitlyn Waslawski

hit a double in the sixth that brought fellow rookie Viscusi home and brought the Tigers to within one. After senior first baseman Kayla Bose helped sophomore outfielder Kylee Pierce home in the seventh to tie the score, Princeton seemed about to turn the corner. The Redhawks, however, would break the Tigers’ hearts in overtime, as Paige Bouska hit an RBI single to bring home Erika Rodgers for the winning score.

Princeton next faced powerhouse Fresno State (17-81, 0-0). The Bulldogs came into the game ranked 22nd in the nation by ESPN and USA softball, and certainly See SOFTBALL page 5

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Women’s tennis impresses against Houston, Rice

By David Xin Associate Sports Editor

This spring break, the women’s tennis team (8-7 overall) traveled to Texas for three matches before conference play begins on Saturday. The Princeton squad returned from its trip having suffered one loss and grabbed two close wins. The Tigers’ sole loss came from the University of Texas, who defeated them 5-2.

However, the Orange and Black would rebound to end the trip on a high note with wins over the University of Houston and Rice University.

Starting the tournament, Princeton faced the University of Texas at Austin. The Tigers previously matched off against the Longhorns during the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, where the Tigers suffered a 2-4 loss. Unfortunately, last week’s encounter had a similar result, with Texas managing to beat Princeton 5-2.

Both times, Texas struck early by winning the double point. The Texan combinations of Breaunna Addison and Dani Wagland and Neda Koprcina and Daniella Roldan proved too much for the

Tigers, demonstrating strong performance. The teams won their sets 6-0 and 6-2 respectively.

The Longhorns continued their sterling performance by grabbing four singles sets. The two wins from Princeton came from juniors Caroline Joyce and Sivan Krems, who also won her singles set in the two teams’ previous encounter.

While the results were undoubtedly disappointing, the Tigers did not allow the early loss to affect their game. Princeton proved its toughness by going on to win its two later matches.

The Princeton squad picked up its first win of the trip with a resounding 5-1 win over the University of Houston.

Due to weather concerns, play began with singles. The Tigers were a dominant force, winning four singles and ceding only one.

However, the match was much closer than the score line would seem to indicate. Three of the matches went to the third set.

Krems and Joyce both secured wins for the Tigers. Houston’s only win came from single player Despoina Vogasari, who put Houston on the scoreboard after a grueling three sets.

Tweet of the Day “Work work work work work work, đ&#x;Žśthis song should be the anthem of this schoolâ€?

Hannah Winner (@ HannahisaWinner), Junior Goalkeeper, Women’s Soccer

The Tigers would carry this momentum in their next match against Rice two days later. This time competition proved much tighter. Indeed, the Princeton squad only narrowly managed to pull out a win, edging out the Owls 4-3.

Princeton started the match on the right foot by claiming the doubles point. This would later prove crucial as the Tigers and the Owls would trade blow for blow in singles play. Rice landed the first punch in singles, as Rice’s Katherine Ip claimed the first set from the second spot. In the end,Joyce provided the Princeton squad with the winning point after three sets. This close win will provide the Tigers with crucial momentum as they head into conference play this week.

Princeton’s first opponent will be Ivy rival Penn. Last year, the Tigers managed to defeat the Quakers 6-1 with a dominant performance on the road. The Princeton squad will undoubtedly be looking to start Ivy competition on the right foot with a similarly emphatic victory in front of a home crowd. The Tigers will host Penn in the Lenz Tennis Center this Saturday at 1 p.m.

DANIELA COSIO :: PRINCETONIAN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Tigers will play only Ivy teams for the rest of the season.

Stat of the Day

22 runs Princeton baseball recorded 22 runs in just four games against Georgetown this past weekend.

Follow us Check us out on Twitter at @princesports for live news and reports, and on Instagram at @princetoniansports for photos!