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Monday March 4, 2019 vol. cxliii no. 21
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U A F FA I R S
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Joseph Rolón named incoming Director of Student Life at Butler Residential College By Marissa Michaels Staff Writer
COURTESY OF GRINNELL COLLEGE
Rolón replaces former Director of Student Life, Deshawn Cook.
Incoming Director of Student Life for Butler Residential College Joseph Rolón knows that being a college student in this day and age can be “incredibly difficult.” With his new position, Rolón hopes to bring “an awareness and acknowledgement” of that fact. In an email sent to Butler residents on Feb. 20, Head of Butler College J. Nicole Shelton informed students that Rolón will be joining the Butler staff as Director of Student Life after spring break. The Butler College office hopes that Rolón will bring in “a tremendous amount of experience with both counseling and residence life,” according to Dean of Butler College David Stirk. “We’re really confident that we have somebody coming in that will be a great benefit to
the community,” Stirk continued. Rolón currently works at Grinnell College, where he is the Director of Residence Life. There, he “works with the Residence Life Coordinators to ensure students are safe and in environments suitable for growth and development,” according to the Grinnell College website. Rolón has also worked as a residential life coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi and at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and as a mental health clinician in hospitals. According to Stirk, Rolón brought gender-neutral housing to Grinnell and worked to bring more low-income, first generation students to the college in order to improve diversity. Stirk noted that the University is trying to increase support in these areas. In an online announcement, Office of the Dean of
Undergraduate Students also wrote that Rolón worked to “improve student and staff training, develop student co-curricular learning goals and metrics, and has advised on facility improvement and building projects.” Rolón detailed his aspirations for his new position to The Daily Princetonian, which include contributing to student growth and development. “Working in higher education, staff members are not always seen on the same level as faculty. But my role (and hopefully, all those who work at institutions of higher learning) is to be an educator. Working as a Director of Student Life, it is my role to educate, mentor, guide, and advise students on their journey from entering the college until graduation,” he wrote in an email to the ‘Prince’. He is looking forward to beSee DSL page 3
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
Q&A with Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Senior Writer
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi ’00, an award-winning filmmaker, recently won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature on Sunday, Feb. 24. She, with her husband, Jimmy Chin, received the award for Free Solo, which followed the journey of Alex Honnold as he climbed El Capitan — a 900-meter rock face in Yosemite National Park — without any ropes. At the University, Chai Vasarhelyi majored in Comparative Literature and served as a cultural editor for The Nassau Weekly. On Thursday, Feb. 28, she spoke with The Daily Princetonian in a phone interview. Below is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation. The Daily Princetonian:
Can you talk a little bit about your experience as a Comparative Literature major at Princeton and how you made the leap into documentary filmmaking? What made you interested in documentary filmmaking in particular? Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi: I was interested in narrative of displacement and genocide because both sides of my family had fled their home countries of Hungary and China for either religion or political persecution or ideological persecution. The idea that both my parents had fled their particular countries because of this idea of not adhering to a norm, and then here they have biracial kids, is very interesting to me. I felt like representation of it, like how do [you] historicize it, how do you write about it, is how
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
Madden ’03 and Kelly ’02 to compete in last round of Jeopardy! All-Star Games By Claire Silberman, Linh Nguyen, and Zack Shevin
Associate News Editors and Assistant News Editor
David Madden ’03 and Larissa Kelly ’02 are two of the winningest Jeopardy! players of all time. The next two nights, they can be seen competing together for a $1 million prize in the final round of the Jeopardy! All-Star Games, where the winningest and most popular players in Jeopardy! history join forces. Madden is a 19-time Jeopardy! champion, with the third
In Opinion
longest winning streak in the show’s history. Kelley is in the top 10 in regular season wins in show history and was the first woman to win more than five games. In the Jeopardy! All-Star Games, the alumni make up two-thirds of Team Brad. The team is led by captain Brad Rutter, who has won over $4.3 million playing Jeopardy!, the most of any game show contestant in history. Rutter’s father, Gregory Rutter ’72, is also a University See JEOPARDY page 4
Contributing columnist Sebastian Quiroz proposes a solution to the exclusivity of audition-based on-campus activities, and guest contributor Gian Parel voices a social call to action regarding recent events in the Philippines. PAGE 6
you remember it in the future ... Richard Holbrooke [a diplomat who helped negotiate the end to the Bosnian War] came to speak at Princeton the same night as the bombings of Kosovo began … But he would not take any of our questions about Kosovo. I looked at another student Hugo Berkeley [’99] who was actually the cultural editor of the ‘Prince,’ and we decided to go to Kosovo to find out for ourselves what was happening. How could genocide be happening in the middle of Europe in 1999? That led to my first film “A Normal Life,” which chronicled the lives of six people, some of whom were journalists for the only Albanian independent newspaper in Kosovo, and they got their access because they worked See VASARHELYI page 2
CHRIS FIGENSHAU / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi walk on location during the filming of Free Solo.
STUDENT LIFE
USG discusses community art project, Menstrual Products Project Task Force
By Jacob Gerrish Staff Writer
The Undergraduate Student Government discussed Byron Kim’s 2019 Princeton Community Project, the Menstrual Products Project Team proposal, and updates regarding Projects Board and the Campus and Community Affairs Committee during its weekly meeting on Sunday, Mar. 3. Princeton Art Museum Curator of Modern and
Contemporary Art Mitra Abbaspour presented on Byron Kim’s 2019 Princeton Community Project. Korean-American artist Byron Kim’s ongoing portraiture work entitled “Synecdoche” incorporates paintings of skin tones of the arms of hundreds of subjects. From Apr. 22–25, Kim will paint twenty-five subjects to capture the essence of the Princeton community. As such, Abbaspour asked that the Senate de-
Today on Campus 4:30 p.m.: We the People: A Conversation with the ACLU’s Anthony Romero 101 Friend Center
cide on one of two options: that Kim draw his subjects solely from the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Government or that Kim also include those working as staff for the University. Abbaspour said that such an artistic undertaking will continue the legacy of efforts such as the Princeton Slavery Project and the replacement of the photo mural at Wilson College. See USG page 3
WEATHER
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HIGH
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Partly Cloudy chance of snow:
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Monday March 4, 2019
Vasarhelyi: My ultimate responsibility is to my subject VASARHELYI Continued from page 1
during the day as translators for The Washington Post, The New York Times, ABC News, The New Yorker ... There was this public opinion that the people in Kosovo were these “babushkas,” these peasants who were illiterate, and that was absolutely not the case. “A Normal Life” really chronicled what it was like waiting for war and then what happened after it finally arrived ... We followed them for four years, and it kind of just launched me into making nonfiction films. The film, when it finally premiered in 2003, was supported by Princeton. Comp Lit let me write kind of a theoretical thesis about these ideas and also submit a 35-minute film. Then that film became a feature length film that won the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003. That’s how I
started, and I really credit the support of Sandra Bermann and Michael Wood, who are still at Princeton, in allowing me to find my own way and to explore ideas in a different type of way. There wasn’t a film major at the time, I wasn’t a film production major, I was a Comp Lit major using the idea of the language of film, the language of philosophy, of narrative, as well as these foreign languages I studied. DP: Your documentaries have covered subjects from youth in Kosovo during the Bosnian war in “A Normal Life” (2003) to the annual Grand Magal Mouride pilgrimage in “Touba” (2015) to the first man to free solo climb El Capitan in “Free Solo” (2018). How do you decide on your subjects and the stories you want to tell? ECV: To make a documentary film you have to feel incredibly passionate about the subject. And for me it also has
to make the world a little bit better. It’s got to be highlighting a point of view that is seldom paid attention to. It has to somehow advance an idea. In the case of “Touba,” it’s this incredibly peaceful form of Islam. It showcased this incredibly moving Sufi pilgrimage that transpires every year in Senegal, and the basis of the Sufi brotherhood is essentially one of peaceful, nonviolent resistance to the colonial powers that colonized Senegal. It was in the post-9/11 world where you saw these images of Islam that were violent and just a particular form of Islam and not universal, that I felt it was important to make films like “Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love,” which is probably my most widely seen of that series of films. And then I made “Touba” and then “Incorruptible,” which is about political corruption, which is kind of quite timely if you look
at it now, this idea of the abuse of power … Then with “Meru” and now with “Free Solo” … I was moved by the personal story of the kid [Alex Honnold] who found it less scary to go out and climb without a rope than to speak to another person and ask him to be his partner so he could climb with a rope ... [The] idea of a vision and discipline and working really really hard to achieve your dream, he makes ... the impossible possible. That was very inspiring to me and also felt like every teenage kid can identify with this guy. Especially in these broken times, it felt like we could all use and find inspiration in his courage to have courage and trust. He may have free soloed El Cap, but we all have a free solo in our lives. Be it to make change, be it to run a marathon, be it to ask someone to marry you, there are many different ways to make life that play that’s scary and right. We were just very inspired by it. DP: In your Oscars speech for “Free Solo,” you thanked National Geographic for “hiring women and people of color, because we only make the films better.” What do you think your win signifies for underrepresented groups in the film industry moving forward? ECV: I just think it’s our job to practice best practices. It’s the least we can do. And I do that in all of my work … be it hiring different types of voices to work with us, because honestly a different type of voice coming from a different demographic with different sexual orientation makes the work more interesting. I studied under Mike Nichols for a year, and his whole thing was that everyone should give their opinion, from the driver to the head of the art department. He appreciated everyone’s points of view. And that’s always who I’ve been, but it’s also a very strong influence to be like we need to include as many voices in the work we do, because we live in a complex world, the world is getting smaller, people are getting more disconnected, so how do we connect? Nat Geo took a great leap of faith buying this production. It was a film that we never knew how it was going to end, it had enormous risks, it was secret, and it was a big deal. It’s our responsibility to have best practices, be it hire as many women — we made a film that could be considered quite macho, but actually gives space to a female point of view, that was important to us. [For instance, in] our crew, we have gender parity on our post-production staff. DP: A recurring point in “Free Solo” is the fear that by the very nature of having a film crew present, Alex Honnold was put in additional danger. How did you deal with that, both from a personal and professional standpoint? ECV: My ultimate responsibility is to my subject, not necessarily to the studio that we’re making the film for. What happened in “Free Solo” is a more extreme case of an ethical question that’s at the heart of all nonfiction filmmaking. In nonfiction, you fundamentally do not know what’s going to happen next, anything can happen. For us, the existential heart of this film was an ethical dilemma about is Alex going to fall because we’re filming ... But first what it came down to was do we believe in Alex, do we trust his decision making? Yes, I trust Alex absolutely in his decision making … Do we trust in our own selves to treat our subject with respect no matter what happens? The answer is yes. There were many ways to make this film and it could have been super sensationalized. But I knew that Jimmy, and I would treat with respect always. Then [there was] the last question, do you really want to do it? Alex has thought more about his own mortality
than anyone else I know. He’s thought about it deeply, and he has chosen to live this life. He does not want to die — life is worth living to him … his idea of a life of intention was something incredibly important to us, where we thought it was important for everyone to hear and think about that question. That said, we created some guidelines to mitigate the risks, and Jimmy, my directing partner, has been a professional climber of 20 years. He knows what Alex feels … and how to assess risks in film in climbing situations. We just decided we could never interrupt. The needs of the production could never trump those of Alex, so we could never ask him “are you going to climb today, are you going to free solo today?” We could never ask him, that would be putting pressure on him ... Likewise we had to insulate how we were feeling, we couldn’t freak out at Alex. He should not feel what we were feeling, because we’re committing to him and his dream … but we don’t need to add to his pressure. But had [a fall] happened, it would have probably been the same film. It’s not like we would have redone it to be like look how horrible and dangerous this thing is. We believed in him. And we probably made it safer. As you see in the film, he realized there were people watching, he practiced harder, and for this guy who always free soloed by himself, for greatest free solo experience of his life, he has his best friends standing right next to him, saying you don’t really need to do this for us, we love you, which was like a revolution for Alex. There is an emotional evolution that transpired that no one could have anticipated. DP: What’s next for you? Is there a project you are particularly excited about? ECV: Yes, currently we’ve been making a film about Kristine Tompkins. Kris Tompkins and her late husband Doug Tompkins, Tompkins Conservation, and Yvon Chouinard. Kris Tompkins became the first CEO of Patagonia. She was hired by Yvon Chouinard [founder of Patagonia] at 15 years old to be an assistant packer and eventually rose to the first CEO of Patagonia. [Chouinard’s] best friend Doug Tompkins founded The North Face and Esprit, and they [Kris and Doug Tompkins] ran away together to save the world. It’s the ultimate conservation story … It’s this incredible love story but at the heart of it is about actually putting in life service of the planet, because time is running out. She is an incredible female role model and the story hasn’t been told because they’re really really private people. Doug died tragically four years ago, Yvon is 80, Kris is 70, so they really want the story to be told and we’re really close to them, so it’s been very scary to commit because there is so much pressure, but we’re ready and this story must be told, so that’s our next step. DP: What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers at Princeton? ECV: My advice is that the liberal arts education is everything. I always come back to my “Iliad” and my “Odyssey,” and I come back to those narratives and lessons I learned at Princeton every day. Dante is part of my dialogue now as a filmmaker. Princeton is such a special place to learn, and you don’t need to be specializing for the rest of your life. I got the education I needed at Princeton without going to a film program. In terms of filmmakers in general, I would say that you really have to believe in what you’re doing, because who knows how many films you are going to make in your life, you’ve got to make them count. And in terms of female filmmakers, I’m a proud mother of two kids, and I think it’s hard, but you can do both.
Monday March 4, 2019
Rolón: It is my role to educate, mentor, guide, and advise students on their journey DSL
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ing on a team devoted to educating its students. “I have met the other DSLs and together I hope to form a cohesive team as we work to serve the students and improve upon their residential experience. One of the things that drew me to Butler College and to Princeton University is the commitment to a cocurricular education,” Rolón wrote. Rolón replaces former Director of Student Life, Deshawn Cook, who stepped down in order to take a job as Assistant Dean for Student
The Daily Princetonian
Life at Barnard College. Because Cook left in the middle of the year, the search for a new director took longer than expected. However, the email guaranteed that students will have ample opportunity to get to know Rolón. “Be assured that we will be planning several events in late March and April to introduce him to the Butler College student and fellows community,” the email said. Rolón is from New Jersey and earned his B.A. from University of Notre Dame, majoring in psychology and computer science, and his M.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson in theoretical psychology.
Artist Byron Kim will paint twenty-five subjects to capture the Princeton community USG
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After conveying that a working group will be organized to deliberate on its ultimate recommendations, members of the the Senate also repeatedly affirmed their mutual agreement that Kim should paint not only students but staff members as well. “[We should] really try to broaden the scope from not even just staff but also groundskeepers, janitors, dining hall staff, [and] administrative staff,” Class of 2020 Senator Tania Bore said. Former U-Councilor Preeti Iyer ’20 proposed that a Menstrual Products Project Team act as a continuation of the Menstrual Products Project Task Force that led the two-week menstrual products pilot in Frist two years ago. The Menstrual Products Project Team will work to finalize implementation of University-provided menstrual products in 56 campus academic and student life bathrooms. Former Projects Board Co-Chair Eliot Chen ’20 then updated the Senate on the proceedings of Projects Board and requested that the Senate confirm Kavya Chaturvedi ’21 and Rachel Hazan ’21 as the new Proj-
ects Board co-chairs. The Senate voted to confirm the two as co-chairs. Chen briefed the Senate on funding decisions from the Fall semester. With $120,254.33 requested (with a mean funding request of $858.96 and a median funding request of $420.00), Projects Board funded $42,065.68 (with a mean grant of $344.80 and a median grant of $308.00). Campus and Community Affairs Committee Chair Caleb Visser ’20 introduced to the Senate a draft of a revised CCA charter for questions and comments. The charter now elaborates on the committee’s civic engagement functions, allows for up to three members of the Senate to sit on the committee, establishes a vice chair, and institutes a procedure of reprimand in the case of an unsatisfactory chair. Next week, Visser will submit a final version of the charter for ratification. Lastly, Chief Elections Manager Laura Zecca ’20 notified the Senate that the referenda timeline for the spring semester begins this week as students will work with Zecca on composing the referenda. The Senate will have to meet on Sunday, Mar. 24 to vote on the clarity and neutrality of the referenda wording.
ISABEL TING / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Chief Elections Manager Laura Zecca ’20 notified the Senate that the referenda timeline for the spring semester begins this week.
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Monday March 4, 2019
Madden: Everybody who goes on the show wants to win just once JEOPARDY Continued from page 1
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alumnus. In interviews with The Daily Princetonian, both Madden and Kelly spoke to their love for trivia. “I’ve been watching Jeopardy! since I was a little kid, but I really got hooked by playing on my high school’s Quiz Bowl Team at Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey, back in the 90s,” Madden said. Kelly and her sister started participating in the National Geography Bee in elementary school, pushed toward the topic by their father, a history and geography teacher. Later she participated in a high school science bowl. At the University, however, she participated in Quiz Bowl, where she met future Jeopardy! teammate Madden and her future husband Jeff Hoppes ’02. “I’ve known David since he was eighteen years old. He’s a good friend of my husband Jeff, and they’re both bird-watchers, and so they go on bird watching trips together,” Kelly explained. Despite this long love for trivia, it was only on a 2004 bird-watching trip that Madden auditioned for Jeopardy!. “It was only after I had already booked the tickets out there that I realized, ‘Hey, we’re not going to be too far from L.A. Maybe we could try out for Jeopardy!,’” Madden said. Both Madden and Hoppes passed the tryout. As Madden put it, Hoppes in his first appearance “had the misfortune to go on against Ken Jennings,” who won 74 games in a row. Madden, on the other hand, had a successful first appearance and went on to win 19 games in a row. “Everybody who goes on the show wants to win just once, and then sort of the rest is gravy, and I was about as nervous as I’ve ever been in my life when I first appeared.” he said. “But having got the first win under my belt, after that I was able to, if not completely relax, to enjoy 3/3/2019 the whole experience a lot more
and play better as a lot of the pressure I had set for myself was off at that point.” After seeing two of her Quiz Bowl teammates on the show, Kelly took an online test in 2007, alongside her sister. When her sister received an audition first, Kelly assumed the show was not interested in having her on. Later though, while conducting dissertation research in Mexico, she got an email offering her an audition and flew back to the U.S. to try out. Kelly’s sister Arianna was on the show twice, having been brought back a second time after a few disputed judging calls. Kelly, however, went on to win her first six games, becoming the first woman in the show’s history to win five games consecutively. Trivia is deeply ingrained into the daily lives of both Madden and Kelley. Kelley and her husband both work for National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT), an organization that produces Quiz Bowl questions for middle school, high school, and collegiate tournaments. Madden and his wife run an organization called International Academic Competitions, which organizes over a dozen
history, geography, science, and all-subject competitions across the globe. In November 2017, the show began informing Madden and Kelly of a “big secret project” that would be coming up. “We had to sign confidentiality agreements before they would even, you know, tell us what they were planning to do,” Kelly explained. “It was actually really nice because we had basically a year-and-a-quarter or so between when we knew we’d be coming back for a tournament and when they actually taped, so that was really cool to have the opportunity to spend that much time studying and to kind of get back in gear for the show.” In September, Jeopardy! brought the 18 All-Star Game contestants out to Los Angeles for a draft and designated six players to be team captains. Rutter chose Larissa and Madden with the sixth and seventh pick respectively. On Rutter as a captain, Madden explained that Rutter “conducts himself with a sense of total confidence.” “That sense of confidence definitely helped Larissa and me keep our focus and enjoy the whole experience,” Madden said.
Rutter and Madden first met in 2006, at an academic quiz tournament at which they were both working. Kelly had not met Rutter until the All-Star Games, though she had known of Rutter for quite some time. “He and Jeff were on the same Quiz Bowl team back in their high school in Pennsylvania, so he’s someone that I’ve, you know, been aware of for a long time, even though we hadn’t met prior to this,” she said. “It was cool to play on a team with people that there was so much, sort of, history with. I think it really helped us with the team because we kind of knew what each other’s strengths were and trusted in each other’s strengths,” she continued. In Match One against Teams Buzzy and Colby, this confidence payed off during an African Geography-related Final Jeopardy! “I’ve been obsessed with maps and geography for over 30 years, and when I saw that category come up I knew that I’d be able to make a big wager and hopefully help out our team,” Madden noted. “That was off of a $20,000 wager, which is more than I had ever wagered on a Final Jeopardy! before.” Going into Match One,
though she noted that Rutter was very confident, “and justifiably so,” Kelly knew that the other teams would be tough to beat. “All the teams in this tournament are so, so good. Everybody knows most of the answers to the questions, everybody is so fast on the buzzer, and so a lot of it comes down these very, very random variations in buzzer timing,” she said. Madden and Kelly earned $23,800 and $25,600 respectively in their first two-game match of the tournament, and Team Brad advanced to the finals. Though unable to divulge any major details involving the finals, Madden and Kelly agreed that the match will be entertaining. “It’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch. There’s a lot of great gameplay, and, with the players who are competing, it lives up to the hype,” Madden said. “I just hope everybody at Princeton can tune in and cheer on two Old Nassau alums.” Madden, Kelly, and Rutter will take on Team Ken and Team Colby in a two-part final match airing on ABC on Monday and Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
COURTESY OF DAVID MADDEN AND LARISSA KELLY
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David Madden ’03 and Larissa Kelly ’02 will be seen competing together for a $1 million prize in the final round of the Jeopardy! All-Star Games.
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Move to placement-only auditions Sebastian Quiroz
Contributing Columnist
A
uditions season is once again upon us. Every day, it seems, another group is sending out an email telling us we should come to auditions. Many of these emails will joyfully claim that no experience is necessary. But it seems that many students — or at least many on Tiger Confessions — feel this is not quite true. Post #3866, for instance, expresses this frustration exactly, claiming that the exclusivity of many audition-based groups is arbitrary. Having prior experience gives students a significant advantage in the audition process. Understandably, the status quo has left many of our peers feeling frustrated: many feel they were roped into an unfair audition. Perhaps, then, it is time to change auditions to placementonly auditions, wherein each group has a “Varsity” and “Junior Varsity” sub-group. I think that debates in political theory regarding liberty and its value can help us understand what is going on here. These debates are particularly relevant as they pertain to wealth. The first argument — let’s call it the No Constraint Argument — states that being free and having the ability to use that freedom are different concepts. Essentially, having little to no wealth does not constrain your liberty at all because, in
principle, you can still do the things that your lack of money prevents you from doing. This argument would claim that you are free to drive a car to work, even if you do not have a car. In the context of auditions on campus, the No Constraint Argument would take the form of the “No experience necessary” disclaimer. Essentially, it is literally true that no experience is necessary to join many of the groups. The groups themselves do not put up any barrier to those with little to no experience. On the other hand, we have what I call the No Difference Argument. It claims that having money is what actually gives you your freedom. As such, there is no real difference between freedom and its value — both are fundamentally important. In contrast with the No Constraint Argument, the No Difference Argument would say that not having a car does constrain your freedom to drive one: you simply cannot do it. In auditions, it is clear that having some experience helps, much like wealth does in the No Difference Argument. Students who are fortunate enough to come to Princeton with a background in whatever they wish to join have a seemingly unfair advantage. In other words, the students who do not have the relevant background necessarily see their freedom to join that group affected in important ways.
I am certainly not arguing that this lens necessarily requires that student groups with auditions that use this disclaimer ought to get rid of the disclaimer or of auditions generally. There are important factors that auditions can help evaluate, not least of which is talent. Each of these groups has a specific purpose; some want to perform the best dance show in their category, others want to win debate competitions. Regardless of the specific purpose, they do in fact have purposes, so talent is a significant consideration. That being said, it seems just as significant to understand how talent might be correlated with morally irrelevant characteristics, particularly socioeconomic background. One could suggest that groups ought to be more honest in their advertising. I think this is a move in the right direction, but it’s open to the obvious objection that this would likely discourage many students from auditioning, out of fear that their lack of experience would disqualify them from getting in. I think there is a better solution: placement-only auditions. If we have something like a “Varsity” and “Junior Varsity” section of each group, we can avoid many of the harms caused by the audition process — like social exclusion — while protecting the desire for talented members. Having a “Junior Varsity” team or troupe would also
allow for a guaranteed group of talented members to replace the current core. More importantly, it would balance the effects that socioeconomic status can have on students’ prospects of entry. Of course, there is a concern about hierarchy. If the primary concern is with students’ well-being, one might object, wouldn’t this proposal solidify hierarchies that would make some students feel inferior to the rest? This would certainly be objectionable and in order to prevent it, the line between the two groups ought to be easily crossed. If a student, once they are in the group, demonstrates dedication and talent (however that group chooses to define it) they ought to have a fairly easy time moving up to the “Varsity” team. Obviously, the solution to this problem merits further discussion. The groups which are the focus of my discussion are likely the ones that are going to develop the most effective solutions. Creating a serious dialogue on campus regarding the exclusivity of ostensibly inclusive groups is a necessary step in making the University a better place for all students, and I think political theory can help us better understand these issues. Sebastian Quiroz is a junior from Apopka, FL. He can be reached at squiroz@princeton.edu.
vol. cxliii
editor-in-chief
Chris Murphy ’20 business manager
Taylor Jean-Jacques’20 BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90 trustees Francesca Barber David Baumgarten ’06 Kathleen Crown Gabriel Debenedetti ’12 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 Michael Grabell ’03 John Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 Kavita Saini ’09 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 Abigail Williams ’14 trustees emeriti Gregory L. Diskant ’70 William R. Elfers ’71 Kathleen Kiely ’77 Jerry Raymond ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73 trustees ex officio Chris Murphy ’20 Taylor Jean-Jacques’20
143RD MANAGING BOARD managing editors Samuel Aftel ’20 Ariel Chen ’20 Jon Ort ’21 head news editors Benjamin Ball ’21 Ivy Truong ’21 associate news editors Linh Nguyen ’21 Claire Silberman ’22 Katja Stroke-Adolphe ’20 head opinion editor Cy Watsky ’21 associate opinion editors Rachel Kennedy ’21 Ethan Li ’22
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head sports editor Jack Graham ’20 associate sports editors Tom Salotti ’21 Alissa Selover ’21 features editor Samantha Shapiro ’21 head prospect editor Dora Zhao ’21 associate prospect editor Noa Wollstein ’21 chief copy editors Lydia Choi ’21 Elizabeth Parker ’21 associate copy editors Jade Olurin ’21 Christian Flores ’21 head design editor Charlotte Adamo ’21 associate design editor Harsimran Makkad ’22 cartoon editors Zaza Asatiani ’21 Jonathan Zhi ’21 head video editor Sarah Warman Hirschfield ’20 associate video editor Mark Dodici ’22 digital operations manager Sarah Bowen ’20
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From solidarity with Ressa ’86 to debunking Marcos, stand for human rights in the Philippines! Cero Parel
Guest Contributor
F
rom Maria Ressa ’86 to Imee Marcos, Princeton University has been making headlines lately in the Philippines. The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board last week expressed their solidarity with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa after her arrest, and a few days later, the paper’s News section clarified that provincial governor Imee Marcos (the daughter of Ferdinand Marcos, a former dictatorial president of the Philippines) did not graduate from the University. These two cases are not isolated events, but in fact are tightly linked and reflective of the worsening political climate under the controversial regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Named a Time magazine Person of the Year in December 2018, Maria Ressa co-founded the news outlet Rappler in 2012 and is a highly decorated journalist in the Philippines. Ressa was arrested on Feb. 14, 2019, on charges of cyber libel against Rappler. Her arrest not only sparked a flurry of news coverage, from CNN to The Guardian to Time Magazine itself, but also mobilized massive community and
grassroots support in and outside of the Philippines. Ressa was released the following day but was made to post bail multiple times. On the other hand, Imee Marcos has been falsely reporting that she graduated from the University as well as the University of the Philippines College of Law. Neither are true. Her credentials have been interrogated by the media, especially since she announced running for the Senate in the May 13, 2019, elections. Imee Marcos has repeatedly defended her father and dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s legacy of human rights and a national debt that, to this day, multiple generations of Filipinos are paying off. She has berated critics of her family’s political dynasty, telling Filipinos to “move on” from the lasting traumas of martial law from 1972 to 1981 under Ferdinand Marcos. Over 70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 tortured, and 3,240 killed under martial law, according to Amnesty International. Freedom of the press was also a victim of Marcos’s martial law. After declaring martial law, Marcos signed the Letter of Instruction No. 1 “taking over and control[ling]
... all newspapers, magazines, radio and television facilities and all other media of communications.” Marcos was ousted in 1986 after 20 years in power through the EDSA People Power movement. Today President Duterte is determined to follow in his hero’s footsteps to trample on basic rights of the Filipino people: from the nearly two years and counting of martial law in the Mindanao region to the nationwide drug war. The war on drugs (read: war on the poor) has left a bloody trail of up to 27,000 dead — mostly impoverished and innocent — Filipinos since Duterte took office in 2016. Rappler has closely followed the human rights violations under both wars. Ressa was interviewed by NPR shortly after her release and, when asked if her detention has effects on human rights advocates and free press, she responded, “Absolutely. I don’t think I was the target alone of this action — right? … [T]hat is the message that the government sent loud and clear — be quiet, toe the line or you’re next.” Just like Marcos before him, Philippine news outlets like Bulatlat and Altermidya have faced Distributed Deni-
al-of-Service (DDoS) attacks on their websites. Even the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and the human rights organization KARAPATAN have been cyber-attacked. According to Quorum, a Sweden-based nonprofit secure hosting provider, the signature of these attacks were all identical across the different targets. Back in the United States, Filipinos and allies alike have spoken out through the Malaya Movement and the U.S. chapter of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP US). These alliances call on the United States government to cut aid going to the Philippine police and military, the direct perpetrators of Duterte’s drug war and martial law. The U.S. government has provided $184.5 million in military aid to the Philippines in 2018 and is promising at least $108 million for 2019 so far. Despite the internationally recognized crimes of Duterte and his state forces, the U.S. has not veered in its financial and tactical support of the regime. The New Jersey chapter of the ICHRP commended and echoed The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board and the broader Princeton journalism community when they stated that
Caption Contest Sydney peng ’22
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they “stand in proud solidarity” with Ressa. In true solidarity with the Filipino people, ICHRP in the U.S. is ramping up efforts as well. We invite Filipinos and our allies to sign onto our campaign to demand a Senate hearing on human rights violations by the Philippine military and police. New Jersey in particular plays a key role as senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez both sit on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Turn your words of support into action by mobilizing with us for the Ecumenical Advocacy Conference in Apr. 5–7 and Congressional Advocacy Days on Apr. 8–9, 2019, in Washington, D.C. We amplify the calls of the Filipino people when we assert: Defend press freedom! Demand an end to U.S. support of the Duterte regime! Stop the killings! Cut aid to the Philippine military and police! Say no to martial law! Cero Parel (pronouns: they/ them) is a first-year doctoral student at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. They write as a representative of the New Jersey chapter of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP NJ).
Sports
Monday March 4, 2019
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{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Women’s hockey routs St. Lawrence in ECAC quarterfinals, will face Cornell in semis By Owen Tedford Senior Staff Writer
This past weekend, the No. 7 ranked women’s hockey team (20–6–5, 15–4–3 ECAC) began postseason play with a bang. The Tigers beat St. Lawrence (14–15–7, 9–7–6), 4–1 on Friday evening and 6–2 on Saturday afternoon. Winning these two games moved Princeton on to the semifinals and meant the Tigers did not have to play a deciding third game on Sunday. Princeton leaves behind its decisive home-ice advantage – thanks to its rowdy fan support – and will travel to
Ithaca, New York next weekend when it faces Cornell (22– 4–6, 17–3–2) in the semifinals. On Friday night, the Tigers won 4–1 against the Saints, driven on by first-year forward Sarah Fillier’s first career hat trick during her first playoff game for Princeton. After a scoreless first period, Fillier netted her first goal of the night on a power play two minutes and 20 seconds into the second period. Less than a minute and a half later, Fillier quickly found the net for a second time after a strong forecheck by junior forward Carly Bullock gener-
OWEN TEDFORD / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Freshman forward Sarah Fillier had her first career hat trick this weekend in the ECAC quarterfinal against St. Lawrence.
ated a turnover. A great pass from first-year forward Maggie Connors found Fillier in the perfect spot to shoot and score from point-blank range. Fillier’s third goal came as the second period was nearing its end and she tipped in a shot by Bullock. St. Lawrence responded about 45 seconds later to bring the score to 3–1 at the end of the second period. Then, at the end of the third period, when the Saints had pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, sophomore forward Annie MacDonald netted an empty-net goal to ensure a Tiger victory. Junior goalie Stephanie Neatby was between the pipes on Friday night and had an excellent game, making 30 saves on 31 shots. On Saturday, with a chance to clinch the quarterfinals series, Princeton got off to a tough start with St. Lawrence scoring in the first 14 seconds of the game. With one second in the first period left, senior forward and co-captain Karlie Lund scored the first Tiger goal on an excellent shot with time expiring. Building off of this momentum, Bullock scored Princeton’s second goal in the first 1:17 of the second period to take its first lead of the game, a lead it would never relinquish. The Tigers’ third goal came off a Connors
redirect on a shot by senior defender Kimiko Marinacci. A goal by the Saints made it a one-goal game heading into the third period. This difference did not last long, though, once the period began and Lund scored her second goal on a dump into the zone that slipped through St. Lawrence’s goalie. Fillier, not one to be left out, scored again on a one-on-one opportunity after she created a turnover at the Saints’ blue line. Then finally, the Tigers’ last goal came on a power-play with 3:38 remaining from sophomore forward Sharon Frankel. Neatby was again in goal for Princeton and made 24 saves on 26 shots. This four-goal weekend for Fillier was just another feather in her cap of a great season. Fillier is a finalist for for ECAC Rookie of the Year and ECAC Hockey women’s Forward and crossed the 50-point mark during Friday’s game. She currently sits at 54 points, which is the first 50-point season by a Princeton player since 2004, and the most points by a Princeton player this century. Fillier credits much of this success to the quality of her Princeton teammates, saying that “We have a team of not only really quality players but they are all really great people.”
Next weekend, the Tigers will face Cornell in the ECAC semifinals on Saturday in Ithaca. A win Saturday would place Princeton in the final on Sunday against either Clarkson or Colgate. Lund commented, “Making the ECAC semifinals is a huge accomplishment for our team. As a freshman, St. Lawrence beat us in the quarterfinals, so coming into this past weekend I think we had some extra motivation to get redemption. We had two great games so hopefully we can keep up the tempo going into the semifinals.” Senior defender and co-captain Stephanie Sucharda also remarked on the confidence that the team has going into the semifinals, “It definitely gives us some confidence to be the only team that made it out of the first round of the playoffs in two regulation games. We are hoping to continue building on that momentum this weekend.” For those unable to make the trip, the games will be streamed online on ESPN+ in the United States. For those abroad, there is a link to access a stream on the GoPrincetonTigers.com website to access a stream. website. There will also be live updates available on the Princeton Women’s Hockey Twitter (@PWIH).
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Men’s basketball splits New England back-toback with win at Dartmouth, loss at Harvard By Jack Graham Head Sports Editor
This weekend’s New England road trip was anything but smooth sailing for Princeton men’s basketball (16–9, 8–4 Ivy). The Tigers took the floor against Dartmouth (11–17, 2–10) Friday night in Hanover hours after news broke that senior guard Devin Cannady was leaving the team to spend time with his family and declare for the NBA draft. Head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 missed the game due to illness, so 32-year old associate head coach Brett MacConnell stepped up in his place. Saturday night in Cambridge, Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving watched courtside as his protégé, Harvard (16–9, 9–3) guard Bryce Aiken, dismantled the Princeton defense in the second half. Nonetheless, the team came out of the weekend with the prize it’s been working towards for months: a spot in the Ivy League basketball tournament. After holding off Dartmouth for a 77–76 overtime win, Princeton guaranteed itself a topfour finish in the conference and a mid-March trip to New Haven. The Tigers scraped by a Big Green squad that is better than its record indicates despite squandering an eight-point lead with 1:22 to play in regulation. First-year Dartmouth guard James Foye capped the comeback with a miraculous deep three with two seconds re-
maining to even the score at 60. Princeton reeled off the first eight points in overtime thanks to a pair of baskets from firstyear guard Jaelin Llewellyn and a three from senior guard Myles Stephens before narrowly surviving another furious Dartmouth comeback to earn the one-point win. With Friday’s win, Princeton swept the season series against Dartmouth by a combined two points. The Tigers were propelled offensively by reigning Ivy League player of the week sophomore guard Ryan Schwieger, who scored a career-high 26 points. Schwieger had ice water in his veins late in the game, swishing a series of free throws in overtime to help his team keep its lead. Princeton scored just 19 points in the first half, and Dartmouth took a 26–19 lead to the locker room. MacConnell clearly made some adjustments at halftime — Princeton quickly narrowed the gap and scored 41 second-half points to more than double its first-half output. Stephens finished second in scoring for Princeton with 19 points, and Llewellyn added 17, eight of which were in overtime. Henderson returned to the Princeton bench Saturday night against Harvard, but the team’s momentum from the previous night did not carry over. Despite Harvard coach Tommy Amaker’s Senior Night decision
Tweet of the Day “Princeton has six named to All-Region team #TigerUp” Princeton Men’s Tennis (@ptonmenstennis), tennis
to play five seniors who normally barely crack Harvard’s rotation for the first five minutes of the game, the Tigers generated little offense in the beginning of Saturday’s contest. Fortunately for Princeton, Harvard wasn’t much more effective on the offensive end, and the Tigers trailed just 23–22 after the first half. As was the case when the two teams met in Jadwin last month, the second half belonged to Bryce Aiken. The Randolph N.J. native proved too
much for even Princeton defensive ace Stephens to handle. He hit deep threes and deftly maneuvered his way to the basket for layups en route to 16 secondhalf points and a 66–58 Harvard win. After defeating Yale (19–6, 9–3), the Crimson moved into a tie for first in the Ancient Eight. Princeton will conclude its regular season next week at home against Yale and Brown (18–10, 6–6). With one win, the Tigers would secure at least the three seed for the tournament. Questions still surround
this team. It’s 0–3 and counting against Harvard and Yale, likely the top two seeds in the tournament. Its current best offensive player is a guy (Schwieger) the coaching staff didn’t deem worthy of playing more than five minutes in a game just two weeks ago. However, the Tigers will be one of the four teams playing for a conference championship and NCAA tournament bid in two weeks. In this year’s Ivy League, that’s no small accomplishment.
JOSEPHINE DE LA BRUYERE / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Princeton finished its New England road trip to Hanover and Cambridge with a win, a loss, and a ticket to the Ivy League tournament.
Stat of the Day
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Women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart earned her 250th win this weekend.