April 25, 2017

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Tuesday April 25, 2017 vol. CXLI no. 50

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Eight named Spirit of Princeton awardees ON CAMPUS

By Audrey Spensley

work, taking a step back from academics and thinking about Eight students were selected your peers, and looking out for as the winners of the Spirit of those around you.”

Princeton award, according to Hussain added that she was Deputy Dean of Undergraduate grateful the University has alStudents Thomas Dunne. Seven lowed her to explore her dispawinners are seniors and one is rate interests and be a part of a junior. many different niches on camBriana Christophers ‘17, Colin pus.

Lualdi ‘17, David Mazumder ‘17, “Princeton gives you so many Durva Trivedi ‘17, Hillel Friedopportunities for you to do a man ‘17, Hajrah Hussain ‘17, bunch of different things and Matt Blazaż ejewski ‘17, and Jackson to engage in many different Forbes ‘18 were chosen as the spheres of life,” she said. award recipients this year.

Friedman is a Philosophy The award was first given in concentrator from Lawrence, 1995, and it is awarded to stuNew York. He is earning a cerdents who have made contributificate in the newly established tions to the University through Program in Music Theatre, and “the arts, community service, was president of Triangle Club. students organizations, residenFriedman is an RCA in Butler tial living, religious life and athCollege, an Orange Key tour letic endeavors.” guide, and a member of the Glee The winners of the award will Club. He served as president of receive a certificate and a book the campus branch of Chabad, COURTESY OF ODUS prize, and will be honored at a music director of the Jewish a caStudent winners of the Spirit of Princeton award are pictured here in front of Nassau Hall. dinner in the beginning of May. pella group Koleinu, and a memNominations, which served ber of both the Priorities Comas the primary criteria for conmittee for the University and a sideration, are evaluated by Spirit of Princeton Award, but gotten a chance to engage in con- Corps to work at a nonprofit in committee on RCA training. a committee comprised of ad- didn’t know that she was nomi- versations with people,” Trivedi Newark focused on integrating Friedman said that although ministrators and undergraduate nated or had won until the win- said. health care. She is interested in a close friend had told him that students who review the nomi- ners received an email on April Trivedi is interested in inter- medical school or obtaining a she wanted to nominate him, nations and select the winners. 20, last Thursday. national development, gender masters in public health. he didn’t know who had actuAny undergraduate student can “I know quite a few of the other equality and communication, Hussain said that she was ally nominated him or what the be nominated or contribute to a seniors who won the award, and and public service. Next year, she surprised to receive the award process was like. nomination for the award. Nom- I really look up to them,” Trivedi will be working at the Rockefell- because her involvement with “[The other winners] are all inations were due on April 10. said. “To be honored along with er Foundation in New York City. mental health has often focused people who’ve done extraordiTrivedi, from Johns Creek, them is really great.”

Hussain, an English major on what the University can do nary things on this campus, and Ga., is majoring in the WilTrivedi added that the com- from Jersey City, N.J., is also pur- better.

I feel lucky to be in their compason School with a certificate munities she’s been a part of at suing certificates in the Global “I’ve often looked at where we ny,” he added. “It also feels nice in South Asian studies. She is the University — from her zee Health Program and Linguistics. need more improvement,” Hus- as you’re graduating to be recogan RCA in Mathey College and group to Tower Club — have She is a Peer Health Advisor sain said. “I’ve thought about nized for some of the ways you’ve has served as the co-president given her opportunities to get for Forbes College, a Connecting what I can do as a member of contributed to campus life.” of Princeton Hindu Satsangam, to know different people. She Matters Fellow for the mental the community to make those Friedman, who entered the a Hindu community group on recalled meeting a University health arm of UMatter, and the changes.”

University as a pre-med student, campus. She has also worked for alumnus at reunions who was at community service chair of the Hussain said that, to her, the said that his experiences doing TigerCall, an outreach program his 69th consecutive P-rade. The Muslim Students Association. “spirit of Princeton” is about theater in Triangle greatly imof the Office of Annual Giving, two struck up a long conversa- She has also worked as a research hard work and perseverance. pacted him and helped him realand wrote for the ‘Prince,’ among tion about their experiences at assistant in the sociology depart“A lot of times at Princeton we ize two of his greatest passions other activities. the University and their shared ment studying access to mental think of [perseverance] as purely — musical theater and religious Trivedi recalled receiving a South Asian background. health care. academic,” she noted. “My under- life. general email asking seniors to “Probably the most defining Hussain has received a fellow- standing of the spirit of Princ“I discovered what truly nominate other students for the moments have been where I’ve ship through the Global Health eton is more about community See SPIRIT page 3 staff writer

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

ON CAMPUS

Seminary Students launch podcast series “Woke Wednesdays” rescinds staff writer

NICHOLAS WU :: DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Princeton Advocates for Justice met with congressional staffers to discuss various hot-button issues.

Princeton Advocates for Justice visits Congress staff writer

A group of 13 students from the Princeton Advocates for Justice traveled to Washington, D.C. on April 21 to meet with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.

The human rights advocacy group met with congressional staffers to discuss various topics dominating American policy debates. Students

In Opinion

met with 13 different congressional offices and had productive conversations about education, climate change, immigration, and reproductive rights, according to PAJ. PAJ wished to transfer the actions they were generating on campus beyond the University bubble, PAJ member Diego NegronReichard ’18 said.

“PAJ has been really good See PAJ page 2

Contributing columnist Ryan Born calls for Princeton to abandon lectures, and columnist DaeHee Lee asks us to reexamine creativity. PAGE 4

With episodes on hotbutton subjects like microaggressions, Barack Obama’s presidential legacy, or the use of the N-word, the new podcast “Woke Wednesdays” does not shy away from controversy.

Co-founder William Pugh ‘20 explained that the club finds value in controversy because there isn’t enough dialogue about controversial issues.

Pugh is a member of the Editorial Board of the ‘Prince.’

Marketing manager Jonathan Haynes ‘20, who joined the group after the podcasts began at the end of February, added that the point of Woke Wednesdays is not to present a consensus, but to spark a discussion. The club, which has a largely black membership, deliberately chooses topics “that have a range of opinions within the black community,” Haynes explained. Pugh emphasized that the team “doesn’t want all our conversations to be tailored towards clearing muddy water.”

Many college students develop their views on hotbutton topics through latenight discussions about

current events tucked away in dorm rooms or across dinner, but for some freshmen, this is not enough.

Feeling that there was a need for a space in which University students could engage in informal conversations about contemporary social issues, particularly those which affect black students, Pugh and friend Kadence Mitchell ’20 began one of the University’s newest student groups, Woke Wednesdays.

Following the election, Pugh considered just using Facebook Live once a week to discuss the issues on his mind, but after talking to Mitchell, the two instead conceived the project as a podcast. Pugh and Mitchell then assembled a team of approximately eight individuals as a diverse and intersectional group.

Each podcast takes the format of a round table discussion, where Pugh or Mitchell are joined by additional undergraduates. Most participants are freshmen, and repeat panelists include June Philippe ’20, Toyin Edogun ’20, Tomi Lawal ’20, Micaela Keller ’20, and Matthew Oakland ’20.

The podcast also inSee WOKE page 2

Today on Campus 6 p.m.: We Lost Half the Forest and the Rest Will Burn This Summer: An event with Postcommodity (Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martinez, and Kade L. Twist), the 2017 Sarah Lee Elson, Class of 1984, International Artists-in-Residence. 101 McCormick Hall

Kuyper prize to reverend

By Audrey Spensley staff writer

The Princeton Theological Seminary rescinded its decision to award Reverend Tim Keller the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness, although he still delivered the 2017 Kuyper lecture. This decision comes after the objections of some seminary students and alumni, according to a New York Times article, who oppose Reverend Keller’s belief that women and LGBT people cannot be ordained.

The Kuyper Prize, awarded annually by the Seminary’s Abraham Kuyper Center for Public Theology, is awarded to a “scholar or community leader whose outstanding contribution to their chosen sphere ref lects the ideas and values characteristic of the Neo-Calvinist vision of religious engagement in matters of social, political and cultural significance in one or more of the ‘spheres’ of society,” according to the See PTS page 2

WEATHER

By Kirsten Traudt

By Samuel Oh

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

HIGH

54˚

LOW

52˚

Rainy. chance of rain:

100 percent

The Daily Princetonian

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Tuesday April 25, 2017

PAJ wants to cause political Podcast hopes to include other identity groups WOKE change beyond campus PAJ

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at channeling the current atmosphere on campus into tangible actions.” NegronReichard explained. “Most recently, we led a group to Congress to give students the opportunity to interact, learn, and share from different Congressional representatives. The idea was to teach people that there are several avenues to engage in the current political atmosphere, and we did just that.”

The group members met with the staff of Mario Diaz-Balart, Illeana Ros Lehtinen, Randy Hultgren, Mark Amodei, Virginia Foxx, Erik Paulsen, Terri Sewell, Rodney Frelinghuysen, and Charlie Dent. The group also met with the offices of four alumni, including Derek Kilmer ‘96, Jared Polis ‘96, Ken Buck ‘81, and Leonard Lance ‘82.

All members of the trip returned from the trip more informed and enthusiastic about the world of politics.

“PAJ organized a group of students to visit their members of congress to learn about the legislative process and to discuss issues that they are passionate about,” Camila NovoViano ‘18 said. “All of the students came away with a better understanding of the legislative process and empowered to participate in the politics.”

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Reichard observed that participants of the D.C. trip were inspired to get more involved in politics, recalling a specific salient moment.

“A student who hadn’t been involved in politics prior to the trip turned to one of our leaders, Nicholas [Wu ‘18], and said that she wanted to run for Congress someday,” Reichard said. “And that’s really what PAJ is about, finding ways to channel all of the post-election enthusiasm into something productive, something more than just a pithy Facebook post.”

He emphasized PAJ’s mission is to use burgeoning interest in politics amongst the campus community and develop tangible change.

Both Reichard and NovoViano expressed future desires to repeat the D.C. trip in later years.

“It is definitely something that is very easy to organize and that we would love to do again most likely in the fall.” Novo-Viano said.

“Hopefully we will expand the type of students we bring.” Negron-Reichard added.

PAJ is an intersectional student coalition advocating for the protection and advancement of basic human rights. The educational trip was funded through the American Whig-Cliosophic Society and took place last weekend, primarily on April 21.

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cludes a special guest from the University’s faculty. Recent guests have included Professor of African American Studies Imani Perry and Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology and African American Studies Heath Parson. According to Pugh, it is often difficult to accommodate each co-host’s busy schedule, so the halfhour show is typically recorded early in the morning in the Lewis Library recording studio.

Following each recording session, the program is edited by the club’s sound engineer Nathan Poland ’20, who has also been a panelist, and is then sent to each co-host. From this cut, all involved can then suggest edits in order to determine the shape of the final podcast, which is released every other Wednesday evening, approximately one week after taping.

Woke Wednesdays is driven by the recognition of a multiplicity of opinions on the definition of “wokeness.”

Being woke is fighting “against ignorance and . . . actively seek[ing] to engage in conversation…[and] to be open to other ideas and to recognize undeniable truths about society as a whole,” Haynes said. Pugh added that “wokeness” is, in addition to a sense of so-

cial awareness, a sort of introspection, and is about a recognition that “it’s okay to be challenged” on certain viewpoints.

Haynes said Woke Wednesdays is constantly relevant because “staying woke” and engaging in these sorts of discussions is an active process. Pugh describes Woke Wednesdays as a program for the entire University campus and even the wider world.

According to him, there has been positive response to the podcast and “even those who disagree [with the views expressed on the show] … nevertheless find value in having the conversation.”

In that vein, he describes expanding the podcast’s audience as the club’s next project. Currently, the podcast has approximately 150 likes on its Facebook page, and each episode has been listened to between 40 and 200 times, with the exception of the first episode, which has been played nearly 350 times.

The production team has a grand vision for the show.

Haynes said he wants the show to be “the go-to place for these sorts of conversations on campus.” He added that the focus of the podcast is to spur discussion so that the conversation continues after the podcast is over.

As it looks to achieve this goal, Woke Wednesdays has gained official recognition

through USG, written a constitution, and plans to expand its online presence through an official website.

Pugh also hopes to recruit a more diverse range of panelists on the show by reaching out to various identity groups on campus, in order to bring about his mission to provide a “platform for numerous voices to be heard on campus and a medium to share ideas.”

Ultimately, Pugh hopes that these elements, as well as an expanded membership, will combine to make a more robust Woke Wednesdays possible. He envisions a three-part podcast, the first part of which would include a student guest, the second a faculty or visiting guest, and the third would be a debrief with the regular co-hosts.

“It would be awesome to have Colin Kaepernick or [another guest] depending who’s on campus,” Pugh said of whom he’d like as a guest one day on the show.

The Woke Wednesdays team’s day-to-day goals are more modest, they explained. They plan to reach out to a wider audience with an increased social media presence and to put up print ads around campus. However, for them, it is not just about gaining the largest readership possible. It is, as Haynes remarks, about growing, both “mentally” and “consciously.”

The second, published on March 22, revoked the prize.

“In order to communicate that the invitation to speak at the upcoming conference does not imply an endorsement of the Presbyterian Church in America’s views about ordination, we have agreed not to award the Kuyper Prize this year,” Barnes wrote.

Dr. Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America, which split from the U.S. Presbyterian Church in 1973, according to the Times article.

Princeton Theological Seminary is part of the latter, which allows women and LGBT people to be ordained.

The letter stated that Barnes had arrived at this decision after listening to opinions of various students and alumni as well as “helpful conversations about this with the Chair of the Kuyper Committee, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Reverend Keller.”

Over twenty years of

serving as pastor at the Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Dr. Keller has grown attendance to over 5,000 people weekly, according to the Kuyper Center’s website. His books “The Reason for God” and “The Prodigal God” have become bestsellers, selling over a million copies each. He also serves as chairman of the religious organization Redeemer City to City, which establishes new churches.

The Center for Theology, Women and Gender Advisory Council; the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, And Straight Supporters Executive Board, a group of seminary students, faculty, and alumni; and the Women’s Center came together to organize a petition opposing Dr. Keller’s appointment, which received 300 signatures.

“Rev. Keller’s exclusionary and prohibitive stances on the ordination of women and LGBTQ persons is diametrically opposed to the mission and values of Princeton Theological Seminary,” the letter from Barnes read.

Rev. Keller repudiated by staff, students PTS

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organization’s website.

Winners are required to give a lecture at the center on a topic related to its mission. Keller is no longer listed as the prize recipient, but he delivered the 2017 Kuyper lecture on April 6 when he was still the awardee.

Seminary President M. Craig Barnes issued two letters to the seminary community regarding the decision. The first, published on March 10, retained Keller’s appointment while acknowledging criticism.

“While my office issues the official invitations to campus, I don’t practice censorship over the choices of these organizations, even when I or the seminary disagree with some of the convictions of these speakers,” Barnes wrote.

“It is also a core conviction of our seminary to be a serious academic institution that will sometimes bring controversial speakers to campus because we refuse to exclude voices within the church.”

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Mazumder ’17: Award acknowledgement of impact of student groups SPIRIT

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makes me excited and what gives me a lot of meaning,” he said. “With or without this recognition, these are all things that filled me with so much joy and happiness.”

Mazumder, from Basking Ridge, N.J., is a Molecular Biology major with certificates in Neuroscience, Classics, and Quantitative & Computational Biology. On campus, he’s a member of the Katzenjammers a cappella group, the University Glee Club, the Chamber Choir, and the Princeton Pianists Ensemble. He is also an RCA in Wilson, works with UMatter, and serves on the Alcohol Initiative Board, a student-run agency that administers funding to student groups to host events without alcohol.

Mazumder said that he and a few friends nominated each other for the award, and that a few of his zees from last year told him that they had nominated him after the winners had been announced.

The award is an acknowledgment of the impact that the groups he has been a part of have had on campus, Mazumder added.

“It’s a validation that that work is really important and improves campus life,” he said.

Mazumder emphasized the sense of community that he feels at the University, in both his academics and his activities on campus.

“Princeton academics are hard, and often that’s very challenging, but it can also bring people together,” he said, adding that he has made some of his closest friends through the Integrated Science Curriculum, an intensive one-year combined science program.

“The musical community and performing arts community in general at Princeton is just incredible,” he added “It’s a really, really great scene and people are very supportive with that.”

Mazumder also noted that the RCA community at the University is unique in how much guidance and community support it fosters.

“They’re really building a community that you feel over the course of freshman year, that maybe you don’t find at other places,” he said.

Next year, Mazumder will be entering a combined M.D./Ph.D. program at Harvard.

Christophers, from Miami, Fl., is also a Molecular Biology major and has been heavily involved with diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus. She served as the co-president of Princeton Latinos y Amigos, has worked with the Carl A. Fields Center for Diversity and Understanding, and has served on committees regarding diversity and inclusion.

“A large part of my time her has been about trying to make Princeton a better place for minorities or students of color,” she said.

Christophers said that she was shocked when she received the award. She forwarded the email to her parents, who were extremely excited.

“It’s nice to be recognized for the hard work I’ve put in while at Princeton,” Christophers said.

Christophers emphasized the importance of changing traditions to fit the current day.

“My aim in getting involved was the fact that, although Princeton is a great and wonderful place, it’s not necessarily great in every way and for every student,” she said. “A lot of my work on campus was about trying to make Princeton better for individuals.”

Lualdi, from Weston, Mass., is a physics major earning certificates in Computer Science and Linguistics. The University’s only Deaf student, he founded the Princeton University American Sign Language Club, which hosts weekly ASL tables in the Whitman dining hall, sponsors events, advocates for ASL instruction at the University, and connects students and alumni who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Lualdi is also involved with entrepreneurship through the

Keller Center eLab, where he works on a startup called SignSchool, an online ASL learning program, which he co-founded with two other students who graduated last year. He also rock climbs.

Lualdi said that he was thrilled and awed to receive the Spirit of Princeton award, and felt honored that the University recognized his contributions to the community as a Deaf student. Through his activities and attitude, he has hoped to contribute to a greater understanding of Deaf culture and Deaf individuals.

“In a sense I also feel fulfillment; many of my activities on campus are rooted in the basic desires of giving back to the Princeton community after it has done so much to make my undergraduate years so incredibly positive, and to offer a window into the Deaf world and its language,” Lualdi said in an email. “So in receiving this award, I feel honored that the University believes I have made positive contributions shaping the Princeton community for future generations of students.”

Lualdi emphasized how significantly the University community has impacted him, adding that the people he has met and befriended throughout his time at the University have sig-

nificantly impacted him, and that his friends have shaped and inspired him.

Next year, Lualdi will begin a Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Forbes, an Architecture major from Plano, Tex., is the only junior to win the Spirit of Princeton award. Besides playing on the varsity basketball team, he serves on the VSAT committee, is involved with the Scholars Institute Fellows Program, and just completed his term as an associate director for student agencies.

He also served on the faculty-administration board FACA. Forbes is interested in entrepreneurship and has launched a clothing brand which was featured in the Fashion Speaks show on campus.

“I believe that my coach, Mitch Henderson [‘98] recommended me,” Forbes said. “He asked me a couple of questions about what I was doing on campus and that’s all I knew at the time.”

Forbes added that he was surprised and humbled to receive the award.

“I was just trying to stay involved with campus,” Forbes said. “It’s nice to know that people recognize what I’ve done.”

The people and communities on campus have also helped to shape him, Forbes added.

“It’s really just the people I’ve

met and the relationships I’ve a capella group. built serving in different roles Next year, Blazaż ejewski will and coming across so many dif- participate in a fellowship with ferent people, whether it’s facul- Princeton in Asia in Hangzhou, ty, administrators, undergradu- China, mentoring middle school ates, graduates, or alumni,” students and helping students Forbes said. “[The University] with the college application proreally feels like a big family,” he cess. He’s interested in attending added. graduate school and eventually Blazaż ejewski, from Trenton, pursuing a degree in higher eduN.J., is an East Asian Studies ma- cation administration. jor earning a certificate in TransBlazaż ejewski said that the peolation and Intercultural Commu- ple he’s met at the University nication. He has participated in have defined his experience. seven theater performances on “If I meet someone, I feel that campus and served as the public- there’s always common ground, ity director for Theater Intime. I just have to find it,” Blazaż ejewski He also directed the April 2016 said. “Whenever I’m with someTheater Intime show “Harvey” one, even if we talk for a while and twice directed the “Me Too I always get the feeling that I’ve Monologues,” performances of only scratched the surface.” anonymous student submisBlazaż ejewski said he’s grateful sions about their experiences for the feeling of camaraderie on with mental health. campus.

Blazaż ejewski is also an RCA and “It’s just been great to see how Peer Chinese Language Tutor people rely on each other for supfor Mathey College, volunteered port,” Blazaż ejewski said. “And I feel with Petey Greene and Outdoor that I’ve found a strong group of Action, and has served on the friends who are very supportive.”

Princeton Perspective Project Blazaż ejewski also emphasized and Mental Health Initiative his experience this year as an Board, both of which are USG RCA in Edwards, where he has committees, along with the Ad- lived for all four years at the Hoc Committee to the Trustees University. He described a night to recommend a marker of Wood- when he and his zees stayed up row Wilson’s legacy. He works in talking until six in the morning.

Firestone Library and co-hosts “That’s one of the things I love weekly Chinese language tables most about Princeton, just the in Mathey dining hall. He also talking and informal conversasings with VTone, an East Asian tions,” he said.

Opinion

Tuesday April 25, 2017

page 4

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Ryan Born

Stop lecturing me

contributing columnist

F

or all its prestige, wealth, and resources, Princeton University has much to be desired as a place of education.

It holds onto a series of pedagogically outdated systems and requirements that would be laughable if they were not such an integral part of its educational system. If students are actually here to learn — if an Ivy education is not just an overhyped way to go get funding to play in Cuba on the way to Goldman — Princeton might as well put some effort into actually making sure students are educated.

Take the inefficient waste we call the lecture.

Lectures are the worst way to learn anything. Period. We can look at the literature on it. A paper in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, “Why Do We Still Lecture,” highlights that “passive lectures provide the lowest knowledge retention rate of any method of learning and encourage learning at the lowest levels of cognitive function.”

The Peak Performance Center has a learning pyramid showing that lecture allows for 5 percent retention of presented material. Another paper, “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics,” found that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 50 percent more likely to fail than students in classes with active learning.

Aside from these theo-

Daehee Lee

F

retical considerations of learning retention, there are plenty of intuitive reasons that lectures are bad.

How hard is it to focus on someone who is talking for 50 or more minutes at a time? How easy is it to nod as if you understand the material without actively working on understanding it? Sitting down for long periods of time and listening is how people lose concentration and fall asleep — and many people do fall asleep in lectures. They’re boring. To a significant degree, this is the professor’s fault.

I do not mean to attack professors’ ability in lectures. They are researchers and academics first and foremost. They are not trained in education.

They are not trained in presentation. Even when they are entertaining and insightful, they are still dealing with the structural problems inherent to the lecture itself. But oftentimes, professors remind us that they are merely human. They’re boring. They get offopic.

They get taken in by a student’s question and go on unhelpful tangents. They repeat exactly what was in the reading, or worse, read from their own handout.

Take a moment to appreciate this: professors at Princeton, recognized as being absolute experts in their subjects, are reading from their PowerPoint slides.

The most important saving grace of the lecture is to get exactly what the Professor thinks is most important or salient from a course’s material, topic, or readings. Yet often it seems that professors

could just provide their lecture notes online. It’d likely even take the professor less time to prepare. It’s hard to imagine a lecture that could do more than what a decent outline could do. Then again, it would be strange to imagine paying $65,000 a year for a school where professors only provided reading lists, graded essays, and sent out outlines. At the same time, lectures are so fundamentally useless that the difference between that hypothetical school and Princeton is far less than it might appear.

Not that students are really any better at being listeners than professors are at being lecturers. At worst, students skip lecture. Others will be checked out on laptops or sleeping. Others will be taking notes on a laptop, ignoring the reams and reams of evidence that indicate that typing on laptops is the worst way to take notes. Lectures are not ideal ways to teach information, and students are not ideal participants in lectures. This makes lectures even less efficient, to the point of uselessness. Even an actively engaged student, who handwrites notes, has done all the reading, and who is there to listen and engage with the material is still not getting the education that their dedication merits.

There is evidence at Princeton, too, to suggest that lectures are valued less. A glance at the course evaluations for ECO 300: Microeconomic Theory shows that lectures were ranked at 1.46 out of 5,

while classes were ranked at 4.06 out of 5. Reviews for COS 126: General Computer Science also show a consistent preference for precepts over lectures.

What’s important about these classes is that they are both gateway courses for students who are beginning to get a grip on the topic. They are both lecture courses at their hearts, although COS lectures are famously provided through a video format. Either way, these are two of the most important classes at Princeton, and they’re taught in the worst way possible.

These considerations gesture at solutions. First, lectures should be reduced as much as possible, and information contained in lectures should be put into outlines or videos for students. No course should have more than one hour a week devoted to lecture, with the remaining time devoted to actual active learning in discussion or workshop. Lectures should be the last resort, not the default.

Ultimately, it would be best to sweep lectures into the trash bin where they belong. Totally eliminating the lecture might seem too radical, but massive changes are required for Princeton to truly live up to its stated mission as a school, not just as a tax-exempt hedge fund attached to a set of academics. If we are truly here to learn, we ought to be taught.

Ryan Born is a sophomore from Washington, Mich. He can be reached at rcborn@ princeton.edu.

Obsession with creation

columnist

rom the moment we first enter the FitzRandolph gate to commencement, we Princetonians have an endless supply of work. We have lab reports, compositions, research papers, applications for internships, full theses, and even articles for extracurricular activities. The deluge of work never ceases. Even on days when we think we have caught up, we find ourselves back in the endless cycle of procrastination a week later.

The most remarkable aspect I have found about this workload, however, is not its magnitude. I personally have faced heavy workloads before Princeton and will probably face even worse ones as a professional. Instead, what amazes me the most is that most of the students here, if not all, strive to do their best. And on a campus like ours, best means original.

Originality is the cornerstone of Princeton education. From our first writing seminar paper to our senior thesis, we hear one piece of advice over and over again: make sure that the paper is creative and adds to the academic discussion. We spend weeks upon weeks outlining our papers to be as discernible as pos-

sible from other existing literature rather than actually writing them.

Originality becomes the sole purpose of our work instead of a goal.

However, this obsession with creating something new has become a detriment to the quality of education that each Princetonian earns during his or her sojourn in this campus. We need to learn that our work matters not because it is yet another act of creation, but because it represents the materialization of our genuine interests.

I have had a Google Docs account for the past four years. In those four years, I have written countless pages for research papers and lab reports. In fact, the first thing I see when I open my Google Docs account are the dozen papers I have already written in my freshman year. Each took at least a week’s worth of effort and represented the best that I could have written at the time. In many of these papers, I poured my soul into the intricacies of the arguments. As I look at these pieces now, I realize that I remember absolutely nothing about what I wrote. Even more surprisingly, I realize that I really do not care.

My topics mattered to only myself, and furthermore, this interest lasted for a very short time. Despite my attempts and

efforts to be unique and add to the academic discussion, I failed to maintain my own interest in my topics. My feeble attempts at creation led to papers that seemed original, but lacked all vitality to myself and the few professors who had to read them.

I failed to create papers of merit because I was fixated upon the idea that I had to be creative.

In doing so, I chose literary paths that had more of a shock value than genuine interest to me.

I did not believe that my papers would be worth the long and intricate process of writing if they did not have the capacity to elicit responses from my readers. Only now do I realize that my papers, despite their originality or their merits, were read only by a precious few people who had to read them in order to give me a grade. All of my past work and probably most of my future work will be disregarded by the majority of those within my own field of study. My papers will be passing blips in the wide, long river of academic writing. I therefore cannot write with the purpose of eliciting emotions from my nonexistent readers.

This does not mean, however, that we should stop aiming for originality with our work. Originality is a key component of academic writing. It

is the failsafe protecting literature from becoming dogma. Without the ability to see things from another angle, there would be no advancement in our knowledge in any field, and we would essentially trap ourselves within the confines of existing academic work.

However, originality for the sake of originality denies this key advantage in creativity. Every piece of research that is created only for its shock value hides the lack of passion and genuine interest behind its supposed creativity. In these papers, forced originality becomes the death of good writing and our will to create.

Therefore, we should create our papers not because we need to be original, but because we want to explore our topics. In fact, I write this article today not because my editor is breathing down my neck, but because I want to see where this topic can go. I want to see how my thinking process develops as I place my thoughts on this page. I want to see what others may think about my critique about Princeton’s overdone emphasis on creativity for the sake of creativity. It is possible that this article will be submerged by the tsunamis of fantastic columns created across the world.

However, I will not forget this article’s message

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 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 editorial board co-chairs Ashley Reed ’18 Connor Pfeiffer ’18 cartoons editor Tashi Treadway ’19 Night Staff Savannah McIntosh ’20 Abigail Denton ’20 Alexandra Levinger ’20

because I have written it as a testament, not as an assignment. My curiosity in how my arguments will be interpreted and argued for or against transforms this article from an overdue paper to a true act of creation.

Daehee Lee is a freshman from Palisades Park, N.J. He can be reached at daeheel@princeton.edu.

Tuesday April 25, 2017

Squad wins first title after long drought GOLF

Continued from page 1

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er, this was not the case here. Each player contributed with a great individual performance to the success of the team.

Sophomore Amber Wang led the way for the Tigers, finishing first overall in the tournament after shooting a one under 71 in the final round and finishing +2 overall for the tournament. For her performance at the Orange Tree, she was awarded the Suburban Transit Athlete of the Week, awarded by the Go Princeton Tigers athletic website. However for Amber, it has always been about the team first.

“When I’m out on the course I focus more on my team” noted Amber.

“We have our team goals and so I’m focusing on meeting those and not really where I am in the field right now. It’s great that we won both the team championship and the individual championship.”

“If you watch her play, she plays with grit. She has this sense of drive, and she’s never going to let herself fail,” DeSanty said when praising Wang.

“She didn’t go out there to win the individual title she went out there to win it for the team and claiming the individual championship was just a product of that”.

She placed first ahead of freshman Alison Chang who finished with a score of +5 for the tournament.

The other two scorers for

The Daily Princetonian

the Tigers - senior Hana Ku and freshman Maya Walton - also placed in the top 10. Ku finished tied for third with a score of +7, and Walton concluded her first Ivy League tournament tied for seventh with a score of +13.

The Tigers started the weekend hot and never let go of their lead. Princeton shot a 296 in the opening round of the tournament which was good enough to give them a 6 stroke lead over Harvard. Wang set the tone for the weekend, shooting a 2-under 70 for the day and earning the top spot. Chang and Walton were tied for 5th at 3-over, and Ku was right behind them tied for 9th with a 4 over 76.

Senior Jordan Lippetz — four-year veteran of the Ivy League Tournament — returned to her home state, where she finished 31st in her final Ivy League Championship appearance.

Up next for Princeton is a trip to regionals where they will take on some of the best teams in the nation. That is next week May 8 - May 10 and takes place across four different golf courses in New Mexico, Ohio, Georgia and Texas. Princeton will be playing in Georgia taking on other teams from their region. Said Coach DeSanty, “We’re excited for regionals. I think that’s going to be a different challenge for us but I think mentally, emotionally … I think that will carry over into regionals.”

page 5

PACN has raised over $30,000 this year RUGBY

Continued from page 1

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The win marks the first state championship for B side coach William Banes, who finishes a tremendous season at the helm of the B side players.

As both the Princeton men’s and women’s teams found success on the field, they also got a chance to participate in a great outside cause. The Rickerson Cup, named after Princeton rugby alumnus Stu Rickerson ‘71, has partnered for several years with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to raise money and awareness for pancreatic cancer.

Rickerson was diagnosed in 2005 with pancreatic cancer, but has continued to fight his battle and at present plays a critical role in both the Princeton rugby teams and the Pediatric Cancer Action Network. In the past few years, the PACN has been able to raise over $300,000 through the cup; this year, the Tigers, Penn Mutual, and others combined to help raise nearly $30,000 for PACN. “More than dumb luck should decide who survives and who does not,” commented Rickerson in a statement before the tournament. “Solid science and modern medicine should play a bigger

PPTL

Marisa Chow ’17

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Despite mixed performance, Tigers secure a win SOFTBALL Continued from page 1

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previous game, Princeton performed uncharacteristically poorly, losing 9-4.

The offense mustered only six runs, and Nori took just her second loss of the season, conceding four runs over 2.1 innings. Princeton also committed several costly defensive mistakes, allowing 4 unearned runs on 3 errors.

Despite the disappointing finale, Princeton locked up a spot in the Ivy League Championship Series and maintained its top spot in the Ivy League standings with a record of 13-3. The team will face Cornell next weekend needing to win only two of four games to guarantee the overall best record in the conference and secure home field advantage for the championship.

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role. Until more research is funded, no one is safe or immune.” Rickerson also thanked all those who have helped contribute, stating, “Together, we can change the tragic trajectory of this devastating disease. We can double survival rates by 2020.”

“Starting soon, we will begin a new chapter in a community of rugby alums,” said senior Jack Jankowski after the game.

“That community starts with us; we undergraduates are the cornerstones of that community and it is our job to continue working hard and making a difference once we enter our next chapter in life.”

Tuesday April 25, 2017

Sports

page 6

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S GOLF

Women’s golf snags first tournament title in 12 years

By Chris Murphy Staff Writer

It is always exhilarating to win a title, especially after a long drought. But to win a title in as dominating a fashion as the Tigers this past weekend is a feeling all its own.

This past weekend, the Tigers wrapped up an Ivy league title — their first since 2005 — in Orlando, Fla. at the Orange Tree Golf Club. This year was the 15th time the Ivy League Tournament needed to be decided in a third round. However, by the end of the tournament there was no question as to which team was the winner. The Tigers posted the second lowest score ever in a three-round tournament, finishing with 891. This score trails only that of Harvard — which shot an 890 in 2008 — as the lowest score in threeround tournament his-

tory. In fact, no other team has posted lower than 900. The Tigers also set a school record for the lowest three-round tournament score in school history, surpassing the previous mark of 894, which was made twice. The margin of victory was the third largest in tournament history: only Yale (won by 38) and the 2005 Princeton team (won by 35) have larger margins of victory.

“It was the perfect mix of people,” head coach Erika DeSanty said of the success the team has had this season. “It’s incredibly satisfying … this has almost everything to do with the team we have.”

The title is largely due to the impressive individual performances in the tournament. While there are times where a tournament is won by the performance of one playSee GOLF page 5

Chris Murphy Staff Writer

COURTESY OF GO PRINCETON TIGERS

The Women’s Golf team, left to right: Erika DeSanty, Alison Chang, Maya Walton, Annie Kong, Jordan Lippetz, Tiana Lau, Amanda Brown, Amber Wang, Tenley Shield, Hana Ku

RUGBY

Tigers pair service with success at 11th annual Rickerson Cup

By Chris Murphy Staff Writer

On April 22, a chilly and wet Saturday afternoon, fans of various schools gathered at Rickerson Field — part of the West Windsor complex across Lake Carnegie — to watch the 11th annual New Jersey Rugby Championships.

The event showcased various rugby teams in New Jersey and across the northeast. This year, there were three events as part of the day: the high school state championship game, a tournament of women’s sevens rugby which included the Princeton women’s rugby team, and the state championship game between the Princeton men’s rugby team and William Patterson University. The high school champion-

ship game featured two regional powerhouses, Christian Brothers Academy and Hudson Catholic High School. Both teams entered the game undefeated, having won their regional championships.

While Hudson Catholic dominated in size (some players were much larger than even those in college), Christian Brothers used technique to dominate the early portions of the game, taking a commanding 42-10 lead into the half. The team would continue its success in the second half en route to another rugby state championship.

On the collegiate level, the Princeton women’s rugby team took part in a sevens tournament featuring teams from across the northeast. Playing in

a round robin against the Rutgers A side, Western Connecticut University, and the Rutgers B side, the Tigers finished 2-1 in pool play and lost in the championship match to the Rutgers A side. The men’s game featured a battle between William Patterson and Princeton.

The Tigers, who finished second in the Ivy League playoffs behind Brown, looked to end their successful season on a positive note against this local team. The first half of the matchup featured a brutal, defensive game, as Princeton slowly wore down William Patterson but failed to score a try. Late in the first half, with the score still tied 0-0, senior fullback Lucas Mazzotti was able to give Princeton a 5-0 lead. How-

ever, William Patterson would strike back, scoring a try and the conversion to take a 7-5 lead.

But, this lead wouldn’t hold for long, as freshman Greg McCord would score a try just a few minutes later in the game. Senior Max Weber would make the conversion, giving Princeton a 12-7 lead. In the second half, sophomore Andrew Slade and senior Mo Shalan each added a try of their own, giving Princeton a 24-7 lead with less than 15 minutes to go. The game would not end without some drama, though, as freshman Kwame Amaning received a yellow card in the final 10 minutes, forcing Princeton to play for the final 10 minutes with only 14 men, allowing William Patterson to

score a try and cut the lead to 10. But, Princeton held for the rest of the game.

When the final whistle blew, Princeton emerged as state champions with a final score of 24-12.

The men’s team not only took home the Rickerson Cup, the men’s B side team also emerged victorious in their sevens match against William Patterson. Playing for the de-facto “B side state championship,” the B side Tigers routed William Patterson, winning 41-0.

Those who scored tries for the Tigers included freshman Jarret Stowe, freshman Ben Hildenbrand, freshman David Zuluaga, and sophomore Luke Hall, who earned “man of the match” honors with four tries and an assist.

See RUGBY page 5

SOFTBALL

Tigers advance to Ivy League championships

By John Graham Staff Writer

Allison Harvey, currently the Ivy League Rookie of the week.

In the penultimate weekend of their regular season, the Princeton softball clinched the Ivy League South Division and a spot in the Ivy League championship series after winning three out of four games against Columbia.

Due to concerns of rain, Princeton and Columbia began their series on April 21, a day earlier than expected. Princeton, as it so often has throughout the season, exhibited dominance on both sides of the ball during Friday’s doubleheader, scoring a combined 17 runs to Columbia’s six. The series opener began in back-and-forth fashion, as a pair of solo home runs gave Columbia an early lead, before Princeton rebounded in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead.

Later in the inning, a tworun homer from freshman

Tweet of the Day

Stat of the Day

COURTESY OF GO PRINCETON TIGERS

SB: Ivy League Rookie of the Week—@PUSoftball’s Allison Harvey, who helped the Tigers clinch the Ivy League South Division title. #OneIvy The Ivy League @IvyLeague softball

Allison Harvey would give Princeton a 5-2 lead that it would not surrender. Ultimately, the Tigers would win by a score of 9-6, with senior Claire Klausner pitching 6.2 innings to earn her the win and sophomore Riley Wilkinson pitching the final out in relief. In the second game of the doubleheader on April 22, Princeton scored early and often en route to a commanding 8-0 lead.

Sophomore Kaylee Grant provided a two-run single in the first, and junior Danielle Dockx, senior Kelsey Smith, and Harvey provided RBIs in the second to open the floodgates and give the Tigers a 6-0 lead after just two innings. Senior Erica Nori was practically untouchable throughout the day, tossing a 5-inning shutout and only allowing a single hit.

Saturday’s matchups

70 points Micheal Sowers achieved 70 points for the season and broke the Ivy League lacrosse record for points in a season.

would be considerably more competitive, as Princeton eked out a tight comeback victory in the first game and dropped the second. Klausner began Saturday’s opener with a stellar effort, allowing no hits through duringthe first five innings. However, Princeton’s bats were shut down by the Columbia defense and Klausner conceded three runs in the sixth to give Columbia a 3-0 lead.

Princeton rebounded in the bottom half with two runs of its own, but Columbia reopened the margin to 5-2 in the top half of the seventh. However, Princeton would piece together a remarkable rally in its final inning to score four runs and come away with an exhilarating 6-5 win. Later that day, however, perhaps worn down from the emotion of the See SOFTBALL page 5

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