The Daily Princetonian: February 11, 2022

Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Friday Feburary 11, 2022 vol. CXLVI no. 3

Twitter: @princetonian Facebook: The Daily Princetonian YouTube: The Daily Princetonian Instagram: @dailyprincetonian

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

RESEARCH

As pandemic-era eviction moratoria expire, Princeton’s Eviction Lab highlights surprising trends

U. AFFIARS

By Amy Ciceu

Staff News Writer

COURTESY OF HUA QU FOR THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Xiyue Wang GS with his wife Hua Qu GS ‘21 and their son.

U. responds to Xiyue Wang’s lawsuit relating to his Iranian imprisonment

By Sam Kagan

Head Data Editor

Princeton University filed its response to a lawsuit from Xiyue Wang GS on Jan. 24. Along with his wife, Hua Qu GS ’21, the doctoral student is suing the University for “severe personal injuries and other irreparable harm” through “grossly negligent acts” following over three years in an Iranian prison.

While in Iran, local authorities charged Wang with

espionage. At the time of his arrest, the scholar was overseas completing academic research in pursuit of a doctorate in Eurasian history from the University.

In its response, formally a “motion to dismiss,” the University requested that Judge Douglas Hurd dismiss the case “without prejudice,” a legal mechanism which allows for a plaintiff to revise and refile their lawsuit.

The University’s motion argues that the complaint

On Jan. 15, New York’s moratorium on evictions officially expired, ending a pandemic-era policy that allowed tenants to continue living in their leased residences even when they could not afford to pay rent.

Despite the end of these protections, the number of evictions in the state remained relatively low, according to findings from The Eviction Lab, a University-based group of researchers. In fact, 231 eviction filings were submitted in the state in the week following the moratorium’s expiration — one-tenth the number submitted before the moratorium began in March 2020.

Its findings were cited by multiple news sources, including the Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

Throughout the pandemic, researchers at Princeton’s Eviction Lab

initially filed by the plaintiffs’ lawyers is unclear, and that deficiencies in the lawsuit hamper its ability to raise legal defenses, noting that “[t]heir approach unfairly hampers the University’s efforts to frame responsive pleadings and the Court’s ability to assess whether the Complaint, in fact, pleads cognizable causes of action.”

This motion comes after several months of extensions for the University, which was

have been poring through formal eviction court records and compiling the data to analyze eviction trends in states and cities across the nation.

New York’s eviction moratorium began on March 7, 2020 and ended Jan. 15, 2022. Now that the moratorium has officially ended, the team of researchers at The Eviction Lab has been providing updates and in-depth analyses of eviction filing trends.

Founded in 2017 by sociology professor Matthew Desmond, The Eviction Lab examines the causes, implications, and prevalence of evictions in the United States. Since 2017, the lab’s findings and reports have been widely cited, including by the White House, to inform policy solutions geared toward mitigating evictions and their impacts.

Desmond’s book, “Evicted: PovSee EVICTION page 3

COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

See WANG page 3

Wallace Hall, home of the sociology department.

Vote100 and Hasan Republican lawsuit that implicated Princeton Minhaj are not for Gerrymandering Project dismissed in court brown students like me BEYOND THE BUBBLE

By Sandeep Mangat

from The PROSPECT Mollika Jai Singh

Associate Opinion Editor

This essay reflects the author’s views alone.

A student asked Hasan Minhaj, at a Vote100-sponsored event in Richardson Auditorium on Tuesday, about the way caste affects South Asian immigrants in the United States, especially in California. My first thought was that he probably wasn’t qualified to answer. I thought that, being a secondgeneration immigrant like me, he probably doesn’t have too much familiarity with the caste system, but I wanted to hear what he had to say.

In his response, Minhaj called the caste system and Indo-Pakistani conflict a thing of the 1940s and 50s.

Speaking primarily to the Desi contingent of the audience, he asked, when there’s a cricket game going on between India and Pakistan, have you ever noticed that it’s

not really about the game?

“The game is boring,” he said. Putting on a stereotypically South Asian accent, he shouted, “India! Pakistan!” ostensibly representing the supposed two sides of the divide. He said that if that is what we are concerned with, the British have won.

This made plain that he is not speaking for an audience from South Asia or deeply ingrained in South Asian culture. I wouldn’t say I’m either of those things particularly — though I’m working on connecting with a cultural tradition that my Indian (born and raised) parents and their families have been a part of for as long as anyone can trace back.

I know that my place at Princeton exists partially due to caste privilege. Both my parents are from higher castes. Although caste-based

Associate News Editor

​​The Princeton Gerrymandering Project was listed as a defendant in a recently dismissed lawsuit filed by New Jersey Republicans over the congressional map passed in a 7–6 vote by the bipartisan New Jersey Redistricting Commission (NJRC) in December. The State Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 3 to dismiss the suit in a 5–0 vote.

The Commission’s Republican members, chaired

by Douglas Steinhardt and plaintiffs in the suit, accused the NJRC’s tiebreaker vote John Wallace Jr., a former Associate Justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court, of being biased against

This Week on Campus

making process,” he said.

Wang declined to comment while the suit was being litigated and declined a request for an interview after the case was dismissed.

In explaining his decision, Wallace initially told the commission that “in the end, I decided to vote with the Democratic map simply because in the last redistricting, the map was drawn

by Republicans.”

Republicans claimed this reasoning was not sufficient to justify Wallace’s vote and on Jan. 5, filed a complaint to the New Jersey Supreme Court asking that “the NJRC’s establishment of Congressional districts on December 22, 2021, be vacated.”

See PGP page 4

T H I S W E E K I N F E AT U R E S | PAG E 1 4

Bridging the gap: Graduate student life in the Orange Bubble With limited and often arbitrarily assigned residential spaces, meager options for socializing, and a narrow dating pool, some graduate students feel alienated from University life, while others have found pockets of community and exciting ways to engage.

See MINHAJ page 12

ACADEMICS

the map submitted by Republicans. In making his decision, Wallace received advice from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which was founded and is directed by University neuroscience professor Samuel Wang.

Steinhardt specifically criticized Wang in a statement to POLITICO. “The moment hyper-partisan, Democrat Professor Sam Wang and his Princeton Gerrymandering Project were hired as advisers by the Democrat thirteenth member, Republicans and, more importantly, the millions of New Jerseyans who wanted influence in the state’s federal elections, were unceremoniously boxed out of the decision-

| An Independent Publisher Turns 100, featuring W. Drake McFeely — Sunday, Feb. 13, 3 p.m., Zoom W. Drake McFeely, former chairman of W.W. Norton & Company, will speak about the centennial history of the publishing company in an event hosted by the Friends of the Princeton University Library.

SPORTS

|

ARTS

| “Power Play” — Friday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m. & Saturday, Feb. 12, 8:20 p.m.

Hearst Dance Theater, Lewis Arts complex Senior Julie Shin’s dance show features a cast of six student dancers and examines gender and power dynamics, and is free to students.

Men’s Basketball vs. Dartmouth — Saturday, Feb. 12, 4 p.m., Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton Men’s Basketball (6–2) takes on Dartmouth (2–6).

page 2

The Daily Princetonian

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

STUDENT LIFE

USG approves $230K budget for 2022, confirms new committee members

By Annie Rupertus Staff News Writer

In their first in-person meeting of the semester, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senate approved a budget of about $230,000 for the year.

USG President Mayu Takeuchi ’23 explained the context behind a decrease in the budget as compared to last year.

“In the recent semesters, USG had been operating on a significantly larger budget than it previously had,“ she said, “probably because we were receiving additional funds from central University funds to help supplement programming that could build community as we come out of this pandemic. This year we are operating on more of a typical preCOVID budget.”

This means that USG will likely host fewer events throughout the semester. Major expenses in the budget include the projects board, Lawnparties, USG-sponsored movies, and Tigers in Town, although the Tigers in Town budget has decreased from last year.

Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne clarified

during the meeting that Tigers in Town was originally started as a way to make use of student fees and USG funds that would’ve gone unspent during the pandemic. At one point, “Tigers in Town was really the only thing happening on campus,” he said.

“We are not coming into this semester with a large surplus from last semester,” said USG Treasurer Adam Hoffman ’23. “We hope to have somewhat of a surplus for the upcoming semester, but also at the same time make sure that we can utilize the resources that we have to put on great programming for this semester.”

He also further expanded upon the financial responsibility within USG. “We collect our money from students’ activity fees. That means we’re the stewards of the money for our fellow students. Therefore, it’s really, really important that we be responsible with how we’re treating our money, and what we’re doing with it,” he said.

The 22 voting members in attendance voted in favor of the budget, except for one member who abstained.

The Senate also voted unani-

mously to confirm new committee members, including four to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, eight to the Undergraduate Student Life Committee (USLC), five to the Campus and Community Affairs (CCA) Committee, 16 to the Sustainability Committee, and three to the Social Committee. Luke Baxter ’24 and Cynthia Nwankwo ’25 were confirmed as Co-Chairs for Alumni Affairs.

Student Groups Recognition Committee (SGRC) Chair Derek Nam ’23 introduced a number of student organizations that SGRC has approved to form. The committee met with nine potential clubs this semester and approved seven, including Friends of MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) at Princeton, Princeton University Caledonian Society, College Association for the Research of Principles (CARP) - Princeton, First Generation Investors, Princeton Mycology Society, Women in Medicine, and Readers Who Invest. The groups were approved unanimously by the Senate.

Projects Board Co-Chair Nelson Dimpter ’22 and Chinese Student Association (CSA) Co-President Laura Fang ’23 presented a funding request for a CSA speaker event on Thursday, Mar. 24 with YouTube

personalities the Fung Bros. The senate voted unanimously to allocate $1,500 to the group.

Academics Chair Austin Davis ’23 gave an overview of the results of a health survey that was sent to students in November in response to complaints about student health issues like the “Princeton Plague” and its negative impacts on the student academic experience.

Davis reported that 90 percent of 207 respondents said they had been ill at some point of the semester, with 80 percent having been sick multiple times. He noted that the data may be skewed given that students who had the worst experiences with illness were more likely to fill out the survey.

“However, I would say anecdotally, when I think of my friends, my peers, etc., that number isn’t entirely unreasonable,” said Davis.

40 percent of students reported never having gone to McCosh Health Center for their illness, 25 percent reported never missing a class due to illness, and 84 percent reported that their illness had a negative impact on their mental health. According to the survey results, first-year students were least likely to miss class due to illness.

Many respondents reported that attendance policies were not

communicated well by faculty, and that having to catch up on work after missing class due to illness created an immense amount of stress. Davis suggested incorporating a Canvas module for all courses with details on attendance policies to help make attendance expectations more accessible.

While one respondent reported experiencing leniency regarding missed classes, another wrote, “When you miss even a day of work here due to illness, it feels like the rest of the semester is doomed. There is an extremely toxic culture around always being productive and coming to class no matter how sick you are. This isn’t just because Princeton students are workaholics — it’s because there is no system in place to help students catch up after falling ill.”

USG Senate meetings are held in Robertson Hall Room 016 at 8 p.m. on Sunday evenings and are open to all.

Annie Rupertus is a first-year from Philadelphia and a Staff News Writer who covers USG for the ‘Prince.’ She is also a designer for the print issue.

She can be reached at arupertus@ princeton.edu or @annierupertus on Instagram and Twitter.

TIMOTHY PARK / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

HEADLINE FROM HISTORY

“

FOUR STUDENTS SENT TO PMC, FOUR TO MCCOSH IN ALCOHOL-RELATED INJURIES DURING EATING CLUB INITIATIONS WEEKEND FEB. 11, 2002

”

The Daily Princetonian

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

page 3

Hotchkiss: Xiyue Wang, Hua Qu, and their son are valued members of the Princeton University community, and the University’s singular focus has always been the safety and well-being of Mr. Wang WANG

Continued from page 1

.............

originally slated to submit its response on Dec. 10, 2021.

The initial lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Mercer County, accuses the University of “wanton” misconduct and blames Nassau Hall for encouraging Wang to study in Iran, not taking the scholar’s safety concerns seriously, and failing to adequately lobby for his release.

In the complaint, Wang and Qu allege that the University had “a duty to provide a safe environment to its students, whether on campus or abroad performing research as a requirement of their

coursework.” In its response, the University disputes this method of categorization.

“Plaintiffs’ allegations suggest a much wider variety of duties,” counsel for the University wrote, “each of which presents separate questions as to whether the University even had such a duty of care and, if so, the extent of such a duty and whether it was in fact breached.”

They continued, stating that “each of these allegations, again, involves distinct breaches of distinct duties of care, and thus constitute distinct — and dubious — theories of liability.

The method of pleading employed by Plaintiffs forces Princeton and the Court to guess which duties Plaintiffs

have in fact pleaded, which breaches may correspond to which duty, and which factual allegations are intended to support which alleged breach.”

In addition to conflating charges, the University’s motion to dismiss contends that Wang and Qu’s complaint unduly merges allegations that took place at different times.

“The theories of liability within Plaintiffs’ single count arise from separate transactions and occurrences,” the University wrote.

“Requiring Plaintiffs to separate out their different theories into different counts will assist the parties and the Court,” it later concluded.

Attorneys at Gaeta Law Firm are representing Wang

and Qu in this case, while the University’s counsel comes from Gibbons P.C. Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss declined to comment on the decision to file for dismissal without prejudice.

In an email to The Daily Princetonian, Hotchkiss referenced his previous statement on the matter.

“Xiyue Wang, Hua Qu, and their son are valued members of the Princeton University community, and the University’s singular focus has always been the safety and well-being of Mr. Wang,” he wrote in a prior statement following the initial complaint. “We are surprised and disappointed by this complaint and believe it is with-

out merit.”

Wang’s legal team declined a request for comment from the ‘Prince.’

The motion is scheduled to be decided on Feb. 18. The court has not decided whether it will hear oral argument on this matter.

Sam Kagan is the Head Data Editor and a senior writer with experience reporting on University finances, alumni in government, University COVID-19 policy, and more. His projects, including the Frosh Survey, focus on numerical storytelling and data journalism. He previously served as a news editor.

Sam can be reached at skagan@ princeton.edu or on Twitter @ thesamkagan.

Fish: I think this points to how successful a policy like giving tenants money directly can be EVICTION Continued from page 1

.............

erty and Profit in the American City,” won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.

So far, the lab has yielded overwhelming evidence demonstrating that evictions not only compound poverty but exacerbate a range of measures of well-being, from educational inequities to health disparities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Eviction Lab has researched the complicated dynamics of housing insecurity, poverty, and public health.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020 and unemployment rates surged, the Trump Administration approved a federal eviction moratorium in March under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This moratorium supplied relief for vulnerable tenants who faced uncertain employment amid the pandemic, guaranteeing them residential security. It ended a few months later in July 2020. The end of the CARES Act moratorium sent shockwaves across the country, and many experts believed that the nation would experience one of the most severe eviction crises in its history.

Shortly thereafter, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its own national eviction moratorium in Sep. 2020.

This policy was repeatedly extended and endured for a total of eleven months before it expired on Aug. 26,

2021. The Eviction Lab analyzed eviction court records during this time and outlined the striking findings in a preliminary report.

The report indicates that the CDC’s eviction moratorium not only reduced the number of evictions by half of the total number expected to occur during a typical year — staving off nearly 1.55 million evictions — but also contributed to mitigating the spread of coronavirus during the delta variant surge.

In communities where state eviction moratoria were lifted after the end of the Trump administration’s federal moratorium, COVID-19 case spread also increased, according to a study cited by The Eviction Lab. Furthermore, the lab’s own analyses found that communities with higher eviction filing rates also had the lowest levels of COVID-19 vaccination.

Matt Mleczko, a graduate student researcher at The Eviction Lab, emphasized that eviction moratoria and rental assistance programs have been pivotal in reducing the number of eviction filings and keeping people housed during the pandemic.

“The eviction moratoria and rental assistance programs enacted throughout the pandemic represent arguably the most significant federal housing interventions since the days of rent caps during WWII,” Mleczko wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’

Joe Fish, a research specialist at The Eviction Lab, noted the magnitude of the housing crisis and its detrimental impacts on public health.

THE MINI CROSSWORD

By Joah Macosko Associate Puzzles Editor

MINI #1

“Along with being a housing crisis, eviction is also a public health crisis. In the nine months between March and September of 2020 it was estimated that the expiration of local eviction moratoria led to over 10,000 excess deaths,” Fish wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’

The assessment of the CDC’s 11-month eviction moratorium was informed by data that researchers collected and subsequently analyzed using various applications. On its website, The Eviction Lab takes tens of millions of court records and presents them in accessible, visualizable datasets.

By harnessing the Eviction Tracking System (ETS), a database that exhibits weekly eviction filings from six states and 31 cities and monitors “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated policies,” the group discovered that evictions remained significantly below historical averages following the termination of the federal moratorium.

Fish offered several explanations for the case of New York, where eviction numbers were lower than expected after the end to state moratoria.

“I think this points to how successful a policy like giving tenants money directly can be. The Emergency Rental Assistance has allocated over 46 billion dollars in rental assistance, which we think is one of the main reasons why filings have remained low,” Fish wrote. “Our concern would be that this money has dried up in many places, which could mean that evictions will go

back to or above their historical averages.”

As spread of the omicron variant slows, delaying and preventing evictions might strike some as a trivial issue. Mleczko thinks otherwise, arguing that returning to the status quo of eviction numbers would expose the systemic and structural issues that led to a fraught housing market in the first place.

“Before the pandemic, we could expect to record 3.7 million eviction filings in a normal year, which amounts to 300,000 eviction filings per month or [seven] eviction filings every minute. Compare that to the 1.2 million completed foreclosures in 2010 at the height of the foreclosure crisis,” Mleczko wrote. “Moreover, there are glaring racial and gender disparities when it comes to eviction. Black neighborhoods generally record the highest eviction rates and Black women face the highest eviction risk out of any demographic group, experiencing roughly double the rate of eviction filings as compared to white renters.”

“This is a normal that is absolutely not worth returning to,” Mleczko continued.

Going forward, The Eviction Lab will continue to amass up-to-date court eviction filings and apply its tools to discern trends and patterns in evictions across the nation. The lab strives to produce data that can contribute to informing policy decisions at local, state, and federal levels.

Potential policy interventions against housing insecurity might

include right-to-counsel programs that guarantee tenants access to legal counsel and an increase in the filing fees required to submit eviction filings.

Despite the significance of such measures in reducing the frequency and severity of evictions, Mleczko wrote that The Eviction Lab, above all, seeks to establish long-term solutions that address the root causes of evictions.

“As Dr. Desmond has argued in his work, a universal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program would almost certainly eliminate a large portion of evictions and homelessness,” Mleczko wrote. “But there are many other reforms worth considering, such as [the] source of income discrimination laws (which essentially forbid landlords from refusing to rent to those with vouchers), recommitting far more public dollars towards constructing affordable and mixed-income housing, eliminating exclusionary zoning, and so on.”

“If we have learned anything from this pandemic,” he wrote, “it should be a realization of how fragile our housing market and social safety net has become. The sense of urgency captured by many eviction moratoria and rental assistance efforts likely forestalled catastrophe and saved lives.”

Amy Ciceu is a Senior News Writer who often covers research and COVID19-related developments. She also serves as a Newsletter Editor. She can be reached at aciceu@princeton.edu.

MORE ONLINE

scan to read more !

OPINION

Matter over mind: You’ll get out of this what it’s willing to give NEWS

1 4 6 7 8 1

2 3 4 5

ACROSS Aunt, en español Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Asset of those with long arms Sacred vows Salt Lake City athlete DOWN “They say you are what you eat, which is true, because as soon as I bought ready ___ apricots, I was ready ___ apricots”: James Acaster Pissed off “High” or “low” foot part Drop ___ (strip) Canadian sentence-enders, often

See page 6 for more

Shaffin Siddiqui ’22 wins 2022 Gates Cambridge Scholarship NEWS

Former SPIA Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter ’80 discusses her latest book ‘Renewal’

SPORTS

Men’s hockey gets a big two points in win over Yale

The Daily Princetonian

page 4

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Wallace: In the end, I decided to vote with the Democratic map simply because in the last redistricting, the map was drawn by Republicans PGP

Continued from page 1

.............

While the suit was being litigated, the Court asked Wallace to elaborate on his decision. In response, Wallace wrote that he and his team measured the “partisan fairness” of both the Republican and Democratic maps and determined that the “Democratic plan shows superior partisan symmetry to the Republican plan.”

“Upon reflection, I realize I mistakenly failed to consider my team’s evaluation of partisan fairness of the maps,” Wallace wrote to the Court. “I should have been more concerned with the fairness to the citizens of New Jersey. Simply put, I should have stated that the Democrats’ map better satisfied the standard for partisan fairness.”

State Republicans submitted a second complaint on Feb. 2, and while the Jan. 5 complaint did not list the Princeton Gerrymandering Project as a defendant, the new one did.

In the Court order dismissing the suit, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner ’82 outlined the Republicans’ accusation against the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.

“According to plaintiffs, the group advised and pro-

vided independent analysis of the parties’ proposed redistricting maps to the Chair during the redistricting process and breached an alleged promise of confidentiality by providing valuable feedback to the Democratic delegation,” Rabner writes.

“Plaintiffs also allege that [the Princeton Gerrymandering Project] is supported by private donors who have contributed to Democratic officials and causes,” the order continues.

In the 24-page court order, Rabner says Republicans made a series of allegations without explaining how “the redistricting plan is unlawful,” meaning that many of the arguments made by plaintiffs fell “beyond the limited scope” of the Court.

“Reasonable people may differ with a tiebreaker’s evaluation of, and support for, a particular plan, but that decision is not subject to review by the Court unless the plan is unlawful or reflects invidious discrimination,” Rabner writes. “No count in the complaint, however, asserts that the final map itself is unlawful or that it is the result of invidious discrimination.”

The Democratic NJRC Delegation Chair Janice Fuller said in a statement after the Court decision that the “Republican lawsuit was

COURTESY OF JASON RHODE

Professor Sam Wang is the founder of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.

absolutely meritless and amounted to nothing more than political theater.”

“We are glad that the Supreme Court agreed with our defense and affirmed that the Commission produced a fair and responsive map that reflects the diversity of New Jersey,” she said.

Steinhardt did not re-

spond to a request for comment. Wallace also declined to comment. State Senator Vin Gopal and Westfield Town Councilman Mark LoGrippo did not provide comment to The Daily Princetonian in time for publication.

Sandeep Mangat is an Associate News Editor who has reported on labor shortages on and off campus, University guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, international student life, and research led

by Princeton faculty. He can be reached at smangat@princeton.edu and on Twitter @s_ smangat.

STUDENT LIFE

ICC looks to ‘bring the Street back’ as University further loosens restrictions on indoor gatherings

By Bailey Glenetske

Assistant News Editor

On Sunday, Feb. 6, the University further loosened guidance regarding indoor event capacity limits, now allowing event coordinators to serve food and beverage at events for undergraduates, according to the University website.

This newest change continues a pattern on the part of the University of loosening restrictions since the return of students for the Spring 2022 semester.

Following the website update, an email was sent to undergraduate students on Tuesday, Feb. 8, informing students of the new gathering policy, as well as a shift to allow many vaccinated undergraduate students to test once a week, rather than twice a week as previously required.

According to the email, “indoor gatherings may include food and attendees are welcome to remove their masks while eating or drinking. Masks must be worn when not actively eating or drinking.”

The email also states that

“Campus Risk Status has been reduced from “High” to “Moderate to High,” and adds that these changes will be instituted “effective immediately.”

In a message sent to The Daily Princetonian, Interclub Council (ICC) President Schuyler Kean ’22 expressed that these new guidelines are promising and signal a shift towards the re-opening of eating clubs for more “normal” social events and activities.

“So this information is new, and we’ve been busy running a successful Street Week and welcoming our new members,“ Kean noted. “We’re looking at the University’s updated guidelines and working toward bringing the Street back to as normal as possible within their parameters.”

Last week, the ‘Prince’ reported on the lifting of the 20-person indoor gathering capacity limit that had been in place since late Fall 2021.

The University’s COVID-19 Safe Practices website, previously modified

on Feb. 6. with new information, was again recently updated to include statements saying that “indoor gatherings may now include food,“ as well as a note that “there are not special limits for undergraduate indoor gather-

ings in dormitory rooms, suites, and off-campus housing.”

University Communications did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from the ‘Prince’.

Bailey Glenetske is an Assistant News Editor who often covers current University affairs and politics. She can be reached at bailey.glenetske@ princeton.edu or on Instagram @bailey.glenetske.

CANDACE DO / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Students walk into Cap & Gown Club, one of the University’s six bicker clubs.

The Daily Princetonian

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

page 5

‘Individual responsibility over institutional responsibility’: Dean Dolan, VP Izzo talk U.’s evolving COVID-19 policies

By Lia Opperman

Assistant News Editor

Dean of the College Jill Dolan and Assistant Vice President for Environmental Health and Safety Robin Izzo spoke with The Daily Princetonian via Zoom on Friday, Feb. 4 about current and future COVID-19 policies on campus.

When asked about whether or not the University can ever go back to the way that things were pre-pandemic, Dean Dolan made clear that she “think[s] that things will go back to the way they were.”

“I also think that the campus and probably the country and the rest of the world will only move forward by incorporating all the losses that we’ve incurred from COVID. And also everything that we’ve learned from COVID,” Dean Dolan said.

“I definitely think that we will return to many of our old rituals, some of which we did this year, some of which we’ll do in a full way next year, like opening exercises and commencement and the pre-rade and everything else,” she continued.

Although Dean Dolan expressed how she hopes that the University will move forward, she also explained how some remnants of COVID-19 will stay with the Princeton community.

“I think this is just going to stay with us in certain ways that will become part of the rituals of the campus,” Dean Dolan said. “But we’ll become accustomed to them, and they’ll become part of the fabric of our lives again.”

Dean Dolan explained how she hopes the University can move back to the way it once was, but not by moving backward.

“I am very hopeful about moving forward, not back to the old principle, but moving forward and incorporating

everything we’ve learned to make Princeton continue the way I think we all want it to,” Dean Dolan said.

Izzo expressed a similar sense of optimism to the ‘Prince.’

“I’m hopeful that we will have a much more vibrant experience on our campus,” Izzo added. “I’m really looking forward to seeing more alumni on our campus, bringing more people onto our campus, [and] having more of these inperson events that we haven’t been able to have in such a long time.”

Though Izzo and Dean Dolan both expressed their excitement about the future of the University, they also explained the thought process behind the restrictions put in place during the move-in process for the spring 2022 semester, such as having a 20-person limit for personal events, prohibiting eating in dining halls, and initially not allowing travel outside of Mercer County.

“We wanted to be a bit more protective during that movein period,” Izzo said. “In order to try to limit that spread, we wanted to limit a bit of movement, and especially limit the amount of time that people would be unmasked around other people.”

“We wanted to get off to a good start to make sure that we could continue with in-person classes,” Izzo said.

Izzo explained that unless the University experiences a large spike in positive COVID-19 cases, University administrators intend to relax policies again.

In terms of current policies, Dean Dolan said that although it’s been difficult to track and predict everything throughout the pandemic, now that students are back on campus, positivity rates and isolation trends have begun moving in a hopeful direction.

“We want the campus to be manageable for students and for faculty and for staff,” Dean Dolan added. “We all agree that all of these necessary restrictions that we’ve had to put in place have really compromised everyone’s experience, including our own. But at the same time, I think we’re also really proud of how healthy our population has stayed throughout this crisis.”

“I think it makes us … really hopeful about being able to lift some of these restrictions in a nearer future, rather than a farther-out future,” Dean Dolan noted.

Dean Dolan emphasized the importance of wearing masks throughout the University community to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

“People can protect their health with masks, and with a really vigilant level of individual care and community care,” Dean Dolan said.

“I hope that outlook will really help people who are sick with other illnesses like the flu, or other viruses that are more dangerous for people who have immune-compromised systems know we’re really trying as we think about the post-crisis moment to move into a perspective where it’s individual responsibility over institutional responsibility that will help us guide these practices,” she continued.

Izzo also emphasized the importance of individual responsibility and personal risk. “[S]ome of the things this is dependent upon is that our vaccines are continuing to be effective against serious disease and that we’ll always have to keep an eye on the number of cases,” Izzo said. “We do want to be able to be a lot more flexible here with [COVID-19 policies] and we want us to get to that point as quickly as possible to reduce all of these mitigations and make it feel a little

bit more by personal risk and risk assessment.”

Dolan continued to express the importance of in-person teaching and learning, despite students recently expressing their disappointment with classes lacking remote options for students who are sick or immunocompromised but do not have COVID-19.

“One of the hallmarks of Princeton is that we start from the presumption that everyone will be in class together, or if we’re using online formats that everyone will be using online formats,” Dean Dolan said. “As we move now, hopefully, past COVID-19, we’re returning to a policy that requires anyone who can’t attend class in person for two consecutive weeks to take a leave of absence because that’s the commitment we make to one another.”

Dean Dolan went on to explain that “as teachers and learners, you simply don’t get the same experience if you haven’t been present in class.”

Dean Dolan also emphasized that the health of everyone in the University community depends on thinking about the relationships each member has with one another. “[This] means protecting ourselves with masks and whatever other strategies come to hand, but also being respectful and empathetic of people who need a special kind of care when they’re in our classrooms or in our common spaces,” Dean Dolan said.

Dean Dolan also spoke about how the University handled the rise of positive COVID-19 cases during spring move-in, such as allowing some students that have singles to isolate themselves in their dorms.

“We have not gotten a lot of negative feedback about [indorm isolation],” Dean Dolan said.

“It’s a little bit more comfortable for them to be in their

own space in many cases,” Dean Dolan said. “[It’s] easier to do [classwork] when you have a room to yourself rather than having to, in some cases, share a room or share [a] space.”

Dean Dolan noted that University isolation housing is the primary option for students.

In addition to speaking about COVID-19 and physical health, Dean Dolan also spoke about the next steps for improving mental health at the University.

“Vice President for Campus Life Rochelle Calhoun and I met just this week with the Dean of the Graduate School Cole Crittenden and the Dean of the Faculty Gene Jarrett to talk about how faculty can be partners for students in improving mental health and just extending the awareness of the importance of paying attention to mental health, not just in the co-curricular space, but also in the classroom,” Dean Dolan said.

“We’re determined to make those connections for faculty and for students without compromising the necessary rigor of a Princeton education.”

Dolan mentioned the importance of recognizing and taking care of mental health before, throughout, and postpandemic.

“I know that I speak for myself and my colleagues in the Office of the Dean of the College, and also for VP Calhoun and our office, when I say that we all take student mental health really, very seriously,” Dean Dolan said. “We’ve certainly taken it seriously during the pandemic, and we certainly will after the pandemic.”

Lia Opperman is an Assistant News Editor who often covers University affairs, student life, and local news. She can be reached at liaopperman@princeton.edu, on Instagram @liamariaaaa, or on Twitter @oppermanlia.

Eisgruber talks COVID-19, DEI, residential expansion in annual State of the University address

By Madeleine LeBeau News Contributor

On Thursday, Feb. 3, President Eisgruber ’83 issued his annual State of the University letter and accompanying video, which addressed the University’s ongoing challenges with COVID-19, expansion of the University’s residential facilities, and efforts to increase the diversity of students and faculty. He also highlighted the five Nobel Prizes awarded to University faculty and alumni, the ongoing success of the Venture Forward fundraising drive, and the “historic” return on the University’s investments in 2021.

Regarding the approach to the second year of the pandemic, Eisgruber reiterated the University’s commitment to in-person learning.

“We will be able to loosen or eliminate University protocols on masking, gathering, and travel [as Princeton transitions to] a postrestriction world, even if we cannot reach a post-COVID world,” he wrote.

Beyond matters relating to the pandemic, Eisgruber noted that the current expansion of the University would allow it “to say ‘yes’ to more applicants in the current undergraduate admission cycle, … to enhance more lives, … and to [make a positive impact] on the world.”

The opening of two new residential colleges in August will be accompanied by an increase in the size of the undergraduate student body by 10 percent. Eisgruber stated that the student-faculty ratio after the expansion will be “about the same” as the University’s ratio nine years ago, which according

to the University Registrar was 6:1.

In addition to the new undergraduate residential colleges, Eisgruber noted that the Lake Campus, which broke ground in December, “promises to be a distinctive Princeton space that complements our historic campus and offers new flexibility and options.” The Lake Campus would most immediately serve graduate students and postdoctoral researchers as well as provide new athletic facilities for the University.

In conjunction with the Lake Campus development, the University will add 150 geo-exchange well bores to provide carbonneutral heating and cooling consistent with its plan towards achieving a zero carbon footprint by 2046.

Eisgruber also highlighted the importance of investment in the University’s “human talent.”

“We need to make sure that we find talent everywhere it exists, and that we bring together people of many groups and identities and enable all of those people to thrive here,” he wrote.

In his letter, Eisgruber also acknowledged the publication of the first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Annual Report last October, which featured many initiatives in the area of “human talent.” Eisgruber added that the next report will reflect greater diversification among faculty that occurred too recently to include in the October report.

Eisgruber cited Princeton’s efforts to attract additional transfer students as well as students from low- and mid-income backgrounds. He also noted that, of the five Nobel Prize laureates among

Princeton’s alumni and faculty last year, four were immigrants, and the fifth was a dual citizen. “[We] must attract and support talent from every group and every sector of society,” he wrote.

With regard to the financial health of the University, Eisgruber noted the ongoing Venture Forward fundraising initiative.

Venture Forward is a “missiondriven campaign … with no specific dollar goal.” It focuses on “fundraising and engagement initiatives … around key elements of the University’s strategic plan.”

Eisgruber also discussed the return on the University’s endowment in 2021.

Under the management of the Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), the endowment had a “historic 46.9 percent return” last year. Approximately 60 percent of the University’s operating revenue comes from the endowment, which is expected to fund, in part, the 25-percent graduate stipend increases next year.

Eisgruber will be holding two Q&A sessions next week for the University community. Students and faculty are invited to the Council of the Princeton University Community meeting on Monday, Feb. 14 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Frist Multipurpose Room. A second town hall for University staff members will be held in Richardson Auditorium on Wednesday, Feb. 16 from 10 to 11 a.m.

Madeleine LeBeau is a News Contributor for the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at mlebeau@princeton.edu, on Instagram @madeleinelebeau, or on Twitter @MadeleineLeBeau.

The Daily Princetonian

page 6

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

T his Week in Photos

By Angel Kuo and Isabel Richardson

Associate Photo Editors

Candace Do

Head Photo Editor

Guanyi Cao

Staff Photographer

The sun reflects on the water as it sets on the Graduate College.

Students walk through a heavy fog to attend morning classes.

Richardson Auditorium quickly filled up with students eager to attend comedian Hasan Minhaj’s talk, in conversation with Professor Kevin Kruse.

Alexander Hall under a clear blue sky after days of snow and rain.

The Daily Princetonian

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

page 7

“Over the Moon”

By Emily Wang Contributing Constructor

ACROSS 1 Movie theater rip-off?

5 Score better than average, say 10 Future doc’s exam 14 “Yeah, I don’t think so” 15 Stick out like ___ thumb 16 Natural sunburn soother 17 Pest control spray often needed in dorm rooms 18 Stares open-mouthed 19 You can’t have it and eat it too, it’s said 20 Colorful displays of food during Lunar New Year, in Vietnam 23 “___ whiz!”

24 One fluent in Java and C++ 25 Madrigal without a gift in Disney’s “Encanto” 29 Microscopic blob 33 Here, in Paris 34 Colorful performances during Lunar New Year, in China 37 Pick up from school 40 That homme 41 Red or blue ones, in “The Matrix” 42 Colorful aerial activity during Lunar New Year, in South Korea 45 Draft pick?

46 Like noble gases 47 Son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon 50 Fit for the throne 53 Telepathic letters 54 What 20-, 34-, and

60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68

42-Across help ring in Evening attire for a ball Enter a username and password Title for a lady of distinction Sized up Got out of bed Muppet feuding with Rocco the Pet Rock Terrarium growth Cut ties Celebratory cheers

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 22 25 26 27

Turf’s partner, on menus Bangkok native Princeton, e.g.: Abbr.

New York City convenience store with Hispanic origins Outtakes on film Biblical twin Subject of debate Analogy words Words on a Father’s Day mug Elbows on the table?

King of ___, nickname for Rafael Nadal Thumbs-ups Driving aid Black History mo.

Change, cartographerstyle Oat, almond, and soy, for three Nurse’s suggestion for a sprain Cowboy’s rope

28 Fitting name for a florist?

30 Brilliant display 31 Beauty of “Beauty and the Beast” 32 Stubborn ones 35 Yes, mon ami 36 El ___ (weather phenomenon) 38 Facebook to Meta, Square to Block, IHOP to 39 43 44

48 49

IHOb Bengal or Ram, for short Elf member of the Fellowship, in “Lord of the Rings” Like the seaweed “in somebody else’s lake,” according to Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid” Ballpark fig.

Peter Parker’s sixth sense

The Minis

MINI #2

51 52 54 55 56 57 58

Prior to, poetically No. 2 in the statehouse Toy that does tricks Females of the flock Firetruck extension Met ___ Award given 86 times to Saturday Night Live 59 Old-fashioned speedwagons 60 Precious stone

HANNAH MITTLEMAN / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

By Joah Macosko Associate Puzzles Editor

BONUS: Read the circled letters to reveal an apt message

ACROSS

1 Throat-checking sounds

1 Oodles

4 It might be found in an umami bomb

2 Wrath

7 Heart-to-heart, e.g.

8 [Sorry to butt in, but...]

10 Crime stopper, in a way 12 Some sudsy summer fundraisers 13 Food emojis sometimes used in a non-food context 14 Gloomy, in poetry 15 Darleny Cepin or Momo Wolapaye, at Princeton Univ.

DOWN

3 Cruise ship employee 4 Crime stopper 5 Certain pronoun pair 6 Pooled inheritances?

7 Org. that gives COVID-19 recommendations 9 Fuji and Denali: Abbr.

11 Pounds, as a heart

Scan to check your answers and try more of our puzzles online!

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Opinion

page 8

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

When ‘home’ is thousands of miles away Audrey Chau

Assistant Opinion Editor

Over the past week, my homesickness has increased manifold. While I felt grateful for the many people that made Tết celebration a reality, I could not help but realize that Princeton’s campus still did not feel quite like home. This was the first time in 18 years that I was not able to celebrate this important holiday with my family.

Although the holiday reminded me that Princeton feels nowhere near like home, I can also easily recall times when I subconsciously referred to this place as such. For example, I happily proclaimed “We’re home!” as my friends and I stepped off of the Dinky after spending a day in New York last semester.

I surprised myself with my remark. When did Princeton become my home?

Is it really home when I never feel warm enough, no matter how many layers of winter clothes I put on? How is it home when the closest place to get Viet food — which unfortunately is not even open anymore — is a solid 10-minute drive away? And how is it home when I still stop in my tracks to watch any airplane that passes overhead and wonder when it will be my turn to go home?

For a long time, I have feared that I will never be able to truly find “home” on campus, and that Princeton will always welcome me only as a seasonal guest. Albeit inadvertently, the University has played a role in deepening this fear.

Back in August 2021, I had to arrive on campus early to quarantine with a group of other international students who were unable to fulfill the COVID-19 vaccination requirement before arriving. There was a short period of time between the day we completed our quarantine period (before which our meals were provided at no extra cost by the University) and the commencement of International Orientation when our unlimited meal plan activated.

During this short period, the University did not have a meal plan for us. I will never forget the countless phone calls we made to all the University agencies that could potentially help provide us with this most basic level of support. But neither Public Safety, Undergraduate Student Housing, nor Campus Dining and the on-call Dean were able to help us.

It might seem melodramatic, childish even, to still feel wronged by a one-time oversight stemming from unintentional miscommunication among University agencies.

Yet, to the 18 and 19-year-olds in a foreign country, some for the first time in our entire lives, this was more than a small mistake. The lack of care for international students that Princeton displayed even before the start of my freshman year will always leave us wondering why the University relegated our basic needs to the background.

More recently, just a few days before winter break, the Davis International Center sent out an email encouraging international students to consider staying back on campus in light of new COVID travel restrictions. This move generated backlash among international students and the larger community, which stood in solidarity with us. Even though I fortunately did not have to choose between seeing my family and continuing the very education for which I left them in the first place, it hurt to see yet another instance in which Princeton put international students’ wellbeing last.

These two examples, and countless others, convinced me that Princeton will never truly become my home away from home.

Nevertheless, over time, I realized that while I reserve the right to point out how the University can treat the international population better, shifting my own perspective on the meaning of “home” helps me feel more at ease on campus. By strictly limiting my definition of “home” to my childhood neighborhood, to traditional Viet dishes perfectly seasoned by my mom, and to the yearround tropical weather that I took for granted, I am letting go of the opportunity to make a home out of Princeton, thereby losing the chance to make the most of my experience here.

Even though Princeton may never feel the same way as “home” does, it does not have to. Because it is not.

Princeton is a second home where I have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from people coming from more than 60 countries all over the world, each bringing their unique perspectives and cultural values to the table. Where else would I be able to engage in intellectual dialogue in and outside the classroom whenever I

want, or to immerse myself in the richness of cultural diversity for which I left my largely homogeneous country in the first place?

Princeton is also a unique home, populated by people who truly care for me. It is home when a friend insisted that I wear her coat on top of my thin sweater even though we were both trembling in the cold. It is home when someone listens with genuine curiosity as I start my sentence with “See, back in Vietnam we usually do it like this…”

Princeton is simply a different kind of home because I am a different kind of person when I am here. With my family, I am a daughter, a conformer, a believer. At Princeton, I am a learner, a challenger, a leader.

And they are all versions of myself that I love, made possible only by reconciling with the belief that I do not have to limit my definition of home to the place where I was born.

Some fellow international students — especially firstyears, like myself, who have never been away from home for such a long time — may still believe that Princeton is far from the loving home that we long to return to every day.

I understand this perspective.

There are, and will be, moments that make us doubt the reasons why we are here. But I also believe that if you really give Princeton a chance and look at this far-from-perfect institution with a bit of empathy, patience, and grace, you will find home in the people that you meet every day in your hallways, classrooms, dining halls.

You will find home in the sheer beauty of this campus. You will find home in midnight walks around Palmer Square and 2 a.m. Wawa runs with brothers and sisters you are still getting to know.

While the definition of hometown is stagnant, that of home is not. I know that for me, Princeton will never replace the home that is thousands of miles away. Instead, it will be a second home built out of laughter and tears, memories and lessons, with people no less endearing than those who are waiting for me back home, as long as I open my mind and heart.

Audrey Chau is a first-year from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

She can be reached via email at audreychau@princeton.edu and Twitter @AudreyBChau.

vol. cxlvi

editor-in-chief Marie-Rose Sheinerman ’23 business manager Benjamin Cai ’24

BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 second vice president David Baumgarten ’06 secretary Chanakya A. Sethi ’07 treasurer Douglas Widmann ’90 assistant treasurer Kavita Saini ’09

trustees Francesca Barber Kathleen Crown Suzanne Dance ’96 Gabriel Debenedetti ’12 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 Michael Grabell ’03 John G. Horan ’74 Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Julianne Escobedo Shepherd Abigail Williams ’14 Tyler Woulfe ’07 trustees ex officio Marie-Rose Sheinerman ’23 Benjamin Cai ’24

146TH MANAGING BOARD managing editors Omar Farah ’23 Tanvi Nibhanupudi ’23 Caitlin Limestahl ’23 Zachariah Wirtschafter Sippy ’23 Strategic initiative directors Accessibility Education Isabel Rodrigues ’23 Evelyn Doskoch ’23 José Pablo Fernández García ’23 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Mollika Jai Singh ’24 Melat Bekele ’24

Financial Stipend Program Rooya Rahin ’23

Sections listed in alphabetical order. newsletter editors head audience editor Kareena Bhakta ’24 Isabel Rodrigues ’23 Amy Ciceu ’24 associate audience Aditi Desai ’24 editor head opinion editor Sai Rachumalla ’24 Genrietta Churbanova ’24 head cartoon editors columnist editor Inci Karaaslan ’24 Kristal Grant ’24 Ambri Ma ’24 community editor associate cartoon editor Rohit A. Narayanan ’24 Ariana Borromeo ’24 associate opinion editors head copy editors Won-Jae Chang ’24 Alexandra Hong ’23 Mollika Jai Singh ’24 Nathalie Verlinde ’24 head photo editor associate copy editors Candace Do ’24 Catie Parker ’23 associate photo editor Cecilia Zubler ’23 Angel Kuo ’24 head web design editors Isabel Richardson ’24 Anika Maskara ’23 head podcast editor Brian Tieu ’23 Hope Perry ’24 associate web design associate podcast editors editor Jack Anderson ’24 Ananya Grover ’24 Eden Teshome ’25 head graphics editors Ashley Chung ’23 Noreen Hosny ’25 instagram design editor Rowen Gesue ’24 print design editor Juliana Wojtenko ’23 head enterprise editor Evelyn Doskoch ’23 head data editor Sam Kagan ’24 head features editors Alex Gjaja ’23 Rachel Sturley ’23 associate features editor Sydney Eck ’24 head news editors Katherine Dailey ’24 Andrew Somerville ’24 associate news editors Kalena Blake ’24 Anika Buch ’24 Miguel Gracia-Zhang ’23 Sandeep Mangat ’24

head prospect editors José Pablo Fernández García ’23 Aster Zhang ’24 associate prospect editors Molly Cutler ’23 Cathleen Weng ’24 head puzzles editors Gabriel Robare ’24 Owen Travis ’24 associate puzzles editors Juliet Corless ’24 Joah Macosko ’25 Cole Vandenberg ’24 head satire editor Claire Silberman ’23 associate satire editors Spencer Bauman ’25 Daniel Viorica ’25 head sports editors Wilson Conn ’25 Julia Nguyen ’24 associate sports editor Ben Burns ’23 Elizabeth Evanko ’23 associate video editors Daniel Drake ’24 Marko Petrovic ’24

146TH BUSINESS BOARD assistant business manager Shirley Ren ’24 business directors David Akpokiere ’24 Samantha Lee ’24 Ananya Parashar ’24 Gloria Wang ’24 project managers Anika Agarwal ’25

John Cardwell ’25 Jack Curtin ’25 Diya Dalia ’24 Jonathan Lee ’24 Juliana Li ’24 Emma Limor ’25 Justin Ong ’23 Xabier Sardina ’24 business associate Jasmine Zhang ’24

146TH TECHNOLOGY BOARD chief technology officer Pranav Avva ’24 lead software engineers Roma Bhattacharjee ’25 Joanna Tang ’24

software engineers Eugenie Choi ’24 Giao Vu Dinh ’24 Daniel Hu ’25 Dwaipayan Saha ’24 Kohei Sanno ’25

THIS PRINT ISSUE WAS DESIGNED BY Dimitar Chakarov ’24 Ariana Di Landro ’25 Noreen Hosny ’25 CANDACE DO / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Davis International Center.

Brooke McCarthy ’25 Annie Rupertus ’25 Juliana Wojtenko ’23

AND COPIED BY

Tiffany Cao ’24 and Jason Luo ’25

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Opinion

page 9

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Why is Princeton harboring a man who condones threats against American diplomats?

Gabriel Noronha and Morgan Ortagus Guest Contributors

CHATHAM HOUSE/CC BY 2.0

Dr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian speaks at Chatham House.

The attack on Dr. Mousavian

Frank N. von Hippel Guest Contributor

Recently, a group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), wrote a letter to President Eisgruber declaring it will campaign against all grants and government contracts to Princeton University until my esteemed colleague, Dr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a researcher in the University’s Program on Science and Global Security, is dismissed.

UANI’s letter was copied to 19 large foundations, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy, and Health and Human Services, and Princeton’s Board of Trustees.

UANI’s attack on Dr. Mousavian should be understood for what it is: a hatchet job against a political opponent.

First, some background. On its website, UANI says it “educates the public, policymakers, and businesses about the danger posed by the Iranian regime.” In the past, it has received a large share of its funding from Sheldon Adelson, the late billionaire and largest funder of Donald Trump. In a 2013 talk at Yeshiva University in New York, Adelson proposed that, to make Iran more cooperative, the United States should detonate a nuclear weapon over a desert area in Iran and threaten that the next one would explode over Iran’s capital, Tehran.

As a hardline anti-Iranian organization, UANI has campaigned against diplomacy with Iran and especially against the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. In 2018, UANI praised President Trump as “correct and courageous” when he took the United States out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. UANI now opposes the Biden Administration’s effort to bring Iran and the United States back into the deal.

For his part, since coming to Princeton in 2009, Mousavian has worked tirelessly for a peaceful solution of the confrontation between Iran and the United States. Based on my personal observations, Dr. Mousavian, as an advisor to the negotiators on both sides, was as responsible as anyone for the creative ideas that bridged the gaps in the Iran Nuclear Deal.

During the Biden Administration, Mousavian and UANI have been on opposite sides once again, with Mousavian encouraging the administration to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal and UANI in opposition.

Fortunately, thus far it appears that Mousavian’s arguments have been more persuasive than those of UANI and other U.S. hardline organizations, and we may escape another war in the Middle East. That war would start with Israel or the United States bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities and most likely lead to the nuclear-armed Iran that UANI claims to be against. As Robert Malley, the White House special envoy leading the negotiations with Iran, recently reiterated, reviving the Iran Nuclear Deal remains in the “mutual interest” of the United States and Iran.

That is the political disagreement behind the UANI letter to President Eisgruber.

But the letter does not present UANI’s arguments against the Iran Nuclear Deal. It engages instead in what has become known in recent

decades as “the politics of personal destruction.” When you can’t win the political argument, attempt to destroy your opponent with accusations of criminality.

At the core of the UANI letter is the accusation that, in 1992, while Dr. Mousavian was Iran’s ambassador to Germany, he oversaw the assassinations of four Iranian opposition figures in a Berlin restaurant, “Mykonos.” The reality is that the German government thoroughly investigated the Mykonos assassinations and the 395-page explanation of its verdict does not mention Dr. Mousavian. Indeed, Dr. Mousavian has been a frequent visitor to Germany since, and he has been involved in high-level policy discussions with senior German officials and parliamentarians and their colleagues from other European governments. These simple, easy to verify facts speak for themselves.

What UANI does not understand — or does not want to understand — is that, when Dr. Mousavian was ambassador to Germany, he served under an Iranian president who wanted Iran to join the world as a normal country. Iran had, in effect, two parallel governments with its hardliners operating by their own rules, using the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence agency.

Dr. Mousavian has been attacked

by Iranian as well as US hardliners. Before he came to Princeton in 2009, for example, he was accused

by Iranian intelligence under Iran’s hardline President Ahmadinejad of being a foreign agent and interrogated in the notorious Evin prison.

UANI’s letter makes much of a 10-second snippet from an Iranian documentary. This 10-second clip was part of a larger 90-minute interview with Mousavian. While that interview was not published in its entirety, Mousavian has said that he criticized both US and Iranian hardliners in the interview. He said that he criticized the Trump Administration for its assassination of Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani and Iran’s government for threatening Brian Hook and other Trump Administration officials who reportedly approved that assassination. For Mousavian, violence and threats of violence put at risk the meaningful diplomacy required if the United States and Iran are to resolve their long-standing, deeply held mutual grievances.

In summary, in going after Dr. Mousavian, UANI’s strategy appears to be to kill the messenger when you cannot counter the message. Sadly, such demonization of political enemies is a growing manifestation of America’s current political distemper.

P

rincetonians should learn the name Brian Hook.

He served as the top U.S. diplomat for Iranian affairs from 2018–2020.

Hook also helped negotiate historic peace treaties in the Middle East, collectively known as the Abraham Accords.

Hook’s work also bears directly on the Princeton community. In 2019, as State Department officials, we saw Hook lead secret negotiations for the release of Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang, held by the Iranian government. Wang had been held hostage in the notorious Evin Prison for three years.

Hook’s efforts on Wang’s behalf were heroic. Unfortunately, Princeton University continues to support a scholar — Dr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian — who amplifies the Iranian regime’s death threats against Hook and his family.

Princeton University administrators have chosen to ignore the matter, not even deigning to respond to a letter on the issue sent by former U.S. Ambassador Mark Wallace, the CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). We call on the University to firmly condemn the threats condoned by Mousavian, and to promptly respond to the UANI letter, which calls for Mousavian’s termination.

Mousavian is employed

by Princeton as a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at the Program on Science and Global Security. Mousavian’s career has been marked by the shadow of controversy, dating back to his tenure as the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Germany. Despite Mousavian’s past claims that he is an exile of the Iranian government, former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif stated in 2016 that Mousavian has remained a loyal friend of the Iranian regime.

In a documentary released earlier this year paying homage to UN-sanctioned Iranian general and US-designated terrorist Qasem Soleimani, Mousavian smiled while referring to death threats made by the Iranian regime against Mr. Hook. He said [in Farsi]: “An American told me that Brian Hook’s wife can’t sleep, and she cries and

trembles as they say they’ll kill Hook…that is how shaken they are!” Mousavian’s recounting of the regime’s threats and their impact was cold, sneering, and callous. It is baffling that Princeton University leadership remains silent in the face of Mousavian’s amplification of threats made against Hook and his family.

These threats are no joking matter. Even though Hook has left government service, he — along with other current and former U.S. government officials — is still being targeted for assassination by the Iranian regime. Given Mousavian’s long service to and affiliation with the Iranian regime, he certainly knew that his words would be used for propaganda.

They are an affront to basic decency and must be condemned without hesitation.

Princeton’s top leadership and Mousavian’s direct employers are aware of these remarks. UANI flagged them for University President Christopher Eisgruber in the public letter earlier this month.

Consistent with Princeton’s guidelines for complaints against faculty, we also personally relayed these facts to Dean Amaney Jamal of the School of Public and International Affairs and Professor Alex Glaser, co-Director of the Program on Science and Global Security, which directly employs Mousavian.

More than a month has passed since we reached out to Jamal and Graser, but our repeated requests have been met with total silence.

This silence is especially outrageous given Hook’s pivotal role in the release of a Princeton community member from an Iranian prison. In 2016, Xiyue Wang, a Princeton doctoral student in history, traveled to Iran for research.

He was taken hostage by Iranian government police and charged with bogus “national security” crimes, while the regime hoped to extract ransom payments for his release. Princeton asked for the assistance of the U.S. government to release Wang from prison (though Wang recently filed a lawsuit against Princeton University accusing them of severe negligence in the matter).

We personally witnessed Hook working from early morning to late night on the secret negotiations

with the Iranian government through foreign intermediaries that finally led to Wang’s release. On Dec. 7, 2019, Wang was flown out of Iran on a Swiss government plane that landed in Geneva. Hook organized a U.S. government plane to fly to meet Wang at the same time and finalized his release.

Those details are public, but as State Department employees, we had an insider picture into Wang’s release. Once freed, Hook gave Wang an American flag, took him out to eat, and asked if there was anything — anything — he could get for Wang. He asked for a phone and laptop so that he could reconnect with the world he had been separated from for the past 40 months. So, Hook went to the nearest Apple store, took out his personal credit card, and bought Wang an iPhone and laptop.

Yes, Hook was doing his job as a public servant, but he went above and beyond to help Princeton resolve one of their most vexing challenges — the unlawful detention of one of their students by a foreign government.

We take to the pages of The Daily Princetonian to demand an answer from the University: why are you refusing to acknowledge the threats made against U.S. diplomat Brian Hook and his family? Why have you not condemned Mousavian? And is complicit silence a fitting response to Hook’s service to the nation and the University?

We eagerly await Princeton’s response.

Morgan Ortagus served as the Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State under Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo. Gabriel Noronha served as the State Department’s Special Advisor for Iran under Secretary Pompeo.

Editor’s Note: In the process of publishing this piece, the ‘Prince’ took several steps to corroborate the authors’ account of the content of the documentary and Brian Hook’s role in Xiyue Wang’s release, including independent translation from Farsi to English.

Xiyue Wang has named Dr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian in his lawsuit against Princeton University, alleging Dr. Mousavian did not use his contacts in the Iranian government to aid Wang’s release.

Frank N. von Hippel, a nuclear physicist, is a Professor of Public and International Affairs emeritus and an affiliate of Princeton’s Program on Science and Global Security, which he co-founded.

During the 1980s, he worked with Mikhail Gorbachev’s advisors to end the Soviet-US nuclear arms race. In 1993, he was awarded a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. From 1993-1994, he served as a White House nuclear-policy advisor.

In April 2021, his career was profiled in Princeton Alumni Weekly.

Editor’s Note: The ‘Prince’ was not able to independently verify Mousavian’s claims about his statements in the longer interview.

DEAN CALMA/CC BY 2.0

Fmr. US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook arrives at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Opinion

page 10

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Learning from Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill: The importance of queer spaces and education Lucia Wetherill

Assistant Opinion Editor

O

n Jan. 27, I opened my phone and immediately felt my stomach sink. The Parental Rights in Education bill, more commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, had just been passed in Florida’s House Education and Employment Committee on Jan. 21, and was now moving through Florida’s legislature.

If made law, the bill would ban Florida educators from talking about LGBTQ+ topics.

The bill itself states that educators “may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.” The bill also contains some concerning language regarding parent notification policies, which implies that educators will not be permitted to withhold information about a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity from parents.

For students who have already begun to question their identity, these constraints are incredibly dangerous. Removing the freedom to seek out school counselors and teachers as confidants will limit (or completely eliminate) the support that these children receive. By eliminating schools as a safe place to question their identity, the bill forces students to grapple with their emotions alone and isolates them from peers and mentors.

A further cause for concern is that this bill bans any true education about sexuality or gender identity at all. It completely removes the vocabulary needed for current and future exploration. Without hear-

ing about LGBTQ+ identities, many students will be completely unable to understand or articulate their feelings, both as children and later as young adults. Thus, it’s essential that all schools — from elementary schools to universities like Princeton — maintain safe spaces for exploration and prioritize queer education.

My own journey with sexuality has been long and complicated. Even in a largely safe family and school environment, and even though I began questioning far earlier, I didn’t come out until my senior year of high school. I can only explain this delay by stating that grappling with one’s sexuality is hard. It involves a deprogramming of heteronormative standards and ideals, the loss of the ease that comes with conforming to those standards, and the ever-challenging issue of labeling. Furthermore, as I learned over the course of my senior year, discovering one’s sexuality is not a one-and-done deal. It takes time to deprogram and think introspectively, and many of my friends in the queer community (myself included) are continuously questioning and exploring.

I say all of this to stress the importance of conversation and education. As I explored my identity and eventually came out, I was able to draw on the vocabulary and education I’d received to define my emotions. I had to seek additional resources, but I had the basics, and that was enough to begin.

The process of questioning one’s identity is a hard and vulnerable process, and without that baseline understanding of sexuality and gender identity, as well as the knowledge that I could question my identity safely, it would have taken me

much longer.

It’s absolutely crucial that schools create safe places for this kind of exploration and that they provide students with the basic vocabulary needed to begin one’s journey.

Princeton is no exception.

Indeed, in many ways, Princeton now has an obligation to compensate for this bill and others like it. For many, college is the first place that provides enough freedom to consider sexuality and gender identity.

Away from their home communities, living and learning with people from various backgrounds, some students find themselves finally acknowledging and understanding long-held feelings and questions about sexuality.

Thus, as Florida moves backward, it’s important for Princeton to move forward, by pushing for campus to be a safe space for all students to be queer and explore sexuality.

This includes work on the part of the administration — AJ Lonski ’23’s recent op-ed about

his experiences on Princeton’s wrestling team revealed that there is a clear need to address and work against homophobia present on campus, especially on athletic teams.

The Gender + Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) does create a number of events and information sessions to increase queer visibility, but its reach is limited to those who express interest in the first place. Thus, the university must support the GSRC in disseminating information, perhaps by better integrating queer education into the First Year Residential Experience (FYRE) sessions, advisee group meetings, or mandatory discussion sessions for other groups. Furthermore, Princeton must investigate instances of homophobia (such as the instances outlined in Lonski’s article) and truly listen to the LGBTQ+ community’s needs and demands regarding homophobia on campus.

Yet creating a safe place to be queer also includes work on

the part of the students — including those who are a part of the queer community. To foster a safe community means to create a space in which it’s okay to not have all the answers, or to be unsure of your sexuality.

It means supporting students as they question and come out, not pressuring anyone to label themselves, and especially for already-out students, it means helping to guide and educate friends. For those not a part of the community, it means being open to learning and practicing tolerance and acceptance.

As future leaders, we should see this bill in Florida as a sign to work towards more comprehensive and progressive education and legislation. But for now, as current students, we should see it as a sign to improve the queer experience on our own campus.

Lucia Wetherill is a first-year from Newtown, Pa. She can be reached at lw2158@princeton.edu.

IZZY JACOBSON / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Kristopher Oliveira speaks at the GSRC launch.

Why won’t anyone teach me math?

Abigail Rabieh Columnist

L

ast July, I decided I wanted to take math in college. My heart was set on it.

Did I have any desire to major in math? Absolutely not. Did I need a math class to fulfill a requirement? Nope, I wanted to be a history major. But I enjoyed math in high school, and I wanted to continue to explore the field. I had previously taken classes up to linear algebra, so I selected MAT 202 from the Math Department website.

I took math because I desired to learn. One would

think a student like me would thrive in this class, especially at a university that prides itself on enabling students “to pursue multiple interests rigorously and deeply,” as President Eisgruber says on the University website.

Unfortunately, it is difficult for students pursuing humanities and social science degrees to explore classes within STEM departments due to the inaccessibility of introductory courses.

Though I passed MAT 202 class just fine, my experience in it was miserable. The way the course was run did not at all set up students to succeed — or even learn math. For example, though we were pro-

ROHIT A. NARAYANAN / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Fine Hall, the home of Princeton’s math department.

vided with practice problems to prepare for our exams, we were never given solutions.

My class consistently begged my professor for these, yet all he could say was that not providing them was departmental policy, and it was out of his control.

This begs the question: what interest does a department have in making it impossible to study?

Study materials are given so that students can learn the course material and prepare adequately for the exam. Solution sets are part of this: to properly learn, one needs to be able to identify their mistakes and understand why they are wrong. By not supporting students who are making an effort to study, it becomes both extremely difficult to learn material, and demoralizing to even try.

This struggle was reflected in our exam averages, which were, respectively, in the 50s, the 60s, and the 30s.

I am far from the only person who felt this way about my class. MAT 202 has an abysmal rating of 2.71 on princetoncourses.com during the spring 2020-2021 semester. The evaluations on the Office of the Registrar’s website are no better. Students described the course as “disheartening” and said they “lost a lot of respect for the Math department after taking this course.” The advice that came up again and again in many reviews was: “Don’t take this class unless you have to.”

MAT 202 is not a course

that math majors typically take, but rather for underclassmen who are majoring in engineering or sciences.

Because of this, the priority of the class should be teaching students as much as possible about math so that they will remember and utilize the discipline in classes and majors that are not focused on that realm — something that would be equally interesting, if not as useful, for humanities majors. Is this not what introductory classes are all about? Princeton promises students a “liberal arts education,” and defines that as an education offering “expansive intellectual grounding in all kinds of humanistic inquiry.”

Yet as a humanities student, it feels extremely difficult to explore STEM fields.

I wanted to learn some introductory physics in college because I had an awful experience with it in high school, but I’ve been dissuaded my experience in math — not to mention that the most recent average rating of the four introductory physics courses (PHY 101, 102, 103, 104) is a 3.2, and the comments repeatedly have told me to only take this class if I have to.

We are often told of engineering or STEM students exploring the humanities to their heart’s content, but I feel that we rarely hear of students in the humanities being encouraged to take scientific or quantitative classes. The University website assures readers that “Students who elect to major in the

natural sciences or engineering, for example, also take classes in history, languages, philosophy, [and] the arts,” but I don’t see any inspiration for those of us who really want to learn math, or physics, or chemistry, but just don’t want to focus on it for 4 years.

On face value, 100 and 200 level classes appear approachable for students who simply want an introduction to a field. I wanted to learn linear algebra! I had the correct prerequisite knowledge to do it. So why didn’t the math department encourage me in this pursuit?

I understand that professors and departments have an obligation to teach a certain amount of material and maintain a certain pace, but there are ways to teach that focus more on developing an understanding of a field rather than beating down students’ self-confidence and making problems so hard that learning at all is difficult. I would think that departments want students to fall in love with their subjects. But though I entered the semester with a love for math, I left with the certainty that I would never take a math class again, and a lack of desire to explore other scientific fields for fear that I would have a similar experience.

Abigail Rabieh is a first-year columnist from Cambridge, Mass. She can be reached at ar5732@princeton.edu.

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Satire

page 11

{www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Princeton introduces ‘0-hundred level’ courses for those of us who no longer wish to be academically challenged Spencer Bauman

Associate Satire Editor

The following content is purely satirical and entirely fictional.

Starting in the Fall 2022 semester, classes like

MAT 002: Counting by Fives, COS 026: Making Folders in Google Drive, and CWR 002: Intro to Complete Sentences will be available for all undergraduates.

For the 2022-23 school year, the Office of the Registrar has proposed new

“0-hundred level” courses for those of us who no longer want the academic rigor of a “top-tier university.”

In the new “0-hundred level” courses, students will not be allowed to take notes, but will be expected to have their com-

LAZARENA LAZAROVA / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Seats in McCosh 50, one of the largest lecture halls at the University.

puters open to a random attention-drawing website, such as Cool Math Games or an online shopping site.

“These courses are geared toward people who open a Google Doc entitled ‘Untitled Document’ and don’t write a single note down for the 80-minute class lecture,” said one administrator from the Office of the Registrar.

Starting in the Fall 2022 semester, classes like MAT 002: Counting by Fives, COS 026: Making Folders in Google Drive, and CWR 002: Intro to Complete Sentences will be available for all undergraduates.

When news of the change reached the undergraduate population, many expressed their support.

“When I applied to an academically challenging

institution, I didn’t realize that I’d have to actually be academically challenged. I think I’ve had enough academic challenges for now,” Fay Ling ’25 said. “Plus, these new courses will finally allow me to fill my schedule with classes that will teach me stuff I can actually use in real-life, unlike econ and practical ethics.”

These courses will all have precept sections, but your grade will be lowered if you attend past the first week. The lectures will only consist of back-row seating.

Spencer Bauman is a firstyear intending to concentrate in Applications of Google Docs with a certificate in multiplication and long division. He is an associate editor for the satire section.

New campus initiative to replace campus sidewalks with icy mudslides Emma Mortiary and David Cabrera

Staff and Contributing Writer

The following content is purely satirical and completely fictional.

Taking inspiration from the Lewis Library walkways, Princeton construction crews have been advised to replace all campus concrete sidewalks with slip-andslide-style pathways. This project follows the recently adopted Princeton construction maxim: “If it ain’t broke, fix it.”

After observing students enjoying the 45 degree downhill on Washington Road following the snowstorm last week,

overseers have decided to move forward with this new comprehensive construction initiative.

“The mix of partially melted snow, looselypacked earth, and moist mud will create the perfect recipe for an exhilarating tumble to class,” said one construction manager in an interview with The Daily PrintsAnything.

Toplin Ober ’23 anxiously anticipated the completion of this new project.

“I’ve already invested in a wheel-less skateboard for my daily commute to the E-Quad,” he said.

“As a Rocky resident, this will cut down on my total walk time by nearly 30 minutes! Now it’ll only

take 10.”

Ben Sliding ’22, who drives an electric scooter, initiated a petition against the action, claiming that the project will make it harder for him to cut off pedestrians with his $400 machine.

University President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83 has identified this project in his annual letter to the community as “imperative and central to the spirit of the Princeton community going forward.”

When asked about the issue of accessibility, University project managers confessed that “we didn’t really think about that.”

Construction of this project is anticipated to

Cartoon

finish sometime in late 2025.

Emma Moriarty is a senior concentrating in the School of Public and International

Affairs and a staff writer in the satire section. David Cabrera is a first-year contributing writer for the satire section who intends to concentrate in economics.

PIXABAY / CC0

A student gets a little muddy en route to Fine Hall.

Dirty Snow

By Paige Min, Staff Cartoonist

the PROSPECT. The Daily Princetonian

page 12

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

ARTS & CULTURE

Theatre Intime’s Freshman One-Act Festival: ‘A Rollicking Success’

By Gabriel Robare

Senior Prospect Writer

Theatre Intime’s Freshman One-Act Festival (FOAF), which ran three performances this past weekend, captured what theater does best. Four short plays — each directed, acted, and produced by members of the class of 2025 — consider what it means to live a banal life, how to live in times of crisis, and what the medium of the stage can be. Great art poses more questions than answers. In that respect FOAF was a rollicking success.

“You’re Working the Checkout at Albertsons” The first show, “You’re Working the Checkout at Albertsons” by Christian St. Croix, is an exercise in absurdism set in a grocery store. Four clerks speak in the second person and describe variously strange and mundane situations, each beginning “You’re working the checkout at Albertsons when …”

Sometimes these disparate stories meander into philosophy or romance, dramatic fantasy or hypernormal realism. But the writing — pitched somewhere between “Welcome to Night Vale” and Tennessee Williams — is always matter of fact, painting all the stories in the same light: that of the painfully banal life of a cashier.

The actors, Fatima Diallo ’25, Ian Grimm ’25, Kate Stewart ’25, and John Slaughter ’25, set off the absurdism well. They describe stories in which “you” are the protagonist, and they deliver their lines as if they’re making them up on the spot. We see our stories being built up in front of us. And if there’s a theme through all these stories, it’s of feeling trapped within a basic, thoughtless existence: we watch the actors build cages around themselves through their stories. The play is about escaping banality, or at least desperately trying to find joy in it, both to no avail.

Emily Yang ’25 directs with a light hand: her four actors stay at their tills for essentially the whole of the scene’s 15-minute runtime. This makes the rare moments of movement, like Grimm stepping on his till and yelling “There is a sun!”, a pleasant shock. And playing out the show with “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads — with the refrain “Same as it ever was, same as it ever was” — is a nice touch.

“Joan of Arkansas” The second show, “Joan of Arkansas” by Sheri Wilner, is a quiet call for hope. In a scene rich with metaphor, we watch two students — Dennis (Harit Raghunathan ’25) and Laura (Nathalie Charles ’25) — study in a library and hold a meandering conversation.

Raghunathan is a contributing puzzles constructor for The Daily Princetonian.

The scene comes to an emotional climax when the conversation finds its way to a grim question: would you rather die or spend your life in prison? Dennis and Laura answer differently,

and Raghunathan and Charles each present total certainty in their answers.

The show then shows itself to be a trial of hope: indeed, what is the response to suffering? Is it better to naively hope for the future or practice enlightened cynicism? The actors, under the discerning direction of Daniel Viorica ’25, force us to live in this dichotomy for the show’s length. In doing so, they force us to question our own perspectives. That’s what art should do, and this show does it well.

Viorica is an associate satire editor and The Prospect staff writer for the ‘Prince.’

“A Tale of Two Spectators” The third show, “A Tale of Two Spectators” by Peter Manos,

COURTESY OF EMILY YANG

Charlie Roth ’25 and Laura Reyes ’25 in Theatre Intime’s Freshman One-Act Festival.

was the best of the bunch, in my opinion. We watch a man (Charlie Roth ’25) and a woman (Laura Reyes ’25) sit on a bench.

They, in turn, are watching his wife and her ex-boyfriend, who are having sex in a public park.

Roth is an assistant data editor and staff news writer for the ‘Prince.’

We watch them watching them. Indeed Roth spends most of the show using a pair of opera glasses and staring out into the audience, looking at the adultering pair. Reyes even eats from a bag of popcorn. Roth happened to be looking straight at me in the audience for most of the show — I must have sat where the imaginary couple copulated. I couldn’t stop thinking about

what it means to watch others. I was watching theater, and theater was watching me. I was off-put by the actors’ voyeurism, until I realized that I occupied the very same role: what was I doing, sitting in the house, but watching a scene I probably shouldn’t be?

Roth played a low-tier wageworker; Reyes was a down-andout loner trying to bum a smoke. Both of their relationships are, clearly, toast. But somehow these two, brought together by unfortunate circumstance, mesh over their shared plight.

Aidan Iacobucci ’25 choreographed the action beautifully: the actors move synchronously, even in small leans and gestures.

Iacobucci is a staff news writer for the ‘Prince.’

Indeed Roth and Reyes together are a revelation. Roth’s realism, dry wit, and nasal deadpan mingle brilliantly with Reyes’s attitude, drama, and determination. They certainly put on a great show of peeping on the couple, but their best bit of acting is when the couple leaves, and they’re left alone. The actors engage in some supremely dry small talk — revealing what animated them all along.

“Medea” The last show, “Medea” by Wendy Wasserstein and Christopher Durang, is a delectably excessive tangle with the classic.

The show reads like a ragtag troupe of actors who read Medea a few years ago and tried to put it together from memory, played to hilarious effect.

It’s a colorful, abstracted collage of a play. Max Peel ’25 plays the lead, strutting around the stage in a mismatched pastel sweater and skirt. There’s a character named “Deus Ex Machina” who says she would have been flown in from the rafters, in a show with a bigger budget. Medea, wrought with guilt, lays down and shouts “I need a creative outlet!” The chorus at one point forgets what show they’re in and starts to perform “The Trojan Woman.”

The show ends — you can’t make this up — in song: a techno version of “Camptown Races” with new lyrics about not killing your kids, complete with party lights and dancing in the aisles.

Was it Euripides’s “Medea”? Of course not. But was it great theater? Absolutely. Titling a play “Medea” gives expectation — pretentious, literary expectation. Wasif Sami ’25 and Le’Naya Wilkerson ’25 direct a “Medea” that refuses to be traditional. It drips with wild élan. It’s the best “Medea” I’ve seen.

Theatre Intime’s season will continue later this month with “A Doll’s House,” Henrik Ibsen’s radical psychological play, directed by Ariel Rockman ’24. It opens Feb. 18.

Gabriel Robare is a Head Puzzles Editor. He is also a Senior Prospect Writer and a Staff News Writer. He can be reached at grobare@princeton.edu or on social at @gabrielrobare.

‘Being a second-generation Indian immigrant doesn’t have to mean letting everything Indian go’ MINHAJ

Continued from page 1

.............

discrimination is illegal, it does still occur both formally and informally.

I shouldn’t have to tell you that caste-based discrimination is real, and it’s not true that it only popped up when the British colonial project began or that it went away when they “left” in the midst of Partition. Of course, British rule exacerbated social antagonisms and codified caste in certain forms of law, but it would be a mistake to say that caste is a thing of the past.

When my parents asked my grandparents for their blessing to get married, the difference in their castes was certainly a topic of discussion. Members of the Dalit caste are still often untouched. Quotas for historically marginalized groups in India are good, but they can’t do the work of reimagining or abolishing social orders. There is no doubt in my mind that if my parents had come from lower castes, it would have been more difficult for them to work in scientific research and pharmaceutical regulation in the United States — and for me to be here.

Saying that engaging in Indo-Pakistani rivalry is evidence of “the British winning” erases experiences like my grandfather’s. In 1947, when the new border between India and Pakistan ran through his home state of Punjab, he had to pick up and move to what was a new nation-state. Plus, we should acknowledge that athletic competition is one of the safer ways for this real geopolitical and interpersonal divide to manifest.

We have to face the fact that Hasan Minhaj, at least as displayed at this week’s Vote100 event, is not for people like me. It only takes a cursory glance at Vote100 publicity to know that it is an overwhelmingly white space.

When I was a Class of 2024 ambassador for

SAM KAGAN / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Vote100 last year, I found the same to be true. As a small group of dedicated first-years, the other ambassadors and I laid out plans to revolutionize the initiative and have it truly make a difference. For a lot of reasons, our intended plans didn’t pan out.

Voting is cool, but I am skeptical as to how much a University initiative can do to change people’s minds about not participating. The 100 percent student participation in civic engagement is perhaps a noble goal, but with Vote100 itself reporting that Princeton students voted at a rate of 75.4 percent in 2020, I have to say: that might just be good enough.

Now, I have more important things to worry about — I find my energy devoted to organizing with the Pride Alliance and South Asian Progressive Alliance, for example.

When Vote100’s endorsement message and Kevin Kruse’s questions about voting kicked off the event, the indifference in the audience was palpable. Students showed up for Hasan Minhaj: comedian — not Hasan Minhaj: man who might convince me to vote, let’s hear what he has to say.

I really deeply value representation as much as

the next guy, so although I am not the biggest fan of Minhaj anymore, I had to go. Watching his comedy special “Homecoming King” five years ago was exhilarating; it seemed to tell the truth about a brown kid’s life in America. The closest I had gotten at that point was Disney Channel, but Ravi on “Jessie” and Baljeet on “Phineas and Ferb” were caricatures and rarely anything more.

But Minhaj the comedian does not represent me. Being a second-generation Indian immigrant doesn’t have to mean letting everything Indian go.

In fact, our lives are inextricable from the past, present, and future of that subcontinent, currently the home of a billion and a half breathing people. With them, I hold my breath.

Mollika Jai Singh is a contributing writer for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ They are also a co-Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and an Associate Opinion Editor. To talk anything ‘Prince’-related or otherwise, say hi @mollikajaisingh on social or at mjsingh@ princeton.edu.

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

The Daily Princetonian

page 13

The love in buying and receiving flowers

By José Pablo Fernández García Head Prospect Editor

I spent nearly 18 months buying myself flowers every two weeks. Starting March 2020, it had fallen on me to venture out of the family home to buy groceries. I took the solitary trip to Costco and Kroger — and occasionally another store, like the Mexican market shop — only once every two weeks. I didn’t go more frequently, at first because that was the longest that we could store fresh food in our fridge space, and then — once our initial precautions relaxed — because the habit had formed.

I remember the earliest grocery store trips were filled with great anxiety around getting sick, myself — or my family getting sick. I would start sweating in the checkout line, the most cramped part of the store and the slowest, most stationary part of the grocery shopping process. I still break out in a slight sweat in the checkout line occasionally — at least at those specific stores. I remember, too, such a strong feeling of everything lacking life. There was the illness and death, of course, but the whole world crashing down made it seem like life itself had halted.

The grocery store flowers were one of the few exceptions. They sat there in buckets near the entrance to the store as one of the few remaining things full of life and beauty. Maybe such a description is a bit overly dramatic, but those early days heightened everything — especially the few specks of good and joy and beauty to be found in our dreary lives.

So I bought the flowers. I can’t remember exactly what type of flowers I bought the first time, but they were likely daisies — maybe carnations — and almost certainly white, but maybe pink or red. I bought all these types of flowers at one point or another over the months. I bought some white lilies as well.

Yellow daisies and roses in countless shades were also in the mix. I fell in love with white hydrangeas; I would try to make them last for longer than two-week lifespan.

I would get home with a minivan full of groceries — and always flowers. They were so unnecessary compared to the food, but that’s precisely why I bought them. When I started buying them, everything else in my life had been stripped down to the bare essentials: nothing superfluous or fanciful or unrestricted. Suddenly, buying unnecessary flowers became a way of holding onto life beyond the most basic of needs. It felt like a statement of life in the face of weariness.

Once all the groceries were put away, I would take the flowers to the counter next to the kitchen sink. Cheap plastic sleeves and rubber band ties removed, the flowers would spread across the counter, and I would detangle them, pruning excess leaves and sorting out any tragi-

cally broken stems. I would find a suitable vase — suitable in size and shape and style and the angle of its opening. And I would slowly cut the stems to length, one at a time, before arranging them in a weave of stems and leaves and petals.

There are a surprising number of ways to incorrectly arrange flowers in a vase. Leave the stems too long, and the flowers look like swaying spokes without a wheel; too short, and they’re lost in the vase. The angle of the flowers can be wrong, leaving them bunched too closely together or with awkward gaps between them.

It is surprisingly easy to think that the flowers are finally perfectly arranged, only to rotate the vase and discover they’re not even close.

Working through an arrangement of flowers would make the world melt away with all the focus and delicateness the task required.

There was peace and reassurance — even some escape — in arranging all those flowers. It was something that brought me great joy, and every time I’d walk past my flowers in the kitchen or in the living room or by the main entry, this joy would be renewed.

These flowers also helped me keep track of time. As the months wore on, I started counting the time at home using grocery trips; I could distinguish the days by the drooping of petals and drying out of stems or the brittleness of weakening leaves. I know so many people who don’t like flowers because they die like this. I found some beauty in it, instead.

That flowers are ephemeral demands an act of renewal, for they are so intrinsically tied to a specific, individual moment in time. Every

At any point, I could have stopped buying flowers. Instead, every two weeks, I chose to keep giving them to myself, to my home.

It is that act of renewal that made flowers so beautiful to me. Everything that flowers can represent — love, sympathy, admiration, congratulations, and so on — can all wane in the same way that flowers wilt. So to buy flowers a second time is to keep it all from fading; it renews everything they might represent; it affirms that love and everything else is still alive.

So I kept filling the vases in my home with all my flowers.

I haven’t bought myself any flowers while I’ve been on campus. I have only been able to find too-expensive, pre-arranged bouquets within a short walking distance of my dorm. So all these months, the white carafe I bought from Ikea’s garden section last August has sat on my shelf, void of anything save my 2023 Pre-Rade pennant.

I could say that this shows how challenging it can be to dedicate love and attention and time to ourselves on this campus. However, I think it actually made me realize my one disillusionment with flowers: rarely, if ever, has anyone bought me flowers.

As I counted the pairs of weeks spent at home with the flowers I bought, I slowly began noticing I couldn’t remember someone else buying flowers specifically for me. Not after plays I helped put on. Not on birthdays or graduations.

There were balloons, at least, when I received my acceptance to this school. But no flowers.

At this point, it’s not so much a complaint as it is an observation. I think this recent realization might also be the underlying motivation to my writing an essay I’ve been trying to write for nearly a year. Only recently, however, did I find the words for everything the flowers I bought came to mean to me — for all I put into arranging them around me.

And only recently did I realize how much I’ve wanted someone else to do all that for me — to debate which shade of carnations, to carefully cut stems, to choose the suitable vase, and most of all, to say that it’s all for me.

And then to say it again in two weeks. There’s a desire to receive from someone else the same love one has learned to give to oneself.

Maybe I finally found what to write about my flowers because there’s a hope that, one day in the future, someone finds all I’ve writJOSÉ PABLO FERNÁNDEZ GARCÍA / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN ten while trying to learn my favorite type of The flowers in question. flowers: Definitely buy me pink carnations on a whim, and then white hydrangeas I can try second I spent finding the right flower bunch to keep for longer than two weeks. in the store, every second I spent working to arrange them at home, was a second dedicated to José Pablo Fernández García is a junior from Ohio something that would not last. I would give my and a Head Prospect Editor at the ‘Prince.’ He can be attention and show my care to my flowers, to reached at jpgarcia@princeton.edu. myself, to my home and family in such a temporary, tentative manner.

Breaking the cycle of disappointment: Animal Collective’s ‘Time Skiffs’ Disappointment is what I and many other Animal Collective fans expected leading up to the release of their latest (in six years) studio album “Time Skiffs.” While the gradual release of four different singles, all of which appear on the finished album, offset that expectation of disappointment, I could not help but feel like I was going to be baited into believing the final product would be a masterpiece.

For the uninitiated, Animal Collective began in 2003 as an experimental psychedelic pop band often compared to the later years of The Beach Boys. The band includes lead singers Avey Tare and Noah Lennox (referred to as Panda Bear), Brian Weitz (known as Geologist) on record production, and Joshua Dibb (known as Deakin) who is mainly on the keyboard for this album.

After the golden era of Animal Collective from 2004 to 2009, which saw critically acclaimed releases such as “Merriweather Post Pavilion” and “Strawberry Jam,“ fans were met with the underwhelming and cluttered “Centipede Hz” in 2012 and “Painting With” in 2016.

Now, six years later, we are met with another cluttered, yet refreshing, reboot to their experimental sound.

The album kicks off with the ironically dainty “Dragon Slayer.” Peachy vocals fill the ears accompanied by a relaxing and trippy background theme.

Ending the song is a powerful refrain which yells

“let them bleed,” almost foreshadowing the absolutely stark change of sound which makes my ears bleed in the next song, “Car Keys.”

Maybe it’s due to the strange metallic scratching sound in the beginning of “Car Keys,” but it feels as though the first song sets expectations for the album only to take a completely different direction (for better or for worse) immediately. This song asks us “How are we doin’ now?” as if they wonder how their album is so far for the fans who waited years for half-decent material.

If there is a highlight on the album, it is the third track, “Prester John.” It opens with a vibe similar to that of Radiohead’s “Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors,” which is juxtaposed with a calming and uplifting keyboard. This creates a spooky theme that carries about two minutes into the song before the song turns into an anthem of nostalgia and perhaps disappointment, all to a happy tune that reminds you that even blue moments can feel warm. In fact, I feel weirdly happy with the vibrant colors this track displays while singing “Prester John is breaking down” and that even his “heart is breaking down.” My only gripe with this song is that it could be a whole minute and twenty seconds shorter if they removed their attempt at being a quirky experimental band — if they removed the strange instrumental breakdown with unsettling robotic voices at the song’s end.

“Strung with Everything” continues this unnecessarily. It is a minute and a half of meaningless instrumental, empty of feeling, which is then followed by one of the most catchy and lively tunes in the entire album. “The sun’s no better off lately” blasts through the chorus, one of the few memorable lyrics from the album. The ending of the song uses the classic concept of pausing, uttering a lyric, blasting instruments, then repeating, but in a way that creates a justified atmosphere as they rage against the cruel world they have established in their lyrics.

Following such an emotionally charged song is the painfully ordinary “Walker,” which carries a lackadaisical xylophone in the background. At least one positive “ANIMAL COLLECTIVE @ THE CONCORD, CHICAGO 2-27-2016 (24991226889).JPG” BY MARY BEEZE (SWIMFINFAN) / CC BY-SA 2.0 thing that I noted is that I can un-

By Nathan Beck

Contributing Writer

derstand all of the words spoken in the song. Much like the other songs, the end of the song cuts off all major instrumentation and has a mental breakdown… but in a cool, quirky, experimental way.

As a possible homage to their 2003 album “Here Comes the Indian” (rightfully renamed as “Ark”), “Cherokee” can be summed up with the faux-deep lyric “people on the subway think so far and be so near.” Considering the almost eight minute length, the bridge which is repeated twenty-five times, and the minute-long experimental breakdown which has gotten old by this point in the album, the song is an unmemorable monster.

Continuing with the “people on the subway” type of mediocrity, “Passer-By” details exactly what the title would imply: interactions with a passerby on the street, which feels more like “a stranger changed my life” college essay than anything else. More notable is the beginning of the subsequent “We Go Back” which has such a rhythmic and strong backing bell-like beat, until turning the tides two minutes in and doing (thankfully) their last empty-sounding esoteric breakdown.

The final track on the album, “Royal and Desire” starts with an airy, floaty synth fronted by clear, yet far-away vocals. It builds up until about halfway through the song, never climaxing, but instead releasing into another stretch of easing lullaby-esque singing. Strings serenade the soul out of the final thirty seconds of the song. It truly encapsulates what an ending track should sound like.

Despite my negative feedback on numerous tracks of the album, I’d say the overall listening experience was immensely more enjoyable than for their past two releases. Animal Collective has never made an album which is absolutely enjoyable all the way through.

Rather, their best albums are collections of great moments mixed with whatever experimental sounds the band feels like recording. While it will never measure up to “Merriweather Post Pavilion” in any way, Animal Collective went on autopilot for “Time Skiffs” in the best way possible. It is a refreshing departure that has quenched the drought of talent that plagued Animal Collective for the last decade, giving me and other fans hope for whatever the future holds for the band.

Nathan Beck is a Contributing Writer for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ He can be reached at nathanbeck@princeton. edu, or on Instagram at @n0tnate.

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Features

page 14

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Bridging the gap:

Graduate student life in the Orange Bubble

By Sydney Eck

Associate Features Editor

From weekend parties to meals in dining halls to extracurricular opportunities, Princeton undergraduates have many resources to turn to when they want to meet new people or spend time with familiar faces.

Indeed, the close-knit undergraduate experience is often listed as one of the draws of the University to prospective applicants, particularly the statistic that 98 percent of undergraduates live on campus.

But for graduate students, the Orange Bubble looks and feels different. With limited and often arbitrarily assigned residential spaces, meager options for socializing, and a narrow dating pool, some graduate students feel alienated from University life — while others have found pockets of community and exciting ways to engage, especially as Princeton emerges from COVID-19 restrictions.

“Grad and undergrad are very separate here,” said Mauro Wildholz, a third year graduate student (G3).

“My roommate goes to 2D [a food coop]...but I’m not a member, so anytime I have socialized with undergrads it is with him.”

While the vast majority Princeton undergraduates get the on-campus residential experience Princeton lauds, graduate students’ living situations are far more varied. Housing is not guaranteed for all graduate students, and priority is given to first-year students and decreases as students progress through their degree. Students’ social experiences are heavily influenced by which of the University’s eight “on-campus” housing options they live in.

Ross Teixeira G5 discussed the Old Graduate College, reflecting on the

social structure it cultivates.

“If you live in the grad college, it’s much more common that people meet bumping into each other at dinner or in the hallway,” he said. “I was always in the apartments, so I never really met people like that.”

“I used to live in the grad college,” said Wildholz.

“There are plenty of opportunities for socialization there.”

The Princeton Graduate Debasement Bar (DBar) is a popular spot among the students living in the Old Graduate College. DBar is located in the basement of the Old Graduate College and serves “resident and nonresident members of the grad college.”

“The bar in the basement is great because it makes socializing really accessible,” said Tom Postma G5.

Graduate students also frequent Ivy Inn, a “no frills bar” on Nassau Street.

“In terms of going out, Ivy Inn and DBar are definitely the most poppin’,” said Isaac Christian G2.

Christian discussed events and activities sponsored by the Graduate Student Government (GSG), including formals and weekly happy hours often sponsored by DBar. In the fall semester, Christian DJed for the Graduate Student Formal.

“DJing the formal was a banger,” said Christian.

“And nowadays there is something to do every single weekend. I sponsor the socials in the grad college, leading the social charge, sending out creative emails and setting up the drinks.”

Teixeira elaborated further on events sponsored

by GSG, stating, “typically, when there aren’t COVID restrictions, there are the monthly parties hosted at Campus Club and a ball twice a year, plus weekly social hours and happy

hours.”

Cara Turnbull G3 reflected on events sponsored by GSG, commenting that they can be inaccessible to students who live off campus.

“There aren’t a lot of ways to get to campus,” said Turnbull. “A lot of the events center around drinking and free drinks, so when you live far, that can be tricky with driving.

It’s nicer living downtown in Princeton, but even then, it is a 30 minute walk to DBar, and the buses can be difficult to use.”

Even as large graduate student organized events begin to return, some students are opting for smaller social gatherings in light of the ongoing pandemic and ever-changing guidelines.

“I mostly go to small dinner parties, either in someone’s house or going out to eat, when public health allows for that sort of thing,” said Jenny Beck G6.

Distance from campus and public health concerns aside, graduate student social life is complicated by another factor: the reality of the a broad spectrum of life experiences and living situations. While some graduate students are married and have children, others only recently completed their undergraduate programs. And when it comes to romantic lives, those differences are felt all the more.

Beck began her graduate career at Princeton married, and “felt a little strange” being one of few married students in her program.

After her divorce, she began using dating apps.

“I would switch my location to New York or Philadelphia for dates — there aren’t a lot of people to meet in Princeton,” Beck said.

“It’s challenging to date in grad school in general,” Christian agreed. “So many people already have a significant other, and they are

spending less time with a solid group of friends.”

Teixeira noted that for however small the Princeton dating pool may seem, there are even fewer LGBTQ+ dating prospects in the area. “It takes a lot of luck,” said Teixeira, who now lives in Philadelphia and commutes to campus.

“It can lead people to leave campus.”

Many graduate students do not consider dating undergraduate students due to their different stages of life and circumstances.

“There’s a difference in culture between undergrad and grad school,” said Teixeira.

But some romantic relationships between graduate students and undergraduates have been successful.

“I know people who are with grad students,” said Rachel Chen ’24. “And sometimes my friends see the grad students come up on Tinder or other apps like that and will meet up.”

Many graduate students are interested in becoming more involved in the greater Princeton community beyond individual social relationships with fellow students and peers. However, these graduate students have had difficulty taking part in events, activities, and traditions dominated by undergraduates and regulated by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (ODUS).

“The general frustration of grad students on campus with regards to social things is that campus social life is tailored so heavily towards the undergrads.

It feels separate,” Teixeira said. “Some groups do it better, like some affinity groups. But sports, theater, a cappella…some of those groups don’t even allow grad students to join.”

Teixeira clarified that while there are certainly groups that do accept grad-

uate students, the undergraduate focus can make such activities harder to join and difficult to navigate socially.

“I think there is a lot of bias and legacy in the admissions process into these groups, so it seems like there is a kind of unwillingness to admit grad students into these groups,” Teixeria said. “If you are admitted, it can create a strange dynamic where you are the only grad student hanging out with a ton of undergrads.”

Some graduate students, barred from pursuing their interests on campus either by the constraints of undergraduate life or cultural differences, seek out social activities in New York City or Philadelphia.

“I miss Forro, a kind of partner dance we do in Brazil. I’ve looked at events in New York. It’s not something that I can do with people here,” said Wildholz.

Ultimately, the graduate students who spoke with The Daily Princetonian said they felt they have a lot to be grateful for within their Princeton social experience — despite the difficulties posed by the University’s undergraduate focus.

“I feel really lucky to be at Princeton and to have that stability and my close community of colleagues and friends,” Beck said.

Christain agreed, reflecting on how his graduate school social experience has impacted him outside of academics.

“Something I’ve learned at Princeton is that having all these different people around me has made me a better person,” he said.

Sydney Eck is an Associate Features Editor and Staff Writer for The Prospect for The Daily Princetonian. She can be reached at seeck@princeton. edu.

COURTESY OF TOM POSTMA

Graduate students celebrating at the end of spring term.

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Sports

page 15

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Women’s basketball sweeps Cornell and Columbia to remain undefeated in Ivy League play

By Matt Drapkin and Rachel Posner Staff Sports Writers

Last weekend, the women’s basketball team (16–4, 8–0 Ivy League) played back-to-back Ivy League opponents in Jadwin Gymnasium, first defeating Cornell (7–12, 2–6) in a 75–37 blowout win, and then taking care of Columbia (16–4, 7–1) 57–39.

On Friday, Feb. 4, the Tigers’ solid defense prevented Cornell from scoring for the first eight minutes of the game, and by halftime the Tigers led 35–14.

They were able to maintain this 20-point advantage throughout the second half, ultimately doubling Cornell’s score by winning 75–37.

“We shared the ball really well,” Tigers head coach Carla Berube told The Daily Princetonian. “People stepped up, and players off the bench had some really great contributions, like [sophomore guard] Maddie Plank and [first-year guard] Adaora Nwokeji at the end. It was a really great team win.”

Plank hit two three-point shots and Nwokeji scored in the last 20 seconds of the game, both making major contributions after coming off the bench late.

Junior guard Grace Stone had a particularly strong game, scoring 14 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing five assists.

Other impressive perfor-

mances included 12 points from senior guard Abby Meyers and 11 points from junior guard Julia Cunningham.

“It’s our first back-to-back Ivy League weekend,” Coach Berube said after the win over the Big Red. “We’re excited. Columbia is a really strong team, so it’s going to be a great challenge here and we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

Coming out strong in the second half of a backto-back is a difficult ask for any basketball team. Doing so against the Columbia Lions, undefeated in the Ivy League, is even tougher. The Tigers, however, made it look easy, defeating Columbia in a 57–39 victory on Saturday evening, giving them complete control of the top spot in the Ivy League.

Princeton was in control from the very start, refusing to give up their lead through all four quarters. At the half, the Tigers led 35–16, fueled by stellar offensive performances from Julia Cunningham and Abby Meyers. The two combined for 24 firsthalf points, giving the Tigers a comfortable cushion heading into the intermission.

The second half was no different for the Tigers, who continued dominating on both sides of the floor. Not only did they move the ball more effectively — finishing the game with 13 team

assists compared to Columbia’s five — but they also played the passing lanes with great precision, ending with 11 steals and 23 points off turnovers.

Cunningham led all scorers with 19 points and five rebounds, followed by Meyers’ 16 points and five rebounds.

Grace Stone added a strong 10 points and seven rebounds, and Ellie Mitchell did all of the little things in the win, ending with a game-high 14 rebounds and a team-high five assists.

At the game, the athletics department also honored

the 36th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. As a part of the festivities, the first 100 fans to arrive received a copy of “I Can Do Anything: Stories From the First 50 Years of Women’s Athletics at Princeton.” Author Jerry Price, who serves as a senior communications advisor and historian for the Princeton athletics department, was also on hand to sign the books for fans.

The Tigers remain undefeated in the Ivy League at 8–0. They will look to defend their spotless conference record this Saturday, Feb. 12,

when they travel up north to take on Dartmouth (2–18, 1–7 Ivy).

Matt Drapkin is a Staff Sports Writer for the ‘Prince’ sports section. He can be reached at mattdrapkin@princeton.edu or on Twitter at @mattdrapkin.

Rachel Posner is a Staff Sports Writer for the ‘Prince’ sports section who typically covers sports features. She is also a staff writer for the Features section.

She can be reached at rposner@ princeton.edu.

PHOTO COURTESY OF @PRINCETONWBB/TWITTER

Junior guard Julia Cunningham drains a three-pointer against Columbia as her friends celebrate.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Princeton men’s basketball shoots the lights out in 85–63 win over Columbia

By Wilson Conn

Head Sports Editor

When the Tigers shoot well from three-point range, they’re nearly impossible to beat.

Following their second consecutive conference loss in a shootout with Cornell (12–7, 4–4 Ivy League) on Friday in Ithaca, the Princeton men’s basketball team (16–5, 6–2 Ivy) traveled to New York City on Saturday to finish up their weekend trip against the Columbia Lions (4–16, 1–7 Ivy), winning 85–63.

All but one Tiger made the trip successfully from Ithaca to the Big Apple, as men’s basketball head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 was forced to leave the team after entering into the COVID-19 health and safety protocols prior to Friday’s matchup with Cornell. Associate head coach Brett MacConnell took the reins of the head coaching position temporarily for the second consecutive game and the third time in his tenure on Saturday night.

Henderson did, however, lead the Tigers to a 84–69 win in their first matchup against Columbia on Jan. 7 in what was both teams’ first Ivy League game of the season. The Tigers trailed by 12 at halftime in that game, but ended up winning by 15 points thanks to a 51-point second half.

On Feb. 5, the Lions opened up an eight-point lead before the under-16 media timeout for the

second matchup in a row between the two teams.

Six of these eight opening points came from Columbia’s guard Geronimo Rubio de La Rosa, who led Columbia with 15 points on the night.

However, unlike the previous matchup, which didn’t see the Tigers respond and take the lead until early in the second half, Princeton immediately went on a run. Senior guard Ethan Wright hit a three-pointer to open the scoring with 16:10 remaining in the half, and Princeton scored 12 unanswered to bring the score to 12–8.

Nine of the points on this run came from Wright, who entered the game shooting 63 percent from the field over his last four contests, and had scored double-digit points in nine of the last 10 games.

Wright had also scored eight of the team’s first 10 points the night before against the Big Red. Wright and the Tigers continued to pour it on from the three-point line, with four more threepointers from Wright, two from junior guard Ryan Langborg, and two from senior forward Drew Friberg, respectively, expanding the lead to 28–14. The three-ball has been a recipe for success for the Tigers all season, with a staggering 45 percent of their field goal attempts having been three-pointers through their first 20 games. Coming into the game against Columbia, they ranked 25th out of 353 Division-I

programs in team threepoint percentage at 37.8 percent, and eighth in the country in three-pointers made per game with 10.6.

At half, Princeton led 46–30, and had nearly met their average with 10 threepointers made, including four in the last two minutes and 30 seconds of the half. Wright was leading the way with 18 points, including four three-pointers; Friberg and Langborg had combined for 22 more points and six three-pointers between them. The Tigers were also well on their way to meeting their team scoring average of 80.7 points per game, which was good for 14th in Division I entering the contest.

The Tigers picked up where they left off in the second half, as junior forward Tosan Evbuomwan found Friberg for a threepointer to extend the lead to 53–34. Senior guard Jaelin Llewellyn then found Wright for three-pointers on two consecutive possessions, widening the Princeton lead to 59–38.

Despite leading by around 20 points for most of the half, the Tigers were challenged with just under seven minutes on the clock, as a 10–0 Columbia scoring run cut the lead to just 12. However, thanks to two quick layups from Llewellyn and a string of defensive stops, the game was sealed for Princeton, 85–63. A late three-pointer from first-year guard Blake Peters was the icing on the cake, as it was their 16th triple of the game, setting

a new season-high.

The return to dominance from the three-point line (16 makes on 42 attempts) for the Tigers was a welcome sight after a rough night in Ithaca Friday that saw them shoot just 7-for28 from deep, and the last matchup with Columbia which saw them shoot just 6-for-21 from beyond the arc. It seems the coaching staff is willing to live and die with the threeball, and the Tigers have lived more often than not this year. Last Saturday’s contest saw a whopping 62 percent of the team’s field goal attempts come from three-point range, up nearly 17 percentage points from their season average for that proportion.

Leading the way for Princeton in their stellar offensive performance was Ethan Wright, who scored 27 points on 7-for14 shooting from threepoint range, following up his 26-point, eight-rebound game against Cornell with another stellar performance. Wright, who entered the game shooting 39.7 percent from three (eighth-best in the Ivy League), shattered his season scoring average of 15.1 points per game.

The team’s two leading scorers, Jaelin Llewelyn and Tosan Evbuomwan (15.6 points per game each, tied fourth in Ivy) did not meet their scoring averages, with 10 and seven points, respectively; however, they found other ways to contribute. Llewelyn notched nine boards

and five assists, while Evbuomwan picked up 11 rebounds, and also managed six assists to add to his Ivy League-leading total. Ryan Langborg and Drew Friberg added a combined 30 points on 8-for-21 three-point shooting for Princeton.

The win improved the Tigers, who had lost two consecutive games coming in, to 6–2 in the conference, keeping them in third place behind Penn (10–12, 7–2 Ivy) and Yale (12–9, 6–1).

Columbia remains eighth in the league at 4–16 (1–7).

With six games remaining on the schedule, the Tigers’ odds for finishing top-four in the league and qualifying for Ivy Madness remain high, as they are currently three wins ahead of fifth-place Harvard.

However, the Tigers face a difficult slate of games ahead, including one more game each against Penn and Yale, and two matchups with Harvard, the results of which could easily change their fate.

Next up, though, Princeton will host Dartmouth (5-14, 2-6 Ivy) this Saturday, Feb. 12 at Jadwin Gymnasium, as they look to further improve their chances at Ivy Madness, and ultimately, the NCAA Tournament.

Wilson Conn is a Head Sports Editor at the ‘Prince’ who typically covers football, basketball, and breaking news in athletics. He is also a senior writer for the Podcast section. He can be reached at wconn@princeton.edu or on

Friday Feburary 11, 2022

Sports

page 16

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Hockey goaltender Kim Newell ’16 represents China at the Beijing Winter Olympics

By Matt Drapkin

Staff Sports Writer

Even though she took nearly three years off from her hockey career after graduating from Princeton, Kim Newell ’16 is shining as bright as ever on the international stage.

Four games into the preliminary round for Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey, Princeton alumna Zhou Jiaying — known at the University as Kim Newell — has found her groove in the crease. Although she hails from Canada, Newell represents China, her mother’s home country, on the international stage. As the starting goalkeeper for the national team, she locks down opposing offenses at an elite level.

Newell has been on a tear to start the 2022 Olympics Games in Beijing. Her breakout performances thus far have put her in third place internationally in saves percentage, ahead of all but two other Olympic goalkeepers, with a rate of 95.51 percent.

Her successes on an international level are no surprise to anyone who knew Newell in her days at Princeton.

Both then and now, she was a competitor that no opponent wanted to face up against. As a Tiger, she earned First-Team All-Ivy League honors, an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Hockey Goalie of the Month award, three separate ECAC Goalie of the Week

recognitions, and made the ECAC All-Academic team all four years.

Newell’s shot-blocking abilities have been essential to China’s success. On Sunday, Feb. 6, her skills were put on full display for the world to see when the Japanese National Team took China into a penalty-shot shootout. She successfully saved all five of Japan’s penalty-shot attempts, giving her teammates the opportunity to make a play and take home

the win. Chinese forward Mi Le zipped the puck past the opposing goalkeeper, ultimately giving China the 2–1 victory.

Not only is Newell dominating the ice, but she is doing so in style. Her customized goalkeeper mask and pads show off the famous Chinese-style golden dragons.

China ended with a 2–2 record in the Women’s Preliminary Round, good for fourth place in Group B. Since only the top three teams in Group

B advance to the quarterfinals, their 2022 Olympic run has officially come to an end. The next women’s hockey matchup at the Olympics will take place on Friday, Feb. 11, when the United States will compete against the Czech Republic to kick off the Women’s Play-offs Quarterfinals.

After the Olympics, it is unclear what Newell’s next move is going to be. Likely, she will choose to return to her professional team in China, the

Kunlun Red Star, to resume play in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Regardless of her future plans, though, the Princetonian has officially left her mark on the biggest stage of them all.

Matt Drapkin is a Staff Sports Writer for the ‘Prince’ sports section. He can be reached at mattdrapkin@princeton.edu or on Twitter at @mattdrapkin.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GO PRINCETON TIGERS.

Kim Newell ‘16 was a goaltender for the Tigers from 2013-2016.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Women’s lacrosse ranked first in Ivy League preseason poll

By Julia Nguyen

Head Sports Editor

The preseason poll rankings for the Ivy League women’s lacrosse teams are in, and Princeton sits atop the poll after receiving a unanimous first-place selection, receiving all 18 votes.

The Penn Quakers follow in second place. They are one of the best teams Princeton will play, including their out-of-conference opponents.

The Tigers are also ranked No. 13 and No. 15 in the Nike/US Lacrosse and ILWomen/IWLCA Di-

vision I preseason rankings, respectively.

In spring 2019 — the most recent season in which they competed — Princeton took home the Ivy Championships, one of 13 in program history.

The Tigers have held this title for six consecutive years from 2014 to 2019.

The Tigers have had 25 total NCAA tournament appearances, the most in Ivy League history by a wide margin; next up are Dartmouth with 14 appearances and Penn with 12. Three of the Tigers’ 25 appearances yielded an NCAA Championship

(1994, 2002, 2003). The only other Ivy team to have held this title was Harvard in 1990.

Head Coach Chris Sailer has witnessed many of the Tigers’ storied successes first-hand. She joined the coaching staff more than three decades ago in 1987.

Since then, she has won all three national titles, 15 Ivy titles, and has accumulated 418 wins during her Princeton career.

The team recently learned that this season will be the Sailer’s last, as she leads the Tigers on their quest for another title.

Coach Sailer’s accomplishments in the last 36 years have not gone unnoticed — especially by her players.

“Coach Sailer is a legend and it’s an honor to play for her as a senior in her last year,“ senior attacker Tara Shecter commented.

The Tigers’ season will open on the road against No. 11 Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 20.

“We’re super excited to start playing games after almost two years! Our first game against UVA in two weeks will be a great way to showcase all of the hard work we’ve been put-

ting in this fall,” Shecter added.

The home opener is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 26 against Temple, followed by the Ivy opener against Cornell on Saturday, March 5 at Sherrerd Field.

Julia Nguyen is a Head Sports Editor at the ‘Prince’ who usually covers the weekly recaps. She can be reached at trucn@princeton.edu or on instagram at @jt.nguyen.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHELLEY SZWAST/GO PRINCETON TIGERS

The Tigers also are ranked in the top 15 in Division I in two different polls.