Tuesday, March 25 2014 by The Daily Princetonian

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Tuesday march 25, 2014 vol. cxxxviii no.31

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BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Hun School alumnus to Venezuelan politician

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In Opinion

By Jacqueline Gufford staff writer

Isabella Gomes writes about representing her culture, and Zeena Mubarak discusses introductory-level classes. PAGE 5

Today on Campus 8:00 p.m. The student run non-profit organization Read Record Replay is holding a recordathon to record children’s audiobooks, Frist Multipurpose Room. MICHAEL CHANG :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Archives

Mar. 25, 1996 A University graduate and his brother were convicted of first-degree murder against their millionaire parents. Erik and Lyle Menendez ‘92 allegedly used a shotgun to commit the crime and claimed self-defense due to years of sexual and psychological abuse.

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Actor James Franco strolls around on Princeton’s campus after filming scenes for his upcoming movie, ‘The Sound and the Fury.’

James Franco films on campus By Chitra Marti staff writer

Actor James Franco was in town and later on campus Monday to film scenes for the upcoming film “The Sound and the Fury,” a period drama set in 1910. A portion of Washington Road, between Faculty Road and Route 1, was closed for the movie shooting. The film, which Franco is both directing and starring in, is based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name, film production supervisor Kurt Enger said. Danny McBride, Seth Rogen and Jon Hamm also star in the movie.

The town received a letter from Gentle Films LLC on March 18, the production company behind the film, requesting permission to close the road for the scene. The letter was signed by Enger. The movie itself is set in Cambridge, Mass. However, Princeton was chosen for filming due to its proximity to New York City, as Franco is currently starring in a production of the Broadway play “Of Mice and Men.” Most other scenes were shot in Mississippi or Los Angeles, Enger said, and none were shot in Cambridge. “We chose Lake Carnegie

because it had a similar look to one of the bridges up in Cambridge, at Harvard,” Enger said. Joe Pica, the West Windsor chief of police, said the film crew decided to use the bridge because one of their actors would be walking on the bridge and jumping off into the lake. Although it might not have seemed like the shot would take long, the road was slated to be closed for sixand-a-half hours because the crew was planning to prepare Washington Road to look like a dirt road in the context of the movie, Pica said. However, Enger said they

decided not to create the dirt road, instead removing the traffic lights and planting signs and period cars from 1910 along the bridge to make it fit the scene. “In one of the scenes he walks up the bridge and kind of contemplates suicide, and in another scene he follows through with it. He jumps off the bridge into the water.” Enger said. These two scenes were filmed at the bridge, and one other scene was filmed in the area behind Prospect House, Enger said. In the Prospect House scene, Quentin and See FRANCO page 2

The leader of the Venezuelan opposition movement, Leopoldo López, has roots in Princeton, having graduated from Princeton’s Hun School in 1989. The Hun School is an independent college preparatory school located in Princeton. In Venezuela, López was twice elected the mayor of Chacao. He organized the opposition party in the 2013 election when Henrique Capriles, the opposition candidate, nearly overtook current President Nicólas Maduro in the polls. After graduating from the Hun School, López attended Kenyon College and Harvard’s School of Government before returning to Venezuela. López stood out at the Hun School as a student who wanted to give back and help his native nation of Venezuela, Hun School ESL Department Chair and Director of the International Student Program Dianne Somers said. Somers had taught López when he attended the Hun School. Somers said she remembered a notable moment when López said in class that the purpose of life is to help others. “There was no doubt in my mind ever that he was going to make some kind of change,” Somers said, adding that López provides former and current Hun School students with an example of how one person can change the world. Janine Cadet ’17, a former Hun School student, said See VENEZUELA page 5

dailyprincetonian.com/tips LOCAL NEWS

News & Notes Bloomberg View asks why Princeton can’t be more like Harvard Princeton and Yale do not enroll as many low-income students as Harvard does, according to a recent Bloomberg View article. The article, entitled “Why Can’t Yale and Princeton Be More Like Harvard?,” assessed the number of undergraduates at each institution who receive federal Pell Grants, which are provided based on financial need to an average of 41.4 percent of college students nationwide. Although about 10 percent of students at both Harvard and Yale received Pell Grants in 2003-04, Harvard featured 20 percent of such grants by 2011-2012 compared to Yale’s 14 percent. Meanwhile, Princeton offered the grant to about 7 percent of its students in 2003-04 and about 12 percent of its students in 2011-12, Bloomberg View reported. The article also notes that Harvard started a campaign to attract more low-income students in 2004 and suggested that the initiative had a positive impact. Of those students who received the grant in 2011-2012, 75 percent had family incomes of $30,000 or less.

Dinky station installs parking meter system By Anna Windemuth staff writer

The Princeton Station parking lot was outfitted with a new multispace meter system last week, supplementing existing permit spaces and ending a temporary period of free parking in the new lot, Director of Community and Regional Affairs Kristin Appelget announced. The new meter system runs at 30 cents an hour. Unlike traditional meter heads, the multispace parking system allows customers to pay using cash, credit cards or Smart Cards, which are issued by the municipal-

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ity. Parking time can also be replenished using a cell phone. The machines operate on solar energy. Assistant Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton explained that not all spaces required payment before the transition because the University and municipality were still in the process of deciding whether to adopt traditional, one-head meters or to implement a consolidated system. “We didn’t want to put single head meters out there and then replace them with the multimeter system,” Stockton said, adding that See DINKY page 3

U N I N V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S

PPPL launches new magnet experiment By Elizabeth Paul staff writer

A new experiment, the Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiment, is being designed at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to further scientists’ understanding of magnetic reconnection, a process relevant to both astrophysical plasmas and plasmas within fusion reactions. PPPL Director Stewart Prager said the PPPL will

host FLARE and operate it during its research phase as well as contribute technical staff and researchers. He noted the experiment is set to be completed in 2016. “This is a terrific opportunity. It will be an extremely important experiment for astrophysics,” Prager said. “It exactly lines up with the mission of the laboratory, to develop our understanding of plasma physics.” This $4.3 million project See PPPL page 3

CHRISTINE HILDRETH :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Students make recordings of children’s books for underprivileged youth around the world.

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News & Notes Former Yale President Levin appointed CEO of Coursera

former yale president Richard C. Levin was appointed CEO of Coursera, the New York Times reported Monday. Coursera is an educational company that offers online academic courses with more than 100 partner universities worldwide, including the University. Levin has formerly promoted open online educational courses similar to Coursera’s offerings. In 2007 he started Open Yale Courses which offered dozens of Yale classes for free online. He has been an advisor to Coursera since January. His goals as the new CEO include expanding the number of

online courses offered by partner universities, the New York Times reported. Levin stated that he hopes to do so by stressing the potential widespread educational benefits of open online education. According to the New York Times, some professors have voiced their concern over the potential of expanding open online courses to diminish the value of professors at secondtier schools. Coursera’s competitor, edX, jointly founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also announced that Wendy Cebula, the former executive of Vistaprint, will serve as the new president and chief operating officer.

Tuesday march 25, 2014

‘The Sound and the Fury’ filmed by Carnegie Lake FRANCO Continued from page 1

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Miss Quentin Compson, his niece, are walking through the city of Cambridge. “We had a great time here in Princeton,” Enger said. Washington Road was closed from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday for the film-

ing. Pica noted that the crew was deliberately not allowed to film during rush hours to prevent major traffic problems. In addition, an easy detour through Alexander Road was provided. A police dispatcher said the West Windsor police had received no complaints about traffic problems due to the road closure. The West Wind-

sor police coordinated with the University’s Department of Public Safety, the Princeton Police Department, and the Mercer County and state Department of Transportation officials. Enger confirmed that the company also coordinated with the University administration when shooting scenes both on campus and at the

bridge. If the scenes filmed on campus on Monday are included in the film, this could be the University’s third film appearance in the last year, following “Admission,” in which Tina Fey starred as a University admissions officer, and “Runner, Runner,” in which Justin Timberlake played a University graduate student.

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CHRISTINE HILDRETH :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

After choosing picture books, students record themselves reading out loud. The books and audio will be donated abroad.

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Tuesday march 25, 2014

Multispace meter system currently in pilot phase DINKY

Continued from page 1

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choosing an appropriate vendor and seeking approval from the town and University contributed to the lag time between the lot’s opening in August and the implementation of the new metered system. The University funded the multispace system, which allows users to pay for their numbered lot at a machine that services 85 spaces, as part of the University’s Arts and Transit Neighborhood development, which is set to include new performance and rehearsal spaces as well as a relocated Dinky train station. “It’s been anticipated as part of this project because

there have always been meters and permits in the station parking lot,” Appelget

“We are eager to see what the imapct will be from putting in the meters.” Jo Butler

councilwoman

explained. “The change is that they’re now using a new technology, which is the multispace meter system.” Although the multispace

system is currently still in a pilot phase, it may be expanded to parking areas along Alexander Street and University Place if the program is successful. “It’s something that we want to try out in a small scale,” Stockton said. “We want to compare the meter system we have now versus this multimeter system and see which one is a more reliable system.” Stockton explained that as part of its determination the municipality will assess revenue measures, potential operational issues, how often the machines need to be serviced and the abundance of parking violations over the course of the pilot. “People were delighted with the grace period,” Coun-

cilwoman Jo Butler said of temporary free parking in the Princeton lot. Butler added, however, that the council heard complaints from residents who weren’t able to find spots in the lot as a result of overcrowding. “We are eager to see what the impact will be from putting in the meters,” Butler said. “The Dinky ridership is down during this construction period, so there’s a lot to continue to watch there.” The meters are in operation Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and overnight parking is allowed only by permit in metered spaces. For drivers attending performances at McCarter Theatre, permit spaces can be used for free after 5 p.m.

FLARE used to study magnetic reconnection PPPL

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will be funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and by University funds. Although the project uses PPPL facilities, it is overseen by the astrophysics department and will not be constrained by the $6 million cut to the PPPL budget for fiscal year 2014, astrophysics professor and principal FLARE investigator Hantao Ji explained. Magnetic reconnection refers to the breaking and reconnecting of oppositely directed magnetic fields, allowing the dissipation of magnetic energy in plasmas (MRX documentation). An astrophysical plasma is a plasma, or ionized gas, whose physical properties are studied in astrophysics, and a fusion reaction is a reaction in which two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus.

FLARE was based on the success of the PPPL’s Magnetic Reconnection Experiment, Ji said. He explained that physicists have hypothesized that as the same physical principles apply to both systems, plasmas beyond a certain size can be used to study the processes occurring in much larger astrophysical plasmas. While MRX cannot access the regime of plasmas, FLARE will be large enough to test this hypothesis. “Without access to that new regime, we never know if we are right or wrong. That’s why we are motivated,” Ji said. “That’s our job — to make correct theories, to understand what’s going on in nature and in fusion plasmas.” Ji noted that 40 research groups have signed up for potential use of the FLARE experiment after its completion. He explained that because the design of FLARE is based on that of MRX,

which had a successful run for about 20 years, FLARE is likely to produce reliable results.

“It will attract collaborators from all over outside of Princeton, in the US and abroad.” Hantao Ji

astrophysics Professor

An understanding of this phenomenon and its consequences will allow physicists to better confine plasmas within fusion reactors, which may be disrupted by reconnection, Ji explained. He added that FLARE will be a collaboration with the University of Rochester and

the University of Wisconsin, where experiments are also being done to explore this regime using different methods of plasma production. Knowledge gained from FLARE will help scientists to explain astrophysical phenomena both inside and outside of the solar system, Ji said. He noted that knowledge gained through FLARE can allow scientists to predict the presence of magnetic storms in the earth’s magnetosphere that can damage satellite communication. FLARE can also allow scientists to predict star formation within the universe, as magnetic reconnection must occur within a collapsing molecular cloud in order for a new star to be born. “It will be a unique facility in the world,” he said. “It will attract collaborators from all over outside of Princeton, in the U.S. and abroad: experimentalists, theoretical physicists and astrophysicists.”

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Tuesday march 25, 2014

López leads Venezuelan opposition VENEZEULA Continued from page 1

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López is a motivational figure to her. Cadet added that, for her, their common roots emphasize that she can do just as much for the world. However, Jason Elefant ’15, who also attended the Hun School, said he didn’t quite grasp López’s importance until the Hun School began to share articles on social media sites regarding his involvement. Elefant also noted the local development of a major political figure is an exciting development. Protests in Venezuela began early this February. Reports state the opposition, led by

López, is calling for increased security, economic improvements and protection of freedom of speech rights. The government has responded by blaming the nation’s troubles on political opposition groups and using force against protesters. Human Rights Watch said in a February press release that the government’s efforts are unlawful and excessive. “The Venezuelan government has openly embraced the classic tactics of an authoritarian regime, jailing its opponents, muzzling the media, and intimidating civil society,” Americas Director at Human Rights Watch José Miguel Vivanco said. López turned himself over to Venezuelan authorities on

Feb. 18 in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s allegations that he is a “terrorist” and “fascist,” according to CNN reports. In a public address prior to his arrest, López stated that he refuses to leave Venezuela. López is still in the custody of the Venezuelan government, though protests have continued in his absence. The Hun School continues to show their support for him by posting updates on the length of his internment on Twitter and exhorting community and school members to keep him in their thoughts. “I am praying [for López], to tell you the truth,” Somers said. “To me he will always be that boy in the classroom.”

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Barbara Zhan columnist

Grade deflation devalues education

n both sides of the grade deflation debate, the most talked-about argument is its effects on postgraduation employment or admission to graduate schools. On one side, the administration allows students applying to jobs or graduate schools to attach a letter from the University explaining its tough grading stance compared to other universities. However, many students remain worried about the effects grade deflation may have on postgraduation plans. But whether or not these doubts about grade deflation barring seniors from jobs are true, I argue that we are overlooking an even more important issue grade deflation raises: the issue of whether or not it impacts the quality of our education itself. The fact is, regardless of whether Princeton grades really look bad in comparison to grades from another school to employers, students think they will. Furthermore, they know high grades are still achievable — they know A’s are still floating out there, but think there are less of them in the grab bag. According to the administration, this isn’t strictly true in every case, as it points out the 35 percent cap is not a hard cutoff. And, of course, adherence to the 35 percent benchmark varies from professor to professor. But the dangerous thing is that students are wary of whether or not this is true, and that perception is impacting their decisions regarding course selection and the learning process itself. Students are refusing to accept that lower grades are the norm because of grade deflation, especially ones who depend on high GPAs for admission to a medical school or another competitive program, and are doing anything they can to garner the grades they want, whether that means not taking classes out of pure interest or taking requirements at another institution for higher grades. In some instances, taking classes over the summer is valid — for example, in the case of course deficiency or in the case of not having other engagements over the summer. However, several fellow students I know have taken Princeton requirements at other institutions over the summer, on top of full-time internships, just to escape grade deflation. In these cases, students are bypassing full-term classes that are prerequisites to other classes and teach fundamental skills they’ll need later on — for example, linear algebra or physics — by doing accelerated programs that aren’t as rigorous as the University’s courses. This is an unintended consequence of a grading policy intended to “provide fair and consistent standards across the University.” Implicitly, these standards are intended to encourage students to work harder for better grades and thus learn more rigorously, but students will not learn more if the standards are causing them to bypass Princeton requirements by taking equivalent courses elsewhere. It also seems around campus that grade deflation is creating a desperate culture of course-engineering in order to maintain higher GPAs. I have spoken with people who have shied away from language classes they otherwise would have taken simply because of a harsh curve. I myself would have liked to take COS 340: Reasoning About Computation, if not for the fact that it is notoriously an easy A for math majors and a crapshoot for everyone else. It is of course natural for students to take a reasonable course load and not burden themselves with several hard classes at once, but it is also not acceptable for Princeton students to bar themselves from learning what they want to because of stress over a grading policy. I see classmates dropping out of classes they want to be in after a horrendous curve on the midterm — ECO 362: Financial Investments had a median of 100 percent last year — and classmates taking the same PDF-only courses — namely creative writing — again and again and again instead of something new. This pattern of action shows me that regardless of whether or not graduate schools and employers accept grade deflation, students cannot accept that they are getting lower grades than their peers at other institutions and are basing educational decisions on finding ways to mitigate the negative impact of grade deflation. It is a reasonable goal to provide “fair and consistent” grading standards, but the University must understand that it is hard to accept these standards for students who still, regardless of what letters the administration sends and regardless of what the administration says, feel they are up against other schools who are grading on a different scale. Either the students must be once and for all persuaded that grade deflation doesn’t negatively impact them, or some more leniency must be granted in the grading policy, because the culture that exists now is a fear – a fear of learning what they want to know and what they need to know. Barbara Zhan is an Operations Research and Financial Engineering major from Plainsboro, N.J. She can be reached at barbaraz@princeton.edu.

Opinion

Tuesday march 25, 2014

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Why Princeton students don’t try new things Zeena Mubarak

contributing columnist

here are no introductory courses in Princeton. Of course, there are classes that are given a 100-level designation. But when you enter the class, you realize that everyone there not only has experience in the subject, but they’ve been (painting, speaking the language, dancing, fill-in-theblank-ing) since they were two years old. What the registrar’s page says: No prerequisites. What it means: You better have done it in high school, all four years, and excelled in it. I once walked into the studio for VIS 204: Introductory Painting, and everything in there was practically fit to be hung in our lovely art museum. The students were all using advanced techniques; they could shape and contour perfectly with their oil paints. All of these masterpieces were clearly not the work of people who had picked up their first brush at the beginning of the semester. This phenomenon is hardly restricted to art. I have talked to multiple people taking SPA 101: Beginner’s Spanish I, and I have been assured that all of the people in their sections had previous experience with Spanish in high school. The culprit? Perhaps it is everyone’s favorite bogeyman: grade deflation. With the University’s harsh grading policies, trying something new could have a disastrous impact on your GPA. What if you’re not good at it, whatever it might be? Princeton students are smart, of course, so

we end up hedging our bets — it’s better to do something that we know we’ll be good at because then we can get that coveted A (let’s be real, more like a B-plus). There is no point taking, for example, basket weaving, because you might be bad at basket weaving — unless you were captain of your high school’s award-winning basket weaving team. That could be how an introductory art class ends up filled with Michelangelos (although Michelangelo probably would have received an A-minus in Introductory Painting). Maybe we shouldn’t blame grade deflation, though — at least not this time — since you could always elect to take a course pass/D/fail if you really wanted to take it but you weren’t sure you could do well. Maybe the problem is deeper, a little more psychological. People who make it all the way to Princeton are used to winning (your basket weaving team made it all the way to Nationals under your expert leadership). After all, it is all those wins on our résumé which helped us make it here. So it could be that after an entire high school experience made of wins, Princeton students are not ready to risk defeat. If you try something new, you might, horror of horrors, actually fail to excel. To avoid the ignominy of not being amazing at something, we stick with what we know. Introductory art classes are populated with Michelangelos because maybe Michelangelo won’t be able to weave an attractive basket. Whatever the reason for it, the lack of opportunities to try new things in Princeton is a serious problem. College is supposed to be a time for branch-

vol. cxxxviii

ing out and exploring different things. At Princeton, none of that is possible. You do what you have always been good at, and that is terribly sad. I want the chance to really learn. There are so many cool classes here and I want to take as many as possible. Unfortunately, a lot of them are just unofficially off-limits. If I enrolled in an introductory art course, I would walk in and be painting stick figures as my classmates produced Mona Lisas. Whichever way you slice it, that is not a fun position to be in. We need to ensure the integrity of our sacred introductory courses. We deserve the right to take random classes with impunity (as long as they fulfill distribution requirements, of course; we are still pragmatic Princeton students). We deserve the right to see “Introductory” on the registrar’s page and know that it is not a lie. It is a bold vision, but I think we are worth it. Luckily, it is within our power to make it come true. Every Princeton student needs to take the brave step of signing up for classes which they are merely qualified for. It will be difficult to cede control, to risk not always knowing what is going on in a class, but it will be worth it because your reward will be getting to finally learn something new. So say “no” to taking classes you might be qualified to teach. Say “yes” to maybe getting a less-than-perfect grade. It is a cliché because it has some truth to it: College is a time for experimentation.

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Zeena Mubarak is a freshman from Fairfax, Va. She can be reached at zmubarak@princeton.edu.

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The value of not knowing appearance and your stereotype dictate a false image or a misrepresentation of what really makes you special? I have a face that doesn’t Isabella Gomes “belong” to any one place. I senior columnist have characteristic features of an Indian with some Hispanic undertones, but I find that my hile at Princlanguages, my experiences and eton, students the things that I love about my are expected to Chinese heritage often overtalk about their power these features. So what experiences struggling to get do you do when your face behere, their stories of trying to trays you? What do you do when stay here — and stay sane, for you find yourself in a room full that matter — and most of all, of South Asians with no knowlwhat helped them make it into edge about where Goa is on a this institution. Sometimes it map despite it being the childseems like there is never a mohood home of your father or ment when we’re not trying to when you make the mortifying establish our merit whether blunder of exchanging “Hindi” to our peers or even to ourfor “Hindu” in a conversation selves. Whether confronted or when you have absolutely with professors, preceptors, no idea how to drape a sari? classmates or friends, we have Recently, Harvard students to mark out what makes us spereleased the debut of the “I, cial and remarkable, because Too, Am Harvard” campaign, a in this case, “being special” project that explores the experisometimes seems to be as close ences of the black student comas we can get to “belonging.” munity at Harvard using phoBut what happens when your tographs of individuals holding

whiteboards that showcase powerful statements about racial and cultural stereotypes. The photograph that resonated the most with me was that of a student holding whiteboard that said, “The lack of diversity in this classroom does NOT make me the voice of all black people.” In academic institutions, expertise is prized; first-hand biographical experience makes your stories interesting and reliable. People turn to you when they want to know when your country’s civil war was fought, how you’re supposed to participate in a tea ceremony or how much it snows in the winter where your grandparents had once lived — even if you’ve told them you’ve never visited that place. However, I’ve realized there is strength in not knowing, and even more strength in being able to say, “I am not the poster boy or spokesperson you turn to when you don’t know something.” After all, what is so shameful about lacking knowledge about a certain culture,

custom or historical fact if you are willing and enthusiastic to learn? Would feigning knowledge be any less embarrassing? I have found that my experience is, more often than not, different from the experiences of the people whose culture others think I’m a part of. I therefore feel as though I cannot speak on their behalf and shouldn’t be expected to do so. If I connect with you, it is not because I’m black, white, Latin American, East Asian or anything else. When I tell you something about my Chinese culture, I am telling you what I know, regardless of what you think my responsibility is to my other backgrounds. And in this way, I represent myself and show what really makes me special. I ask others to not be ignorant about my ignorance, because in doing so, you prevent both of us from learning the truth. Isabella Gomes is a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. She can be reached at igomes@princeton.edu.

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Tuesday march 25, 2014

How and why college athletes should be reimbursed COLUMN Continued from page 8

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might mean signing contracts with sportswear companies, advertising commercial products and selling signed memorabilia. For track athletes or swimmers this might mean collecting prize money from races or charging fees for coaching. The possibilities are endless, and I say let the players cash in on any money-making scheme they can dream up. The ideal of amateurism the NCAA clings to is a relic of a bygone era. Even the Olympics, which stood by its gloriously naive paragon of the part-time athlete for 100 years, has allowed professionals to

compete since 1992. The amateur ideal was invented in the 19th century, partially as a way to ensure “fairness” in sport

The ideal of amateurism the NCAA clings to is a relic of a bygone era. by effectively restricting the amount of time athletes could train. The well-rounded gentle-

man was supposed to dabble in many things but excel in none. These concepts quickly became outdated when sports grew in popularity and the public demanded better and better performances. Sure, it was nice that Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier while training during his lunch break at medical school. But would it not have been better if he ran 3:50 with optimal training and a longer career? The capitalist society in which we live champions the values of unrestricted markets and fair compensation. It is simply unjust to restrict the earning potential of collegiate athletes when their peers are able, and in fact encouraged, to convert the skills they develop

in the classroom into cold hard cash via internships and competitions. Why is Terry O’Shea ’16 allowed to win $100,000 on Jeopardy, while Johnny Manziel cannot sell his autograph for $100? Allowing athletes to independently market themselves and earn an income is beneficial for everyone and detrimental to no one. The players, many of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds, finally earn dividends on their investments, schools earn more money by feeding off the increased popularity of their athletes and the NCAA keeps its star athletes around for longer. Eddie Owens is a varsity athlete on the men’s cross country and track teams.

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Princeton schools make protective headgear mandatory for middle schoolers HEADGEAR Continued from page 8

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first local districts to use a synthetic playing surface. We were certainly one of the first districts in New Jersey to mandate baseline impact testing for our student-athletes, and in the years intervening we were also the first district implementing baseline impact testing for our middle school athletes. Now, use of synthetic playing surfaces is widespread, and all athletes in New Jersey are required to have impact testing,” Quinn said. In the summer and fall, the policy received criticism from several media outlets and experts. Opponents charged that the headgear did not necessarily prevent concussions and could lead to increased aggression and injury by giving student-athletes a false sense of security. However, parents and coaches in the local community have been very supportive, Miranda said.

Parent Alicia Brennan said she opted into the headgear system in case it could increase safety. “I have three girls who play competitive soccer, and I also am in the healthcare industry and I take care of children, so I do see concussions, and I do think that although there is no proven efficacy — I think at this point, no studies that would say that the concussion bands make a huge difference — personally I feel anything that could mitigate the headto-head force that you see when people go for headballs in soccer … would be beneficial,” she said. While Miranda said he received no negative feedback from players, John Witherspoon Middle School girls’ soccer coach Andrea Sandoval said she perceived resistance from her team. “It seems like a lot of the girls were kind of opposed to it, just because none of them have ever really worn anything like that before. We did have a few girls

that have had concussions in the past, but even with them, they weren’t really a big fan of

“I understand they’re going to continue to work on the product, to market a better product in the future.” middle school athletic director Brian Dzbenski wearing the headgear, so overall it just seemed like the general attitude towards it was not really in favor of it,” Sandoval explained. Some student-athletes were frustrated when trying to put on the headgear, Sandoval

Women’s water polo earns road sweep SHORTS

Continued from page 8

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The Tigers will face tough competition in their next matchup, as they face Aaron Russell and the Nittany Lions in State College, Pa., this Friday evening. EIVA standings have Harvard and Princeton just below the perennially dominant Penn State. The next few weeks will decide which of the three top squads will have home-court advantage in the league playoffs at the end of April. Men’s tennis goes 1-2 in West Coast trip This past weekend, the Tigers (10-7) traveled west for the University of San Diego Challenge. Current Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings have Princeton slated at No. 56. In their first ever meeting with the Drake University Bulldogs (14-5), Princeton pulled off a pair of doubles wins – the duo of freshman Alex Day and junior Zack McCourt did not finish their pro set at the number one spot. Four decisive singles losses sealed the day however, and Drake came out on top after seven completed matches. Fresh-

man Joshua Yablon pulled off his team’s only solo win, edging Drake’s Matt Frost 7-6, 6-2. Princeton realized its winning ways the following day against San Diego State (8-8, 3-0 Pacific-12). Despite not pulling off a doubles win over the Aztecs, the Tigers took the two, three, four and five singles matchups. Freshmen Tom Colautti, Yablon and Day all had solo victories. In their final San Diego match, the Tigers took on the Purdue University Boilermakers (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten). Three singles matches were not played to conclusion, and the No. 40-ranked Indiana University men took five of the remaining six contests. The one win for Princeton came at third singles with the freshmen duo of Colautti and Day, who outmatched their opponents with an 8-0 win. Ivy League play will begin for the Tigers this weekend. Starting on the road at Penn, the Princeton men will face their seven conference opponents consecutively looking toward NCAA Regionals. Women’s tennis outmatched by No. 13 Miami, earns wins over FIU and Marylan

No. 68 women’s tennis (105) split a pair of spring break matchups in Coral Gables, Fla., before returning to Jadwin Gymnasium to host Maryland (5-8, 1-6 ACC). The University of Miami Hurricanes (14-2, 8-0 ACC) proved too much for Princeton, who could only pick up a single win on the day at the sixth singles spot. Senior Katherine Flanigan battled back from a dropped first set to win 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 in the final match of the day. Miami has pulled off 10 straight team wins. A 4-3 win came the following day for the Tigers over the Florida International University Panthers (6-6). Juniors Lindsay Graff and Joan Cannon pulled off a win at first doubles in a tight 8-7 pro set. Graff also won her matchup at first singles by scores of 6-4, 6-0. The return to Jadwin saw a similarly strong performance for the Tigers, who took the first singles matchup and spots three through six. The women will host Fairleigh Dickinson University this Tuesday before moving into their series of seven Ivy League matchups, beginning with a home showdown against Penn this Saturday.

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said. Sixth-grader Raisa RubinStankiewicz said the placement of the ponytail holder was somewhat uncomfortable. John Witherspoon Middle School athletic coordinator Brian Dzbenski said the manufacturer will address these issues. “I was in contact with Performance 90 to answer some of the questions we had as far as to wear the gear properly, and how girls should have their hair when they do wear the headgear. And I understand that they’re going to continue to work on the product, to market a better product in the future,” he said. Headgear fitting at the middle-school level was difficult because of the wide range of body sizes, Dzbenski added. Sandoval noted that she occasionally needed to pull players out so they could fix their headgear when it fell off during games. The overall playing style of the team seemed unaffected by the policy, she said. But Taylor, a sophomore soccer player at Princeton High

School, said the headgear interfered with her headballs, as the band slid and required her to stop and fix it, while the soft material forced her to put more effort into making the ball travel the desired distance. On a social level, wearing the headgear would have been easier if the whole team had chosen to do so together, said Taylor, who’s last name was omitted at the request of her parents because she’s underage. “It wasn’t like anyone said, ‘Oh, why are you wearing it?’ or made fun of me for making the decision for wearing it, but it was just when you were up against other teams, it would’ve been nice to have your friends doing the same thing, or you doing the same thing as them,” she said. Sandoval noted players became used to and more accepting of the headgear as the season went on. Moving forward, the Board plans to continue expanding the policy up to grade 12, Quinn said.

Princeton Public Schools will fund the headgear as it did in the fall, paying almost $40 per unit. “We will provide headgear right now to any kid who either must wear it or wants to wear it, just the same way that we provide helmets, hard-shell helmets, to boys who play lacrosse, hard-shell helmets to boys who play football, and whatever other sports use a hard-shell helmet,” Quinn said. In tracking the data over the coming years, the district will focus on measuring how much classroom time student-athletes miss as a result of their injuries, Quinn and Miranda said. While the majority of parents of student-athletes in grades 7-12 opted out in the fall, Quinn said he believes headgear usage will become a given someday. He added he hopes other schools will follow the district’s lead. The state has formed a committee to study the implementation of the policy in Princeton, Miranda added.

Sports

Tuesday march 25, 2014

page 8

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Local schools enforce rules on headgear

The case for paying NCAA athletes By Eddie Owens

By Ruby Shao

associate sports editor

staff writer

The topic I am about to discuss has been thoroughly debated in the public sphere over the last several years, though I think I bring a slightly different perspective to the table. Many feel college athletes ought to receive compensation beyond scholarships for the contributions they make to their universities. Most proponents have suggested the schools pick up the tab by offering players a portion of any profits generated by their sport. A popular idea is to lock this money away in a trust fund until the player graduates to provide an incentive to stay in school. This has its pros and cons, but I would rather not get into them. I am fully in favor of professionalizing college sports but in a manner that completely bypasses the universities and any issues of fairness to other students and the purpose of our higher education system. I propose that athletes be allowed to earn money in any way they can via the free market. For football and basketball players, this

In fall 2013, Princeton became the first school district in New Jersey to mandate headgear for soccer players. The policy also included field hockey and girls’ lacrosse, but the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association did not approve any of the district’s proposed headgear units for the two sports in the 2013-14 academic year, Princeton High School Athletic Director John Miranda said. The policy required sixthgraders to wear the Full 90 equipment, while student-athletes in grades 7-12 could opt out. The headgear will become mandatory for another grade level each year until extending to all middle school and high school players. “With all this recent research and studies and data that’s coming out with traumatic head injuries, like concussions, the school district decided to be proactive and try to ensure, as best they could from their standpoint, the health and safety of our student-athletes,” Miranda explained. The idea was first suggested during discussions in the

See COLUMN page 6

CARLY JACKSON :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The men’s 10 p.m. showdown at Fresno State fell too late for production. Check back later for updates.

2012-13 school year, according to Miranda. He collaborated with district officials such as Board of Education members and the superintendent to develop the policy. The Board’s Student Achievement Committee, which handles the athletic program, recommended the policy and received the Board’s approval in July 2013. Princeton Board of Education President Timothy Quinn emphasized that the policy is not about preventing concussions. Instead, he said, the policy aims to minimize the risk and severity of any kind of head injury. “Really, from the Board’s perspective, it’s all about students who suffer injuries getting back into the classroom just as soon as possible,” he noted. Though FIFA, the global governing body for soccer, and the United States Soccer Federation approved headgear usage in the early 2000s, few American teams have implemented the protective equipment. Princeton Public Schools’ decision reflects the district’s pioneering nature in athletics, Quinn said. “We were one of the See HEADGEAR page 7

FENCING

SPORTS SHORTS

Tiger fencers earn 2nd place at NCAA finals, edged out by Penn State

Spring break wrap-up: 5 wins come for men’s volleyball, only 1 for softball

By Sydney Mandelbaum staff writer

The defending champion Princeton Fencing Team returned to campus Sunday from last weekend’s NCAA Championship in Columbus, Ohio, with an impressive yet slightly disappointing second-place trophy. Princeton fell to winner Penn State 180-159, while narrowly beating third-place St. John’s University by three points. Coming into the tournament, Princeton had qualified the maximum number of 12 competitors for the tournament, one of only three teams to do so, the other two being Ohio State and Penn State. “In previous years, our women’s team had been by far the strongest, but this year other universities had a lot of talent too, so the gap was narrowing,” senior and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Susannah Scanlan said on the team’s second-place finish. “There was a little bit of an air of disappointment, but overall I think everyone fenced very well.” The NCAA Championship is composed of six different events over the course of three days: men’s sabre, foil and épée, and women’s sabre, foil and épée. The events are scored first through a round-robin format, the top four fencers in each round-robin advancing to the semifinals; the winners of the semifinals advance, with the non-advancing fencers awarded a tie for third. Team scores are based on the number of individual match wins per team. The women fenced part of their round-robin on Thursday, finishing up on Friday, after which the championship matches were held. The men fenced on Saturday and Sunday. After three out of five rounds of the women’s round-robin were completed on Thursday, Princeton’s women fencers were winning by four points over Penn State, having won 60 bout victories at that point. Sophomore Gracie Stone was second in saber, winning 12 of her 15 bouts. Scanlan was second in épée, also having won 12 of 15 bouts. On Friday, Princeton remained in first place after the women’s matches by a narrow margin of one point, with all six female competitors receiving all-America honors for the second year in a row. In saber, senior Diamond Wheeler placed 10th. In foil, juniors Ambika Singh and Sha-

ron Gao placed ninth and 11th, respectively. In épée, junior Katharine Holmes placed seventh. Princeton advanced two fencers, Stone and Scanlan, to the semifinals, both of whom tied for third after falling to Harvard’s Adrienne Jarocki and Stanford’s Francesca Bassa, respectively. Scanlan received her fourth allAmerican honor, the first Princeton woman to garner four such honors in épée since Maya Lawrence ’02. Scanlan was happy with her performance in the round-robin, but was “a little frustrated with the end result. … It’s a grueling tournament because over two days you fence 23 competitors and every single match really counts, both for individual all-American honors and for the team. It’s really hard because you can lose to somebody you don’t think you should lose to and it can become a bit of a spiral. Or on the other hand, you can get really amped from beating someone and go into the next match overconfident. You have to keep up your intensity and keep your mind even,” Scanlan said. Saturday, the third day of competition, saw Penn State pass Princeton in the standings. Sophomore épéeist Jack Hudson won 10 bouts and was sitting in fifth place. Freshman sabrist Peter Pak won 11 bouts and was sitting in sixth. On Sunday, the gap between Princeton and Penn State widened to 21 points, yet the Tigers fought to keep up momentum and fight off advancing St. John’s, holding on to second place. Hudson managed to advance to the semifinals, but fell to St. John’s Yevgeniy Karyuchenko, finishing tied for third place. In saber, Pak finished fifth, and senior Philip Dershwitz finished 21st. In foil, sophomores Michael Dudey and Rodney Chen finished seventh and 19th, respectively. In épée, freshman Alex House finished 13th. Pak, Dudey and Hudson received all-America honors. This year, while many Tiger fencers received all-America honors, unlike the past two, no Tiger won individual NCAA titles. Princeton is the only team to have placed in the top four for the past four years and to have finished in the top two for the past three years. While the fencing team ended another strong season, as Scanlan put it, “we fenced very well, but unfortunately Penn State is an incredibly talented team and fenced even better.”

By Jack Rogers and Andrew Steele associate sports editor and sports editor

Women’s water polo sweeps in Los Angeles The women’s water polo team (21-1) extended its win streak to six en route to sweeping the Loyola Marymount University Zumo Invite in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday. Friday saw the Tigers first face off against Pomona-Pitzer, in which Princeton started out slowly with only one goal in the first quarter. The Tigers quickly broke a 1-1 tie in the second quarter, rattling off six straight goals in the second quarter to take a 7-1 lead at the half. Both sides would repeat their goal performances in the second half to make the final score 14-2. Princeton then posted its first win over a top-10 team this season, as the tenth-ranked Tigers took down No. 8 Loyola Marymount 9-3. With a 5-2 lead at the half, Princeton shut down Loyola’s offense in allowing just one goal over the final two quarters of play. Saturday saw the Tigers dominate Sonoma State University and California State University at San Bernardino by margins of 14-3 and 18-4, respectively. Sophomore goalie Ashleigh Johnson posted nine total saves on the day, a fair amount considering she only net-minded for four minutes against CSSB. Sophomore utility Diana Murphy led the offensive attack, racking up five goals on the day as the Tigers improved their season record to 21-1. Softball concludes spring trip to California at Santa Clara The softball team took one of its five games at the Santa Clara Tournament over the weekend to conclude its spring trip in California. The Tigers (5-15) started off well on Friday afternoon, as they took down Santa Clara 6-1 to pick up their fifth win of the season. With two outs in the first inning, Princeton capitalized on a Santa Clara University error to score the game’s first run and then added on two more runs in the second inning following two singles, a walk and a passed ball. Freshman right-hander Erica Nori pitched her second complete-game win in a three day span, which lifted her record to 3-2 and lowered her ERA to 0.95. Junior infielder Sarah McGowan led the offensive side, as she went 2-2 with 3 RBIs in the Tigers’ only win of the tournament. The following four games did not treat the Tigers as well, as they fell in their two games against both Grand Canyon University and the University

of California at Berkeley. Princeton fell 9-2 to Grand Canyon on Friday evening immediately after the Santa Clara victory. Saturday treated the Tigers even worse, as run-rule territory caused both games to end early by margins of 11-1 against California and 8-0 against Grand Canyon. Sunday’s 9-0 loss particularly stood out, as Cal’s Stephanie Trzcinski authored the first no-hitter against Princeton in three years. The Tigers have their first home game of the season on Wednesday against Monmouth University at Class of 1895 Field and kick off their Ivy schedule on Friday with a home doubleheader against Harvard. Five wins build momentum for men’s volleyball, who look toward rematch with Penn State Five spring break contests resulted in five wins for men’s volleyball (12-7 overall, 7-2 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association). After dropping their first five, the Princeton men have won 11 of their last 13, including a sensational five-set home win over Penn State in late February. The only league contest came in their first contest of the recess. Currently sitting at the bottom of the conference table, Rutgers-Newark (6-11, 0-7 EIVA) fell in straight sets to Princeton by scores of 25-23, 25-18, 25-19. Sophomore hitter Devin Stearns and junior hitter Cody Kessel led the Tigers with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Later that day, a matchup with NYU (14-9, 5-6 United Volleyball Conference) provided an opportunity for Princeton to show its depth, with secondteam sophomore hitters Mike Bagnell and Zach Shaw leading their side with 11 and 10 kills. Senior libero Bar Shabtai led the defensive effort, tallying a dozen digs in relief of usual starter junior Tony Ensbury. The Tigers won in straight sets by margins of 25-21, 25-20, 27-25. Following the two tilts in Newark, the men traveled south to North Carolina to face a trio of Conference Carolinas opponents. Pfeiffer University (9-11, 6-4 CC), Barton College (9-14, 5-6 CC) and Mount Olive College (12-10, 9-3 CC) all fell to the Orange and Black visitors by match scores of 3-1. In the first game, Stearns and Kessel again shone on attack with 15 kills each. Senior Davis Waddell and freshman Chris Kennedy were prolific in the set column throughout the trip south. Waddell notched 33 and 50 assists against Barton and Mount Olive, while Kennedy provided 45 against Pfeiffer. See SHORTS page 7

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