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Tuesday June 5, 2018 vol. CXLII no. 62

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Booker instructs Class of 2018 on the importance of service in speech By Benjamin Ball Staff Writer

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker encouraged the graduates of the Class of 2018 to use their powers of love, kindness, and advocacy for the good of the world during his Class Day Speech today. “I want to impart to you that you are powerful,” Booker said. “Life’s not about the degrees that you get; it’s about the service that you give.” Booker’s speech centered on redefining power. He claimed it came less from positions or titles and more from perseverance, moral consistency, and constant kindness. Booker took examples from both civil rights history and his own life as proof that small decisions have far-reaching impacts. “I want you to perhaps do like I do which is to reject the ‘Great Man’ theory of history which writes about powerful people in powerful positions with powerful titles who move our nation forward and actually remember that this nation was shaped and formed most by the people you’re never going to read about in history books,” Booker said. For much of his speech, Booker spoke about his parents’ struggle against discrimination in the housing market as well as the lawyers and advocates that helped his family find a home — the

home where Booker would eventually grow up and be cared for. Booker also spoke about the mentorship he received from Congressman John Lewis, whose humility and advocacy Booker claimed redefined what power really is for him. “It’s not about his title, it’s not about his position, it’s about the truth that he lives everyday,” Booker said. “He evidences to me the truth that you should always remember that someone who is nice to you but is rude to the waiter is not a nice person.” Other lessons Booker learned from Lewis, his parents, and those he watched fight for equality and justice before him include the importance of love and caring for everyone and that apathy and indifference are the true opposites of justice. “[Lewis] teaches that patriotism is love of country and he teaches that you cannot love your country if you do not love your countrymen and women,” Booker said. “He teaches that you cannot lead the people if you do not love the people.” The ceremony began with President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 giving a humorous introduction to the event, talking about his experiences biking across campus in order to meet students and be more “approachable.” Class day, a historical tradiSee CLASS page 3

STUDENT LIFE

U . A F FA I R S

COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

The campus planning framework envisions a new Lake Campus as an integrated extension of the existing campus.

University campus expansion involves two new residential colleges behind Poe Field By Allie Spensley Associate News Editor

The University has made big steps throughout the 2017–18 year to pursue its 10-year campus development plan, including starting major additions like residential colleges and a new “Lake Campus” south of Lake Carnegie. Current plans for campus expansion are detailed in a planning framework, adopted by the University in January 2016. The changes are designed to meet logistical needs, including an anticipated expansion of the undergraduate student body by 10 percent. The expansion will also help the University pursue core values of community, sustainability, and the exchange of ideas,

COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Bhatia ’86 calls for personal integrity and honor in his Baccalaureate address By Benjamin Ball Staff Writer

Baccalaureate speaker Eduardo Bhatia ’86, minority leader and former president of the Senate of Puerto Rico, remarked on the need to fight for honor and integrity in a culture of misinformation. President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83 began the ceremony for the Class of 2018 by quoting the first recorded University baccalaureate address in 1760 by Samuel Davies, echoing his words to live and work for the public good.

In Opinion

“We might say today, measure the success by the good that you do,” Eisgruber said. Eisgruber lauded the senior class by reminding them of the many achievements they had already accomplished while at the University, listing international service projects, roles in student leadership, advocacy, and research in areas ranging from environmental stability to economic development. Moving on to the future, he emphasized the importance of going into the world and doing good in the world, living up to See BAC page 9

Senior columnist Liam O’Connor critiques the Princeton Annual Giving system and columnist Gabe Lipkowitz urges reflection on the University architecture and the upcoming campus expansions. PAGE 10

The Lake Campus will accommodate administrative and academic partnership space, athletic facilities, expanded housing for graduate students, and public gathering and retail space. There will also be a transportation hub with a parking area and shuttle, marking a further shift in transportation away from single-occupancy vehicles. “Campus connectors” will run up campus, creating three distinct areas: Lake Campus, East Campus, and Central Campus. These changes, expected to be completed by 2026, are the result of planning that Executive Vice President Treby Williams ’84 referred to as “the most ambitious and comprehensive planning process” in See CAMPUS page 9

STUDENT LIFE

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Reflecting on notable moments in 2017–2018

Princeton Republicans persist despite opposition

Staff Writer

By Jeff Zymeri

By Benjamin Ball

Baccalaureate speaker Eduardo Bhatia ‘86

according to President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83. “The campus must not only house programs and people; it must also foster collaboration, invite serendipity, nurture inclusivity, cultivate argument, inspire creativity, generate community, and facilitate the rigorous, fearless and path-breaking pursuit of truth,” Eisgruber said in the introductory essay of the framework. In addition to the new residential colleges, which will be located south of Poe Field, future campus expansion will include improved space for engineering and environmental studies. The newly developed Lake Campus will more fully involve Lake Carnegie into the campus.

After a year of everything from honor code reform to snow storms, the Daily Princetonian took a look at what left an impact at the end of the academic year. During the first semester, the University unveiled the product of thousands of hours of work of reflection in the Princeton and Slavery Project, an academic exploration of the University’s historical engagement with slavery. The idea and ultimate result of the project was started by a class led by Martha Sandweiss, who went on to become its director. The final symposium featured professor emerita Toni Morrison as a keynote speaker and a variety of performances and conversations on the topic. The University continues to delve deeper and assess the impact of the research. With the backdrop of the MeToo movement this past year, the ‘Prince’ revealed allegations against a professor in the German department, as well as the department’s alleged culture of gender discrimination. In the Department of Electrical Engineering, the ‘Prince’ also reported on the Title IX investigation

into Professor Sergio Verdú, who was eventually found responsible for sexual harassment. Student government experienced many important shifts over the year. After intense campaigning on everything from mental health to Lawnparties, Rachel Yee ’19 was elected the new Undergraduate Student Government president. Her presidency marked the continuation of unprecedented female leadership on campus. Among the eating clubs, too, women took on the yoke of leadership; for the first time nine of eleven elected eating club presidents are women. Student activism also heated up. USG members and other undergraduates organized and campaigned to reform the Honor Code, citing blatant misuse of power and unfair practices towards students. The elections saw four referenda to reform the Honor Code passed by the student body but stayed by the administration. Ultimately, the University recommended against two of the referenda, suggested revisions to another, while allowing the fourth, concerning how witnesses were informed of their status, to go See ROUND-UP page 3

Today on Campus 10:00 a.m.: The Big Time Senior Wrap-Up Kick-Off Blowout Expo ’18 Hurley Gallery, 122 Alexander Street

Former Head News Editor

In the Northwest corner of Princeton, N.J., Jodi Bauer and Paul Josephson’s handsome colonial stands tall near a culde-sac, secluded by a thicket of trees. On the evening of Oct. 22, 2017, two weeks before the New Jersey general elections, 25 men and women gathered on Bauer and Josephson’s deck to drink wine, eat cheese, and “meet and greet the candidate.” The couple was well-known in this small circle for their mixed political marriage: Josephson had recently been named legal counsel for the Phil Murphy campaign, while Bauer is currently serving as the Princeton Republican Committee’s vice chair. Many of those present perceived the marriage as a perfect example of different political views coexisting peacefully. But in town, both the couple and their political views had been met with distrust and hostility. Bauer and Josephson felt that Princeton was like an ideological echo chamber. See REPUBLICANS page 4

WEATHER

STUDENT LIFE

HIGH

76˚

LOW

52˚

Scattered thunderstorms chance of rain:

50 percent


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Don’t rain on my P-Rade By Kamila Radjabova Staff Photographer


Tuesday June 5, 2018

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Administrative changes will leave a lasting legacy for students ROUND-UP Continued from page 1

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through. Immediately after intersession, Professor Lawrence Rosen created controversy with his decision to repeatedly use the word n****r in one of his classes as part of a pedagogical method. It prompted a visceral student reaction. Some students spoke back during the class, some dropped out, and still others joined, but eventually the class was cancelled. Over spring break, Scott Mielentz entered the Panera at 136 Nassau St. with a weapon and prompted a standoff with police. After five hours of negotiation,

Mielentz was ultimately killed by police. Following the shooting, further investigation found that he had only been armed with a BB gun. “The most shocking thing [this year] was the Panera incident,” said Nadin Mukhtar ’21. “It was a moment of realizing that something like this can happen to anyone. I regularly eat at Panera, and it made me ask what if I had been there, or what if the situation has escalated even more.” Natural events also heavily influenced the campus community and its response to them, with Nor’easters tearing through the state in March and leaving large amounts of snowfall and an unusually large number of

fallen trees. The second semester also featured the second successful deer break-in within the past two years, with a deer crashing through a window in Wu Hall but eventually emerging unscathed. On the more administrative side of campus, the University received significant student pushback against proposed amendments to the Dining Plan, which would require independent students to still have a meal plan. The plan continues to experience revision, the only portion being implemented being the requirement for all first-year students to be on the unlimited dining plan. The University currently is requesting further student responses, holding panels

and other events for students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, to submit their input. Of the academic decisions conclusively made this year, few others may be more impactful to future members of the University than that of the changes made to the University’s calendar. The changes place fall exams in December and propose the implementation of a Wintersession, a flexible two-week space in January for students to work on independent work or pursue internships. The changes will take effect for the 2020–21 school year. “I’m graduating in 2020, so I won’t be able to be reap the rewards of having exams before winter break,” said Rafael Tafur

’20. “However, I do feel like this is a great step forward in terms of being in line with other Universities and for scheduling for those who want to take internships or want to find work in the winter.” The year also saw the implementation of new certificate programs in Asian American Studies and Journalism, after significant amounts of planning, advocacy, and hard work on the part of students and faculty alike. Significant administrative changes such as certificate opportunities, calendar reform, and student advocacy on issues such as honor code reform will leave a lasting legacy for future students.

CHARLOTTE ADAMO :: PRINCETONIAN DESIGNER

Booker: I want to impart to you that you are powerful CLASS

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tion planned and presented by members of the senior class, dates back to 1856. It includes speeches from officers of the class government, class bards, awards, and a keynote speaker. “I found that cycling around campus was a great way to run into the Class of 2018, and I mean that literally,” said Eisgruber. “It was a great way to run into you because some of you never look up from your phones.” He emphasized his point by showing video footage of students walking around campus absorbed by their phones. He then awarded the Class of 2018 the Keys to the University along with orange and black helmets, joking they would keep them safe from distracted students. Soon afterward, class president Brandon McGhee ’18 made his own remarks, encouraging his fellow classmates to be ready for a lifetime of greatness, summing it up in the mantra that, “Princeton is forever.” “Princeton has equipped us with the critical knowledge

and resources to change the world, and it is our responsibility to better our local and global communities,” McGhee said. “Our failures and challenges and successes at Princeton have prepared us to navigate the world beyond the FitzRandolph Gates.” McGhee told his classmates that the most important lesson he took away from his time at the University was the importance of working together instead of being caught up in oneself, before promptly singing a sizable portion of Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me.” The class heralds also helped entertain the soon-to-be graduates over the course of the ceremony. Andrew Hartnett ’18 reflected on his memories of his time on campus, using the metaphor of how the campus is seemingly always under construction to illustrate how he and his classmates had grown. “I think we can all agree that no sound has more marked our time in this grassy New Jersey oasis than the omnipresent clattering of construction equipment,” Hartnett said. “But in these last four years, Princeton’s greatest construction project wasn’t a great new

building or traffic lights that talk to you; it was us.” Later in the ceremony Catherine Sharp ’18 encouraged students to take risks outside of the University just as she had been encouraged to do during her time on campus. “[Princeton] taught us perseverance, to keep pushing forward even when the world is falling down around us, either metaphorically or literally with trees,” Sharp said. Class Day also recognized a number of senior class members receive for various awards. María Perales Sánchez ’18 received the Allen Macy Dulles ’51 Award for best exemplifying the University’s motto for serving the nation and humanity. Nicholas Wu ’18 received the Frederick Douglass service award for courage and leadership in contributing to a deeper understanding of the experiences of racial minorities, and Nicholas Fernández ’18 and Carolyn Liziewski ’18 received the Harold Willis Dodds Achievement Prize for clear thinking, moral courage, and considering the perspectives of others. Wu is a head opinion editor emeritus for The Daily Princetonian.

Two additional awards were voted on by the senior class. The W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize was awarded to McGhee for doing the most for his class, and the Walter E. Hope Class of 1901 Medal was given to Myesha Jemison ’18 for doing the most for the University as a whole. Within the athletic awards, Delaney Miller ’18 received the Class of 1916 Cup for having the highest academic standing of a senior varsity letter winner. Charles Kanoff ’18 received the William Winston Roper Trophy for being the top male sportsman overall, and Vanessa Gregoire ’18 received the C. Otto von Kienbusch Award for being the overall top senior sportswoman. Abby Finkelston ’18, Ehidiamen “Junior” Oboh ’18, and Natalie Tung ’18 received the Arthur Lane ’34 Citizen Athlete Award for selfless contribution to sport and society by an undergraduate athlete. The ceremony also recognized the honorary members of the Class of 2018, who were: Barbara Baldwin, who works for the TigerTransit campus shuttle; Eddie Glaude, the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African

American Studies and chair of the Department of African American Studies; Carol Klein of the student publication Business Today; Mollie Marcoux Samaan ’91 and the Ford Family Director of Athletics; Tom Sparich, former conductor of the NJ Transit “Dinky” train in Princeton; and Uwe Reinhardt, the former James Madison Professor of Political Economy, honored in memory following his death in November 2017; and finally Booker, honored for his own work as Senator and as Class Day Speaker. Ultimately, the graduates were left with Booker’s words and encouragement to go out into the world and act in small, consistent, and kind ways every day, and that is what will truly change the world. “Walk into every room, go to every place, and embrace the world with your spirit and your truth,” Booker said. “If you do that, if you live that way, if you strut like you are powerful then I promise you that generations yet unborn will know of your light and your love.” The ceremony took place June 4, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. on Cannon Green.

COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Senator Corey Booker spoke about power to the Class of 2018, less from positions or titles and more from perseverance, moral consistency, and constant kindness.


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The Daily Princetonian

Tuesday June 5, 2018


Tuesday June 5, 2018

The Daily Princetonian

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Conservative students and professors seek greater voice in campus discourse STUDENT LIFE

By Isabel Ting

Associate News Editor

When students and professors arrive to campus, Princeton’s environment often causes them to rethink their political ideas. This is because the University allows for exchange between both liberals and conservatives. Conservative professors and students, a minority in 2018, sat down with The Daily Princetonian to discuss what it’s like to voice conservative opinions on campus. Politics professor Robert P. George explained that political labels mean different things at different times. “We might be called old-fashioned liberals, Madisonians, or Toquenians,” George said. George qualifies his political views as conservative because he believes in the natural rights of independence, limited government, rule of law, the need for a strong vibrant, civil society, personal morals of society, and the separation of powers. In high school and college, George was more progressive, but in his later years of college, especially after he read Plato’s dialogues, he gradually moved in a more conservative direction. The director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at the University, George explained that there is a mix of both conservative and liberal faculty members within the program. “We try to enrich campus dialogue by making sure that there are plenty of conservative voices,” George said. For example, Heather Gerken ’91, the dean of Yale Law School and an outspoken progressive, gave a lecture that made a progressive case for the system of federalism, and the James Madison Program welcomed her ideas, George said. The mix of conservatives and progressives at the James Madison Program mirrors the political atmosphere of the University’s faculty. “Most of [Princeton’s] faculty are on the more progressive side,” said George, “but Princeton has a strong vibrant minority [of] conservative professors. When it comes to professors who are openly conservative, I think there are a higher percentage here and a higher absolute number than in our peer institutions.” George explained that the examples that have been set by previous faculty members to be more outspoken encourage other professors to be more open with

their conservative views. He also applauded President Christopher Eisgruber ’83’s administration in particular for being “very welcoming to diverse opinions.” “I personally had the encouragement of those who do not agree with me on politics but think it is a very good thing for people like me to be on the faculty and to voice my opinions,” George said. He pointed out that the administration’s intellectual mission has benefited enormously from having a mix of conservative and liberal voices on campus. Although George said he has not noticed a dramatic change in the political atmosphere among professors within the two years since President Donald Trump’s election, he has certainly noticed that more professors are openly conservative, compared to when he first arrived at the University 33 years ago. However, George noted that there is a division among politically conservative professors on campus, where some are more critical of Trump and others are more supportive. “The interesting thing about Trump is that he is not really a conservative, but he is not a progressive either,” George said. “He has caused division among conservatives.” George said that the University has been exemplary in providing a place where he is not only allowed but encouraged to think for himself and to express his thoughts. “I consider myself very fortunate to have made my career at Princeton because it is a place that is so welcoming of civil but robust dialogue,” he said. He pointed to his collaboration with Cornel West GS ’80, a notably progressive professor in the Center for African American Studies, as an example of productive discourse. George has taught and produced written works with West since 2007. Politically conservative students voiced similar thoughts to George’s in regard to the University’s political discourse and atmosphere. Thomas Koenig ’20 is a registered independent who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. “I think there are a lot of good conversations between people who disagree on both sides of the aisle, and I’ve been lucky to be a part of that,” he said. Koenig explained that he surrounds himself with people on the right and the left. Although he said that he felt comfortable

expressing his political opinions on campus, he qualified that conservative opinions are generally not as readily expressed in settings where people are less familiar. Koenig also added that the right and the left can both be very dogmatic at times. “It’s like if you don’t agree with some people on the left, you’re racist or sexist,” Koenig said. “It’s our way or the highway. I really don’t like that. I think we should look at issues individually and understand that very different people with very different backgrounds and formative experiences might come to very different, reasonable conclusions.” Koenig explained that he is independent because he enjoys trying to engage with people on their own terms. For example, he explained that since his father leans towards the right, he would argue for the left back at home. However, at the University, since the majority of students lean left, like most other college campuses, he tends to argue for the right. Koenig first learned about how people are affected by politics in high school, at a private Catholic all-boys school situated in Philadelphia. “Studying at Princeton has made me realize how complicated most things are [in politics],” Koenig said. “I’m not some relativist who thinks there are no right answers, but I do think both sides of the aisle have much better points than the other side gives them credit for.” However, Koenig does not care about ideology, as much as the way politics affects the citizenry — people themselves. “It should be about people, not ideology,” Koenig emphasized. “We should look at issues and think about what is best for people or the country. People need to overcome the constraints of dogma that they place themselves under.” He said that people have experiences that have shaped the conclusions they’ve come to, which are “not that unreasonable sometimes.” “I tend not to ever judge someone based on their political beliefs,” said Koenig, “unless [their beliefs] are ridiculous, like if they’re alt-right. If we’re not going to judge someone then, then when are we going to stand up for what’s right?” President of College Republicans Will Crawford ’20 pointed to his upbringing for influencing his political conservatism.

COURTESY OF PROGRAM IN LAW AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

Robert P. George, director of the James Madison Program.

COURTESY OF THOMAS KOENIG AND WILL CRAWFORD

Students Thomas Koenig, and Will Crawford.

“I come from a pretty conservative place, and my parents are conservative,” Crawford explained. “My small town in Georgia — most people are pretty conservative. Being at Princeton is a very different experience than [my hometown] and that led me to think about [politics] more.” Crawford added that he contemplates limited government, personal freedom, and the dignity of every individual. Although he said that he feels comfortable voicing his political opinions on campus, he also said that there are times when he would rather not get into a large political discussion in casual company. “I don’t change what I think based on the company,” said Crawford, “but there are certainly times when I would rather not say something. I’m not going to go out of my way to make a point about my political beliefs.” Crawford voted for Trump in

the 2016 presidential election. He said he supports the rolling back of federal regulations, the curbing of power of federal agencies, and Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court under the Trump administration. Although Crawford said he believes Trump’s rhetoric surrounding immigration is unnecessarily aggressive, he nevertheless agrees there must be “serious political discussion” about immigration and how to enforce border control. Crawford added that although he supported Trump’s decision to rescind DACA executive order, he said he thinks it would have been better to resort to legislation instead of fiat. Organizations on campus that enhance more politically conservative views include The Princeton Tory, the Clio section of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, Princeton Pro-Life, and the Anscombe Society.

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Tuesday June 5, 2018

Sipprelle: In communities where you don’t have party labels, the voter is more apt to listen to a candidate and their platform REPUBLICANS Continued from page 1

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Aside from their advancing age, all those gathered on that evening shared one thing in common: a deep commitment to the ideals and candidates put forth by the Grand Old Party. “My whole life is here,” explained one woman, speaking slowly. “All the memories I’ve created are here,” she said, succinctly capturing why the 25 men and women gathered there had not left the town which frustrated them so. But when the candidate of the hour, Donna Simon arrived, the mood shifted. Simon’s magnetism burst through the patio doors, arresting everyone’s attention. Dudley Sipprelle, chair of the Princeton Republican Committee, soon seized on the moment, and announced it was time to begin. As Sipprelle gave a synopsis of the 16th legislative district’s recent political history, Simon, sporting a beige plaid skirt, knee length boots, and sleek glasses, waited by his side, periodically nodding. Sipprelle explained that the district had been gerrymandered in a 2011 Democratic redistricting effort which saw liberal towns like Princeton and South Brunswick moved into the district and conservative towns moved out. According to Sipprelle, shifting demographics had cost Simon her assembly seat in 2016. Simon, explained Sipprelle, had lost by only 76 votes. “Only 76 votes,” Sipprelle repeated a second time, affecting Simon’s confident façade. When her turn finally came, Simon spoke deliberately. She laid out her plan for a better New Jersey, hammering on the need for lower property taxes and safer cities. She said that restrictions placed on businesses and individuals in New Jersey have made it the top state “bleeding” residents. Voting for the Democratic incumbent, Andrew Zwicker, she said, would only further this problem. Simon explained that Princeton Republicans had a real role to play in stopping the 16th legislative district from turning blue. Her direct appeal to Princeton Republicans energized the crowd above all else. The 25 people standing on the deck felt like someone was finally paying attention to them. It seemed as though political catharsis was imminent. East Coast San Francisco When describing the town to newcomers, Sipprelle cannot resist setting up two similes: San Francisco is “the Princeton of the West” and Princeton is the “San Francisco of the East.” Sipprelle said the experience of moving to Princeton was extraordinary. Crossing the Alexander Road bridge over the Delaware and Raritan Canal is like crossing into a bastion of progressivism, he said. He spoke about how Princeton is a town where every elected and appointed official is a Democrat, where Republicans are outnumbered by double digits, and where the liberal-leaning university is growing larger and larger. No other town nearby can boast such stellar liberal credentials. A career foreign service officer, Sipprelle has seen much of the world: Colombia, Sweden, Turkey, Venezuela, Italy, Austria, the Dominican Republic, Haiti. He took the foreign service exam after hearing former President John F. Kennedy’s familiar inaugural address words, “Don’t ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Shortly thereafter, he left his job as a social studies teacher in California for in Washington D.C. to become a career foreign service officer.

Like many of his fellow committee members, Sipprelle describes himself as an Eisenhower Republican. He said he believes strongly in four guiding principles: individual responsibility, personal accountability, the free enterprise system, and limited government. Wearing a checkered shirt tucked into khakis and thin-rimmed square glasses, Sipprelle encapsulates the idea of constancy amid change. Both his political ideology and style of dress have remained the same for decades. When Sipprelle and his wife Linda, also a State Department employee, retired in 2005, they decided to move to Princeton Borough. “Being lifelong Republicans, we looked and looked and tried to find a Republican party here,” Sipprelle explained. “It wasn’t easy however.” After some investigative legwork, Sipprelle discovered that the Princeton Republican Committee had been designated inactive since it was no longer running candidates or holding meetings. Realizing that the committee had no leadership, Sipprelle decided to take matters into his own hands. He called the Mercer County Republican Party and expressed interest in re-fashioning the Borough’s Republican Committee into a real political organization. Seeing that no one had taken interest in quite some time, the Mercer County Republican County did not hesitate, naming him the Borough’s chairman almost immediately. The Borough, which encompassed the University and much of today’s downtown Princeton, would later go on to consolidate with the area surrounding it — namely, Princeton Township, on Jan. 1, 2013. On the same day, Sipprelle went on to become chairman of a newly consolidated Princeton Republican Committee. The task has always been a difficult one for Sipprelle. Only 12 percent of registered voters in Princeton are Republicans. Fifty-two percent of voters are Democrats. “This is an astonishingly high number for New Jersey,” said Sipprelle. “And it is particularly so for a town that has very small minority groups.” If you go to Newark, Camden, or Paterson — cities with large minority groups and inner cities, Sipprelle explained, you find that most registered voters are Democrats. However, according to the 2010 census, only about six percent of residents in Princeton are African-American and nowadays there are about as many Hispanics. According to Sipprelle, despite low numbers of minorities, Princeton has the highest percentage of registered Democrats of the twelve municipalities in Mercer County, one of which is Trenton, the state capital. It also has a much smaller share of unaffiliated voters -- 36 percent -- compared to the rest of New Jersey, quite surprising considering the fact that the largest voting bloc in the state is that of unaffiliated voters, who outnumber both Democrats and Republicans individually. Though the numbers are against Princeton Republicans, Sipprelle has a plan, and he is working daily to make it a reality. A Trumpian Pilgrimage The 2016 election continues to loom large on the psyche of Princeton Republicans. To many on both sides of the political spectrum, Donald Trump represented a subversion of political norms and accepted political behavior. To Sipprelle, Trump’s campaign posed a serious threat to the “traditional” Republican party. It was only after the Republican primary that Sipprelle was forced to come around on Trump and support his party’s nominee. “Mercer County was the only county in the state that

didn’t endorse Donald Trump in the Republican primary,” Sipprelle said. “And you ought to know the reason why,” he added, smiling and gesturing towards himself. At the Mercer County convention held late in the 2016 primary season, Sipprelle led a coalition of Republicans from Princeton, West Windsor, and Hopewell in opposition to Trump. Although he was not able to convince enough convention delegates to switch their votes from Trump to Ohio’s presidential candidate John Kasich, Sipprelle managed to ensure that the Mercer County Republican Party did not make any presidential endorsement. Sipprelle said that many Princeton Republicans felt similarly about Trump, evidenced by the fact that Trump only garnered 14 percent of the Princeton vote. Still, Princeton has its own fair share of Trump Republicans. The late Princeton-born Lee Eric Newton was a Trump devotee. In many ways, Newton was the antithesis of Sipprelle’s traditional version of a Republican. Newton’s ideas were hard to categorize and could not be boiled down to four guiding principles, as Sipprelle’s can. Most striking, however, was Newton’s desire to return the United States to what it once was, mirroring Trump’s “Make America Great Again” rhetoric. Inspired by what Trump said in November of 2016, Newton decided to enter into state-level politics. In May 2017, he announced that he was running against incumbent Democratic State Senator Shirley K. Turner in the 15th Legislative District. Blue and white campaign signs featuring Newton’s name and those of his running mates — Rimma Yakobovich and Emily Rich — stood prominently in front of his house. To drivers making their way northwest towards Princeton on Alexander Street, the signs were striking. Newton proudly proclaimed that it was even harder to miss his Trump signs. Well over six feet tall, Newton said he is a distant descendant of Sir Isaac Newton, pointing to his sharp nose and high cheekbones as proof. He said putting up Trump signs was never enough for him. It also wasn’t enough to defiantly nail down new Trump signs after the old ones mysteriously disappeared over and over again. Newton wanted to ensure that his support for Trump was evident. So he began a pilgrimage to the University’s FitzRandolph Gate, or as he called it, “the strategic location at the intersection of Nassau and Witherspoon Street.” The first stop in his pilgrimage was near his house. Newton began by sitting outside on his porch, near the American flag hanging by his garage. He said he was there to lend additional weight to the Trump signs planted in the grass before him. Soon, Newton moved to sit at the small clearing a few feet from the bridge over the canal. It was the second and penultimate stop in his pilgrimage. “I realized that if I went to the bridge, people tend to slow down before they cross over it,” said Newton. “There was often a time period where traffic was slow enough that I could see various hand signs.” The spot had little foot traffic and became dangerous when a car swerved at him unexpectedly. Newton was not hurt. Shortly thereafter, he moved to the one place in Princeton where he felt he was sure to get a convergence of foot traffic: that strategic location at the intersection of Nassau and Witherspoon Street. Newton clarified that this was not a move to what he mockingly refers to as the “hallowed gates of the University.” It was instead the fi-

nal stop in a pilgrimage he felt extolled the virtues of his candidate and ensured that his voice was heard. Though he did sometimes have “rational” conversations with students, professors, and other passersby, many of his encounters consisted of others resorting to name-calling. “Racist,” “bigot,” and “xenophobe,” were only a few examples. The vitriol did not come to an end with the election however. Two months after Trump won the presidency, first-year graduate student in the Department of Geosciences Matthew Gliatto came onto Newton’s property, broke into the trunk of his car, took out a Trump sign that was inside, and crumpled it up. He then hastily threw it in the trash and began to run down Alexander Street towards Princeton. Newton immediately called the police and caught up with Gliatto near the bridge. Newton said he yelled, “Hey, don’t you move! The police are coming.” Waving towards the cars passing by, Gliatto allegedly began to shout, “This man is threatening me. This man is threatening me.” Both men were upset by the interaction, but Newton was vindicated after Gliatto was eventually fined. In the end, the altercation proved sobering for Newton when one officer asked him, “What would have happened if the sign was in the window of your house instead of the car? Would the guy have snapped and come into your house?” Although Newton maintains that he is immune to intimidation, he says he worries for his daughter, who has had people confront her about her father’s mental ability. He also worries about other family members who have had to endure similar treatment. Although Newton was the most visible Trump supporter in the Princeton political landscape, he did not actually live within the borders of the town, residing instead in neighbouring West Windsor. Thus, he did not try to change Princeton Republicans into ardent Trump Republicans. He instead remained across the canal and ran for state senate in that legislative district. Swinging the Pendulum Back “I’m a Republican,” explained a wry Sipprelle, when asked to meet in his office. “We have no establishment here. The only office I have is the one in my head.” Considering that the Princeton Republican Committee was entirely inactive when he moved here in 2005, Sipprelle has managed to impressively improve the organization. Since reinitiating the committee, he has attracted new people to the party and repeatedly run Republican candidates. Sipprelle and his cohort have also contributed to the town’s publications, writing a steady stream of letters to the editor on various topics. This is a far cry from the early 1940s, when Princeton local government was dominated by Republicans. The decline in Republican political leadership accelerated in the mid-eighties and early nineties with Republicans ceding control of elected offices throughout the town. Robert W. Cawley was the last Republican mayor of the Borough, retiring in 1984, while Laurence B. Glasberg was the last Republican mayor of the Township, retiring in 1993. Considering the fact that the power to make appointments is delegated solely to the mayor, Republicans in appointed positions fell sharply during the same time period and continued until the present day. In seventy years, the pendulum had decisively swung from one extreme to the other. “Does a wild bear like honey?” Sipprelle had said when asked whether universities like Princeton contribute to

local political shifts. According to him, the slow transformation of Princeton University into an increasingly liberal institution brought the town leftwards, too. Between 1969 and 1998, self-identified liberals consistently made up to 40-45 percent of faculty in American colleges. Self-identified moderates and conservatives remained relatively stable during this time period. In the 90s, something changed. Moderates and conservatives on the faculty began to decline. In the most recent survey from 2013, moderates and conservatives dropped to 27 percent and 12 percent respectively. Meanwhile, self-identified liberals increased to around 60 percent nationally. At the University, 97 percent of Princeton faculty donated to Obama in the 2008 campaign and 99 percent donated in 2012. The town’s shift leftwards has a real impact, Sipprelle. Increasing property taxes have made the average property tax bill $18,333, making Princeton the twelfth highest-taxed municipality in the highest taxed state in the country. Many families in the former Borough and Township have responded by leaving. Many of the families who have replaced them have some connection to the University. For University faculty members, sky-high property taxes are less concerning. Not only does the University own many short and long-term rental properties, but it also subsidizes housing purchases for faculty members wishing to live in town. Sipprelle and other Princeton Republicans understand that these shifting demographics have played a large role in making Princeton the town it is today. They also feel that the University’s continued expansion will further current political trends. “Princeton has resources — financial resources,” Sipprelle said, referring to the Republican willingness to support candidates. Chris Christie’s first speech as a politician preparing to run for governor was at Jasna Polana, Princeton’s elite country club, lavishly designed by worldrenowned architect Wallace Harrison in the seventies and decorated with neoclassical art throughout. Back then, Sipprelle never imagined that Princeton Republicans would launch a two-term Republican governor. But now he realizes that Princeton Republicans were punching above their weight. Despite their financial resources, Princeton Republicans were few and far between. There were many more well-to-do Republicans in Bergen County, Ocean County, and Monmouth County. During the next eight years, Christie anointed these Republicans as his base. He was never to return to Princeton for a event or fundraiser specific to Princeton Republicans. This, however, has not diverted Sipprelle from his plan to set politics straight in Princeton. “In communities where you don’t have party labels, the voter is more apt to listen to a candidate and their platform,” he said. “If we had that in Princeton, we would have Republicans on the town council. We would have had Republicans in two of the last three mayoral elections.” According to Sipprelle, the voter is much more likely to do research about the candidates running when the ballot is non-partisan. Sipprelle said that when he goes to vote in Princeton, he is immediately able to tell if the person in front of him is a Democrat or a Republican. If they are out of the voting booth in 30 seconds, Sipprelle knows that they have pulled the Democratic lever. If they take their time, however, Sipprelle knows that they have


Tuesday June 5, 2018 researched the candidates and are splitting the ticket. West Windsor and Robbinsville are two nearby towns which have nonpartisan tickets. In West Windsor, Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2,416 registered voters, but Republicans hold control of the town council. In Robbinsville, where there are slightly more Democrats than Republicans, both the mayor and the town council are Republican. Sipprelle strongly believes that right-of-center candidates would have much more success if Princeton were to hold nonpartisan elections. If there was a nonpartisan ballot, Republicans could take a seat or two on the town council and hold the Democrats accountable during closed-door meetings. However, explained Sipprelle, the push must come from a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. It is the only way to make a non-partisan ballot a reality. Princeton Before Party On the night of Nov. 8, 2011, two election watch parties convened in two celebrated Princeton locales. The air in both was thick with anticipation about the results of Princeton Borough’s contested mayoral race. The fact that it was competitive at all was notable; the last Republican candidate on the borough ticket was Fred Brodzinski in 1999. Republican candidate Jill Jachera and her supporters had gathered at The Nassau Inn. Democratic candidate Yina Moore and her supporters had gathered at Conte’s Pizza and Bar. Both camps had fought for months and all involved felt that the election was historic. Republicans felt they had finally jammed their foot in the door of Princeton electoral politics. Jill Jachera said she was always politically apathetic growing up. She was more interested in the fine art than political canvassing. Jachera explained that politics first piqued her interest when she met her husband’s Cuban family in Miami in the early 90s. It was then that Jachera realized that the value of democ-

The Daily Princetonian racy has never been fully impressed upon many here in the States. Hearing her husband’s family talk in detail about Cuba’s political problems was the start of Jachera’s political career, and she’s never turned back. In the decade after she and her husband moved to Princeton in 1994, politics were mostly discussed at the dinner table with family friends. Jachera met Sipprelle’s son, Scott, who would later run as a Republican in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, and his wife, Tracy, in 2001, when the couple moved in down the street. Jachera later met Sipprelle and his wife when they retired to Princeton in 2005. Jachera’s dinner table has remained a place where she and others like her could express her views openly. During one such dinner party, Jachera remembers discussing Mildred Trotman’s performance as Borough mayor with her guests. Unhappy with Trotman’s governance and cognizant of the lopsided odds any Republican would face, Jachera and her guests decided to think of a Democrat whose skill-set would change things up in town. The group quickly settled on Kim Pimley. “Scott and my husband literally left my living room and went over to Kim’s house unannounced, knocked on her door, and told her that they thought she should run,” Jachera said. “And that was our first foray into Princeton elected politics.” According to Jachera, both Democrats and Republicans worked together to help Pimley win the Democratic primary. But they faced major setback when the Princeton Community Democratic Organization came out strongly in defense of Trotman and portrayed Pimley as a “Republican puppet.” Trotman ended up winning the primary in a landslide. In trying to elect the most qualified candidate, Jachera said the town’s community failed to put Princeton before party. Four years later, near the end of Trot-

man’s second term, a group of women then on the board of Princeton’s YWCA approached Jachera and encouraged her to run for mayor. Familiar with her expressed interest in local politics and impressed with her work as YWCA President, the women were convinced that Jachera could provide Princeton with the good governance. “Quite frankly, I laughed it off as a joke because I had never, ever contemplated getting involved in politics myself,” Jachera said. However, as she talked to more and more people, she realized that a large portion of the Borough community was dissatisfied with the slate of Democratic candidates. In order to prevent another year of perceived ineffective governance, Jachera made the last-minute decision to have her supporters write her in for the Republican nomination, kick-starting the town’s first contested general election in over a decade. In the 2011 general elections, Borough voters also faced the question of whether or not to consolidate with Princeton Township. If the ballot question passed, the mayoral term would be reduced to one year from four. Strongly in favor of consolidation, Jachera realized that it could also strengthen the proposition she was making to Borough voters. Placing Princeton before party, Jachera built a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters. She even managed to attract the support of several former Democratic mayors of the Borough and the Township. Phyllis Marchand, who served as the Township’s Democratic mayor for 14 years, once explained that “there is no Democrat pothole, Republican site plan, or Independent parking meter.” According to Marchand, all that matters in local elections is choosing the best candidate. Even Jachera’s campaign manager, Judith Scheide, was a progressive Democrat. Jachera did not let these endorsements go to her head however. She knew that supporting a Republican

would always be a tough pill to swallow for some Princeton Democrats. Thus, her slogan in many newspaper ads and lawn signs was “Democrats for Jill” and not “Jill for Mayor.” This allowed her Democratic supporters to distance themselves from Jachera’s party affiliation. When the beginning of November arrived, Jachera garnered two major endorsements. The Princeton Packet endorsed Jachera on Nov. 1, asserting that “party politics is what is wrong with government from Washington to Trenton … it doesn’t belong where the issues are local.” The paper wrote that her “skills, intelligence, experience and leadership abilities [were] the best to get the job done.” The Daily Princetonian endorsed her on Nov. 7. The Editorial Board argued that Jachera cared most about student concerns, highlighting Moore’s refusal to appear in any public debates, including the one sponsored by the University’s Whig-Cliosophic Society. When the results of the mayoral election were finally announced, loud celebratory shouts were heard from the Democratic camp at Conte’s. Moore and her PCDO allies beat Jachera by only 100 votes. At 10:00 p.m., Jachera made her way to Conte’s to wish Moore well. Despite another Democrat’s triumph, Jachera had no regrets then and she has none now. She was grateful for having had an important role in getting consolidation passed, an issue Moore was silent on. Jachera was also grateful for having provided the Borough with a different choice and for making Democrats work for the mayoral seat. Princeton Republicans Persist The night of Nov. 7, 2017 was disastrous for New Jersey Republicans across the board. Kim Guadagno, Chris Christie’s lieutenant, lost the gubernatorial race by double digits and Democrats added a number of seats to their majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. At 9:35 p.m.,

page 7 Princeton Municipal Clerk Kathleen Brezinksi released the unofficial Princeton results to all town publications. The local candidate whom Sipprelle had supported did not win. Jenny Ludmer failed in her attempt to secure a Princeton School Board seat despite the fact that she had built a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters, just like Jachera before her. The three winning School Board candidates — Jessica Deutsch, Michele Tuck-Ponder, and Beth Behrend — had all been opposed by Sipprelle. Compared to Ludmer, prominent Republican politicians fared even worse in Princeton. State Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman, who has served the 16th Legislative district for over 20 years, did best, capturing just over 22 percent of the Princeton vote. Guadagno and the Assembly candidates, including Donna Simon, did worse. At 10:03 p.m., it seemed as though the Democrats had succeeded in turning the traditionally conservative 16th Legislative District entirely blue. Only Bateman would eventually eke out a victory over his Democratic challenger. Simon, in whom so many Princeton Republicans had placed their hopes, did not unseat Zwicker to reclaim her old seat. Over in the 15th Legislative District, Lee Eric Newton’s challenge of the Democratic incumbent also proved unsuccessful. Like Newton, Princeton Republicans have not yet been able to cut through the weeds. However, they are not willing to give up their fight. They have already succeeded in providing voters with a choice. Princeton Republicans have also succeeded by injecting diversity of opinion into the current conversation. No matter the amount of political alienation, the town is and will remain their home. Thus, they persevere. Since conducting interviews for this article, Lee Eric Newton has died. The Daily Princetonian sends condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.


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Bhatia: Lack of integrity Eisgruber: The campus must not has real, live consequences only house programs and people; BAC it must also foster collaboration Continued from page 1

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the University’s motto and serving the nation and humanity. “All Princetonians take great pride in our shared mission,” Eisgruber said. “I hope [the University’s] mission will continue to shape your lives. At the heart of our community is the desire and responsibility to make the world a better place.” After a number of prayers and songs from different religious traditions, Eisgruber then introduced Bhatia to speak. Bhatia began his speech by telling the story of his encounter with former classmate Jeff Bezos ’86, now CEO of Amazon, remembering thinking he was “crazy” with his idea to use the budding Internet to sell books. “He’s now the wealthiest man in the world, and I am not,” Bhatia joked. “My first advice to you: always attend Reunions, always have as many beers as you can, but invest early in your classmates’ crazy ideas.” The heart of Bhatia’s speech focused on public service, specifically the need to fight back against the society of institutional lies and alternative facts, one that he believed runs rampant today and threatens the very foundations of democracy. “Lack of integrity has real, live consequences,” Bhatia said. “In such an environment, we need to wake up and confront a culture of lies. There is no time to waste. The voices of reason, honor, integrity, and honesty need to be heard.” Bhatia took a moment in his speech to salute movements like Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, the

survivors of the Parkland and Santa Fe shootings, citing them as examples of fighting against the status quo to enact positive change. He also saluted Eisgruber and Harvard University president Drew Faust for fighting to provide legal status for immigrant students, and he gave one last salute to the many Latino students at universities across the nation and the people of Puerto Rico for being determined survivors. “All these groups, brave men and women are saying ‘enough is enough’ with this culture of hostility, of confrontation and intimidation, and yes, the culture of lies,” Bhatia said. Bhatia showed that graduates of the University are uniquely equipped for that task, reflecting on how in 1893 it was a group of students, not administrators, who created the University’s honor code to ameliorate the then-rampant issue of academic dishonesty. Like those students before them, Bhatia encourages the Class of 2018 to follow their example and be honorable, claiming that democracy is dependent on having and acting upon personal integrity. “Put all this together, and it feels like 1893 again, but this time around you are the senior class,” said Bhatia. “My hope is that at the baccalaureate ceremony 125 years from now, in the year 2143, they will celebrate the great Class of 2018, whose members had the vision and the courage to take the moral leadership to do what was right for the world.” The ceremony took place in the University Chapel on June 3 at 2 p.m.

CAMPUS Continued from page 1

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the University’s history. This process began in July 2014 and has continued under the direction of Williams, University architect Ron McCoy GS ’80, and others. The planning team met with members of the University community as well as local, state, and regional officials. They also invited engagement with the community through a website and open meetings in Princeton and West Windsor. “Our challenge was to create a framework that will guide the development of a campus as successful and meaningful to our successors as the campus we have inherited has been to all generations

of Princetonians,” McCoy wrote in an essay. McCoy did not respond to request for comment. In the 2016–17 academic year, the University made further steps to pursue the expansion plans laid out in the framework by selecting design and architecture firms. For the new residential colleges, the University selected the architecture firm Deborah Berke Partners. New buildings will be located south of Poe and Pardee Fields for the first college, accommodating “at least 500 beds, social spaces, a dining hall, and a kitchen/servery that could also support a second college,” according to the Berke Partners website. Both colleges are expected to be completed in the next 10 years. Existing structures will need to

be removed and rearranged before construction can begin. The Lenz Tennis Center and the Class of 1895 Softball Field will be moved south of Lake Carnegie, and the Roberts Soccer Stadium and Myslik Field will be moved as well. Student athletes have expressed concerns over their practice and competition spaces being relocated. They will likely see impacts to their commute times and attendance for games. For the Lake Campus expansion, the University selected James Corner Field Operations and Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, two award-winning design firms. The two firms have worked together on previous projects, including the Cornell Tech Campus. The Lake Campus Master Plan is expected to be completed by 2019.

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The framework envisions a campus with three distinct yet cohesive areas: Central Campus, East Campus and Lake Campus.

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Stop asking broke college graduates for money Liam O’Connor

Senior Columnist

F

ront Campus will soon be filled with enthusiastic students in black robes and mortarboards as Commencement begins. By the time they walk through FitzRandolph Gate for the first time in four years, they will have already partaken in another time-honored Princeton tradition: Annual Giving. As part of the “Senior Class Pledge,” seniors are asked to support their alma mater’s donation drive before it even becomes their alma mater. This tradition should stop; it has minimal costs and will improve the University’s image. Associate Director of Annual Giving Beth Perrino explained in an email that the senior classes sign pledges to commit their support to Annual Giving during their first four years after graduation. The Class of 2018 has a committee of over 100 students who work to boost pledge rates. Multiple seniors have confirmed that other seniors “hunt you down” to get them to sign cards. Perrino wrote, “We hope [this] habit of support will continue and grow over the years.” This entire scheme is ingenious. Students are less likely to

reject solicitations from classmates than impersonal emails by random administrators. It’s also harder to say “no” to such drives when everyone else is doing it. The Dartmouth reported that the University had the highest senior pledge rate in the Ivy League in 2015 with at least 90 percent of seniors signing pledges during the past few years. By utilizing peer pressure to exploit students’ fears of not conforming with their peers, Annual Giving’s Senior Class Pledge wrangles new graduates to its service. In general, there is nothing wrong with asking alumni for donations. After all, the University is a charitable organization that provides a worldclass education and conducts groundbreaking research. But it’s simply bad optics to ask seniors and the youngest alumni for their support. They just finished four grueling years of rigorous academic study. And they paid for it. Literally. This school isn’t cheap. All students have been buying things — ranging from meal plans to U-Store items — from the University at monopolistically-inflated prices. That doesn’t even include tuition and room costs. Certain students have forked over a quarter of a million dollars for their Ivy League education. Although this school has the most generous financial aid package of any in the country, there are still students and

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families that have to take out loans equivalent to that of a car. Now, the University is asking them for more money, this time under the guise of charity. Begging young graduates makes the University look greedy. Furthermore, graduating students may not have a stable income for quite some time. When they settle into their new lives, they have to find housing, get a car, and acquire healthcare, among other things. A number of Princetonians will take out massive loans for professional schools. Others will have dismal salaries as they work through graduate school. Giving back to the University isn’t anyone’s top priority during this time. Last year, 1.1 percent of the $74.9 million raised by Annual Giving came from classes within their first four years after graduation, and the Class of 2013 raised only $552,811 within its first four years. If Princeton ended the Senior Pledge and — in the worst-case scenario — consequently received no funds from the first four class years, it would barely lose a drop in the bucket of Annual Giving’s cumulative donations. Here’s another way to look at it. The average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78.6 years. The University still has 52.6 years of students’ lives to ask them for money if they do not give during their first four years. Proponents may argue that the Senior Class Pledge merely

introduces soon-to-be alumni to Annual Giving and that supporting it can include volunteering time to raise money. The intentions behind this practice may be good, but graduating students only see the school asking for more time and money after they’ve already given it much. Imposing Annual Giving on young alumni alienates some of them. While there are a lot of great things about the the University experience, let’s not forget the bad parts. Between demanding workloads, an isolating environment, and poor mental health, it’s easy for students to get burned out. These memories are still fresh during the first four years after graduation. Timing is critical when requesting money. Asking graduates too soon after these challenges will make them cynical and turn them away. The least the University could do is give them a break for a few years from the monetary badgering. I’d like to ensure that the programs from which I benefitted perpetuate for future generations. One day in the distant future, I look forward to giving back to my University as an alumnus. But not while I’m a broke graduate trying to start a career. When I become a senior, I’m not signing my pledge card. Liam O’Connor is a sophomore geosciences concentrator from Wyoming, Del. He can be reached at lpo@princeton.edu.

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Marcia Brown ’19 business manager

Ryan Gizzie ’19

BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90 Kathleen Crown William R. Elfers ’71 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 John Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Kathleen Kiely ’77 Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 Lisa Belkin ‘82 Francesca Barber trustees emeriti Gregory L. Diskant ’70 Jerry Raymond ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73

142ND MANAGING BOARD managing editors Isabel Hsu ’19 Claire Lee ’19 head news editor Claire Thornton ’19 associate news editors Allie Spensley ’20 Audrey Spensley ’20 Ariel Chen ’20 associate news and film editor Sarah Warman Hirschfield ’20 head opinion editor Emily Erdos ’19 associate opinion editors Samuel Parsons ’19 Jon Ort ’21 head sports editors David Xin ’19 Chris Murphy ’20 associate sports editors Miranda Hasty ’19 Jack Graham ’20 head street editors Danielle Hoffman ’20 Lyric Perot ’20 digital operations manager Sarah Bowen ’20 associate chief copy editors Marina Latif ’19 Arthur Mateos ’19 head design editor Rachel Brill ’19 cartoons editor Tashi Treadway ’19 head photo editor Risa Gelles-Watnick ’21

NIGHT STAFF design Charlotte Adamo ’21w

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Graduation: a time to reflect on the past and future of University architecture Gabe Lipkowitz

Contributing Columnist

W

e may live without [Architectu re] and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her.” -- John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture When they exit FitzRandolph Gate tomorrow, graduating seniors may wonder how they’ll remember their University experiences in the years to come. A powerful stimulus for these memories, especially during a return to campus, is architecture. Gazing at the grand neoclassical style of Robertson Hall, a Woody Woo major might remember debating American politics and democracy in that building. Peering through one of the many small windows of Lewis Thomas Laboratory, a molecular biology major may think back to late nights spent in the lab doing research. Revisiting the quiet basements of Fine and Jadwin Halls, a physics major may recall solving difficult problem sets with fellow students. While memories may fade over the years, these campus spaces will remain as wonderful reminders for every soon-to-be University graduate of their time here. But what about parts of our campus that will not be familiar when they return? In December of last year, the University released an ambitious

Campus Plan for 2026. It called for new residential colleges south of Poe and Pardee fields, engineering and environmental science complexes east of Washington Road, and perhaps most radically, development south of Lake Carnegie. This so-called “Lake Campus” will contain athletics facilities, administrative and innovation spaces, and graduate student housing. This expansion holds great promise. It will hopefully allow the University to undertake new research initiatives, expand its faculty, and further diversify the student body. Still, the unprecedented scale of this expansion means it has the potential to transform the character of our campus. Accordingly, it demands the attention of students and alumni alike. Personally, I worry that these new projects will struggle to integrate with our historic campus, both spatially and aesthetically. For one, these projects’ accessibility may prove problematic. Since few non-athletes venture beyond Poe Field today, the new residential colleges located south of it may struggle to attract student traffic. While the colleges themselves will inevitably compel the students living there to make the journey, a lack of other activities and classes in the area will diminish the incentive for others to do so. This raises the possibility that the new colleges will be even more geographically isolated than Forbes College, whose distance from central campus already makes it an island of sorts. Neither can Poe Field itself promote transit to these new areas. While this expansive green is appealing on a sunny day, it forces students to take a long and circu-

itous path to cross what seems to be a short distance. Accordingly, it presents a veritable barrier to integration of new residential colleges with the center of campus. Access to the proposed Lake Campus will be even more problematic. Right now, the bridge on Washington Road crossing Lake Carnegie would provide one link, but this is hardly conducive to pedestrian traffic. Traversing this bridge with automobiles zooming alongside utterly contradicts the pedestrian experience central to the University’s campus. While the University is in the process of planning a new pedestrian bridge, it is difficult to see how one such project could overcome the formidable physical and psychological barriers to integration a lake presents. One might argue that the University has undertaken projects at the periphery of our campus in the past, and students have found ways of accessing them. However, these were far less spatially distant than the current plans. The Lewis Arts Center, finished last year, was already perfectly situated between well-trafficked student destinations like Forbes, the Wa, and New South Building. Likewise, the Frick Chemistry Laboratory completed in 2010 was positioned on a well-traversed path between Streicker Bridge and Princeton stadium. The projects outlined in the Campus Plan, especially the Lake Campus, do not benefit from such ideal positioning. The University architect Ron McCoy GS ’80 insists that encouraging students to use bicycles for transportation will solve the issue. While certainly preferable to automobiles, this would still disrupt the pedestrian campus experience. Already,

some University walkways — notably Goheen Walk — sometimes seem more like bicycle highways than casual pedestrian avenues. Importantly, it is far more difficult to converse with fellow students while biking than walking. Even if cycling solves issues of access to new projects, therefore, we should still worry about how this will transform the student experience. Adding to these issues, it may prove difficult to aesthetically relate the new projects themselves to our historic campus. Such connections are not trivial. Rather, they are important to ensure an expansion does not appear awkward or out-of-place, and instead embraces what McCoy calls our campus’s “distinctive sense of place.” This has not been a problem for other recent University projects closer to the center of campus, where architects could cleverly build off of the history of their pre-existing sites. The awardwinning renovation to the new economics building, for instance, juxtaposed a historic collegiate neo-Gothic façade with a contemporary interior space to create a remarkable architectural synergy. Similarly, the fluid design of the Lewis Arts Complex built off the historic transit route it replaced, which had long served as the railroad track for the Dinky. The only history to which designers of the new southern residential colleges can respond, by contrast, comes from athletic facilities built less than a decade ago. Even more glaringly, the preexisting “site” for much of the Lake Campus will be largely untamed forest. Offered such a tabula rasa, architects selected for these new

projects may be tempted to adopt radical designs that prioritize novelty over relationships to the historic campus. The physical distance separating them from the center of campus may justify a sort of declaration of independence, in an architectural sense. This is a scary thought. If such an approach is implemented, students, alumni, and visitors will be left confused as to the identity and unity of our otherwise beautiful campus. My worst nightmare is something akin to the haphazard mishmash of architectural styles that characterizes poorly thought-out suburban sprawl. It is important not to be too pessimistic. Indeed, designers often cite how challenges and limitations can breed creative solutions. If the University can connect the new and old campuses with innovative and effective pedestrian pathways, then it will alleviate the potential issue of inaccessibility. Likewise, if its new designs can successfully relate to historic structures in clear and explicit ways, then they will evolve with time to become extensions of our campus, rather than merely additions to it. To ensure this positive outcome, we as students and alumni must provide input throughout this process — and the University architects must take it into account. Community engagement, whether in person or online, is essential during this period of remarkable growth. Nothing less than the future identity of our campus is at stake. Gabriel Lipkowitz is a junior in molecular biology from Charlottesville, Va. He can be reached at gel@ princeton.edu.

Don’t whine. Opine. Write for ‘Prince’ Opinion.

48 University Place Email join@dailyprincetonian.com


Tuesday June 5, 2018

Sports

page 12

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On tap: Chat with incoming U. Basketball recruit Jaelin Llewellyn

MEN’S BASKETBALL

rate these players’ strategies on the court.

COURTESY OF PRINCETON ATHLETICS

Jaelin Llewellyn was also offered a spot on the Harvard basketball team.

By Matthew Fuller Staff Writer

Getting to know the University’s next basketball star In a recent trend that features an increasing number of athletes choosing prestigious academic institutions over traditional athletic powerhouses, the University has landed 2 four-star recruits from the class of 2022. Among the recruited class next year, Princeton students will get to watch Jaelin Llewellyn, a fourstar point guard from Canada. Llewellyn turned down major programs such as Wake Forest University, where his father played, and University of Virginia, currently the top-

ranked basketball program in the country. Childhood Llewellyn grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. He describes this experience as great not only for giving him a taste of city life, but also for affording him the opportunity to experience a quieter suburban environment. Llewellyn has spent the last two seasons playing at Virginia Episcopal School, a small and selective college prep school in Lynchburg, Virginia. Growing up, Llewellyn followed players like Tracy McGrady while he was on the Houston Rockets, Rajon Rondo while he was on the Boston Celtics, and LeBron James. Llewellyn has tried to incorpo-

Career Nationally ranked as part of ESPN’s ESPN 100, four-star Llewellyn comes in ranked the 16th best point guard prospect in the class of 2018, and one of the top two point guards from Canada. The six-foot, two inches and 160-pound point guard is ranked as highly as 89th in the country by Rivals.com. Last season at Virginia Episcopal School, he averaged 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. This year, through 23 games, he has improved all of these numbers, with 23.0 ppg, 5.6 apg, 5.5 rpg, and 1.5 spg. Over the summer, Llewellyn was afforded the opportunity to compete in the Adidas Circuit as part of Team Loaded. The team won the summer championship, going undefeated. At 8.8 ppg and 3.8 apg, Llewellyn described this experience as a big moment in his career, as it gave him the feeling of winning something major. Next season, the University will receive a player with a real hunger to win. Of the memory, Llewellyn said it “really makes me crave for moments like that again.” Playing style Of his playing style, Llewellyn said, “It could be described as a quick, athletic, and aggressive guard that can score, and loves to put teammates in positions to be successful.” Llewellyn seems to take the role of a facilitator seriously. The aforementioned

players that he looked up to as a child are all known for giving their teammates opportunities and elevating their team’s overall level of play. Additionally, as he looks to further his skills, Llewellyn tries to take bits and pieces from today’s elite point guards, including Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, and Stephen Curry. DraftExpress.com labels him as “an explosive athlete with strong footwork off the dribble,” also saying he should make an immediate scoring impact for the Tigers next season. Of his success on the basketball court, Llewellyn credits much of it to his dad, Cordell Llewellyn, for his dedication to his son’s basketball career. Furthermore, on his motivation, Llewellyn says that what motivates him most is “wanting to be able to live my future life the way I want, and live comfortably, for myself, my parents, and other family members.” Interests As far as music goes, Llewellyn usually listens to rappers that are up-and-coming and fairly close to him in age before games. Lil Peep and Lil Tracy have been some of his favorites for over two years. Once he hits the court, however, he said, “It doesn’t really matter what music is being played because I’m just in a different zone.” Off the court, he really enjoys videography. He has been filming and editing videos since he was in middle school. Outside of videography, he

was also developing skills in another game, Call of Duty. In ninth grade, Llewellyn says he was actually ranked 97th in the world at one point. Future It is no secret that the University offers world-class academics, a quality that would be hard for any recruit to overlook. In an interview with Phenom Hoops Report’s Patrick O’Brien, Llewellyn said that the University is “a place where I know I’ll develop each year I’m there because I have goals of playing professionally. And a place where I have the opportunity to play as soon as I step on campus.” Llewellyn was also given offers by other prestigious universities, like University of Virginia and Harvard, but he had a special eagerness to play at Princeton. “I chose Princeton because they were one of the first schools to show interest in me athletically, and I feel like they would be most accepting of me as a person,“ said Lewellyn. “I just felt like I’d fit in.” When asked what he was most excited for, Llewellyn responded “It’s hard to pick one thing to be excited for because it’s everything really. Maybe just being on campus for that very first day.” Stepping on campus for the very first time is a memory very few University students can forget. When Jaelin hits the court next season, students will be given the opportunity to witness more memorable moments, hopefully some of them being next March.

FOOTBALL

Inside look at four-star quarterback recruit Brevin White By Daniel Gitelman Staff Writer

A last-minute swoop from seventeen-time national champions the University of Alabama wasn’t enough to ward off high school football sensation from the University. Brevin White, a native of Stevenson Ranch, Calif., put pen to paper in early February to confirm his summer intentions of joining The Tigers. The four-star pro-style quarterback joins just off from an exceptional precollegiate career, having just recently led Paraclete High School to a California Interscholastic Federation title in the 2017 season. Standing at six-foot, two inches and weighing 185 pounds, White accumulated a 280.8 passing yards-per-game average in his senior year, an exceptional showing accented by incredible long throws and complemented by impressive runs. Come this fall, White will be taking his talents to the Ivy League. In a phone interview with The Daily Princetonian, he gave an inside look on what had brought him to this next step. White’s childhood in southern California was spent living in close proximity with relatives, inspiring his family-oriented approach to life. The youngest of three children, he seeks to emulate his father’s “hard-working” attitude and praises his mother as a “five-star mom.” His idol, however, has always been his brother Brady White. Also a quarterback, Brady White just last month completed a graduate transfer to the University

of Memphis having spent three years at Arizona State University. “Every time he’d change, I’d change,“ explained White. “I modeled my game after how he played.” When Brady suffered a Lisfranc fracture at ASU, White was quite shaken up. After the injury, Seeing his brother on field was nerve-wracking for White, speaking to the strength of the connection between the two. “I couldn’t function. I was so fidgety,“ Brevin White explained. “Just being there, it scares me! It’s my brother and I worry about him. We’re a Christian family and he’s definitely the strongest, most religious person. We had some deep talks about it and ultimately it worked out for him, he’s fully back and healthy.” Brevin White comes from a family of athletes. His mother played soccer and softball in high school, while his father was a basketball player who played at the collegiate level as well. Meanwhile, his sister, currently a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, works in football recruiting. White developed an affinity for golf early on, calling it “one of the greatest sports ever.” He said he even took a year off from football in junior high to hit the green. He also loves country music and attending concerts. “I just give it a quick shuffle and I’m rolling,“ White explained. “I like pulling a little air guitar out occasionally.” Perhaps transferring between three high schools was not what White had planned on; however, he believes the experience had

ultimately helped him mature as an individual both on and off the field: “At each place, you gotta earn the respect of all your teammates and build strong relationships with all the guys, and that’s what I think I did which made the transitions super easy for me,“ he explained. “Ultimately, I came out with some pretty good relationships and loved my experiences at each school. I kept adding pieces to the puzzle as I kept moving along.” White identified his playing style as unconventional, in a way hybridizing the roles typical of pro style and dual threat quarterbacks. “I’m a pocket passer, I’m definitely comfortable making throws and that’s where I’m strongest at, but also I feel like people underestimate me and some quarterbacks’ abilities and speed to get out, get first downs and make plays with their feet, which I bring to the table,“ he said. However, White attributes much of his success to the equally paramount mental factor, a primary basis for his admiration of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “He’s [Aaron Rodgers] got a little swag about him. I don’t like being cocky but I respect guys who bring the ‘it’ factor to the game. I think that’s what he does.” “I think the personality of the quarterback should push the team over the edge per se. It doesn’t need to be the most vocal guy, but personally I am a vocal guy, I like being in the driver’s

COURTESY OF 247SPORTS.COM

Future Tiger’s quarterback Brevin White. seat to cushion the guys and push everybody to be their best,” he continued. After a long and grueling recruiting process, offers from topof-the-line football schools such as UA, Tennessee State University, and ASU just couldn’t compare to the lure of the Ivy League and the University. Anyone and everyone who’s been following the saga has asked, “Why Princeton?” White, however, sees the question a different way: “Why not Princeton?” “Princeton University is the best fit for me as a person overall,“ he explained. “It checks all the boxes for what I wanna do on and off the field, and it’s gonna help me fulfill me aspirations better than any other school.” “At Princeton, you’re surrounded by the best of the best,“ he added. “The competitor in all of us wants to be, or should want to be, surrounded by the best of the best, to be pushed to our ultimate potential.”

These articles were previously printed on March 1, 2018

The thought of playing football on the east coast is also an exciting opportunity for White, who said that competing in snowy conditions “almost seems like a bucket list thing.” White aspires to play in the NFL and hopes to apply himself at the University in every way possible in order to make the dream come true. Yet he remains a realist and knows the chances are slim, and as an alternative he would like to work in the financial sector upon securing a degree in economics. Working in New York is a “mysterious” and “exciting” prospect for White, who would love to “go out and experience the world.” In White, the Tigers are getting a driven, inspired, and goaloriented quarterback who will undoubtedly help lead the charge for Ivy League success over the next four years. After heartbreak against Yale crushed bonfire hopes in 2017, perhaps White can be a spark to light it ablaze again.


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