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Monday April 10, 2017 vol. CXLI no. 39
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Impact Journalism Day
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Students are fighting for the future of Impact Journalism Day Universities (IJD-U), student newspapers from 20 renowned universities, united by Sparknews, are collectively sharing stories about 30 student initiatives that aim to address serious social and environmental problems. By writing about these innovative projects, the 20 participating student newspapers, show the collective force that the media has to catalyze change. From teaching each other how to use computer science for social good, to creating platforms that crowd-
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fund for university fees, to providing peer support for mental health, to sharing education with refugees, these stories show that students are actively challenging the notion that nothing can be done. Additionally, by each newspaper sharing their articles with each other, student journalists are given broad visibility and the individual actions of young people will be seen around the world, offering these initiatives the chance to grow and be replicated. One fortunate student will also be invited to attend the One BEYOND THE BUBBLE
Faculty, students react to confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch By Rebecca Ngu Contributor
IMAGE COURTESY OF PRINCETON CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
Princeton Citizen Scientists organized a campus-wide Day of Action.
Princeton Citizen Scientists aim to renew civic engagement By Katie Peterson Contributor
By 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 6, over 500 University affiliates had packed Frist Campus Center. By the end of the day, 64 teach-ins had occurred, 13 University and community organizations had promoted their respective causes, and nearly 1500 people had participated in the campus-wide Day of Action, according to organizer Sébastien Philippe. A fifth year Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Philippe is also president and co-founder of Princeton Citizen Scientists, one of the two student groups to host the March 6 event. The group banded together shortly after the November elections, when “it was pretty clear that there was a need for a renewed civic engagement,” Philippe said. The organization was “organic,” Philippe explained, because he and fellow students were looking for ways to process and move forward. “People kind of came out of this election pretty shaken-up,”
he said. Princeton Citizen Scientists is a group of about 40 science, engineering, and social science graduate students who aim to address the current political discourse with their expertise. “We, as scientists, have important contributions to add to the public debate and the public discussion of scientific legislation,” Michael Hepler, a 4th year graduate student in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and another co-founder of Princeton Citizen Scientists, said. In fact, there’s a very long tradition of that kind of contribution at the University. In 1946 the University started an organization called the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists. The committee was founded by Albert Einstein and other scientists in the interest of warning the public about the dangers of nuclear weapons. Today, Princeton Citizen Scientists seeks to raise awareness of those same nuclear security See DAY OF ACTION page 7
Young World conference in Bogotá to meet with other pioneering young leaders. IJD-U is inspired by Impact Journalism Day and Solutions&Co, two events created by Sparknews which bring together more than 80 of the world’s leading newspapers including The Financial Times (UK), USA Today, The China Daily, Die Welt (Germany), Le Figaro (France), El País (Spain), and Asahi Shimbun (Japan), and many others, to bring awareness to social innovation. To read their stories visit
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice by the Senate with a 54-45 vote yesterday over accusations of plagiarism in his book “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,” according to POLITICO. Gorsusch was accused of lifting sections almost verbatim from a 1984 article for the Indiana Law Journal for his 2006 book published by the Princeton University Press. Professor of jurisprudence and politics Robert P. George, who was the general editor of the series that included Gorsuch’s book, defended Gorsuch. Given the timely nature of the allegations, George labeled them as politically-motivated attempts to derail Gorsuch’s nomination. “I can only say that their timing and substance (or, more to the point, lack of substance) makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is a politically motivated effort to smear him in the hope of derailing his confirmation…” he wrote in an email in response to ‘Prince’ inquiry. George stated that the accusations are part of a long American political tradition since the late 1980s of “politics of personal destruction” wherein opponents have smeared Supreme Court nominees to derail their confirmation. Ryan Chavez ’19, who is in George’s class, affirmed the prevalence of political partisanship that Professor George highlighted. Chavez is a columnist for the ‘Prince.’ “I think the confirmation process, at the current moment, a lot of it comes down to politics,” he said. The politicizing comes from both parties, he
noted, citing how Merrick Garland, former President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination, did not get a hearing due to Republican obstructionism. “I wouldn’t necessarily endorse Professor George’s view, but I think his analysis of where things are is very accurate. [The confirmation process] is so connected to the partisan division in this country,” said Chavez. While Alis Yoo ’18 did not comment on Gorsuch’s alleged plagiarism, she noted the underlying resentment that has fueled the contention around Gorsuch’s nomination, namely the Republican refusal to consider Merrick Garland. Yoo is also in George’s class. “I think an opposition to Gorsuch should and can only be rooted in the GOP’s unprecedented move to ignore a sitting president’s candidate,” Yoo said. Regarding the substance of the plagiarism accusations, George noted that the infractions were technical, not conceptual. “To me, the key thing is, Gorsuch did not attempt to steal other people’s intellectual property or pass off ideas and arguments taken from other writers as his own, nor did he seek credit for insights or analyses that weren’t his own,” George wrote. George continued, “He was not trying to steal other people’s work or deceive readers by representing the insights and arguments of others as his own.” He explained that the similarities between the texts illustrate, at best, that “[Gorsuch] was in a small number of cases a bit sloppy about paraphrasing and citation” and, at worst, See GORSUCH page 5
In Opinion
Today on Campus
Guest contributor Daniel Krane scrutinizes Professor Robbie George’s defense of Neil Gorsuch’s plagiarism, and the Editorial Board encourages every student to participate in the We Speak survey. PAGE 6
12 p.m.: Improper Translations: Multilingual Reading practices in Fourteenth-Century English Literature. Emily Dalton reads Chaucer’s The Book of the Duchess. Louis A. Simpson Building 35 Person Meeting Room 144.
impactjournalismday-universities.com/read-our-stories IJD-U will also be celebrated on April 24th in New York as part of a Sparknews sustainability event hosted by BNP Paribas, IJD-U’s sponsor. Louis Slade, Manager, Impact Journalism Day Universities
Christian de Boisredon, Founder, Sparknews
For more information, contact ijd-uni@sparknews.com I M PA CT J O U R N A L I S M D AY
App connects students to mental health resources By Pressly Pratt UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley students are developing a website and mobile app to connect campus students experiencing mental health issues with other students who face similar experiences. The startup, called SafeSpace, placed first in the Improving Student Life category of UCBerkeley’s 2016 Big Ideas contest, an annual competition aimed at providing students with startup ideas and resources to help turn ideas into realities. The team won $10,000 in the competition — money it has used to begin developing the app and website. Over the course of the competition, the team decided to create a mobile app and website to foster communication and connection among students suffering from mental health problems. The project now partners with the University Health Services program Cal Bears Say Hi. Like SafeSpace, the Cal Bears Say Hi program works to foster peer-to-peer relationships to make students feel more comfortable and less isolated on campus. Monica Casanova, a public health major who is minoring in public policy and political economy, came up with the idea for SafeSpace when she was working on a paper about mental health support systems on campus. She suffered from severe depression her freshman year and said she wanted her paper to reflect her personal experiences of trying to navigate the resources on campus — she felt they were lacking. After working on the projSee UC BERKELEY page 3
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or many university students and young people around the world, the 2016/2017 academic year has not been very hopeful. There is a sense that world leaders are shying away from addressing global problems such as climate change and forced migration, yet, as the generation with the greatest level of higher education, we are acutely aware of how seriously these problems threaten our future. For this reason, we have realized the need to take action. On April 10th, as part
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The Daily Princetonian
Monday April 10, 2017
The Daily Princetonian
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Bioengineers Without Borders brings medical technology where it’s most needed
TAYLOR MCAVOY :: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Bioengineers without borders team David Peeler, Timmy Lee, Philip Walczak, Conner
Pitts, Eric Swanson, and Gabrielle Pang show the low-cost anesthetic prototype.
By Monica Mursch University of Washington
Eric Swanson wasn’t planning to be so involved in Bioengineers Without Borders (BWB) when he first joined. Now, as president of the organization, he’s pretty much as involved as he could possibly be. BWB is a student organization at the University of Washington that focuses on creating medical technologies for places that may not have access to quality health care resources. BWB focuses on creating low-cost, quality medical equipment while also learning skills useful to bioengineering and related career fields. The teams that comprise BWB do consist of
many bioenginnering (BIOE) majors or intended majors, but the team is home to members from other fields as well. There are currently eight active teams in BWB. Swanson is the graduate leader of one team focusing on building a low-cost anesthesia delivery device. The team is built of current undergraduates Philip Walczak, Timmy Lee, Gabby Pang, Conner Pitts, Ajeet Dhaliwal, Ross Boitano, and Kaleb Smith. The idea for the project came about approximately three years ago when Walczak was taking the “Introduction to Bioengineering Problem Solving” class at the UW. He brought his idea to BWB and wanted to turn it into actual
SafeSpace provides support system for students UC BERKELEY Continued from page 1
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ect, Casanova decided she wanted to find a way to improve communication among students and lessen the sense of loneliness she felt while experiencing depression. “When I tried to seek out care, it didn’t seem to work out for me,” Casanova said. “I really didn’t want that to happen (to anyone else).” After Casanova applied for the Big Ideas competition, she posted on Facebook groups looking for other students to join her team. Ann Nguyen, a campus senior and a co-founder of SafeSpace, said she got involved because she felt the campus didn’t prioritize mental health. She wanted to help provide additional resources to students experiencing mental illnesses such as depression and eating disorders. Nguyen added that as an Asian American, her culture does not weigh mental health as highly as physical health, which can require medical interventions. She said SafeSpace aims to fight against such stigmas and normalize mental health disorders. She hopes SafeSpace will encourage people to reach out when they are experiencing poor mental health before they break down, she said. “Usually, it’s at the point when it’s too late when they
start talking about it,” Nguyen said. “We really want to try to get people to reach out for help before they reach that breaking point.” Nguyen and her team initially approached Big Ideas as just a funding source, but over time, she realized it was much more than that. She said the competition provided her team with connections to experts in the field, helped them clarify their vision and inspired them to continue with the process. Big Ideas program manager Adrienne Chuck said SafeSpace was one of Big Idea’s “greatest projects.” For a student body of about 36,000, the campus has only about 50 counselors, which she called a “ridiculous ratio.” Chuck said that the team’s approach of creating a peer-to-peer platform was incredibly innovative and that she believes the project will have a wide-reaching effect on UC Berkeley. Chuck added that the team underwent extraordinary growth as entrepreneurs during the nine-month competition. “The growth that we saw in this team over the course of nine months was incredible — they were so focused on making the Cal environment better,” Chuck said. “I was so inspired watching them dedicate themselves to solving this problem.”
functioning technology people could use. “There’s this lack of access to basic surgery in low-resource settings and there’s a lot of reasons for that lack of training for anesthesiologists on it,” said Swanson, a bioengineering Ph.D student at the UW. “Another major component is a lot of what is required for surgery [isn’t] available because of the lack of access.” Along with fellow Ph.D student David Peeler, Swanson has been leading a team to create the anesthetic device. The difference between this medical technology and others available is its portability, which allows doctors to carry it with them for surgery, making it ideal for low-resource settings. Although there are other portable anesthetic devices available, many are not of good quality and can make it a challenge for doctors to apply the accurate doses they need. Along the way, the BWB team ended up finding and working with BIOE associate professor Wendy Thomas and Anthony Roche, a professor of anesthesiology in the UW School of Public Health. Both have helped advise the team while keeping a hands-off approach to the building of the project itself. “My role is two-fold,” Thomas explained. “One of my roles is that I provide a lab space, and the other role is that I provide bioengineering expertise and help them to bounce ideas off when it comes to their project and give them feedback.” The team is currently work-
ing on a draw-over vaporizer, one type of portable anesthetic device. A draw-over vaporizer is different than a plenum vaporizer because a plenum version requires a power source to make it functional. If there is a power outage, there is no way to use a plenum vaporizer in an emergency medical situation. During surgery, the anesthetic chamber that contains the general anesthesia or inhaled anesthesia needs to be kept at a constant temperature. That is a problem for draw-over vaporizers because it’s hard to maintain the constant temperature needed for surgery. The anesthetic device team recruited UW MBA student Aaron Boswell to help present the project at a business competition, specifically aimed at highlighting how to market the anesthetic device after the project is completed and ready for medical professionals to use. With his help, the team won second place and a grant of $10,000 at the Holloman Health Innovation Challenge on March 3, 2017. Another BWB team is focusing its efforts on building a hydration monitor, a device that measures hydration levels for communities where people may not be able to diagnose themselves properly. The goal is to create a quality monitor to use in developing countries most in need. The device this team is creating is unique because there is a lack of competitors attempting to address the same issue. “The focus is on infants and children ages zero to five who
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cannot speak for themselves, whereas adults can say whether they are dehydrated or not,” co-project manager and BIOE undergraduate Micaela Everitt said. In addition to Everitt, this team is made up of Annapurni Sriram, Barbie Varghese, Caleb Perez, Devin Garg, Emily Chun, Jocelyn Ma, and Vidhi Singh. BIOE Ph.D student and mentor Hal Holmes serves as an advisor because of the core members who were working on the project at the time. Holmes said he was impressed by their passion and drive for the project, and he has stayed on as the team has added more members to the project. The faculty advisor for the hydration team is Matthew Bruce, a principal scientist/ engineer at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory. He aids the team with technical direction and advises them on other mechanical aspects of the project. “For people in a place without immediate access to healthcare or doctors, they will need to use a device like this to try to diagnose whether or not their child is dehydrated and by how much,” Sriram said. BWB welcomes anyone who is passionate and willing to learn the skills needed for various projects, and the organization is also currently looking for any upperclassmen in a technology-related major to get involved. The best candidates will be passionate and driven to create technology that can make meaningful change around the globe.
The Daily Princetonian is published daily except Saturday and Sunday from September through May and three times a week during January and May by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., 48 University Place, Princeton, N.J. 08540. Mailing address: P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542. Subscription rates: Mailed in the United States $175.00 per year, $90.00 per semester. Office hours: Sunday through Friday, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telephones: Business: 609-375-8553; News and Editorial: 609-258-3632. For tips, email news@ dailyprincetonian.com. Reproduction of any material in this newspaper without expressed permission of The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2014, The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Princetonian, P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542.
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Sciences Po Refugee Help assists asylum seekers
COURTESY OF SCIENCES PO REFUGEE HELP
Sciences Po Refugee Help staff work with refugees.
By Melissa Godin Sciences Po
Though rising populist leaders, spreading Islamophobia and isolationist tendencies have threatened refugees around the world, students at leading French university Sciences Po have created an organization to provide emergency and integration aid to asylum seekers in France. The organization, Sciences Po Refugee Help, aims to materially and immaterially improve the living conditions of refugees. The organization brings together asylum seekers and students who are passionate about helping refugees in an effort to
“bridge the gap between those in need and those willing to act.” Founded in 2015, Sciences Po Refugee Help has adopted an apolitical, rights-based approach which involves being present on the ground as well as lobbying national governments and international organizations, including the United Nations. Although the organization is based in Paris, their services extend beyond the nation’s capital. The organization is exclusively made up of students. “We now have the highest number of active volunteers than any other association at Sciences Po,” said President of
Sciences Po Refugee Help, Yann Lebec. But make no mistake, this is not your typical university club. Sciences Po Refugee Help is a certified 1901 law association. “I am so happy that students from Sciences Po have founded Sciences Po Refugee Help,” said Director of Sciences Po, Frédéric Mion. “What they are doing is an honour to Sciences Po, and goes towards supporting the values in which we believe, of openness and generosity.” Sciences Po Refugee Help functions at many levels. The organization provides basic material needs to asylum seekers, like high protein foods or sneakers for the winter. But rather than make assumptions about what the refugees may need, the organization conducts needs assessments in migrant camps and housing centers. Last year, for instance, the organization provided running shoes to asylum seekers who were wearing flipflops during Paris’ cold winter. The organization also provides French lessons in four different locations throughout Paris and organizes social activities, which they believe are “essential to the maintenance of a humane quality of life for refugees.” Last October, Sciences Po Refugee Help brought 20 residents of the Loiret Center to the Grande Mosquée of Paris, as part of their efforts to give refugees a sense of normalcy and joy in their everyday lives. The organization’s “Asylum Aid Team” assists asylum seekers in their application process
for refugee status. Because the team possesses a thorough understanding of the French and European Union asylum systems and are able to translate from Farsi and Arabic into French, they are able to advise on “the asylum procedure, help explain asylum seeker’s rights, accompany asylum seekers to medical visits, check over necessary forms, and redirect applicants to the appropriate organizations when necessary.” Now, more than ever, the work of Refugee Help is so important. With a series of terrorist attacks throughout the nation over the past few years, Islamophobia has been on the rise in France. The far-right wing, anti-refugee presidential candidate Marine Le Pen—famous for villainizing asylum seekers—has been gaining an alarming amount of support in the lead-up to the French presidential elections this month. Her victory would intensify an already dire crisis and would institutionalize islamophobia as a legitimate foreign policy. Rising islamophobia will only increase the likelihood of radicalisation and terrorist attacks on French soil. Organizations like Sciences Po Refugee Help remind us that we are all capable of empathy and respect, and deserving of a chance for a decent life. Though the organization is still in its infancy, Sciences Po Refugee Help allows us to realize the need for a humane approach to refugee and development policies.
Monday April 10, 2017 I M PA CT J O U R N A L I S M D AY
Medical student’s NGO supports STEM education in Nigeria By Emily Liu Duke University
A Duke medical student’s NGO aims to expand career development options in science, technology engineering and math for youth in Nigeria. Teminioluwa Ajayi, a third-year medical student at Duke, co-founded Grow with Nigeria three years ago after moving to the United States when he was 15 years old. After receiving education in the United States, Ajayi said he realized that the application-based learning model made information easier to learn than the Nigerian system. “In Nigeria, all I had to do was read some textbooks and regurgitate the information on the exam,” Ajayi said. “When I came to the United States, I struggled a little bit with the practical courses because I just was not trained to think like that, to see things in the bigger context.” Grow with Nigeria conducts summer programs for high school students in Nigeria with four-day experiential learning courses. Ajayi explained that the Nigerian students involved in the program are able to take part in practical hands-on experiences across STEM fields. “The goal is to have [the students] see the spectrum of careers available to them in STEM and actually see what these professionals do,” he said. “Hopefully, this program plants a little seed, and their eyes are opened to a new range of possibilities.” The program’s leadership team consists of eight professionals from the United States who are aided by medical students or health professionals from Nigeria for the summer. The nonprofit also recruits other local volunteers to help ensure that the curriculum is responsive to the needs of Nigerian students. Grow with Nigeria opts for a directed recruiting system in selecting its students due to logistical and financial limitations. So far, Grow with Nigeria’s executive team has reached out to teachers in lowincome schools for student recommendations. Like any other NGO, Grow with Nigeria has had to work hard to secure funding for operations, Ajayi noted. Last year, the company competed in the Duke Startup Challenge and was awarded $5,000. It has also attracted donors—Duke provided approximately $10,000 in equipment that the program uses, and IBM provided the space they use in Nigeria. Last year, Grow with Nigeria’s summer program consisted of four sessions—health professions, information technology, renewable energy and a professional development seminar. Students learned how to suture and perform other basic life support skills like chest compressions. They also built a robot, designed a website and constructed a solar-powered car. “We want all students to have a minimum viable product that they built themselves when they leave,” Ajayi said. “This helps them demystify the career and the STEM space.” Ajayi said that balancing medical school with the work of operating Grow with Nigeria can be challenging but added that he has remained committed to the organization nonetheless. “Whatever free time I have goes to Grow with Nigeria,” he said. “If you’re doing something you love to do, it’s not work.” Looking to the future, Ajayi said that Grow with Nigeria plans to be incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and subsequently establish a mentorship program for previous participants. Eventually, Ajayi and his team hope to export this model into more Nigerian states and train teachers, with the broader target of redefining education policy in Nigeria. “There is such a need for medical and health professionals in Nigeria right now, and we just want [the students] to get excited about this so they can fill those pockets,” Ajayi said. “Also, I’m a medical student. So maybe I’m a little biased too.”
The Daily Princetonian
Monday April 10, 2017
IMAGE COURTESY OF FLICKR
Gorsuch will be sworn into the Supreme Court today.
Gorsuch’s appointment sparks dialogue GORSUCH Continued from page 1
............. “committed minor embarrassing (but certainly not disqualifying) infractions.” However, POLITICO independently contacted six academics who have studied issues of academic integrity, and some of them took a harsher stance. “Each of the individual incidents constitutes a violation of academic ethics. I’ve never seen a college plagiarism code that this would not be in violation of,” said Rebecca Moore Howard, a professor of writing and rhetoric at Syracuse University. Elizabeth Berenguer, an associate law professor at Campbell Law School who teaches plagiarism and legal writing, said that Gorsuch’s book’s similarities to the 1987 paper would be considered a “potential violation of our plagiarism policy.” “I would apply an academic writing standard,” said Berenguer. “Even if it were a legal opinion, it would be plagiarism under either.”
From George’s own undergraduate experience as a member of an academic discipline committee and later as a faculty member advising students under investigation for academic dishonesty, he suspected that Gorsuch would not have been suspended had he submitted his paper to the University. “I suspect that, at most, a disciplinary committee…would issue a reprimand rather than suspend the student or impose any harsher punishment,” George wrote. Chavez, however, was not sure. “I think any allegation of plagiarism is a serious issue, particularly in an academic context,” he said. “If [he] submitted this to the committee on academic integrity, would Gorsuch be suspended for several years? Princeton is quite particular in how it handles issues of plagiarism, and for good reason.” After a nearly 14-month vacancy on the bench, Gorsuch’s lifetime appointment to the court will begin after his swearing in on Monday.
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Opinion
Monday April 10, 2017
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EDITORIAL
Every student should take the We Speak survey The Editorial Board is an independent body and decides its opinions separately from the regular staff and editors of The Daily Princetonian. The Board answers only to its Co-Chairs, the Opinion Editor, and the Editor-in-Chief. It can be reached at editorialboard@dailyprincetonian.com.
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he prevalence of sexual assault has been a persistent problem on college campuses in recent years. Despite government efforts to address the problem, college sexual assault is also an issue that the University’s administration, students, and community have a responsibility to address and mitigate. One commendable effort organized by the University to gain a better understanding of the incidence of sexual assault and sexual misconduct is the annual We Speak Survey. As we have in past years, the Board encourages all students to participate in the survey, to which all students received a link via email. The We Speak Survey represents a unique opportunity to be a part of what is arguably the nation’s best study on college sexual misconduct. Because it typically has a high response rate, the
results from the We Speak Survey are more accurate and more helpful than data from similar surveys, which suffer from under-participation. Moreover, the We Speak Survey is a multi-year project, meaning that students can and should participate even if they have already taken the survey in years past. After this year, the survey will have three years of data, allowing the University to assess its multi-year progress in combatting sexual misconduct, which includes incidents of sexual harassment, stalking, relationship violence, sexual assault, and rape. Between the 2015 and 2016 surveys, for example, there was a decrease in the cases of sexual misconduct experienced by undergraduate women. However, one in four undergraduate women still report being victims of sexual misconduct. The Board believes that continuing our progress in improving student safety requires a detailed understanding of sexual misconduct on Princeton’s campus. To that end, we encourage all students to take part in the survey. The quality of the We Speak Survey depends on the participation of students to provide the most accurate assessment of sexual miscon-
duct at Princeton possible. Obtaining such accuracy requires the participation of as many students as possible. As stated in an email to the student body from the FacultyStudent Committee on Sexual Misconduct, “We want the results from the survey to be representative of our diverse community’s perceptions and experiences.” These surveys collect information not only on the circumstances surrounding an array of campus crimes, from rape to domestic violence to cyber harassment, but also on awareness and effectiveness of efforts to curb these problems. All students, including those who themselves have had no direct exposure to sexual misconduct, have valuable perspectives and opinions on these questions. Since the inauguration of the We Speak Survey, the University has undertaken a number of initiatives to combat the prevalence of sexual misconduct on Princeton’s campus. These include the UMatter program, which emphasizes bystander education and intervention, the UMatter Bus to give students a consistent and safe way of returning to their dorms from Prospect Avenue, and increased levels of SHARE programming. We commend the
University for its continued efforts with these initiatives and for its work in educating students about the availability of resources. The 2016 We Speak survey results indicated that 83 percent of students (an increase from 80 percent in 2015) are personally aware of where to go on campus to find help if they experience sexual misconduct. Consistent and continued participation in the We Speak Survey — in 2017 and beyond — will provide further insight into the success of the University’s efforts, helping the administration double down on effective programs and rework ineffective ones. For the University to be able to effectively address sexual misconduct on campus, it must have access to the best data possible. Participating in the We Speak Survey is a meaningful way for students to help the University better understand this problem and potential solutions. Students, as members of this community, have a responsibility to help make this a safe and welcoming campus for all students. The Editorial Board joins many campus leaders and organizations in encouraging all students to participate in the 2017 We Speak Survey.
Venus with a Mirror
vol. cxli
Sarah Sakha ’18
editor-in-chief
Matthew McKinlay ’18 business manager
BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90 Gregory L. Diskant ’70 William R. Elfers ’71 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 Joshua Katz Kathleen Kiely ’77 Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Randall Rothenberg ’78 Annalyn Swan ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73
141ST MANAGING BOARD managing editors Samuel Garfinkle ’19 Grace Rehaut ’18 Christina Vosbikian ’18 Head news editor Marcia Brown ’19 news editors Abhiram Karuppur ’19 Claire Lee ’19 opinion editor Newby Parton ’18
Avaneesh narla ’17 ..................................................
sports editor David Xin ’19 street editor Jianing Zhao ’20 photography editor Rachel Spady ’18 web editor David Liu ’18 chief copy editors Isabel Hsu ’19 Omkar Shende ’18 chief design editor Quinn Donohue ’20 associate opinion editors Samuel Parsons ’19 Nicholas Wu ’18 associate sports editors Miranda Hasty ’19 Claire Coughlin ’19 associate street editor Andie Ayala ’19 Catherine Wang ’19 associate chief copy editors Caroline Lippman ’19 Megan Laubach ’18
Daniel Krane
Gorsuch’s broken honor
Guest Contributor
Last Wednesday, a largely overlooked chapter of the circus surrounding the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court unfolded: “A Short Section in Neil Gorsuch’s 2006 Book Appears to be Copied from a Law Review Article” wrote Buzzfeed. “Gorsuch’s Writings Borrow from Other Authors” proclaimed Politico. No matter how much these articles couch their claims, any student familiar with Princeton University’s Honor Code could conclude only one thing after reading the passages in question: Gorsuch plagiarized. In the articles, side-by-side analysis of Judge Gorsuch’s writings with Abigail Lawlis Kuzma’s legal article, “The Legislative Response to Infant Doe,” demonstrates near wordfor-word replications — sometimes down to the ellipses — of several paragraphs and footnotes Kuzma wrote describing Down’s Syndrome. As Princeton’s Rights, Rules, Responsibilities makes eminently clear, “Any ideas or facts which are borrowed should be specifically acknowledged in a
footnote or in the text, even if the idea or fact has been further elaborated by the student.” Moreover, “[a]ny quotations, however small, must be placed in quotation marks” and “[a]ny material which is paraphrased or summarized must also be specifically acknowledged in a footnote or in the text.” Gorsuch’s writing clearly does not meet this bar that every Princeton student subscribes to when they produce original academic work. This makes it even more surprising, then, that one of Princeton’s most admired and well-known professors, Robert George — an influential conservative legal scholar — seems at best unfamiliar, and at worst, disinterested, with the University’s high standards for academic honesty. The Politico article writes, “‘Judge Gorsuch did not attempt to steal other people’s intellectual property or pass off ideas or arguments taken from other writers as his own,’ said George. ‘In no case did he seek credit for insights or analysis that had been purloined. In short, not only is there no fire, there isn’t even any smoke.’” With all due respect to Pro-
fessor George, “attempting to steal other people’s intellectual property” or “seek[ing] credit for insights or analysis that had been purloined” is not the standard set for plagiarism at the institution where he teaches and builds much of his reputation. Professor George surely is familiar with this standard. As a student in his highly regarded Constitutional Interpretation class last semester, a course as renowned for its exacting standards as for Professor George’s insight, I and every other student in the class wrote after each paper we submitted, “This paper represents my work in accordance with University regulations.” Why should students in Professor George’s classes be held to a higher standard than the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States? Princeton’s academic standards were certainly high enough for current Justices and Princeton alumni Samuel Alito ‘72, Elena Kagan ‘81, and Sonia Sotomayor ‘76. This plagiarism scandal is disappointing on several levels. As a newly-minted member of the Supreme Court, Judge
Gorsuch will be a role model whose honesty will be relied on as he interprets the laws that bind us together. Particularly for someone whose mode of judicial interpretation, originalism, depends on fastidious attention to detail, research, and historical accuracy, Judge Gorsuch’s casual plagiarism bodes poorly for a real commitment to an objective, as opposed to an ideologically-driven, mode of interpreting the Constitution. For the Princeton community, Professor George’s stance is especially disappointing. While he is entitled to espouse his opinions, that Professor George would use his platform as a Princeton University professor to defend Judge Gorsuch’s plagiarism undermines the very academic freedom he utilizes. In his classes, Professor George pushes students to find modes of judicial interpretation that are logically consistent and methodological, not ideologically determined. His willingness to compromise his academic standards to suit partisan ends — not in defense of Judge Gorsuch’s judicial credentials, but in defense of an unambiguous case of plagiarism — calls into question the very
editorial board co-chairs Ashley Reed ’18 Connor Pfeiffer ’18 cartoons editor
NIGHT STAFF 4.9.17 copy Michael Li ’20 Sarah Deneher ’20
nature of what he teaches. It does not matter that the plagiarism in question is seemingly trivial. Judge Gorsuch repeatedly used Kuzma’s words without citation in an article, his dissertation, and a published book that helped build his reputation. The first offense for a Princeton student in a plagiarism case would typically lead to a year-long suspension. For Judge Gorsuch, the punishment appears to be a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. For Professor George and Princeton, however, the punishment may be a lasting stain on his personal and on Princeton’s academic reputations. Daniel Krane is a Spanish and Portuguese major from Chestnut Hill, Mass. He can be reached at dkrane@princeton.edu.
The Daily Princetonian
Monday April 10, 2017
Not Today Annie Zou ’19
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PCS encourages awareness of science policy concerns DAY OF ACTION Continued from page 1
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concerns, as well as issues like climate change. To that end, Hepler said their objectives are educating themselves as scientists on how to be better advocates, reaching out to policymakers, and finding ways to reach out to the general public. The Day of Action addressed all three of those goals, with teachins on topics like “Science in the Public Sphere: How Can We Increase Non-Expert Engagement with the Knowledge and Values of Science?” and a Science communication and education workshop. “In order to talk about science, we can’t just talk about it in a vacuum,” Hepler said. “We need to connect it to the other social issues that are dividing us as a nation and as an international community.” Philippe agreed, noting that “We never really take the time to pause our daily activities and engage in meaningful discussions and learning experiences on subjects that are not necessarily the ones that we are most familiar with.” “Everybody was listening,” said Robert Socolow, professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Socolow gave a talk, along with two other professors, entitled “Making Progress on Climate Change Policy in the Next Four Years.” He celebrated the day as “sustaining University values in this country, which are under threat,” describing these values as a “complete search for truth and willing-
ness to correct error, to listen to challenges.” Those values were not only the aim of the lecture, Socolow said, but were also embodied in the way people interacted afterward. “I think this was the goal of March 6. We learned a lot from the other disciplines, and that’s really important as we move forward,” Philippe added. Looking ahead, the scholars plan to travel to the March for Science in Washington, D.C., on April 22 to rally for, in part, the importance of evidence-based policy. Prior to that, they will host a teach-in on why scientists should be engaged in the policy process. “One of the goals of Princeton Citizen Scientists is to kind of train young scholars and to kind of open paths for them to join government or NGOs,” Philippe said. Michael Oppenheimer, professor of geosciences and international affairs, and another of the contributors to the “Making Progress on Climate Change Policy” discussion, emphasized the importance of students’ involvement. “Despite the fact that, in some senses, the political atmosphere is grim, and there are indications that are explicit that the administration would like to reverse the environmental progress that’s been made over the last four to eight years, students have the opportunity to have their voices heard,” he said. “It’s our responsibility as young scholars to rise up and start working, and use our knowledge... to reach the public ears,” Philippe said.
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Monday April 10, 2017
Sports
page 8
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Tigers third in EIVA, two conference games left By David Xin
Head Sports Editor
The men’s volleyball team emerged from two devastating losses on Mar. 31 and Apr.1 with a renewed purpose as its postseason dreams were on the line this Saturday, Apr.8. The Tigers responded with a convincing 3-1 victory over reigning EIVA champions George Mason. The win boosted the Orange and Black into third in their conference. With two matches remaining in conference play, the Tigers will need to win both games to secure a playoff position. Indeed, there is a four-way tie for fourth place only a game behind the Tigers. Princeton will host Harvard and Sacred Heart in Dillon Gym this coming Friday and Saturday, Apr. 14 and 15. The Tigers came together to give one of their best team performances this season, getting stellar performances from all class years. Freshman outside hitter Parker Dixon spearheaded the offense with 15 kills. The middle duo of George Hughmann and Junior Oboh combined for an impressive 20 kills, 13 blocks, and three service aces.
The Princeton team opened the game by grabbing the first set, narrowly edging out the Patriots, 25-23. George Mason would respond to win the second set and would push the Tigers on in the third. However, the Princeton team would once again show their composure to hold off the Patriots in the third set, 25-23, again. The Tigers were never troubled in the fourth, cruising to a 25-16 victory. While this was a much-needed win, the Tigers will not have much time to celebrate as they have a packed doubleheader against Harvard and Sacred Heart. The Tigers narrowly beat the Crimson the last time the two sides met. Sacred Heart managed to defeat Princeton 1-3 earlier in the season — a result the Tigers will surely try to change the second time around. The Princeton team will need to grab both wins to secure a playoff position. However, one loss would send the Tigers into a wild array of tie-breakers. The Tigers will host Harvard Friday Apr.14 at 7:00 p.m. and Sacred Heart Saturday Apr. 15 at 4:00 p.m.
COURTESY OF PRINCETON ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION
Princeton will need to win both remaining games to secure a playoff position and avoid a wild array of tiebreakers.
See ULTIMATE page 8
CREW
Men’s and Women’s rowing win big over hectic weekend By Claire Coughlin Associate Sports Editor
This weekend marked a major season milestone for all four teams of the Princeton Boathouse. Each one competed in historically competitive races, proving their strength and potential for races ahead. The first race of the weekend was held on home waters at Lake Carnegie on Friday against the men’s heavyweight teams of Penn and Columbia in the 50th annual Childs Cup. This was the Tigers’ first real test of the season, but they managed to keep their undefeated record with their fourth win against the 14th-ranked Quakers. Despite this being their first real challenge of the season, a Tiger win was somewhat expected, as Princeton is ranked 10 seeds ahead of Penn and has won 23 of the last 24 in the series against Penn. Coming up in the rest of the season, the team now has three historic Cup races to compete in at Carnegie. The team will start this stint next Saturday with the Compton Cup against historic Ivy League rival Harvard, which will be available to watch on the Ivy League Digital Network. The men’s lightweight team used their momentum from last week’s win against reigning IRA champion Columbia to push them to victory against Delaware and Dartmouth this Saturday at home as well. The light’s 1V took the win in 6:22.5, more than a full nine seconds faster than Dartmouth. Despite this big win though and a victory from the Princeton 3V, Delaware beat out the Tiger 2V by a little under six seconds. Unlike their counterparts, this race marked the last home race for the men’s lightweight team, as they will be traveling the next three weekends for their races. Both women’s teams raced away from home this weekend, with the openweights traveling all the way to the Charles and the lightweights competing just 15 minutes from home in Mercer, New Jersey. Each of Princeton’s openweight boats posted strong finishes against Ivy League rivals Harvard and Cornell.
Tweet of the Day “The lady next to me made a real point of saying she likes her nails to look “natural” as I pick out my matte black + sparkles combo” Lisa Boyce (@ rolls_B0YCE), swimming
Stat of the Day
14 saves Goalie Ashleigh Johndon made 14 saves and scored a goal in the Tiger’s victory over Hartwick.
The 1V did not allow Big Red or the Crimson to get ahead the entire race, putting themselves at a guaranteed victory position by the midway point of the race. They finished with a time of 7:35.25, while Harvard finished second almost a full 20 seconds behind them in 7:56.96, and Cornell taking third at 8:16.83. Like the men’s heavyweights, the openweight 2V is also undefeated this season and finished Saturday’s race with a time of 7:46.25, 17 seconds ahead of Harvard. The team will travel next weekend to Yale University to compete against the Bulldogs in the Eisenberg Cup. The lightweight team had a hectic weekend, facing last-minute cancellations of all races on Saturday due to extreme weather conditions. The winds and whitecaps caused one boat at the regatta to capsize, subsequently causing all racing to be suspended until Sunday. While the Tigers were excited to race, moving all races to Sunday meant for an early wake-up call for the team. Despite this, the Tigers came out strong, winning five of the six races of their morning session and sending all four of their boats to the finals. The 1V ladies were incredibly nervous for their debut race this weekend, as it marked the first time they would be competing against all teams they will later face at IRA’s in a few weeks. The top eight finished the lightweight eight grand final in third place with a time of 6:47.85, only 3.59 seconds behind 1st place Stanford and a mere 1.1 seconds behind Boston University. Three members of its most talented boat are freshmen, showing the potential the team has for races and season to come. The team separated its second varsity boat into two fours, with its ‘A’ boat finishing third overall in the final with a 7:53.37 split and the ‘B’ crew finishing in at 8:04.15. Nine Tiger lightweights made their collegiate debut in the Open Novice final, where Princeton finished first in its qualifying heat and sixth in the finals with a time of 7:46.08. The team will next compete against Georgetown at home next Saturday.
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